Navajo Code 12/29

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we got to go out and see Mark. He is getting baptized on the 3rd of January and we still had a few lessons to teach. Then we had dinner with some members and we helped them with their TV because it was giving them problems. 

       Tuesday we went on exchanges with Indian Wells. I brought one of them down here. We had a great day. We had 7 set lessons and we taught all 7! Busy days are so nice to have!

       Wednesday we went tracking and knocked into a man named David. Super awesome guy! He let us right in and started talking to us. Super prepared to receive the gospel and he works with the Winslow stake president along with several bishops! He already has, and is reading, a Book of Mormon! Good stuff! That night Elder Cook had a gift that he wanted to give a member but he didn't want the member to know who it was from, so we put it in a bag and doorbell ditched the house with the gift on the doorstep. Doorbell ditching on Christmas Eve, that's new for me! :D Then after we were in for the night we got a knock on our door, and there was Santa! He gave us a box of Chocolates. Lol. :)

       Thursday was good. We had district meeting which went really well. Then we got to go talk to our families, awesome, and then we went out and spent part of the evening with Mark watching some Bible video's on the life of Jesus Christ. 

      Friday was crazy. So Elder Cook had a doctors appointment in Winslow at 9. So we went to that. Well, he's doing good. At the end the doctor told him that he need to get some blood drawn. So we go to get his blood drawn and everything went great. I never have liked getting blood drawn but I watched the whole thing and did just fine. Then we got to leave.... and I got REALLY  light headed. Really, wow..... Who's the Marine here. Lol. :) Uh... it just made me mad. I was talking all day that I just wanted to go back and do it again and just get over it. But all well. I still don't really care for getting blood drawn. I have figured out that if I am around blood in a controlled setting, no good. But, if it's not a controlled setting I'm fine. Figure that one out.... :)

       Saturday we had a good day. We went out and saw a few investigators including Mark. Elder Cook and I were kinda sorta wrestling and he was behind me. He had one of my arms and was trying to get the other when I used some of my training from the Marines and about put him on the floor. He was like, "WOW, Where did that come from?!" :D

       Sunday we took some members out to Marks and finished the lessons. He has really bad pain in his arm. So his wife asked if we could give him a blessing. That was a really cool experience. The priesthood is such a wonderful thing. 

       So today we are heading up to Farmington for MLC. Fun stuff! :)

      Thanks for all the support! Until next time, hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 12/22

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday for P-day we went slack lining, kinda like tight rope walking but different. Fun stuff. Then some guys came over and started talking to us about the slack line. Then we ended up playing Ultimate. Love it! Then we got to go out and see Mark. He's great and is super excited to get baptized!

       Tuesday was a blur. We started working but then we had to make some changes to our plans because the Assistants got in late cause we were planning on going on exchanges. We went on splits with two youth and went out and picked up the Assistant and Elder Cook went to a lesson. Fun stuff.

       Wednesday we finished our exchanges with the assistants. Then right after we finished that exchange we started another with the Sanders Elders. I brought Elder Jacobs to Holbrook and we had a great day. Around 7 30 we didn't have anything to do, so we went out and contacted some people. Well we decided to go see Yolanda. We knocked on the door and she came out and said that she had been wanting to talk to us today but had lost our phone number. We then listened to her vent for about and hour and 15 minutes about questions she had. Is was one of the most intense parts of my mission. We just stood there and listened outside on her door step. 

       Thursday we had zone training. It was great! We had the first councelor in the mission presidency train on magnify your calling then we had our stake president and one of the bishops train on working with members. Absolutely great! I learned so much from them. Then we took some members with us and went and saw Yolanda. The members, as always, were great. They discussed some things with her. It's going to take a while to help her progress in the gospel but she is worth it! Then we went down to Woodruff and taught Marvin how to use his new I Pad. We showed him how to use the gospel library app. 

       Friday I got to go on splits with Bishop Miller. What an increadable man! He is as old as Chris and is a bishop. And he is the best bishop I have had on my mission! Wow, he is just so fun to be around and is a great guy over all!

       Saturday we went to 2 baptisms, one for the Painted Desert Ward, one for the sisters. Then we got to teach Mark and then we had the Painted Desert Ward christmas party. Fun stuff. 

       Sunday we over 10 investigators/ less active/ recent converts come to church. The Gospel Principles class was full of people we teach! It was awesome!!

        I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 12/15

Yaa Teeh!

       This week was a lot of fun. Before I forget, again. Happy Birthday to Tristin and and Bri!!! Sorry I forgot!!!

       Monday we had a crazy busy P-day just getting random stuff done. Then we got to go teach an active member family to improve our teaching skills and seek referrals.

       Tuesday we went out to Adamana to visit with Mark who is on date to be baptised on January 3rd. Well before he got married he lived in his "Man Cave" and we got to see it. Now it's his work shop for making all his bracelets and stuff. So it's pretty cool. I love that guy! He is so much fun to be around. He has been through a lot but is still very spiritual.

       Tuesday we drove up to Tuba City for a Tri-zone Christmas party. After we had an hour devotional from President and Sister Batt, so good, we split up into two groups to play some games. The Page Zone Leaders took half and then Elder Cook and I took the other half. We played a Rock-paper-scissors race game, I really have no idea what you call it. lol. :) Then we played this really confussing fun game of tag. I'll just have to show everyone one these games later. They were super fun. After a while we switched groups and did it all over again. Lots of fun.

       Thursday we went to Winslow for a district meeting. Then in the evening we had a meeting with the stake president. Good stuff.

       Friday we had weekly planning. We did have one of our less actives call and ask for a blessing. That was neat to see him exercise his faith in doing that. He went to the ER on Saturday but he went to all 3 hours on Sunday so that was really neat!

       Saturday I got a letter from the Harringtons!!! Super awesome! Then we spent a good portion of the day tracting. So things are going pretty good.

       Sunday we had church. I then got to interview one of the sister's investigators for baptism. She is super solid. She's been through a lot but is staying true to the faith! It's some good stuff!

       So people are starting to ask me what I want for Christmas... I really don't want or need anything. The thing is if I get anything I have to pack it around with me where ever I go, so ya. :)

       Thanks for all the support! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 12/8

Yaa Teeh!

       Monday I still wasn't feeling really great. So we didn't do much.

       Tuesday I picked up Elder Cook. Aw snap! This is gonna be a sweet transfer! Elder Cook is from Sandy, he's a soccer player, super chill, good humor, and is a FANTASTIC missionary! I'm super blessed to be companions with him. Well after I pick him up we went out and tried some potentials. We were going to someone's house when we saw a couple people standing around, so we talked to them and actually got invited in to teach one of them. SWEET!!! The lesson went pretty well. Less active wanting to get back into things. We read the first few verses of 3 Nephi 11.

       Wednesday we went tracking. Elder Cook likes tracting and it's productive to pass out the He is the Gift cards.

       Thursday I finally got over the bug that has been making me sick. So I feel great now. We had district meeting with a district leader that just moved in. It was a really good meeting. He trained on obedience. Then we went and saw Micheal, a less active and watched the first half of "On the Lord's Errand". He really enjoyed it. Then he asked us to give him a blessing. It always amazes me to see how the spirit can change people. It does gradually but it definitely happens! Then we went out and saw Mark. I love Mark! He is super fun to talk to. He's a Marine and he makes those para-cord bracelets. Well we wanted to get him started on reading the Book of Mormon so we read Alma 43 with him. Oh, he loved it! We said we needed to leave and he replied, "You know I have to read the next chapter right?!" That was great. He has really gotten into the Book of Mormon since then.

       Friday we got to go try a potential family. We took a member with us and when we got there only the wife was home, but since we had the member with us we could go in. The lady opened up to us and the member really did a great job and answering her questions and making her feel good. Member missionaries are the greatest!

       Saturday we got to go see Mark again. He had read the next chapter and he spent some time talking about it. We then taught him about the Plan of Salvation up to, "Our life on earth". Then we got on the topic of Zion's Camp.

       Sunday we get to church and Mark comes up and starts talking to us about Zion's Camp. He had research it and really enjoyed learning about it. We told him to look up the Mormon Battalion. He and I get along so well! He's excited to get baptized on January 3rd! Then we got to watch the First Presidencies Christmas Devotional. Always good. :)

       Thanks for all the support! Until next time, hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

(Bryson also wanted me to mention happy birthday to Bri and Tristin. He thought about you during the week but spaced putting it in his email.)

Navajo Code 12/1

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we just had P-day. Happy Birthday Deklan! 

       Tuesday we went out and tried to find some new people to teach. Well, we knocked on this one man's, Stephon, door. He came to the door and invited us in. (We were going through the ward list so the guy was Less Active.) Well we came in and sat down and started talking. He really likes music and plays the piano except his eye sight is going bad. Well he played us some songs and then I played him "River Flows in You" that I had gotten in Flora Vista from the Harrington's. Thank you Harrington's! That song really touched him and he invited us back the next day.

       Wednesday we went back to Stephon's house and I played him "River Flows in You" as well as "Cristifori's Dream". We brought a member with us who said he'd be willing to come get Stephon for church. We then talked about the Book of Mormon only to find that Stephon has a strong testimony on it. That's fine with me! :) Then we got to meet with Mark and investigator and had a really powerful lesson on the atonement. We watched a few Mormon Messages about the Atonement and shared some personal stories with one another. 

        Thursday was Thanksgiving. We had district meeting then we did our studies and had dinner with some members and did our weekly planning that night because we had to go to Gallup in the morning.

       Friday we drove into Gallup to trade out the jeep so it could get fixed. So we are now driving a Nissan Frontier until the jeep gets fixed. I was told that I'm going to loss my driving privileges. Then we had a really neat lesson with a less active named ryan. So on Thursday we knocked on his door to set up an appointment and he said something like, I don't know if I can go to a church that doesn't let me drink beer. Jesus drank wine so why can't I have beer. I'll give you guys one chance to tell me why. So we went over and we talked about Joseph Smith being a prophet and we can know that by reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He said he'd keep reading and praying. :)

       Saturday.... Right when you think you get out of the fire you get tossed right back in. President Batt called me and asked if I would accept a calling from the Lord to serve as a Zone Leader in Holbrook. I will also be training a new Zone Leader. My new companion will be Elder Cook. I'm excited to be with him. Then we got to go visit Mark and we put him on date for the 3rd of January. (It's so crazy to be setting dates for 2015!!!)  Then we got to go see Jimmy for the last time before he moves to go to school. Good stuff.

       Sunday. Woke up at 1am and puked. repeated almost every hour until about 1 pm. Then wasn't feeling great the rest of the day. Did go to a meeting with the stake president. Feeling a little better today but not a 100%.

       Well thanks for all the support. If you are waiting for a letter from me I promise I haven't forgotten about you things just get crazy on P-days. I will write you back. Hope you have a great week! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 11/24

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we spent the day with Landon. He took us to Walmart in Winslow, we also got to watch him make a long board. Pretty cool. :) Then we had a really great lesson with Jimmy. The members play such a vital role there. We wouldn't have even been able to get close to where he is now without the members!

       Tuesday Elder Jensen hurt his back a little so we stayed in most of the day. I was able to go on splits and go to a few appointments. 

       Wednesday we went on exchanges with the Dilkon Elders. I brought one of the Dilkon Elders to Holbrook and sent Elder Jensen to have his first Rez experience. :) We had an interesting day. All our appointments cancelled. So for the most productive use of time was to make a list of people to go see. Well we were at the church next to one of the glass doors that lead outside waiting for an investigator that didn't show up. Well the sisters drove by and spotted us. While they were turning around we got up and ran into a room. After a while we continued working. Soon I needed more light to keep writing so we moved into the room. Then we heard this snicker and the classroom next to us the door slammed shut so we got up. We realized it was the sisters trying to scare us so we went and grabbed a couch and set it in front of the door. They were kinda surprised that there was a couch there. :) 

       Thursday we had district meeting and then we did some family history. Then we went down to Woodruff to see Marvin. He's doing good. He's getting close to set a date for baptism. :)

       Friday we did a lot of contacting because we only had 2 set appointments, one of which was with the Stake Patriarch to seek some referrals. :) (But that went went really well. :) ) 

       Saturday we got to meet with Mark, he gave me another challenge coin. He has a few of them, they are so cool! We started teaching him the restoration but we didn't get very far cause we need to get back to Holbrook. Then we had another great lesson with Jimmy about Faith. That also went really well thanks to the members!

       Sunday we were at the church by 6:30 for a PEC meeting. Everything went well. We left around 2 to go and get our studies done. The Stake President here is amazing! We get to meet with him every Sunday nightand see how the work is going. He gives such great advise!

       I love being a missionary and I LOVE Holbrook! The work is moving forward in leaps and bounds here. It is such a wonderful thing to be a part of. :) Thanks for all the support. Until next time, hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 11/17

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday was a lot of fun. For P-day we went up to the church and threw a frisbee around. Then we had family home evening with a member family and one of our less actives. Then we had an appointment with some new investigators. Well when we got there, there wasn't another male in the house so we called and got there across the street neighbor to come with us. They are a great family. We got 3 new investigators!

       Tuesday........     ...........     ...............     HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKI!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D For me, Tuesday was spent in Winslow on exchanges. They went well. :)

       Wednesday we went with Landon (a ward missionary who's 19) and did some service for James, a Less Active. We helped him with his green house and we moved some brick for him. Then we went to Landon's house and helped him split some wood. I love splitting wood! Then we had a lesson with some less actives when there non member grandson's were there. The oldest, Daymion, was asking a lot of questions about baptism. He really wants to get baptized. He's a really smart kid. :) Then we went with some other members to Kyle and Jordan's. The members here are great! They teach and testify so powerfully. We taught them the Plan of Salvation. Then we got talking about temples. I love the temple! We committed them to get married in the temple at the one year mark of them both being members. :)

      Thursday I got do some more work in Family History. I love doing Family History but I'm still a little confused how to do it. All well, something to learn a little later. :) Then we had a really great lesson with Jimmy. He's a returning less active. Again, the members make all the difference here! They answer all his questions and support and encourage him.

       Friday we got to meet with a man named Bob. He's a really cool guy. He wants us to come and read the Book of Mormon with him! Sounds good to me! :D

       Saturday we had a lesson with some investigators and picked up our 8th new investigator. (That ties the most new investigators I've found in a week before.) We taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the end of the lesson they shared this experience. "2 Sunday's ago I didn't want to go to church. During the week we had to go to Snowflake for something and grandpa drove us to the temple. It was just so peaceful there. When we left I kept telling him to turn around and go back because I want to be there! I'm willing to do whatever it takes to go to the temple!" What a true example of wanting to go to the temple, the House of the Lord! It truly is filled with peace. Then we got to watch the cultural celebration for the Phoenix AZ temple.

       Sunday we got to go to all 3 sessions of the dedication of the Phoenix AZ temple. I love the temple and I can't wait to go again!

       Well I hope you are all doing well and staying warm! It got to 14 degrees last night here in Holbrook. :) Fun stuff! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 11/10 (My 239 birthday!!!) :D

Yaa Teeh!

        So this week has been really interesting. Let's just say I've had better weeks.

       Monday.... I drove the car into the fence. Yep, what a way to start off the week lol. I still haven't heard if I am going to lose my driving privileges, it wouldn't surprise me if I did.

       Tuesday we got to go out and give some service to an inactive member. This guy had the biggest tomato plants I've ever seen. They were well over 8 feet long!!! It's increadable!!!

       Wednesday I got called upon to go play at a funeral. It's nice to be able to be trusted to go and play the piano right on the spot. I'm extremely fortunate to have the talents that I have! Then later in the day we were walking down the street and a lady pulled over and asked us if we gave service. We said that we did. Then she started talking about what she needed. She mentioned family history so we talked about coming up to the church and doing family history work with us some time. She loved the idea! Then she started talking about the last time she was in an LDS church building. She had definitely felt the spirit! She was so excited to come and do some family history work with us!

       Thursday we had zone training. Then we got to go with a member down to Woodruff and watch "Joseph Smith: the Prophet of the Restoration". He absolutely loved it! Then we went with some other members to see a less active in Perkins Valley. Member are so great! They are a friend to the people that will be a long term friendship unlike the missionaries who will be leaving eventually.

       Friday. Weekly planning took a long time... after we got done with weekly planning at 7 PM. We went walking around Holbrook trying to find some new people to teach. Well I started singing hymns in Cadence. (e.x. - left right left right.... but the pitch of the song was a hymn) Elder Jensen would try to guess the song. It was pretty fun.

       Saturday we got to teach one of our less active's and his non member wife. She is super interested! We also got to teach one of our investigators who we haven't seen in about a month. We took some members with us and they were great! We even set a date with them for the 27th of December!

       Sunday was a day full of ... you guessed it! Church. It's good to be able to really focus on church and the importance of it.

       I love Holbrook and I love being a missionary! Hope you all have a good week! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 11/3

  Yaa Teeh!

       Monday I got all caught up on my letters then we got to go teach a couple of new investigators.  They are native's. I love teaching the native people! They just have this spirit about them and they have been prophesied about a lot!

       Tuesday we had a lot of cancelled appointments but we did get to teach Mark. I LOVE MARK!!! He is a non-member, Marine, and he just got married to a member. We are teaching him at the 1st counselor of the mission presidency's house. So we have really good member support. He and I have really bonded. He has given me a couple of para cord bracelets and now he's given me a challenge coin for the Marines! His lesson went really well. We got to teach another lesson with some members to a member that is coming back into church activity. I love it when the members can answer all the questions and we are there just to get the conversation started. :)

       Wednesday we got to go on splits I got to go with a young man, Landon, from the Painted Desert ward. Fun guy. I also got a package that day with some interesting stuff in it that I had no idea what I was going to do with it all. Then I had a light bulb moment. Elder Jensen and I can decorate the sisters car. (Does this sound familiar to anyone? :D ) See pictures below. :)

       Thursday we got started on being trained on family history. I got to do a little bit of indexing. That is a lot more fun that it looks! It just has this really neat spirit about it. Huh, imagine that... The Prophet's and Apostles have said that like a million time. Go figure. :D

       Friday we got to go to seminary to learn and to get to know the kids a little bit better. Then we had interviews with President Batt! I respect that man so much! He told me I am doing an amazing job down here in Holbrook. I really love being in Holbrook. Then after the interviews we got to have President Batt come out and work with us for about an hour. Our appointment fell through as well as all our back ups. lol. That's mission life some time.

       Saturday was crazy. President Hatch had asked all the full time missionaries to sing in the evening session of stake conference. The only problem is we are all so spread out so we couldn't practice until the day of... Oh and he wanted a missionary melody like the one in general conference. Well thankfully we have a sister missionary that can improvise really well on the piano. So we sang "I Hope They Call Me On a Mission", "Called to Serve", and "Bring the World His Truth". I was the chorister. The choir did super well!!!! I had also been asked by President Hatch to give a 3 minute talk in stake conference about the stake central message. That went really well to. I got several compliments the next few days.

        Sunday we had a Stake Conference Broadcast from SLC. Elder Foster, Sister McConkie, Elder Christofferson, and President Uchtdorf spoke. It was absolutely increadable!

       I love being a missionary and I am seeing so many miracles in my life as well as, and more so in other peoples lives. Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 10/27

Yaa Teeh!

       It's been a busy week down here in Holbrook. Monday we got to drive to Farmington.

       Tuesday we had transfers. Said good bye to Elder Krebs and picked up Elder Jensen. Then we headed back down to Holbrook. Then we had a really good lesson with Pete that night. I love Pete! He is just a big ray of sunshine!!! :D

       Wednesday we got to teach a lot of people. We also had mashed potato's for dinner....... I LOVE MASHED POTATO'S!!!!!!!!!!!! ya.... let's just say they were really good. New companions are always interesting because you have different experiences and teaching styles and everything. Not a bad thing, just different. But, I love Elder Jensen. He is from Bountiful UT. He's had a total of 5 area's in 3 different missions because of some health issues. He likes to play games. He's also the youngest in his family and he is a great companion! We are going to have a great transfer together!!!

       Thursday was probably the spiritual District Meeting I've ever taught. I was training on the Atonement. Wow, what a powerful subject. Right when I told everyone what I was training on the spirit came in and it was just great. We read a lot of scriptures about the Atonement and then we watched a video that Grandma and Grandpa Lynn sent to me about the Atonement and missionary work with Elders Eyring and Holland talking. Really good district meeting, in my opinion. Later that day we got to work with some of the stake leaders and find ways we can better work with them. That is always so cool, to see how different stake presidents run their specific stake. Lots of learning.

       Friday we had a really good weekly planning session. Then we got to go to the wedding of Mark and Theresa. Theresa is a member of a year or two and Mark is a non member. Oh, and he's a Marine. (Oh Ya!!!!! :D :D :D) He's come to church almost every week for the past 2 months we just can't get in with him. But we have an appointment with him this week so we are pretty excited!

       Saturday we walked, and walked, and walked some more. I asked Elder Jensen the day before if he was ok to walk. He said he was so we walked a lot!!!! If you have google maps we walked from our apartment to the seminary building then over to navajo and up to mission lane and back with stops in between. Then after it was dark we got in our car and went out and tried some people. We got onto a street that we knew someone lived on but we weren't sure where. So we were driving slowly down the street to see if we could find the house number. We ended up finding it on so we parked and got out. I pulled out my flashlight so I could show Elder Jensen the house number and then to see where we were walking. Well before we get to the door it opens and this man has a very aggressive look on his face. I quickly identify as the missionaries while shining the light on my tag. He then, again very aggressively, tells us to not to sneak up on peoples house while it's dark. He was emphasizing his point with his hands. His right hand was kept behind his back for most of the conversation. But he was moving around a little bit so I was able to see it for about a second or two. Yep, he was holding a gun. Well, that was a first. IDK, maybe he had been watching a horror movie and was a little on edge. :)

       Sunday we were at church for a long time! Then we had dinner, did our studies and met with President Hatch. Good stuff. :)

       Well thanks for all you do! Hope you all have a great week! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 10/20

Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we had dinner with some members and they had this cranapple juice to go along with it. Well I had a glass and then two and three. Right after I started my third glass I thought to myself, "Wow, this is really sweet." sip "REALLY sweet!" sip "Oh..... It's probably from a concentrate with A LOT of sugar. It's been a long time since I have had that much sugar. It actually made my stomach hurt a little. :)

       Tuesday we taught four lessons, all of which had members there. That is such a big help when members can come out with us! After our studies we went out for about an hour to try and contact some people. We talked to a few but nothing to big. When we got home and had lunch I realized that I hadn't been wearing my name tag on. (Face + Palm) Oh, man. I laughed about that one. Then after lunch we went out again to go try some people. We were walking next to the train tracks and a train was coming. Elder Krebs decided to wave at it. HONK HONK!!! The train totally honked at him! It was so awesome!!!

       Wednesday we went on exchanges. On our way back on the free way we say the after math of a rollover. So we turned around and see what we could do to help. There were already people there helping but the authorities hadn't shown up yet. We really didn't do much but it did make me think about what I want to do for a career. It made me explore some other options that I hadn't thought of before. Then we went out to McLaws road and were trying to contact some people. Well, we go to this one house and start walking towards the door. A girls steps outside, closes the door and starts walking towards us... all with her head down. I said "Hi." That's all I said. Well, ...... At least I know that my ears still work. :) She screamed and ran back in the house. After a minute or so she came back outside laughing. Fun stuff.

       Thursday. So we've had a mouse problem in our house for about a week up to this point. We had the regular mouse traps and the sticky mouse traps. Well I get done with breakfast and go to wash my dishes when I look down where one of the sticky traps are. Instead of seeing a grey colored mouse I see a tan... 18 inch.... bull snake! Scared me half to death!!!! So I took a couple of pictures and then we got rid of it. We actually ended up catching two mice as well and since then we haven't had a mouse problem since. We also had two really great lessons. One with Marvin out in Woodruff and the other with Jimmy. They are both great! Marvin is close to getting baptized and Jimmy is getting reactivated. Lots of miracles are happening here! Good things are happening!

       Friday we got to teach an Yolanda, an investigator that we haven't been able to catch in about 2 weeks. She is doing good. We taught her the Restoration but she has some concerns with the Book of Mormon and Prophets in general. She really is a great person though and we love teaching her! That night we got a call from President Batt. He asked me if I would be willing to train a missionary named Elder Jensen in Holbrook. He also talked to Elder Krebs and asked if he would be willing to be in a tri-panionship, train, and white wash! Elder Krebs is such a stud! I love that missionary! I'm going to miss serving with him! But he will do wonders in his new area!

       Saturday we started teaching this family. The wife really just wants to bash with us but the husband really wants to learn. The problem is that they both talk at the same time and we really don't get to talk a lot. It should be interesting. Then we got all of transfer news that night.

       Sunday we got asked to teach two different classes right as they were starting. They both went really well. Then after church we went around and took pictures with everyone that Elder Krebs wanted to see.

       We've had a great week here in Holbrook! I'm excited to get Elder Jensen! Great things, miracles, are happening here in Holbrook! Until next time, hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 10/13

Yaa Teeh!

       It's been a really great week for us here in Holbrook.

       Monday we were doing our Preparation day shopping and we had a member from Joseph City pay for our groceries. The interesting part is that she lived in West Jordan for a time and attended the Callie Building. Her name is Sister Palmer. Small world.:)

       On Tuesday we went to teach one of our Less Actives who lives with an excommunticated member. Well we go in and the excommunicated member is drunk.... like straight up wasted! Well he kept telling us the same story about his friend being sent back to jail. Ya in the 30 minutes we were there we heard that story at least 20 times... I will say though, since I've been in Holbrook I have been able to recognize drunks a lot easier. (I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. lol :) )

       Wednesday... ZONE CONFERENCE!!!!! We got to get up at 4 am to drive to Tuba City but it was worth it! Elder Krebs and I tied for first in our vehicle inspection. We got a perfect score! Then my planner was recognized as one of the best 3 out of the close to 40 missionaries there. But the best part was we got to go see "Meet the Mormons"! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! WOW!!!!!!! EVERYONE HAS TO GO SEE THAT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!! They did such a great job at making that movie! Everyone really does need to go watch that movie! Then you should write me and tell me what you thought about it! It's such a great movie!

       Thursday I was on exchanges in Holbrook with a missionary from Indian Wells. We had a good day and were able to talk to a lot of people. I got to know him. Interesting story. He's a convert. He had an apostle stay in his home before he was a member of the church. That's crazy!

       Friday we did a lot of work/ planning in our apartment. Then we went for a walk and we got to talk to a Free Mason. Ya, that was interesting. We also had Elder Krebs last companion stop by and pay us a visit. That was fun.

       Saturday we started walking but as we were passing a farmers market we got called over and talked to people there for a little over an hour. We got a lot of free produce and I was able to meet a 3 day returned missionary from the Sacramento Mission. Yep, he knew Elder Durtschi! Again, it's a small world. :) We walk most of the day and we were able to talk to a lot of people.

       Sunday I was given to para-cord bracelets by a potential investigator. They are MARPAT-ish colors but they look was sweet! Church was good. We had a member family bring some non-member to church. We then got called last LAST second to teach that class. So we didn't even know what we were teaching when we walked in. But it went really well. Read a little out of the manual then asked some open ended questions. It went really well. We are planning on teaching them tonight. :)

       It's been a really good week for us down here in Holbrook. :) Hope you all have a great week where ever you are! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Our little friend stopped by and... ya. ;) Then there's the pictures of the Bracelets.

Navajo Code 10/6

      Yaa Teeh!

       This has been a week of many miracles!!!

       Monday we went to go see one of our investigators. We knocked on the door and he asked who is was and we said the missionaries. He said he was busy. We asked, "Can we come back?" "Sure." When?" ..... waiting for a response ....... still waiting....... "Some time." (Face+palm) lol. Oh the things you here on a mission. :D

       Tuesday we were out trying some potential investigators and we tried this one house. Not home, we were walking down the drive way when he pulled up. That's always a little awkward. Well he gets out and he's really pretty nice. Then he goes off for about 20 minutes or so trying to convince us to help him sell some cars. Oh... My..... Ya, that was a little interesting. Then we got to teach one of our investigator Kyle and his little brother. Well we were talking about God loves us. We asked him how he knew God loved him. He then explained how the Holy Ghost feels. Amazing!!! We then started talking to him about the gift of the Holy Ghost and how you can have that feeling all the time. He said he would love that and he and his brother accepted a baptismal date for the 15th of November. When he said the closing prayer you could tell he was feeling the spirit. After the prayer I asked him if he could feel the spirit. He said yes. He's already progressing!!! Then we got to meet AJ. He's black and awesome!!! I've always love black people, they are so funny and just full of awesomeness! :) 

       Wednesday we went out to meet with a less active out in Sun Valley. His non member friend was there. Morris, his friend lost his wife about 2 years ago. He talked for a while about how he would do anything to be with her again. MIRACLE!!! So we discussed the temple and how we can be sealed to our loved ones for time and all eternity. We told him the first step to that is to get baptized. He accepted a baptismal date for November 8th. (Sorry Niki, your B-day just doesn't fall on a Saturday.) ;)

       Thursday we went down to Woodruff and met with Marvin. The bishop came and talked for the whole time about the blessings of baptism and other things. It was a little weird not to be the main force but I think it really helped out. :) 

       Friday we were out trying some names when we saw these two guy playing basketball. We went and played a game with them. We lost but we gained two new potential investigators. :) I will say it is a little difficult playing in a white shirt and tie. Then we got to got teach AJ. I still love black people, but sometime, I will admit, they are a little difficult to understand.

       Saturday CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!! Ya, I thought conference was good. :)

       Sunday Elder Krebs was sick so we got permission to get a radio and listen to it. Good stuff.

Well that's all for this week. :D Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

       

Navajo Code 9/29

Yaa Teeh. So I was putting the date for the title of the email and ya... I completely forgot what day it was. Time is literally flying for me. :)

       Monday we just played some games with the other missionaries then the other District Leaders and myself traveled up to Farmington to go to a District Leader Training with President Batt the next day.

       Tuesday we had the training. Amazing! Talked about how to have good exchanges and district meeting and about obedience and stuff like that. I love getting trained by President Batt! Then we traveled back down to Holbrook.

       Wednesday I went on exchanges with the zone leaders to Winslow so I wasn't in my proselyting area for 3 full days! That's a long time. Had a good exchange. I learned that I need to talk to everyone about the gospel.

       Thursday we started talking to everyone. Including a guy who believes in Christ but doesn't call himself a Christian. That was interesting. Then we talked to some other guys and I asked them what mattered most to them in there lives. "Beer. And Girls." Wow, what is this world coming to. We eventually got the conversation to the Bible and I said, "Ya, I love the Bible. It talks about the Book of Mormon." "No it doesn't" " Ya it does." "Where?!" "Ezekiel" Where?" "Ezekiel 37: 17-19" The other guy said, "Wow, you know that book!" "Yep, it's a really good book!" So that was interesting.

       Friday... I have never run into and prayed for so many adlaanii's (drunks) in my life!!! Wow! We go over and start talking to them and the always ask us to say a prayer for them. The Native Americans as a whole have incredible faith. They always ask for prayers and believe they will receive! It's pretty cool to see.

       Saturday we had a member take us to an appointment out in Adamana. Well the forgot which way it was. So they took the wrong road, that road leads to St. Johns... which is out of the mission. Luckily we found that we were on the wrong road before we got out of the mission. Later Indian Wells had a baptism. They asked me to play the piano for them which I was excited to do. The closing song was I am a Child of God. Well, the chorister decided to put in an extra fermata with out telling me about it near the end of the song. Well I played right through it.... I GOT THE BIGGEST DEATH GLARE EVER!!! Wow, that was insane. Then after wards she comes up and tells me that she puts a pause there and that I need to be ready for that the next time I play it. Oh, fun stuff.

       Sunday we got to go to mission prep. We have a lot of great youth here!

       Hope everyone has a great week!

Elder Chipman

Requests for early Chrismas gifts

Hello everyone!

So I'm sending this out in hope that I can get some early Christmas gifts.

I don't really need anything for missionary work but I would LOVE to get music.

Here are some of the things that I would really like.

Lower Lights discs 1 and 2

Shawn McDonald

Nashville Tributte everything but "The Work" especially the Joseph Smith one

D & C 4

 

Things like that. Thanks!

 

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 9/22

Yaa Teeh!

 

       Monday we had a really fun District Activity. We played this reverse chirades game and Mad Gab. This district is so much fun! Then we were able to find this really cool guy named, Ambrose, to teach! He's native and is excited to learn. He loves movies and so do I! This should be good! :)

 

       Tuesday was good. We got to teach one of our Recent Converts named Pete! It was his birthday too! So we got to celebrate with him since he lives alone. Great guy! Heart of pure, rock solid, GOLD!!!!

 

       Wednesday I got to go on exchanges up to Indian Wells! It felt really nice to be able to go back onto the Reservation. I don't know but seems like once you serve around natives for long enough you are just drawn to them. They are such an amazing people! I got to do 2 baptismal interviews for people they were teaching so that was really exciting and they both made it! :)

 

       Thursday we had Zone Training. It was kinda weird not to be training. Good, but weird. We have some really great missionaries in our zone! Then we got to go out to Woodruff and teach a man out there who is getting really close to getting baptized! The whole ward is praying for him. Then we got to meet the bishop out there. Wow, he is really focused on getting some missionary work done out there. :)

 

       Friday we got to meet with a family that has started coming back to church! They are really excited to be returning. It all started by the wife asking for a blessing and the bishop asked the husband to give it because he was an elder. It was the first blessing he had ever given. So it's really cool to see how they are progressing. Then we found this new part member family to start teaching! We did how to begin teaching and asked them what meant the most to them in their lives. They both answered family! I'm so excited for this family! We are seeing Miracles here in Holbrook!

 

       Saturday we got to go support the sisters with a baptism that they had. It was really a great baptism. The most interesting talk on the Holy Ghost I've ever heard was given. The lady talked about the Battle of the Bulge, George Washington crossing the Delaware and other war stories. I liked it! :D :D Then we got to have dinner at Denny's... well kinda. An hour after we got there we still didn't have all our food. So I wasn't that impressed with it.

 

       Sunday it rained, a lot. I was at church from 7 am to 4 pm because of meeting and the 3 blocks. So ya. :)

 

     Hope you all have a great week!

 

       Elder Chipman

 

 

Best street name is Holbrook

 

Navajo Code 9/15

Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we had a District Activity. We just stayed up at the church and played soccer and basketball and stuff like that.

       Tuesday we got to meet with Kendric. Kendric is the bus driver that I talked about last week. Well we go to the "Bus Barn" where they all hang out and we start talking to him in the main foyer, kinda weird no chairs and just an interesting environment. Right before ask if we can have an opening prayer in the manager walks in and see us and sees Kendric and says, "Want to use my office?" MIRACLE!!!!! Oh that was so nice. Then we have the lesson and come to find out, his two daughters both want to join the Marine Corps! Oh this is great! Then... he asks if we could give them each a Book of Mormon with a note on the inside. Oh ya! I totally called writing to the two future Marines! Oh it was awesome... except for the fact that we learned he lived out side of our area. (Face+Palm) All well, other people need elect investigators too. :)

       Wednesday we set up for the Navajo County Fair and spent the remainder of the day there. We had a booth there so we would just try to pass out Book's of Mormon and get referrals.

       Thursday we got to meet with Russell. He came and talked to us on Sunday and wanted to meet with us. So we found out that he is a Less Active member and he can talk... a lot. But hey, I like him... He's cool. :)

       Friday we went to teach a less active guy named Randy who wants to get back into the church. We'd met with him before but this time he invited us into the house. Now, he lives with an excommunicated member that neither Elder Krebs or I knew. So we were a little hesitant to go inside. We walk in the house is a little dirty. There are gallon jugs of empty sweet tea everywhere. Then he walks out. He starts talking to us. He introduces himself as Obie. He then tells us he's an atheist but that he's going to call the bishop for a blessing. (At this point I'm mentally scratching my headed thinking, "How does that work?") Then I try and dig a little deeper and this is what I find. He has a great faith in the Book of Mormon! Loves it to death! Believes it's true. Believes that Christ is the Son of God and that he suffered for all our sins. So we talked about the Book of Mormon and Faith then left. Once we got out of earshot I started talking to Elder Krebs. "Ya, He's not atheist." That was one interesting visit. That night we got to go talk to a Black Man!!! Oh Man Was I Excited!!!! Well we get there and this guy is outside with a bandana over his head with dreads coming down about six inches below his shoulders in the front and he was wearing sun glasses. Oh, and did I mention he was carrying a shot gun. Ya, he was walking towards us with a shot gun. DON'T WORRY! ELDER KREBS AND I ARE JUST FINE! He actually when he saw us told us to come inside with him. Then he started talking to us about stuff in the Bible. It was crazy. He would go from serious to laughing back to serious to laughing all in a sentence. That's twice in the past week somebody has done that to me. PEOPLE, Do you realize how hard it is to follow you when you do that. Ok, it might not be that hard but it's still a little challenging. Lol. But I love this guy. He's awesome. He just shared stories with us about him and the Bible. We maybe got 2 full sentences in. :)

       Saturday we were at the Fair most of the day. We were just sitting there when I look up and see Sister Paxton from Aztec walking toward me! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! So I jump up and run over and talk to her! She was helping out with the rodeo and saw us and wanted to say hi. I talked with her for a little while and then got a picture with her. Then we had a pro photographer come and take a picture of all the missionaries. He said that you could see the picture at www.spanglerpics.com So ya! I haven't even seen that photo.

       Sunday we had to be at the fair part of the day. It was really weird missing part of church. Ya, I didn't really care for it that much. I like church. Also, Happy Anniversary DAD and Cindee!

       So I hope you all have a great week! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 9/8

Yaa Teeh!

       So I'm now in Radiator Springs.... oh, a..... I mean Holbrook AZ. :) Pictures of town should come in the up coming weeks. :)

       Since you already heard about Monday we'll jump right into Tuesday! Got with my new companion Elder Krebs and made the 4 hour drive down to Holbrook. We got to meet with this really awesome recent convert named Pete. He's awesome! He is still learning but he's a great guy!

       Wednesday I really started to learn the area. I could get myself from point A to B pretty easily on the south side of town where we live. Then we had a really great lesson with a less active family. We talked about the Book of Mormon and the importance it plays in the church and the said they haven't read it. So we watched a couple Mormon Messages (I love Mormon Messages, they're GREAT!) and then we committed them to read the Book of Mormon.

       Thursday we had District meeting. I have the best District in the whole mission. No doubt in my mind. They were all participating and and to the discussion. This is going to be a good transfer for this District. We are really going to be unified. Well, after District Meeting we were walking past the middle school and on the back of one of the school buses I noticed a USMC license plate. (I didn't know you could put that on buses!!! That's AWESOME!!!) So we go talk to him and give him a Book of Mormon and set up a return appointment. Weird that that all started because of a USMC license plate.

       Friday I got to meet another really neat family with a ton of hyper kids. Ya... that lesson... SO MUCH FUN!!! I like that family already! Then we had dinner with this older family. Probably in their late 60's or in their 70's. The guy is awesome! He has his own "mini" gym down stairs that he showed us. And it shows that he uses it! He invited us to come and work out with him anytime! I really want to but the only problem is he lives a little ways away. They also have a grand piano and I got to play a new song I just got. At the end they gave me a song to learn. Wow, that was cool. I've never had people just give me piano music like that before... BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!! :D I also got to meet our stake president, President Hatch who is just straight up awesome!

         Saturday... spent 8+ hours in a car. Totally worth it. This is why.... Are you ready?!?!?! I don't think so!!!!! We got to go up to Farmington and have a special conference with... Elder Holland. OH YA!!!!!! It was supposed to be an hour and a half conference but Elder Holland said, "Is it ok if I keep you a little longer? Ya it is, cause I'm in charge." :) So it turned into a two and a half hour conference. And yes, I'm sure it was Elder Holland because he made us feel great while destroying us. Banging the podium with his fist and all. Super cool! And even better, I got to sit next to Elder Provard in the choir and sing for him. We were two of the 18 missionaries from the whole mission that got to sing for him. After, before he left he turned to the choir and said, "That was absolutely great. Never better. I want you to sing at my funeral." Wow, he is fun to be around. Let's just say there is never a dull moment with him. He talked a lot about staying active after the mission and about teaching with Power and Authority. He truly is an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ!

       Sunday we got to go to 7 hours of church. That's a lot of Church but it was all really good. Oh ya, I guess I should tell everyone. I cover three wards and a half here. ;) I did get to see a sister missionary that I knew as she was coming back to visit her mission. To make it even weirder, she openly admitted that she is dating my trainer. Ya, that was awkward.

       My week was stupendous! I hope everyone has a great week themselves! Until next time, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 9/2- new address

       Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we finished teaching a recent convert all of the lessons so we are done teaching him. He has received the priesthood and is doing great!

       Tuesday we did a lot of service. We did some for an investigator family digging holes through bed rock, then we chopped wood for a less active member. Then we took one of our less active members and taught a lesson to an investigator family.

       Wednesday we did a lot of walking. We talked to 7 people about the gospel and all 7 of them accepted a Book of Mormon. That has never happened! It was awesome! Later that day we walked about 2 or 3 miles up to try this one guy. Then we talked with him, he wasn't interested so we started walking back. Well it had taken 45 minutes to an hour to walk there and we only had about 30 to get back so we start walking at a good pace. When we were about 300 yards away we started running... So let me try and paint the picture for your mind. Here we are 2 missionaries at almost 9 pm at night running down main street with back packs on and everything. Ya, that probably look really interesting, especially for those who were driving by. :)

       Thursday I came down with a pretty good cold. So we stayed in for a little while and I tried to catch up on some sleep. Then we went and taught an excommunicated member who is getting really close to being baptized. Well we started talking and he asked me if I would baptize him when the time comes. Wow, that was special! He's also a Marine so it makes it all the more special.

       Friday we got to teach seminary which was loads of fun. I always enjoyed teaching seminary. Then we come back and there is a knock at the door. I go and open it and there is nobody there... Well I look around and see someone walking away. I look down and see a package. Oh..... Packages are so much fun to get! That night we got to go teach Fred. He is doing so well and is progressing so well to his baptism date of sept 20! But at the end of the day both Elder Martin and I were just completely exhausted!

       Saturday.... So, we were doing our personal study and we have about 10 or 15 minutes left when the phone rings. It's President Batt. Elder Martin says it's for me. President Batt tells me that I have done a wonderful job as a Zone Leader and he is grateful for all that I have done. But the Lord has a new calling for me. He asked me if I would be a District Leader and a Step-Trainer down in Holbrook AZ. I said yes. So yep... I'm getting transferred!

Here is the new mailing address:

517 Hopi Dr.

Holbrook, AZ 86025

So after that exciting news we finished studies then got a phone call from the Aztec 2nd Sisters to come and teach a lesson and give a blessing. So we go over and find this guy they are teaching. He is terrified to go into his house. Well the sisters hand him off to us then they leave. We finally get him to go into his house and we dedicate the house. Then we decide to walk him to the church (2.5 miles) and give him a church tour. So we do that. The church carpet was making his allergy's act up. But it was interesting, he said that he wouldn't go into the baptismal room because it didn't feel right. Well we start walking back and I'm walking behind him this time. He was staging while he walked. Well we get down to the corner and he tells us that he isn't going back to his house. He is, instead, going to go to sleep behind the dumpster. And he did. Ya, he was drunk. Then we had dinner with the Less Active that we've reactivated! That was a good dinner! Then we went to our ward mission leaders to get the rest of the Transfer new which didn't come in till almost 9 45. Crazy stuff. :)

       Sunday was just a day of taking pictures with people and saying good bye. I don't really care for transfers! :P

       Monday was a lot of fun. There was a tri-ward activity that we went to and played soccer with little kids for like 3 hours! Then I got to talk to Sister Harrington for a little while. It was so good to be able to talk to her again. I miss that family so much! Then I went to the excommunicated members house and got to talk with him. That was really special. I'm so excited for him! He is doing great things. I'm so sad that I won't be here for his baptism. But I am excited to go to Holbrook. My companion there will be Elder Krebs.

       Well that's all for this week. I will say it is kinda weird almost knowing that this will be my last area. Crazy how fast it has gone. I love being a missionary! Well, until next week, Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman

Navajo Code 8/25

Yaa Teeh!

       Monday we got to go to the temple! So good! So needed! I miss going to the temple every week! Then we got to go to Fred's house and Chet (the Less Active member that we've reactivated) came with us. We had a good lesson. It's amazing to see Chet help us, because he knows the gospel and he fills in the parts that we forget or otherwise miss. So nice to have him there!

       Tuesday we got to go see Tonya and go chop some more wood for her. I really enjoy chopping wood! Then we got to go see Lloyd, an excommunicated member that is getting REALLY CLOSE  to getting back in the church! It's amazing to see how much the gospel means to people like that!

       Wednesday we were out walking around and this guy and his cousin were out working on their fence and he started talking to us. Well, we gave them each a Book of Mormon and offered to come back later and help with his fence. We then had to go to a lesson. We watched the John Tanner Story with them. The husband, non member, said, "I see all of these people getting healed in the movies but is it really real? My wife has been having some serious back and hip pain for several years and no doctors can figure it out. Could you heal her?" wow..... Well, I told them how blessings work and asked who they would like to give the blessing. They asked Elder Martin and he gave an amazing blessing! The Elders Quorum President and the High Priest Group leader went over later this week and she told them that her back and hip are feeling better than they have in a really long time. Talk about having faith, and the husband isn't even a member! Later we go back to Daniel's, the fence guy, and help him out. He really appreciated it and let us talk to him about the gospel.

       Thursday after District Meeting we had interviews with President Batt. I love that man! He is such a good example! I can go and talk to him about anything. Later that night we got to go on splits. I went with a member and finished a movie with a part member family.

       Friday was fun... We went and helped Daniel again with his fence. Well he need us to dig some holes for his fence posts to go in. They need to be about 18 inches deep. Oh, and it's all rock below us... So we used a small concrete pole and a small hand sledgehammer and were chipping away at it. Well it was almost time to go but we had the idea to go and grab my maul because it was bigger and heavier. So we did. We started using it and it worked pretty well. We then got it in the ground pretty good where it would stand up by itself. Elder Martin suggested that I just try and hit it as hard as I can without him holding it. "Ok, sounds good." lol..... So we just slides back a little bit and I go for it. Well, I make contact with it but it came out of the hole, end over end, and hit Elder Martin straight it the face...... DON'T WORRY! HE'S OK!!!!! See picture to see true damage. :) Well after that we decided to go for a walk. I am still convised that God has a good sense of humor. We start walking and after two minutes it starts to pour! I mean pour! Well, we keep walking and we walk for an hour and a half. We had one lady pull over and give us this nice looking flower umbrella. So the funny part is about two minutes before we get home the sun comes out. lol. :D All well. It was a lot of fun. My feet got a little discolored from my shoes/ socks. :)

       Saturday we did some more service for Daniel then went to a fireside in Bloomfield were this guy played the piano and talked about the power of music. It was really good!

       Sunday we got to do sharing time in primary which is always fun! :)

So that was my week! Hope you all have a great one too! Hagoonee'!

Elder Chipman