February 23, 2009

HELLO!

Wow you have had an exciting week. Thank you so much for sending pictures. I am excited to have a new sister-in-law. I know I missed a lot, but I’m glad I at least knew them both before I left and have pictures to see what happened. I’m not going to lie, I don’t miss having to stand in the wedding line for two hours haha, but I would have done it if I was there. The car looks very creative, how did the ring service go. You'll have to keep me posted on missionary experiences that come from it. I pray that you find the right house every night. I know the Lord will answer our prayers, the right house just may not have come along yet. I hope it does soon though.

Wow the ward has changed so much. That is weird to think you all the younger kids in the priesthood and young womens. It makes me feel a lot older now haha. That’s ok though.

I have actually never heard of Pancake Day. I guess they don’t celebrate it in this area. I have had crepes. That’s actually all I could find for the longest time. It was kind of frustrating because they are like 'weak-sauce' pancakes. They just aren’t the same. I am still using my mix from costco right now. I make pancakes a couple times a week :)

Our investigators are doing well. Marnie is working towards a baptismal date on March 14, but has a lot to learn. He believes in Karma and Reincarnation still (he is from Sri Lanka). He is very open minded though. We are actually seeing Isabel and Alison tonight. We haven't seen either of them for a while now, but hope to see them more often. We have a new investigator that came to church. Her name is Annie and she is from Zambia. I am excited to see her progress.

Our week in genera l has been great. It has gone by so fast. We had zone conference Thursday and Tuesday was my first district meeting and exchange as DL. I was a little nervous, but it went well. I love you guys and hope your week is amazing.

Love,

Elder Kade Karges

February 16,209

Hello again,

It hasn't been long since I wrote my last email. Things are going well still, actually really well. Elder Church and I really get along and are having loads of fun and success. He has a very strong Testimony. He joined the church when he was sixteen because a friend invited him to take the discussions. As he did this and also decided to go on a mission, his family was very thrilled considering they are all Catholic. Now that he is out serving they have made a pretty big turn around and are very proud of him. He is only a moves ahead of me and was actually trained in Catford right before I got there. I saw him on my first day in the field. Elder Sorbonne took his place, being trained by Elder Martin. He has been in two different areas since then and has been a district leader himself. He was sick over the last couple months and it really affected the work, but is doing better now.

My district has three companionships. Elder Church and I in Portsmouth, Elders Hayes and Seidle in Chichester, and Elders Proctor and Kreiberg on the Isle of Wight. I am really looking forward to figuring out what to do because right now I'm just praying like crazy haha. They really don’t give you any training, just a list of things to do. The funny thing is that list comes late (through the post), like two weeks into the transfer cycle. Luckily Elder Church has his letter so I've looked at that. I am responsible for interviews and accounting with the Zone Leaders for my district. I talk to them all nightly and weekly. I also prepare the agenda for district meeting and give a presentation. Mostly I just look out for everyone and seek inspiration on how I can help them. Did Dad ever serve in leadership positions? or Kyle? or Ryan? I would really love to hear more about each of their missions. When I was back home I just didn’t understand what a mission entails.

I got your package this morning! Thanks you so much. I can't believe I’ve been here for 6 months already. It’s crazy. You sent the perfect things. I don’t even know how you knew to send them, but everything you sent is something I can use, and will. I love you all and hope you had a great Valentines Day! Mine was good. We actually helped set up for the stake party that night. We were supposed to have a teach at the church, but it got cancelled. We recognized that there was only one High Councilman there to set up all the decorations, so we pitched in. He was from Ireland and actually served here on his mission. He ended up marrying the bishop’s daughter of his last area (long after his mission) and now lives there on the Isle of Wight.

We have picked up a lot of new investigators lately and have a few that are sticking with it. Alison is having a little trouble. She is actually engaged to a member and has been taught in the past. We taught her once, but her father passed away last week. I don’t think he was very old and it was pretty sudden. We haven’t been able to see her since, but I think she'll come around. Marnie is really cool. He has come to church twice and loves it, but hasn't been able to stay passed sacrament. He is learning quickly though and likes the feeling he gets at church. The other one we are focusing on is Isabel. She is actually from Mexico! She is very strong Catholic and is concerned about being baptized again, but that’s why I'm excited for her to meet Elder Church. His mother is Mexican and he was brought up Catholic.

I hope I answered all your questions. It sounds like you are all doing great. I love hearing how everyone is doing. I am so excited to hear about and see pictures of the wedding and other upcoming things. I pray for you all everyday. Tell 12th ward I said hello and tell the Sanders that I DID have Stevie’s English teacher, that’s so cool that she is still using my paper as an example. Let me know how John's talk goes too.
I love you, have an amazing week.

Love,
Elder Karges

February 13th, 2009

Hello!

I have about 4 minutes left but ill see what I can do.

This week has been very busy. The snow was unexpected but a lot of fun. Portsmouth is pretty protected from the weather, but it still got more than usual. The rest of the country got a LOT more than usual, so that makes sense that it made the news. It is sunny now though.

I’ll just jump to moves day. I went to the temple to meet my New Companion. His name is Elder Church. He is form Las Vegas and is the only member of his family. He was baptized 3 years ago. He is an AMAZING mission so far. I’ve only been with him a day, but I’m excited for this moves. I am District Leader here in Portsmouth, so I have less time to myself. I don’t really know how to be a DL, but I’ll figure it out as I go. Elder Orme got moved to Plymouth. Elder church's mom is form Mexico. (Sorry this is kind of jumbled, but I have no time left.) Everything is going great and I’ll be able to write you more on Monday.
Oh and I met elder Greely at the Temple!! It was really cool to see him. We aren’t serving very close, but I might see him from time to time. I took a picture with him, but on the way back from the temple, I lost my back pack.... Nothing to valuable inside, I had my camera in my pocket, but the card reader to connect with the computer is gone. It might show up in the lost property dep. at the station, we'll see!

I love you all! Hope to hear from you soon :)

Love,
Elder Kade Karges

February 2, 2009

Hello Everyone!

It’s snowing here!! It snowed a little yesterday, but didn't stick and then when we woke up in the morning there was about 2 inches! Of course it is already melting, but I took pictures while I could, and if it doesn’t melt then we couldn’t ride our bikes. We have an appointment tonight that is pretty far way, so I hope we don't have to walk. This week has just flown by. Actually this whole moves (transfer cycle) has. Elder Orme were talking about it last night. A really common saying over here is that "the days go by like weeks and the weeks go by like days." That saying is really true. Some days are really long, but it seems like last PDay was just yesterday.

I sent a couple pictures already. One of them was of last pday. Elder Orme and I went to a nearby golf course and hit a few balls at the driving range. It was really cheap and its something Elder Orme has been really wanting to do. He used to go golfing almost everyday back home, either with his dad or best friend. He is really good, but I need some practice. I've been golfing a few times and to the driving range. I think my main problem was they didn’t have tee's and I'm not use to hitting off the ground. Oh well, it was fun. We got some video footage of our first swings. I'll have to find a way to send it home. I have a few other videos I've been wanting to send.

The middle of the week was pretty normal. We did a lot of finding towards the beginning and at the end, but in the middle we had a lot of appointments. From what I hear, Portsmouth (pronounced like Ports-myth) is usually really busy. Things are starting to pick up a lot more still. We are constantly changing investigators. People are always really busy and worried about 'the credit crunch'. In time I think it will actually lead more people to believing in God and to the church.

Wednesday night we had a few meetings and went out with some of the young men and their leaders for the second time. We were supposed to be going to visit less active youth, but there was only one to visit, so one group just went knocking. It was pretty funny to hear them say how nervous they were because they had never done it before, especially the leader. Thursday we had Zone meeting in South Hampton. That was really fun and is always a spiritual boost. Its funny how we sit in chairs all day for those kinds of meeting, but are still just as tired as if we had been out finding all day. The spirit can really drain you. We had a couple DA's this week as well.

I really do love you guys and hope all is well. My time is up so I got to got go, but have an amazing week!
Elder Karges

Elder Orme and I at the driving range last PDay. Elder Orme was a big golfer back home... he's a lot better than me.

Me walking down the street to email at the library this morning with a snowball in my hands.

January 26, 2009

Hey!

I’m so glad you guys finally got the package! I sent that ages ago. I actually checked on it a week or two ago and the guy told me that the way I sent it usually take 6 to 8 weeks. They didn’t tell me that when I first sent it out... they said it might make it there by Christmas..haha. I can’t remember all the pictures I sent on the CD's. If you could let me know what the last few were, I could delete them off my memory card up to that point (Actually I might leave them on now that I have 5 memory cards haha, but let me know which ones I sent anyway). To be honest I probably wont be able to send a package like that again.. but it was worth a go. I'm glad you enjoyed it :) and I’m glad Beau was still around to get the jerseys to the guys. I was worried he would be gone already.

It sounds like your week has gone well, mine has too. P-Day was pretty cool. We finally made it down to the coast to check everything out. I just sent you a few pictures of that and I wasn’t watching the time, so I only have 5 minutes left! The rest of the week wasn’t too exciting for me. We have about five or six investigators, but they are all really busy. We are still teaching the two guys from Eretria. We are struggling to find a Book of Mormon they can read. We are teaching a cool university student named Wil. She is busy though.

Sorry I really got to go or I won’t be able to send this.

I LOVE YOU!

Love Elder Karges.

Me with Spinacker tower and an old ship in the background that you can take tours of (that costs money :/)

Elder Orme and I down by the coast.

Me on the steps at Spinacker tower.

Me at Charles Dicken's birth place. They turned his old house into a museum.

January 19, 2009

Hiya,

Things are going great still, but first things first... HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!! Thank you so much for all that you do. You're amazing and I Love you.

Being in England, a lot of people talk about their cultural backgrounds. I've been asked several times where my last name comes from, but I have no clue. I thought it was German, but I asked a German and he said he didn't think so haha. It would be cool if you could find out and let me know.

It sounds like things are going well. I'm looking forward to getting a wedding invitation in the mail. That’s too bad about the timing of Grandpa's surgery. I hope everything goes well, let them know i think about them a lot.

We have had a lot of ups and downs this week and took care of a few things. One of them was Elder Orme's driving test. He had to take it in the middle of the week, and he passed with flying colors! He didn't make a single mistake. I want to get my license soon, but maybe I'll wait till people forget how well he did... haha the real reason is its just a lot of time and money. Ill get it done though (I hear having a British licenses can get me a discount on insurance back home, because the test is more rigorous).

Our investigators are doing pretty well. We are teaching five or six people and I don’t think I have mentioned anyone. The people I mentioned before have since been dropped. It was hard to drop a couple of our recent investigators, but they have busy lives and have the agency to choose what they want to do with it. There is a really cool YSA aged girl named Kirsty we just picked up. She is busy, but very interested. There is a Turkish couple we are teaching as well. He speaks English and she doesn't, yet she came to church by herself this week. He had to work and works every Sunday, but I hope he can change his schedule to fit church in. We had one other investigator come to church named Dawit. He brought a friend with him too! They are from Eritrea, I think. Its hard to understand their accents..

The ward is really great here. They work well with us and there are several older ladies that bring us treats at church :) I really like it here. We had a couple DA's and on Friday we had an exchange, so I went to Chichester with my District Leader, Elder Bell. It was fun, but we did a lot of traveling. Area's are further apart out here, so it takes longer to exchange, plus Chichester is a walking are and is pretty big so it took a while to get to appointments.

I hope this week goes well for everyone as you all begin school and other things again. To answer your question about letters sent to my old address: yes, they will get to me. Elder Christensen has already forwarded a few, but it takes a little longer. Thank you for all your support.

Love,
Elder Kade Karges

My new district after bowling down by the coast last P-Day.

Alex Smith and I my last Sunday in Catford.

Christmas Pictures

Elder Christensen's mom made me pajama pants!


I dont think i ever sent Christmas pictures. The first is me wear things i got for christmas with the chair where is set out all my presents just like back home :) The second is the four of us at the member's home that fed us. That's her in the middle. Her name is Stella and she is amazing.



Editors Note: Just wanted to extend my apologies for posting a number of Elder Karges's letters all at once. Between the holidays, sick kids, and a vacation I've gotten a little behind.


I would also like to invite anyone who has e-mails/letters from Elder Karges that would like to share to e-mail me with them. We are planning to print out this blog in book form for him when he comes home. You can just share a comment, a quote from his letter or anything like that and I'll slowly get them worked in for his book. Thanks! Katie