April 29, 2013 Letter

Family!!!! Well it is wonderful to be able to write to you another week!! I am sad to say that not much has changed since last week.. It has been an extremely rough couple weeks for me and my companion! We had those four baptisms and then NOTHING. We have worked our hardest these past couple weeks and we haven't had anything. The Lord is definitely humbling and preparing us for something great! I am so excited to find out what it is! But it's been tough because I went on companion exchanges on tuesday and we spent the WHOLE day driving the city trying every possible person and no one was home. No one. It was like 6 at night when we knocked a street and got 4 contacts!! The whole day with NOTHING and then at the end 4 people on one street! That made it all worth it. But the days are going like that here! they are a minute to minute fight with satan to push past him and keep working as hard as you can! I still absolutely love it though :) There are soooo many good experiences here that just outweigh the bad a billion to one. Its so awesome. I had the opportunity to confer the priesthood upon someone!! That was so cool!! It's my first transfer and I have been blessed to Baptize someone, Confer the Holy ghost upon someone, Confer the priesthood upon someone, and give a couple blessings! What priveleges I have been blessed with!!!!! Malachi is the name of the 15 year old I conferred the priesthood on. He is a super stud! He is so funny and Just a joy in life. We actually just started teaching his brother as well! So we might have those two now, and then next we just have to get the mom there with them :) When one person drops, it seems like the Lord puts another out there for us. It's getting pretty hot here! It's only the spring time, but we've had some hot days.. and apparently that's nothing compared to the summer... fetch. haha But oh well it's all good! Just make sure to teach lessons all day and I won't have to be in the sun right?? haha I am getting pretty confident in my teaching in english! But then we go to spanish.. and... it all goes away. haha I love speaking spanish, but I can't. I need to have more faith and trust and practice tons more!! But we don't even have a spanish branch out here so it's tough. We are teaching one family and they have a date for the 31st of May! So we are excited about that. I love this family so much and the make me feel so welcome every time! She cooks pretty dang good food! But one night she cooked something and everyone was talking about it, and I asked what it was and no one would tell me. Being polite I scooped up a bowl and grabbed some tortillas and began to eat it! It was definitely different.. haha I ran out of tortillas and grabbed my spoon and looked at what i was about to put into my mouth and then i knew what it was... I saw the little bumps on the skin of a pig... I was eating Pig and cow intenstines!! I almost about died. It made my stomach so sick that I really couldn't take another bite! I felt terrible, but I was going to throw up.. haha So that is the craziest thing I have eaten so far and probably the craziest because I am only in Texas. But I didn't like it at all! Christee you should cook it for the boys and see if they like it!! hahaha :) It's called Menudo, I think.. The taste wasn't too bad, but the texture was squishy and just what was in it was just... bleh. I won't go into more detail because It makes me sick thinking about it!! haha But the work is progressin and slowly at the moment, but it is progressing! Family I love you!! I am so glad to be apart of you and to be able to be out here and be apart of this! Thank you for all your support and raising me to be where I am today! It is truly a blessing! I love you all so much and pray for you every single day! Please send my love to everyone! Thank you!! And oh yeah! I get to call you guys on Mothers day! Which is the 12th I believe... I don't know what time yet, but I will let you know :) Love you all!! Love, Elder King (The pebble)

April 22, 2013 Letter

Family!! I love you all!! It is such a joy to hear all about you all!! And Happy Birthday to everyone because I miss alot of birthdays already!! I apologize, but trust me I think about you all the time and have you in my heart constantly!! From what I hear it sounds like that family is doing good and progressing in everyone's individual aspects! That makes me happy!! I am so glad! Michael I wish i could've heard your talk!! I bet it was amazing though!! And Christee you can't get your license until I get home!! haha Texas is still good ol Texas! This week was pretty rough going... Alot of people punched on our appointments. (Punched means cancelled by the way, don't ask me, that's what everyone calls it and it catches on) We struggle with getting members to our lessons as well. Our ward is notorious in our mission... not for good either.. There are very very good people in this ward, but hardly anyone will work with us, or help us out in any way! Apparently this area has been white washed quite a bit so the ward got bitter about it, but we are starting to gain back their trust and it's progressing, but it's a huge obstacle we face is our own ward! It is sad, that it is that way but we can have success and earn the trust of the ward, we just gotta keep trying! I am learning so much out here and it's crazy how much you learn in such a short span of time!! The mission recieved 25 new missionaries when I came and they will receive another 25 this next transfer which is in 2 weeks! That is 50 new missionaries is this mission within 3 months! How crazy is that! THe work is going forward!! Ok so a couple fun facts about the town I am currently serving in. Abilene, Texas: 1. Has the most churches per capita in the entire world!! So like there is a mormon church on every corner in Utah, that is the same here, but with Baptist, or church of Christ, or Methodist, or any of those! 2. Abliene Hosts the "BYU (mormons)" Of the Baptists, and the Church of Christ, and the Methodists. ACU which is Abilene Christian University is the "BYU" of the Church of Christ, and Hardin-Simmons University is the "BYU" for the Baptist, and Mcmurry something... I forgot the full name but it is the "BYU" For the Methodists! I wonder how those rivalries go down... haha So now you know a little about the area I am serving in and the people I am trying to teach! Haha It's definitely a challenge... but It is possible. I haven't been condemned by any preacher yet so I am grateful for that, but the week before I got here, a guy told my companion he was going to be damned and all that terrible stuff. So luckily I haven't had that! Yet... This week we have an appointment to go see this couple and it should be interesting. He is majoring in Religion and she is knowledgable about the Bible. Whenever we tried to bear our testimony they come right out saying "Let me Axe you a question." haha So hopefully it's not a bashing session because nobody wins in those... So please pray for strength for me if you would! Spanish is still coming really really slowly out here! I haven't been able to speak much at all! But I think next transfer I will become a pure spanish missionary without an english ward, because of all the new missionaries coming in!! So hopefully everything works out with that! That'd be nice! If there is anything else you want to know about here just let me know! I can't really think of anything right now.. haha Family I love you so much!! I am so grateful for you and am so happy for all you do for me! Keep coming closer to the Lord and everything will be ok :) I love you all and pray for you constantly!! Please send my love to everyone! Love, Elder Matthew Todd King

MTC Pictures (These were also the March 21st, 2013 Letter- it was a picture letter!)

Catch up Letters (The ones I didn't post yet! )

April 8th Letter Family!! Holy Cow wasn't conference so amazing?!?!?!?!?! I flippin loved it!! How blessed are we that God talks to us through prophets and apostles and that we can be better protected from Satan! What a blessing. I won't lie, I have never felt Satan work os hard on me here, it is so tough... It is a minute to minute battle with him I swear! But the cool thing is, I already know the outcome and what to do to get here. The Lord will always prevail and I just need to follow him. Simple and yet sometimes we stray! And that is why I'm also thankful for the atonement! Without it, life would be pointless, literally. We are blessed in so many ways and in so many aspects of our lives! I love it!! MICHAEL! Congratulations!! I wish you could see how happy I am for you! I'll just shout my excitement from here and hopefully you can hear me man. Dude I can't wait to go with you and for you to come out! That is so awesome. Good job brother, I wish you knew how much I look up to you every single day of my life, and how much I want to be like you. You are such a good example to me brother and I hope you know that. I know I have probably said this everytime, but I want it to be drilled into you heads because it is so true! I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY I COULD EVER HOPE FOR!!! I look up to every single one of you and I can't tell you how much you all impact my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think about every single one of you. I love and pray for you all! Texas, I love it here. It was cold this past week, and hot! It's like Utah! Bipolar. But The work here is growing! I am in Abilene and before this use to be the worst area, and no one listened, worked, or anything, but it has been turned around, and we are the highest baptizing zone in the mission! Me and my companion have another three baptisms this weekend!!! I actually get to baptize one of them too!! My first personal baptism! I am so excited for these people and the joy they receive and will receive! There is no more rewarding work than this. One thing that touched my heart every time is to hear someone pray for the first time. They talked to God like they would their best friend and it is very touching. I love it. Please talk to God as your best friend and not in vain repition! He is our loving Heavenly Father and loves to hear about everything i mean EVERYTHING in your life! No matter how small! We have been really busy with appointments lately that we haven't knocked doors much, but I like this better! Sterling is right when he said the area book is KEY! There are many people that get skipped over that need to be reached! The Lord provides when we put the effort to search. It's amazing. WE have taught a couple more lessons in spanish, but it's amazing how much you forget or lose practice after not using it for like a week or two... I can't lose it! I love speaking Spanish, but it's so hard to learn here because We are trying to get the Spanish Branch going, but no success yet! We mostly take care of an english ward, but I love doing that too! I have the best of both worlds because I get to speak both languages and preach in my native tongue and In a foreign one! That is a gift from God to me for sure. The people still don;t like us here very much and it is a predomionantly Baptist city, and also Church of Christ. They don't take too kindly to us... haha but we know who will prevail in the last day so we don't let that get us down!! I feel blessed to be here in Texas and I can't wait to preach more!! It's the best feeling in the world and I wish I could do it for the rest of my life!! It is so pleasing to hear the family is doing better and that situations are getting better. If there is anything I can do for you guys I would love to help any way I can. Thank you for your support, love, and letters! I am so happy to be here! And there is no other place I would rather be. Life is good. Heed the counsel of General Conference! Listen to Dad! And please remember we are ALL daughters and Sons of our Heavenly Father, treat eachother in this manner! I am sorry If I have done wrong by any of you, if so, I am terribly sorry, please forgive me. Please know that I love you and more importantly our Father in Heaven loves you. Missionary work is amazing. People need to feel the same joy we do. Please share it! And please read from the Book of Mormon daily. I know we get caught up from our lives, but We must treat that the same as Eating and Breathing. It Is NECESSARY to truly Live!! Family I know with all of my heart this church is true and that by abiding to the precepts of the book of Mormon as Joseph Smith said we will come closer to God! I love my Savior and Am grateful for all he did for ALL of us. His hand is always outstretched, we just need to reach for it. I love you all so much and can't express my joy that I feel knowing I have the family I do. I wouldn't want it any other way. Mom Loves you all and is watching over you! She is constantly giving me love and help here. I love you all so much!!!! :) Love, Elder King (Baffews) :) April 1st Letter Family!! I am officially in the state of Texas! Everything is flippin flat... haha ZERO mountains!! But I love it here!! It is a blast and I can't believe I am already here!! My companion is Elder Shaun Duffy and he is from Idaho, but he is an absolute stud and a hard worker so don't worry I am in good hands! He is obedient and a hard worker but he knows how to have fun so thats good. Texas is a blast!! The people here don't really like us, but we love them!! We have 6 people going to get baptized in these next couple weeks!! That is something special to come into!! I feel very blessed!! And We had a baptism this past saturday!! He has special needs so we got special permisison to baptize him, but he is one of the happiest people I have ever seen. He knows God loves him and he knows he Has the Holy Ghost with him all the time after his confirmation!! He is one of the best people I have ever met!! I love this work!! First week here and I got to see the rewards of hard labors and I love it!! We teach in mostly english. The first lesson we taught in Spanish was yesterday. It's tough in this area because we have to get the Spanish branch going, but we have to take care of an English ward, so it's a lot of work and too little time to get everything done!! The days fly by here and it seems like they go faster and faster!! I wish there were more time so we could actually get to everything we planned to do, but we just keep trucking along and do as much as we can!! I am in Abilene, Texas this is my first area and I love it here. Texas is very religious, so we have a lot of preachers that have it out for us. But "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing., Persecutions may rage, Mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth Bodly, Nobly, and Independent." That is a little part of the Standard of truth, Joseph Smith. Thanks to priest quorum I have it memorized!! haha But Satan is at work and he is one tough son of a gun. He has so many holds on all our investigators, but the Gospel of truth can loosen his hold and It is the coolest experience to see that. I got my bike thank you!! I am squared away and everything is going well!! The bike is wonderful and I have probably put like 50 miles on it in one day. We have a car for half the week and bikes the other half. There is alot of biking to do!! haha But it's fun. Many people to talk to, many people reject us, many people don't give us the time of day. But our work is not in vain, because we have 6 getting baptized soon, one last saturday, and more to come. That is what makes it all worth it. Bringing others into the fold of God. It;s the most BEAUTIFUL work upon this earth is Missionary work, whether for living or for dead. It's amazing. I love it here and I wouldn't want to be any where else!! Michael I am so proud of you!! You have no idea how happy I am for you and How excited I am for you!! I can't wait for you to get out here and to see the beautiful everyday miracles that occur!! God is amazing and so loving!! Family It is so good to hear about all of you!! I love you all so much and I love hearing your stories!! Christee congrats on the Permit!!! AHHH!!! Chrisch congrats on the work!! I love hearing how everyone is staying busy and doing good! If I had one suggestion, I would say to Go to the Temple!! Go as a family!! If it's not possible for you at the moment. Do EVERYTHING in your power to make it possible! No matter what the circumstances are. Because with God MIRACLES are possible. But only through him!! Family I know this church is true and I see it bless the lives of people every day. I know it will bless ours as well. The Temple is a sacred place we need to be and it will help through anything!! I promise! But you don't have to take my word for it, because God says the exact same thing. So you can take his! I love you Family and i will write more and Send more pictures!! Lots to do and little time to do it!! I love you all!! Thank you for everything!1 And If you want to send pictures I would love pictures of the family!! I love you all!! Love, Elder King

Baptism Pictures

April 15, 2013

Family!! Another successful week of missionary work completed!! It's crazy how fast these weeks fly by!! The days seem forever and the weeks go by as if it were nothing!! My 2 month mark was on saturday!! How crazy was that? And what better way to celebrate than to have 2 Baptisms!! We had two baptisms, a mother and a son. And I had the wonderful opportunity to baptize the mother!! And confer the Gift of the Holy Ghost to the Son!! They are an amazing family and have been so prepared for this Gospel form the Start!!!! They are so kind and so sweet and I love them!! It was such a neat experience for me and they were just shining! The Lords work is a beautiful thing! Then on sunday we had another Baptism! So we had 3 this weekend! He is 15 and is a such a funny kid. I love him. I'll send you pictures so you can see what they look like! But They were such amazing experiences and they even helped non-members there to feel the spirit and some even asked for the missionaries! The Lord works Miracles every single day!! I feel like being here has opened my eyes up more to see how many there really are, but I don't think it's possible to see every single miracle. So we just gotta thank him for the ones we don't see either :) Family I love TEXAS! It is getting flippin hot, the people still don't like us, doors get slammed in your face almost everyday, and Satan works his hardest on you. But, I don't mind :) I love warm weather, i love the people here, There's always another door to try, and Satan has lost from the beginning. He chose his fate and I will choose mine. The Lords work WILL move forward no matter what! I love it and It is where I find my strength to push on! The Lord knows all we go through, and he knows just how to help, and what a blessing that is!! I love it!! The language is coming... very very slowly... The spanish branch is not started here so we are working on that and next month it will start so then I will probably become full time spanish and some english wards will pick up the ward we have. I am excited for that, but I am sad I will leave all those people! But What happens is in the Lords hands, and he knows just what he is doing. MICHAEL!!! I am so excited for you to get out here!! Dude I want you to come to Texas with me!! PLEASE!! haha I know it;s not your choice, but it's worth the try. haha But I am so excited for you and am so proud of you! You are such a great example!! CHRISTEE!! What the heck?! You can drive?! Ok slow down there Kiddo... haha I'm just kidding,. I am so proud of you and you are growing up way too fast!! You are so strong and an amazing example to me kiddo!! STERLING!! Dude There is so many times here, when a situation pops up and I would think, what would sterling do?? Because I know how amazing of a missionary you were and still are!! It has been a blessing to me and I thank you for that!! CHRISTIAN!! Dude congrats on the job! And i'm so sorry about the computer and phone!! Dude I love you so much and Whenever I'm having a rough day here, I always think of how you are always playing a joke on someone or making someone smile and i can't tell you how many times it's helped!! Thank you! GREG!! Dude I am so proud of you for strapping down and working hard! That's tough and especially away from family! But what a blessing it'll be to you in your life and it has helped me so much to realize it's possible to work your hardest and to be away from home because its worth it in the end! Thank you!! BROOKE&MIKE&ADAM!!! I love you guys! I miss you all like crazy! But I can't tell you how many compliments I am getting on your ties and I have been showing them off to everyone!! Haha I love it! Thank you for being so loving to me! Thank you!! BRITTANI&RYAN&KIDDOS!!!! I love you guys so much!! It's hard to be away from all the kiddos and being able to play and hug them and see them grow!! But they are so cute and I love their stories! And Thank you so much for the packages and letters and the constant love and support!! You are amazing! Thank you!! DAD!!! You are the greatest dad in the world, did you know that?? Because It's true. Thank you dad for being the man I want to be for my kids. I have never really truly understood your sacrafice for us kids as you travel every week until I came here. It's so hard to be away from home, but It brings blessings back to the family! I love you so much dad and will forever be grateful for all you have done for me!! Thank you family for everything!! I love every single one of you so much and I am so grateful for you!! Everything is going great and the Bike is perfect! Thank you for everything!!! I love you all soooo much!!! :) Love, Elder King (Manu man) :)