April 21, 2014

so yes, i have arrived in the quaint village of Cherbourg, cute little town, we have a couple busses taht come once and a while, and i nice hill i would dearly like to go longboarding on. but alas, i cannot. i HUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE change from Melun, which is flat, has a train leaving every 3 minutes and busses that come every 5 in any direction you could ever want. there aer like 5 colored people here and in melun there was about 5 french people! so yeah, pretty well opposites! i can see the ocean from my bed, so thats pretty cool! the weather here is not nearly as warm, which is kinda nice cause i like wearing sweaters cause its dang classy. Elder ruttan gave me the hottest sweater before i left melun now i can actually wear it! what else, oh yes, our teaching pool! we are teaching 2 old men named michel, and one accepted a baptismal date this week(its a big deal, hes been investigating for 2 years or something ridonk) and the other one is a hilarious sarcastic guy and hes pretty sweet! we are also teaching an EX-Catholic, she found the catholics are too showy and dont focus on the true doctrine, (thats caue they dont even have all of it! hehe) but yeah she also accepted a baptismal date this week! so it should be an exciting transfer! shes hard core. and she has two daughers. she keeps saying that she wants her daughets to marry guys like us cause were spiritual. we gotta have attention, could be dangerous! probs not, shes just real spiritual and she wants the best for her daughters(me and elder christiansen)

speaking of that guy, hes sick! were getting along great and its been sweet so far! i dont prevu any problems whatsoever! so hollah! another sick transfer! i dont really know what else to say other than i helped move a piano down a flight of stairs today. that was sweet, and also that i love all of you, whoever is reading this out there in cyber space!

before i left melun we visited jeanpaul and i wrote in the cover of his triple combination so hed enver forget me, we also visited amoako, who by the way got special permission from pres to be baptized even thopugh hes living with a woman!(he lives in the dining room and he taught us chastity, he know the rules!) but yeah so i hope youll be hearing about that soon! and yeah! life has been good! im freakin psyched for this next transfer! its going to be siiiiiiiiiick-gnar!

well, carry on friends, i love you.

moses 7:28,32-33
28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon thearesidue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains? 32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own ahands, and I gave unto them theirbknowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his cagency; 33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should alove one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they bhate their own blood;
dont make god cry. just love eachother and love him! is that too much to ask!?

these wonderful pictures are at the henos house before i left, they made us lasagna! love stephane! whattabro

and these are the easter eggs we decorated yesterday!

and this is elder christiansen in a wierd hole in the elevator(his last comp wouldnt let him go in it, so he went in it with me! 'twas a blast!

April 14, 2014

yes, and so ends the glorious companionship of Ruttan and Oviatt, the good and plentious blessings together in melun are terminated, my new area is Cherbourg, way up north, so far north theres a ferry to England, so yeah! appareantly its a tiny branch... yaaaay. im not terribly excited about that but that just means more work, more growth and more fun! my companion is the district leader, so that means lots of exchanges which are fun and a great way to learn! im pumped. sad cause elder ruttan and i are best friends, but hey, whateves! 

this week was pretty grand to say the least! we had a pretty stellar amount of lessons to finish off our time together, all the investigators are going to keep progressing and i have no doubt ill see their names come up on the weekly mission list of baptised people! ill keep ya posted on jean paul and everybody! exciting! :)

we started/continued porting in this huge building that a less active lives in, we originally started going there to talk to him but hes never answered, so we gave up and started looking for poeple ther instead, so far its been pretty succesful! we taught 2 lessons and have an appointment for tonight, its sweet! saturday we were in the building porting and we knocked and this lady answered, we gave our little spiel and she said "i am not catholic, or protestant." we said "neither are we" she said "evangelic" "nope" "then youre a sect." and elder ruttan was like "no were not!" and he was laughing a little and his voice went really high in his offended tone cause she was pretty blunt, then they argued a bit and we actually managed to testify and get a return appointment, it was actually a really good contact, but we couldnt help but laugh at how outrageous she was! it was good, just the way elder ruttan responded was priceless. glorious! 

Melun did get t another set of elders though! no new sisters, which is really too bad cause mme moulin could really use daily contact but its nearly impossible for us! 

its been a good week, and im going to miss melun alot, but its going to be good! im excited for what this little town has to hold for me! :) 

well, adios beautiful faces!

Elder Stankin-Rich Oviatt

picturez:

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 yes, thats a massive pan of pre-cut-baconbits. "lardons". they are delish.

yes, thats half a house

April 7, 2014

this week was pretty good! we had a pretty good district meeting on tuesday, and i stayed in evry for an exchange with the district leader. hes super sweet, learned alot! but i think he misunderstood me a little (he only speaks french) he told my comp the best way to get desire to work is to pray daily to have the desire, then act as though you already have it. i thought that was really interesting, and he took that as me needing greater desire to work... so we had a good chat about why im here and the importance of a mission... sorta an awkward mixup, but that probably just means im in for an easy companion! so score for me! um yeah, we had some pretty cool things happen this week, hardly any lessons, but still a decent week. we went out to teach jeanpaul last night during conference so we missed the last session and a half, but while we were there we talked about his baprism and the thinsg we need to do, he had some word of wisdom difficulties(coffee) but his wife, prisca, a recent convert of almost a year re-committed him every single day to follow the word of wisdom! shes an allstar! he also accepted the law of tithing, and so hes doing really well! his date changed to may 17, so i probs wont be there, and he was pretty sad about that, but he said hed keep contact! hes one of the most legit guys! such a strong desire and he doesnt just blindly accept, he needs to have a firm knowledge/understanding before hell agree, which is frustrating but useful in the end! anyways, on the way back to our apartment we ran into Miguel! its been weeks since weve seen him! i missed him so much! such a bro, but we kinda dropped him because he stopped progressing and showing up for lessons... but i think our chat last night was good fr us and him! we wet up a lesson and so im super excited to see him again! :) also, Conference was so sweet! i love conference, its like christmas, but with better gifts cause of spiritual stuff! i loved Hollands talk in priesthood, and oaks' too. this weekend was just grand! 

picture elgend:

1 these little pixel tile-jobs video-game references are all over paris, but this was on rue luiggi! so its extra sick!

2 rue luiggi

March 31, 2014

So the transfer is already half over, 3 short weeks left in the beautiful promised land of melun! this passed week we have had quite a bit happen! we had a missionary zone conference, and we got flyers to put in mailboxes a couple days before we go porting in the area, so the people have a heads up! we are supposed to deliver the easter flyers then pass back within a few days and present a message of the atonement, genius idea! except that Elder Ruttan and i have had ZERO time to go porting, let alone to pre-deliver flyers... but we are going to try our best to follow instruction because it will help us out greatly! so we havent had any super ridiculous miracles like usual, which is fine, cause the fact that we have 7 people getting ready to be baptised and another 5 with baptismal dates fixed is a miracle in itself! Maurice and Odile are going to talk to somebody about getting married so they can be baptised, Killian and Bryan are going to be baptised this saturday, Amoako keeps coming to church and has accepted the idea of authority, and also has gotten over the fact that we dont baptise in rivers like jesus was baptised, he also gave awa all the church pamphelets we give him to his friend and also showed them the restoration video! hes a better missionary than most of our members! and Mme Moulin keeps saying how good it feels to be at church and how her heart beats all the time! we also have some new investigators this week! we were teaching this lady chrystelle a couple months ago but she went to africa, she got home and we got in contact with her again! and we went for a lesson and only her sister was there, so we watched the restoration video and before we even offered she asked for a book of mormon! crazy! so cool! we also have been contacting some referrals and we have found this golden family, 4 generations all living in one house, only the women and children though. not sure what happened to the men. but we taught a lesson and are trying to get back there but the lady of the house wors 2 jobs and is never home. rough situation! anyhow! life here is great! ill have some pictures with white clothing in them next week! cool thin about killian and bryan, i helped teach their dad bertrand and i helped him get baptised, now im helping him prepare himself to baptise his kids! its cool to see how much i can be accomplished! i love it! also we went on exchanges this week and it was erally cold the whole time. i dont like exchanges much cause i have to sleep in someone elses bed, it just doesnt feel at home. no good. but its great to see how other missionaries work and contact! :)

OH! also this week we went to Chateau Fontainebleau, the chateau where all(i think) the kings of france lived, and where napoleon lived too. sickest thing. i cant believe somebody called that home! its huuuuge! like it had a chapel in it there was so many people. they also have pretty cute gardens outside and its all pretty and flowery because its Spring here! i am loving the great weather! cant wait till after conference and i can start wearing just a white shirt and tie! its going to be GLORIOUS!

Wise Words from my pal Ezra Taft Benson “The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.”

well, until next time folks,

Elder Kaden FancyPants Oviatt

Photograph Legend:

1 thats the empress' bedroom, only half of it, the other half was just fancy tables and wall tapestries.

2 just a normal ceiling...

March 24, 2014

So the transfer is already half over, 3 short weeks left in the beautiful promised land of melun! this passed week we have had quite a bit happen! we had a missionary zone conference, and we got flyers to put in mailboxes a couple days before we go porting in the area, so the people have a heads up! we are supposed to deliver the easter flyers then pass back within a few days and present a message of the atonement, genius idea! except that Elder Ruttan and i have had ZERO time to go porting, let alone to pre-deliver flyers... but we are going to try our best to follow instruction because it will help us out greatly! so we havent had any super ridiculous miracles like usual, which is fine, cause the fact that we have 7 people getting ready to be baptised and another 5 with baptismal dates fixed is a miracle in itself! Maurice and Odile are going to talk to somebody about getting married so they can be baptised, Killian and Bryan are going to be baptised this saturday, Amoako keeps coming to church and has accepted the idea of authority, and also has gotten over the fact that we dont baptise in rivers like jesus was baptised, he also gave awa all the church pamphelets we give him to his friend and also showed them the restoration video! hes a better missionary than most of our members! and Mme Moulin keeps saying how good it feels to be at church and how her heart beats all the time! we also have some new investigators this week! we were teaching this lady chrystelle a couple months ago but she went to africa, she got home and we got in contact with her again! and we went for a lesson and only her sister was there, so we watched the restoration video and before we even offered she asked for a book of mormon! crazy! so cool! we also have been contacting some referrals and we have found this golden family, 4 generations all living in one house, only the women and children though. not sure what happened to the men. but we taught a lesson and are trying to get back there but the lady of the house wors 2 jobs and is never home. rough situation! anyhow! life here is great! ill have some pictures with white clothing in them next week! cool thin about killian and bryan, i helped teach their dad bertrand and i helped him get baptised, now im helping him prepare himself to baptise his kids! its cool to see how much i can be accomplished! i love it! also we went on exchanges this week and it was erally cold the whole time. i dont like exchanges much cause i have to sleep in someone elses bed, it just doesnt feel at home. no good. but its great to see how other missionaries work and contact! :)

OH! also this week we went to Chateau Fontainebleau, the chateau where all(i think) the kings of france lived, and where napoleon lived too. sickest thing. i cant believe somebody called that home! its huuuuge! like it had a chapel in it there was so many people. they also have pretty cute gardens outside and its all pretty and flowery because its Spring here! i am loving the great weather! cant wait till after conference and i can start wearing just a white shirt and tie! its going to be GLORIOUS!

Wise Words from my pal Ezra TaftBenson “The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.”

well, until next time folks,

Elder Kaden FancyPants Oviatt

Photograph Legend:

1 thats the empress' bedroom, only half of it, the other half was just fancy tables and wall tapestries.

2 just a normal ceiling...

March 17, 2014

okay, so somehow, for some reason, god is still blessing us! im not complaining, nor am i saying we dont desserve these blessings! its just so wonderful it seems too good to be true!

tons of stuff happened this week!

for starters, maurice and odile are still amazing. we taught the law of chastity, basically saying that they may not be baptised without first being married. in short we asked them if they would get married as a next step towards baptism, they said yes and are already workin on it! i probably wont be around to see them baptised but im sure they will be! they are so solid! :)

also, jean paul is still awesome,

killian and bryan had their baptismal interviews and passed with flying colours so thats on track!

amoako shared the restoration video with a friend and she wants to meet with us because she already knows our church is true from the dvd. amoako also agreed to be baptised the 16th of april so thats super sweet!

Mme moulin(one of the investigators elder gram and i found but later passed her to the sister missionaries but is our investigator again because the sister missionaries are gone) came to church again and loved it! we have to change her date but she is still willing!

we had 7 people that we are actively teaching come to church this week. SEVEN! thats absurd! the mission average is 1.05 investigators at church. and our 7 doesnt even count the husband of a member who came and has been taught by the missionaries, or this lady who came last week and this week but we havent started teaching yet. we could have counted 9 at church. but 7 is more accurate.

this week was just amazing! and today we went to STARWARS Identities. because its in paris for a while and elder ruttan hadnt ever been before. who doesnt love starwars? plus theres like movie clips playing all over and it was almost like watching the movie, but i saw darthvaders real costume in real life instead of a screen. better? yes. this week was sick.

some spiritchal pondering for you all. pretty self-explanitory!

Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of neverending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

March 10, 2014

so this week was pretty boring, elder ruttan was recovering from being sick, then theres me, just starting to get sick. the first few days we barely left the apartment. Elder Ruttan always sais that the results of not working dont hit for a week or two, so this week was still fine, but next week should be full of finding! so thats lame.

we got some pretty sad news, a sister missionary in melun(we have sisters and elders) has been having health problems for a while and president told her shes getting sent home because french doctors are garbage. so once thats settled she can come back. whe has been in melun exactly as long as i have, so we are pretty tight, its been over 3 months. so thats sad, but God knows whats up, so everything will be fine. cool thing though, because she is going home, her companion is going to another area, so itll be back to just elders. thats cool because our work should have been really slow next week but now we have to take all the sisters' investigators and keep teaching them. God knew what he was doing when me and Elder Ruttan got sick!

also, we have been blessed these last few transfers, killian and bryan are getting baptised, maurice and odile also have a date, and lasst night we went to teach Jean-Paul, and we havent seen him in a while cause he had apendicitis, but last night elder ruttan said "and we are going to leave you with the same invitation as always" refering to a chapter tor ead and to pray, but jean paul interrupted with "i know baptism, how about in 2 weeks?" i didnt think i would see the day where he would get baptised! but hey! god is mysterious! needless to say elder ruttan andi skipped home from that appointment!

i dont really have alot else to share, but its been rainin blessings! so offer a prayer of thanks in my behalf!

i also didnt take any pictures this week... so this is lame but sorry, have a great week!

Elder Kevin Oviatt