P-day and Transfers?

	Elder Mackelprang, Elder Knowles (Richard’s companion), Elder Manciati, Elder Ogle (Elder Knowles trainer) at a Napa Stake service project at a park in Vallejo.
	Elder Mackelprang, Elder Knowles, Brian E (newly baptized), Elder Bankhead, Elder Wisniewski
	The ward members who attended Brian and Andrea E’s baptism.

     I’m moving! I've felt this whole week that I would be going, but I really didn't want to believe it, but I could tell from how I was organizing and cleaning things up that I had something of a premonition that I was out.

     Mom, no I didn't get the package yet, probably because of transfers. I'll probably get it tomorrow. That'll be nice. So yeah, I'm being transferred out of Sonoma and to Fairfield.

New Address
Elder Mackelprang
921 Harlequin Way
Suisun City, CA 94585

     I will be with an elder named Elder Bitner. I've never met nor heard of him. I'll see what he's like. It's been a crazy week this week.

     WOW! This week has been amazing due to an investigator that has progressed so rapidly that I would say that it's almost unprecedented. His name is Fernando Franco. We met him on the street a few weeks ago. He invited us over, and we stopped by talked about the Restoration, what we're about, and how he could find more happiness in his life. He was willing to read from the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. He was excited to do so. He wanted something more in his life that he didn't have at that point. We set another appointment for that Thursday and taught him again. At that appointment he had felt filled with joy and happiness and he'd read about 1/4 of the Book of Mormon on his own. When we talked about how baptism was part of the plan to return to God he asked us, "so when can I be baptized?" We set a date with him for this coming Saturday the 29th. He's been learning so rapidly and growing! It's been a faith building experience to see just how much the Gospel can change someone's life! It also shows me, rather underlines the importance of the Book of Mormon. It is the key to helping everyone come to know their Savior Jesus Christ and the plans that He has for all of us. I'm sad to be leaving Sonoma, but I know that it's for a wise purpose of the Lord, and that He has other people for me to find, teach, and baptize. To help these people find what they've been lacking and longing for all of their lives! I hope that you'll allow me to come back for Fernando's baptism this Saturday. Fernando was wanting me to baptize him, and I would absolutely love to have that opportunity. I love Fernando, and the strength that he has showed. I hope to improve how I share the Gospel with others from what I've learned by teaching him.

     I love you all!

     ran out of time again...

     Elder Mackelprang

Mid-May Already!?

     Hello family! I'm excited about the theater room it should be great! I do have that SD card from the last package, but just an idea: do you have an SD card converter? it would make it easy send home pictures more often. Just a thought. I saw the article too, and the members were talking about it. We have talked to a few gang members, but they all respect us and what we do. One even gave us his number if we ever needed any help whatsoever. I'm undecided if I'm being transferred out (next week) or not. I hope I'll be able to stay. I have a cool story to share from a less active member but I'm out of time. Next week. I love y'all !

     This week was also pretty slow, but there have been changes to how things have been going. This week Elder Knowles and I have been picking up the pace with our 10 contacts a day. From my exchanges with Elder Wisniewski and from the council we've received from Elders Millet and Abbott, Elder Knowles and I have begun anew with new determination and enthusiasm. We're using soul questions all the time to make people think, and showing them the importance of listening to what we have to say. That we're not just some people out to say come to church and like it. As we've strived to accomplish that we've already seen many blessings poured upon us. We have an almost unprecedented number of lessons for this coming week (at least ever since I've been here). Many of them being lessons to potential new investigators! We're excited for this week, and even though Transfers loom upon us in this coming week, we're not going to let that thought make us lazy, and stop the Lord's work from progressing here in Sonoma. I love it here, and I love the people. I'm learning more of what it means to have that Christ-like love for everyone. I'm still not perfect in that regard by far, but I'm improving.

 

     Here's our progressing investigators from this week:

     Estela and Socorro-   Socorro has been on board since the first lesson it seems, and her testimony is awesome. She wants to come to church and grow closer to her Savior, and she's a pleasure to teach. Estela is getting on board, and has been reading and is very interested. Estela may get baptized before Socorro, depending on how fast Socorro can divorce from her 1st husband, and get married to Alejandro. They are solid, and they have family in the ward. It'll be amazing to see how getting the less active part of their relatives active again, and baptizing Estela and Socorro will do to their spiritual strength and testimonies.

     Armando and Velia-   Velia actually isn't progressing, Armando is. Velia would actually be at the point of being dropped, because she doesn't seem to listening to us with an open heart. Armando however truly wants to know. Armando wants to believe, even though he has his doubts. He wants more faith, he wants to come to church and gain that testimony that we told them that they can achieve. We're going to focus our lessons all on Armando now, until Velia sees the changes in Armando's life and decides that that is what she wants as well. We'll see how it goes with her, but we're excited to help Armando.

     Sara Perez- (not progressing) she's not technically progressing, but she's going to get baptized. She recognizes the spirit when we come over, and knows that that is what she has been searching for. She wants to see a baptism before getting baptized, but we'll see how she goes with setting a date this week.

     Our new people from this week:

     Ruben and Nina-   Ruben is an old investigator, but he wants to find his niche in religion and in the truth. He also wants to be united in his decision with his girlfriend (hopefully soon to be wife), Nina. Nina is also searching, and she is VERY sincere and kind. I love it when we find people who are just truly seeking that truth. She doesn't have much of a religious base, and so she doesn't have too many false ideas about us. We hope to see them progress well too.

     Love your missionary,

     Elder Mackelprang

Happy Belated Mother's Day!

Hello everyone!

     This week has also been interesting, but also has been a little slow. We had a great time this weekend with the Mormon Helping Hands service in Vallejo and being able to talk to the family on Mother's Day. The family is doing great, and they are very blessed. It's weird to see, or rather hear, how much and fast my siblings are growing up. :P I can already feel that it'll be a different world when I come home, and I've only been out a little over 7 months now... It's weird to think about how utterly different it'll be when it's time to come home. I was hoping that I might receive a packet with small letters from all of my buddies from the Priest Quorum, like I know that we sent some of the other missionaries when I was in the Youth Program, but I know they're probably busy. It'd be cool to hear from them and how they're doing. So here's what has been going on with some of my investigators here in Sonoma:  

     Sara Perez - She's still going strong. She's adjusting to her new work schedule, and she's working on keeping her commitments of reading and coming to church. We hope to extend a baptismal date to her on our next visit. She really is a strong spiritual person.

     Soccorro, Estella, and Alejandro - we actually didn't get to meet with them yesterday because they were out somewhere doing something for Mother's Day, but we have another appointment with them during the week, and we'll most likely see them on Sunday too. Soccorro has a really strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and wants to come to church with her family. We just need to help her move forward and get her married to Alejandro or to throw him out so that she can be baptized. She will be a great strength to her family.

     Martin Alavarez - We met with him on Tuesday before we did exchanges this week. We talked for a good long time, and we have a whole lot more of an understand of what's holding him back. He doesn't understand about why he needs to be baptized again, and why he needs to be apart of our church to have that blessings of which we speak of. We talked about receiving understand and a testimony from God about PRAYING SPECIFICALLY about what he wants to know. That seems to be a key that people we teach seem to miss... praying specifically to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith being a prophet.

     We had exchanges this week for Cinco de Mayo. I was with Elder Bankhead. And we accomplished a great work. I saw many wonderful things happen on that exchange with new investigators and people who we had the chance to talk to. It was a pleasure to go with him, and I learned how I can improve in talking to everyone, even English people, even though I'm called to speak Spanish as a missionary. I hope that he learned something from me as well.

     I'm happy to be here serving in the Lord's vineyard and I look forward with great hope, faith, and expectation of the wonderful blessings that the Lord has in store for His people here in Sonoma.

     Your missionary,

     Elder Mackelprang

     PS regarding your questions Mom...

     Yes your council about cookies was spot on, and I don't know about the guarantees... pictures soon.

May 3 2010

Here’s a picture Sister Bunker took of Richard this week at missionary interviews…

 

 

     Hello Family!

     I hear things are pretty crazy at the house. It wont be the home I left by the time I return. I wont even have much time to enjoy either... I'll make the most of it though.

     YES!! I've been waiting for that theater room to get established, Go family! I was wondering how long Dad could hold off before setting up a project like that! ^^

     Congratulations Josh! You're a Deacon! I hoped you liked passing the sacrament. You'll do great. I'm sure you'll enjoy all of the craziness and fun that comes with camping and Boy Scouts. There are a few things that'll seem boring in the beginning, but it really is something that you'll like.

     Dad was right that I have been enjoying my new Polyester pants. They work like a charm. Sturdy and Machine-washable. I love them! I didn't get your package, but Mom told me that was because she didn't send it until last Fri. So I'll probably get it today or tomorrow. (If you sent it UPS)

     I'm sad to hear that the tire swing broke... I hope that it'll be there when I get back. I should be able to use it too, since I'll be 275 by the time I come home. I'm shooting for 250, but that's going to take a lot more effort on my part here, especially if I'm staying here in Sonoma. I feel like I get spoiled by the generosity of the members.

     I'm glad that Leah is going to be able to stick to her plans to go to BYU-I.

     I still don't have an SD card. The one I had is lost. I'm still looking for it. I'll take lots of pictures with this SD card to make up for the lost time. I can't think of any other stories at the moment, but I'll find some to share for  this coming week.

     This week in Sonoma Cali:

     This week has been pretty interesting. We haven't had a lot of lessons, but we've made a lot of short visits to people that we haven't seen in a long time, including some less actives that hardly get contacted. It's felt like a good week, in preparation from many great things to come.

     I had some interesting experiences while out walking with Elder Knowles this week. We had some people come up to us and ask us what we do and what we're about because they see us running around all the time. We actually met Fernando yesterday in such an experience. We're going over today to see him. I'm excited, and happy that the Lord is blessing us for being out and working hard.
Some of our investigators who are doing well this week:

     Sara Perez- She's still getting her schedule adjusted with her new work, but her new work is scheduled so it should be better than her erratic cleaning job. She understands everything that we teach her clearly, which is refreshing with lots of people who need things said a few times in different ways. She's just about ready, the only thing that we're focusing on right now is that she gains that spiritual witness for herself that it is true, so that she will be dedicated to her decision to be baptized. We hope things will move along soon.

     Estella, Succorro, Alejandro- Succorro is amazing, she met with the missionaries a long time ago and learned that these things were true, but she's reading it again and gaining that witness once again. She says that she's busy a lot, but I told her to read just 5 minutes a day and that she would accomplish the reading. She really liked that idea, and her testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon was really, really strong! She told us that when we saw her yesterday! I know that it helped Alejandro and Estela to try to take the reading a little more seriously. The only thing that is holding back Succorro from being baptized is that she's married to another guy, but she's living with Alejandro... so we're going to tell her that if she wants to do what's right then she'll have to initiate a divorce and get married to Alejandro, or to kick Alejandro out of the house. We'll see which road she takes.

     Velia and Armando- They have been struggling a long time with the Joseph Smith being a prophet, and/or important things that pertain to the Restoration. We had a lesson with them this week with the Moreno's and they were an amazing help. The spirit was really strong and Bro Moreno made a promise to them that if they prayed together in unity and love to know that these things are true tonight (that night) then that God would know what they were doing and would for sure give them a witness of the truth. It was a strong and powerful lesson, and we're excited to see how they are doing this Wednesday.  

     Some new investigators from this week:

     Reina   - We met her while searching for a person who wanted an English class, but gave us an incomprehensible address. She
is simple and direct, and is willing to do what we ask to see for herself if this is the truth that we bring. She is different than many of the Latino people that I have met so far, but she seems very promising.

     Norma and (her son)     - We met them while tracting and they said to come by another day, so late last Monday evening we passed by and shared the Restoration with them on their door step. Norma seems a little reluctant, but she took the Book of Mormon and said that she would read it, and invited us to come back today as well. We hope that as they read the Book of Mormon that they will begin to feel the truthfulness of it.

     I love you all! Have a wonderful week,

     Your Missionary in California,

     Elder Mackelprang

P-Day (Apr 26 2010)

(Sister Bunker – Richard’s Mission Mom posted some pictures on her blog which I’m including here.  They’re of the Napa Zone Conference and include pictures of Richard – Mark)

	This is the entire zone.  You can see Richard near the left hand side of the picture.
	This is Richard in the lunch line.  I asked who the other Elders were, but he told me that they were just in line with him.  Sister Bunker told them to line up for pictures together :-)

     Hello everybody!

     Here's a special hello for Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Steven! I hope you guys have enjoyed NC!

     *Whew* This week has been longer than others, but that's a given when I've been keeping my pants together with strings of thread until I got my new polyester ones. We've had bike problems (more Elder Knowles than myself), and crazy happenings all around. It's been cloudless, sunny, and hot. Classic California weather. The English Elders lost the truck, and got a dinky little Carolla. It'll be a little more crazy taking the bikes everywhere now... but we'll manage.

     I love this little town, I know just about all the little streets in it, and I'm growing to love the people more and more. It's funny seeing all the little quirks that come with living in a small town like this one, but it's nice all in all. I'll definitely be stopping by here sometime, if Aunt Marsha and family still live in Santa Rosa. I've almost spent 4.5 months here! I'll laugh if I stay another transfer after this one. I'll have been here for 6 months then. Being with Elder Knowles is great. We get along really well, giving each other trouble every once in a while. It's a guy thing I guess. I'm happy that I'm with him though. He's a great missionary, and a hard worker. We've been exploring some of the parts of Sonoma we hardly get around to, that are higher up in the hills ( on our bikes of course! ;)  ) and have had fun whizzing down the streets really fast. We've been looking for Spanish "pockets" of good areas to tract while talking to people on the road. It's good stuff.

     To answer some ?'s

• Being on bike is always an adventure
• I don't have the old SD card, it's lost with the other camera the new one works good.
• The pants work great! and they're machine washable! Hallelujah! They should last a good long while.
• Mother's Day... well we'll probably call after 2PM our time if we have lunch with a member, or about 6PM if we have dinner. I'll have more info as we get closer.
• I don't remember if I already mentioned this, but I sang in sacrament a week or 2 ago, a solo of "Rock of Ages" It was fun, and everyone loved it. I'm enjoying the opportunity to sing at all times. It's just great to sing out and share my love for the Gospel.
• Stamps and Stickers are great for the package, if your sending snacks I'd appreciate jerky and honey roasted peanuts, I'm still working on all of those bags of sunflower seeds you sent me last time. They're not my favorite type of nut, but they are good. Thanks! (the SD card too)

     Here's an update on what's been happening with people I've been teaching:  

     This week has been good, with it's share of challenges, and spiritual fulfillment. We've been working with getting into lessons with our investigators, but they are still workaholics and are always doing something. The Lord always provides other opportunities to take care of, and to help us fulfill our goals, but it's still sad to see the world taking control of our investigator's lives with the need to work. I loved Zone Conference! I always learn something new to apply to the work, and how I can utilize the resources we have, how we can better work with members, etc. We really have all the tools we need to get the work done; we as missionaries just need to use them! This week we've had some bike trouble, but Bro. Newman has been a great help with some backup bikes so that we're not terribly hindered in getting to appointments, and getting around. We've been working with Sara Perez; Estella, Succorro, and Alejandro; and Moises, Berta, Teresa, and Francisco Gutierrez. Sara had to change her baptismal date because she didn't feel ready, and because we can only meet with her once a week. She feels the spirit each time we teach her, and she has told US that. She feels that it's true, but we've only had the opportunity to teach her up the latter part of the Plan of Salvation. She likes our church, but with her new job she's struggling to adjust to the new schedule. We're trying to help her get out to church like she did in the beginning. We are excited for her, and just have to get into her busy schedule and teach her. Estella, Succorro, and Alejandro came to church this week! With almost the entire family! It was beautiful to see them sitting next to their inlaws the Sanchez family. Actually Estella's son Rudulfo got baptized a few months ago, and he's married to Sis Sanchez. They were at his baptism, and know a little bit about our church. Succorro is progressing, but she's feeling oppression from the adversary. She told us that she was feeling sick that Sunday morning and really didn't want to go, but she went anyway and felt fine. Also when she was praying, she was praying to know and then she felt ugly, and bad, and couldn't concentrate. Bro. Moreno was with us and testified to her that it was the adversary trying to fight against her knowing about our church. We are very excited for them, and their family. We'll see how they progress. The Gutierrez family has been out of the loop for about a month or so, and they really didn't remember anything about the Restoration, so we went back and taught it to them again to get them on track and start the fires of faith again. It seemed to light back up with them as we taught it, and we're excited to see them progress too. The thing that would help them most is getting out to church. Hopefully the party that we're throwing will break whatever ice that is preventing them from actually coming out.

     I love you all!

     Your Missionary,

     Elder Richard Mackelprang

P-Day Again! (April 19)

     Happy 23rd Birthday, Robert! Hope it's great!

     Well I have a lot more time this week, which is nice for a change. I usually feel rushed when I do emails, especially by the time I get to write you guys!

     Here's the answers to your questions:

• Yes Mom, I would definitely like info on what I need for replacements regarding: that one pair of pants, and the shoes
• The pants did arrive at the mission office, but they can't forward it to me. So I will have to wait until this Thursday, when we will have Zone Conference.
• I said a little bit about transfers last time, but things are the same here except for Elder Balagna leaving. It feels weird with him being gone, he was a character. I'm happy that I'm here with Elder Knowles. We get along well. It's funny sometimes though, we're similar, but at the same time we're really different. The important thing is that we work together well. The new Elder who came in is Elder Wiznewski. He's cool, I don't know much about him though.
• Sonoma Chapel, on La Grama which runs into El Portola it should be around 95476 area code, technically it's in the Agua Caliente town boundaries. Have fun googling it.
• We get a lot of good food here. Mexican food is pretty general since Elder Knowles and I get fed by Mexican people a lot. They really are generous. They have been partying a lot recently too... it'll be interesting to see the craziness with the world cup and Cinco de Mayo. We had home grilled burgers for dinner. It was good stuff.

     I think it's great that the Popes are at BYU. I'm not sure if they'll remember me, but I'll probably look them up, especially since I probably will have to take a Eco. class for Gen Ed.

     Congratulations Jenna! (Getting into the Alpha-Beta club – Mark) I hope you enjoy it! It'll be good for when you apply for colleges.

     Don't worry Josh, I have a better looking hair cut now. That last one was one I did myself. I know I must have looked pretty crazy. When you guys send me a new SD card I'll take more pictures. I'm pretty much giving up on the other one. I have no clue where it could have gone... I'll keep praying to find where my old camera and SD card went to.

     Anyways here's what's been happening in my week:

     This week has been great! Elder Knowles and I have been teaching more than we have in the past weeks, and we feel like we're making a good deal of progress with our investigators! We're still facing some opposition with many of our investigators canceling, but we're working on passing by everyone more often and increasing our daily contact with them so that we have less problems with our appointments falling through.

     Investigators:

     Sara Perez is still on for May 1st, although if she can't make a secure time to meet with us at least 2 a week for these next 2 weeks then we might have to push it back. She loves what we're teaching her, and it makes sense to her. She hasn't been as steady to coming to church as she was in the beginning, but we're going to help her realize that it's something important, and that she'll be blessed in all aspects of her life, job included, as she obeys the commandments like keeping the Sabbath Day holy.

     Velia still has some doubts, and so this past week we taught her that all we can really do is help her find that testimony. The actual work and effort will come from her own efforts to pray to know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, just like the Bible. We committed her to pray to know about the Book of Mormon, to truly know. We're also still trying to get Velia and her family out to church. They said they were coming this week, but they didn't make it. We'll keep trying.

     Juan and Clara Saabedra are doing good, they were also going to come out to church, but their son has been down with a nasty cough for the past couple of days, bad enough that they canceled our appoinment later Sunday evening to take him to the hospital to see what's wrong. We're going to see them today, and if things haven't improved we've offered to give their son a blessing. We're going to get them working on their testimonies and show them that that's what they need to get baptized, and how it will bless their lives. I look forward to seeing how that will go tonight.

     We taught Erika yesterday as well. She had doubts about the Book of Mormon being the word of God, even though she thinks that it helps people come closer to God and the path that He has appointed for us to walk. We committed her to find that testimony through study and prayer. We plan to commit her to baptism with our next lesson with her.

     Luis is a relatively new investigator. We taught him, and the rest of his family last Sat. we talked about prophets and God's plan for us, and then watched the Restoration video. Luis seems to be into it, but his wife Angelica doesn't seem so interested. We commited them all to read, and we'll work hard with the spirit to get the flames of faith burning. We are very excited for them.

     We also have Martin Alverez. He's a non-member in a less active part-member family. He was doing great when he was being taught a few years back, but someone offended him at church, and things have been slow moving since. He doesn't seem to hold anything against whomever it was who insulted him... but something still seems to be holding him back from being baptized. We're teaching them again, and he's sharp. He remembers a lot of what he was taught, and understands a lot. We just need the spirit's guidance on what he needs. We'll be seeing him today. We'll see how it goes.

     It's been a good week. We've found some solid looking contacts and have made progress with some of our investigators! I hope to make this week a better week than the last as I work hard to make myself a Christ-like missionary and not just someone whose doing missionary things.

     Your Missionary,

     Elder Mackelprang

     PS - I finished Jesus the Christ and  am starting on the other books in the missionary library. It's awesome to be able to read from the apostles and the insights that they have had from studying the scriptures! I hope to be able to be a scriptorian like that someday!

This week (Apr 12)

Richard started his letter this week with some answers to some questions we asked earlier:

*Whew* hello all! They gave us a questionnaire this week, so I have even less time than usual... so to answer your questions:

• We're not making plans for the phone calls on Mother's Day yet, but it will probably be after 1PM
• Mission Home will call me, or will forward them to me.(the pants) (Note that we sent him a few pairs of pants to replace some that were wearing out)
• I'm OK with shirts
• Most of the Spanish people are impressed with what we understand from the amount of time we've studied.
• I'm pretty sure that I'm losing weight with the biking.

     I'm sorry that I can't add much more to my weekly email, but here's some of what's going on.

     This has been a better week than the past couple of weeks though it has been more wet. We have been blessed with many new investigators this week that show a lot of promise of progression. We will work hard and do our part to teach by the spirit and help them know of the truths we bring. We had a lesson planed with Sara Perez who has a baptismal date, but she was called into work last minute and our appointment canceled. We have another lesson with her this week, and we hope to help her come to know all of the wonderful truths and blessings that this Gospel brings us. This week has also had a great share of cancelations of our appointments, but we've strived to make strong commitments to our lesson times this week, and have a lot of teaching planned. We will be working very hard to accomplish the Lord's work here in Sonoma.

     Here's some more of the investigators that we're working with at the moment: Juan and Clara Saabedra, Velia and Armando, Mike Guzman, and Moises and Berta and their two kids Teresa and Francisco.  The Saabedra family is really great, and hardworking, though very busy. Our hardest step is setting good appointments where we will definitely find them at home and getting them to church. They are worried about their squirmy 1yr old girl will cause too much of a ruckus. We hope help them realize that it'll help their girl calm down as she sees the example that her parents set for her by going to church. Velia and Armando have overcome their doubts about Joseph Smith being a prophet, but they still have small blocks of doubt that we're helping them to overcome through study and prayer. We hope to help them come and be baptized soon. They'll be ready as they feel the spirit confirming our words. Mike Guzman has been progressing rapidly, but he has gotten more work and his schedule is now more crazy than it was before. So now we're going to have to figure out some time that we can get in and teach him, and commit him to baptism. He's ready. The Gutierrez family (Moises and Berta & Co.) was feeling sick, and canceled our last appoinment, but we're meeting with them today, and are excited to teach them. They have a strong family, and we hope to invite them all to baptism. The only problem that hangs in the horizon with them is that Moises smokes and drinks. We will be teaching them the Word of wisdom soon.

     I'm growing as I'm learning where I can apply myself, to grow as a tool and servant of the Lord, and it amazes me how much we really can change. If we are willing and open to it.

     I love the mission and I look forward to helping these my brethren to see the light,

     Your Missionary,

     Elder Mackelprang

     PS Elder Balagna is out and we're getting a new missionary! more next week.