Monday July 25, 2011 - 14 months out!

Saturday ward picnic in the park

What's up fam!?

So yeah I will get this painful news over with haha. On Tuesday night right after going to bed at 10:30 we get a call from Patricia. She says that she got called to go up to Edmonton for week, so she cancelled her baptismal interview which would have been the next day (Wednesday) and her baptism which would have been Friday! What is with Satan!? So her baptism fell through 2 days before. She doesn't know when she will be back, but it should be soon. She is ready to be baptized. I couldn't sleep that night and was just super bummed out, and all three of us prayed hard for a sweet miracle the next day to cheer us up. Well during dinner the next day we get a call from a set of English elders and they found a Spanish person for us! They knocked into a man named Ricardo from Nicaragua. So we run over there after dinner and meet him...he is so prepared for the gospel! We taught him the first and he loved it all. His sister is a member back in Nicaragua. He came to the ward on Sunday and the members champed it up in fellowshipping him. We have a family night with him and another member family tonight and he would accept baptism for the 7th of August. We are pumped.

On Saturday we had the branch picnic as well. It was at the same park that it was last year. I can't believe that was one whole year ago!!!!! One of the branch members invited a coworker named Juan from Argentina. We met him and he lives up in the NW (which just happens to be part of our area right now) and he is interested in learning about the gospel (appt. on Tuesday). So we were blessed with 2 new investigators this week! Patricia should be back this week and if she does we will get her baptized, and then also there is a part member family in our area. The wife is Canadian and is less active and her husband is Mexican...and a non member! We have a dinner with them and from what the wife was telling us, he is finally ready to accept the gospel and she has a strong desire to come back to church so their young children can grow up in the gospel. Our faith is still super high and we expect to see some results in this week. We are working hard and having so much fun doing this. It is crazy how fast I became one of the older ones in the zone (when Rudd leaves in 2 weeks, Elder Davies and I are the next to go!) I feel like I have ton of experience now as a missionary and I am able to capitalize on that. The last couple months have been the best of my mission and I have really zero complaints. Tomorrow is my one year anniversary living in Canada! It does not feel real and it probably never will haha.

Today we are going mini golfing! That should be fun, plus it is super cheap, only 10 bucks. Then going to play ball. Weather has been amazing here, which means my farmer tan is super bad!

Haha Elder Galloway is awesome wow. Yeah for sure he can get the emails! Tell him I say hi and we are all curious as to what happened with his girlfriend haha!

Life is great and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary, once in a lifetime experience! I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Ryan

July 25, 2010 last night in MTC

Elder Draper's last night in the USA before leaving for Canada exactly one year ago.

Special email I received from Ryan's old companion and AP

Elder Draper and Elder Galloway AKA Kitrick Galloway (post mission) posing together when Ryan first arrived in Calgary a year ago

Teri,

I appreciated your e-mail! It is so great to hear how the mission is doing! I have to tell you that I consider the opportunity that I had to serve with your son a great privilege. We only served together for 6 weeks, but during those 6 weeks he taught me SO MUCH about SO MANY things! He is a natural leader and a spiritual giant, and he is doing amazing things up there in Calgary. We saw a lot of very special, sacred miracles when we were serving together, and although we ourselves didn't baptize anybody that transfer, it's really special to see the fruits of our labors months later. Thank you so much for sending me that e-mail! I hope you know how much of an incredible missionary Elder Draper is, and how much I look up to him! He helped me so much--I don't think there's any way he could possibly know how many of the things that he did helped me to have the strength to keep on going, but he really was and is a source of strength for so many people! Thanks for sending out a prepared, worthy, and faith-filled missionary to touch the lives of so many people. I stand among those people that have been positively influenced by him, and I'll always be grateful for that. He did so much more good for me than I could have possibly done for him! Take care, and please do stay in touch! If it wouldn't be too much of a bother, I would love to receive his e-mails!

And one more thing: I promised your son that I would send him a document that he wants to add in to his copy of Preach My Gospel--I attached it for him. Could you please forward that on to him? Thanks!

Con Amor,

- Kitrick (I'm still used to calling myself Elder Galloway, so that's still pretty weird) :)

Monday July 18, 2011

Elders Rudd, Rios and Draper - love this picture!

Knocking away...

Getting ready to ride away...

Great group of missionaries! Spanish Zone before last transfer, from left: Elder Brandon, Walker (home now), Rudd, Nielson, Dunlap (home now), Soliz, Galloway (home now), Draper, Walker (home now), and Chunn (home now)

Getting ready for the day, the awesome threesome!Ski ramp from Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics

Aloha!!

Another shout out to the best mom in the world Teri Draper!! I hope you have a great birthday mom!! I love you and miss you so much! We are only down to 10 months and it will fly by ;)

Yes Patricia will be baptized this Friday! President Archibald ok'd it and so that is the plan. She is working a 2nd job for 2 months and won't be able to come to church, but she has a desire to keep the Sabbath Day holy and that is why we can baptize her still. Yesterday was the baptism of Fanor and Adelaida, a couple from Colombia. I did not teach them, but I have a special love for them for a couple of reasons. Number 1, I was able to interview both of them for my first time! It was such a neat and spiritual experience! Like, I was able to receive revelation, a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that they were ready for baptism. I felt a promise from my patriarchal blessing as well as I said things to them that I had zero knowledge about...cool! But then another awesome part of the story is that about 3 months ago, it was Elder Galloway and I that found him walking in the street! We got out of the car to go to an appointment, and Fanor got out of his car right next to us at the same time. So we go up to him and start explaining to him who we are. We find out he is Spanish, so that in itself was a huge miracle for us! He was visiting family up in the NW, so we got his info and passed it down to the Spanish elders in the SE, where he lives. So they go by a couple days later, and when he answers the door he is not wearing pants! I know, pretty strange, but they started teaching him and his wife, and now they are members of the church! Fanor shared his testimony after the baptism and thanked me for walking up to him and talking to him and inviting him to learn about the restored gospel. It was a really sweet moment and I just have to give all the credit to Heavenly Father for putting Fanor in our path 3 months ago.

Another cool thing was that Juan blessed the sacrament for the first time! Seeing people in their early stages of living the gospel is just amazing! What a blessing to be a part of this work. This is the most important thing that Heavenly Father does, #1 on His to-do list. Bring His children back to Him is a very gratifying experience. Elder Rudd keeps telling me that I don't have any time left (just cuz the time in year 2 is insane) and I know that I probably won't have another chance like this. That is my motivation to go out and do work! I love you all and thank you for everything!

Have a great week!! Love Elder Draper

Hey Dad! Thanks for the update! I will try to answer all of your questions in the family email about the work and all. Yeah it is kind of a crazy being a ZL because almost all of your afternoons are spent doing zone stuff, and I would rather be out finding Spanish people! We have a baptismal goal of 10 for this transfer, and we have one down, and another one this Friday, so we have to find 8 more prepared people in these few weeks. I have been looking back in my journal and it is just crazy how much I have learned about the gospel. Like, I felt I was pretty knowledgable before the mission, but it doesn't even compare now. I have a solid base in the basic doctrines of the church, and I have learned a lot about deeper doctrine which is pretty amazing. But like I said, my biggest concern right now is getting my baptismal goal of 24 for the mission and just doin work. I hope I get to be a ward mission leader in my life, because I love this stuff! Thanks again and have a great week!!!

Love, Elder Draper

Monday July 11, 2011

Mucho felicidad!
Last picture of Spanish Zone before 6 of them went home
The Three Amigos - Draper, Rios and Rudd
Elder Draper and Rudd knocking on doors of the Calgarians
These are classic, first time in his mission that he's riding a bike

Whats up!? Well kind of a stressful week for us haha. I thought that I had gotten rid of the sickness I had last week but it came back harder this week and so all three of us were super sick with the cold plus allergies. Not fun. And on top of that we were riding around on bikes all day long in our super hilly areas so that was tough. But I loved to get outside and get into shape a little bit.

Juan got the priesthood yesterday so that was awesome. But I was not even there because we went to the old Crescent View ward this week, and it seemed different to me after only 7 weeks of not being there! It was kind of weird, but it was great to see everybody again and catch up with a few people. We did not have any gator lessons this week, but that will change. We have a baptismal goal of 10 this month and we have one so far with Juan. Patricia will be baptized the 22 or 23, but that is all we got progressing right now. It'll take a ton of faith to find the other 8, but we know it can be done. It is obviously the Lord's will that people are baptized so they can return to Him, and it is missionaries jobs to do that. So we know that the Lord will put the prepared in our path as we are out biking around haha.

On Thursday I had to go to my first ZLC, or zone leader council. All the zone leaders in the mission meet at the mission home and we get trained on all the new things in the mission. It was super long, like 8-4. I would much rather be out knocking doors, but just another sacrifice I have to make to learn more and be better at this. Tomorrow we have interviews with president, I always look forward to those. President Archibald will be a general authority very soon, I can almost guarantee that. You can look at him and just know that he is connected with heaven and receiving revelation, it is amazing!

But I am feeling really great today, so much better and I am super excited for the week we have planned. The Lord is stretching me and making me an instrument so that I can do things I would never be able to do not as a missionary. The calling we have is so real, my testimony of that has grown big time. If only I realized the authority I had that night I got set apart and we went to Swirlz! The time is flying by so so fast, and I am having the time of my life here, hope you do too in Maui!

I love you all and hope you have a great week!! Love Elder Draper

4th of July 2011

Dreaming of the USA today :)

Their long time investigator Juan Carlos will hopefully be baptized

Juan Martinez's baptism day: Sunday July 3, 2011

What a great day for this fine young man

Elder Draper with Juan and his last comp Elder Brandon

From left: Elder Seelinger (from San Diego), Rudd, Stout (from Sandy), Juan, Brandon, Draper, Davies and Rios (from Arizona)

Happy 4th! Today we sang the Star Spangled Banner for comp study this morning. USA! I'm feeling much better and Juan's baptism really helped, I have lots of pictures too. It will probably be a normal day of basketball. It is the first pday with the 3 new elders that came out so we will see if there are any other athletes.

This week was amazing!! I thought my life as a missionary was busy during the first year, but I had no idea. Being one of the zone leaders, training, and working 2 stakes is insane! I literally have zero time to myself, even to think, but it is really a great feeling to be so deeply involved with the Lord's work. Juan Martinez was baptized yesterday, and it was a super spiritual experience. Sis. Amaya's son Franky baptized him and I was able to confirm him. His story is one that I will never forget, and it was a blessing to be able to help him come unto Christ. I am sure Marisol will send you other pics as well haha. We also have Patricia, who still wants to be baptized, but she has to work every Sunday for the next 2 months, so she won't be able to be baptized next Sunday. It will have to be moved to during the week.

Elder Rios my greenie is great! He is from Mesa, Arizona. Don't let the last name fool you, he is just learning Spanish for the first time haha. He has Spanish in his blood super far back in his family history line, but carried only in the last name. He is loving the mission and having lots of fun. He's a stud. Elder Rudd and I are back to our old ways serving together haha. We get along really well and are having a great time.

This month will be tough also because it is half click month. So every month we get allotted certain amount of kilometers to drive, and this month we are only allotted half of the usual amount. AND we are covering 2 huge stakes! SO, we have gotten hold of 3 bikes and will be biking around a lot this month. I am totally grateful for that, because I don't think I would every feel like a real missionary without riding a bike haha. Plus the weather is great and so is a little exercise too.

So that was basically our week, mixed in with lots of small zone leader tasks and lots of figuring out how we are going to manage 2 stakes. But we have faith that the Lord will direct us and help us figure it all out.

I love you all and hope you have a splendid week!

Love Elder Draper

Tuesday June 31, 2011

Always a treat to eat with the Amaya familySister Amaya's taught him how to make her famous fruit smoothy

Elder Draper and his sweet (but most stubborn!) convert, Nelli, after a having lunch with her and her husband

So many changes this week! Not only here but at home it sounds like too! So I got a call from the AP's on Thursday night and was informed that I will be training! I will meet him tonight at a fireside, then Wednesday we go off to work! On my email this morning it says his last name is Rios...does that mean he is a native Spanish speaker?? I hope so that would be awesome. But the crazy part is that I am also serving with my trainer again, Elder Rudd, and we are the Zone Leaders! So we are in a three leg, covering the central area and the west area, my old area!!! It is just a perfect situation. We are going to be soooooo busy and I know it'll be tough, but I am so ready for it. It is time to kick it up a gear and do work. Juan Carlos made it all the way up to the interview on Saturday night, but he did not pass it. He doesn't quite understand the true nature of God and he doesn't believe we are the only church back to Christ (doesn't understand authority yet.) But we will keep working with him because he still wants to be baptized. Juan Martinez, the friend of Sis. Amaya, is doing great and will be baptized on Sunday! It will be a private baptism, so should be really spiritual. Then we were able to set a another date with a lady named Patricia Salinas. She is Colombian and wants to be baptized on the 10th of July. She is super solid and ready to be baptized. Those are the people we have lined up to be baptized. We have a couple more people who are progressing, and then we are absorbing the west area so whatever they have going on we will have too. I am excited to be in Rocky's area again.

What a lucky experience you had seeing all the apostles behind closed doors basically. Real Life:The Apostles haha. Yeah Elder Bednar came to the mission last year and he told them how he wakes up every morning at 5 and runs miles and miles and miles. He is a machine! I hope I will be doing that into my 60's too. Blake seems to be settled and enjoying life, so that's good. Hey I was wondering if you wanted to send me up an SD card? I am ready to send you one with lots of new things on it. Cool thanks ha. But yeah thanks for everything and I hope you all have a wonderful week!!

Love Elder Draper