Wise Men Still Seek Him

Wishing all a peaceful Christmas and joyful New Year

Feliz Navidad - Monday, December 20, 2010

If I had some mad photoshop skills I would cut/crop the bottom picture into the family picture from our dinner with the Ellsworth's last Sunday...but I can't so I won't. This will have to do. We miss you Elder Draper but are so happy for you too!

A picture of the goods we sent in his "half way to hump day" (6 month) package. Rachel made the sign and we sent Christmas lights for a merry and bright Christmas. Like the black masking tape effect on the ceiling? Nice touch Ry! Of course we had to send him a long sleeve Laker shirt for the winter :)

Feliz Navidad Mis Hermanos!

Let's get down to business, but not to defeat the Huns. So yes I got your packages finally! I opened the 6 monther but saved the really big one for Christmas morning. I got one from Heidi too so I just have those three.

You are calling on Saturday!!! Elder Walker's parents are calling at 10:00 AM our time so you guys call that number at 11:00 AM my time which is 10:00 AM your time. I will be ready for the call! We get 40 minutes, but what the heck 5 extra minutes won't kill us :) I will send home my chip today since I got your new one you sent.

Hopefully you got my Christmas package! Everything in the top of the box is for the Draper family, and everything underneath in the bubble wrap goes to the Sorenson's. Nothing is wrapped, I didn't have time, so if you want to wrap everything up you can or just leave it as is. I think that is everything about that.

Looks like you had a fun Christmas Party! I haven't got pics from you since you went to Utah I think, so everyone looks way different to me, especially Blake for some reason ha. Our Christmas party is not tonight. Not every elder has received a letter from their family so it is postponed to the 3 of January.

Good news though...Baptism #3 is on the way!!! You guys will not believe this, but the stubborn Nely Turcios has decided to be baptized the 26th of December! The North Elders set the date with her last week and called me up and I didn't believe them! I honestly never saw this coming, she is so dead on in the Baptist stuff. But, she fasted last week and said she received a feeling that she could not deny. Wow. How awesome. I only taught her 16 times haha. The Spirit can work with anybody, no matter what. So I am stoked about that and she asked me to give the talk on baptism. She picked Christensen to baptize her and Walker to confirm her. White Christmas!!!

We got 20 lessons again this week, which was a lot tougher than last week. Satan worked hard to stop us, but we managed to pull out the last 2 lessons last night to cap off the 20. We try to set up as many lessons as we can so we can be indoors more often. Saturday was our ward Christmas party, and that was a lot of fun. The Primary did a nativity scene so that was pretty cute.

But that was about my week. This week should be pretty chill for us. We will probably just hit up a lot of members the 24 and 25. Sometimes I have gotten a little sad the last couple weeks visiting members and them being together with their family and loved ones, but then I realize the unique opportunity that I have being a missionary during this time of year. It only is going to happen one more time. This is the first Christmas I can remember that Christ is literally the center of my Christmas, the way it actually is supposed to be. I know He came into this world for us. Father already had a perfected body, so He couldn't do what Christ did for us. I understand now how Christ is the Father too. He literally took the place of Heavenly Father to set a perfect example and to die for us. I know Christ is my personal Savior, and although it can be hard sometimes, I am grateful to have this opportunity to focus on nothing but Him. I hope and pray you all have the chance to take a few moments and just ponder and pray in private about Christ and what He has done for you. No matter what we do, our mistakes, problems, challenges, He is going to listen and understand. I know that 100% because I have done it myself here in the mission. Let's turn to the Lord, and in turn He is going to fill us with a love and countenance that you cannot find anywhere else. I love you all so much, and pray for you everyday. Have a wonderful Christmas week together as families and take advantage. I will be with you in Spirit :)

I love you all,

Elder Draper

Monday December 13, 2010

Elder Draper's White Christmas

Before the baptism, Ryan with Manuel and Marisol Morena who is due any day with their first baby. Elder Christensen helped baptize and Elder S. Walker who is Elder Christensen's new comp (he took Ryan's spot) helped teach them after Ryan was transferred to his new area.

Left to right back: Elder Brandon, Elder Draper, Manuel, Marisol, Elder Christensen, Elder S. Walker and Ryan's latest comp Elder J. Walker. Front row: Elder Chunn (ZL), Elder Rudd (DL), Josue Hernandez (young man in the ward who leaves on his mission in Jan) and Elder Harker (another ZL)

Buenas Tardes!

What an awesome week for me here. I will just cut right to the chase...I had the opportunity to perform my first baptism and confirmation yesterday! Yes, Manuel Moreno asked me to baptize him and Marisol asked me to confirm her! It was the most embarrassing/humbling experience ever. So I am walking in the font with Manuel, and I ask him his full name and I get set to go. Now I have had the baptismal prayer memorized in Spanish since the MTC, it is super easy. But, because this was my first time, I had some nerves ha. When they opened the dividers and I looked up to 50 people staring at us in the water, my mind just melted. Seriously, if someone had asked me my name in the moment, I probably couldn't even remember that. So I proceed to say the wrong thing: "By the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood..." HAHA! Then I hear someone whispering, "Having been commissioned" and that got me back on track ha. So I dunked him, and he came up, and it went perfect. He honestly looked like a completely different person when he came back up. SO COOL!!!!

So then we dried off and got changed and I gave Marisol the gift of the Holy Ghost. That went perfectly, no mistakes on my part. The blessing was purely led by the Spirit. Lots of people came up to me after and said that the prayer like flowed perfectly through her whole life, but I had no idea really. Apparently I just talked to her about her life from the birth of her child to going to the temple etc etc. I honestly don't remember one sentence I said.

Nuff said, this church is true! Just a wonderful day and experience for me. The Moreno's will always be my friends. I am stoked to go to their sealing in the temple one year from now! Missionary work brings a completely different joy than anything else. This is people's salvation we are dealing with. Having the opportunity to give some access to the Atonement and the Celestial Kingdom is the most amazing thing I will ever do I think.

Elder Walker and I also reached our goal of getting 20 lessons this week! It was a ton of hard work but so rewarding. I am slowly starting to catch the "killer instinct" of missionary work ha. I am just trying to apply basketball principles to the work I guess. But that was basically my week! Let me know if you want more details or have questions about anything. Thank you all for your letters and prayers and support. Missionary work is our #1 duty as members of this Church, and I finally realize that. Let's do it! Have an amazing week, with work, sports, final exams, callings whatever you got going on. And enjoy this season together with family and friends!

I love you all!!!

Elder Draper

Trip to the Cardston Alberta Temple

The Cardston Alberta Temple is a historic Alberta landmark that stands on elevated ground in the center of Cardston. Cardston was founded by Mormon settlers in 1887, the small community lies just 15 miles north of the U.S.-Canada border in southern Alberta. On September 16, 1995, the government named the Cardston Alberta Temple a Canadian Historic Site. It's about a 2 and a half hour drive from Calgary.

Will proselyte 4 food

Seems that Ryan and his companion haven't lost their sense of humor! This is the picture for the missionary dinners sign-up calendar that he made. He said the Relief Society sisters got a kick out of it and it's definitely working :)

Monday December 6, 2010

Another view to show how big his apartment complex is. He's loving it here in his new area!

Life is great in the wild west! Yeah that is our apartment building and we are on the third floor. We are the only companionship in this huge apartment building. I think the apartment it is a little bit smaller than the north pad, but I like this one better because it is newer (nobody smokes pot around us) and there is a bench press and exercise bike and everything. YES! There is that scripture that says and Jesus grew in STATURE, wisdom, and knowledge right? We have a red Chevy Cobalt. Not fun to drive in the snow. Yes mother every apartment in the mission has a carbon monoxide detector :)

I am glad you got in contact with the Menjivar family! I asked them yesterday if you responded to their email, and it sounds like you did. Yeah they do a special dinner every Christmas for the missionaries, so I am looking forward to that for sure. Yep I am in the same ward, Crescent View. Our area only has about 8 members so it is going to be tough to work with a small group, but it is time to turn it up a notch and get to work! We have a goal of getting 20 lessons this week. The most I have gotten in a week is only 13. Yeah didn't hear from Dad but tell him no worries.

They are not going to give us our Christmas package until Christmas is closer, so I am sure it has arrived and is siting in the mission office. I have not gotten the 6 month package either. I am thinking maybe it is sitting in their too because they think it is a Christmas package, but I will find out for sure :) Ok I will think about something for your missionary message this week Mom.

So onto the week. The Moreno family with the baptismal date in the North are still set to be baptized this Sunday!! I am stoked!!! I found out that if you get a baptism less than 14 days after you leave the area, your name goes on the record of the church so that is really neat. They came to church again yesterday and I got to talk to them and stuff. The thing I am most excited about is that I will be here one year from now and get to go to their sealing in the temple! So they are doing great, there will be pics from the baptism next week.

Our temple trip was so much fun! It was nice to get out of the city and to be only a few miles from the U.S. Border! The Cardston temple is really neat. The session was in Spanish so that was really cool. Yes, I did everything in Spanish too, so I needed lots of help, because I barely know it all in English still. Also we had a gator lesson this week! It was funny because this area, the Spanish west area, has not had an investigator lesson in 6 months. Super slow, but we are turning it around ASAP. So this lady is from Peru and her husband is an American from New York but speaks Spanish. She was really interested and had lots of questions about the plan of salvation. But her husband was a jerk (sorry haha). I got soooo frustrated in the lesson. He just kept trying to bash us on every single doctrinal point. We talked about the pre-earth life and he was like "Well what about a heavenly mother? Nothing talks about her so we can't come from a God". We talked about sin and he says "Well what is the list of sins? I don't sin, I am a good person and try to help people" UGHHHHHHHH!!!! I almost went Joseph Smith on him when J. Smith lashes out on the mob in the Prophet of the restoration movie haha. But she is interested and so we will try to set something up when her husband is not around. And we have 2 other potential gators that we are going to call and try to set something up. But that is about it!

Thank you all for your prayers and love and support. I am happy and healthy and learning so much. The mission is the most incredible experience of my life. Plus, it is so great to walk around in public in a suit and tag! The days are going by faster than I can count, so I am going to take advantage and work my tail off for the Lord. And every day I tell Him that I want all of the blessings from my missionary service to go to all of you! Have an awesome week everybody I love you!!!!!

Thank you Nick! I know your birthday is coming up!! You will get a little present from me in the package I am going to send home this week. Man that is sweet you are going to be playing deacon ball next month! You know I only lost one church ball game in my life right? That is the goal you have to beat! Congrats on the Honor Roll! How come all of my siblings are getting better grades in school than me? You are just smarter than me I guess ;) Thanks for writing big guy! I love you and hope you have a good week!

Love,

Elder Draper

Google Earth - a missionary mom's best friend

Elder Draper's new apartment complex on Calgary's west side