First area - Burbank, CA

We got a fun call last night from a retired couple in Burbank, CA.

They had just fed Mikah and his companion, enchiladas.  Good home cooking.  Mikah had said he was getting tired of the MTC food and enchiladas is on of his favorites.  Brother Smith asked where Mikah was from and Brother Smith had gone to most of high school at Boise High school before moving back to Twin Falls.  Of course, he gave us and Mikah accolades. Does anyone not? I guess they wouldn't say anything.  He's on a bike for this area.

Letter from Sister Hall

Hello from Sunny Southern California!

Well, technically it was a bit hazy today, but it is always sunny for us when new missionaries arrive!

Everyone arrived safe and sound, and as you can see from the picture, we had a large group—24 new missionaries and 12 of those are sisters.  It may be the record  number of sisters arriving in the history of the mission.

President Hall, the assistants and some of our senior couples met them at the airport and took them to the San Fernando Stake Center. 

There they had some pizza, filled out some paperwork, watched a safety video and then we sent them out with a great temporary companion to find people to teach.
They did a great job.  I’m sure you’ll get the details from your missionary, but we love that first day of finding and talking with everyone.  Miracles and baptisms happen because of the efforts of the new missionaries who’ve been here only hours.

Tomorrow is the transfer meeting.  Everyone in the mission who is being moved to a new area will be together to receive their assignments.  Over half of the mission will meet tomorrow and it is a great way to feel a part of this great mission.  President Hall has just finished interviewing all the new missionaries and will spend considerable time tonight on his knees determining which missionary will go with which trainer.  As you pray for your missionary, pray for their companion as well. 

We are super excited to love and work with all these wonderful servants of the Lord.

Love,

Sister Hall

MTC - First week

Hello guys!

 

So, first, we just heard yesterday that the email policy has changed: we are now allowed to email friends, family, converts, etc. SO!  If anyone wants my emails, just tell them to send me an email and I can add them to the mailing list on my end.

 

Now, for the answers to your "dumb" questions:

 

I got very lucky with my residence, all of the elders in our room have their own bed, and two of the elders in our district have their room to themselves.  As for how I'm sleeping, I am sleeping quite well, but I think I'm doing better than some of the other elders in my room, but that was during the first few days. Especially since I'm such a heavy sleeper. ;-) One thing, though. The gym shorts I packed were actually too short.  I picked some up at the bookstore, though, so you don't need to send any.

 

I'm enjoying the food a lot because for the most part they prepare very good food and you can get as much as you want.  And, of course, it's already prepared.

 

My companion is awesome!  His name is Elder Mathews, and he's from a small town near St. George.  He's just a little bit taller than me.  We actually were chosen to be the zone leaders from our district.

 

It's not quite what I thought it was going to be, but at the same time it's better.  I'm learning way more than I thought I would, and there's so many great missionaries in our district.

 

We have 12 missionaries in our district; 6 elders and 6 sisters.  Almost all of the elders are going to California San Fernando, but two of them are going to the California Arcadia Mission.  All of the sisters are going to Canada Halifax, and all but one of the sisters are from Canada.  Sister Lee is the only one from the States; she's from Las Vegas.  We are all loving our classes and teaching experiences.  I'm especially loving the other elders in my room. They're all great and really fun to be around.

 

Mom, that winshield is way more angled than all the other cars, it really bothered me too when I started that car.  What do you mean by it has more gas?  And don't let Connor drive it, he'll just make a mess of it. :-)

 

It's cold in the mornings, but we spend most of the morning inside.  By the afternoon, it warms up.  As for the scripture for my plaque, I found one that I really liked, but I don't have it with me.  I'll try to get it to you soon.

 

We got onto our missionary logon page and looked at the mission map; the mission is actually being split as of July 1, 2013.  It'll be just the San Fernando area, cutting off a few miles north of Santa Clarita.

 

Even though I can email everyone, it's still nice to get actual mail.  The DearElder.com site is great for that.  You should just be able to look up my name and they can get it to me, but just in case, my box number is 238.

 

We will be leaving the MTC next Monday at 8:00 AM.  I don't think I'll be able to email you, but I'll try to call from the airport.

 

I'm out of time, but I love you all and I will talk to you later!

 

Elder Mikah Chapman

 

On to the MTC

We got up bright and early (5 am) Wednesday morning to send Mikah off.  We decided we would have more time with him flying him down to the MTC then driving down.   It was emotional.  Connor hopes to leave next summer for his mission, so they boys will not see each other for three years or so.  For me that goodbye was the hardest to watch.  We have pictures to compare heights with Alexia and Trevor when he comes back.

It is an interesting feeling sending your first one off.  You hope they will do OK and remember the things you taught them.  At least we know he's heading in the right direction.

Mission farewell

                            

We it's finally here. Mikah is leaving on a mission.  G & G Chapman, cousin Ben Williams and his son, Julian, Uncle Steven and Aunt Silvia with their three children, Nicholas, Alex and Leslie came from out of town.  The Kuikens, Bonnie and Nate Hart, Carmen French, Camille McCashland, Alan Evans and Melanie Polcock came from outside the ward.  Aunt Connie Williams and cousin Cheryl Leithead called and checked in.

He did really well on his talk.  I hounded him for a few days.  Here's a copy.

President Monson said during this last General conference, “The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father.”

We are instructed not only to learn in schools and training programs, but also to increase our knowledge of the gospel through study and prayer.

During a training conference, President Boyd K Packer said, “I learned early on that there is great value in listening to experience in older people. I had a stake president once who said, "I always tried to be in the presence of great people." He was in a little town in Idaho, but he said, "If there was a lecturer coming or something special, I would always try to be there, because I could learn."

Which I think goes quite well with Proverbs 1:5, which says “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels”

In the topical guide under learning, it says to also see Mission of the Holy Ghost and Value of Scriptures. The holy ghost helps us to learn by witnessing of the truth of all things and bringing them to our remembrance.  The scriptures are an invaluable resource to learn the principles of the gospel needed to return to our Heavenly Father. The Savior says in D&C 19:23, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”

In the Feburary 2010 Ensign, Elder Bednar said, “The Atonement of Jesus Christ and the agency afforded to all of the Father’s children through the Redeemer’s infinite and eternal sacrifice are divinely designed to facilitate our learning.”  Without our free agency, we would have no ability to choose what or where to learn.  We have the freedom to learn whatsoever we desire and where we may learn it.

Now, it isn’t necessary (or even practical) to try to learn everything.  Some information is useful to have and put to use.  However, we should give priority to gospel principles which are essential to understand and live if we are to become more like our Heavenly Father.  A scripture mastery from the New Testament shows examples this in our time; in 2 Timothy 3 it says;

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof...

7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

We are here on earth to prepare for eternity; to learn things that are important in our lives and essential gospel principles, and to help others to learn and to come unto the gospel of Christ.

President Brigham Young only had 11 days of formal schooling, yet he knew that he had to learn the teachings of the gospel and the ways of the world. During his life, He was a furniture maker, a missionary, a colonizer, a governor, and a prophet.

President Young made the following statements to emphasize that our purpose in mortality is to learn:

1        “The religion embraced by the Latter-day Saints, if only slightly understood, prompts them to search diligently after knowledge. There is no other people in existence more eager to see, hear, learn, and understand truth.”

2        “Put forth your ability to learn as fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you possibly can, and then distribute your knowledge to the people.”

3        “We are in the school [of mortality] and keep learning, and we do not expect to cease learning while we live on earth; and when we pass through the veil, we expect still to continue to learn and increase our fund of information. That may appear a strange idea to some; but it is for the plain and simple reason that we are not capacitated to receive all knowledge at once. We must therefore receive a little here and a little there.”

⁴              “We might ask, when shall we cease to learn? I will give you my opinion about it: never, never.”

Elder Bednar proposed a test to determine our ability to learn and how willing we are to do so; “When you and I do not know what to do or how to proceed to achieve a particular outcome—when we are confronted with a problem that has no clear answer and no prescribed pattern for resolution—how do we learn what to do?”

In answer to Elder Bednar’s test, we should be like Nephi- after roaming in the wilderness for eight years and arriving at the land Bountiful, he was commanded by the Lord to build a ship to carry his family across the ocean to the Americas.  Having grown up in Jerusalem-an inland city- it was very likely that he had never seen a ship before.  It was unlikely that he knew how the ship should have been built to keep from sinking.  Undeterred, he asked the Lord where to find ore to make tools.  He was directed by the Lord as to how to build the ship.  He did not know how to sail a ship, but he knew that through prayer the Lord would teach him.

We may not have our knowledge base or ability to learn challenged quite as much as Nephi was, but our ability to learn will be tested continually in this life- especially in this time which we live in where technology is advancing very rapidly.

Our ability to learn is fantastic when we are effectively taught, but is severely hindered if we do not put it into action and have the desire to learn.  My junior year of high school, I took an online history course.  My parents and several of my teachers can tell you that I am not very good at actually studying and doing homework.  In most of my classes, I was able to get by because the course content was discussed in class.  In my history class, however, there was no classroom, and no real scheduled class time.  And honestly, I didn’t have much interest in that history class. If I find something that is more interesting or more suited to my skill set than classwork, it usually got done before homework.  And with my interests in computers, those projects almost always took longer than I planned.  These caused me problems; I finished the class with a B in the first semester and a C in the second semester.  I really don’t remember anything from that class either.

My parents will also tell you B’s and C’s are below my abilities, and they’re right.  In other classes, when I applied myself and wanted to do well, my grades were much better.  My classwork and learning in high school could be related to Laman and Lemuel’s learning of gospel principles.  They were content with the things of the world and were disinterested in anything pertaining to the gospel.  Several times, they lost sight of the gospel and murmured against their brothers and father.  When they were chastised, they returned to the straight and narrow, only to wander away again.

If we have a true desire to learn the principles of the gospel, then our understanding will be greater and we will be in a better position to receive blessings.  We cannot just sit in a class and let learning “happen” to us.  It is not a passive activity- we must be engaged in the process.  Not only must we be ready to understand what we are being taught, we must be willing to let the Holy Ghost testify to us of the truth.  We should also ask questions.  Asking questions is an important part of learning, because we then want to find the answers to those questions.  Many of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants was written in response to a question the prophet or brethren asked of the Lord.

Elder Bednar said, “We perhaps might be inclined to rely primarily upon our individual and collective capacity to reason, to innovate, to plan, and to execute. Certainly we must use our God-given abilities to the fullest, employ our best efforts, and exercise appropriate judgment as we encounter the opportunities of life. But our mortal best is never enough.”

We do not need to worry about our best being insufficient.  Heavenly Father will not leave us alone when we feel the most need for him. President Young said, “My knowledge is, if you will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, every man and woman will be put in possession of the Holy Ghost. … They will know things that are, that will be, and that have been. They will understand things in heaven, things on the earth, and things under the earth, things of time, and things of eternity, according to their several callings and capacities.”

It is the Lord’s intention that we learn while we are here in this mortal state, and he has provided so many ways for that to be accomplished.  If we take upon ourselves the task of learning to learn, we will be better prepared for this life and the life to come.  I know that as we more fully learn the principles of the gospel, we will be blessed.

Graduation

Last day of school, eighteen birthday and graduation all in the same weekend. It's hard to believe but we did it. Now the hard part begins, in hoping that he listened and learned over the last eighteen years. The world is your oyster. You make get some cuts trying to get at the pearl, but it's worth all the hard work to get to the goal you set your eyes on.

Walking across the stage.

Taco Bell Arena

Senior Bach to Rock Concert

I know it's a bad picture. Mikah had a solo in "Fix You" by Coldplay. He did really good. We wish he had raised the mic, since he's taller than the other performers. This has always been one of my favorite concerts.

This his "Senior Thanks & Goodbye". First, I would like to thank my mom for starting me on the violin. I started back in 1st grade taking private lessons and my parents paid for that until I got through all of the material that she taught at which point school orchestra completely took over. My parents have done a lot for me to keep playing, including the compulsory nagging about practicing. I hope my teachers/friends will remember me as the student that was always willing to help. I've tried to make it a goal to help teachers or other students out if it's every needed. After graduation I plan to work over the summer to have most of my costs for school paid for so that I can attend BSU in the fall as a Computer Science major. I will always remember orchestra because of all the times that I would be sitting there, ready to play, and I would hear Ms. Maughan yelling, "MIKAH!!!" from her office, and even the occasional call slip.

Bye Bye Birdie

(Click the photo to see the full image.)

Mikah decided to venture outside his comfort zone and participate in Boise Music Week's production of Bye Bye Birdie. It was months of practicing and required him to miss his senior prom. But the performance was great and he had fun.

Borah HS Choir talent show 2011

Every year the choirs at Borah put on a talent show. These are two of the numbers that Mikah participated in, Macho Men and Bohemian Rhapsody.

Macho men, he's the tall skinny guy in the back, middle in the wife beater and coveralls. He's a little harder to see in the second one, right side in the back.

Homecoming

Mikah's friend Tasha wanted to get a group together for Homecoming and wanted Mikah to go, so she asked him to the dance. Of course you can't just ask someone to a dance, you have to be creative. I thought the Lucky Charms was kinda cute.


Mikah, Tasha, Libby and Leon left Saturday evening for a fun filled night. They had made a dinner of steak and potatoes. They went to the dance for a little while, but the music (in Mikah's opinion) wasn't anything to dance to. They changed clothes and went to the park to play night games but found the police. They ended up back at Nick's house where they ate dinner and played video games.

Boys HIGH Adventures

As I mentioned in our Seattle trip, the James, Mikah and Connor went on a backpacking trip to the White Clouds near Salmon, Idaho. They did come back to me in one piece and in relatively good spirits.

They hiked in and did base camping. James made tarp tents for them to sleep in and planned all the menus. They hiked to 11,000 ft. James did have some trouble with the altitude. It was the Chapmans, Szuchs (Nate, Eli and Jacob), Evan Huntsman and Jerry Lister. Great weather and beautiful country.

Back to School

We made it back to school, with minor shuffling. YEEAAAHH!!

Mikah is a Junior with a job as a buser at the Country Club, taking an online class, Orchestra and three advanced classes. Connor is in eight grade, running cross country and yearbook. And taking two advanced classes. Alexia is in fourth grade and Trevor in second grade.

Minor accident

Mikah thought it would be best to have his first auto accident on a bike instead of the car. He was returning a video and a car turned into him in the crosswalk. He did roll on top of the car, which I didn't find out until a few days later. He got a couple of bumps and bruises and it messed up the front of his bike. But we feel blessed that it wasn't worse.

Mikah's "SWEET 16"

My wonderful baby boy is 16 now!!! Where has the time gone. He's planning a big bash with his friends this Friday night.

Mikah's got a license to drive

Be glad you live where you live. Mikah's got his learners permit and is ready to drive, very cautiously. We are now on the hunt for a car.

School schedules

We recently had to do school schedules for Connor and Mikah. This was a major undertaking, it was never this hard when I was in high school. Mikah decided he wanted to take choir now. He has to tryout to see if they will take him. If he makes it, he will have 0 hour class to seventh hour. Connor on the other hand, wanted to take Spanish because his friends were taking it. These are the same friends that talked him into Home Ec, excuse me, Young Living. I told him he needed to take choir. They were having yearbook tryouts, so he asked if he could drop choir if he got a position. Sure, you get on yearbook and you can drop choir. Well, he got on yearbook staff. Yea, Connor!!

Star Wars - A Tribute to John Williams

Every year our High School choir puts on a variety show. We went Monday night for FHE. One of Mikah's really good friends, Matt Hart, performed in this number. He the one that does the wookie sound.

Pioneer Trek

In our stake, every three years, they put on a pioneer trek for the youth, handcarts and all. Mikah participated and James was portable support. (You can ask him what that means.) They wanted me to go, but they didn't want to deal with the other three kids.

They were bused in to a wilderness area just north of Boise, that was the last of the air conditioning. They were put into families and started off. Along the way they put them in a few situations similar to the pioneers. After the first day, it was put to them that they should turn back, that they wouldn't make it. No one wanted to turn back. I don't know what they would have done if they truly wanted to turn back The next day, they took all the men for the Mormon battalion. They lined them up along the sides of one of the steepest hills they had to climb and had to watch as the women pulled the handcarts up by themselves. The last day just outside of final destination, they allowed them to enter in to Placerville with no shoes on, just as the pioneer entered the Salt Lake valley. They had family and friends waiting to greet them.

They had a fireside after they got back and showed a slide presentation of what they did. I don't know if I would have been able to do what they did. 29 miles in 4 days pulling a handcart. I guess you just have to remember that the pioneer didn't have the conviences that we do now. There was no other way they were going to get to the Salt Lake valley. For those of you that have a copy of James Leithead's story, he does have their account of their handcart trek.