Last Week, Last Email

 Hi Everyone!

    Let me start by saying it is absolutely crazy to think this is my last email, let alone my last week. A lot happened this week which was great. The other day I hit my two years mark. Time has absolutely flown by. It feels like the other month I was in the MTC just starting. I can't describe how grateful I am to have this opportunity to serve a mission. It truly has been the best two years.

   Alright let's get this email started! So to start with not so boring stuff, I'll talk about an experience I thought I avoided my whole mission. We were visiting Christina and she has a lot of dogs outside. And by now they know us and we're usually chill. So these ten dogs come up when we're at the door just playing. Of course I have my favorite I was playing with while waiting for Christina. Then out of no where I get this sharp pain in my ankle, I look and there is a decent size dog biting me. Let me say, this hurt. But what was cool was all the other dogs got that dog off me and chased it off. But again, my ankle was no bueno. Something funny was the family came out before the dog left and chucked glass pots and things at it and one guy chased the wrong dog around the camp just throwing things at it. But afterwards we had a great lesson with Christina and her family, so it was worth it. 

   Also this last week we went out bush for my last exchange. The exchange went really good. It's been raining a lot so we had to leave our car at Gem Tree and the Elders picked us up in their truck and we went out driving through puddles and streams. For the exchange I went to Mulgabore and Engawala with Elder Hull and Elder Smith. The exchange went well. We were able to teach a bunch and saw a lot of members which was good. I got to say my goodbyes. Then of course at night we slept in the tents. I slept way better than last time because it was cooler. Overall, it was the best last exchange. Couldn't ask for better.

   On Friday I had a five hour zoom call to prepare me coming home. That was a long five hours, but we got through. With the rest of the week we've been teaching like crazy. Our friend Zania who lives in one of the communities came to town and we had a lesson with her. She's moving to Adelaide and will be on the same flight as me. So that'll be fun. 

   The remainder of the week was normal. We've been able to see Natalie and Angelo and their family quite a bit. They are doing so good. Natalie keeps reminding me I'll be leaving them Tuesday. I'll be missing this family most. They are all just the best and I'm so excited for them to go to the temple in the future. Then I said goodbye to some other friends and members. Which was good but also it's been hitting me that I'm leaving for good so it's been a bitter-sweet week. But one big miracle was our friend Atlanta said she wants to be baptized. Natalie called into the lesson and talked about her baptism which was exactly what we needed. So Atlanta wants to get baptized in March with her family and seems pretty excited about it. 

   Sunday was a day of saying goodbyes. It's sad having to leave so many members and friends. But that's missionary work for you.

Spiritual Thought: By Elder David A. Bednar-"My beloved brethren, you and I, today and always, are to bless all peoples in all the nations of the earth. You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. You and I, today and always, are to invite all to receive the ordinances of salvation."

This quote has really helped me as I've been preparing to go home. The mission is the best and I'm excited to continue the work back in Utah.

   Random stuff this week was last p-day we went to the sand dunes and played football. It was super fun. A lot of the bush saints are still here so we saw them and they just had a baby kangaroo in their house chilling with the dogs. For some reason cops were everywhere on Saturday looking for people. There was a police car on literally every street. Crazy. Finally we went to the talk of the town, Sammy's Pizza. I will say, I was not disappointed. It was actually pretty good.

   I know I say this every week, but seriously thank you everyone. This experience has truly been the greatest thing I've done. It wouldn't have been possible without all the love and support. I love this church and I know for certain is the the true church on earth today. God has restored it through Joseph Smith. How do I know this? The spirit the Book of Mormon brings is undeniable and has truly blessed my life. Love you all, see you in a few days.

Sand dune football

Last Service Project

Thanks Tim (He called me Aboriginal by the way. I did it.)

Kangaroo

This week

Out Bush

Last Mission Baptisms

 This was a great week to lead up to finishing a mission. The best day was by far Sunday and all that happened that day. But overall the entire week was great. So let's get into this second-to-last email.

   We'll start with a miracle. Sunday we were planning on having three baptisms because Tanisha went out bush. Well, she came back. We were able to teach her everything and get her prepared for Sunday which was the first big miracle of the week.

   The greatest day though is Sunday. So we wake up and get ready. Before we leave to make sure everyone is getting ready for their baptisms, we get a call from Maryanne saying their car is out of fuel and they don't have a way to get Jamika to her baptism. That is trial number one in the morning. Trial number two is when we were praying to leave the flat, someone threw a rock through our window at our flat. So we call the Elders, and they rush over and bring us duct tape so we tape a plastic lid to the window and call it good. After that though, everything was perfect. Tim came in clutch and helped Jamika and her family get to church. We go over to Angelo, Natalie, and Tanisha and they are up and ready to go. So we head to church and the whole of Muglabore shows up for the baptism. Like everyone! Then to add to that, all our friends, new members and returning members just came to church on their own. They just kept coming in. It was the most I've had at church before, it was crazy. Then we had the baptism service, everyone got changed and we watched the baptisms of our four friends. Gary Bird, Clifford Tilmouth, and President Schwalgar confirmed them. It was such a good experience.

   Sorry for the long paragraph but the baptism was awesome. Such a great end to a mission. These families are the best, can't wait to see them go to the temple and progress in the church.

   Other things that happened this week were we went on two exchanges with the two town companionships. The first one Elder Summers came to our area with me. It was a good exchange. We got to teach Kerry and his family which was a huge miracle because his wife and daughter aren't members. And we saw our other friends preparing them for their baptisms on Sunday. Then the second exchange I went with Elder Keller to his area. The exchange was good, we spent a lot of time getting things ready for the baptism. We had to break into the senior couple's flat to get the baptism clothes and spent way too much time making the programs. But we got it done. Oh, I also spent some fun time with a drunk guy so that was just the best. Overall the exchanges were great.

   Throughout the week we've been able to teach a lot of part members families and members to help them progress in the church. The work has been going absolutely amazing and it's been great to be part of it. Definitely going to miss it.

   Other things that happened this week:

We got to rock out with Kerry. The Todd River is flowing! (They say if you see it flow twice then you're never leaving Alice) We went to the Alice Springs Street Christmas carnival and found a bunch of people to teach there. And we had lots of "fun" little reactions with drunks.

 

Spiritual Thought:

"It does not matter what our personal struggles are—whether they are disease or prolonged loneliness or suffering the temptations and tests of the adversary—the Good Shepherd is there." By Elder Hugo Montoya

I love this quote because sometimes we can feel too far gone or out of God's reach. But if the Good Shepherd really does love his sheep, He'll do all He can to bring them back to his fold.

   Love you all. Thank you for everything and all the support this far. One more email to go and then I'm home.

Kerry and his family

Thanks Anna

Sharon Bill

Todd River Flowing

Baptism

More Baptism

Traveling the Whole of Australia

   Hey Everyone!

   Another week, another email. It was honestly a great week with a lot going on. So let's get to it.

  Tuesday was a super great day. We were able to go to a camp on the dried up creek and teach some people there which was cool. Then we taught some of our friends on date and our new member Jamelle. We taught a few more lessons and had dinner with an older couple in the branch. Then after had a lesson with Kerry and then the Faatauvaa family which was fantastic.

   Okay, now the long day, Wednesday. We had district council and visited some people. Then the other Elders came and got us to take us to the airport for our meeting in Adelaide. We go to check in and the lady says our flight got cancelled. But a little miracle was we met a member from Salt Lake here on vacation at the airport cafe. So that was a little miracle. But instead of flying our normal time, we flew 2 hours later than when we were supposed to, to Darwin. Had a layover, then after midnight flew to Melbourne. After that we flew to Adelaide at 8:30 in the morning. What was going to be 2 hours of travel, turned into a 18 hour all night event. But hey, it's for the memories. 

   Once we finally got to Adelaide we were tired and freezing. But we somehow got enough energy to last us all day. Today we had our MLC meeting. It'll be my last one which is pretty weird to think about. The meeting was actually good, and then after we had a Thanksgiving dinner. I said goodbye to all the missionaries and that's that.

  

  The next morning we woke up at 5am and caught our flight back to Alice Springs. So now we are back on the grind and have to make up for the work we missed. So Friday we went about teaching all of our on dates and new members and a few others. The day was just crazy going from one place to the other. We got back around 9:30 after a good day of work.

   Saturday and Sunday was similar teaching wise. We just went out and saw as many people as possible. A cool experience was Jamika passed her baptism interview. Hopefully the baptisms happen this next week. A funny story was when we showed up for the interview we noticed smoke come from Jamika's aunt house. We went over and their whole yard was on fire. So we ran over and helped them put it out. We asked what happened and they said they saw a snake and would rather burn their yard and their neighbors than to kill it with a shovel. Also that day, the Americans in the branch invited the missionaries over for a big Thanksgiving dinner. Two Thanksgivings in one week! Crazy, but the food was great. Then we went to visit our member who lives in this place of dudes just on parole. And what happened is we sang Christmas karaoke with all of them. Pretty good bonding experience. 

   Then on Sunday they had a branch activity later in the day. The activity was just eating pie basically. So in conclusion, I have put on weight this week. Then we just had lessons the remainder of the day.

   Two big miracles this week was the Faatauvaa family. Their family got back from holiday so now everyone is home so we had a lesson with about 11 of them which was so good. Their testimonies are so strong. The second big miracle was we had our member Sharon Bill call in a lesson and share her testimony and it was the best conversion story I have ever heard. The whole time after our friends just kept talking about her testimony and how badly they want to meet her.

Spiritual Thought:

   "Waiting upon the Lord can be a sacred place—a place of polishing and refining where we can come to know the Savior in a deeply personal way."-Amy A. Wright 

   Well I'll see you all in 16 days. I'm grateful for all I've met on the mission, both missionaries and friends. I'm grateful for the friends and family I have back home and for all your continue support. I'll talk to you all next week!

Flying

Pre-Flight

My guy Angelo getting Baptized

What happens when you see a snake

Worst Service Ever!

 Hey Everyone,

   Where to begin this week? I'll start with the most disgusting thing I've ever had to do! Maybe not actually but honesty it might’ve been. So back story, our member Kerry asked us to come over and do some service cleaning his yard for a house inspection. Of course we'll do that, I love serving. So we pull up and Kerry is out to meet us. We ask where to get started, then he says this: "I want to bury the dead dog at the playground." So apparently there is a dog that is dead at this playground, who knew? Kerry got us like a box trolley and said he'll start digging. We went over and the dog was under a blanket, and let me tell you, this thing was big. I'm saying he was the size of the Sandlot dog. We move the blanket and everything went downhill. The dog's face was gone, it was the worst smell I have ever smelt. We went over to Kerry and he told us the dog was there for a month! Kids play on the playground everyday and he was there for a month. Anywho we got a tarp, wrapped the dog up, rolled it over and buried it. The funny thing is the place was swarmed with cops looking for a guy on the loose and here's us just dragging this massive thing in a tarp across the bush and throwing it in a hole. So that's the story of the most disgusting thing I've ever done. 

   All right let's move on. If you're still reading and haven't left, good on you. The rest of the week was actually super stellar. One big miracle was a bunch of saints out bush went to the Temple this week! We drove them to the airport and they were all so excited. Then when they got back we met them at KFC and they were just giving us all hugs, showing us pictures. They were so happy, as were us. Now it's time to prepare the next batch. So this week we've been teaching lots of saints Temple and Priesthood prep. Alot are super excited and eager. Sadly I won't be here by the time they go but I'm excited for them.

   This week we're been so packed with lessons. We've had to shorten our lunches to fit everything in. I am absolutely loving the work. It is going great. We've been able to teach our on dates a lot and they are doing great. Sadly Christina missed church again so she'll be baptized in January. But at least she's getting baptized that's all that matters. 

   Another cool experience this week was doing parking for the Alice Springs festival. We were able to direct cars for parking for this massive festival they have every year and dang were people happy and nice to us. It was the best reactions I've ever had being a missionary. It was honesty a lot of fun. 

   A huge miracle this week was with our friend Valerie and her family. We did service for them the other week and she came to church two weeks ago which was great. So during this week we went to her house to have a lesson and her family joined. We taught the restoration and showed the Ask of God video and the spirit was so strong. After, her family was in tears and they told us they haven't felt the spirit in a long time or ever before. It was such a big miracle.

Spiritual Thought: Alma 34:38 

   "That ye contend no more against the Holy Ghost, but that ye receive it, and take upon you the name of Christ; that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, and worship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

   As always, thanks for everything. Only threeish more of these and then that's it. Love you all, have a great week.

Saints going to the temple

Tashy and her family

Collingwood Magpies

Morning Run

Alice Springs Chapel

Lizard

First Full Week in My Area

 Hi everyone,

   Another week in the books. Again it was another great week. We've been seeing many miracles and have seen the work just explode forward. One thing that was great was Christina, Natalie, and Angelo passed their baptism interviews! No we're just waiting for the day and they'll be all ready. Also praying that Christina continues coming to church so she meets that requirement, but all will be well. Our other two on date are doing great. Just going over some last things with them and then they will be ready for baptism.

   This week was so good with lessons. I haven't taught this much in a while, or maybe I haven't before this week. We've been working hard and helping our friends and members progress in the church. This all is amazing, but of course there has to be opposition. What is it you may ask? I lost my voice for a couple of days. Now this isn't the end of the world, but I like to talk, and it's hard to do that when it hurts to do so. But we persevered and made it. 

   One super huge miracle is our new member Kerry. Kerry is absolutely awesome but he struggles Sunday mornings to come to church. Except for this week. We got to his house and Donovan was staying there and wanted to come to church. So I picked Kerry's lock, and started just kicking him until he woke up. In result, Kerry Donovan and his wife all came to church.

   Donovan is actually super awesome. He's from out bush but they've been in town because their kids have been in and out of the hospital. At first they were in a motel and had us come teach them there. Now that was the first time I taught someone in their motel room, but their family was super keen. Then later in the week we taught them at the hospital and at Kerry's house. They love the lessons and have such a strong belief. Super cool family.

   The rest of the week was just teaching like crazy. It's been so great but it's definitely making the time speed up. But I'm excited to get home so it's alright.

   Spiritual Thought: "Jesus can bring us closer to our Father in Heaven than we’ve ever been before." I absolutely love this quote because it shows that the Savior came to help us achieve our pure potential. 

   As always I love you all. You only have a couple more times to email me so you better make the most of it.

-Elder Kapp

Donovan and his family

Shout out to Janet

My guy Kerry

37 Days Left

 Hey everyone!

   What a great week. So much to talk about but I'll shorten it for you all. To start the week on Tuesday we had a day packed of lessons with members. With active, to less active to returning, it was the whole lot. They all went very well, and we also had a lesson with Natalie and Angelo which was amazing. Then for the evening we had a mini transfer call because my comp finishes his mission. My new companion will be Elder Abbott! I'm actually so excited to be comps with him. He's been serving out bush for a while and before that served in Alice a bit. So far the week with him has been great. Stoked for this next transfer.

   Wednesday Elder Keller said goodbye to our friends and members we've been working with. Then us and some other Elders went to the airport to drop Elder Keller off. I'll miss that Elder but he'll do good back in the world. The rest of the day and the next I spent with those Elders. We got to see some of the friends and members in my area, like Christina, Tim, Natalie and Angelo and their family and Jamika. A good list of people but we definitely got more done when Elder Abbott came into the area. 

   The rest of the week we got the grind going. We had a couple lessons with our friends on date for baptism. And big miracle was while going over the baptismal interview questions with Natalie and Angelo, Tanisha walked up asking if she could be baptized also. So now she's on date for baptism which is super exciting.  

   One exciting thing was we were having a lesson with a family we're teaching out back by their fire, when at the end one yelled, "snake!" We looked and their cat was in a battle with this snake. So I jumped up grabbed their shovel by the fire and killed the thing. Felt pretty cool not gonna lie.

   Spiritual Thought: Doctrine and Covenants 84: 20-22

"20 Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest.

21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; 22 For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live."

   Overall this week was great. We've been teaching heaps and our friends are progressing so well. The work is good and the days are slowly coming to an end. 37 days left. Well, as always, love you all. Have a great week. Email me if you want.

Faatauvaa Family

Suzie and Bobo

Renita, Rhiannon, Gillian

Elder Abbott with Sarah and Mervin

Elliott and Hiking

 Hi everyone!

   This last week was another great week and this upcoming week should be great. Sadly my companion finishes his mission this week so I'll be getting a new one. Until then I'll probably be in a trio with some of the other missionaries so we'll be double-covering areas. But we'll cross that bridge in a couple of days. 

   At the start of the week, we went on exchanges with Tennant Creek. For the exchanges, I went with Elder Liprott and we went to Elliott. So Tennant is 5 hours north and Elliott is 2 hours north of that. The exchange went very well. We were able to teach some friends and the members. Play rugby with the kids in town. And also hold family home evening at one of the members' homes. So overall a good exchange. Lots of driving and driving in the dark was sketchy will all the cows but we made it.

   The day after we got back from the exchange, my companion had a 5 hour zoom meeting with all the missionaries finishing their missions. Let me say, there's only so much one can do in 5 hours. But we made it. After that the work was pretty much the same as usual. We've had really good lessons with our friends on date. Two came to church on Sunday which was great. The other two we're working with them but they're looking good and it looks like they'll meet their date in December. 

   One crazy story was a service we had this week. We go during the week to check it out and she asked us to clean out the weeds against her fence. Her backyard is the literal bush and she told us she wants them removed because of all the brown snakes. So yeah that was that. So we went over and I saw a snake in literally five minutes. Luckily it was the only one. The lady's name was Zoe and she is actually pretty cool. Hopefully we'll start teaching her soonish. We'll see the will of the Lord. 

   Spiritual thought: "48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." I love this scripture because it just talks about our true potential being children of God. We need to work and exercise faith and God will bless us for it.

   Well I love you all. Hope you all have a great week. Sorry I'm bad at emails. And I'll love emails from you all. 

P-day Hike

Hiking with Baby-roos

Elliot FHE

Lesson

Sunset

Samoan Sisters

Tim McNamara