Dear Family-
HI!
This week was interesting... :)
It has been raining here for like the last week or so and they dont want us riding our bikes in the rain anymore. Sister martin told us on rainy days we should walk. That means a little less effective days because it takes longer to get around.
We had interviews with President Martin on Wednesday. As always he gave me some inspired counsel. I also was hit by a car this week on my bike. Nothing or nobody was harmed though. We were riding to our dinner appointment when a car without lights on that we didnt see turned into a parking lot right in front of me. I was going pretty fast but as soon as I saw it i slammed on the brakes and tried to lay the bike down. I almost stopped in time but due to the baldness of my rear tire, I slid a little too much and I collided with the car. The lady was very apologetic and frightened and tried to offer me over $100. I rejected the offer, apologized for frightening her and we were on our way.
It made for a fun story at district meeting :)
Mom, of course the Patriots are going to the SuperBowl :) Figures.. eh oh well.
Nate is driving huh ? Sweet :) I am sure he loves that. It is crazy that my youngest brother is already in high school and getting ready to drive!
Ok well that is about all there is to update ! I love you all and Dylan.... stay bundled up!
- Elder Weston Dutson
Monday, January 23, 2012
Week # 26
Dear Family-
All is well here ! I am glad that Kayln's funeral had tons of support. It just shows how many lives she touched. I hope that her family was able to realize how much she meant to the community.
Mom that story about George Lopez doesn't suprise me. He is HUGE in this area and I have heard several similar stories. It seems like he has genuinely tried to make a difference in the community in which he grew up.
Ragen Riggs is pregnant ? wow I bet President Riggs feels super old now ! That is way cool though :) Tell her congrats for me. Courtney I DO expect a nephew by the time I get home though ! jk... take your time with that. I am sure mom and Dad are in no hurry to feel even older than they already are :P
As for Kevin, he didnt come to church this past Sunday because he visited his dad for the last time. His dad is being deported back to El Salvador on his 3rd DUI offense. We didnt feel like we could really make a big deal out of him not coming because Elder Grose and I both thought we would have done the same thing in his position. But hopefully he will come this Sunday. We have made him a Book of Mormon reading chart that would have him read the BOM from start to finish by September. It is more intense than the one the Twelve came up with but Kevin loves to read so we know he can do it. We have him reading in between 20 to 30 verses a day on average. As for the Saldana family, well they accepted a baptismal date. The mom( Lourdes) finally came forward with us and told us that she has a testimony and so does her 14 year old daughter Kimberly. But it is hard for them to go against ir change all those Catholic traditions. That is a common challenge within the Hispanic missionary work and so we are working through that with them.
Dylan, I am not training another one yet... Our transfer does not end until the 6th of February. But that is something my mission president has talked to me about and so we will see. I am perfectly happy with Elder Grose though. He has been a huge blessing to me. I hope everything is going well. please tell nate that I love him !!
- Elder Dutson
All is well here ! I am glad that Kayln's funeral had tons of support. It just shows how many lives she touched. I hope that her family was able to realize how much she meant to the community.
Mom that story about George Lopez doesn't suprise me. He is HUGE in this area and I have heard several similar stories. It seems like he has genuinely tried to make a difference in the community in which he grew up.
Ragen Riggs is pregnant ? wow I bet President Riggs feels super old now ! That is way cool though :) Tell her congrats for me. Courtney I DO expect a nephew by the time I get home though ! jk... take your time with that. I am sure mom and Dad are in no hurry to feel even older than they already are :P
As for Kevin, he didnt come to church this past Sunday because he visited his dad for the last time. His dad is being deported back to El Salvador on his 3rd DUI offense. We didnt feel like we could really make a big deal out of him not coming because Elder Grose and I both thought we would have done the same thing in his position. But hopefully he will come this Sunday. We have made him a Book of Mormon reading chart that would have him read the BOM from start to finish by September. It is more intense than the one the Twelve came up with but Kevin loves to read so we know he can do it. We have him reading in between 20 to 30 verses a day on average. As for the Saldana family, well they accepted a baptismal date. The mom( Lourdes) finally came forward with us and told us that she has a testimony and so does her 14 year old daughter Kimberly. But it is hard for them to go against ir change all those Catholic traditions. That is a common challenge within the Hispanic missionary work and so we are working through that with them.
Dylan, I am not training another one yet... Our transfer does not end until the 6th of February. But that is something my mission president has talked to me about and so we will see. I am perfectly happy with Elder Grose though. He has been a huge blessing to me. I hope everything is going well. please tell nate that I love him !!
- Elder Dutson
Week # 25
Why hello !!
I hope all is well. Well first off to address the sad news that you shared with me mom; Kayln passed away... well, I am glad that it is done. I am sure there are alot of people grieving for her, and she certainly will be missed. But for such a wonderful person to be done suffering as she was is good news. Like you said, she is now back in her Heavenly Father's presence. Of course, please send my love to her family.
Ok :) well,this week was a normal one.. Nothing unusual to report. I dont think I told you but one of my new Zone Leaders is Elder Banuelos whom I served with when I was in Panorama City. He was Elder Okazaki's companion. It certainly is good to be back serving around him again as he is a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, I will only have him for one transfer as he leaves for home at the beginning of February. We found one new investigator this past week. His name is Martin. He is a really nice guy and he has a very sarcastic sense of humor at times. He let us in and we taught him and and his 80 something year old mother in law. She was funny. She kept repeating over and over again that she had visited Elder Grose in the hospital a couple months back. Elder Grose has never been to California before this so we just laughed and Martin had to explain several times to her that we are missionaries and that Elder Grose hadn't been in the hospital. Very sweet lady but a bit senile haha but Martin is great. We gave him a Book of Mormon aand set a return appointment. We continue to struggle with Kevin and the Saldana family. the thing with Kevin is that his mom will not let him be baptized until he goes to church 5 times, but his mom is also stopping him from going to church, literally telling him he can't go because they have stuff to do. After which, he ends up sitting around all day because they really dont have stuff to do. We are thinking about confronting her about it and asking her why she is doing what she is doing, to see if we can help. With the Saldanas, I dont know. We really enjoy going over there, but they really are not progressing anymore.. We might have to drop them. they really like when we come over and teach, but they still have never gone to church and rarely do they keep the reading assignments we give them. I think they believe it's just a free Bible Study class no matter how many times we have told them that it is not!! haha Well I can't believe that It is already halfway through my second transfer training Elder Grose. The second transfer with your trainer is usually your last in this mission but we will see. Elder banuelos, (the zone leader I talked about), told me on Saturday, that President wants me to train another new missionary next transfer. I guess he came to them and asked if I would be up to it and if it would be ok for the zone. They told him yes, so we will see. Training has been a wonderful experience for me as Elder Grose has taught me so much. Sometimes I wonder if he has taught me more than I have taught him. But anyways, I am glad you like your new sunbeams Mom. I really love and miss kids. Everytime I see a baby, I want one haha even though I am not quite ready to be a daddy yet. Speaking of which,Courtney...?? :) any news in that subject yet ? hahaha
Ok well I love you all and Mom, tell the new Elders I said hi. Everybody else, I love and miss you and wish yuo the best till next week.
Oh and morgan, I dont know if it was japanese food or what but I ate octopus the other day. We had a member take us out to an all you can eat asian buffet. It was really yummy!!
- love you all
- Elder Weston Dutson
I hope all is well. Well first off to address the sad news that you shared with me mom; Kayln passed away... well, I am glad that it is done. I am sure there are alot of people grieving for her, and she certainly will be missed. But for such a wonderful person to be done suffering as she was is good news. Like you said, she is now back in her Heavenly Father's presence. Of course, please send my love to her family.
Ok :) well,this week was a normal one.. Nothing unusual to report. I dont think I told you but one of my new Zone Leaders is Elder Banuelos whom I served with when I was in Panorama City. He was Elder Okazaki's companion. It certainly is good to be back serving around him again as he is a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, I will only have him for one transfer as he leaves for home at the beginning of February. We found one new investigator this past week. His name is Martin. He is a really nice guy and he has a very sarcastic sense of humor at times. He let us in and we taught him and and his 80 something year old mother in law. She was funny. She kept repeating over and over again that she had visited Elder Grose in the hospital a couple months back. Elder Grose has never been to California before this so we just laughed and Martin had to explain several times to her that we are missionaries and that Elder Grose hadn't been in the hospital. Very sweet lady but a bit senile haha but Martin is great. We gave him a Book of Mormon aand set a return appointment. We continue to struggle with Kevin and the Saldana family. the thing with Kevin is that his mom will not let him be baptized until he goes to church 5 times, but his mom is also stopping him from going to church, literally telling him he can't go because they have stuff to do. After which, he ends up sitting around all day because they really dont have stuff to do. We are thinking about confronting her about it and asking her why she is doing what she is doing, to see if we can help. With the Saldanas, I dont know. We really enjoy going over there, but they really are not progressing anymore.. We might have to drop them. they really like when we come over and teach, but they still have never gone to church and rarely do they keep the reading assignments we give them. I think they believe it's just a free Bible Study class no matter how many times we have told them that it is not!! haha Well I can't believe that It is already halfway through my second transfer training Elder Grose. The second transfer with your trainer is usually your last in this mission but we will see. Elder banuelos, (the zone leader I talked about), told me on Saturday, that President wants me to train another new missionary next transfer. I guess he came to them and asked if I would be up to it and if it would be ok for the zone. They told him yes, so we will see. Training has been a wonderful experience for me as Elder Grose has taught me so much. Sometimes I wonder if he has taught me more than I have taught him. But anyways, I am glad you like your new sunbeams Mom. I really love and miss kids. Everytime I see a baby, I want one haha even though I am not quite ready to be a daddy yet. Speaking of which,Courtney...?? :) any news in that subject yet ? hahaha
Ok well I love you all and Mom, tell the new Elders I said hi. Everybody else, I love and miss you and wish yuo the best till next week.
Oh and morgan, I dont know if it was japanese food or what but I ate octopus the other day. We had a member take us out to an all you can eat asian buffet. It was really yummy!!
- love you all
- Elder Weston Dutson
Week # 24
Dear Family -
My week was very good. I hope that everybody's new year went fantastic. As everybody knows, New Years is a time to look back on the year completed and to set goals to improve in the year to come. I would like to invite you all to think of a "New Year's Resolution" that you all could do as a family or individually that would help you show your faith in Christ. We did this with some investigators and members and they had some resolutions such as reading the Book of Mormon as a family, or having a FHE. These are wonderful. I promise you that if you all do this and think a Resolution to be more Christlike or show your faith in Christ, that your faith will increase and that you all will be blessed with strength to pass through the faith trying trials.
Our New Years was fun. We were not allowed to be out too late so we stayed in and played Monoply. We were woken up at Midnight by the celebrations though. We heard a lot of fireworks as well as quite a few guns going off. :)
I am glad Nate and Dad are spending some time together. That is something that I feel like I have failed in thus far as an older brother. I didnt spend as much time teaching and helping my siblings as much as I should have.. especially with Nate. Hopefuly this time spent with dad will make up for that and will benefit him.
How is Tim Matyas doing ? I thought he had joined the Army ? He is a really good kid.
I am sure that it is crazy to have only 2 kids in the house now but it probably makes it easier to do things since you have to work around less schedules.
It's hard to believe how much time has flown by. By the end of this transfer(in February) I will be almost a year completed. That gives me the determination to do more, to work harder and to devote myself even more completely to the work and to make the best of what I have left. I love you all and wish you all a Happy New Year. :)
- Elder Weston Dutson
ps... Dylan your awesome :)
My week was very good. I hope that everybody's new year went fantastic. As everybody knows, New Years is a time to look back on the year completed and to set goals to improve in the year to come. I would like to invite you all to think of a "New Year's Resolution" that you all could do as a family or individually that would help you show your faith in Christ. We did this with some investigators and members and they had some resolutions such as reading the Book of Mormon as a family, or having a FHE. These are wonderful. I promise you that if you all do this and think a Resolution to be more Christlike or show your faith in Christ, that your faith will increase and that you all will be blessed with strength to pass through the faith trying trials.
Our New Years was fun. We were not allowed to be out too late so we stayed in and played Monoply. We were woken up at Midnight by the celebrations though. We heard a lot of fireworks as well as quite a few guns going off. :)
I am glad Nate and Dad are spending some time together. That is something that I feel like I have failed in thus far as an older brother. I didnt spend as much time teaching and helping my siblings as much as I should have.. especially with Nate. Hopefuly this time spent with dad will make up for that and will benefit him.
How is Tim Matyas doing ? I thought he had joined the Army ? He is a really good kid.
I am sure that it is crazy to have only 2 kids in the house now but it probably makes it easier to do things since you have to work around less schedules.
It's hard to believe how much time has flown by. By the end of this transfer(in February) I will be almost a year completed. That gives me the determination to do more, to work harder and to devote myself even more completely to the work and to make the best of what I have left. I love you all and wish you all a Happy New Year. :)
- Elder Weston Dutson
ps... Dylan your awesome :)
Week # 23
Mi Familia-
I hope all had a wonderful Christmas ! I sure enjoyed talking with all of you. We have been allowed to email on Tuesday (today) this week because all libraries were closed yesterday. My Christmas was great and it included me eating alot! I think I ate 3 times on Christmas eve and we had a huge dinner with our ward mission leader on Christmas Day. I keep hearing how cold it is in Arizona and in Washington(Dylan) but I had a very warm Christmas. It was around 64 degrees all day. It felt super weird. We had a member family give us a present and our ward mission leader gave us a box of chocolates. Our district also had a baptism on Christmas Day so I think that was a nice Christmas present for us and the guy getting baptized. His name is Rodrigo. He is Elder Ruiz and Elder Ellsworth's companion. Elder Ellsworth has been transferred and Elder ruiz will be training :) Elder Grose and I were both pretty excited that we would be staying together just like we thought. Dylan I heard that our family was giving you trouble because it looked like you had gained weight. If it makes you feel any better, I have gained weight. not much though haha.. Well thanks everybody for the packages and the cards. It certainly was a nice suprise !!
- Elder Weston Dutson
I hope all had a wonderful Christmas ! I sure enjoyed talking with all of you. We have been allowed to email on Tuesday (today) this week because all libraries were closed yesterday. My Christmas was great and it included me eating alot! I think I ate 3 times on Christmas eve and we had a huge dinner with our ward mission leader on Christmas Day. I keep hearing how cold it is in Arizona and in Washington(Dylan) but I had a very warm Christmas. It was around 64 degrees all day. It felt super weird. We had a member family give us a present and our ward mission leader gave us a box of chocolates. Our district also had a baptism on Christmas Day so I think that was a nice Christmas present for us and the guy getting baptized. His name is Rodrigo. He is Elder Ruiz and Elder Ellsworth's companion. Elder Ellsworth has been transferred and Elder ruiz will be training :) Elder Grose and I were both pretty excited that we would be staying together just like we thought. Dylan I heard that our family was giving you trouble because it looked like you had gained weight. If it makes you feel any better, I have gained weight. not much though haha.. Well thanks everybody for the packages and the cards. It certainly was a nice suprise !!
- Elder Weston Dutson
Week # 22
Dear Family-
Its a week away from Christmas !!!!
Holy Cow that is crazy.
Mom, that is way awesome that you and Sister Smith are such good missionaries ! It really is SO important to get members involved in missionary work. President Hinckley said this, " Some think missionary work is simply tracting. Everyone involved knows there is a better way, and that way is through the members." When members take part in missionary work, it is more sucessful. Us as the full time set apart missionaries, can not stay with our investigators/ converts for forever. We have transfers every six weeks. But if that investigator/convert has a fellowshipper in the ward, it gives the investigator that added support after the missionaries leave :)
Mom, I am sure your sunbeams will miss you. You are an amazing teacher. I dont think I have mentioned this in my letters but since Elder Grose came, he and I have been teaching a Sunday school class for the 14- 18 youth. The ward does not have enough people to fill the calling right now so we stepped in. We have developed a friendship with several of the young men and they are coming to us now and volunteering to come out with us. That has been very fun for us.
It continues to rain off and on and we actually do get in more houses because people pity us haha. Our week went really well. Our hard work and patience has pulled through. We were blessed to find 4 new investigators in 4 days this week. It certainly made us grateful.
For the package mom, I dont have any more requests and it would probably be better sent to our apartment. I know Grandma said she sent hers to the mission office which is fine, but the people who pick those packages up( our zone leaders) are not very good at remembering to give the packages out that they send out. My apartment address is 13520 Foothill Apartment 209 Sylmar CA 91342. But grandma dont worry, I will bug my zone leaders until they give it to me.
As for the phone call business, I will be calling home at 11 am Arizona time. Hopefully all who want to talk will be able to at this time.
Glad to hear that the Gilbert Temple is coming along nicely. I wonder if I will beat it home?? I am sure all the new temples in Arizona will be a relief to the Mesa Temple. I have heard that besides the Provo Utah temple, the Mesa Temple is one of the busiest and services the most people. We have not gone to the temple yet, we actually go tomorrow ! Super Excited !!
Well I love you all and hope you enjoy the Christmas Caroling with the family. I will certainly miss singing with everybody. We went with our ward last night and caroled to all the less active members and the members who are too sick to make it to church. It was really special.
- Elder Weston Dutson
Its a week away from Christmas !!!!
Holy Cow that is crazy.
Mom, that is way awesome that you and Sister Smith are such good missionaries ! It really is SO important to get members involved in missionary work. President Hinckley said this, " Some think missionary work is simply tracting. Everyone involved knows there is a better way, and that way is through the members." When members take part in missionary work, it is more sucessful. Us as the full time set apart missionaries, can not stay with our investigators/ converts for forever. We have transfers every six weeks. But if that investigator/convert has a fellowshipper in the ward, it gives the investigator that added support after the missionaries leave :)
Mom, I am sure your sunbeams will miss you. You are an amazing teacher. I dont think I have mentioned this in my letters but since Elder Grose came, he and I have been teaching a Sunday school class for the 14- 18 youth. The ward does not have enough people to fill the calling right now so we stepped in. We have developed a friendship with several of the young men and they are coming to us now and volunteering to come out with us. That has been very fun for us.
It continues to rain off and on and we actually do get in more houses because people pity us haha. Our week went really well. Our hard work and patience has pulled through. We were blessed to find 4 new investigators in 4 days this week. It certainly made us grateful.
For the package mom, I dont have any more requests and it would probably be better sent to our apartment. I know Grandma said she sent hers to the mission office which is fine, but the people who pick those packages up( our zone leaders) are not very good at remembering to give the packages out that they send out. My apartment address is 13520 Foothill Apartment 209 Sylmar CA 91342. But grandma dont worry, I will bug my zone leaders until they give it to me.
As for the phone call business, I will be calling home at 11 am Arizona time. Hopefully all who want to talk will be able to at this time.
Glad to hear that the Gilbert Temple is coming along nicely. I wonder if I will beat it home?? I am sure all the new temples in Arizona will be a relief to the Mesa Temple. I have heard that besides the Provo Utah temple, the Mesa Temple is one of the busiest and services the most people. We have not gone to the temple yet, we actually go tomorrow ! Super Excited !!
Well I love you all and hope you enjoy the Christmas Caroling with the family. I will certainly miss singing with everybody. We went with our ward last night and caroled to all the less active members and the members who are too sick to make it to church. It was really special.
- Elder Weston Dutson
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