Monday, June 24, 2013

Great Week!


 Hey family!

So yeah this week has gone by so quickly. President Jones and his family are leaving on Thursday so that is terrible sad.. I really have gotten so close to him even though it has only been like 6 months and I have probably only talked to him a handful of times. He is such a great man. Can't wait to see him up speaking in general conference in a couple of years! It'll be great!

The meeting yesterday was awesome. I sat next to our Ward mission leader and I could see him taking notes just as quick as he could. We really clicked just right off the bat. It was so awesome. I am grateful to have such a supportive council now. It makes you appreciate things in life so much more when you don't have them. When you get things it is so much sweeter. It was interesting to hear about facebook and internet as missionaries. I don't really know how I feel about that yet. I know that is going to be awesome because that is what the Lord wants us to do but it is not at all what the mission experience has been thought of for years! I really loved the quote from Elder Nelson when he said "Love is the lubricant and life of missionary work." It was sad to hear about his family and how there was no one that could teach them. How devasted that must have been to the bishop and to the him. I cannot even imagine. Wherever I am I hope that the bishop can always count on me to do what needs to be done.

So I guess I will start back at the beginning of the week. We had our Pday and we went to action bikes and I got some new road tires which are SO nice to have because we bike anywhere from 20 to 25 miles a day. Yeah... We work really hard. It is crazy hot and humid. At the end of the day I can like wring out my garments and shirt because of the sweat. It is disgusting but hey! It's pretty neat to! So we also went and played some B ball at the church with our DL and his companion. It was tireing but it was pretty great to. I also bought a ton of healthy food to eat for the week and then just ended up putting all of it on pizzas and stuff that we got from a member last week. So I guess it kinda canceled everything out. We just basically knocked doors that night and haven't really found anyone to teach. Oh and we went to visit the stake patriarch to get some water and he and I get along really well we talked alot and he told us some great stories. He also gave us a great recipe for making laundry detergent. It is super cheap and so yeah.. It has like Borax or something in it. It was great. I think in Fredericksburg it taught me how to get referrals from the members because when I got here they hadn't gotten one in 6 months and we got 4 this past week with another 3 in the works. The Lord teaches us and prepares us for the future.

So the Tuesday rolled around and we were back on the horse. We went and taught this one lady that we have been teaching for a while and invited her to pray and read. She didn't make it to church Sunday because she had to drive her friend around who got surgery. It sounds like a great and noble cause, except her friend got surgery to just enlarge her figure. Yeah. Not a good excuse to miss church. But you hear everything out here. We also had dinner with a family that is from Logan, they are going back later in the summer so they were laughing that they were going to stop by and stuff and I told them they could stay rent free and eat all our food because that would basically be replacing what I did. They might have to report back some sportscenter to me though. Oh sidenote. The spurs. That was sad I guess. We almost won it, we here alot down here about it and everybody was so excited. At our apartment complex they had a big pool watching party for game 7 and so we went back the next morning all the chairs were thrown all over and it looked like a disaster so we figured that they must have lost. To bad...

Wednesday was pretty cool. We went to Zone meeting which was 3 hours long. It was alright except they put us in these groups and had us say the first vision. Like every 4th word or something going around a group. I was awful. Probably the worst out of everybody. I can say it word perfect by myself but yeah. That made me look dumb but it was whatever. I'll never teach a lesson like that anyway haha. We also went to Breakfast with Brother Tiemann to a little hole in the wall place. So when we go to places like that I basically just get whatever the member gets because that way it's like a safe zone with respect or whatever. So I heard him say Hueveos' Rancheros and immediatley out of my mouth came "Make that two!" Ugh. So I had to down like 3 eggs that morning. It was decent. I mean I didn't dry heave or anything. I think that I am about to break through on those. It's one of those things I am working on. Another Sidenote. I accidently bought fat free milk on P Day. That stuff is awful. So I have been eating "raw" raisen bran all week. It was a good day though.

Thursday was different. We got up and did our weekly planning and as we almost finished Elder Hughes got up and upchucked. So we had to stay in and study. I gave him a nyquil pill and he slept from 2 oclock that afternoon to like 8 oclock the next morning. It was different so I read alot of the Book of Mormon and studied that for like 3 hours then I picked up Jesus the Christ. I had started it once and it blew my mind with all the big words, but I started again and this time it was so different! I love, love, love it. I read a ton of it that day and right now I am a quarter of the way through it! It is so crazy!! I would invite like everyone to read it. It totally has to be read with the spirit but it explains the life of Christ so simply that you can't misunderstand what happened to him. I love it.

Friday was similar. He was sick so I read Jesus the Christ some more and now I am through page 210 It is incredible!! I also took a break and named all of my ties. I know that is weird but it kept me entertained for an hour or so. We get along really well, Elder Hughes and I so it was fun to kinday just talk for a while. Oh and also so that night Brother Tiemann wanted to take us out again to get some BBQ at Rudy's. That is probably the best place in Texas to get it. Man is it good. So when we went up to order he didn't know that Elder Hughes wasn't feeling well so he ordered a ton of stuff for us three. But he had already eaten, so it was basically like a feast for me. I ate and ate and ate. I had proabably like 2 pounds of just straight up meat. It was a dream come true. So then since we hadn't been out of the apartment, he took us for a ride to the Air Force Base. He pulled up to the gate and the soldier saluted him and told him to have a good one Major. We were like OH man! This guy is like up there! So he went and showed us a ton of stuff about the base and a bunch of cool stories from his day's in the Air force. He knew like all of the people that used to be in charge and it was neat. He also drove us around to a Buddhist temple. We were circling it and then we saw a Buddhist Monk! like a real one! It was so cool! He was even drinking a Pepsi! So Brother Tiemann just being the great guy that he is jumped out and tried to get us a tour of it. But the monk didn't speak much english and told us to come back on Sunday. It was soooo funny.

Saturday was a hard day of work being cooped up all day and then going out to ride is hard. We bike to Schertz which is like an hour trip because we have to cross a river bottem and then walk along side of the road for like a half hour before we really can bike again. So that is always a trip. We biked like 26 miles again. We taught one first lesson to a lady from Vietnam but it was kinda sad because after we taught her she told us she couldn't read vietnamese or english and that she really had no idea what we were saying anyway. That kinda was a downer but it was still great to share! We knocked a few more streets and didn't really find anything. People here are like nicer, but overall they want to listen less. If that makes sense at all. So it's nice to not have people constantly battling us but I did enjoy battling through satan's ideas everyday. Now just they shut the door or kill us with kindness, by saying they respect what we do but they are not interested.

Sunday is a fantastic day to be here. I really love it. Ward council is awesome. They all think that I am super funny and so that just got us off on a good note. We were telling them that we went to see a member that was inactive and the guy that answered was just getting back from officiating a funeral told us that the member had moved away to live with his boyfriend. So we told Ward council this but I said "Yeah the Priest that lived there told us that the guy had moved away to live with his Boyfriend." Everyone about died laughing. Hahahaha woops. but it was funny. Ward Council is great!! In Sacrament we had a lady talk for 10 minutes about how she found a baby bird and that had fallen out of the nest and she wanted to nurture it back to life. She told this story throughout her whole talk the as she was comparing it to the atonement told us that yesterday while feeding the bird she had overfed it and choked it to death. Since she didn't know how to do the Hiemlich on a bird she had to let it die. But she would be forgivin for it. It was interesting. So then the High councilor speaker got up and starting talking about important women in his life and then he talked about how his wife joined the church when she was 17 after meeting the missionaires one day and that she just loved them and then he told us that he met his wife because he was one of the missionary's!! So of course we are sitting with some members and they all turn to me and are like "Elder Funk! Don't you get any ideas now!" hahaha it was great. But seriously the church has great speakers everywhere.

Well that basically sums up my week. Having a ton of fun, have to find some new investigators. I now know how not to feed a baby bird and I love the gospel!

Remember who you are and what He stands for!

Elder Paul Robert Funk

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

San Antonio!

June 17, 2013

So this week was fun to say the least! I left FBG. That was pretty sad but I guess that I will have the chance to visit again someday. I got transferred to San Antonio on a bike. Yep all bike. It is SO different. All the weight that I may have put on I think that I will lose really fast. We had to walk my first day so we walked 7 miles and then the next day we bike 26 more. Then Sunday we biked 10 and walked 5. That makes for a long day or so but it's nice because at least you are always in a Sauna.. haha. As soon as you step out of the apartment it is like a wall of heat and humidity hit you in the face. It is crazy. But I love my new companion. His name is Elder Hughes. We are getting along so great. He has been out a whole 3 months so I am still Senior which means I have to still be responsible! But I love it. We are going to work really really well together I can just feel it.

My new Address is

12900 E. Loop 1604 N. #513
Universal City, Tx.
78148

So you can send any letters/cash donations to me via my mailbox. Nah just kiddin' :) So it has been really neat probably one of the greatest blessings has been having a washer and a dryer. It is such a nice thing to have that everyone takes for granted.

When I left Fredericksburg they put another Elder in there that had been there before and they have like 3 people set up to get baptized real soon so I felt really great about how I left the area.

I miss Fredericksburg just because I had everything so down and it wasn't hard to figure out what to do so now I kinda feel like I am starting over from square one again. So whatever I guess. We are right next to an air force base and so we have alot of people that work over there and everything so people move in and out alot so we may be doing some service. Which is cool with me.

Elder Hughes is from Spanish Fork and is a few monthes younger than I am. He is pretty bright he likes alot of the same stuff that I do minus he doesn't know a ton about sports but that is ok. He just got out of the training program so now it feels like we are both real missionaries! It's awesome. We don't live with any other missionaries but the Zone leaders live in the same apartment complex as us so in the mornings we go over there and work out. Although when you are biking 25 miles a day... It's hard to motivate yourself to work out in the mornings. It's all good though.

We also have some Funk's in our ward! That was pretty nuts. They have a kid just younger than ryan and dang it is crazy he acts just like him. He is a really good kid and they are related to some Sterling Utah Funks so maybe we have some connections somewhere down the line? They are really awesome and it is bizarre to be a ward with alot of people, you don't really have to constantly worry about whether we are going to give a talk at the last second or not. The bishop didn't really talk to me or introduce himself to me and I couldn't find him so I don't know how that is going to go. However the Ward Mission Leader is awesome! It was Brother Funk until last week when he go released but his name is Brother Davis. He is a younger guy and is just willing to help us out with anything. I really, really love all the support that we get from him.

I am still adjusting but it is really fun to get to know so many new people. We don't really have anybody that is ready to get baptized right now but I know that we will find some here in the near future. It is getting to be such a joy to do all the missionary work. I love it so very much.




In my new area we went to dinner last night we had dinner with some members and they loaded us up with food. They gave us a 12 pack of family sized spaghetti sauce a 24 pack of pork and beans and then like 40 frozen pizzas. So we won't starve to death. However we may die in some other way. They were really neat though there names are the Mooers. He told us about his mission he served int he Military and has alot of ptsd stuff goin on so he is alittle on edge all the time.  I was safe though. Love y'all

The church really is true.

Remember who you are and what He stands for.

Elder Paul Robert Funk

Hoisting Windows and Wrestlemania

 June 10, 2013

So we found a family this week! It was amazing last P Day we were out doing some errands, washing the truch specifically, and we drove to HEB (basically like Walmarts' wife. The better half.) And we had to do our shopping but I was like.. Eh.. Let's just go to walmart so off we went and drove across town and went there. On our way out we were going past the entrance and this lady stopped us and said "Just the guys I was looking for!" She told us about how she wanted us to come and teach her family about the gospel and how she had had a discussion with her Fiance and kids and wanted us to come over. So of course we said yes and that was that! So then we went over there on Tuesday and they were AWESOME! The wife is a less active member from Housten and two of the 4 kids are members so now we just have to complete the family. It's sad that I have to leave before it all comes to pass but I am glad Elder Low will get to have the experience.

The dad when we began to teach him was a little hesitant at first. He was drilling us left and right with questions and it was like D day missionary style. We got owned. So we left and his question was burning in me. "What is different about your church?" We of course had explained that it was the same as Jesus Christ, Authority, Book of Mormon, the whole gospel. I mean just nothing would satisfy him. So we left and I prayerfully had considered this throughout the next day. We went back to teach him the next day and I still did not have the answer. So we sat down and we started talking. And I had a thought come. I said "Daniel. I think what the is different about our church is that we are the only Living Church on the entire earth." He went "Yep! That's it!" and was So open to that. We set a baptisimal date for the 6th of July and that was that!

We also kinda sorta had scripture study class this week. We showed up and a member had brought her friend to talk to us. So we sat down and for 45 minutes she told us how she had been abused, how she had been taken advantage of. Just 45 minutes of therapy. It was neat though because I had no idea what to say and said "Heavenly Father you know I know nothing. Help me out please!" And I flipped open to Alma 34 and read some of the verses telling her to Cry unto the lord for your fields, and just everything about your life. It was awesome! She was in tears. She told us that we had just saved her life that before she came she had decided to OD and that it was all ready to be done. But that she was uplifted and wasn't going to do that. It was incredible.

We went and worked on the lighthouse a couple of times this week and so that was fun. We went and helped clean shop for a while in preparation for the windows that were going to come  and then we also went on Saturday to help put some windows up. Now. Brother Dobsky is a sailor. So he decided that he was going to hoist up all of the windows with ropes. In a Wind storm. It was ridiculous. But we decided to do it none the less.
Man that was a trick. So he Jerry rigged a whole bunch of his "Hallyards" (Sailing ropes) to some of the sailing mecanisms and told us to go for it. So for two and half hours we hauled up like 7 windows and a door to the top. It was nuts. Elder Scott and I had to pull all of them up and the same time. It was just a miracle that they didn't all fall down on us!

So PEC was once again.. PEC. I thought maybe they would throw a special party or something for me but not really haha. We showed up and had our usual 5 minutes and I told them about the family and they shot it down again. It was stupid. So I had told this family to be to church a half hour before hand and so lone behold when we walked out, there is the family. Man it made me feel good. They didn't really have alot to say about that. I think God has my back alot of the time. It was great we also had 3 more Less actives come to church which was awesome!! So in totally it was like 9 people at church because of some of our efforts. It was great.

I really am going to miss this area. I have fallen in love with all of the people, however hard headed they may be;) They are the best people on planet earth. It was such a priviledge to get to know them and I hope that I can get back here before the end of my mission. When I left President Smith, who hasn't really talked to me in a couple of weeks after the incident at PEC grabbed me and said "Well good luck Elder, Work Hard, I know that you will, Sorry if you don't feel like we gave you enough support. You'll find that throughout the church but your a great Elder thanks for serving" We gave each other a big hug and that was that.

Also. Man this is scatter brained. Tell Uncle Preston thanks for letting us play the wrestling game at his house when we were kids. I taught prayer using Enos "The Rock" and "Stone Cold Steve Austin." yeah.... Sometimes I just make stuff up on the fly. But don't worry it wasn't like an "Ping Pong talk" Mom. It was spiritual and awesome.

Yeah mission work is hard but Elder Low and I have been doing really well.. It was crazy he came up to me last night and said "ya know.. When I get married you have to come because I am going to show you to my wife and say. 'this is the reason that I am the way that I am' " yeah talk about tear fest. I love my son. Even though we didn't always see eye to eye. We love each other. He is an awesome Elder. He told me the other day he was sitting in Sacrament and a voice came and said to him "Your going to be an AP." So guess I trained an AP! It's cool. I do nitpick but I think in the long run we both came out for the best.

Keep hanging in there. I don't know how hard it is, but I do know that it is worth it. It is always worth it. "Doubt not, Fear Not." as the Lord commands. It will always be alright in the end and if it is not alright then it is not the end!

Remember who you are and what He stands for!
Elder Funk

Getting Spoiled

June 3, 2013

So tons of crazy stuff happened this week. So Monday was great we went up to the ranch that one of the members owns and spent all of PDay up there. It was so much fun! They just spoiled us with whatever they could possible buy. It was crazy. They bought us like 4 packs of oreos, a t shirt, lunch and dinner. Just whatever. I Love the Dursts! So that was the best Pday that I had ever had.

So then Tuesday came around and it was another work day. We went back over to that members house, I don't remember if I told you but it was the same one that I did some framing for and we also did sheetrocking, so we went back and painted the whole thing. I have been here from the start to the finish! It has been great. We really get along. Even though sometimes we have a disagreement on how things are to get done... I am always right... ;) So yeah then we went out and taught some lessons and everything which was pretty great! We knocked some doors and went out to the Behrends to eat dinner. So we got back to our apartment at 9:30 and I got a call from President Jones. He told me that Wednesday Morning he needed me to go and pick up another missionary from Kerrville because he was getting Emergency Transferring out our District Leader... Not in a good way either.. So now I am with Elder Scott and Elder Low. Covering two of the biggest areas in the mission. Elder Scott has been out 4 weeks and Elder Low 10.. Plus all the drama.. It's been a crazy week. Man I hate drama.

So we spent all week driving back and forth from the areas. They are like 30 miles apart so that makes it sorta difficult. I basically had to learn the area because the Elder that left didn't really teach Elder Scott about the people. It's just nuts.

We taught a crazy lesson this week. We knocked into a pastor again and he sat us down and preached to us about demons and stuff and wouldn't let us talk. So I kinda would cut him off and teach what I could. The other Elders didn't really say anything... So then he finally just told me "K now it's your turn you Mormon boy. Teach me about you have to say." It was neat, I taught him about the Book of Mormon and it was so neat to be able to see him change.

Scripture study class was good again, except Brother Garcia started arguing with me about what the Atonement was. That was detremental. But whatever happens I suppose. All the other people in their just laughed, Brother Garcia and I get along great just think a little bit differently I guess.

The week really was just a blur. I had a few moments were I was so fed up with disobedience of the Elder's that have been in Kerrville. I guess that's what Elder Scott has said.. Its harder to try and teach someone that has been taught the wrong way in alot of things. It's just different. I mean I'm not perfect, but I do stuff the Lord's way. So I know I'm not wrong.

Oh when we went to church in Kerrville I started talking to alot of the members in there and one of them was Brian Carlsen's Cousin! It was funny! Maybe like 2nd cousin or something but it was crazy. His name is Travis. We talked about the Richmond Ski Resort for a while. The Ward Mission Leader also knew a bunch of people there. He said he knew Dr. Duke. And I was like NO WAY! but I think it may have been a different Dr. It was sad... But maybe ask Dr. Duke. His last name is Gillmer.

I am so grateful to be apart of the work. Transfers are coming this weekend and so I will know next PDay. I don't really want to guess again. I think that I could stay or leave. It will be nice if I go, but I would be grateful to stay too!

Well God Bless! I don't have much else to say. Hope everyone is doing well!
Remember Who you are and what He stands for!
Elder Paul Robert Funk