The Work Keeps Comin'

1-18-2011

Hey everyone,

Sorry, but the Martin Luther King Holiday didn’t allow me to email (library closed).   It was a great weekend!

I have a new companion now in Elder Strong. He is 21 from Orem, UT, and has 3 months to go on his mission, so he should finish up here in Brewster. He is a cool guy and we are getting along easily. He has already fit into the branch well too. Elder Crandell went to Weston.

We found 3 more new investigators this weekend. Brian was a referral from Mormon.org.  He told us he was browsing the web and came across the site. He was intending to just mess around in the chat room but instead found himself interested in the message. Weird huh? He's a 16 year old and he was excited to read the Book of Mormon.  However, as we were closing our first discussion, his mom came in and didn't seem too happy we were there. Hopefully it will work out to another lesson.

Then there's AJ and Sue who are a newlywed couple, also referrals. AJ has a good member friend in Utah who introduced him to the gospel. Recently they went to Temple Square and saw the Joseph Smith movie. They both have been reading the Book of Mormon and AJ already feels that it is true. We gave them a first discussion "as if they were brand new to the gospel" and it went really well. Sue isn't completely set with the church since she really wasn't religious as a kid, but she seems to be willing to follow along with her husband.  How golden & ready is this couple, huh?  It’s really exciting!

Yesterday, we went to the Hyannis Recreation Center with Bro. Biega and Alex.  It is such a nice facility: 2 ice rinks, full size gym, and arcade. We shot hoops and watched a high school girl’s hockey game. The game was a lot more interesting than I thought ha-ha.

As you all know, the Patriots choked on Sunday  :(  .   So much for that Super Bowl.  Massachusetts is pretty depressing when it comes to sports and losing. Not gonna be a happy next few weeks around here ha-ha.

So that was the weekend.  Lookin' like a cold wet week ahead so I'll bundle up.  Hope you all have a great week!

AND SEND LETTERS!!! LOL  Later!

Love,

Elder Henson

Snowy, White Cape

1-13-2011

Hey everybody!

It’s been a great week and a half out here. The snow keeps finding us. Had some snow on Sunday that shortened the congregation to 20 and we only had sacrament meeting. Then we had snow fall last night. It’s not as bad as up north in Boston, they got hammered, so I'm grateful.

Things are going to be a little different for me in the coming weeks. Yes, I'm staying in Brewster, just gonna have a new companion. Elder Crandell is transferring out tomorrow. He looks to be taking it pretty hard because he doesn't want to leave. Now I'll have to take the reins for a little bit since I'll know what’s going on here and my new companion will be wondering if he's lost in the twilight zone. I'm anxious to see what will happen, and I know the success will continue out here.

We ran into a lot of new investigators recently. Cole Arvidson's girlfriend, Alex, and his dad listened to our message the last couple Mondays.  Her dad was very sturdy with his beliefs and was resistant to listen to another organized religion, but he was willing to have his daughter listen so we'll go with that.

The Johnson's son and his wife walked into a lesson we were teaching about church attendance and they were willing to come to church.  But the storm ruined that deal, so we'll try for it this week.   Jim is back. He looked much better in our recent couple visits. Thank you to those who prayed for his help. We assured him that he was thought of and missed while at the hospital.

The Halls are a lovely older couple we taught last weekend and they were really interested in the Plan of Salvation. We hope to teach them that lesson this week.

As you can see I got the first of my few Red Sox caps as a little late Christmas present to myself :).  I'm excited (little nervous) for what will happen at transfers tomorrow and looking forward to many more experiences here in Brewster.

I'm sure all is well back home and I'm grateful to all of you for your continuous love and support. I'll let you know how the change goes on Monday.   Take care!

Love,

Elder Henson

Happy New Year!

January 3, 2011

Wassup everyone! 

I'm an Action Figure!

Happy 2011!  This last week was pretty solid despite the holiday and low amount of miles. Fortunately the members really came through for us by giving us rides to appointments.

Starting out with last Monday, it was a lot of fun going to Alex's hockey games and celebrating his b-day. His team won the second game. They scored the game-winning goal with less than three minutes to go. It was pretty intense!

On a lower note, Jim hasn't been doing so well lately.  He was in the hospital for the past couple days and is now home. Please keep him in your prayers.  Our newest investigators, the Melix family, are really a joy to visit. They love our company and actually have questions about the church despite being devoted Methodists. We are excited to answer their questions this week and hope that they open up to explore the gospel. 

"Does that mean you're not interested?"

New Year's Eve wasn't as exciting as yours. We went to the Biegas for dinner and that was a good visit. However, it really felt like a typical Friday and normal curfew. I was in my bed watching the clock go 12 and then fell asleep. I know, lame... So that was basically the week.

I got news that the Chiefs are in the playoffs! Too bad they gotta go through New England to get to the Super Bowl.

My favorite scripture right now is D&C 19:23.

“Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”

Bro. Biega showed me it and it is such a simple yet powerful scripture.

Thank you to all sending me letters and packages. I love ‘em.  Hope all is well with you all, back home.  I will get back with you again next Wednesday when transfers roll around.

Have an excellent week!

Love,

Elder Henson

Merry Christmas! :-D

12-27-2010

Hope you all had a splendid Christmas weekend! 



M-ride... "no ride."



A lot of great and weird things happened this week. Starting off where I left off last week with the snowstorm that hit. Remember that family in the branch with the farm? Well, I got to be a farm boy for a day because we got snowed in at their place!

They live on a private road that doesn't get plowed so our pathetic front-wheel drive car had no chance of getting outta there that night. The next morning we had to shovel our car our and then follow previous car tracks to slide our way outta there. It was a fun night but an exhausting morning because we also went to shovel our branch president's driveway. Ugh, snow...

The rest of the week went by pretty fast due to little miles left for the month. We did however have some great lessons. The best of the week was with the Pabsts family. We hadn't seen them for a while, just Jenny, so we really hoped that our plan of salvation lesson would gain their interest.  Jenny answered a lot of our questions very well, showing how well she listened to last lesson. Ms. Pabst has read to Mosiah already in about a month and also asked great questions. The other 2 girls Emily and Sarah participated too. We set a date for February 5th with all 4 of them and plan to teach them accordingly to be ready for that date.

Christmas Day was not like a normal Christmas back home at all, but it was one to not forget. We opened our Christmas presents that morning and went to the Arvidsons for dinner and stopped by the Biegas as well.

I am very grateful for all the presents I received from you, my friends back home and members of the branch. It really shows me how much love people have for me and that makes me so grateful and blessed.  My favorite present was my phone call home. I wanted to do it early but I was afraid you would be too busy opening presents so I didn't end up calling them until that night. It was such a joy to talk to all of you.  It doesn't seem like I've been gone for too long though but it was still awesome to say “hi” to and catch up on your lives, as well as answer questions about my mission experiences.

Jim got confirmed on Sunday! He was so full of the Spirit and will really be a great member to the branch. He was so excited to take the sacrament too. "Oh, do I get to take this now?!" ha-ha It was great to see his excitement.

MORE SNOW came last night and this morning. It just continues to come. The wind is just howling! Lights were flickering on and off in our apartment but luckily it didn't go out on us.

We got to go see Alex Biega play a hockey game this morning. He has a tournament today on his birthday! It was great to watch and we'll actually get to see another one tonight as well.  Reminds me a lot of me playing ball at that age and, like Bro. Biega, my dad yelling to me to do this and that ha-ha.

 

This week will be somewhat the same as last week because of miles and snow. Hopefully we can get some good work in during the week. I don't know the rule on New Year's Eve yet, just that we'll be at the Biegas for dinner.

Thanks to you and everyone for your support and prayers. I know the Lord is blessing you for it. I love you all and pray for you too. Thanks to those who sent me cards too. They were much appreciated. I hope that you have a great week and a great start to the New Year.  Talk to you soon.

Elder Henson

"It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas!"

12-20-2010

Hello everybody!

What a great week!! Went to the temple, did a lot of hard labor, had our first baptism, and ITS SNOWING! Looks like it'll be a white Christmas after all.

Jim's baptism went great! We had about 25 from the branch that attended at our chapel. Performing a baptism is awesome!!! Even though the water was FREEZING cold, it’s one of those things that I'll cherish forever. I was somewhat nervous most of the day, but the Lord comforted me when I needed it and I didn't have to repeat the ordinance. Jim was so overwhelmed the whole day, but he was full of joy. We were so proud of him. I hardly remember that first day we met him but he slowly but surely progressed and he is going to be such a good member of this branch.

I got to go to the temple again on Tuesday with the rest of the zone. The feelings in the temple never change and I was so glad to be there. We also got our Christmas packages that day. I love the big Dell box. Everyone kept joking that I had a computer, ha-ha. I'm excited to see what's inside on Saturday.

I was in Plymouth on exchanges for a couple days. It’s a very interesting and historic area. You'll see that cool statue that I got to go visit.  It was huge!!

We did some service at Bro. Carmack's farm, moving hay bales into his barn. When I said hard labor, I mean hard labor. We were just wasted after we finished off those 150 bales! Ugh, again I am so glad I wasn't raised on a farm ha-ha.

Elder Crandell and I are loving those 12 days of Christmas presents. Some of those scriptures are real stumpers. Grandma also sent me a box with a cute nativity scene. We also got 2 Christmas trees, one cardboard from our fellow Elders in the Cape Cod branch and a artificial one from the primary. Yeah we got hooked up with decorations and grateful for it.

 Did I mention it’s snowing?! Just came down last night and probably for a while longer. I'm both happy and frustrated about it at the same time.

This week will be pretty booked. The snow is gonna slow down things a bit I think, but the weekend will be fun. We have a couple member homes to visit on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

I'm very excited to call home!!! I don't know what time exactly but I'm shooting for the afternoon or evening home time. I don't think I'll get any Christmas shopping done this week but I'll get some presents and goodies to send home.

I love you all and wish you all a safe and Merry Christmas. Thank you for all your continuous support that helps to keep me going. Take care and I'll talk to you soon.

Elder Henson

The Freezing Continues...

12-13-2010

Wassup Everyone!

What a great week here on the Cape! Things continue to become better and better as Christmas draws closer.

We have a baptism lined up for this Sunday with Jim!!! If all goes well with the interview this week, I will have the honor of baptizing him! I'm so excited for him and amazed how much he has progressed in the last couple months. He is such a sincere and charitable person and God is giving him the blessings he's deserved.

We also got another baptismal date set with Jenny for January 14th. She really wants to learn the gospel and has understood the first and part of the second lessons very well. Hopefully (if transfers allow) and all follows suit, that will happen as well.

The last couple days have been very busy with a lot of work. Saturday during my tour with Elder Castro in Brewster, we didn't have anything planned except meals and we just took the branch list and started stopping by all the less-actives in Hyannis. We ended up with 5 potentials and a couple lessons throughout the day. My faith in the Lord grew that day because I thought the whole day would be a bust and it ended up super. Then yesterday after church, we met at members’ homes one after another and had a couple lessons that day too, including the one with Jenny accepting her baptismal date. God is continuing to bless this area day by day and I am grateful to be witnessing those blessings happen. It’s amazing how true missionary work is.

I got a good amount of mail this week. My friends Elder Tyler Weeks, Elder Lance McDowell, and Natalie Peterson all sent letters. The YSA back home sent me a letter with messages from them. I got Blake's Sunday school class's package with their letters and an overwhelming amount of sweets. And I got the package with the thermals and goodies too, (the thermals fit fine). Thanks to all of you for those letters and packages. It’s what influences me to keep on working and serving, knowing that I have a strong support system. To all you who haven't yet, don't be bashful, feel free to send letters!!!!! Ha-ha!

The weather has been FREEZING this week!!! Temps were in the 20s and 30s all week except for the past couple days. I wore everything! My thermals, my trench coat, my skull hat, my gloves. Anything to keep me from being a Popsicle! It was COLD, especially when we were bold and tracted.

How things going back home?  ALLYSON! Congrats on the soccer championship and the goal!! That's awesome!!! I wish I was there!

To clarify, ANY picture is what I’m referring to on the Christmas list. I can't wait for the other Christmas packages to come. We have had a few families invite us over for Christmas so we should be taken care of for that weekend.

The branch takes such good care of us and makes sure we are good. So to all you that have Elders in your ward/branch, check to make sure they are taken care of for the holidays.

The holidays are cool here in Massachusetts. I enjoy riding at night and seeing the lights through the trees. It's different. I've been humming and singing NSYNC Christmas songs constantly, just as if I was home ha-ha!  I'm excited for the next couple weeks!!!

I love you all!!!!! Keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I know that this work I'm doing here is true and is worth it. Pray to the Father in the name of Christ and he will pour out his blessings upon you and answer your questions.

Take care and I'll talk to you all next week! :)

Elder Henson

2010 Christmas Devotional

2010 Christmas Devotional (link)

Good Week, Better Weekend

12-6-2010

Wassup Everybody!

I know it hasn't been too long since my last email but it is P-Day so here I am!

It was a great weekend! Transfers went by smoothly. The district got switched up a little bit as we had Elder Kiss go home and Elder Olsen transferred. So now its Elder Graft and Elder Gallegos joining "The Forgotten" down here in southeast Mass.

I finally got to go to the Boston temple on Saturday as we were invited to go up with the Biega family and witness their sealing as well as Bro. Biega taking out his endowments. It was AWESOME!!! The celestial room is one of a kind. My mouth just dropped when I walked in it. The temple is one of a kind and I was so happy to be there. The sealing was very inspiring and beautiful. The blessings that were said during the ceremony were special and I was just so excited for them.

With Alex Biega

Sunday was just as good. Jim came to church again and stayed for the whole block. He enjoyed it even more than last week. Carolyn was there as she regularly is and is still progressing in her quitting smoking. Allyssa came with the Biega family so we were glad she was at least at church since we haven't had great success with her lately.

Right after church, we had this fun Christmas party in the church building. It was a lot of fun and a lot of the less actives and visitors were there. We had a hard time trying to meet all of them. It was weird to watch the Christmas Devotional (The Church broadcasts an Annual Christmas Devotional from Salt Lake)  at the Boudreau's home instead of back home like usual, but I enjoyed the devotional.

The weather is now at freezing more often and even rumors of flurries are starting to roam. It won't be long before I'm a Popsicle. Ha-ha.

I can't believe BYU lost that close!! Ugh, frustrating. But I'm glad they at least have a bowl game. BYU b-ball is sounding solid right now. I haven't been caught up a lot on much sports so it’s good to be getting that info from people here and home.

I miss all of you guys very much, even more now that it’s the holidays. A lot of people ask us if we're homesick and I tell them yeah but not enough to affect me. Keep praying for me and hope to receive letters/emails from you (and my friends too).  Take care and have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Henson

Thankful



12-1-2010

Hey Everyone!

I had another solid week in the Cape. Thanksgiving was very filling! We went to a couple members’ homes, one for fun and another for dinner. We enjoyed their company. There was so much food!  Man was I stuffed!!!  

Anyway, things are going okay. Our investigators are continuing to progress. Jim went to church for the first time last Sunday.  He was very pleased with how the experience was. We had another great lesson with the Pabst family. Again, we watched the Testaments and again the Spirit filled the room. It is such a powerful movie! One of the four came to church last Sunday but we're hoping that the rest will show as well soon.  

"The Forgotten District"

Oh yeah, transfers are this week. No worries, I'm still in Brewster. The both of us actually. Not much change to our district either.

Still no snow but it is getting colder.  We have been doing lots of service as well. Raking leaves is a PAIN!  : )  We had to do that at a couple houses. Also we helped the Boudreau family move some things around in their house too. One of the families in the branch, the Biegas, is getting sealed this weekend at the temple and hopefully we'll be able to attend. I'm excited for that.  Hoping that things pick up again before the next big holiday hits in a couple weeks.

Take care for now. I love you all and you guys are the reason why I continue to work. Thank you for the blessing that you all are to my life. I miss you and pray for you.  Have a great week!!

Elder Henson

Martha's Vineyard 2010

 

"I Love Being a Missionary..."

11-24-2010

Hello again,

Sorry I'm late writing this week. We had a district activity yesterday in Martha's Vineyard so I never got to the library. Martha's Vineyard was awesome. We had a lot of fun out on the beach (nobody got in the water haha). It was somewhat cold in the morning but it warmed up later on. Too bad our district is so far apart so we can't do activities like that more often. 



My Beach!  :-)

 The week went really well. We taught the Pabst family who was referred to us from the member and they had a lot of good questions. I could feel the spirit so strong as we answered their questions and went through the first discussion. They each accepted a Book of Mormon and will hopefully read and pray before our next appointment this week. I feel very good about them and their interest in joining our church. As for our other investigators, Carolyn is still struggling with obeying the word of wisdom.  Jim is the one who arranged that package that you should have gotten a few days ago. That's all for you, nothing for me to keep. He wanted to send to our families what we are experiencing here on the Cape. He's creative and so charitable.  Allyssa still seems disinterested, but enjoyed watching The Testaments in our last appointment. I hadn't seen that movie in a while and it was so powerful to me, and hopefully to her as well. We continue to struggle finding a time to meet with Dan, but he wants to be baptized yet still struggling to tell his folks. 

District Meeting was kind of cool because we had to sleepover the day before. It was like the MTC all over again. We had tours again this time with the Martha's Vineyard elders.  I stayed in Brewster this time with Elder Morales. Not only did I get to drive again, but this time I was basically in charge of scheduling appointments and figuring out what to do. Not an easy job but it was a decent day. Matter of fact, today I'm on tours with Elder Willard in Brewster. Again not a busy day, so we'll see what happens.

I've been struggling to come up with ideas for a Christmas list. Really the only two things I can come up with is a Red Sox cap and hoody to buy here. I'm sure you guys have some ideas for me so feel free to go for it because I'm no help haha.  I'm warning you now, I probably will be writing next Wednesday because Transfer Week changes P-day to Wednesday. 

Thanks again for the package and letters last week.  I have gotten a few letters from friends at school and other elders. Hope all is well and things are running smoothly.  I love being a missionary and enjoying the experiences I have each day. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!  I love you all. 

Elder Henson

Fly-By Week - On Splits for the 1st Time

11-15-2010

What up everybody!

… Another week on the Cape.  We had a lot happen this week. I went on splits for the first time on Tuesday. It was a solid lesson despite the little kids being...well kids. Ha-ha!



WE LOVE the Red Sox!

We went to leadership training the next day back in Weston. Such a long drive! The training was good and reminded me somewhat of the MTC all over again.  After that I had my first "tour" as I worked with Elder Snyder in Hingham. Elder Snyder is from California and is actually leaving at the end of the transfer. He's a very funny guy that was good to learn from because he had a lot of advice from his experiences. Hingham was a really nice area. You could see downtown Boston from certain spots there. The people that we met and taught there were really sincere and we had a lot of spiritual lessons during those two days (it was a super tour).

Got back to Brewster with Elder Crandell and realized how different and unique Cape Cod really is. ha-ha We were invited to an Eagle Court of Honor for one of the young men in the branch. They went all out with this Court of Honor, just decorated everywhere. We got to participate in the program since both of us are Eagles so that was cool. It made me very proud to have gotten that award, even though it was a pain.

Cool thing happened yesterday where we had a "break the fast" meal at the church after Sunday meetings. It’s pretty nice to not have any other wards/branches after you so that can happen.

The weather has cleared up the last few days and it has been beautiful outside, though it is still chilly, especially at night.

Our investigators are continuing to progress. Carolyn hasn't smoked for three days, which is a huge deal. Jim is doing well with his business, and he met one of the members of the branch the other day with us. Allyssa read a little from the Book of Mormon and hopefully will gain a little more interest in that. We have continued to be steady with our key indicators and we have a lot of appointments and lessons lined up for this week. So many that I was frustrated trying to schedule them all in! Ha-ha. It’s amazing!

Hope all is well back home.  I'm glad you guys enjoyed those letters. I miss you guys and am praying for you all daily. Keep up the good work and the blessings will flow in :)

Have a great week!!

Elder Henson

Success and Blessings

11-8-10

Hello again everyone,

What a great week!

I am very happy with the success and blessings me and Elder Crandell have had the last few days. We've set up 3 baptismal dates. Carolyn has a calendar set up so she meets with us twice a week and quits smoking and drinking coffee by the 14th so she can be baptized on the 27th. We are still working with Jim to get to church and set a goal for December 5th to have him baptized, but that's more of a faithful goal. We have a new investigator Dan who has met missionaries before and wants to be baptized but is afraid to ask his parents (more his grandma), so we're helping him gain confidence. Also we met and taught Allyssa who is friends with a member, Katelyn, and we set a date for December 18th with her. There are also a couple referrals we have contacted who are interested in the discussions so there looks to be more dates coming. It is awesome!

Elder Crandell had us use the cup lesson for most of our lessons this week. It is a visual display of a cup pyramid that shows the foundation of the church, the twelve apostles and the prophet. This shows the same church that Christ established during His ministry is on the earth today in the same organization. I was impressed by it, and so was our audience (ha-ha). 


Zone Conference in Weston was pretty cool. I got to meet many more elders and learned some good skills to have on the mission. That morning our car had frost on it, so we had to scrape it off. It was 28 degrees that morning!!!  Brrr! 

President and Sister Evans' son, Will, was at ZC and he, to my astonishment, was my EFY counselor from '07!  It was awesome to catch up with him. (Especially For Youth (EFY) is a youth program sponsored by the Church and is held each summer at various locations.  Brandon attended the ones held at Brigham Young University-Provo, UT)

I just got over a little cough and sore throat that I had most of the week. The weather just continues to get colder and wetter (ha-ha). Stake conference was also this weekend in Franklin. It took two hours to get there...but it was good. Elder W.T. David Murray, an Area 70, was the visiting general authority.

This week should be interesting as we have leadership training back in Weston and then my first companion exchange, or tour, after that. I'm looking forward to that.

I'm sending letters to you guys today so those should be there in a couple days.

Thank you for your unconditional love and support. Hope you all have a great week!

Love you all!!!

Elder Henson

Solid Week on the Cape

Monday, 11-1-2010

Hey Hey Everybody!

I’ve put in the first full week out in the field. I am starting to love it out here but still adjusting to the new life. There are a lot of good and promising things going on out here. Elder Crandell and I are putting our best effort into this area.



My 1st Companion

 We have a couple investigators. Carolyn has been investigating for awhile.  She's great & continues to go church so we're just helping her as best as we can. Jim is another investigator and he is a saint. He has helped us out so much with what's what in the area and getting us things that we might need. He loves to talk and and we have some good conversations with him. He's a little self-conscious about a few things so we hope to bring members to his store to fellowship with him. We are picking the weeds and finding a few other new investigators here and there so we are continuing to fill our teaching pool. I love the Brewster Branch! They're such a great group and they really do love the missionaries.

There's this one 10 year old Alex Biega who is just a stud. He plays hockey and basketball, and also can “jerk” and dance. He reminds me a lot of Bryce and I see him as another little brother. Pretty much all the young men in the branch mess with us like older brothers. It's pretty laid back, ha-ha. We get dinners from members most of the week but there are a couple days where I have to bust out the frozen dinners and chicken noodle soup ha-ha.

The views I've seen!
October 2010


The weather was nice early in the week but it is getting cold very quickly all of a sudden. The sun is out though, so that is somewhat nice. Zone conference is on Wednesday and I am looking forward to that. It'll be fun to see more missionaries because we are pretty lonely out here on the Cape.  We’re about an hour and a half away from the closest companionship. As far as going to the temple, we're not really sure, but I think we'll get a chance pretty soon.

I did get the letters from you guys last Monday after the email and I got the package with the USB and CDs. "Ask and ye shall receive" ha-ha. Thanks so much!  I actually did get letters from Ashley Ellis and Kamala Kelley last Monday. It was so nice to get those, and from what it sounds I should be expecting more soon  :). If you can find more church music CDs (more Alex Boye’, he's awesome), that'd be great. Yeah, keep on recruiting more letters and hopefully they'll come through eventually.

Sounds like Breck had a good time at the Homecoming dance.  It does seem like a bummer that Halloween was yesterday (on Sunday) .  We had to be in by 6pm because you know how kids are on that specific night ha-ha. So yeah I think that is all that I can remember from this week.

Time is starting to blur together again like at the MTC.  I love you and am continually praying for you in all you do.  I'll try to spit a letter out later this week.  Have a great week!

Elder Henson