Dear "Frozen in Fremont County",

Just so you know, I'm wearing shorts and flip-flips right now...haha I had to drop that in there. Anyways, Happy late Thanksgiving! It sounds like you all had a great time in Portland over the week. The drive didn't make me too jealous, and neither did skipping dinner at either of our Grandma's, but other then those minor details I'm sure you had a blast.
Now it was pretty odd spending Thanksgiving away from the family, but the members definitely did their part to help me eat away the pain...which in turn brought on a lot of pain. Haha Bro. Staber went all out--egg soufle for breakfast, and then gma Kunz's rolls, apple crist, turkey, etc.. It was awesome. Didn't taste quite like home, but it was pretty dang close. We spent a lot of the day there putting decorations on his tree and then stuff out faces as well. After that we visited another awesome family in the ward, the Ellison's. They fed us a little as well, but I ate very slowly and sparingly. Following that we went over to Bro. Wentzel's (he's in the bishopric) to watch our designated one movie on Thanksgiving. Ha we ended up watching Toy Story 3 because I hadn't seen it yet. It was a funny movie, and Bro. Wentzel has a pretty sweet viewing set up. All in all it was a really great day. Other then that, last week was a bit on the slow side. Everyone was so busy with family and preparations that we got stuck on the back-burner with our investigators. It seemed like just about everyone cancelled on us, which was a bummer. We're really hoping that this week is a lot more eventful.
But, guess what? Jonathan Turner was BAPTIZED yesterday! Ha we were nervous that he wouldn't be over his flu yet, but fortunately it all worked out. We've been trying hard to stay in contact with him, and when I had called earlier this week I asked him if he was still planning on getting baptized he said "Well, YEAH" as if it was an extremely stupid question. If only all of our investigators would respond like that...haha so except for the fact that I forgot to turn on the font until about 45 minutes before, it all turned out really well...it took some forceful baptizing on E. Larson's part, but he got the job done. Jonathan was really excited about getting baptized, and the program was really nice for him. His grandma came along with his little brother, but his Mom didn't show up...I felt bad about that, but I was so proud of him for making this decision. He's such a good kid, and he really wants to do what's right. He'll be confirmed on Sunday, and so we have that to look forward to as well.
Also this week we had a lesson with Joan and her family. I needed a haircut and so did E. Larson, so we turned it into a teaching opportunity as well. We got to teach her and her grandkids about the restorations of the gospel. They really seemed to soak it in, and the kids had really good questions as well. Joan participated really well, and we were able to leave a Book of Mormon with her. We're praying that she takes some time to read it and feel of the Spirit that will come when she does. They didn't show up to church on Sunday, but we're planning on seeing them again soon.
I love you all! Thanks for all the letters and support.

Love from the Sunshine state,
Elder Kade Bartschi

President Summerhays' Letter

22 November 2010

Dear Sisters and Elders,

During this Thanksgiving season, I feel to give thanks to my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to serve with the best missionaries in the best mission of the church. Thank you-all of you. You have added so much to my life.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I love the turkey, the stuffing, the veggies, the potatoes, the pies, the pies, the pies. I love the rich fall colors and our family traditions. We always start the day by running in an “Earn Your Turkey 5K” race. It gets easier every year for Sister Summerhays and I to win our age group-no one else our age is running. Our family always wins the “most family members participating” prize. They even have a division for 1 year olds-I smile when I think of those parents dragging their crying babies to the finish line. We then gather for our Thanksgiving meal. There are always quite a few of us, but everyone pitches in. We usually have a dessert contest in the evening with everyone competing-even our little ones. We have our family turkey bowl with the kids against the dads. They think they are going to win this year without Granny and Grandpa playing. We watch football and then have a Thanksgiving testimony meeting. It seems like we are up all night as we awake early for Black Friday. One thing I like about Thanksgiving is it is hard to be greedy. With all of the holidays focusing on buying and selling, Thanksgiving is still about people and not about things.

Our Thanksgiving story could be like many of yours. But, here we are-serving together our Savior Jesus Christ in the Florida Tampa Mission with all of our hearts, might, mind and strength. In fact, I remember being set apart as you have been set apart to have the power to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Together we have been recommended as those worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the Restored Gospel. We are official representatives of the Church.

I have gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. I have gratitude to serve with my sweet companion, Sister Summerhays. I have gratitude to serve with the Sisters and Elders and the missionary couples of the Florida Tampa Mission. I have gratitude for our family who is serving valiantly at home. I have gratitude that I made promises to live by in the Florida Tampa Mission. I have gratitude that I will be accountable to the Lord and to the leaders of the church for how well I honor those promises. I have gratitude and I would rather be here serving our Savior with you than anywhere else on earth. These are just a few of the blessings that I am grateful for this time of year. And I pray that we will all follow the prophet Thomas S. Monson when he told us in conference, “A grateful heart…comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives.” The Savior is the way. “Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.” Nov. 2010 Ensign. P. 90.

As always, I express my deep desire for you to be happy here and in your future lives. Developing the gift of gratitude will help you be happy. I love you and I believe in you.

President Summerhays

6 Months!

These are the pictures of me burning the tie! It's a missionary tradition that every 6 months you burn something. Preferably that something won't get you thrown in jail for burning.

Hey Family!
It's been a pretty eventful week here in Citrus Ridge. We were able to meet with most of our investigators, and it's been a lot of fun to see them progress. But first off, congrats on making it to the tournament, Britt! Portland will be a fun place to spend Thanksgiving, but I'm pretty sure it won't be as warm as Florida. Just in case you were wondering haha.
Anyways, we've been working really closely with Jonathon Turner this week as we've been preparing him for baptism. He's really smart and always blows me away with how much he retains from what we teach. He's been excited for his baptism all week and when he was getting interviewed on Friday, most of the time the missionary who was interviewing him didn't have time to get through the question before Jonathon started answering it. Ha but unfortunately he came down with a bad case of the flu on Saturday night that carried into Sunday, so his baptism will be postponed until this coming Sunday. And since we got transfer calls this Saturday and found out that we'll both be staying , I'm not too bummed about it. I especially didn't want to leave this area so close to the holidays, so I'm pretty happy about making another round in Citrus Ridge. They also asked me to be district leader as well, so I guess I'll be trying my hand at that. I'm not quite sure what that entails, so hopefully I don't mess it up too badly.
We had a lesson with Luis on Tuesday of this week as well. He's extremely busy, like always, but we had a great lesson talking about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can always really feel the spirit during his lessons and when we approach the subject of baptism with him this week he told us that he wants to go through with it! He's not ready to set a specific date yet, but I'm really excited about the progess that he's been making. He's promised to read the parts of the Book of Mormon that we've left him, and we'll be following up with him tomorrow.
Another great lesson that we had this week was with a lady named Alexandra. She is friends with a member of our ward, Sis. Romo, and we were able to teach about the Holy Ghost while she was there. Alexandra had awesome questions, and at one point even teared up. She's probably in her 20s and is currently looking for the right church for her. We'll be meeting with her on Tuesday as well and I'm looking forward to seeing how that goes.
Well I love you all so much! Let me know how your Thanksgiving goes, and I assure you I'll be well fed here. Probably too well, but that's okay ha.

Love, Elder Kade Bartschi

Hey Family!!

Sorry I don't have too much time this week! Yeah I know, I'm starting to sound like Tyler...haha but speaking of Ty, I'm not getting his letters again. Eric, could you help me out with that? But things have been really good here this week!

On Wednesday we had zone conference, which was great. President Summerhays is a really inspired man, and it's a lot of fun hearing what he has to say. After conference we stopped by a guy we had seen about 5 weeks ago. We were tracting and ran into this guy named Kelly. He was awesome and left him with a Book of Mormon. Well we followed up with him on Wednesday, and he invited us back later that night so that we could meet with his wife as well. We grabbed Bro. Staber pretty short notice and had him go over there with us. I was a bit intimidated because his wife is currently getting her master's degree in Theology, but she was extremely nice. She's had friends that were Mormon before, but she was really open to hearing what we had to say. Finally at one point she turned to Bro. Staber and asked him to share his conversion story with her. All I could do was smile when she asked that, because he has a pretty awesome one. Was 18, had never gone to church before, his grandma joined the church, the missionaries challenged him to read the BoM and taught him how to pray, he did and got his answer. After he finished he pointed out the fact that the Spirit was there, and she smiled and said "Yeah, I know. I can really feel it.". It was an awesome experience and we got a return appointment with them for Wednesday.

Jonathon has continued to progress towards baptism. We had two lessons with him last week and plan on doing the same thing this week. He'll get baptized on Sunday and we're really excited for him. He's pretty stoked about it. Also, remember the lady that we tracted into and I had cut my hair?? Well she and her grand kids all walked into church this Sunday!! Haha I was really surprised but excited. They came and sat by us, and by the end of sacrament the kids were begging Joan (their grandma) to let them stay for the rest of it. She consented, and they had a great time. The ward was also pretty excited to see an entire family show up. We scheduled an appointment to teach them on Friday. Luis' wife had her baby this week and everything went really well! The baby was 9 pounds which I'm pretty sure is about half the size of his Mom. Ha she's a tiny Peruvian lady, so I'm sure she's happy to be through with that experience. Ha but the ward has been really great about making sure they have lots of stuff for the baby. It's almost overwhelmed Luis to see all the kindness. We'll be meeting with him on Tuesday and hopefully extending a commitment to be baptized.

Well I love you guys so much!! Thanks for all you do for me! Which reminds me, thanks for those business cards, Ma! They're awesome.

Love,

Elder Kade Bartschi

President Summerhays' Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

Every week is a good week when I get to spend time with the Missionaries of the Florida Tampa Mission- the best mission in the church! I enjoyed being with you for zone conference. As always, the strength of your love and faithfulness lifts me and energizes me.

We have been studying the Fourth watch. The Savior, in Galilee, fed five thousand from five loaves and 2 fishes. He then sent his disciples ahead of Him to cross the Sea of Galilee in a ship which is soon tossed with the waves in a contrary wind. He did not come to them in the first, second, or third watch of the night. They are left to struggle. I am sure, with all their might, against the storm tossed sea -strengthening their muscles, hearts and wills until they have done all they can do. Then in the early morning, during the fourth and last watch He comes walking across the turbulent waters; first to build and strengthen their faith and then to calm the wind and sea. The end result of this experience is a group of disciples who are tired but strong in body and spirit. They also know that He will come to strengthen them in difficult circumstances after they do all in their own power. They are becoming disciples of courage who, in the not too distant future, will stand strong and faithful in the face of difficult circumstances to build up the early Church of Jesus Christ. They will exhibit great power and perform many mighty miracles in their future ministry. They will be men of courage and strength. In Mathew’s Gospel this is the first time that they expressed their belief that Jesus was the Son of God! “of a truth thou art the Son of God.”

Henry Eyring, the father of President Henry B. Eyring, was a wonderful man and scientist. He was a wise and good saint. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize for his contributions to science. At the end of his life, he was stricken with prostate cancer, which migrated to the bone. He was in severe pain and suffered much prior to his death. He spoke with his friend saying, “Why do I have to suffer so? Why is this so hard? “ Then he slipped into unconsciousness. He later awakened and spoke again to his friend saying: “I now know why I must suffer: GOD NEEDS MEN OF COURAGE!”

I am reminded at this time that the kingdom of God would also need to come forth in these latter days in the midst of turbulent times -Out of obscurity and out of darkness and shine to all the nations. God needs men and women of courage; men and women of faith, strength and valiance; men and women who would stay true, obedient, diligent, happy and optimistic in rough times; men and women who knew how to obtain His strength to accomplish great things in the midst of difficult circumstances. He needs to be able to count on the men and women of the Florida Tampa Mission to build the Kingdom now and for all of their lives. I have a firm testimony of these truths for those missionaries that are striving for this excellence. I know the end result will be men and women of courage and strength now and always.

I love and believe in you and pray that as an ambassador of Jesus Christ, you will plant your roots deep in the fertile soil of the Florida Tampa Mission and bring many unto Christ.

President Summerhays

Hello my family!

This has been a really good past week, and Sunday was a great finish to it. I can't remember who said this, but Sunday is like the "game day" for missionaries. You see if all the work you've done that week has been enough to get people to come to church. Ha and even though some of the people didn't come that we were expecting, there were others that we hadn't even been counted on showing up. But anyways, thanks for the updates throughout the week. I really enjoy your letters. Britta, congrats on the win against Sac State! Not a bad way to finish the volleyball career in Reed Gym. Ha but Grandma does have a point, there will be plenty of bleacher sitting time waiting for me at home.

So we had some really great experiences this past week. On Wednesday evening we were out tracting in a pretty big housing complex when we ran into a girl that was about 15. She was really nice and we told her about the youth group they hold at the church and let her with some information. Well about 10 minutes later we got a call from her older sister, Ellie. She told us that she's really like to attend it sometime, so we told her that it's normally on Wednesdays at 7. She said, "Perfect, well we'll come tonight!". It was 6 at this point and we were pretty floored. I'd never seen someone that motivated to just come and show up. We immediately called the YW leader and gave her a heads up and then let some of the youth know what was going on. And sure enough at 7, in walked Ellie and Julianne. They ended up loving the whole thing, and Ellie let me know that she's been praying for a youth group to attend so when she and her sister got the invite to ours she knew it was an answer to her prayers. They weren't able to come to church on Sunday, but they should be back on Wednesday night. Ha it was pretty much one of those golden experiences that just seem to come together perfectly. Definitely not a coincidence. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

Also this past week we had another lesson with Luis. He's been really tough to get a hold of, but we finally got over there on Saturday and got to talk about the Plan of Salvation. I always knew he was pretty smart because of the questions he asks during the lessons, but I was able to understand even more after this last visit. So Luis grew up in Peru, got a scholarship and attended college in Russia where he was able to learn Russian and English, and that's where he got his electrical engineering degree. It was pretty amazing to hear all of that. Florida truly is a melting pot of people with backgrounds that are just about as varied as you could imagine. He soaks in what we teach him and we keep reminding him of Moroni's promise; that if he keeps praying and reading that he'll come to know for himself that what he's learning is truth. He really wants it to be true, and I know that as he keeps learning more that he'll come to know for himself.

Another cool experience was with Jonathon Turner. His grandma is a convert to the church, and we've recently started teaching him. Well on Saturday we covered the importance of baptism, and he immediately said "Well I want to be baptized!". Haha I was kind of caught off guard and said, "well....uh....that's definitely something we could arrange". We talked to his Mom and grandma about it, and they said that if it's something that he really wants to do then that would be great. Currently his date is set for Nov. 21st (the last Sunday of the transfer), and so we'll be teaching him the rest of the lessons these next couple weeks. He's 9 and can sometimes be a little....distracted....ha but at the same time he takes in a lot more then I sometimes think. We really had to start at the beginning with teaching him, covering who God and Jesus Christ are, but he was able to understand basically all of it.

Well, I love you guys so much! Have an awesome week, and I look forward to hearing from you!

Love your brother from the same mother (I think that one is thanks to Braydn for coming up with it haha),

Elder Kade Bartschi

Dear Sisters and Elders,
I love you! That love is deep, and profound and unexplainable. It is good to serve with you in the Florida Tampa Mission.
I recall reading a small book last summer. It is simply called “212 the Extra degree” by S.L. Parker. Here are a few ideas that I can remember from when I read this small and simple book.
At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils. And with boiling water comes steam. And with steam, you can power an engine. One extra degree of temperature to water means the difference between something that is simply very hot and something that generates enough force to power a machine. What would one extra degree in our work accomplish? It reminds us that small and simple things can make a difference.
We have been working on our Perfect Mornings. What is one thing we could do just one degree better? I am often asked by missionaries, “How can I make my study more meaningful? An answer to that question will have a powerful effect on the happiness of your life and those you love now and will yet love. Effective study will change your life and the lives of those you serve. Remember, “True doctrine understood and applied will change behavior.” Daily meaningful study of the gospel delivers that power, or that steam in your life that can be found nowhere else. It is the power of the Holy Ghost. When we study effectively we are taught by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost will give you in that mornings’ study sufficient nourishment and direction for an inspiring day. The Holy Ghost will properly feed your mind and the spirit will show you things that you should do. As you are nourished in the morning by the Word, you will be taught those things that, if used will bless someone else that day. Your sincere study will provide that steam needed to have the Holy Ghost teach you.
President Eyring, Elder Bednar and Elder Holland have all promised that something you are taught by the Holy Ghost in your morning study will be a source of strength and encouragement to someone you find and teach during that day. I echo that promise. President David O McKay taught us to “remember that the little things are parts of the great. It is through the influence of little things that I can become what I desire.” One degree is the difference between hot water and power. Preach My Gospel says, “Your calling gives you authority, keeping your covenants gives you power.”p.11
You are trying to set the pattern for your life. It is taught here. Are you going to try? Not only should you ask Him for help, you should tell Him what you are going to do. Then get off of your knees and do it and see His hand. Add just one degree to any of your efforts and you will bring the power from heaven for your engine. I am grateful for the privilege of serving with you. I believe in you!

President Summerhays

Hello my family!

Okay, so here's the week in a nutshell:Tracting and inviting people to the ward Halloween party, and then seeing how many people decided to show up. It was actually a really productive week though. We had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators named Luis. His wife is a member of the church and has been wanting him to learn more about it for a while now. And it seems like now is the time in his life when he's ready for it. He's had a recent scare concerning his citizenship in the U.S., and suddenly he wants to learn as much as he can. We were able to teach him on Wednesday, and the spirit was really strong during the lesson. I asked him if he was able to feel the spirit while we talked about the gospel and he said that he definitely could. Well, since we know that the spirit only testifies of truth, what does that mean?? Haha he said that he wants to read some of the Book of Mormon before he jumps into anything, which is a perfect response. We have another lesson with him on Tuesday, which I'm really looking forward to, and we'll see if he's been able to keep the reading commitment we left him. He showed up to church on Sunday so that was a big step in the right direction. Also we were able to give a tour of a church to a really nice lady named Suzanne. We tracted into her a few weeks ago, and she told us a little bit about her friends that are members of the church. She's been extremely busy because she's in the process of moving, but she was able to squeeze us in for a little bit and come to the church to check things out. We taught her about the restoration of the gospel and after we shared the first vision with her and asked if she'd ever heard that before. She looked at me and said "Have you ever heard of the Hill Cummorah Pageant?" Haha apparently she went to that when she used to live in New York and forgot to mention that to us. I think she really enjoyed herself, and we'll be following up with her this week.

Our Halloween social turned out to be a huge success! I'm not even sure how many people were there that aren't members of the church...I'd guess around 20. Ha we didn't even have much time to eat because we were all over the place checking on how people were enjoying themselves, and spreading the word to the members that they need to go meet them. We tracted into a family of about five girls that were getting taken care of by their grandma. We told them about the social, and guess what? They all showed up and they brought their neighbor! Ha it was really awesome. It seemed like just about all of them were able to find someone there that they knew as well. It was definitely a blessing to see so many people there that were enjoying themselves. A common thing that we're starting to hear among ward members is "Good things are happening here in Citrus Ridge" and it's definitely true. I really enjoy the people that we're working with, and the work is progressing.

I'm so proud of you, Whit and Braydn!! Congrats on the state finish! I love you guys and can't wait to hear from you all. Have a good week!

Love your "Elda Bro" (thanks for the nickname haha),

Elder Kade Bartschi

Pictures!!

These are just some cool pictures I've taken within that last week. Ha it's been a fun week.
Ha brother staber insisted on us carving pumpkins....that was my creation in about 5 minutes. Considering the time it could have been worse.