12/10/2013

   So in last weeks email we told Kyle that we sent a package to his previous apartment. This week we asked him if he was able to get it. We also asked Kyle for his new address, which he failed to give us. Ug. So I updated the blog and put the mission home address on it for now. We also told him that this past Sunday was Stake Conference and told him about two great talks that were given. Tracie also told Kyle that she was done with all the Christmas shopping and now can focus on writing the annual Christmas letter. Tracie also asked if he was able to see any movies because she was talking with her dad and he mentioned that he was able to go to them. Below is Kyle's letter.

hola!!!

so my hands are really cold since we just helped people move stuff into storage for the past 3 hours!! haha so its hard to type :P ya im now serving in the scenic hill ward and my new comp is awesome!! i did get the package and guess what!! funny story Elder Grandstaffs mom sent him the same exact tree! so now we have 2 of the same trees in a corner in our apartment! on the bright side the high of this past week was about 30 degrees!!! so fun tracting in the freezing cold weather where your words start to slur because your lips are frozen haha!! so we have this awesome investigator named josh!!! he is super solid in the gospel. he quit smoking and chew and gave up drinking coffee!!! hes been clean for about a week now! he will be getting baptized on the 21st of this month!! super excited for him!!! other than that we have been trying to find people to teach!! i love being a missionary!

                     -Elder Garr

12/01/2013

   Our last email to Kyle we talked about how its already December and that he has surpassed his 1 year mark on his mission. We asked him how his Thanksgiving was? Was he fed by a Ward member and was it as good as grandma's? We told him how grandpa and grandma invited the missionaries in their Ward to celebrate Thanksgiving with all of us. Tracie told Kyle how she took pictures and forwarded them to their parents and let them know they were taken care of. We asked Kyle if he received the package we sent. We asked for his new address. We told him that his sister Lexi finally bought some fabric and made herself some really soft pajama pants. (She's very proud of them) Told him that Kinlee was going up to the Snowflake Temple in the coming week. And finally, we let Kyle know that we broke down and bought a pre-lit christmas tree so we won't have to string a gazillion lights anymore. Oh, by the way, YSA stands for Young Single Adult Ward.

                              Here's a map showing where Kent, WA is located.

hey!!!

its crazy that its already december!! and in 24 days i get to see ya!! (but whose counting :P)  i bet you are ;) this past thanksgiving was awesome!! we went over to a ysa's parents house and they fed us good!! i didnt get the package that you sent but it is working its way to me!! i will probably get it on friday!  so i have some news!! i got moved out of YSA and  am now in Kent! my new companion is Elder Grandstaff! he has been out 1 month longer than me!! so with the address they want all packages sent to the mission office :) call the mission office about the address :) cuz i dont know it!! haha you waited till i was gone to buy a pre-lit Christmas tree...... who said that it would be worth it :P i think i did haha and now you finally got it haha! glad to hear that everything is going good back home!! i love being out here on a mission!! love and miss everyone!!

                -Elder Gar

11/04/2013

     So this past week Tracie wrote Kyle about how we went to Abby Shill's opening of "The Letter" and learned that she will serving in Piura, Peru. Kinlee had mouth surgery to fix the gap between her two front teeth, this is the same procedure Tracie had as a kid. Halloween was also this past week so we let Kyle know we have more than enough candy in our house. Kyle also requested a couple of his mom's recipes. We also sent a package to him this past week with gifts for his up and coming birthday. Do you think he waited?! Tracie asked why he wanted his dorky fake glasses and also asked him for Christmas ideas.

hola momma!! sounds like this week was pretty busy! haha so was mine! lots of tracting!! well when i first came out i didnt have anything that was "me". now since ive been out a while there have been things that i have wanted from home that make me... "me"!! haha thats why i wanted those dorky glasses :P  ummmm....i have opened some of them but i am saving the tie until my birthday haha :P i dont know what color it is but everything points to a tie :P money would be nice for christmas and bright colorful ties!! i need more!! haha i only have like 27 with me :P please no fast food gift cards :P im trying to eat healthier :P haha oh those shoe inserts from missionshoe.com would be nice. they last about 6 months so i will need at least 2 more haha. gift cards to walmart would also be nice :) ya im not sure about the christmas party things haha :P my current companion is Elder Batchelor!! he's from New Mexico! we get along pretty well! we have fun haha! haha ya hathaway is back in WA until today :( he went to Sis Eischens and called me so i got to talk to him :) hes a stud! and about the password tell dad to flip the first 4 with the last 4 and thats the new one! this week has been pretty good! we have done a ton of tracting and following up with potentials! not too much luck but we are workin hard!! thats about it for me haha :) love and miss everyone!!!

                -Elder Garr

10/27/2013

     Our last email to Kyle talked about this past week being missionary week. We told him about various church members that came into Primary and talked about their experiences. Our ward had Trunk or Treat and Lexi helped setup the haunted house and then got all "spookified" and scared all the little kids. We also told him that Kinlee went to the Desert Ridge Homecoming football game and "watched" them slaughter the other team. Also told Kyle about the new leather couch and love seat  we just purchased. We sent his B-day gifts early with the pair of glasses he requested and his mom told him that he better not open the gifts till his Birthday on Nov 11th. OH- Tim was the pet spider.

Sounds like you have had an interesting week! the weather up here is beautiful!!! i love the colder weather!! its around 50 everyday!!! i love it!!! i will wait until my birthday to open the gifts...notice how i didnt say "all" haha just kidding! i will wait! and not the sunglasses but the fake ones that are non-prescription. the ones that i would wear to work every once in a while! glad to hear that you finally got your new couch! only 13 more months and i get to try it out! and way to go dad!!! love the leather!!! this week has been pretty busy! we have gone tracting a ton and found some potentials to work with but our one solid investigator is Emilie! Emilie is 70 yrs and she has suffered from a lot of strokes and so she is in a wheelchair and cant do many things on her own. but she loves coming to church and loves going to the classes! hopefully she will be baptized soon!!! she is my favorite! when she comes to church an access bus drops her off and so i get to wheel her around everywhere in church and then access comes after church and picks her up! she is super sweet! we dont really get fed by members in this ward. we get fed on Sunday and Monday nights but thats it. oh quick story that you probably already know about but the Toone's who are in my ward now were in the same ward that i started my mission in!! super funny!! i am in an apartment and i dont have the address with me because i gave it to Sis Eischen and didnt think i would need it today :P i will double check with her and make sure she has the right one and she will fb you :) tim was sadly left behind...he was a champ! but i guarantee the new elders in Orting threw him away or set him free :( oh well haha! other than that things have been pretty much the same :P i love and miss everyone!

                         -Elder Garr

Here's a picture that the Toone's sent us that they took while Kyle was visiting them recently.

Transfer Time

   This past week our email to Kyle talked about Lexi and her 101 Dalmatian rehearsal every night with opening night being on Friday. It also talked about Tracie going to a "Favorite Thing" party with several ladies from the Ward. We asked Kyle about his new area, gift card capability, and what was something fun he did this past week. We also sent him a picture of Kinlee wearing a sweat shirt she pulled out of his closet. We also asked Kyle if he's riding his bike a lot or driving a car and how is the new apartment. Do you have a new companion if so, tell us about him. We also told Kyle the date the Gilbert temple will be open to the public.  We also jokingly suggested that we were going to teach Kinlee how to drive using his car. Below is his email back to us.

hola!!

So the new area is pretty awesome!! im still on bike which im ok with :P umm...the gift cards i can use are pretty open. there is a lot of stuff in Auburn. most fast food. most shopping places like burlington...hint hint... haha other than that there is a lot of places to go. my new comp is Elder Batchelor. he is from New Mexico. hes pretty chill. and no one compares to the 3 amigos!! haha. kinlee CAN NOT ;) learn how to drive my car...she can learn in the jetta like i did :) haha its crazy that the gilbert temple is almost up and running! things here are pretty good. we found 6 new people to teach this past week and so we have return appointments with them this week!!! thats about it... i love and miss everyone!!

 

                 -Elder Garr

Here's a map image of where Auburn, WA is.

The New Address:

Elder Kyle Garr

1465 8th N.E. #5

Auburn, WA 98002

Below are some pictures Kyle sent us from a service project him and his last companion helped with.

Hola

This week has been pretty unproductive. the only fun thing we did this past week was we participated in the national day of service!!! we had the privilege to tear down a fence at the soldiers home in town!! it was super fun because the majority of the crew took out the fence in between the posts! I got to work with a worker there with a backhoe. I would hook up the post with a tow cable to the bucket and then he would drive it over to the truck and would put it in the truck and I would unlatch it. at first it took forever for me to get out of the back of the truck so eventually he just put the bucket over the truck and I would climb into the bucket and then he would drive back over to the next post with me still in the bucket and we would repeat the process :D we did that about 30 times...roughly haha. it was awesome!!! other than that we didnt do anything else out of the ordinary. went and saw a couple of less actives and thats about it. other than that i love and miss everyone!!!

                    -Elder Garr

          Here are some pictures that Kyle sent us along with his commentary.

          The first is what I do when bored haha I balance a quarter on top of a flathead screwdriver :P next is my last district. from left to right is - Sisters Mossbrucker, Gardner, Lloyd, and Martin, Elders Matthews, Gardner, Benhoff (my comp), and then ME!!!  Finally this is what we do when bored :P we balance stuff!!

Pic #1

Pic #2

Pic #3

Another week

Tracie wrote Kyle a letter letting him know that one of his best friends was back from his mission and that we would wait to go back to WA and let him have the "welcome home" at the airport. She also mentioned school shopping with the girls and about our ward Primary Talent show that she was in with the Primary Presidency. Oh and that we saw an odd purchase from a smoke shop in Orting that was on his bank account and his mom was freaking out about.

     Its super crazy that Jared is home!! those 2 years have flown by!! mine is flying by as well!! Its crazy to think that I've been out for 8 months already!!! holy cow!! That plan about a year later sounds like a good idea. Plus you would freeze here in November/December!! I would be fine and maybe dad but not you. School shopping fun times...not!!! Try this on try that on...dont miss it at all I'm trying to send home a video that's on my flash drive but its too big. The Sisters and Elder Brown and I did a lip sync for our ward talent show!! It was super funny!! I will try to find a way to send it :P We had glowsticks for ours as well, great minds think alike!!! and at the smoke shop I bought a zippo lighter because there is an object lesson that we do and you need a zippo, no need to be concerned. Things here in Orting are starting to pick up! We are going back to teach a 3 piece family tomorrow so hopefully everything works out! I will have more info on that later! Other than that we have just been doing service! I love and miss everyone!!

                              -Elder Garr