October 29th, 2012

Hey family!

Good job Monkey's I’m glad that you did well at state!  That’s really awesome :)  I’m glad that BYU finally won a game they had a bad streak going for a bit.  Well dad I’m glad that your talk went well.  It’s amazing how the spirit prompts people what to do and say.  That’s one thing that I’ve really noticed since I’ve been out here.  Especially the other night we were eating with a part- member family.  The husband isn’t a member but he has terminal cancer in his lungs.  And they recently found 2 small spots on his brain so he was going in the next day to have them removed using lasers and things and he was pretty uneasy about the whole thing.  He asked us for a priesthood blessing and so I gave it to him.  It was cool how I was just really relaxed and just knew what to say.  He and his wife seemed really happy afterwards it was a neat experience. Oh I forgot to say thanks for the package!  It gave me some good Halloween candy to munch on.  Candace and Courtney looked really cute in their volleyball picture together.  Yeah it’s crazy that it’s almost November.  We have had some really cool weather this week so it’s been nice.  But I really can’t think of much that I want for Christmas.   But yeah I’m not sure either what will happen with the elections.  I got my card thing in the mail that has my voter ID on it so I’m going to try to vote today if I can.  It will be interesting to see what happens. I can’t believe that Court is already turning 15!  It’s pretty crazy how fast the time flies by.  Today in Presidents letter he said in the next few months we will have 190 Elders and 60 sisters which is due to the recent announcement.  Right now we have 160 Elders and 30 sisters.  It will be cool to see the huge influx of missionaries.  It was fun last P day we got to burn a big pile of old wood and sticks in the member’s backyard.  It was a big fire and burned really hot cuz the wind was blowing.  The zone conference was really great on Wednesday Elder Perkins had some great ideas, it was really neat to hear him talk.  Friday was our ward Trunk-or-Treat.  It was really fun we got to be the judges for the chili cook off, we had to try 15 different chilis and give them a score.  It was cool too because Mike and his 3 kids came to it, his wife had to work.  We weren’t expecting him to be there but I think he really liked it; everyone was really nice to him.  He said he was going to try to get to church yesterday but they didn’t show up.  Anyways it was a pretty good week.  But yeah I remember when we went to the Snyder’s haunted house it was pretty sweet.  That’s cool Courtney that you got to help out with it I bet it was fun.  Brad sure is a funny guy ha-ha.  Well Monkey I’m glad that you played well at state.  I’m sure you’re glad it’s over for the year and can now just relax through the winter.  Hopefully you did well on the ACT, but I know what you mean by the end of the test it’s hard to care ha-ha.  well I hope that you all have a fun Halloween:)  we will be in by 6 that night and we'll see what there is to do past that!  Have a great week I love you all!

Elder Morgensen 

P.S. the picture at the trunk or treat is of us and then Mike and his kids.  He also goes by Miguel too I think I have been calling him both ha-ha.

October 22nd, 2012

Hey everyone! :)

Thanks for the pictures everyone looks great!  The mountains look really nice too.  The girl’s sure look a lot older from what I remember.  This whole time I’ve kind of just thought not too much has changed but I guess that a year is a long time.  It doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone for that long though.  Our zone meeting went well.  Our interviews with President Jones got postponed cuz he had something come up so they will be in a few weeks.  We have got zone conference this Wednesday though which will be good.  Elder Perkins of the seventy will be there training so it should be a good conference.  We had dinner last night with the two boys that are from Utah and are inactive that had served missions.  It went pretty well, both their girlfriends were there too, and they all had a glass of wine with their dinner.  We just got to know them and tried to be their friends, we didn’t give them a rebuking or anything like that.  We hope to be able to get back over there sometime in the next few weeks and just kind of ask them what happened after their missions and see if we can help them.  Anyways yeah we had another lesson with Pam and it went ok.  She is just kind of ditsy and it’s hard for her to understand things.  We aren’t sure if she is just taking the lessons cuz she lives with her brother who is a member or if she really wants to learn, so we will see how that goes.  Well Candace good luck on the ACT!  You will probably get higher than I did ha-ha.  Just make sure you don’t spend too much time on one question.  Let me know when you get your scores back.  Its crazy how big Ava is getting she is just so cute.  Chan sent me some pictures and she is just growing right up.  Well we got the ward Trunk or Treat on Friday so that should be fun.  Well that’s about all I’ve got for this week.  Things out here are going great and the time seems to be flying by!  I love you all have a great week! :)

Love, Devan   

October 15th, 2012

Hey family :)  Sounds like you are all doing well...except for Monkey :(   ha-ha just kidding.  Wow that’s a crazy story about Candace having that reaction and getting the hives.  Hopefully it was the pistachios and she doesn’t have any more outbreaks.  That’s scary though.  She has really been accumulating some doctor visits hasn’t she.  We saw a dead corral snake this week which was kind of cool but also made me scared to walk through longer grass now.  Sounds like mom and dad had a nice drive up the canyon.  For some reason I can’t view some of the pictures you sent me.  I can view the three last ones you sent me but the group of ten that you sent won’t come up.  It will be Thanksgiving in no time.  But yeah Elder Holland’s talk really is amazing I really like it too.  Well this week I decided I would vote and so I registered so I should be getting something in the mail soon.  I’m going to vote for Romney.  I’m not too sure how the elections are going right now but I have a feeling it will be close.  Yesterday our ward had a "break the fast" activity at a ward member’s house.  It was like a big potluck to break everyone’s fast it was really fun like half the ward showed up.  As far me not a whole lot going on here.  We haven’t talked to Mike for a little while I was thinking about calling him sometime though; he hasn’t come to church yet.  This week we have zone meeting and presidents interviews on Wednesday.  Then next Wednesday we have zone conference where a general authority is coming, I can’t remember who but it’s a member of the Seventy.  So that should be pretty good.  The past 2 Sundays we have taught a members sister who is living with them but who is catholic.  We also have a lesson for Friday her name is Pam.  Not sure how fast she will progress but over time I think she will.  We also had a mormon.org referral to go by a member of the church.  It said he moved from Utah a little while ago and isn’t interested in the lessons but is willing to feed the missionaries.  We got that a while ago but finally got in contact with him this week.  It is two brothers living together who moved from Utah.  They are probably around 30 or so and both served missions, but they are inactive now.  They made it sound like they wanted to get away from Utah.  They had liquor bottles on their counter and also girls living with them so it was kind of sad to see.  One of the girls was also a member from Utah. They were both really nice though and we just got them talking about their missions.  We got his number and said we would call sometime to come over to dinner.  I don’t know about one of the brothers but I think the other one may have some potential of coming back.  But I’m not too sure right now we will just have to wait and see.  But we made the ward council aware of them and told them the situation.  That’s about all that happened this week.  Well I love you all and hope you have a great week! :)

Love Devan

October 8th, 2012

Hey family :)

Well dad it looks like you all had a fun successful hunt!  Conference was so great and it was awesome how they lowered the age for missionaries to head out.  Like you said it will really increase the number of those that serve, especially for sisters.  But yeah I really liked Jeffery R. Holland’s talk it was really good and then I also really like President Uchtdorf talk.  The whole conference was really good though we watched it down in the stake center.  And since it is down in Kyle in-between a session we went out tracting with the Kyle missionaries.  So it was fun to tract in the same area that I was at this time last year.  I didn’t see that TV special between the conference sessions about the missionary that served here.  I only know of two converts that went home this summer and that was Elder Brook and Elder Walter so I don’t know if either of them ring a bell but that’s really cool.  They were both actually AP's in the mission.  That’s cool that Bonnie and Tevan both got their calls.  Well we got transfer calls last night and we are both staying here for at least another 6 weeks.  We had Mike planning on coming to priesthood session with us because we had a barbeque before it but he didn’t show so that was a disappointment.  But no we aren’t really working with anyone new.  We have just been trying to contact less actives and also part member families which have had good results.  It sounds like the Monkey's are doing good in volleyball this year.  When is state?   It has been cold here too the past few days it has been nice.  Well that’s all I can think of.  I’m emailing off the members computer because the library is closed for Columbus Day.  Well thanks for the pictures dad!  Everyone looks great and so does the Bronco!  It looked like a fun camp.  Well I love you all have a great week! :)

Love, Devan

October 1st, 2012

Hey family!

Well I hope you all had a good week!  This week I went on exchanges with the district leader into his area called Bastrop.  It’s a huge country area their ward boundaries are like the size of Austin and it’s pretty much a bunch of nothing.  But anyways if I what I heard was true it was the same area that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre happened and also where those two missionaries got killed back in the 70s that aunt Natalie was telling me about, I think the area is called Dale Valley but I’m not sure.  So it was kind of scary knocking on houses late at night out in the woods.  But I made it out!  I guess a lot of people have pulled guns on the missionaries in the past but luckily not while I was there.  Also on Tuesday we went up into Austin for a Leadership training meeting it was pretty good.  On Saturday at the church was an emergency preparedness fair open for the community.  It was really cool there were a lot of booths on food storage and just being prepared for emergencies in general.  There was a pretty good turnout of people.  We were in the “Mormon Helping Hands” booth for an hour or so before we had to go.  But it was pretty fun.  Thanks mom for speaking about me in sacrament meeting I’m sure it was really good.  Hopefully you had enough experiences to work with.  But yeah send me the talk if you remember to I would like to read it.  Hopefully you are all ready for general conference this weekend.  It should be really good.  But yeah I told Josh sorry about his grandma.  Tell the girls to keep up the good work and make sure to watch conference :)  Well Monkey that’s cool you got asked to Prom already :)  That might even be earlier than when I asked.  He probably wanted to make sure to get you.  Well I love you all so much I hope you all have a great week!:)

Love, Devan

September 24th, 2012

Hey everyone.  Sounds like you all had a fun weekend.  The fireside that we did went really well.  We gave a 15 minute presentation along with a video to 4 different groups of youth.  The youth would just go to the next station when they were done with us so it turned out good.  We gave everyone donuts so that turned out good.  We also had stake conference which was really good our mission president came and spoke and did a really great job.  That’s funny that President Robinson still is going to keep that axe that is stuck in the wood for me to pull out ha-ha, but yeah I talk to josh every week and just see how he's doing.  They are a really great family.  I’m glad that the temple dedication went well.  Bryce was telling me that he went to it also.  I bet it’s a pretty temple.  Well dad, enjoy the hunt!  Have fun and try not to get your bronco stuck or anything ha-ha.  Hopefully it’s a good hunt this year and you see some nice bucks.  Say hi to Doug and grandpa and Justin for me.  But thanks for starting my car and stuff like that to keep it in good condition :)  But no Miguel has been hard to get an appointment with but right now we are scheduled to give him a church tour this Saturday and he said they are going to make it on Sunday so hopefully it works out.  We didn’t meet anyone new this week unfortunately.  But yeah I love to hear the prophet and apostles speak to us.  I’m so excited for General Conference coming up.  Also for family home evening or for a Sunday activity or something you should check out mormonmessages.org it’s a really great sight with great videos on it.  Well that’s all I’ve got for this week!  Have a great week i love you all so much! :)

Love, Devan

September 17th, 2012

Hey ya'll!

Sounds like everyone is going to have a pretty busy week!  That’s good that Beaver won their football game.  It sounds like they are doing well this year. The area we are in is really good I enjoy living with the members and yeah we still get fed almost every night.  We are having a youth fireside this Wednesday night and me and Elder McMurray get to do a 20 minute presentation of missionary work.  It should be pretty good.  The theme is centered on a short movie that I think is on lds.org on the youth part.  It’s called "inviting all to come unto Christ".  Anyway so we have been preparing that.  This week we also did a 20 minute lesson at zone meeting on the atonement which was really good.  Right now we are just trying to build up a teaching pool.  I have been trying to identify and contact the part member families in the ward and also less actives.  The ward seems pretty good on coming up with referrals.  We didn’t have a chance to meet with Miguel this week he has been busy.  But we are going to try to set up a dinner lesson for sometime this week at the members house so hopefully that goes well.  But yeah let me know when Tevan or Bonnie gets their mission calls.  I've been talking to Josh its crazy that he only has like 9 months left.  Also Bryson should be coming home I think sometime in January and then James not too long after that.  Have you been driving my car very much?  Do you still keep it in the garage?  I will be happy to drive it again when I get home ha-ha.  We are thinking about going to Cabella's after we are done here emailing.  It should be pretty fun looking at all the hunting stuff.  It’s crazy how fast the year has rolled around its already time for another hunt.  Hopefully grandpa feels good this year to get out and do a few things.  Well Monkey's have a fun time with homecoming!  Hopefully it’s a good game and Beaver wins.  I’m glad that you are both liking school so far and enjoying seminary :)  I hope volleyball keeps going good!  Well that’s all I have for this week!  I love you all so much and have a fun week! :)

Love, Devan

September 10th, 2012

Hey everyone.  Well this was a pretty good week.  I've just been getting more familiar with the area and also trying to get to know the members.  This ward is really great there are a lot of nice people in it too.  The work is going well they were only working with pretty much 1 kind of solid person when I got here but has kind of dropped us.  But we did meet this guy knocking the other day and talked awhile and set up a return appointment.  We went by with a member and had a pretty good discussion.  It was pretty much just getting to know him.  His family is nice.  We didn’t know but when we got there they were cooking burgers and other food for us so that was a nice surprise.  And we also had a dinner appointment right after the lesson so we got extra full.  The guys name is Miguel but he goes by Mike.  So we are excited to hopefully get back over there and teach him and his family.  But so far the area is great.  The members are really nice that we live with they usually give us leftover food and last P day they cooked breakfast for us.  They have a big tree in their backyard and there's a big branch you can climb on and they have a rope swing on a tall branch and basically you hold on and jump off and before you hit the ground the rope catches you and then you swing back and forth.  It was really fun but pretty scary the first time it took me awhile before I would do it.  Dang dad it seems like you get bronchitis every year so that’s good you know what is causing it.  Hopefully it helps you to feel better and not get sick anymore.  I’m glad that the dinner you did went well.  That sounds like a heck of a good football game you went and watched.  Beaver must be pretty good this year if they beat Kanab.  I really hope BYU has a good season.  But yeah my comp is pretty cool we get along well.  There is a shortage of active priests in the ward so yesterday I got to bless the sacrament.  It was the first time in awhile it brought back old memories.  I hear that Elder Holland gave a really good fireside last night for the 18-30 years old.  I really wanted to go and watch it.  I’m glad that the monkeys are loving volleyball.  There must be some really good teams this year to be beating beaver.  It’s been nice this week--we have had cooler temperatures so hopefully they stay this way ha-ha. I bet the fall back in Utah feels really nice.  Hopefully it gets a little more snow this year in the mountains.  But yeah on my year mark I had a gift card for 25 dollars to Chili’s that Tyson and Stephanie had given me so I took me and my comp out for lunch.  It was really good food it was fun to go out.  Now I am able to go back on my journal and see what I was doing a year ago so that has been fun.  It’s crazy to think in another year I will be home.  Well it’s good to hear that the monkeys like school.  It seems like as time goes on the classes are getting harder with more requirements so hopefully they can stick with it.  How is mom enjoying the new school?  That’s cool that Candace is on the stake youth committee and gets to plan all that stuff the Halloween dance sounds really fun.   Well that’s all I’ve got for this week.  I love you all and have a great week! :)

Love, Devan

September 3rd, 2012

Hey everyone!

Well I am in my new area.  I didn’t go very far, I just jumped 1 ward over.  It is called Buda.  But the u makes a "you" sound.  So it’s not the like big guy that started his own religion.  So this area borders with Sunset Valley, which is where I just was, and Kyle, which is where I started my mission.  We actually meet at the same building that I did in Kyle so at church yesterday I saw a few people that I recognize.  I only live like 5 miles from where I just lived.  We live with members here which are pretty cool.  They are the Patty's.  They have a really nice home on a nice piece of country property.  We have a room on the back side of the house and a bathroom so it works out nice.  They are really nice people to live with.  She is the relief society president and he is on the high council.  I think they have 4 kids but they are all grown and moved out so it’s just us and them here.  I’m actually emailing off their computer since all the libraries are closed today for Labor Day.  By the way I hope you enjoy your day off school!  But we are in a full car area so I won’t have to bike at least for a little while :)   My companions name is Elder McMurray which is cool because I already served with an Elder McMurray.  But he is from Logandale Nevada.  He seems pretty cool and as a brand new missionary is eager to get out and work which is good.  But yeah the area seems great and there are a few people we are working with.  It’s weird not having 5 other missionaries around you when you are home.  It’s back to just me and my comp but it will be fun.  But the trainer meeting in San Antonio was good. President Jones gave us a one-hour long training on how to be a good trainer. It was fun and I got to go and see the San Antonio temple for the first time it looks pretty from the outside.  But anyhow I’m glad that Dad and Doug were able to get a good hunting spot.  Hopefully it doesn’t snow or anything since you are going to be in a tent.   But yeah my mission birthday is coming up this week I can’t believe how it’s already been a year!  Hopefully the dinner you are in charge of turns out good.  It sounds like there is going to be a lot of people coming.  That’s awesome BYU won their game I hope they have a good season this year.  Candace's truck looks really nice!  It looks like you have done some nice work to it.  I’m sure monkey will enjoy the stereo when it gets installed.  So how is monkey getting the stick shift down?  It sounds like you and Monkey are tearing it up in volleyball!  Keep up the good work!  Well here is a picture of Michael and his family except for their 10 year old sister. Michael is the one in the black shirt.  Hopefully he will get baptized soon and I’m close enough that I will probably just drive up to it when it happens.  The other is a picture of me and Elder Ward when we just saw this van parked in someone’s driveway so we had to get a picture of that.  Well that’s all I’ve got for this week.  Love you all and enjoy your week!

Love, Devan

August 27th, 2012

Hey family!

Well it looks like I’m going to be out of here.  I’m getting transferred and my comp is staying.  I am going to be going somewhere and finish training a missionary so that will be really exciting I’m glad that I get to do that.  I will go to a new trainer meeting down in San Antonio on Wednesday and be going to the transfer meeting Thursday morning.  So unfortunately I didn’t get to baptize Michael while I was here but I’m sure he is going to get baptized soon.  I’m really glad that I and Elder Black were able to get the teaching and things started in that family they are really great.  So next week when I email you I will be in my new area and can then give you the address.  It’s crazy how the hunt is only a month away now.  You will be up there before you know it.  I got a package from Tyson and Stephanie last Monday after email.  It was really nice of them it had some snacks and some money and I also got a card and some money from Natalie and Blaine.  This time last year I went bow hunting with Tyson that was really fun so hopefully I will get to do some fun hunting next year when I get home.  But I’m glad that mom had a good birthday and got to watch the Dark Knight Rises I bet it was sweet!  That’s cool that Monkey's truck is getting fixed up you will have to send me some more pictures.  Well I’ve got to be running that’s all I’ve got for this week.  I love you all so much and have a great week!

Love, Elder Morgensen

August 20th, 2012

Hey ya’ll :)

Well I guess school and everything is back in full swing now.  It’s always tuff to start school back up but you get back into the groove in no time.  Well mom I hope that you have a Happy Birthday! :)  Hopefully they do something fun for you and take you out or something.  Everyone is always just getting a little older (ha ha).  But yeah Bryce sent me a pictures of his new truck it is really nice.  I’m sure he will have a blast over at college. Well the work here is going good.  We had President Interviews this week and told me I was probably getting transferred.  We get transfer calls this Sunday and then transfers next Thursday and then I will be somewhere else.  It’s crazy how the time flies I feel like I haven’t been here that long.  But we didn’t end up having the lesson with Michael last week but it’s scheduled for this week so hopefully it all goes well.  Well I will talk to you all next week and let you know if I end up getting transferred.  I love you all so much have a great week :)

Love, Elder Morgensen

August 13th, 2012

Hey family!

Thanks so much for the pictures!  You all look awesome.  Little Ava is just growing right up!  Grandpa looks like he is doing well too I’m sure he loved the visit.  That is a pretty picture of the mountains.  The Monkey's sure are looking older but I guess it’s been about a year so yeah. Everyone looks good and happy :)  But yeah some members took us out for Chinese food and so since I hadn’t tried duck I figured I would try it.  It was pretty it was just really fatty, but it still had a good taste.  But yeah we had fun.  She was telling us that her son was in the Las Vegas mission and it just got split and they made a Reno mission and that her son is in Elko.  I was telling them that I have Uncle Chad and his family that lives there.  But yeah it’s crazy where the time goes I can’t believe I’m almost half way done.  We still don’t quite have Michael with a date yet we are still working with him.  His mom who is the member was the one that said she still wants to wait a little while for his baptism.  He is definitely ready though he is a pretty smart kid.  I think we can get him soon though we are having a lesson about baptism on Tuesday.  We were also tracting this week in this apartment complex at around 8pm and saw this big u-haul pull up.    So we offered the people some help moving their things in.  They were really happy that we were there because they had friends and neighbors help pack it up but nobody to help them unload it.  And it was a single mom and her old mom and dad to help who really couldn’t lift much.  So there was no way they would have been able to get the things out of the truck without someone to help them.  We were there until about 10 pm because we didn’t want to leave anything left in the truck.  It was a really fun experience they were really grateful.  And since they were new to the area we invited them to church on a Sunday so maybe they will show up sometime.  But that’s about all we did this week.  Thanks for the emails every week I always look forward to Mondays! :) love you all so much and have a great week back to school!

Love, Devan

August 6th, 2012

Hey family :)

Well we had a pretty great week.  Zone conference was pretty fun I always love going to those.  We were able to teach a couple of new people this week so that was fun.  None of them came to church but oh well.  We were able to teach Michael though so that was good and hopefully we can get him baptized soon.  I’m sure the Monkey's got more school clothes this year than ever before.  It just keeps compounding (ha ha).   But yeah I love the fall back in Utah and especially the hunting.  What is Doug going to do since he sold his trailer?  It’s crazy that it’s only 2 months away it didn’t seem like too long ago that you went.  I hope you all have fun visiting grandpa and Toni and Wanda.  That will be good to see them.  I forgot that Courtney will be starting seminary that will be really fun she will really enjoy it.  That’s really cool that Courtney is the Mia Maids president.  Those are always really important positions where you can be an example to the other girls in the class so I’m sure she will do a good job of that. I hope the Monkey's weren’t too much for mom to handle up shopping I know how it can get crazy.  Well I love you all so much and have a great week! :)

Love, Elder Morgensen

July 30th, 2012

Hey everyone!

Well had another great week of working.  I guess August and September are usually the hottest months so hopefully I can get past those (ha ha).  But we are meeting with Michael O’Leary on Tuesday night we are eating dinner at their house and he was at church yesterday so things are looking good for him.  Right now he is set for the 18th of August but it may need to get pushed back a little bit we are going to try to figure it out on Tuesday.  We really aren’t working with anyone else that’s progressing we are still just out knocking.  We talked with a Muslim for about an hour in his house he was really nice.  He basically told us all about Islam and gave us each a copy of the Qur’an.  This month is their Ramadan so their family fasts everyday from sun up to sun down.  They are pretty devoted to their beliefs--that’s for sure.  How was the 24th of July?  Did everyone come to Beaver to visit?  I’m glad that dad got to have to week off to relax and get some things done.    I’m sure the Monkey's are excited to get all their new school clothes (ha ha).  Is Chan going to go with you at all?  How is her new job going for her?  Well I guess mom’s summer ends earlier than everyone else's but it’s always nice to get back into the groove of things.  I bet the new classroom is nice though.  That’s good that you all get to go see grandpa I’m sure he will love the visit.  I haven’t seen Tony and Wanda since I think that reunion we had in Idaho.  Hopefully everything goes well with his cancer.  But oh yeah at the capitol building there was some sort of a conference going on there and since we were dressed up I think some people just thought we were a group from a school and so they let us into some pretty cool rooms that others can’t go into.  It was pretty fun :)  But yeah we have got zone conference on Wednesday so that should be pretty fun.  The best way to do missionary work is just to see an opportunity and take it and not to try and make one out of nothing.  Well that’s all I’ve got for this week I love you all so much and have a great week and a fun time getting school clothes! 

Love, Elder Morgensen

July 23rd, 2012

Hey family!

Well I got my new companion on Thursday.  His name is Elder Ward and he is from Chandler Arizona I guess it’s like a suburb of Phoenix.  I don’t know him too well yet but he works hard so that’s really all that counts.  But anyway he has been out for about 14 months.  The boy me and Elder Black had been teaching is now back from his vacation with his family he was at church yesterday so now we can go ahead and keep on teaching him so that is pretty exciting.  That’s good that you are getting some time off this week especially for the 24th.  Besides Christmas and hunting that is one of my favorite times of the year it’s always a really fun day, especially the horse races.  Bryce told me that he is working a few days at Mike's so it made me think to last year on the 24th when I was working.  Its crazy how much can change in a year (ha ha).  But yeah I still hear from Bryce and Josh. James and I write letters so we don’t email as much, but they all seem to be doing really good.  Anyways the Capitol was really cool we had fun I will attach some pictures.  I guess it’s the only Capitol that is actually bigger than the nation’s capitol building so it was pretty massive.  But yeah I heard about that crazy shooting at the “Dark Night” movie that is just nuts it’s hard to believe someone would actually do that.  But Bryce told me he saw the movie and it was really good so that’s probably one of the first movies I will see when I get home (ha ha).  That’s cool that the Oakden boy left I’m sure he will like the Philippines.  Well it sounds like the Monkey's are going to have a good season of volleyball I’m excited to hear how things go.  That’s really good that Monkey can drive her truck good now with the clutch.  Once you get the hang of it it’s easy after that.  I remember when I first bought my motorbike how frustrated I would get trying to get out of first gear (ha ha).  So when are the big clothes shopping spree set up for?  (ha ha).  Enjoy the rest of the summer before school starts!  Well that’s all I’ve got for today but have a great week everyone! Love you all!

Elder Morgensen  

July 16th, 2012

Hey family! :)

Sounds like you guys finally had some rain back there it’s about time.  It’s been raining here a lot this week too so it’s been nice and not too hot.  I couldn’t believe the downpour we had last night it was crazy to drive in.  Well we got transfer calls last night and of course I already knew Elder Black is leaving (ha ha).  But I am still staying here and so I will get my new comp on Thursday.  I’m not training or anything so I will still just be a regular which is still ok with me.  I’m really glad I’m staying I really like this ward.  I’m glad you went to Bryce's homecoming talk I bet he was funny (ha ha).  It’s crazy how the time flies.  It looks like I will hit my year mark in this area so that will be cool!  I’m not sure what we are going to do for P day today we might go to the capitol or something like that.  But not too much happened this week.  And this next week might be slow too cause I will be with another companionship Tuesday and Wednesday until Thursday when I get my new comp.  The bible study hasn’t had too much success.  Neither of them were able to come on Thursday.  We are usually the only companionship out of the 3 that can get people out to it so if nobody comes from our area then there's nobody there at all and then we just head back out and go tracting.  That’s cool that the new elementary is all done and finished I bet it is nice.  I’m glad that the front yard is coming along I bet it looks nice.  Well that’s all I’ve got for this week.  I love you all and I will tell you next week who my new comp is.  Love you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Morgensen

July 9th, 2012

Hey family!

Well yep I hit my 10 month mark so that was pretty sweet!  I'll be at a year in no time!  I had a really fun time on the 4th of July.  We ended up not having to knock doors at all.  Some families in the ward invited us to the park for a lunch so we hung out there for a while and then changed into some regular clothes so that we could play some ultimate Frisbee.  It was a blast.  Then we just stopped by less active families and visited a few.  Then we ate a nice big dinner with a part-member family in the ward which was nice.  We just shared a mini restoration lesson but the husband seemed pretty closed off to it.  Then after that we went over to our ward mission leader’s house and ate some homemade ice-cream it was pretty good.  And then on the way home we saw a few fireworks so that was good (ha ha).  As the mission goes on I’m learning how to be more frugal with money so that’s probably something really good that I can use at college (ha ha).  But we haven’t really had any "missionary moments" lately but we seem to help people out more by just being nice to them.  Like there's a lady in our apartment complex I saw the other day that has a cane and was trying to carry her groceries up to the third level so we went over and helped her out and she was really happy and grateful and said for the 3 years she's lived her nobody has ever offered to help.  So now every time she sees us she wants to talk for a few minutes she seems to really like us.  And on Thursday nights we have a bible study that we take turns teaching and a less active member in our ward has been bringing his friend who isn’t a member and he really likes that class.  Because he didn’t live in our area we referred him to other elders but the next time we saw him he said he would prefer to study with us because he didn’t really like the other elders he said there were too pushy and just wanted him to commit to baptism.  So if we get a chance we might just teach him the restoration because he really likes us.  He really likes the bishop too they met and stuff so we will see where he ends up.  But after the class one night he came up to us after and told us that he was just really going through a hard time in his life and wanted us to pray with him so I said a prayer for him and it made him really happy.  Even the next week he thanked us cause he said after we prayed with him things just went better for him so that was cool.  That’s cool all the missionaries that are heading out I can’t believe they are that old.  Well, love you all and have a great week!

Love, Elder Morgensen

July 2nd, 2012

Hey family!

Sounds like everyone is having a fun summer!  Dad does yard work and rides his bike and the girls go on camps.  Sounds like the yard is really coming along but yeah it can be a surprise when I come home that will be better than seeing a picture of it.  I bet that was fun to go and see grandpa on the bike.  Is he having some more health problems or are they the same ones?  Hopefully he can hang in there.  Having 108 degrees on the bike in Sunday clothes is not fun at all.  Usually the faster you go the cooler the air is that hits your body but at that hot it’s just like a blow dryer is aimed right at you (ha ha).  So now when we are on bike we stick pretty close to home.  But my companion goes home on the 18th so he only has like 2 weeks left he is getting excited.  But that’s cool that someone up in Round Rock knew who I was.  I wonder if they were from the Kyle ward or from here in Austin.  It sounds like the Monkeys had quite the girl’s camp it sounds like they did some fun things.  And the whole bear story is pretty funny I’m sure they were all super scared.  And even scared enough to throw up (ha ha).  I bet the monkey was going ooo ooo and ahhh ahhh  (ha ha).  That’s really cool that you got to go to the Tuachan I’ve heard that’s a really cool place I will have to check it out when I get back.  That’s really awesome that you had a great testimony meeting.  I remember that the testimony meetings at camps and on the trek and EFY are always the best ones.  But that’s cool that Monkey gets to be on the stake youth committee.  That was a really fun thing to do I really liked it you get to plan all the stake activities.  Just keep working on the stick shift it will get easier.  I’m sure when I get home I will have to get used to my car again.     Well everyone have another great week!  Love you all so much! :)

Love, Devan  

June 25th, 2012

Hey family :)

Sounds like you all had a really fun week!  The youth here in this ward just had their youth conference also and it sounded really fun so I’m sure that you all had really fun too!  I heard that new mall next to temple square is really nice I’m excited to see it when I get home.  I've got to say that Monkey has got a pretty sweet truck!  I can’t believe you got it for so cheap!  It looks like it has had some good work done to it, I can see it has a bigger axle and probably a few other things.  The tires and rims are nice too you should put them on the Tank (ha ha)--just kidding.  Monkey needs to be careful when you drive it and don’t take it up in the mountains, believe me I know how easy it is to roll (ha ha). So be careful :)  But yeah I remember breaking the Robinsons ax up at their cabin I felt pretty bad about it.  That’s funny that they still kept it.  It looks like Ava sure is getting bigger she looks cute especially her smile :)  Thanks for the extra money it really helped.  The shop said there was a few more things wrong with the bike that they fixed so I have it back now and it rides really nice so I’m glad to have it back.  It sounds like Monkey's truck came along at just the right time to help with the dirt in the yard.  So how many shrubs are you putting in?  Have you put any trees in?  I bet it’s looking nicer and nicer.  You will have to say hi to Bryce for me when you see him.  But from what I've heard it’s pretty dry across the western states.  Hopefully no fires get near Beaver.  Hopefully it rains soon so that dads lawn can stay green and they won’t ban fireworks (ha ha).  It’s getting pretty dry here also and getting really hot.  Now the triple digits are starting to hit so hopefully I can make it through the summer.  But the work is going great!  Michael, who is the 12 year old boy, is leaving for like 3 weeks so we won’t get to teach him for a bit but he has been progressing right along.  Other than that we have done a lot of knocking with a few return appointments but nobody too solid.  Well that’s all I’ve got for this week.  Love you all take care and have a great week! :)

Love, Devan

June 18th, 2012

Hey family

Happy late Father’s Day Dad! I hope that it was a good one!

Yeah it is definitely getting hot here I’m really not looking forward to July and August I hear those are the worst ones.  Someone needs to tell me what kind of truck monkey got and send me a picture (ha ha).  I want to see it.  But that’s pretty cool I bet she is happy with it.  This week I wrecked on my bike and broke off the back de-railer.  I was fine though just the bike wasn’t (ha ha).  But it’s in the shop right now to get fixed and is probably going to be like $85 to fix so I was wondering if you could help me out with that.  I was just going to put it on my credit card.  The guy that looked at it told me it was probably due to my chain being stretched out with all the riding that I do.  I didn’t know that they stretch out because it didn’t break off initially at the wreck it broke like half a mile later when I shifted my gears and then it snapped off.  But he is going to do a lot of stuff to it and adjust my brakes and everything else so I am glad that I’m getting all of that done I knew it was going to need some maintenance soon.  I should be able to pick it up on Tuesday.  But anyhow other than that it was a really good week we are working with a part-member family and we are going to try to get their 12 year old boy baptized.  The mom is a member and the dad isn’t and he isn’t too interested but he still comes to church with them sometimes.  Up until now they had been less active but they are coming more regularly and now that he goes to Deacons quorum now we went over and taught about the Priesthood and that he can pass the sacrament and stuff so we asked if he want to be baptized and he said yes so hopefully he doesn’t change his mind (ha ha).  But they are a really cool family to teach and the dad sits in and listens so maybe he might come around too.  But other than that we just did some knocking this week.  Well that’s all I got for this week. Bryce comes home in a week and a half so that’s crazy you will have to say hi to him for me.  I just got an email from the Ike and Eileen and they said to tell you all hi. 

Love you all and have a great week!

Elder Morgensen

June 11th, 2012

Hey family!

First off, Monkey got a truck?  That’s pretty sweet.  Send me a picture next week and tell me more about it that’s really cool I didn’t know she was getting anything (ha ha).  That’s sweet.  But yeah I bet some people were pretty upset about the changes in the stake.  That’s cool that they made a Minersville stake.  That’s also really cool that the elementary school is getting finished that will be really nice.  It will be ready to go by the start of the new school year right?  Well, it sounds like the front yard is coming along.  That will be nice when I come home to hopefully see it done or most of the way done.  I’m sure it will look nice!  What else do the Monkey's have planned for the summer?  Is the family going to do anything?  I remember buying those big fireworks last year that was pretty fun (ha ha)..  I always really liked working at Mikes in the summertime summers are just the best for everything (ha ha).  even for tracting too cause now when we knock on someone's door their kid will answer every time and then the parent has to come to the door and talk to us (ha ha).  So that’s been pretty nice but yeah it’s just getting hotter so we really enjoy the car when we have it.  We haven’t found anyone that’s too solid just knocking so we are going to put more focus on part member families in the ward and go after them.  Well anyways that’s all I’ve got for this week.  Take care everyone and enjoy the coming week! :)  Love ya all!  Devan