Last letter of 2013!

Happy New Year Fam and Friends!!

it was awesome to see the family on Christmas and i thank you all for your thoughtful gifts and letters! i'm so grateful for the people in my life that continue to support me. I know the Lord was mindful of me when he surrounded me with such amazing family and friends! i hope you all enjoyed Christmas and stay safe and enjoy the new year as well! :) this was an awesome week, celebrating the birth of our Savior. Some great missionary work took place! you all inspire me! Let's get to the q's!!!

 

 

WHERE DID YOU OPEN PRESENTS?

Our apartment. first of all, it's huge. it's too big for just the two of us but it's not quite big enough for 4 of us.. only two rooms but also two bathrooms and two stories. it was the place elected to open gifts! so us 2 and 4 other elders came over and we all opened our gifts one after another. it was awesome!

 

DID YOU HAVE ANY INVESTIGATORS ATTEND CHURCH OVER THE HOLIDAYS?

Yes!! the sunday before christmas we had a tremendous turnout, surprisingly. Yesterday we had 3 investigators attend which was great too considering how many people are out of town.

 

WHAT SCRIPTURES JUMPED OUT AT YOU?

Well, we taught a young girl the first lesson this week and comitted her to read the BOM, and she requested we read with her. we read in first nephi chapter 1.. and it amazes me how you can read something in the scriptures 100 times and on number 101 you can find something new. this is probably a thought a lot of people have had but it amazed me how quickly the Jews turned and scoffed at Lehi when he preached to them about the destruction of jeruselam. I tried to put myself in Lehi's shoes.. seeing the destruction of the city then trying to stand on a soap box and warn these people that I love and care about.. that would be so difficult! especially considering nobody would listen to him. We see it every now and then as missionaries.. people reject us and dont give us the time of day. they are lucky the Lord loves them so much.. It is a little frightening to compare people now to then.. what's stopping the Lord from wiping Vegas off the map!? sin city! really?

 

HAVE YOU LEARNED ANYTHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THE CHRISTMAS STORY?

well i think i've expressed this before leading up to christmas.. but during the birth of our Savior (or at least the time we celebrate it) most people express gratitude for the Atonement and think about Jesus Christ growing up from a baby and realizing his divine calling to earth.. there are so many things to be grateful for in regards to Him, but the thing that stuck out most to me was the example he set for us. Not just being perfect as we are to become.. but under the most trying of circumstances he was willing to drink the bitter cup! "not my will, but thine be done" " now as i will, but as thou wilt..." trying to understand the level of suffering that occured is impossible for our finite minds.. but what isn't impossible is thinking about how often we are presented with opportunities to give of ourself that we may pass up. thinking about times when we know we have difficult task at hand that might not be convenient for us.. but that will be of help or service to others. In the hardest things we face in life we can ask ourselves and our Father in Heaven what we should do.. and when we receive his will , follow the example of the Savior and drink it up. I have a strong testimony that these opportunities are not only for the people we help, but for our learning and growth as well. that has been on my mind a lot this season! 

SO YOUR SIS IS CALLED TO RAPID CITY, SD- DO YOU KNOW ANYONE THERE?

i Can't say that i do! not anyone right off the bat at least. i'm so excited for her! she is going to absolutely kill it out there. make sure she has a jacket though.. :) 

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT YOUR NEW COMP

Other than he's from Utah!? hah i love that once i teach a point in the lesson i can pass the next point on to him and i know that he will pick up where i left off instead of remain quiet. that is new to me you guys! i think they call it being equally yoked..

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOUR MISSION PRES SAID TO YOU?
I received an email from him today in response to my email last week. i told him about the experience with Ada being baptized.. how spiritual it was and how uplifting it was for the family. His response today was that he was glad i had a good experience being involved and he's grateful for my engagement in the work. so that's that!
WHEN ARE TRANSFERS?
A week from tomorrow! january 6th or 7th.. whichever day is the tuesday.
WHO DID YOU SERVE THIS WEEK?
we didn't really do any service work that i could think of.. other than of course teaching lessons and being a missionary. we worked with a surprising amount of people this week though.. getting out and just doing everything that we can.. we came across a lot of people that would receive us!
WHAT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?
haha i'm glad you asked this one this week.. the craziest thing ever happened!!! but!! nobody fret. So on friday morning about 11am we hear some people talking loud/cussing in our front yard. we look out there to see 5 sherrif/swat guys standing in our front yard.. two of them holding AR 15s! we looked out back to see two of them, sites up, in the field behind our house! after a moment or two of aiming down their sites they hopped over the fence back into our backyard and joined the others out front. at this point we have no clue what's going on.. so i go out there and ask them.. they tell me that they are looking for a real bad guy and he's not around here anymore... hah okay? they kinda blew me off like they weren't going to say anything/didn't want to scare us. as i walked away i was like.. "alright fellas, just let us know if we need to take care of this "bad guy" haha. we call the zone leaders and tell them about it and we all just laugh about it. well they call us back about 30 minutes later and tell us what really happened. there was a guy in carson city (about 15-20 miles north of us) that shot two people in the head and fled the scene, and was last seen by the catholic church just around the corner from our house. the guys with the rifles were in our back yard looking for this guy! we realized how crazy the situation was at that point and since we don't have technology or anything like that we don't really know what the latest is with the guy. as of yesterday he was still on the run and nobody knew where he was (we had to ask people at church). so who knows, this dude might have come through our field! someone let me know if he gets caught k? haha. crazy!!!
WHAT CAN WE SEND YOU THIS WEEK?
Letters! i'm set on everything else. thank you all so much for all the love and support! i'd love some photos too of course. :)
WHO SENT YOU MAILBOX LOVE?
This last week i got packages from my dad and grandparents sykes, mom, nan, The stahuras,  the christensens, the warburtons, then mail from the stake presidency's both in AZ and in UT (awesome) The first counselor in the 8th ward at home sent me a letter, Grandpa Stan and grandma Millie,  grandma sue and grandpa monte.. and maybe more! so spoiled! i love you all and i'm so grateful for all you've done for me! the boys package had to be forwarded from the mission office and the forwarding place or whatever is in Denver.. so i talked to the people at the post office and they said anytime between today and thursday i should receive it.
ARE YOU DRIVING OR BIKING IN THIS COLD WEATHER?
driving! :) we've been doing some walking but only our appointments that have been close and to street contact!
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE GENERAL AUTHORITY? WHY? that is so hard to choose.. for missionary motivation i'd have to say either Holland or Bednar because they are both so stern and so raw. it's always inspiring to listen to them and to adhere to their teachings. The prophet might have an unfair advantage.. but everything he teaches us is for our time.. and for applying to the hardships we are facing now. I know he is called of God! his talk "see others as they may become" is one of the most inspiring talks i've studied. It helps us to see every person as the best they can be.. so important when it comes to helping people whether on a mission or any other time.

dang, this was a lot of questions! I love you all, i hope you have a great and safe new year. Set those resolutions high! :) until next week!

Elder Sykes

Gratitude

Hello good people! i have got to tell you all, this has been the most trying week of my mission , hands down. I'm grateful to be in the library today and grateful that my sweet sister Haley Hoooo asked the questions today :) let's get to it. 

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 10 THINGS YOUR GRATEFUL FOR?

what a great question! 

1. A loving heavenly father, who is aware of me. (this includes the restored gospel and the atonement of our savior, Jesus Christ) 

2. My family!!! all of you, blood, Stahuras, the people that have always and will always be there for me, and I for them. i love you guys!!! 

3. my friends! i've been so blessed to associate with the people that are in my life! i love you all and i'm grateful to know yaaa.

4. music! 

5. Golf

6. technology

7. the great outdoors! 

8. Missionary Service! mine and everybody elses. helping people come to know that God is truly aware of them and loves them individually brings so much happiness. i love it! 

9. dogs. i love em'. 

10. Utah! there's a reason Brigham Young said "this is the place."

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THANKS GIVING?

My companion and I will be attending a thanksgiving dinner with the sister missionaries in our ward @ a families home that they have been working with. The Gonzales family! After that we will be spending time with one of our investigators, Scott, who has to be out of his house by Black friday... :\ we will be helping him prepare the house.

WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM SANTA?

a freakin' treadmill! okay just kidding. maybe a sweater and a scarf? it's gettin' chilly here!

HOWS THE WORK GOING?

it has it's ups and it's downs! it depends on the week how i would respond to this question but the work istelf is always good.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST THING YOU DID THIS WEEK?

Well my friends, this is why i had such a difficult week. Scott was set to be baptized saturday the 23rd. we saw him smoking a cigarrette and we had to let him know on tuesday that he couldn't enter into the waters of baptism with an addiction to tobacco/alcohol. he had been informed of this before.. he knew there was a 2 week period that he had to show his loyalty to the Lord prior to getting baptized. well to spare a bunch of painfuldetails i will tell you that he said he made a deal with the Lord.. and he would quit everything right after baptism. well when we went into his house, my companion was mute and i had to be very assertive with him in letting him know the lord has these requirements that anybody needs to follow in order to make this covenant. well we saw him many times this week.. and the reason this was so difficult for me is that Scott thinks it was my decision to stop him from getting baptized. he's a great guy, a heart of gold, but he will not let go of the fact that i stopped him from moving forward in his life. each visit we have with him since then has been a little better.. he's starting to understand that he's not ready. but for him to tell me over and over again that i had done this to him.. i had taken this away from him.. was so hard. and i dind't get any back up from anyone. amidst many other things piling up this week. so that was hard.

WHATS THE BEST THING YOU DID THIS WEEK?

We had a great visit with a Less active woman and her non-member daughter. scott is their next door neighbor so when he saw we were there (saw our car) he came into their house, cocktail in hand.. and began to give me more grief. anyway he ended up leaving after a long time and we were able to share a scripture with these ladies from mosiah 24:14 .. i've talked about it alot and it has applied a lot to me this week.. but they were very receptive and grateful.. and we will hope to begin teaching the daughter the missionary discussions soon.

WHAT SCRIPTURE(S) STOOD OUT TO YOU THIS WEEK?

modern day scripture. i read a chapter in the teachings of lorenzo snow that really helped me out this week. it is chapter 7. i wanted to  quote a paragraph from it but i left it at the apartment. it is talking about why the LORD allows us to go through hard things. i won't do it justice so look it up on lds.org and enlighten your minds!

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

i need to hear from don, stan, and nick. holler bros! you ain't down!

WHAT ARE SOMETHINGS WE CAN PRAY FOR? two things this week. PRay that scott's heart will be softened.. and that he will be receptive to what we teach him. and! don't put this part on the blog.. but pray for my companion, Elder Pinney. he has no desire and he wants to go home. he's having a really hard time!

okay folks, i hope that wasn't too much of a buzz kill for y'all. i recieved a priesthood blessing that was incredible yesterday. it helped strengthen my testimony that the Lord is very aware of me and my circumstances, and i know he loves me. after the most difficult week, there is nothing more assuring than that. also, transfers are tomorrow and we are both staying. keep the mail coming. i love you guys! hope you have a stellar week!

-Elder Sykes

Joe's letter 11-12-13!

Hello family and friends!! another week has come and gone.. just blows my mind! it was a pretty good week. let's get to it! 

DO YOU GO TO THE LAUNDRY MAT?

negative! we have a washer and dryer in our house, lucky us! everyone in the zone pretty much comes over on p-days to do laundry (free) and it works out well because for the past 3 weeks we have been BBQing. it's the best! 

WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE?

Chevy Maliboat! or malibu.. it's not the worst car in the world but it has a boat's turning radius.. hence the mission-given nickname. the heater is kinda bunk too.. it takes forever to warm up. but!!! we have a car. what a blessing :) 

WHAT WAS THE MOST SPIRITUAL MOMENT THIS WEEK?

i say the most spiritual thing of the week is church most of the time when you ask this question.. but it always is!! we had our investigator scott at church on sunday and it was the primary program. it was just so well done! the cutest little kids you have ever seen teaching all of us about the restoration of the truth and our heavenly father's plan for us, through word and song! the spirit was so tangible, i loved it! there are a lot of things that we can get hung up on in the gospel.. a lot of questions and things that really don't pertain to our salvation.. but the program just reminded me and strengthened my testimony of the simplicity of the Gospel. the Savior wanted it to be simple! Faith, Repentance, Baptism & Holy Ghost, Endure!!! that's all it takes. i love it! 

WHO DID YOU TEACH ?

we did a LOT of service this week. we helped some missionaries in the other ward build shelves for a less active/ part member family and they got a few new investigators out of it.. awesome! and we spent some time with Scott and with his next door neighbor who's a single mom (Less active member) and her 3 non member daughters. she has to move out of her house so we were with her home teacher in our ward doing dump runs and helping her with moving stuff/ cleaning out the attick. i love service! sometimes people dont' see missionaries as real people and that frustrates me! getting in my service clothes and just rollin' the sleeves up gives people a different perspective of missionary work and sometimes it's so needed! plus! i wear a shirt and tie every dang day.. wearin a T shirt sometimes is a good change of pace ! :) 

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING YOU ATE THIS WEEK?

haha.. well i might be partially biased to the BBQ in which i cooked all the food.. but we always eat so well here! last night we had some delish pork chops w/ mashed potatoes and Gravy at the butchers house. the night before we were at the jongsmas and had fried chicken! we always eat well so.. everything? 

BREAD OR RASPBERRY JAM?

i'm confused by this.. but i love bread and rasberry jam. 

WHO SENT YOU MAILBOX LOVE?

this week was insane!!! i'm sorry if i miss anyone.. Grandma and grandpa (sue and Monte) , my dad, Shannon, Sam seth sadie shad and rob stahura, fox landon del and amy , Kenzie willes, the sherwin family, and i believe that's everyone! i' had written back to a few of you yesterday and i intend to respond to all y'all so keep your eyes peeled for ze mail man! thanks as always for the love and support. i'm so grateful for you guys!!! 

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A PRAYER ANSWERED?

well.. when we were doing dump runs with the less active woman in our ward and her home teacher.. i was relatively sure it was the end for me! the guy (who i love to death) was swervin all over the dang road .. had we gone off the road the truck would have done some flip action and blown us all to pieces. well i prayed.. really hard.. that we would all last the day. * Jesus, take the whee-he-heeel - take it from his hands....* 

truly frightening!! but.. i live to tell about it. prayer was answered!!! 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE THIS WEEK?

My testimony has been strengthened this week that there are NO coincidences. i truly believe that we are all in the set of circumstances now that we need to be in, in order to shape us into the discples of our savior that we need to be. I know that when times are tough we can learn the most! simply put, I know that with the right perspective and an eye of faith, forward looking, we can rely on the Savior to carry us through our hardships and help us learn the things we need to learn! we are learning heaven! this idea never leaves me. and i'm grateful for it! i also believe that the lord provides us with opportunities every day to learn and grow.. i know that having Scott attend church the day of the primary program was no coincidence! the Lord has been preparing him for some time now and in a tangible way he gave him an opportunity to feel the spirit so strongly! the Lord is mindful of all of us and it is his wisdom and love that we should turn to in hard times. we are where we are fora  reason! i truly believe this.

so, fam and friends. another week!! it's crazy to me. Thanks as always for your love and support. i love to hear from you so keep the letters coming! funny story for y'all to end this weeks session. i'm sitting in corellation meeting with our Ward mission leader and a few ward missionaries, then us and the sister missionaries in our ward. well one of the ward missionaries (brother Ingham) is the best! they are all awesome but i've always liked this guy. he has a super good sense of humor and we just get along. anyway he shoots this look at me and it made me wonder if i did something wrong.. and after the meeting he asks " elder, do you have a girlfriend? " i said no.. he's like " i have a grandaughter .... i think you're the one for her." hahaha! i loved it! he said she's at BYU-I and that he's going to work something out. haha i had to tell him i still have about 16 months (at least) before i need to worry about anything like that.. so we'll see what happens :P he's a persistent guy.. haha. anyway.. thought you guys might get a kick out of that. things are good here! i hope you all are doing super well! until next week.

-Elder Sykes ze stoooz

Oct 29 2013

Happy Pday fam and friends! this week was a strait blurrrr! lotta good, lotta crazy. so i'll jump right in!

 

 

WHO DID YOU TEACH THIS WEEK?

well we taught a ton of people this week.. but i'll tell you about Scott. he's the best. he has been working with the missionaries for about 2 months now . well he has a smoking and drinking problem. he has had an incredibly difficult life... he lost his dad at a young age to cancer and his mother 10 years later.. suicide. so he's kinda wondered all his life.. "why me? " he has been a little bit drunk for both of the lessons we taught him this week. he has kinda waivered in his belief if there even is a God. with a life like he's had i can't blame him a bit.. gotta be tough! well anyway, this week we talked to him about the word of wisdom on tuesday. he was pretty tipsy that day.. not much information was retained. but it was so spiritual! we invited him to attend the addiction recovery program and because of the picture of the goofy dude on the front he was kinda turned off by it. oh i forgot! he's got a baptismal date now for his 50th birthday, december 15th. anyway, he's gotta overcome this right? well we explained the Atonement, read a few scriptures that helped him understand that Christ literally feels our burdens and sorrows when we suffer. he knows what it feels like to yearn for something.. an addiction or whatever. alma 7:11-12... mosiah 24:14.. etc. well all of the sudden i receive a prompting out of nowhere to turn to alma 32... about faith. as we are turning there.. before i mention what it's about.. he verbalizes that he has a difficult time with faith. he doesn't understand. like he wants to walk to know that God is there and that he loves him.. he doesn't want to just have a passive belief. well we dive into reading alma 32 and he starts to cry! he says.. how did you do that??! very candidly i said " Scott.. i didn't do anything." we explained that the development of faith is a process! it's not an easy thing.. and it takes nourishment. if y'all don't get the reference read alma 32. it's my fav. anyway, at that point he knew that this was for real. that the spirit told me to turn there.. that it would answer his questions. i had no idea beforehand that we would go there. just another testimony builder that this is, without a shadow of a doubt, the Lord's work! i didn't do a thing. so awesome!!!! so scott is the best. we are still working with him on W.o.W .. we'll keep y'all posted!!!

 

HOW DO LIKE THE WARD MISSION LEADER ?

Funny you should ask! my last ward mission leader was awesome.. the one in Fallon. he was super caring and just always wanted to help. the one here is just so different! he's a real nice guy.. but he's kinda his way or the highway.. and his way isn't the best way. it's kinda a long story.. but i get the feeling he's going to really try and control things. we'll see though! i'm just going to do anything i can to help him, and the work in this area move forward. :)

 

WHAT WAS THE CRAZIEST THING THAT HAPPEN TO YOU THIS WEEK?

dangit! i already said it.. getting the impression to turn to alma 32 before Scott mentioned anything about faith. so cool!

 

 

WHAT ARE YOUR TEMPS? IS IT BIKE RIDING WEATHER?

it's been nice! probably low 40's to high 30's at night.. then in the day it's been in the mid 60's. except today!!! we had a microburst type of storm come thru last night .. super high winds.. felt like our house was going to blow over! but it didn't. we woke up to snow on the ground! i have some pictures.. hopefully i don't forget to send them today. :P we have a car so i've been avoiding the bike at all costs. :)

 

WHAT LETTERS OR PACKAGES DID YOU RECEIVE (MAILBOX LOVE)?

this week was aaaweeesome. i got a package from the homies, Cass and Ash!! then i got an awesome package from haley hooooo! thanks sista :):) and i got a letter from nan, and a letter from momma, and a letter from Carissa B! it was awesome to hear from y'all, keep the letters coming! :) and photos of course! the wall of photos  is growing.

 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FAMILY THIS WEEK?

mi familia!!!? well, mom. i wrote you a letter. you should get it on wednesday i believe. but for my family.. simple. DC 88:63 . Draw near unto me, and i will draw near unto you- The Lord. hah really though.. life is hard. we all face struggles and challenges.. hardships, etc. if we seek the Lord's guidance, we don't have to endure it on our own. We have a loving Father in heaven.. he wants to help us..we as the children must inquire of Him! seek his help. i know you'll get it, becuase i need it as much as anybody out here on the mission and when i humble myself and truly seek him, he helps me. it makes life so much easier. so chew on that one this week family!

 

WHAT SCRIPTURE(S) JUMPED OUT AT YOU? WHY?

well.. i think i'm going to have to go with alma 32 again this week. there is so much good in that chapter!!! but the parable (if we can call it that..) of comparing faith to a seed is so profound. a lot of times as members of the church we develop a testimony and just stop. just discontinue nourishing what we cherish.. and let it die! that's never our intentions in the beginning.. but think about it! if we have a plant.. and we want it to bring forth yummy fruits or veggies.. you have to water it! you can't expect to just leave it and hope that if you water it once a month/ semi annually/ annually.. that it will stay alive. so it is with our testimonies. we nourish our seed/plant by studying the scriptures and praying to our father in heaven. that's how we strengthen our faith right? with a myriad of different other things that help along the way. i don't know if this is making sense.. but really it's simple. if we want our faith to grow.. if we want to know the Lord.. we have to nourish the seed of our faith, as it is with any other plant. i love that scripture!  

 

HAVE YOU HAD ANY SPECIAL SPEAKERS RECENTLY?

negs. nobody too crazy. actually nobody crazy at all. it's been fun though, on the topic of speakers. i've been asked many times to bear my testimony. ward council, dinner appts, coorellation meeting.. just so the ward can get to know me. i'm getting more comfortable with talking in front of people which is a great by-product of serving a mission!

 

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU NEED/WANT FROM US ?

noooope. i'm good i think! just love to hear from everybody so holler whenever! :)

 

well ya'll, i think that's it for this week! it's crazy.. the time is just clippin' by. I hope you all are doing excellent. I know that i've never been better! ups and downs are a part of it all.. the "learning heaven." it takes some turbulence to get us to grow. i love it! i love the gospel.. i'm so grateful to be serving the Lord and these people at this time. love you all! take care of yourselves this week. :) also want to give a shout out to my dear friend Landon! congratulations on your big weekend my friend! what a blessing it is to have such good influences and friends in my life. ya'll know who you are. love you!!!!

 

-Elder Sykes ze stooooz

Welcome to Gardnerville, NV!

Hello Family and friends!! hello from the prettiest place in Nevada! So to be quite honest, this week felt like a month! it feels like i've been in gardnerville forever! loving it though. i have a few photos to send home today of what this place looks like.. strait out of a movie i tell you! i'm excited to be in the library today to let you all know what's going on! i came in today and had questions from mi madre so let's get to em'!

 

WERE THOSE PICS YOU SENT FROM A FARM IN FALLON?

yeah how awesome!? haha that was as far out into the desert in Fallon as you could be.. we were doing service for a guy named Cliff Huntley.. i guess he raises horses for retired veterans. something about spending time around really big animals helps calm them from post-dramatic stress and stuff. anyway he had a million horses and we were shoveling manure forever! pretty sweet.

 

WHAT IS YOUR NEW ADDRESS?

1486 Hussman Ave. # D Gardnerville NV 89410 . send away! i'm waiting to hear from a lot of people.. c'mon! write me back.

 

HOW IS YOUR NEW COMP?

haha! 18 yr old kid from pocatello ideaho, Elder Pinney. He's like 6 foot, 260. big goofiest kid int he world. it's a world different than E. Shaw.. i'm still adjusting. but things are good so far!

WHAT SCRIPTURE JUMPED OUT AT YOU? well this week i was studying the tree of life more in depth. we went to a Less Actives house one of my first days and we watched the living scriptures with him.. he had them from back in the day and we watched the episode describing the Tree of life! It's incredible to me how applicable Lehi's dream is in our lives! and it's so well depicted in that movie.. but i think the thing that stuck out to me the most was that if we are not "clinging" to the iron rod, we are subject to the things that will get us off track, i.e. the mist of darkness.. great and spacious building.. etc. and the iron rod is... what? the word of God! again just highlighing the importance of using the word of God, (scriptures, conference talks, ensigns,..) in our daily lives to help guide us! it is by likening to the word to ourselves that enables us to "cling" to the Rod. I love the scriptures and i'm so grateful for them. they truly do lead us back to eternal life with our father in heaven if we take the time to apply them!

WHAT HAS BEEN THE CRAZIEST THING THATS HAPPENED THIS WEEK?

haha.. well this isn't that crazy but it kinda is.. you guys might get a kick out of it. so we went and played bball at 530 this morning.. and all the elders came back to our apartment at 7, we have a bunch of oatmeal packets so everyone just ate breakfast. well i made a paper airplane a while ago and i was tossing it around while everyone was eating still. we have a vent above our stairs that was open.. the guard thing was taken off.. anyway one of the elders told me that i had 10 tries to fly the paper airplane into the vent, and if i made it he would buy me lunch. well i gave it my best.. tossed the thing and got super close on a few tries and not so close on a few.. and ... guess what? on the 10th throw i threw the plane, made a nice bank at the last second and landed so gracefully right in the vent. lunch on Elder Prescott!!! :) i know that's not that crazy.. but we had a pretty standard week.. just meeting everybody and stuff. oh wait!!! there's another kinda crazy story i could tell. there's this lady.. her name is janice. she is in her 50's. she got into a car accident and broke her pelvis. she can hardly walk (why she hasn't received medical attention is beyond me) so the sisters in our ward (we have a set of spanish sisters that cover the whole valley, and they attend our ward. it's like.. half spanish if not more) met her and they passed her off to us because they can't teach in english (rules) so we go over there to meet her.. and she has us move a table outside for her. she's trying to sell it. well it didn't sell. so we came back that night.. i think this was friday. just as we were done for the day. and we brought the table back inside for her. as we were leaving she was like.. hey you! can i have 5 dollars for some aspirin. i was like.. no. but i can go and get you some aspirin from our apartment! i'd be happy to do that. she laughed a lot.. (while smoking a cigarette in her house) and said she would just go ask her neighbors for $5. not sure what she was tryin' to do.. but i wasn't gonna give her dollas! i need to buy deodorant and stuff lady c'mon!

 

WHO SENT YOU MAILBOX LOVE?

welp, nobody had my address! but my dad sent me a good bit of mailbox love. he called the mission office and got the address. that is all!

DO YOU RIDE YOUR BIKE OR DRIVE?

we have a car. i'm the D.D. because E. Pinney just got out on the mish. he has been out a shorter amount of time than E. Shaw.

 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLACE?

it's huge! it's a townhome in Gardnerville.. i swear everything is a townhome around here. but so legit! it's older.. probably built in the 70's or something. there's only overhead lighting in the kitchen.. everything else is lamp lighting which is super weird to me. it has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice front and back yard, and a garage! the disposal in the sink is broken so the kitchen smells super weird pretty much all the time. in our yard we have these huge trees, then behind the trees is Job's peak (like jobe, from the bible) a big nice mountain range, on the other side of the mountain is lake Tahoe! i guess the range is the sierra nevadas? or something maybe. but yeah it's gorgeous. there's  big pasture just behind our yard where probably 30 cows just wonder around and eat stuff. E. Pinney thinks he can communicate with them so when we get home from basketball in the morning he goes out and moo's. hahah. too good! but the place is pretty cool. it's the first time on my mission that i've lived in my proselyting area. i could walk out my front door and tract. kinda cool! and there are a grip of investigators. i'm so excited for the work that's going to take place!

HOW IS THE WARD YOU ARE SERVING? it's solid! it's going to take some getting used too.. Fallon feels like home to me right now so i kinda feel like a visitor in this  ward. they do everything just a little bit different. they are missionary minded though, which is awesome. the members all seem great and i'm looking forward to getting to know them all a little better!

WHAT TRUTH HAS STAYED WITH YOU THIS WEEK? Well, i'll tell ya! transfers just drained my brain. preparing mentally to tackle a new area, work with a new companion, teach new people, all of those things.. they can get to ya. well what i know for sure is that the Lord takes care of his missionaries! I arrived in Gardnerville and the adjustment seemed pretty seamless. i know the Lord has been with me in making the adjustments necessary to accomplish his righteous purposes in this area! it's a work in progress but i'm excited to get after it! So it is with anything or anybody else. The Lord will help prepare us for the things ahead if we seek his guidance! i know this to be true because i'm living it right now. so yeah!

 

well you guys! even emailing this week went by fast. now that my address is listed i hope to hear from a bunch of you. don't forget the stoooz! I love you all, thanks as always for your support. The Lord is mindful of each of his children so no matter what you're going through, seek Him. He loves you! until next week ma friends.

 

-Elder Sykes

Transfer is in!

Good Mornin' Fam and Friends!

i don't have a ton of time to email today because i'm going to the apt to pack ma things! it's so bittersweet! it was crazy saying goodbye to everybody in the ward yesterday. I have truly loved my time in Fallon! i've learned more than i can put into words. It has been an unforgettable experience and now i'm looking forward to the next chapter of my missionary service. We'll see what the Lord has in store for the stoooz in ... Gardnerville! :)

so as for this week, not a lot stands out. we were able to serve in a lot of ways. Service has been a key for us here in Fallon.. Elder Shaw and I really enjoy getting to work! on friday we helped a potential investigator by the name of Cliff Huntley clean out some horse corrals. I have some pictures i think you guys will like so check em'.

the missionary work here has slowed down a little bit since the school year started.. we have a few investigators that have been a chore to get a hold of. on our board we have a total of 16 names of non members we have been working with over the amount of time i've been here. we have a list of about 20 Less Active families/individuals we have been working with as well. Elder Shaw is in a great position now to take over the area with his new companion Elder Palmer. Elder Palmer came into the mission field the same day as i did but i never met him. it's my hope and prayer that the people of this area continue to have opportunities presented to strengthen their faith and come closer to our Savior!

i'm not totally sure what else to say. I can't put into words the gratitude i have in my heart for my time spent in Fallon. at times it was very difficult! other times it was the most enjoyable experience in my life. one thing i would like to testify of is that our Father in Heaven has a very real plan for each of us. I know with everything in my heart that i was put in Fallon for a reason. Not only for the lives of the people i've been blessed to share the gospel with, but for me. I have grown a lot in the short six months i've been here. no, not in height. (i wish...) but in my testimony of the gospel. with the ins and the outs, the ebbs and the flows, i have experienced more opposition and more joy than ever before. every day presented opportunities to learn and to grow and i'm so grateful for that! the Lord is mindful of all his children and i feel richly blessed to have been able to spend time with his children in this part of the vineyard. I'll miss it no doubt! there are families that i fully intend to introduce to my friends and family back home. life long friendships!

so my friends, i'm about out of time for now. it's my hope and prayer that all of you are doing well back home! Seek the Lord in all you do! D&C 88:63 , D&C 112:10 love you guys! until next week. :)

p.s. if anybody has things to mail, send them to the mission office at 1146 Prater Way, Sparks NV 89431. i don't have my address in Gardnerville yet. adios! 

Happy Day after Gen conference!!

Hello my dear family and friends!? how are you all this fine p-day after conference!? so great i hope! it's been an amazing weekend and my least favorite part about it being today is that conference is now over..! it came and went so fast. i was chatting with the other missionaries last night and i compared conference to filling up a red solo cup with a fire hose.. in a good way though! you get just blasted with all the goods of the spirit and it's hard to retain it all. one thing is certain is that the spirit of conference is lingering here in Fallon. what an incredible one huh!!? welp, to the q's this week. :) 

WHERE DID YOU WATCH GEN CONF?

The church building on Richards street. it's the coolest chapel ever and i loved watching conference there becuase it was just missionaries and a few investigators.. nice and quiet and very attentive. 

WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE SPEAKERS?

oh goodness sakes. can i pick my top say.. 18? :) i'll say i think my 3 favorites were.. Elder Holland (no surprise), edward Dube, and S. Gifford.. nielsen? nelson? i think it was something like that. they were all so powerful. i absolutely Loved the Prophets talk in the first session on sunday too. but we always love the Prophet's talks that's a given! 

WHAT STORY OR QUOTE TOUCHED YOU MOST?

the best quote!!! E. Holland - Live by faith, hold fast to hope, and show compassion, one to another. that, my friends, is a motto to live by. 

ARE YOU STILL WITH ELDER SHAW?

you betcha! now that we've started talking i'm learning a lot about science junk i've never known before. literally you name it he covers it as we are cruisin around Fallon. haha 

WHEN IS ZONE CONF?

Zone Conference was at the Fallon North Stake center on taylor street. we call it the taylor building. it was on sept 24th and it was awesome! 

UTAH GOT SNOW THIS WEEK..DID FALLON?

oh my!!!! i would love some snow! we haven't gotten any snow. it's been below freezing during the night time a few times. i sleep right next to the window now (we reorganized the house) so i sleep with the window open and one night i woke up a human popsicle and had to close the window. so yeah, it's been getting colder. but it gets warm-ish during the day. 60's and what not. 

ARE YOU STILL RIDING YOUR BIKES?

yep! trying to bundle up! it's been way cold on the bikes.. i would walk if it didn't cut our productivity in fourths! 

WHO DID YOU GET MAIL FROM THIS WEEK?

Grandma Sue and grandpa Monte, then i got an awesome package from Haley Hoo my fav little sister! :) it was very creative and lifted my spirits in a time of need!!! thanks to all. :) a lot of people have converted to emailing me and i don't mind at all! just want more photos :) 

WHAT FOOD DO YOU CRAVE THAT YOU CAN'T GET IN FALLON?

Taco Amigo!!! oh my gosh! i miss it so much. and there is a pizza joint in Reno that i miss.. it's called Blind Onion. so dang good. 

WHAT SCRIPTURE JUMPED OUT AT YOU? WHY?

i came across a scripture in Isaiah.. i think it's 41:10. i read it and thought.. that sounds familiar.... and i realized it's the scripture that How firm a foundation (the hymn) was written after or whatever. also reminded me of the scripture mastery helaman 5:12.. when we build our foundation upon Christ we will prevail through the "shafts and the whirlwinds" of the adversary. there is no doubt in my mind that this is the only true and lasting way to happiness and to the development of strength through the trials we face in life. large or small, the Atonement of our savior can lift us through. i know it!! that's the glad message i get to share with people as a missionary. ..well.. one of the glad messages. :) 

ARE YOU KEEPING A DAILY JOURNAL?

it's more like a twice a week journal.. but i'm trying! sometimes i just really don't want to write in it. but i'm keeping study notes pretty much everyday.. so that's good right? :) 

WHEN ARE TRANSFERS?

next week! i'll find out this coming saturday if i'm staying here or if i'm packin up the ol' suitcases! 

ARE YOU SICK OF FALLON?

well.. I have loved Fallon! to answer your question, i am looking forward to getting a new area, but leaving here is going to be equally as hard as leaving home i can already tell. I love the people and i've loved working with them.. i almost feel like i'm spinnin' my wheels here though. like a new face will help this area out alot, though it might not seem like it at first. I love the ward and just everybody here, but i'm about to the point where i'm ready to see what the Lord has in store for me next. :) 

HAVE YOU MET MY FRIENDS THE TUCKERS YET?

NO! do they live in Fallon? i want to meet them!! 

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE GUYS THAT DRESSED UP LIKE MISSIONARIES AND THEN ROBBED A HOUSE IN LAS VEGAS?

Yeah! it was when the fires in california were dusting Fallon with a bunch of ash.. we all (the missionaries) wore masks to keep the junk out of our lungs and needless to say after that had occured we weren't very well received. we would hear about it in almost every house. 

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS LOVE YOU? REALIZE IT!! I just love my family and friends! y'all are the best!!!

WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE THIS WEEK?

This week, i know with all the surety of heart that the Lord himself stands at the head of this church. i KNOW that he has called a Prophet, and Apostles to lead and guide us through the tough times that lie ahead. What a great blessing and testimony that God, the eternal Father, and his Son, Jesus Christ, Love us enough to guide us through their servants in these latter days. the spirit that was felt during conference was undeniable! i know that those men and women that addressed us are devoted servants of the Lord to help bless our lives if we heed to their counsel! it gives me so much hope! I can't wait to get the conference edition of the ensign so i can relive all of the wonderful insights and topics that were discussed! i know that this is the Lords kingdom established again on the Earth. what a blessing! 

WHAT KEEPS YOU GOING STRONG?

well.. to keep this one from going on for dayz i'll give you two things that keep me going strong. 1. the atonement of our Savior, and 2. the support of my family and friends! We hardly scratch the surface at the blessing the atonement is in our lives. the truth of the matter is it is much more than just being freed from sin. we can pray to God "with all the energy of heart" knowing that we have an advocate. Knowing that the Savior feels the desires of my heart. he feels my burdens, he rejoices when we are happy and weeps when we weep. to know that he loves me enough to suffer in that manner is beyond words! in hard times i know that i can rely on the Savior (in many ways) to lift my heart. Sure there are hard times as a missionary. there are hard times for everyone, no matter their circumstance! but as a representative of Jesus Christ i know that he stands behind me, and every other missionary serving. i know that this is his work and when i let go of my selfish thoughts and actions he can use me as an instrument in his hands to accomplish his righteous purposes! there's no time to feel down or sad or self-pity....full? i'm a part of God's army and i've never felt more joy in my life. The support i get from family and friends is heart warming! i love and care about all of you and i think of you often, and it's a great help to me to know that you are all doing well. even if you're not, i love being a part of your lives still as you are the ones that hold my heart! so .. that's that. :)

You guys my heart is full! i'm so grateful for the gospel in my life and i'm so grateful to be serving at this time. i hope you all have an incredible week this week. until next week! :)

Elder Sykes 

p.s.. i think it was Sam Stahuras birthday recently. i can't remember if it's october 3rd or 4th.. or like..? 23rd? i can't remember. she's always been the better friend in our friendship... but i hope you have a good birthday this .. month, Sham. :) 

Sept 30 letter... (its a good one)!

what's up family and friends!? how is everyone doing this week? very well i hope! this week has been a pretty good one here in the desert oasis of fallon NV! looks like i'm on my own this week in letting you all know how it went so let's see what we can come up with!

 

first of all, i'm in the family history center today. it has been opened back up so we don't have to go all the way to the library anymore! saves us like a 2 mile bike ride, which is super good. the first thing to note is the weather! how has it been for you guys!? cold? we had a couple days that were cold enough for me to break out the winter coat. course, on bikes it makes it a little colder .. probably wouldn't have needed the big coat if i wasn't cruisin around on the two wheels! it's been nice though.. sweater/cardigan weather for the most part.

 

so yesterday was fast/testimony meeting with conference being next week. elder Shaw and I were heavily involved! we were asked to teach both hours, sunday school and priesthood. i was sitting in sacrament almost overwhelmed at the responsibility we had to teach those two lessons and after a testimony or two i got a strong impression to get up and share my testimony on the power of the scriptures. so i did! i've never had a sunday where i had so much on my mind! we taught a lesson in gospel principles about Faith in Jesus Christ, then we taught the priests on missionary work! it was an eventful day.. but i almost felt more spiritually tired than rejuvenated. what do you do!? but it was fun. i was once told that a testimony is strengthened in the bearing of it and i had a lot of opportunities to share my testimony yesterday, and even this morning at 630! which leads me to my next point.

 

we went on splits again last wedensday. i was working with Elder Hannig in his area (Fallon 3rd ward). we get along so well! it was a lot of fun to teach with someone that i could talk to about everything. he's kindof a goofball but we get along. anyway! our dinner appointment was with the former stake president, now just a member of the 3rd ward. he's such a solid guy. his name is brother Hyde.. in my opinion he's general authority material.. just rock solid! but anyway we had dinner at his house (he makes a great amount of money doing a million different things.. jack of all trades) beautiful home right on the carson river! so we got to talking with he and his wife and they asked us the question "why did you decide to serve a mission?" and we both took a turn telling our little stories. well he looked at me afterwards and just said "my seminary class needs to hear that story." needless to say he teaches seminary now, and does an awesome job of it. so i told him i'd be happy to come speak to his class he would just have to let me know when. well i saw him at church yesterday back in our building on richards street and he asked if i would come in tomorrow (today, this morning) . so i pulled Elder Shaw out of bed at 530am to get ready and head to early morning seminary! when we got there we got right to what we were there for!  Brother Hyde asked elder Shaw if he would share his story first then i shared my story and testimony. It was a great experience! i loved it. i prayed last night and this morning that i would portray the parts of my story that would be of the most help to the students in the class and i can't say for sure.. i just know it was a blessing for me to relive it and walk through just why i decided to come out here! i figured it might be kindof a fun idea to relive and re-tell that story to you guys today although most of you might have a pretty sound understanding of just what my "story" entails.

 

So i'll try and keep it short because i know nobody wants to read a big long novel.. but here it is. Growing up i was never super active in the church. I was never really converted to the gospel because i didn't really know what the gospel was. I didn't know where the Book of Mormon came from. I didn't understand Joseph Smiths role in restoring the fulness of the truth to us. I didn't understand what set the "mormons" apart from the rest of christianity..(Priesthood) I had literally no understanding of why this church is the true church. i just knew it was.  well becuase i was surrounded by good influences i never really got into anything that would hold me back from serving a mission. A lot of people that i loved and cared about had made the decision to serve the Lord so i decided to start really considering it. the fact of the matter was i had always said i would serve a mission, i just never actually took the steps to get out! it didn't really come and sweep me off my feet.. i had to work for it as a lot of you know. anyway! i was sitting in singles ward one day because my good friend Jameson Ricks invited me to come with him.. it was a pretty spiritual meeting and as i was feeling the love of the Savior through the spirit in the meeting the thought occured to me.. some people don't have any idea what this feels like. i knew that i had a responsibility to serve and i didn't have any real restrictions, nothing holding me back. so i went in to my bishop, Bishop Dastrup and i shared the good news, that i was ready to go out on my mission! Bishop Dastrup, being an inspired man, gave me a list of things to accomplish before he would allow me to fill out my papers. at the time i was devastated.. i spent about a week wallowing in self pitty before asking the Lord for help. well to make a long story short, with the help of the Lord i was able to fulfill the things my bishop had asked of me. one of the things he asked me was to read preach my gospel 3 times cover to cover.. though that seemed steep to most everyone i talked too i decided to give it my best shot. well this was a pivotal thing for me. i didn't realize at the time how much of a blessing it was for me to spend time in preach my gospel everyday. i was studying the very material we relay to investigators to help them come to know of the truth. my time spent in that book before my mission was to convert myself to the gospel. The Lord knows that i needed that time. it's an ongoing learning process and i'm fine with it, but had i not spent that time in preach my gospel i would have gotten out here and dwindled, and failed. So my testimony on this matter is pretty simple. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord is mindful of me. i know that he is mindful of all of his children. He provides a way for us to accomplish the tasks that lie ahead of us. it happens in a myriad of different ways, maybe most commonly working through his servants who follow the Savior and as a result, are in tune with the promptings they receive. what a blessing! this is, in essence, the testimony Brother Hyde asked me to share with his students. looking at all those words on the computer screen i hope nobody falls asleep while trying to read that whole thing.. sheesh. but needless to say i'm so grateful for bishop Dastrup for his being in tune with the spirit, and i'm so grateful for all the priesthood leaders and disciples of Christ that i was surrounded by whilst growing up in the vital years of my life in Lindon Ut. I know that because the Lord is mindful of each of us he gives us opportunities to learn, and to grow, and he won't ever suffer us to be in a circumstance that we can't endure through he power of the Atonement. it's true my friends! i know it is.

 

gosh if you aren't all exhausted from reading that whole thing i will tell you about the rest of our week. well i'll give you a really short version. we had zone conference on obedience, awesome. our lessons picked up a little bit this week working with less active members of the church and some of the investigators i've mentioned. we are still getting to points in certain days when we kind of look at each other and say "what do we do now?" i'm sure most missionaries have been there before. we are still learning the ways of being a missionary and just loving every minute of it. sure there are hard times, you can't avoid them. but the good news is, we have a Savior that knows us personally and is there to lift us up when we rely on him. in brother Hyde's seminary class today he made a point that rang true to me. he said that we just don't understand and use the atonement for as much as it's worth. the Atonement has a very real enabling power. it's not something we use once or twice or three times in our lives when we really mess up. it's a gift that was given to us but God, and by his son Jesus Christ, not only to give us an opportunity to repent of our sins, but also to give us the knowledge that someone, a person, loves us so much and has felt what we feel in this very moment. we learn in the scriptures that we are to ask of the things we stand in need of and we will be blessed in whatever manner we need. the Atonement is the greatest blessing we have. Our Savior loves us and can carry us through "deep waters." I love the gospel and i love this glad message! this is the good news that we share with people everyday. i feel so blessed to be a part of it! i think that's all i've got for the day... haha gosh goodluck to the readers.. i hope you can make this far in the email without falling asleep. :P i love you all at home! i hope you're all enjoying life and acknowledging the Lord's hand in your lives. have the best week, we'll talk to you all next week.

 

-elder Sykes, stoooz

Sept 22, 2013

hello family and friends!

i'm so grateful for your love and support! it's been great to hear from a lot of you. My heart is full this pday.. i love you guys and i hope you're all doing so well! so my momma wants me to just do away with the questions for a while. hopefully i'll be able to cover the bases i want too without the questions.. it's going to take some effort on my part i guess.. :P so here's for my week!

last pday was lame! we played basketball for a little bit then we sat at the apartment all day. we played millionaire monopoly and ate way too much candy. the good news is that i got all the missionaries that were playing monopoly to help me finish off my junk food. thank goodness.. pants are fittin' tight these days. we had dinner with the benecke family that day.. sister B is awesome. She loves organic stuff and always makes really healthy, really tasty meals. way good!

In district meeting this week we talked about obedience. like.. why beat this dead horse? oh wait.. it's not a dead horse. obedience is so important! our recitation for this month is the scripture in the D and C that states (i should know the reference.. dangit. ) there is a law irrevocobly decreed in the heavens before the foundations of the world.. upon which all blessings are predicated. when any man receive a blessing it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated... clearly i don't have it memorized. but it was a great reminder of the importance of obeying even the little things. we all need lots of blessings! like who couldn't use a little more blessings in their life? think about where you are at with obedience and maybe find something you can work on.. that's what our DL challenged us to do and as we strive for obedience we should watch for the Lord's hand in our lives! he will bless us for it.. there's a law in heaven about it so.. he's gonna do it. :)

we weren't super busy this week.. we had a lot of weird weather.. rain and wind. and it's been kinda chilly! i got to break my cardigan out :) i love that! but it was kind of restricting for us on our bikes. if we show up on somebody's porch soaking wet why on earth would they let us in to ruin their furniture? we did a lot of studying and preparing for appointments that we had set for the days. we had a lesson with Shane again this week.. he's doing awesome. we're having a hard time getting him to read the BoM but he's super busy and his GF isn't nearly as into it as he is. he lives in another ward.. i think i said that already but i'm sick of it! we have had so many people we've been teaching that haven't been in our ward boundaries. i tried to explain the situation to shane but he didn't want to deal with other missionaries or whatever. we are going to move some more wood for him this friday. oh yeah! he had us move some wood for him last friday. that was one thing that we did that was different. we went to a town called silver springs kinda by his house .. i dare someone to look at silver springs on google earth. literally the middle of the desert! we were stackin this wood with the wind blowing like crazy... my eyes within one second would get caked in sand! like i would blink and it was almost like a wind shield wiper moving it all to my eyelid. so fun.  haha. anyway the reason i brought that up is becuase we are going to help him get the rest of his wood on friday and we are going to involve the missionaries from his ward as well. oh we had another service project too.. this woman named shirley has been investigating the church for a while but hadn't had the missionary discussions.. we have taught her all the discussions and she lives with a member but there are some things that will need to occur of course before she can get baptized.. anyway she teaches kindergarten so on friday she asked for some help in her classroom. she didn't have any kids that day and she needed help hanging things from the ceiling and cleaning the fish tank and stuff. so that was fun! gosh rambling on for days.. anyway!    so the work has been slowing down a little with the change in everybody's schedule going back to school and work etc. loving it though!

yesterday in sacrament meeting a young man gave his farewell talk. it was pretty cool.. he is a theatre kid so he's super good at entertaining people .. he talked about all these experiences in his life that could have been the end of him.. but that the Lord has blessed him and kept him around through some crazy things, maybe so he can help some people via serving a mission. he'll be a great missionary! he's going to denver south, speaking spanish and he's going the mexico mtc. what i wanted to bring up is that his dad also spoke. his dad is a real soft spoken guy but very intelligent and pretty personable when you get him talking. he spoke on the talk by brad wilcox that is in the ensign for this month.. his grace is sufficient. i hope everyone that has a copy of the ensign took the time to read that one.. it's awesome! sometimes we get too wrapped up in our "works" and don't focus enough on what the savior did for us. "we don't earn heaven...we learn heaven" we are here on earth to learn the things needful of us to feel comfortable in the presence of God. many people think that obedience is a way of controlling us or it's a way for us to earn our way back.. the Atonement is a gift. the analogy Wilcox gives in the talk is a lot better than anything i can come up with but wow! it really puts it into perspective that our savior loves us.. and it is IN and THROUGH the atonement that we are able to return to live with Him... not by how good of people we are. just something to chew on. I loved it.

well this is a long email and kind of just about nothing. the last thing i'll include this week is an insight i came across in a book called "our living gospel" by Wendell Rich. the book was in the free stack at our church's library.. it's the 1966 aaronic priesthood study manual. so legit! but here's what caught my attention concerning faith.

"Faith is forward looking. the face of faith is turned toward the future. in fact, faith reaches from the past, through the present and into the future. here faith transcends knowledge because knowledge necessarily centers in the experiences and observations of the past. knowledge is backward looking, while faith is forward looking. through faith, the truths and experiences of the past become the foundation of the goal and the objectives of the future. knowledge brings the past into the present. faith, active in the present, looks into the promise of the future. " pg 70 Our Living Gospel, Wendell O. Rich

how cool is that!? faith and knowledge are (or can be) two different things. i love that line in green.. it is through faith that what we know can be the foundation of what we want to accomplish. so rad!

well my friends. this is what happens when i'm left on my own to come up with somethin! a whole bunch of random thoughts. i hope everybody is doing well at home. i Love and miss you all, and pray for you often! I'll be in Fallon for another 3 weeks or so, i hope to hear from some of you, all of you soon! s/o to Sister Liz Green.. she served here in Fallon and had to go home for medical attention. pray for her recovery! :)  i received mail from her this last week. she found the blog already.. hope you're doing well verde! 

that's all for now. thanks for your support! until next week my friends!

elder stooooz sykes 

a baptism!

what's up fam and friends?! so no questions this week.. hopefully i can come up with something decent to fill you all in on the work here in Fallon!

well, this week was good. One of our investigators was baptized on saturday! his name is Gaven, 19 yr old student. He's an awesome kid and i'm really excited for him. I'll attach a photo from his baptism.

So we've been focusing on helping Shane and Crissy a lot lately. Shane is the one that works right in front of our house. he's the best. we taught he and Crissy the plan of salvation on our porch yesterday after church. he is really receptive to the things that we teach and Crissy is still trying to find out of God is real. We invited her (both of them really) but mostly her, to read the book of mormon and even try to pray and with time her faith will grow and she will come to know that God has a plan for each of us and he loves us! it's been so rad to see them make little changes in their lives. for the most part they don't even realize they are making them. Shane is just solid. they have a lot of things to work out before they get baptized but it will be rad to see where they came from to where they end up. we love em'!

Other than that we've been contacting a lot of the Less-Active names on our ward list just trying to build relationships with them and help them. working with less actives is almost more difficult than non members because these people have a past in the church and they still turned away from it! We've been trying to figure out how to help a lot of them and it pretty much just boils down to Church, Prayer, and scripture study! with those three components you can't get off the path. well in you go at those sincerely of course! it's interesting to see.. it's not easy for anybody to stay faithful in the gospel.. adversarial forces are working hard all the time to get us to step away from the love of our father in heaven! it's tough. but those three simple things are the antidote to overcoming the trials and temptations that come our way. i know it to be true! :)

so i don't have a ton of time left.. one last thing i wanted to make mention of was an article i read in the ensign about gratitude. There was a 16 yr old girl who, for an english class i believe, made a list of all the things she was grateful for. she counted her blessings, literally! her list ended up being over 1200 things she was grateful for and the article goes on to describe that when we are looking at all of the ways God has blessed us in our lives we see that we aren't in need of much more. I thought it was interesting because Mom asked me the question about gratitude a little while ago then i was able to receive further insight from that article and from the spirit! I started a list of things that i'm grateful for. very specific! i'll add things that i'm grateful for to my list as they come into my mind, but i've committed to writing down at least one thing each day that i'm grateful for. the great thing about making a list and counting your blessings is that the spirit of gratitude lingers in your heart! when we notice the hand of the Lord in our life, we notice that he is intervening on our behalf.. it strengthens my testimony that he knows me and loves me! and he has the same love for all of his children. he desires to bless us and wants us to be happy. so anybody that reads this, give it a try! just make a list maybe for FHE or just whenever.. but make a list of every thing you are grateful for. spend some time on it and think about all the ways the Lord has blessed you and try and tell me he doesn't love you! :)

welp errbody, i hope you all have a great week this week. I love you all and i pray for you often. we'll talk to you all next week!

if anybody wants to say hey, my email is Joseph.Sykes@myldsmail.net and my address is 4348 Reno Hwy, Fallon, NV. 89406

hope to hear from you soon. :) 

Labor Day Letter!

Happy Labor day fam and friends! hope you all are firin' up the bbq's and all that labor day stuff. so first thing is first, i'm not being transferred! i thought for sure i was out of here but i think the Lord has work for me to do in this part of NV. let's get to the q's!

DID YOU GET A NEW COMP?

nope, still with E. Shaw. 

ARE YOU BEING TRANSFERRED?

...nope. 

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?

We had a chance to really teach this super rad guy named Shane. He works at fast glass (the company we live right behind) and we got to know him a little bit by getting the mail for him. he's super outgoing and just wanted to be friends with us from the start. well over the past month or so we have helped him with service.. he owns a couple manufactured homes in a trailer park and he had to do some evictions.. so we helped him clean out the trailers. also helped him do some glass work for another one of our investigators (small world) so anyway that's kind of how we've gotten to know him. it's been awesome. he loves to bbq too so everytime we help him we get hooked up! :) so i'm just rambling.. but this is the good part. on saturday E. Shaw had some serious muscle cramps in his back/shoulders.. he's a tough kid but the pain was super intense for him. so i went on splits with another elder (so we could still work) and we went to shane's house. we had some fun with him at first.. shot some hoops and he talked me into getting on his quad.. i know i probably shouldn't have but he called me out! so i hopped on for a minute :)so we were there for about 30 minutes and then we started the first discussion! super, super receptive to what we had to say. he and his GF crissy are solid, solid people but they've seen some hardships in their life and don't look to God for help at all. the great part about sharing the gospel is it isn't something we have to convince people to believe. we explained the power of the book of mormon, where it came from.. and how they can know for themselves that God is our loving father in heaven and that he knows us individually! prayer and reading. they both accepted the invitation to read and to pray. it's going to take time for them, i know it. but i'm excited. so we left, invited them to church and they all showed up! shane crissy and the kids (his and hers) there were 5 people total. we were also teaching gospel principles class yesterday and our assigned chapter was 15.. the lords covenant people, but we only had a few members in the class (2) and i figured we could get some more responses from the investigators if we taught the lesson on prayer again.. so that's what we did. anyways i keep rambling on.. long story short it went well but i would have never expected all this change to be brought about in them so quickly. we'll keep you posted on their progress! 

HAVE YOU CHALLENGED ANYONE FOR BAPTISM?

Yes! we had aimee set for baptism but she backed out at the last minute.. she took a long break from seeing us and she came across some more unfavorable material and had more questions. so she's on the brink. but we have a baptism set for september 14th. his name is Gaven. he is 19 and has been dating a girl in our ward for a while. he has taken the missionary discussions multiple times and has been coming to church for a year and a half on and off. a few weeks ago we visited with him for the first time since i've been in the area (so it's been a while since he's had contact with missionaries) anyway we talked about tithing and the law of the fast. he then told us out of nowhere that he's been thinking a lot about baptism! so we had another meeting with him, talked about the priesthood and some other random questions he had and he decided it's time! the unfortunate thing is that he lives in another ward boundary so getting his records into our ward is going to be tough/impossible. we are at the stake presidents house to email right now (because the library is closed and we ate dinner with him last night, he said we could come here)  he says it's next to impossible without pretty strong reasoning. so we'll see! but he's being baptized either way. 

WHAT WAS THE SERVICE YOU DID THIS WEEK?

we moved some 120 lb tanks of water for the stake president and that's all i can think of! on the agenda, we are going to help shane build a deck for his nana on wednesday. i'm telling you guys.. ive learned more on my mission than i would have ever imagined in regards to housework and yard work.. sprinklers.. you name it i've done it on my mission no joke! 

DID YOUR MISSION PRESIDENT MENTION YOUR BYU REFERRAL?

he hasn't said anything to me about it yet but i'm going to ask him in my weekly email that i send after this one. :) 

WHO DID YOU GET MAILBOX LOVE FROM?

this week i got mail from dad! and from sam and sadie, grandma sue and grandpa monte. oh and Don! i need stans address whenever someone gets a chance too. :) 

WHAT DOCTRINE HAS STAYED IN YOUR MIND THIS WEEK?

i've been in helaman a lot this week so i've been thinking about the gadianton robbers! it's crazy how parallel things are in the book of mormon to now. it is definitely for our benefit! 

HOW MANY PEOPLE DID YOU TEACH THIS WEEK?

this week we taught 15 lessons.. which is pretty average. it's hard the week before transfers to stay focused, plus we had some medical setbacks. but still had a chance to help some people. we had a less active lady call us because her daughter was going to have a baby and she wanted us to give her a blessing before going into labor. that was cool. other than that just some of the same people that we love! 

DO YOU GO AROUND ASKING FOR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES? yeah! we go around asking two things at every house. 1. "do you know anybody that would benefit from the message of the restored gospel?" and 2. " is there anything you might need an extra couple sets of hands for?" always! we have been doing a ton of service work and elder Shaw and i both really enjoy that part of being a missionary. 

DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH WE LOVE AND RESPECT YOU?

..i think! maybe? 

HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE HAND OF THE LORD IN YOUR LIFE THIS WEEK?

absolutely! especially with Shane! it's apparent he has been prepared for a while and the timing is just right. this is the Lord's work and i know he is preparing the way before us. all missionaries really! 

HOW HAS YOUR TESTIMONY BEEN STRENGTHENED?

Seeing the Lord bless the lives of the people that we have been working with. we really love the people here and we pray for them all the time and it's amazing to see the Lord's hand in their life, helping them through hard times. 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE?

i know that the book of mormon has been given to God's children in the restoration of the gospel for our benefit in these latter days! i know that there is great power in the scriptures, i'm so grateful for them and for what we can gain from them. just further evidence that God is literally our father in heaven and he loves us so much! 

WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM US THIS WEEK?

hmm. i don't think i need anything! i would love more photos though. :) and i was going to ask my dad to send me some of my running shoes. bout to start getting in shape again! our Stake President is a health nut and he's really got me excited to eat well and exercise. someday i'll save some missionary money and buy a pair of nike frees to run in.

so fam and friends! this has been another solid week in fallon. i'll be here for another 6 weeks minimum so if you're sending mail it's the same address it's been for the past five months! 4348 Reno Hwy Fallon NV 89406. also, i've been out for 6 months now. is that blowing everybody elses minds' too? i can't even believe i've been out that long. after this transfer i will have been in fallon for 6 months. so crazy!!! things are good here and i hope and pray things are good for all you peeps i love wherever you are. Have the best week and seek the Lord!

-Elder Sykes 

August 19th letter

what's up fam and friends!!!?

this week has been gnarly! so much has happened i don't even know where to start! some super crappy news and some pretty sweet news. anyways! feeling great today. :) let's get to the q's!

HOW IS THE NEW BIKE?

oh goodness, it's a dream! so i inherited a bike from a lady in another ward.. a schwinn ditch or something.. it was like riding a childs bike. it wouldn't shift, it had rear suspension so i was bouncing all over the road.. no bueno! but the new bike you guys got me is so smooth and i can actually ride it... haha. i love it! 

WERE YOU POPPING WHEELIES ON IT?

haha yeah, in my suit! that's how we do it!! :) 

WHAT SCRIPTURE JUMPED OUT AT YOU?

hmm. there were a couple that i came across this week that i really appreciated. how bout.. proverbs 29:25.. the fear of man bringeth a snare! i don't know what that means but it sounds like trusting in God is the way to go! that is much easier said than done.. and understanding that concept fully i feel is a lifelong pursuit. but he loves us so much! we ought to try harder to trust him everyday. 

HOW DID YOU FIND/GET THE PERSON(S) YOU TAUGHT LAST?

well.. we tracted into this lady named Christy like 3 months ago. E. Osborn and I. we had a cool visit with her.. she acted like she wasn't interested in any organized religion because it's all between her and God. which was cool! i liked that perspective. she just didn't realize we were going to keep bugging her until she was down to listen to what we have to say! :) so anyway we tried to set up an appointment after that first visit but she would always blow us off.. then about a month ago she and her husband separated.. he was unfaithful (super lame) and she filed for divorce. unfortunately it was that life change that opened the door for us to help her again. so we caught wind of it through Sherri Gardner (who lives across the street from Christy) she told us that they were getting divorced and it would be a good time to try. so blah blah blah, we went over there a bunch and tried to talk to her but she always said she was busy. BUT, last week she mentioned maybe needing our help with moving some of her husbands stuff out into a shed for him to come pick up.. so we left her with our phone number and needless to say she NEVER called. so on saturday we were doing a ton of service.. we shoveled a bunch of rocks for one lady, stacked wood for a member family, helped briefly with Sister Gardner building a hoop house, then we figured we would pedal over to Christy's house and offer to help her. welp, mission accomplished! we got there and she was sleeping.. but she was happy to have us show up. i asked her when we could come back and teach her about how to bring her life in closer harmony with the teachings of the Savior.. haha she smiled and looked at me for a second.. she's like "you just won't take no for an answer will you?" hahah my response was "why would you want to say no before you even see how much this can help you!? " so she laughed and said we can come back on Wednesday to teach her about the restoration. so that's that! whew, that was long. :)  

HOWS YOUR COMP?

hahah. he's good. so awkward.. but he's good. i'm finally figuring out how to keep the peace between us. listen to what he has to say about science and all this stuff then just don't bring up much of anything else around him. luckily we spend a lot of time with all the other missionaries and there are some kids that i really get along with well out here.. so i get by. fun fact about my companion though.. when he wakes up and eats breakfast i seriously feel like i'm watching animal planet. he never closes his mouth when he chews and he eats the most random stuff.. and he will yawn with food in his mouth. haha i'm laughing right now picturing it. but for instance.. today he ate some philipino noodle left overs from a dinner we had a week ago (this is for breakfast) and he has two pieces of toast with peanut butter on them.. and he was dipping the toast in his glass of milk. haha just random stuff like that but when he chews his food i think of Nan because i'm pretty sure if she heard him she would lose it. anyway! next

WHEN IS YOUR NEXT ZONE CONFERENCE?

it will be next transfer! which the transfer date is september 4th i believe.. hm.. why is that day familiar? 

HAVE YOU COME OFF YOUR SUGAR HIGH?

haha no! i forgot how much i love pixy sticks.. i got a bag in one of the packages for my birthday and i've been working on those for a while.. sugar rush for dayz! when i was looking at all that candy i was sure i was going to make it last the rest of my mission. 

HAVE THE LEAVES STARTED TO CHANGE COLOR WHERE YOU LIVE? 

noooope. it was 97 yesterday. maybe sorta soon though. doesn't help that all the trees around here are either cottonwoods or russion olives. its a desert! 

HAVE YOU FOUND BEING OBEDIENT A CHORE OR A BLESSING?

okay so most times obedience is a blessing! sometimes i feel like it is a chore but the truth of the matter is that's an error in my perspective and if i come across a rule that i feel that way about i try to figure out why it is a rule and do my best to obey it anyway. 

YOU SENT A PIC OF YOU IN A CAR WITH 3 OTHERS- WHERE WERE YOU GOING?

haha so goofy huh! those are the elders i really get along with in my zone. two of which are our zone leaders.. the driver and the kid with the glasses. anyway we were on splits.. i was with the other missionary and we were all headed back from a dinner and there was that sweet sunset in the background! we were jamming to kLove on the radio (the christian station) just enjoying nature. haha! 

WHAT WAS THE BEST MEAL YOU HAD THIS WEEK?

tough one.. but i have an answer. we ate at our ward mission leaders house twice this week and his wife is from the philipines (she's a dang good cook) and she made loompia and those noodles elder Shaw had for breakfast.. and i love that meal so much. then last night she made chili and cornbread and.. fried chicken! who doesn't love fried chicken? 

DID YOUR COMP GET A BIKE?

yep, he's still riding the bike that he inherited from the lady that gave me the schwinn. she had two bikes she wasn't using and said we can have them! so nice of her. he definitely got the better bike of the two in that case though.. his is a trek 3 series and was hardly used at all. now that i have the bike you got me i feel like we can go the same pace. :) 

DO YOU STILL WANT PICS FROM EVERYONE?

yeah for sure!! i'll need to take a picture of my wall and show you guys.. there's lot of photos on it but i'd love more! :) 

WILL YOUR ADDRESS BE THE SAME THIS WEEK?- OR SHOULD WE SEND THINGS TO THE MISSION OFFICE IN SPARKS?

you are good to send stuff to fallon for at least this week and next. transfers will be two weeks from tomorrow so send whatever you want until then! :) 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE?

I know that the Lord calls us in our weakness, but he qualifies us for his work! Missionary work was never meant to be easy.. but i've learned to enjoy the little things and seek the Lord in every way. There isn't a single thing more important that i could be doing now and i know that this is where the Lord needs me. I know with everything i've got that Joseph Smith was a chosen prophet of God and that through him our loving Father in Heaven reached out to us and restored the fulness of the truth. I'm so grateful to have been brought up with parents that were willing to teach me (in many ways) the importance of following the Savior. the church is true! that's what i know. :)

gosh, so no questions brought up the devastating moment this week. I'm going to keep it brief but tell you guys strait. S and M have decided that they no longer want to pursue lives in the church. it literally broke my heart to hear them tell me this. M was making great strides to full activity and worthiness for rebaptism but S was hesitant. because of their differences in .. well readiness to come back really it was causing separation in their relationship and M felt like she had to choose church or her husband basically. there's a lot, lot more too it than that but that's the readers digest version. pray for them! anybody that can. they are valiant souls and the adversary is working hard on them. also, Claire-marie left home to go back to bible school in Oregon. so that was a bummer we didn't get to teach her everything before she left. so those are the sour things this week.. S and M was the one that really just made me sad. we had a great lesson with Claire-marie the day before she left for school and she took my email .. she said she will read the book of mormon and she will ask me any questions she comes across. so we'll see! i also got a picture with her that i'll be sending home. she wanted it for memories or something and she sent it to me. so yeah! then the good news was that Christy (that's really how it's spelled..) is willing to take the lessons. so life is good here in Fallon! i'm looking forward to hearing back from some people. Sam Stahura, i just put a letter in the mail today for you. look for it.

okay fam and friends. thanks for your love and support! i hope you all have a super good week this week. :) also, Happy birthday tomorrow to Grandma Sue! thank you so much for your example of one who loves and follows our Savior. I hope you have a wonderful day! :)

love and miss you all! until next week.

-Elder Sykes