I'm a Dad!

 Hello everyone!

   Dang, another week done already. This was a pretty stellar week not gonna lie. So last p-day we played pickle ball. I know, big surprise, but after that we played throw throw burrito. That was a lot of fun. And of course I won every round because I am a professional burrito thrower. Some highlights this week would start with on Tuesday having Elder Hung come with us for part of the day and all of Wednesday. He's the other city Elder who is Elder Jian's new comp. We had some fun with being in a trio. We had some time in the city to do some street contacting. And Elder Hung got to try door knocking for the first time. So that was loads of fun showing him how to do that.

   The second highlight obviously is getting my new companion Wednesday night! So I am training Elder Son. And so far I have really enjoyed it. I was a little nervous before to train because I didn't know what to really do, but once it started it's just been a blast. Right away he got to teach lessons, door knock, and all that fun jazz. He's a great missionary, I think we'll have lots of fun together.

   Highlight numero three would be our lessons. This week we were able to have loads of lessons. We would have a couple every day which was seriously a first for me. And also, we were able to get a lot of members to those lessons! It's super beast when members meet our friends and connect well with them early on. I am super excited to see the progress our friends make and to help them on their journey.

   Some other things that happened was we had stake conference. That was amazing. On Saturday we had the adult session and they had dinner and I got talking to one of members. You know there were lots of wards so I thought he was just from another ward. We talked for a while and then after I talked to the Bramfords (if you're new, the Bramfords are my favorite) and they told me that the so called member I was talking with was an area 70. oops. 

   But yeah, that's pretty it for the week. A little message I wanted to share with you all would be a question for you to ponder: What are you struggling with, and why do you have doubts? We all have struggles and doubts. We're human. But, this doesn't mean we have to struggle alone. Because we will never be alone with any challenge or struggle. So my invitation is please turn to the Savior with every little problem. And to help your loved ones around you who are struggling. Because we all need help. 

   I love you all! All the support and love I get has helped me so much. So, thank you for all you do. Talk to you all next week! 

My son Elder Son

Elder Hung

District

I Saw Kangaroos!

 Happy Monday everyone!

   And, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms. Being out on a mission really helped me realize how much my mom did for me. She helped me with all of my struggles and problems. She's always there for me and willing to help. Love you mom!

   So this week was pretty great for me. We didn't have loads of teaching appointments but that's ok because we tried and did the work in other ways. 

   Monday: We had p-day. We didn't need to go to any stores or anything so we just chilled at our flat all morning. I was able to call my family which is amazing as always. Then the Firle Elders came over and we played Catan. I am so good at this game, it's ridiculous. Then we went to a park and played pickleball all day. It was such a blast. I'm a little rusty not gonna lie. After that we had a very long bus ride back to our flat.

   Tuesday: We had a couple last things to do for our flat inspection. Just some tidying up here and there. Then we went to the University and talked to some students. And just spent the rest of the day door knocking and some Facebook work. So yeah not a super eventful day but that's ok.

   Wednesday: We started the day with District Council. It was super good. We talked about the work in our areas and how to better help those in our ward with their callings. After district council and lunch we were able to see Brother Cross. I love visiting with him. He's always so happy to hear about the work. After seeing him we went and visited some of our friends we're teaching. Then we just went door knocking for the rest of the day. 

   Thursday: We woke up at 5:00 a.m., got ready, and went to early morning seminary. It's three wards combined for the class. Our lesson was on testimonies and then personal revelation. After we finished teaching we had a Q&A. It was honesty a blast and went super well. After seminary we had English class with our friend Phoebe. The class went super good. After we had a lesson with her. We read a chapter from the Bible to introduce the Book of Mormon. Then we talked with her about it and we'll see her again next Thursday. After English class we had dinner with the Bennallacks. We haven't been able to see them for a whole because they're working on their house. So seeing them was super great. And to end the night we started exchanges. Elder Oliphant came to Morialta with me.

   Friday: For the exchange, a lot of time was taken because Elder Jian forget his bus card so we had to bus to Firle and bus back. But while at the bus stop we met someone and gave him a Book of Mormon. One problem, he's going out of country for a month. So we'll meet up with him when he gets back. After the whole wallet stuff we visited one of our ward members which was super great. And then us and the sisters went to the Bramfords, had pizza and helped put together some mothers day bags for our ward. And then we went to our flat and ended the exchange.

   Saturday: Woke up at 5:30, went to the chapel, and got picked up by Ben for our hike. I was super excited. We went on a pretty easy one. It was super beautiful and most importantly, we saw kangaroos!!! Oh my gosh they are adorable! They aren't scared of people either. They kind of just look at you. I'm touching one before I leave. We also saw lots of deer which Ben and Elder Jian were more excited about haha. Not very common in Australia I guess. Also on the hike we were able to have a lesson with Ben. It was super great. After the hike we went to a members house and changed his car oil for him. It went pretty smooth besides the part of us stabbing the oil filter with a screw driver so we could loosen it. After that we helped the Bennallacks move a piano and other stuff in their house. Then we went and visited some friends. 

   Sunday: We had church this morning which was amazing. And no meetings because it's Mother's Day so I was happy about that. Then we did some visits. And for a while at the bus stop we had a gentleman yell at us for ten minutes about how we're wrong. Then the bus came and he sat at the front so we sat at the back thinking that would solve the problem. Nope. He yelled across the bus at us and told everyone to avoid us or we'll curse them. That lasted five minutes. But after we visited a friend who is progressing great so it all works out haha. And then that evening we had transfer calls. And I'm...training. So super weird but they only announced the incoming missionaries and transfers got delayed two weeks because of Elder Christopherson is coming.

   "Savor these sacred verses and find every way you can to thank our Heavenly Father for sending us His Only Begotten Son. Because of Jesus Christ, we can repent and be forgiven of our sins. Because of Him, each of us will be resurrected." -The Answer Is Always Jesus Christ, By President Russell M. Nelson

   I hope you all had an amazing Mother's Day. Thank you to all the moms out there. I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

District

What really happens on exchanges

Hike

If you know, you know

More hike pics

Kangaroo

Transfer Call This Week

 Hola everyone!

   This week was super great!!! We had a lot of big stuff happen which was amazing. So last Monday we had zone pday! So that meant loads of volleyball haha. On Tuesday we went around the University campus and were able to talk to a lot of people. We also had a lesson with our friend Darrel. Then we went to the Bramfords for dinner. They're literally my favorite people ever. 

   Wednesday we had meetings in the morning. And later in the day we saw brother Cross. I love our visits with him. Then after that we went to the temple!!! I love the temple so much. Literally my most favorite place on earth. Thursday we had zone conference. Oh what a blast it was. We had some great teachings. We had an amazing lunch and it was good to catch up with people and talk with President.

   Friday was good. We did some good finding. Went to go visit some friends and start getting stuff prepared for Andrew's baptism. And at night we had two Elders stay with us. So we played Catan and had a blast. On Saturday was Andrew's baptism! I played the piano for it and did a musical number. It went super well, it was probably the greatest experience on my mission so far. So proud of him and his decision to get baptized. After the baptism we taught English class for one of our friends. Then we went and saw some members in our ward. Then Sunday we had church which was amazing. And went to Andrew's confirmation. Then we saw a bunch of members and were able to share messages with them. And we saw from friends. It was super good.

   "Trust becomes real when we do hard things with faith. Service and sacrifice increase capacity and refine hearts. Trust in God and each other brings heaven’s blessings."-Elder Gerrit Gong. It's one thing to say we trust, it's another to show the trust.

   I love you all! I hope you have a great week! Talk to you next week.

   -Elder Kapp 

Temple

Baptism

Me not looking at the camera

Baptism 2.0

Two weeks to go

 Hey everyone!

   Dang I only have two weeks left in this transfer. It seriously flew by so fast. I'm really hoping that I get some change next transfer. The ward I'm in is amazing and the area is super tough but I love it, but also I'll have been here with the same companion for 4 and a half months. So I'm pretty sure president will move one of us. I'm fine either staying or leaving haha.

   This week was pretty decent. The highlight is definitely exchanges because it just was. But we'll get into that later. To start the week we had pday. Our district was supposed to go bowling but there was like a four hour wait. So instead we went shopping and got lunch which was super great. We went to this American burger place and I thought it was pretty good. After that we just went to the chapel and played loads of ping-pong. 

   So this week it was our goal to visit more members. So Tuesday we had a couple set appointments with some less active members and then we just went around trying to visit other members in the area. Do y'all remember my friends Andre and Toualla? They're members who we'd see every week but the place they're at stopped letting us see them because we were missionaries and had to have appointments from above. So it's been awhile but I wanted to see them. The sisters would run into Andre on the street because they live down the road from them. So we went there and I went to the office where the people worked. Elder Jian tried it first but he's just too nice. I told them we wanted to see them not to convert them because they're already members of our church. We just wanted to make sure they're doing ok and alive! It obviously was because of my sweet personality they let us see them. 

   So yeah, we saw loads of members this week. It was super great. We also had some super great lessons with our friends we've been teaching. Ok now time for the exchange. So Thursday night I went to Firle with... Elder Oliphant! Oh man was he excited to be stuck with me for 24 hours haha. The first night we played ping-pong, and yeah just chilled. The next day we planned and went out. We went to the city for a lesson but the guy didn't show. BUT, when we were walking to the bus we talked to these two guys who were doing some city work, and one was interested in hearing a message. It was super crazy and good. After that we went to the chapel and I showed Elder Oliphant how to play the piano. That was beast. Get ready for a baller Facebook post. Then we had a lesson with one of their friends. It was much just a Bible bash with their friend and the member we brought. But that's ok, he was super nice and hopefully accepts the gospel. After the lesson we went and saw one of the new members of their ward! We had a beast lesson with them. The zone leaders picked us up from the lesson, took us to get my stuff and then to Hungry Jack's. They went to pick up the other Elders so we just walked to the Morialta flat. So yeah that's the exchange.

   The next day is moving day. So we're moving into the flat we used to live. Wasn't very excited for that but whatever. When we were leaving our neighbors came out and said goodbye to us. I'll miss them for sure. So yeah that's my week. We have Andrew's baptism this Saturday. We started teaching him and put him on date and handed him to Firle to finish. I'm so excited for it. It's going to be awesome. Other than that, we don't have anything too crazy set for this week. 

   In church we had a combined 5th Sunday lesson taught by bishop. It was on marriage (doesn't apply to me quite yet). But something that was said that I loved was doing a task or what they were talking about being in a marriage, you and the person shouldn't be doing 50/50. For it to work the best and for you to get the best result you both should be giving 100/100. Sometimes 10% is all you can give and that it is your 100%, but still give that 100%. We just need to strive to be giving our all in everything we do. If we do then the outcome will be so much better with whatever it is with. I'm not giving marriage advice (even though I'd be a great marriage counselor. They don't call me the love doctor for nothing), I'm saying with Heavenly Father we shouldn't have the mindset of I'll do my 50% and he'll do his. It should be, "I'll give it my all and he'll fill in the gaps I miss or need help with." This leads to growth and answers. And yes, in some cases, a happy marriage.(;

   Hopefully that came across clear and not super random and weird. Well I love you all. I hope you have the most amazing week because you all deserve it. I'm glad I have every one of you in my life. Talk to y'all next week!

Exchange

Shopping

The new fit

Random photo

Literally Just Talked to Y'all

 Hey Everyone!

   Literally just sent out an email so this is weird. Well literally nothing big happened since the last email so this one will be a lot shorter. So, sorry in advance about that.

   Ok so Wednesday was pretty good. It was our pday. Us and the Firle Elders went to the city. We went to some different stores and just chilled. It was pretty fun and good to get out of the area haha. After the city we went to the chapel and played volleyball for the rest of the day.

   We had some super great lessons this week. And on Thursday we had our last dinner with Sister Robertson for a while because she's going to China for 5 weeks. If I get transferred it could have been the last time I saw her. After dinner with her we had volleyball night with our ward. We had friends and ward members come out and play. It was a lot of fun. 

   We had two English classes this week. One on Friday and then one over zoom on Saturday. Both went super well. We're getting the one from zoom set up to attend the classes in the city. The rest of the week was full of appointments falling through. Which sucks but people have their agency. They just got to stop being silly gooses. We had a ward baptism yesterday which was super baller. I love the family who had the baptism so of course I was going to the baptism. And then yesterday we had dinner with a couple who just got back from their mission. The bike ride was 30 minutes all up hill. Their house was in the hills. The dinner was super great. They had loads of extended family there and Brother Phipps came. I love that guy. It was a blast of a time. After we shared a messaged we had a sketchy bike ride home. Part of it through Morialta Falls. That would've been super cool if it wasn't pitch black. But we made it.

   So yeah that's my last couple of days. If you all have time, definitely check out this song: "Here I am Again." It's in the 2023 youth album. It's a good reminder that no matter the challenge or situation, we will never be alone. 

   I love you all! Thanks for all you do and for all the love and support! Talk to you in a week.

Door Knocking

Flower

My Fav Dog

Super Crazy Spiritual Week

 Hey everyone!

   Man this week was crazy. Sorry I'm sending this email today but our Pday got moved this week. Such a spiritual and super stellar week! One of the best yet.

   Monday April 10: We had pday! It started with some great service. Lots of shoveling dirt. Then we called our fams and the rest of the day was just loads of volleyball. I'm getting so good.

   Tuesday: We saw a couple of friends today. Then we spent most of our day at the college. We walked around and door knocked a lot. Not gonna lie, people are pretty chill there. No mean old people. A lot of people let us share a message with them and some told us we could come back. It was super lit.

   Wednesday: Today was flat out amazing. We started the morning teaching our friend Andrew. The spirit was so strong it was amazing. And so we asked him if he'd be baptized and he said yes!!! Omh I thought I was going to throw up some spirit cause it was amazingly strong! We're so happy and proud of him. Then after our lesson we had our district council meeting. Which was amazing as always. Then after that we went and saw my good old friend brother Cross. He's someone our ward has asked us to see often. Our chats with him go on for a very long time. But I look forward to them every time. After seeing brother Cross we then met with Elder Yeow who just started his mission! It's so awesome calling him Elder Yeow now. He's someone who has been such a good friend to us from the start. So we went out and door knocked with him and it was so awesome. 

   Thursday: So today we started with weekly plan and study. Then we tried seeing some friends in the morning. After that we door knocked up to our lesson with Mahesh. That lesson went so great! We read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with him and he's really starting to take interest in it. After seeing him we went and had dinner with Lwin and Sister Robertson. As always it was so amazing. Then after that we started exchanges with the Firle Elders. So Elder Jian went to Firle with Elder Oliphant and Elder Bushell came to Morialta with me.

   Friday: To start our morning we had a lesson with my friend I met on Facebook who lives in South America. We talked to him over zoom and talked to him about meeting missionaries where he lives. And he was very excited about that which was awesome to hear. So we got him all set up and we'll see where it takes him. After that lesson we had studies and went to the chapel to have a lesson with our friend Andrew. That lesson went really well. Everything we taught he understood and accepted. So that was super rad. We tried to see some members which was awesome. And then the rest of time we just went door knocking. At first it went literally nowhere. Not a single person interested. So we prayed and felt like we should try this other street. And we were able to find two people on it! It was such a miracle. We set up return appointments with them and both people accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon. After that we went to Firle and ended the exchange. It was a super great time!

   Saturday: Today was a day of appointments just falling through. I swear everything was just going nowhere. We went to schedule teaching appointments and no one would be home, or people canceled last minute. Just one of those days. So we bussed to see some members. And we missed our second bus and the busses here suck on weekends so we had to wait a while. We went and were able to share messages with a couple of members and one family asked me to play the piano for them. It was very out of the blue and a first for me. Then after it was pouring rain. And Elder Jian and  I had to wait an hour for our bus. #Memory

   Sunday: We had general conference today! We were able to have some friends come and it was a super great time. Then after we went home, ate lunch, and then watched the next session at the chapel. After that it was time to start our mission tour. So a mission tour is like a zone conference but with the whole mission. So the NT flew down and everyone came. It was a three day event and it was so amazing. The people that came were Elder Nattress (President of the Pacific area), Elder Nash (Director of the Missionary department), President Johansson and all their wives. So Sunday we talked a lot about our mission purpose. It was super lit.

   Monday: We had our mission tour to start the day. Today they started with a Q&A. And then talked a lot about invitations and commitments. It was super awesome and they gave great advice. Then after we had subway for lunch which was just so amazing. Then we left and did some service for a family who just moved. They told us they just needed help sorting and unpacking boxes. Yeah nope. We had to move an old piano along the side of their very long house, which us all mud and super narrow so only four of us could fit. It took a while but it got done. And then Elder Jian and I shoveled loads of mud so they can do concrete soon. Oh and we were in our proselyting clothes. And then we helped move and unpack boxes. Honestly I love service so I was fine doing whatever.

   Tuesday: Our last day of our mission tour. So we started with a Q&A. Then we talked a lot about using technology and getting members excited about mission work. It was so awesome to learn more about both topics. Getting good at both will help the work really progress. After conference we had sandwiches for lunch and took a mission picture. Then  Elder Jian and I had to leave because we had a lesson with Andrew. The lesson again went amazing! He is understanding and accepting everything he's reading and learning. It's super beast! After our lesson we went and dropped off a gift to our friend Win. Win was the student living with sister Robertson who we've been teaching. He leaves back to Thailand tomorrow so we gave him a Thai Book of Mormon with our testimonies in it and Peanut M&M's. There perfect combo if you ask me. 

   So yeah that was my crazy week! It was such an amazing week though. My little thing I have to say this week is remember all that the Savior did for you. He went through so much pain and sorrow for you personally. I just want you to ask yourself, how are you using what he's given you? 

   I love you all! As always, thanks for all the love and support! Talk to y'all in a couple of days haha.

   -Elder Kapp

Important person #1 (Elder Nash)

Important person #2 (Elder and Sister Nattress)

Rain

Random photo

Happy Easter!

 Hey Everyone!!!

   How are you all doing? Hope you all had a super amazing Easter! This week was so so amazing for us! To start, we had zone pday on Monday. That was a blast as usual. We played loads of volleyball and had Costco pizzas. The combination for a perfect pday. Then on Tuesday we had service for the member who has a 16 acre property in the mountain (just a hill). And that night we had dinner with my favorite members, the Bramfords!!! We talked a lot about Bluey, JarJar Binks, and I had my first hot crossed bun. Pretty productive dinner if you asked me.

   Wednesday we had our district meeting and after we got Elder Delahunty. So we all thought we'd be in a trio, turns out we're not. He was just with us for a couple of days. Super bummed about that, I loved the time we had. He's a super stellar missionary. That day we visited less actives and found two new friends to teach. Then later we had dinner with our stake president. Super awesome day. Then on Thursday we had transfers. That took forever because of interviews and what not. But later in the day, we had a lesson with one of the friends we met the day before. It went amazing! She was accepting everything so well. 

   Then with Friday we started with English class. I love teaching English classes. They're so much fun. I find it a problem though when I'm learning things... Anywho, after that we just went out finding all day. That's pretty much all that happened. Saturday was amazing. We had a lesson with someone I met on Facebook who lives in Argentina. He's the coolest guy ever. He wants to meet with missionaries and go to church so that was awesome. Crazy to see how much technology plays in missionary work. Then after that we had a lesson with Karl. He's the newly baptized member in our ward. The lesson went really well actually. We were super happy with it. Then after that we had a lesson with one of our friends we met door knocking last week. We had a great lesson with him. He still doesn't know what he wants but he accepted our invitation to read the Book of Mormon. Then after that we had a not so awesome lesson with one of our friends. He just has his mind made up that he doesn't want religion. Which is his choice, he's still super awesome with us. Then after that we had a lesson with a less active member we've been reteaching. It went so well. The spirit was so strong and he is progressing amazingly. And spoiler but he came to church on Sunday. After our lesson we did a ton of less active member visits and most of them were successful. It was pretty awesome.

   Now Easter. Today was so awesome. So we had our special Easter service and had three friends we're teaching come. One of them being Ben. He's the one we met door knocking who asked us to come back. After the service we gave him a tour with Brother Catalini (ward mission leader) and then us four had a lesson. This last week he read up to Jacob and brought a conference talk he found on our church website. The lesson went amazing. He's coming to church again next week and invited us to go hiking with him sometime. Then right after that, we had a lesson with a referral. He's from China so his first language is Chinese. But he is so receptive. He asked if he could meet us at the church Wednesday and Thursday for lessons. We're super excited about it. Then later in the day we just door knocked up to dinner. We had dinner with the Rice family and it was super awesome. I love this fam. There were a bunch of people there for the holiday. It was good to celebrate the holiday with a family.

   So yeah that's my week for y'all. With the Easter Holiday, just remember our Savior and what we did for you personally. Sometimes we get distracted with the celebrations and stuff. But remember we wouldn't have these Holidays if it wasn't for Jesus Christ. A great scripture to read is 2 Nephi 2: 6-8. Happy Easter everyone. I love you all!

   -Elder Kapp

Ice cream run

Literal cathedral house

Sunset

District before the growth