Monday, February 12, 2024

First Time Driving in 14 Months

  Hey Everyone! You know, I say this a lot, but this week was definitely one of my favorites. I'm going to try to not make this email too long, but I'm not perfect. So we'll see what happens.

   First things first, the biggest miracle was William. We've been door knocking this apartment complex this last week. It's massive and we've been finding heaps of people there. Well we were knocking and went to this door and before we could knock, someone inside yelled for us to leave and to just knock the next door. So we did as they asked and left, we knocked the next door and they weren't super keen. While walking back to the stairs the guy who told us to go away yelled out if we wanted to come in. Umm yes. So we went in, and right away he offered us water and sat down. We talked for an hour with him. Answering every question he had, and he let us teach. We gave him a Book of Mormon and asked if we could come by every week to teach him the lessons. His answer: "Yes! It will be amazing." His name is William, I'll add the picture with him at the end. But seriously, it shows how fast the spirit can soften someone's heart. 

   Next big miracle, last week I talked about and had a photo with a Filipino family we had a lesson with Sunday. Well yesterday we had another lesson and had some Filipino members join and it was amazing! We taught the restoration and the spirit was bringing everyone to tears. Then after we left because we had a meeting, the members stayed for like 30 more minutes just talking with them. It was such a miracle. 

   Another super awesome thing was our exchanges this week. I got to be with Elder Shum in Paralowie! Honestly thought I was going to die driving. But hey, here we are. So something interesting, we door knocked that apartment place I talked about earlier and this lady opened and came out with this huge knife strapped to her. She didn't speak English so it was hard to tell if she wanted to stab us or get baptized. Who knows? Haha, on a real note the exchange was good. 

   One last miracle was one day we were door knocking in the evening before a meeting and decided to knock one last door. And guess what? They let us in. We taught their family, who were the literal nicest people ever. It was so good and such on God's timing.

   Some extra things that happened. We had to clean a flat with the other Elders because they had an inspection and no missionaries live there. That took forever. Something that made our literal day was driving to lunch after an ok morning, and getting the most wonderful call from some sisters saying they couldn't start their lawn mower (they claim they did everything possible). So we went over started the mower in literally 5 seconds, strung up the whipper-snipper, and left haha. It's what we needed to lighten up our day. We love our sister missionaries. 

   A little spiritual thought is this question: What would you do for our Savior? Seems pretty simple right? But think, even the Savior's closest friends fell asleep while he went through the most pain imaginable. Then one who loved the Savior so dearly, denied him three times. This was after they saw all these amazing miracles. I feel like sometimes we say like yeah I follow Jesus Christ, or I believe him. But us as humans don't show it as much as we should. You know they always say actions speaks louder than words. It's important to show people we love the Savior, rather than just saying it.

   Well another week done. I hit 14 Months tomorrow, which literally blows my mind. It's going to be sad saying goodbye to all these missionaries I've gotten close to. Anywho, love you all, let me know if there's anything I can do for you.

-Elder Kapp

My main man Chris

My guy, William

Exchanges

Our Favorite Sisters


Monday, February 5, 2024

Two Emails, One Week

 So I guess my email last week didn't send, so I sent it this morning and now you get this one. This week was honestly one of the best ones in a very long time. First things first, I'm serving in Paralowie. Last transfer I guess was rough for the area because of confusion between missionaries. But we're here to change that and it has already starting taking off. So Tuesday we had transfers and mail run for the zone. Then we had service for our friend Jason. We basically made a fence out of wood pallets. It low-key turned out pretty good. I got so burnt though. After that we had service for the Robsons who are members in our ward. We had to take apart their chicken coop, move it to their backyard, and put it back together. They're such a cool couple. They have this massive dog that apparently will bite you if brother Robson isn't around. But the dog is the nicest when he is. So we'll make sure to stay around brother Robson. Then they fed us Chicken Feet which were so amazing!

Wednesday we had our district council meeting and our district is huge! There's 11 missionaries in it. So that's crazy. After that we had a lesson with an inactive member and read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with him. It went super well. After that we then had a lesson with our friend Xay. He likes getting his information online so we'll see how that goes. Then we door knocked because we have such a small teaching pool. And then in the evening we had a lesson with two of our new members, Ryan and Karen. Who are doing amazing! That night after the lesson, we started exchanges with the Paralowie Elders, I went to their area with Elder Burgess and Elder Hansen and Elder Oliphant came to our area. 

Exchanges went really good. We had a lesson with one of their friends and were able to visit some people taught in the past and some less active members. And we door knocked so I was happy with that. They are super good missionaries and I'm excited to see what they do this transfer.

Friday we were able to visit a lot of people who were taught in the past but haven't had a return appointment. That went super well and we got heaps of lessons scheduled for this next week. We were able to door knock and met some awesome people from that. And then had a lesson with one of our friends so that was amazing. After heaps of door knocking we went to a less active members house for dinner. Their name is the Hapuku's. The mom is starting to come back to church and came this week! She's loving church and the joy it brings. Then we were able to talk to her son and he said he'll come this next week. So excited for their family.

Saturday morning we had a service for Sister Blackmore putting together this flower bed things. It was seriously the most complex garden thing ever. Why it needs so many parts, I do not know. We then went to visit some members and friends being taught. Then we door knocked and met this super cool lady who asked us if we could share more of our message with her. I'm super excited to see what comes from it. After door knocking all the Paralowie missionaries went to our ward mission leader's house to go over the ward's mission plan and their vision. The ward is barely a ward and almost a branch. But they are so determined, so I'm super excited to serve and help the members. After our very long meeting, we had to start our weekly planning.

Sunday I finally got to meet all the members. They are a super nice. Right before church someone asked Elder Arnold and myself to teach the Come Follow Me lesson. It went super well, the ward is literally so amazing. After meetings we went to see this family taught in the past and they let us in and we had an amazing lesson. They're having us over for a BBQ next week so I'm so excited for that.

The spiritual thought I had comes from a talk I listened to this last week. The quote is "Today is my day, I'm making it happen today." It's important to make the most of every day and go in with a positive mindset. 

I love you all and thank you as always for all you do. Have an amazing week! And email me or you're lame.

Sister Blackmore

Sunday lesson

Hapukus'

We in a car

Robson's



Sunday, February 4, 2024

Congratulations to Elder Kapp

 Dear Family of Elder Kapp,

 

It is with great pleasure that I inform you that your missionary, Elder Caden Kapp has been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Moroni Zone of the Australia Adelaide Mission.

 

Elder Kapp is an outstanding missionary who works hard and who blesses the lives of those he teaches. This change in roles represents a significant accomplishment on his part, and I am sure that you are as proud of him as I am.  He will be looked up to and will set a great example for the missionaries that he has stewardship over. 

 

We are most grateful to you for the support you give to your son and for his strong testimony of the gospel and of missionary work. Please join me in congratulating Elder Kapp.  We love him and are blessed by his service in this mission.

 

With love and appreciation,


President Adolf J. Johansson

Australia Adelaide Mission

 

 

Monday, January 29, 2024

Adios TTG

 Hi everyone! So let's just rip the bandaid off. Last night we had transfer calls and well if you couldn't have guessed from the title of the email, I'm leaving Tea Tree Gully. I'm legit pretty sad to leave but excited for what is coming my way. The new area I'll be in is Paralowie as a zone leader, so I'm pretty excited for this next adventure. 

Overall this week was pretty good. To start the week we had exchanges with the Elders in the district. Elder Easdale came to Tea Tree Gully with me. It was 107⁰, so dang it was hot. We went to see members and some less actives which was super beast. And went finding because we had lessons fall through. Then on Thursday it was raining so hard. And we didn't think it would so we were very unprepared. We went to lessons, finding and all that jazz. Then while walking we saw a family having car problems so we helped them change their tire, again it was raining. But worth it. 

While door knocking this week we met up with this guy named Brandon twice. He is reading everything we ask him to and is pretty keen. We're super stoked for that. Then we had lessons with three of our indigenous households. All went pretty beast. We had other lessons with our friends Matt and Abi, John, Tina, and so forth. It was a busy week but a great week to end the transfer. 

I'm honestly have such mixed feelings about this. This area has so much happening that I absolutely loved being a part of. I love the ward, everyone we're teaching and literally every person we meet. But I just need to put that trust in the Lord and love this new area. I am very excited about it. So we'll see what comes my way.

This last week I was rereading President Nelson's conference talks and while reading the talk, "Come, Follow Me," a phrase about families stood out to me. The phrase is, "So, what is required for a family to be exalted forever? We qualify for that privilege by making covenants with God, keeping those covenants, and receiving essential ordinances." He says in the talk that salvation is an individual matter, but exaltation is a family matter. If we want to receive the blessings the Lord has in store then we must keep our promises that we have made. It's only fair that if we want our Heavenly Father to do his end, then we must do ours.

Well y'all better know that I love you all. I'm stoked for this next chapter of the mission. If you want to, then send an email my way. But thanks for all you all do. Have a great week! Catch ya later TTG.

Bussing

Brother and Sister Neave

Covid here I come

Door Knocking

Changing Car Tire


Monday, January 22, 2024

Meetings After Meetings

 Annnnd it's Monday again. Let me tell you all, this last week was just meetings, meetings, and more meetings. So this last week we had a mission tour. So it was a three day conference with Elder and Sister Jaggi from the Area 70. So each day two zones would meet in person with him while the other four met over zoom. And each day they would have additional meetings for various assignments so I had meetings until 4:00 every day. So yeah not very exciting. I honestly have mixed emotions about weeks like this. Like it's awesome to learn and grow spiritually from what we learn. But man do I hate the time away from the work. It was an up and down week. But we still had miracles! 

   Ok so Tuesday we almost weren't able to make it to the mission tour. The Saturday prior we had service with a member and his family for about 2 hours. Well Tuesday we had our district council and part way through we get a call from our Bishop. He was informing us that all the members of the family tested positive for Covid. Luckily the church had Covid tests so we did a couple tests that all came back negative thank goodness. But we continued to test every night and morning to make sure we wouldn't get anyone sick. So that was our first miracle. 

   The big miracle of the week was we went to visit our indigenous friends, but they weren't home. BUT, others were. So we talked to the people there and some wanted to come to church, and when they said church this man in the back said "church!" And hurried and started getting ready, and we were like no no, it's tomorrow. But he didn't quite understand until he came to the door to leave and we explained how it wasn't that day. Fast forward to Sunday morning, we show up to their house, and who was the only one ready? AniFrank. The man from the day before. He's an older fellow and church wasn't close, and buses are horrible on the weekend. So we walked an hour to a bus stop and bussed the rest. But we made it! And he said he really enjoyed his time. We were so happy he was able to come and enjoyed it, it was such a miracle for us. 

   Other random stuff and lessons that happened this week was I spoke in church Sunday. It actually went very well. A dog ate one of my teaching copies of the Book of Mormon. Not super bummed about it, at least it wasn't my personal or else that dog would be in Heaven. 

   Our Zone Conference in person with Elder and Sister Jaggi was pretty lit. I was able to talk to him and his wife for a while because their daughter served with Madi (my sister). And then during lunch I sat next to Sister Johannson and man is she a crack up. I'm literally so sad they leave in a couple of months. 

   One thing I loved from the mission tour which is also my spiritual thought is to have our own Sacred Grove moments. What Elder Jaggi explained by this is to set time aside of our schedule every day to just talk with our Father in Heaven, and study his scriptures. It's so easy for us to get caught up in the world, so like Joseph Smith, we at times need to step away from it and turn our focus and hearts to the Lord. Doing this we'll be able to see and understand what he needs from us, but also what he can and has done for us. 

   I just absolutely love that idea and thought to share it. Well this week is the last week of the transfer. And I am all over the place on what I'm hoping for. I love Tea Tree Gully so much, but change is also good. We'll see what the Lord wants. 

   As always. I love you all and love the support I get. If you need anything please reach out because I absolutely love serving and helping others. Y'all have a stellar week! Love ya!

Elder and Sister Jaggi

President and Sister Johannson

Walking to church with the man himself

The Elders

Hot Days


Monday, January 15, 2024

Subway, Roos, and Sun

  Another week, another email. Happy Monday everyone, how are y'all doing? This week was actually pretty beast not gonna lie. Which is good because this next week we have four days in a row with just meetings. We have a mission tour with Elder Jaggi. Which will be good don't get me wrong, but we are very limited on our time this week. But we'll make the best of what we got. 

   So like I said, this last week was pretty great. We had a couple of super good lessons that made me happy. First off was our friend Cory again. He was so excited with our message and it really hit home with him. So we're excited to see him again this next week.

   Another person we saw was Norma. We saw her with Ben Laing who got baptized almost a year ago. The lesson was amazing. She had us in and we sat down and taught for an hour. And she wants us to come over for dinner, so we're side stoked and excited about that.

   Some other beast lessons was with Francis and his sister, Lynett. They are two of our indigenous friends. We saw Francis at the bus stop and talked with him for 30 minutes. Then we saw his sister at their cousin with her nephew. Both lessons went so amazing. Then Sunday we saw Frank and Judy, our other indigenous friends. This was like the first visit where they opened up to us so much. The spirit was so strong and the visit was so good. And Judy is painting one of my Book of Mormons so I'm stoked about that.

   Also this week we were able to help a member move bookshelves and fridges so that was pretty lit. We also had heaps of time to door knock and I was absolutely so happy for it. But yeah in a nutshell that was our week. 

   A little spiritual thought was something President Johansson said, it was: "You don't have to be perfect to hear God perfectly." A lot of times we get in the mindset that we won't be able to hear God because we're not on his level or we judge ourselves too much. But God is always willing we speak to us if we just ask with faith and listen.

   Well I love you all and hope you have an amazing week. Keep safe and enjoy the snow! I'm so jealous, I hate Australia heat. Well I miss talking to you all so email me if you wanna.

Too much Subway

Our friend Francis

The Sun

Roo again

District Fun


Monday, January 8, 2024

Season 9 Episode 21

  Hi everyone! Finally getting out of the holiday season. Everyone's been away for summer vacation and Christmas so it's been slow. But things started to pick up again this last week! First things first, Monday. I might’ve mentioned this in my last email but Monday morning, Elder and Sister Sant made breakfast for our district. It was so good. They are literally the best. Speaking of best senior couples, Elder and Sister Knight finished their mission. They were the medical and housing coordinators so I got super close with them with my many, many hospital visits. I'm seriously so sad to see them leave. But hey, now I have to reason to go to Texas. 

   Ok ok back on track. So we had a lot of time to door knock this week. Like a lot! Which I was pretty stoked about. We found some pretty lit people who we have lessons with this next week. One of which is my guy Cory. Cory is in his 20s and loves the NBA. Though we have our own opinions on which team is goated, we talked heaps and hit it off at the start. We were able to teach a lesson with him and got a return appointment. So I'm so stoked to see if anything comes of it. 

   Then the other exciting thing was back in September, me and Elder Orr found this lady named Leanduh. She had just started two full time jobs and told us to come back in the new year. So that's what we did this last week and when we walked up, she was so excited to see us. She said she was hoping we'd remember to come back. And she reminded us of the promise she made at our first visit that she'll come to church in February. She were able to have a lesson with her which went so amazing. So we'll see what happens with her.

   Honestly nothing very exciting happened this week. We had lessons and lots of visits but nothing that sticks out. Honestly you'd think that after 13 months I'd know what to put in these things. Still don't. 

   A spiritual thought I read this week was from brain. Scary right. This last week I was asked to speak in a couple of weeks in sacrament. And while ponding on a topic there was one principle that stuck out to me. That was the principle of enduring to the end. This was perfect because this last week mentally and emotionally was a big trial for me. And while reading this is helped me realize that we are all on a race. Missionaries jobs are to get people to the starting line and then run the race with them. And then we have our loved ones who run it with us. Sometimes it's easy for us to focus on winning the race instead of helping others on the way. But I reality, the real winners of the race are those who bring their loved ones and friends to the finish line, not the ones who run it by themselves. So it's important to help those along the way that we run across. Because we all are in the same boat and we all are in the same race.

   Well as always I love you all. If you're bored, please email me. I absolutely love the emails I get. Y'all have an absolutely outstanding week!

-Elder Kapp

Some weapon of sorts


Celebrating dinner

Bussing

Rain




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