Monday, July 3, 2017

"Family On Three" - July 3, 2017


What's up Fam!!!

As Ricky Bobby would say... "I don't know what to do with my hands."

I want to thank all of you for the support these 2 last years. It's been an amazing journey and nothing I say or do can fully describe how much I have loved it. When I realize just how special these last 2 years have been, I also realize how grateful I am for the family, friends, church leaders, coaches, co-workers, random people, and even tweeps 😉, that helped guide me towards a mission. It was not always in the plans for me, but looking back I recognize how many people Heavenly Father placed in my path that slowly directed me towards serving a mission. Thank you. 

I want to cap these emails off with 3 big takeaways from the last 2 years. It's been a complete overload of experiences and memories... trials and set backs... but I wouldn't change a single thing... not even the #Tickcident, that was a true mission classic. There's a lot I have learned, but there is a lot I'm still learning and gaining a testimony of. These 3 were tough to narrow down and honestly I can't even come close to describing all that has happened, but this is what I believe to have learned the most, putting them into words is the next challenge. 

1. Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost love us and want us to be happy. 
They don't want us to be happy just for a few minutes... or a few days... They want us to be happy forever. We have the ability to choose which paths we will take, and I know that by following our Savior's example we will find greater joy than anything else. That doesn't mean life will be a cakewalk, but Heavenly Father will mold us and direct us to true joy.  He loves us, I know this. He loves us enough that he expects us to choose the right. He knows we can do it. He's provided us a Savior, Jesus Christ, who knows exactly what we go through. Through baptism and confirmation we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, to comfort us and guide us. On top of this we have family, ward members, a prophet, scriptures, prayer, and so many other resources to help us succeed. He wants us to return back to Him even better than we were when we came here. He wants us to succeed. We are never ALONE, and we have no reason to ever FEAR. As Bishop Hawkes would say, and taught me, "I'm not scared". That's not out of pride, arrogance, or stupidity... it's because of the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. When we put our trust in our Father in Heaven, Savior, and Holy Ghost - there is no reason to fear when you are doing what you should be, but only rejoice. 

2. The power of the restoration and the Book of Mormon. 

While I don't know everything about the Restoration, haven't personally met Joseph Smith, or hold the gold plates... I know the fruits from it are amazing, I don't need the physical evidence because I have seen what it does and faith opens us up to way more blessings than "believing when seeing". The Priesthood is real, I have seen the power and blessings of it. The Book of Mormon is a powerful tool God has given us, and strengthens my testimony of the Bible. It proves that Joseph Smith is a prophet and Christ's church is restored. Before anyone critiques the church or it's views or standards, I challenge you to read the Book of Mormon with the real intent it requires and ask God what he thinks about it. I didn't always think it was true, even during parts of my mission, but that required me to go through the same process we challenge people to go through... and guess what, it works. I really believe it is true. It's brought me so close to my Savior and Heavenly Father, and the spirit teaches me every time I read it. 

3. All about family. 

I loved my family so much before I left, and 2 years later I love them even more . It's been rough being away from them... specifically in the Fall... , but in the process I found the Montana family that are making this Saturday a little more difficult than I imagined it would be. The people here have taught me so much, and I'm really going to miss them. Something they taught me is that Church... the Gospel... the Plan of Salvation... why we are here... why we serve missions...  it's all about family. We are all brothers and sisters striving to return home. Some of us know that, others do not, but that doesn't change the fact we are family. The Gospel works as wide scale as uniting so many of us together, but is also so specific and applicable to each individual family and person. While I may not know everything about all this, something that I know without any doubt, is what the Gospel does to families, both current and future. Those that I have been lucky enough to teach have shown me that. As you see the light turn on and slowly get brighter and brighter, you realize what this is all about, they are happier. Not because of me, but because they are drawing closer to the Savior and obeying his commandments.

I know Heavenly Father loves us and is so eager to pull the trigger of blessings onto us. This is His and our Savior's work, and all the credit and glory to them and the Holy Ghost. Trust Him, follow Him, love Him, and I promise you that you'll feel a difference in your life. Whatever Satan is poking you with, turn to the Savior and let him help you out. None of us are perfect, we all need Him. We have a lot of potential in the eyes of our Heavenly Father, let the Savior help you reach it. Don't be afraid of change, I was, and I quickly learned change is one of the best parts of life. 

I love all of you, thanks for joining me on the journey in the Big Sky. I love this Gospel with all my heart, it's not a once a week thing... or a trend... or a feel good story when life sucks... it's an eternal commitment and it's true. And I can honestly say now, I'm committed to it. We are all wanting to be happy, and I know this leads us to the true joy we are looking for. 

Holy cow guys I can't believe it's over. I get I'm just rambling now... but wow. I have loved it so much. I can't describe it. 

Happy 4th tomorrow, as Ron Swanson says "history began July 4th, 1776. Everything before that was an accident", we are spending the day at the Robison's and there isn't any other place I'd rather be. I'm so proud of that family. The evening lightsaber battle with the kids and fireworks around us will be legendary. 

I'll do this sign off official since it's the last one 😉

FAMILY ON 3. 

- Elder McKay Pett  

(Well In the words of @TeamBetaAlpha) - Elder @MPett3 signing off. 

***I'll be speaking in church this Sunday and all of you are welcome to come. I'll attach the cute flyer my mom made. Even if you just wanna come for the food after you can do that we won't be mad, I just want to see you! 

 

Pics
- #WelcomeToMontana
- Ball at the Stark's and Hank the Tank... the Stark's puppy. I fed him an Arby's fry once (well he stole it) and now we are bros. 



- walked into a home and saw this one. Caption being "when you tryna save the world but it's the end of the month and you are low on miles." - #MissionHumor 

- sleep over with the Treasure's in Big Sky last night... it was a party... McElvany was in the bunk above me. This place is sweet. I'm going to miss the Treasure's a ton but we are only a short 5.5 hour drive away in the Panther ;) 



 
 

Monday, June 26, 2017

"Jarvis" - June 26, 2017


What's up Fam!!!

- Stark's home has become the go-to place for our Monday partying. We play dunk ball... football... it's a blast. We ate dinner with them the next night. Reminder that Brother Starks actual name is indeed "Tony Stark". I try to keep my fangirling to a minimum but I had to tell them my idea of renaming the wifi to "Jarvis". They were on board.

- summed up... The Starks are awesome. They also love the Utes. They have been added to the ranks of the Baird's, Jessop's, Carlson's, and so many other families I have met and are #FamilyGoals.

- zone conferences were this week. We drove to Billings and it was a sweet meeting hearing from our leaders. It was good seeing Elder Hoschouer and the office staff. Crystal was a surprise celebrity guest appearance and she brought me cookies. I love her so much.


--- cool little story. A while back (you may recall this from an email a few months back) Elder Hoschouer and I were at Walmart one day and we got talking to a couple that wanted to be taught. I was transferred shortly after but the guy wants to be baptized this week!!! Hosch told me that at zone conference and I was freaking out a bit.

- had another Saturday AM service party at the Robison's. We planted some veggies... I also pulled a Kurt and planted potatoes but these will grow in Montana so they'll actually taste good #SpudsFired... and the grand event was castrating the cows... I felt bad for em not gonna lie #CityBoyProbs. But then we had a Nerf/light saber battle and it was a party.

- Briar Broughton had his 2nd birthday. It was awesome. To think Z wasn't even that old when I left is insane! Broughtons are amazing.

Not really sure what else to say fam. I have loved it so much out here. Especially the people. Being around Crystal this last week...the Stark's... Broughton's... doing service for the Robison's... the family I have gained out here far outweighs anything I once considered a "sacrifice". These aren't just people I got to know for 2 years, they really are my family. It's helped open my eyes so much as to how wonderful the plan of our Heavenly Father is. We really are brothers and sisters, striving to return home. I love love love the gospel because it means we will be together again. These emails keep getting short and shorter cause I really don't even know how to put it all to words, it's been amazing seeing what the gospel does to people. It is true.

Love ya fam,

- Elder K

Pics

- zone conference

- mater pic for Z

- light saber battles with the Robison'ss... just wait for the 4th of July

- Briar's birthday

- this weeks training for going home was on dating and marriage.
^^^ all a joke. Kind of. #SorryMom

Monday, June 19, 2017

"60% of the Time...Every Time" - June 19, 2017


What's up Fam!

- exchanges in Belgrade this last week with Elder Rich. It was a blast being back in #BGrade. Went to the Ward BBQ and it felt like a family reunion, starting to hit me how bad I'm gonna miss the fam up here.

--- got Bishop Carlson to answer an open ended question with "yes". #AchievementUnlocked

- had a lesson out at the Robison's... well they taught us. We did scripture study and they are on fire. The light in their lives teaches me what the gospel is all about.

- interviews with President Wadsworth were this week. It was a special time getting to meet with him, luckily we get one more interview together. He's been an amazing spiritual John Wooden to me out here.

- saw 2 of (what I believe to be) the most attractive cars at the same intersection this week. - check pics- #60PercentOfTheTimeEveryTime


 
I'll share a cool little miracle we had this week... in the last few weeks, TWICE we have had the prompting to knock a door in this one neighborhood but no one was home. Saturday night we are in this neighborhood looking for someone else and we see this one family was outside... the kids were driving their electric mini - cars and it caught my eye. Kind of like the Audi Ezra has that honestly functions better than my car... no mom, that is not a free pass to get rid of the panther I still love it... so we go over and talk to the mom outside and turns out she met with missionaries last summer! Hopefully we can go by this week and talk some more.

This is Heavenly Father's work to help His children. He makes it happen, we just show up and deliver the goods for those that want it.

He cares about His children, I know that with certainty. Father's Day is a great time to celebrate those who have been fathers to us... I lucked out with some amazing fathers around me, but I'm also so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven. When we came to this life we started with a clean slate, no memory, but I know that Heavenly Father remembers us and loves us. He wants to reveal himself to us and he does that by blessing us through our obedience. He wants us to return to Him.

All about family,

Love ya fam.

- Elder K

Pics

- Starks sport court is the new place for Monday zone ball. Their girls are awesome and we play catch and talk Utah football.



- forgot to send this last week... and then there were 3


- Belgrade sunsets


- digging a bunker with the Robison boys for our 4th of July water balloon fight coming up.


- drive to Big Sky, if you look close you can see the people on kayaks


- this one is for Mama J, both of us served in #HamTown.




Wednesday, June 14, 2017

"Dinner with Tony Stark" - June 12, 2017


 
What's up Fam!!!

- had a sweet Plan of Salvation lesson with Drew this week. That's no doubt my favorite lesson to teach, life's a lot easier with the big picture that's for sure.

- went to Virginia City to help clean up some members cabin for girls camp coming up. It was a party, we built a bridge over the creek, cleaned the out house, caught a snake, it was a good time.

- there was this guy outside our apartment complex that was clearly under the influence of some drug  and he was super awesome. Elder Baum even invited him to learn about the Gospel. I doubt he remembers that conversation but at least we tried!

- had dinner with Tony Stark and his fam... his 9 year old girl opened the door in a Utes hat. #FamilyGoals

To be honest this is all turning into a real blur and I'm not sure what else to say. We were able to attend two farewells Sunday aaaaaand...this is starting to get weird. That brought back a lot of memories of two years ago. Wow I'm grateful for this journey.

Love ya fam,

- Elder K

Pics

- after serving a year in this stake... and as Mufasa would say - "everything the light touches,  you have served in".


 
- chicken massacre pics with Lilly Robison

Monday, June 12, 2017

Mango Habanero - June 5, 2017


What's up Fam!!!

So... this week was kind of a blur with transfers and all that so this will be a short email.

- lots of service this week. Farmer/missionary tan is turning into a real doozie.

- spent two days out at the Robison's doing yard work and stuff. Super fun. Saturday was the chicken massacre... it was quite gnarly not gonna lie.

---  I didn't chop any but I did catch and name them based off of Buffalo Wild Wings sauces. Ex. "Ok mango habanero time to go night night and I'll see you soon on a Tuesday." It was a sad moment so I tried to be nice to them before their heads were removed.

----- hanging out with the Robison's is so great. I love that family so much. Brian and I worked on sprinklers for a few hours while talking about Disney and occasionally getting blasted in the face with water and it was a lot of fun. Hanging out with those kids too... They really are family.

- stopped by a members house and this family is total Disney status...they had pins too... so I was freaking out. Great dinner.

- also got to spend some time with more Belgrade family! Barber's son was having his grad party out at the ranch so I got to hang out with Corey, McKayla, and Briar. What a place that is... it took all self control to not hop on the 4-wheeler with Corey but we decided we will do that in a few weeks. That ranch was amazing and I can't wait to come back up.

- having Elder Potter back in the zone has been amazing. We used to follow each other on Twitter 2 years ago before the mission and now we are serving in the same district for the 3rd time... last night we started planning our basketball court business. #PrestigeWorldWide 💦

Going to church was a great highlight of the week. Got to attend the Big Sky branch and Belgrade1. Lots of great people up here. I love it out here, the Gospel does something special to people, most of all it unites us.

Love ya fam,

- Elder K

Pics

- Barber's property



- McBuckets, Splash, and Baum.



- service at the Robison's

 
- when Elder Potter and I have a sleep over. #SplashElders




"#TractFest" - May 29, 2017


 
What's up Fam!!! 

- apparently a politician up here attacked a journalist, sounds like Happy Gilmore. I think it got him votes because he ended up winning. #WelcomeToMontana

- came to the realization that the movie Cars really takes place on
pre- cival war cybertron and lightning is a prime.#WeeklyPlanningThoughts

We hit the streets a ton this week looking for some people we can teach and we were blessed with some pretty sweet miracles that further taught me we aren't the ones in charge of this work. Won't list all of em... but just know... #SpiritKnows.

- got a prompting to talk to this guy sitting in his garage. He was a big, scruff, biker... and kind of scary looking. I was thinking "nah, he doesn't want it." After a few minutes I realize how stupid I was for judging him and went back and he was gone.... so I felt like a royal pile of horse turd. Next day the prompting comes and I wasn't turning it down again so we went over and caught him as he was leaving and he was sooooo friendly and invited  us back. Really cool guy with a beautiful truck.

Don't judge people. Don't ever think someone you know isn't ready for the gospel, I screwed that one up but I'm glad we could go back and fix it. Lesson learned. The rest of that night we were really trying to follow the spirit and it was so cool. Can't even describe it. Last door we knocked she let us in and we had a great talk.

- I'll share one more sweet experience... so the next day we go to this neighborhood to find people and I left my water bottle at home. I didn't want to go back to grab it... but I was dang thirsty so I said a prayer we could be sent somewhere that I could get some water haha.

We get walking to visit a less active member and I was thinking they would offer me some. Few minutes into our walk I see a car with a NAVY license plate, instantly I think "if Potato boy was here he'd want me to knock that door" so without hesitation I walk up and knock. This older guy opens it and we have a good talk about the Navy. He said he served in Southern California... Port Hueneme... as a Seabee...  so in my mind I'm all "no... freakin... way" and we get talking about Kurt and the Seabees. Super cool.

Then... he says "well, do you guys need to use the restroom or get a glass of water?"

#SpiritKnows #AchievementUnlocked

So then we went inside and talked some more. He has a son that's a member in Iowa so he knows a little bit about the church. Isn't interested in taking the lessons but took our number if he needs anything.

Those are just a few experiences, but it was so sweet. There's nothing like the spirit guiding you. Things happen that you know aren't a "coincidence".

So much other cool stuff but I think I'll leave ya with one more.

Someone I knew from the YSA last fall got baptized over the weekend.

He'd come play ball with us, we'd golf... super fun dude. He had some cousins in the Ward so that's how we got to know him. He expressed he wasn't interested in joining or talking church stuff so we just became bros with him. Well a few months ago he changed his mind and was baptized yesterday. Really neat getting to see him and how happy he is now.

Also got to do another sleep over in Big Sky at the Treasure's home and lesson with the Bell's then got to go to the branch. I love that branch, so much fun up there. We checked out the ski resort on Saturday and it was sweeet. Did some contacting and contacted a guy by talking about the bear poop on the trail. #FurryTractor

Sorry this one was all over the place. So much going on.

I don't know how all this works out but it does.  Kind of like everything else in life... I have no freakin clue how a phone works, or how the sun rises, or how oxygen gets into my blood stream, but hey, it just happens. Heavenly Father knows us and loves us, his plan is a plan of Joy. Don't spend your time freakin out cause you don't understand it 100%. If I waited to do anything till I understand it 100% I'd never get to live and miss out on a lot. Learn as you go and enjoy the ride.

Love ya fam,

- Elder K

*happy 2 year anniversary of the Disney fugitive incident.
#NeverForget #NotASelfieStick

*Baum and I are getting one more transfer 😆... and the real big news is Elder Potter is going back to Three Forks... which means the Splash Elders are finishing in the same zone where it all began. 💦

Pics

- sunsets last week. No filters on that. It was sweet. #WelcomeToMontana


 
- I think I forgot to send this one last week. Bennett and I at mission tour with our toys.

 
- district pics. Going to really miss Wilson, can't wait for splash to get here too though.



 
- stealth op raptor attacking the zone leaders.



- me and Leroy, Max, and Milo (one who got baptized). They are all from Mexico and golfing with them last fall was one of the highlights of my life no doubt.



- big sky pics. That ski resort was insane.




 
- happy birthday to ️ Maddy, Sister Baird sent me this yesterday.

Monday, May 22, 2017

"Increase the Force" #ChallengeAccepted - May 22, 2017



What's up Fam!!!

- met this cool Ukrainian dude at a park filming stuff. Had a good chat, talked about Heavenly Father. Wasn't interested to take the lessons but it was cool telling him God loves him.

- had a lesson with a girl that cut my hair at Great Clips. It was pretty cool. She's YSA so we'll have to pass her on eventually but it was a sweet lesson. The gospel answers a lot of questions.

- had a mission tour in Billings with Elder Dyches of the Seventy. Super powerful meeting. Plus got to see LOTS of missionaries.

- my new thing is to carry a mini light saber with me wherever I go so I had to be really careful to not start playing with it during the mission tour. Elder Bennett brought his mini master chief and we were both freaking out a little bit.

- winter hit again for a few days so that was fun. Crazy snow storm.

- Baird's stopped in Bozeman so we went to Firehouse Subs and I got to see Maddy. Best day ever. 

- Tim McGraw was in town this weekend and I didn't go. #AchievementUnlocked

- I don't know if anything beats talking Utah football with Tony Stark and his girls while eating Starbursts before sacrament meeting starts. They are #FamilyGoals. m|_|m

- Elder Christensen got to stay at our place on their way back to Kalispell so we took a trip down memory lane and visited Belgrade. Highlight seeing Gina and Kenny, the Robisons and Broughtons. 18 months later and it feels just like the old times.

- had a Stake Priesthood meeting and someone was using the "power" physics equation to compare to the Priesthood. Stake President specifically said "we need to increase our force" and he was meaning it to be spiritual but the nerd I am turned to the row of elders sitting next to me and I forced choked Elder McElvany as I pulled the Kylo Ren light saber key chain from my suit coat. Just like the good days of the #BozeForce.

- Elders McElvany and Wilson also slept over last night and that was about as #TDFW you can get while still being a missionary. #OperationPixieStick

The stake priesthood meeting and mission tour were spiritual overloads from the week, big time spiritual mind grenades. Throw in some good lessons with Elder Baum and a night of #BGrade with Elder Christensen  and you got a pretty sweet week.

Something that's been on my mind a lot recently is the word "remember". It's an important part of the gospel. We go through a lot of rough experiences in this life, and it's easy to forget the good, but it's those moments when you need to remember. Remember the blessings, the miracles, covenants, and family. Most of all remember that you have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior. 

Mosiah 25:16 - "... they should remember that it was the Lord that did deliver them." 

Helaman 5:12 - "... remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation" 

Mark 8:18 - "Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?" 

The list goes on and on throughout the scriptures, no coincidence that the people who start to fall are the ones who forget. Remembering is vital, the sacrament shows that. "That they do always remember Him." Remember the good fam.

I love the gospel. I love the experiences that it has given me that I can look back and remember during the tough times. My mission is another big "remember". Experiences with people I love that have strengthened my testimony in so many ways that I never want to forget.

Love ya fam,

- Elder K

Pics 

- winter pics 

- these train pics were taken within 30 minutes of each other. #WelcomeToMontana 



- reunited with Captain Hosch 


- held Tim McGraw tickets and didn't go #AchievementUnlocked 

- this happened... 

 
 
- boys reunited 



- otter and baby ducks


 
 

- when you're a missionary but deep down a sith.