January 17, 2011
Dear Sisters and Elders,
I love serving with you in the Florida Tampa Mission-the best mission in the world! We were very blessed to have a short visit from Elder Larry Gibbons of the 2nd Quorum of the 70 this week. We were blessed to have him come and provide us training, insight, inspiration, and confirmation that we are a very good mission and that we are on course to becoming even better. My only regret is that every Florida Tampa Missionary was not able to meet him and hear him. I took careful notes and I want to share some of his thoughts with you. I’ll start with something that Elder Kikuchi expressed to me. He said that one of the latter day miracles was our missionaries -That they could be faithful and worthy in this latter day world that we live in is indeed a miracle. Elder Gibbons reiterated to our missionaries, “You are worthy spiritually and morally. You are an elite, elect spectacular group. But, he also told us that we can always do better.
He reminded us that our calls were seriously considered by those having the keys and that each call is a personal call. He also reminded us that we were all set apart-In D & C 36:2 And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant.. The Lord’s hand has been laid upon your heads. I echo his words. You are not imposters. You are servants called and set apart to preach His gospel in the Florida Tampa Mission.
Don’t hold back. These are your days. Nothing that you could be doing is remotely as important as what you are doing. You are in the middle of your mission whether you have been serving 2 weeks or 23 months and 2 weeks. Stay in the middle. Again, don’t hold back. Open your mouths. You are the only people in the world who have the Savior’s permission to teach in His name—the only ones. But with that permission there is a tremendous responsibility. We are up to that task. We are going to do it. Now, this very day, is the time to make our missions great. A mediocre today will never inspire a sweet memory for tomorrow. This very day is the time to move your mission from fair to good or from good to great. Your lives are meant for excellence. That is my desire for you. That is what I see in you.
I love you and I believe in you!
President Summerhays
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Letter from Brother & Sister Beck
Yesterday we had the incredible experience of having five young Elders to dinner. It was such a blessing to us to have them in our home.
They were all very polite and exclaimed often during the meal how wonderful it was to have a home-cooked meal.
We have a grandson serving in Honduras, so we like to support the missionaries here in St. Petersburg and Gulfport.
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Sincerely,
Marva & Warren Beck
Elders Young, Carlile, Kitchen, Ames, and Bartschi
They were all very polite and exclaimed often during the meal how wonderful it was to have a home-cooked meal.
We have a grandson serving in Honduras, so we like to support the missionaries here in St. Petersburg and Gulfport.
Hope you enjoy the photos.
Sincerely,
Marva & Warren Beck
Elders Young, Carlile, Kitchen, Ames, and Bartschi
Monday, January 10, 2011
President Summerhays' Letter
Dear Sisters and Elders,
At the beginning of the year 2011, I want to echo the words of our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. “Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed--------The courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny. I plead with you to make a determination, right now, not to deviate from the path which will lead to our goal: Eternal life with our Father in Heaven.” I make that same plea for you.
So Sisters and Elders, what choices shall we make this year? Have you determined your course? As you partook of the sacrament yesterday, did you make a conscious decision to choose to be better? Did you say, “Ye shall observe to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you.” Deuteronomy 5:32-33
Have you chosen to truly accept that you are a child of God—that He loves you—that He has power to help you?
Have you chosen to put everything---literally everything---on the altar before Him?
Have you chosen to put yourself in a position to have experiences with the Spirit of God through prayer and in scripture study?
And have you chosen to believe in and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ? And accept the Savior’s forgiveness and then forgive yourself? Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to Remember your sins no more. You must do likewise.
And finally another quote from President Monson, ”We are engaged in the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We, like those of olden times, have answered His call. We are on His errand. We shall succeed in the solemn charge: ‘Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord’”
Thank you for all that you do and for all that you are. Thank you for your faithful service. Thank you for the love that you express in your words and your actions. Thank you for the study, prayers, planning and work that you devote in helping others come unto Christ. I love you. I love serving with you in the Florida Tampa Mission-the best mission in the church. I love serving you. With all of my heart I believe you will make courageous choices. I truly believe in you. “Courage for the Lord is on our side!”
President Summerhays
At the beginning of the year 2011, I want to echo the words of our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson. “Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed--------The courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny. I plead with you to make a determination, right now, not to deviate from the path which will lead to our goal: Eternal life with our Father in Heaven.” I make that same plea for you.
So Sisters and Elders, what choices shall we make this year? Have you determined your course? As you partook of the sacrament yesterday, did you make a conscious decision to choose to be better? Did you say, “Ye shall observe to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or the left. Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you.” Deuteronomy 5:32-33
Have you chosen to truly accept that you are a child of God—that He loves you—that He has power to help you?
Have you chosen to put everything---literally everything---on the altar before Him?
Have you chosen to put yourself in a position to have experiences with the Spirit of God through prayer and in scripture study?
And have you chosen to believe in and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ? And accept the Savior’s forgiveness and then forgive yourself? Because of His sacrifice for you, He has the power to Remember your sins no more. You must do likewise.
And finally another quote from President Monson, ”We are engaged in the work of the Lord, Jesus Christ. We, like those of olden times, have answered His call. We are on His errand. We shall succeed in the solemn charge: ‘Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord’”
Thank you for all that you do and for all that you are. Thank you for your faithful service. Thank you for the love that you express in your words and your actions. Thank you for the study, prayers, planning and work that you devote in helping others come unto Christ. I love you. I love serving with you in the Florida Tampa Mission-the best mission in the church. I love serving you. With all of my heart I believe you will make courageous choices. I truly believe in you. “Courage for the Lord is on our side!”
President Summerhays
Hey Family!
Sounds like it's been another eventful week. Life never seems to be slowing down. I haven't written any letter the last couple of weeks due to lack of time, but I'll try and get one off this week.
Well I've jumped to the other side of the mission and I'm in St. Petersburg now! I'm in the Gulf Port Branch (my first time ever being in a branch), and it's been quite a difference from Citrus Ridge. Where that area was rural and redneck (I'll have to take you to Polk City someday....puts Idaho to shame), this is city and ghetto. Ha I can describe it like that because all the Branch members do as well. I am right on the ocean again though, and it's beautiful. Well I'm serving with Elder Ames now, and it's been a lot of fun. I don't think I've laughed this much in the past 5 moths as I have the last 5 days. Haha Elder Ames served with my trainer (Elder Johnson), and it's almost like a flashback of serving with him again. There's a lot of work to get done in this area though. The Branch has about 50-60 people on Sundays, but there's over 400 people on the roster! That means there's a lot of opportunity to reactivate, and work with part member families. So another aspect of Gulf Port is that I'm on car-share again. Ha my bike hasn't got much use the last 4 transfers, but I broke that cycle pretty fast. My second day here we biked about 30 miles. Fortunately I don't think I'll have to worry about gaining too much weight here. There were some less active visits that we tried to make contact with and ended up going from the bottom of the St. Pete peninsula across some bridges to the little keys off of there. It was a little frustrating because no one wanted to talk to us, but it was made better by ice cream at the Don Cesar hotel. You'll have to look up some picture of it. It's pretty amazing that we can just bike to the little islands haha.
Well we had some good experiences this week as well. We got to have some really good contact with a less active member named Ben Sandrowitz. He had a guard at his front gate so we thought we wouldn't be able to get it...we pedaled by just in time to see a kid go through a part in the fence that was missing a pole. We chained up our bikes by there, and then slipped through in the same spot. We walked to the back of the complex and found the building. There was a door to get into where the apartments were, and we were sure that it would be locked. Well it turns out that the person that went in before us didn't close it all the way so we got it. Ha so by the time we talked to Ben he was shocked to see that we'd gotten that far. "Normally I wouldn't talk to you, but I'll let you in today" was the first thing he said. Not only was it perfect circumstances to get us that far, but it was perfect timing for his life. His wife had just left him the night before and he'd recently been let go from his job. We sat and talked with him for a while and he said "I know that there has to be truth in the church because there's been too many times where people have just shown up when I needed them". It was a great experience that was made even better when we saw him show up to church on Sunday. He met with the branch president and has asked us to reteach him the lessons.
It was definitely a faith building story to see that. It can be so easy to fall away from what you believe, but it takes a lot of courage to make come back. It's reassuring to me to know that wherever you go the work is the same. The Spirit can be just as strong back home as it is in Gulf Port, Florida.
I love you and hope you all have a great week!!
Elder Kade Bartschi
Last P-Day in the Lakeland zone.
The Jewell Family (Lisa, Tyler, and Alison). 
Me in front of the entrance to champions Gate...yeah I lived in a place with pillars and an archway to get into the town haha. 
The Sensors (cool couple from Oregon).
Bro. Staber and I before I left. 
Elder Ames and I before we take off for a day of biking...yeah our helmets make us look really really cool.
And then some "Welcome back to the Gulf!" pictures. haha those ones of the ocean are literally a few blocks from our apt. 
Sounds like it's been another eventful week. Life never seems to be slowing down. I haven't written any letter the last couple of weeks due to lack of time, but I'll try and get one off this week.
Well I've jumped to the other side of the mission and I'm in St. Petersburg now! I'm in the Gulf Port Branch (my first time ever being in a branch), and it's been quite a difference from Citrus Ridge. Where that area was rural and redneck (I'll have to take you to Polk City someday....puts Idaho to shame), this is city and ghetto. Ha I can describe it like that because all the Branch members do as well. I am right on the ocean again though, and it's beautiful. Well I'm serving with Elder Ames now, and it's been a lot of fun. I don't think I've laughed this much in the past 5 moths as I have the last 5 days. Haha Elder Ames served with my trainer (Elder Johnson), and it's almost like a flashback of serving with him again. There's a lot of work to get done in this area though. The Branch has about 50-60 people on Sundays, but there's over 400 people on the roster! That means there's a lot of opportunity to reactivate, and work with part member families. So another aspect of Gulf Port is that I'm on car-share again. Ha my bike hasn't got much use the last 4 transfers, but I broke that cycle pretty fast. My second day here we biked about 30 miles. Fortunately I don't think I'll have to worry about gaining too much weight here. There were some less active visits that we tried to make contact with and ended up going from the bottom of the St. Pete peninsula across some bridges to the little keys off of there. It was a little frustrating because no one wanted to talk to us, but it was made better by ice cream at the Don Cesar hotel. You'll have to look up some picture of it. It's pretty amazing that we can just bike to the little islands haha.
Well we had some good experiences this week as well. We got to have some really good contact with a less active member named Ben Sandrowitz. He had a guard at his front gate so we thought we wouldn't be able to get it...we pedaled by just in time to see a kid go through a part in the fence that was missing a pole. We chained up our bikes by there, and then slipped through in the same spot. We walked to the back of the complex and found the building. There was a door to get into where the apartments were, and we were sure that it would be locked. Well it turns out that the person that went in before us didn't close it all the way so we got it. Ha so by the time we talked to Ben he was shocked to see that we'd gotten that far. "Normally I wouldn't talk to you, but I'll let you in today" was the first thing he said. Not only was it perfect circumstances to get us that far, but it was perfect timing for his life. His wife had just left him the night before and he'd recently been let go from his job. We sat and talked with him for a while and he said "I know that there has to be truth in the church because there's been too many times where people have just shown up when I needed them". It was a great experience that was made even better when we saw him show up to church on Sunday. He met with the branch president and has asked us to reteach him the lessons.
It was definitely a faith building story to see that. It can be so easy to fall away from what you believe, but it takes a lot of courage to make come back. It's reassuring to me to know that wherever you go the work is the same. The Spirit can be just as strong back home as it is in Gulf Port, Florida.
I love you and hope you all have a great week!!
Elder Kade Bartschi
Last P-Day in the Lakeland zone.
The Jewell Family (Lisa, Tyler, and Alison). Me in front of the entrance to champions Gate...yeah I lived in a place with pillars and an archway to get into the town haha. The Sensors (cool couple from Oregon).Bro. Staber and I before I left. Elder Ames and I before we take off for a day of biking...yeah our helmets make us look really really cool.And then some "Welcome back to the Gulf!" pictures. haha those ones of the ocean are literally a few blocks from our apt. 
Monday, January 3, 2011
Pictures from Chmapion's Gate
Elder Larson and I showing off our pajama pants on Christmas eve 
Bro. Termini (less active that I've been working with my whole time here) 
Bro and Sis Doubleday (awesome couple that have taken good care of us) 
The Wentzel family (he's in the bishopric and hilarious. they went to byu-i).
Bratsman family (bishop, really great family)
Bro. Termini (less active that I've been working with my whole time here) Bro and Sis Doubleday (awesome couple that have taken good care of us) The Wentzel family (he's in the bishopric and hilarious. they went to byu-i).
Bratsman family (bishop, really great family)Us being gangsta with Bro Doubleday
With the Bish family (he's the one that's not a member and gives me lots of disney and harry potter souviners haha)
The Gooch family (he's the pedodontist and they are an awesome couple)
Frost to show you that it does get cold here. not -14 kind of cold, but still cold haha.
President Summerhays' Letter
Dear Sisters and Elders,
Happy New Year! I love you and look forward to the great opportunity to start a new year and a new transfer at the same time with you. A new year is a time to pause and recommit to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our heart, mind and strength. I wish to express a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have served so valiantly in your former positions and who have now been given opportunities to open new areas, become trainers, or to serve as a missionary with a new companion. Remember that the most important calling in a mission is that of a missionary. Thank you to those who replied, “I will serve anywhere, with anyone, in any capacity. “
As I look at the transfer board, my heart is filled with love for the beautiful Sisters and Elders in the Florida Tampa Mission. It is a sacred place. It is where the Lord’s hand is at all times. The board has a sacred feeling because the Holy Ghost guides the rearranging of companionships. The spirit is strong and I know that every companionship can succeed in the sacred work of preaching the gospel. I hope you will see His hand in this transfer. I know that each companionship is designed by Heavenly Father for the growth of the missionary. I know these purposes can only be accomplished through companionship unity. We must apply the following admonitions:
I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine. D &C 38:27
“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with and anger one with another.”3 Nephi 11:29
“ I would ask you…to be the best companion—the most divine companion—you can be to that elder or that sister…”regardless of what problems arise and however fatigued or stressed you may feel…if you have not yet learned that it is more important to help someone else succeed than it is to focus on your own success, then please start learning that divine lesson now. It will help you understand the Atonement of Christ.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Please cultivate companionship unity. Please cultivate that unity based on obedience, diligence and a loving passion for this work. There will be not true unity that is not centered in a deep devotion to this work. Be one and be His. Cast out the spirit of contention. Forget yourself and focus on your companion’s growth, happiness and success. Love and serve each other. Learn in greater depth the Atonement of Jesus Christ by service and love of your companion based on obedience, diligence and love. You will discover that your happiness and gifts will blossom. I feel His love for you and His great desire that you reach your divine potential. We can do it by remembering Him because we “Remember This”. PMG I love you and I believe in you and I love serving with you.
President Summerhays
Happy New Year! I love you and look forward to the great opportunity to start a new year and a new transfer at the same time with you. A new year is a time to pause and recommit to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our heart, mind and strength. I wish to express a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have served so valiantly in your former positions and who have now been given opportunities to open new areas, become trainers, or to serve as a missionary with a new companion. Remember that the most important calling in a mission is that of a missionary. Thank you to those who replied, “I will serve anywhere, with anyone, in any capacity. “
As I look at the transfer board, my heart is filled with love for the beautiful Sisters and Elders in the Florida Tampa Mission. It is a sacred place. It is where the Lord’s hand is at all times. The board has a sacred feeling because the Holy Ghost guides the rearranging of companionships. The spirit is strong and I know that every companionship can succeed in the sacred work of preaching the gospel. I hope you will see His hand in this transfer. I know that each companionship is designed by Heavenly Father for the growth of the missionary. I know these purposes can only be accomplished through companionship unity. We must apply the following admonitions:
I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine. D &C 38:27
“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with and anger one with another.”3 Nephi 11:29
“ I would ask you…to be the best companion—the most divine companion—you can be to that elder or that sister…”regardless of what problems arise and however fatigued or stressed you may feel…if you have not yet learned that it is more important to help someone else succeed than it is to focus on your own success, then please start learning that divine lesson now. It will help you understand the Atonement of Christ.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Please cultivate companionship unity. Please cultivate that unity based on obedience, diligence and a loving passion for this work. There will be not true unity that is not centered in a deep devotion to this work. Be one and be His. Cast out the spirit of contention. Forget yourself and focus on your companion’s growth, happiness and success. Love and serve each other. Learn in greater depth the Atonement of Jesus Christ by service and love of your companion based on obedience, diligence and love. You will discover that your happiness and gifts will blossom. I feel His love for you and His great desire that you reach your divine potential. We can do it by remembering Him because we “Remember This”. PMG I love you and I believe in you and I love serving with you.
President Summerhays
Happy New Years!!
It sounds like you all had a great last week of Christmas break. Gained a few pounds and hid from the snow: yep, that sounds just like what I remember. I'm sure I've gained a few pounds, but not too much white stuff here in Florida. In fact it was 86 here the other day haha. It's great starting a new year, and I'm looking forward to people's schedules slowing down a little bit. "Call me after the Holdiays" can't be their excuse anymore ha.
One really good highlight of this week was another lesson with Frank Jones. He called us about two hours before the time he wanted to meet, which works for us because our schedule has been pretty flexible, but finding a member to be there that quickly can be tough. We made some calls and got Brother Briggs to do it. He's from Rexburg, and he and his wife just moved into the area because he's an actor at Disneyworld. Anyways, he's a great guy, and we ended up being able to get Frank to meet us at the church. Our lesson covered faith in Jesus Christ, and when we discussed that we started showing Frank around the church and kind of explained how our meeting process works. We got to the picture of Christ being baptized, and starting talking about that example that was set for us. I asked Frank that if when he finds these things to be true for himself if he'd be willing to be baptized...I didn't even get to finish the question before he answered "Yes, definitely" haha. I was pretty excited about that. He hasn't attended church yet, but once he does I think that setting a baptismal date would be possible. We then watched The Restoration, which brought a great feeling to the end of the lesson. He identified feeling the Spirit, and promised to keep reading and praying. He works on Sunday mornings, so he's working on getting that changed.
In other news, I'll be transferred on Tuesday. We found out on Saturday that my over 5 month stay in Citrus Ridge is coming to an end. I'm being moved over to Gulf Port, which is a small branch just south of St. Petersburg. I hear that there's a lot of work to do there and good people. I'll be serving with Elder Ames from St. George, UT. He's been out one transfer less then me I think, and I've heard a lot of good things about him. It's really odd to think that I'll be leaving this place! I know that I've been spoiled here way more then I probably will be elsewhere, from always having a car, to an awesome apartment that anyone (not just someone with missionary standards) would want to live in, to great ward members. But what's comforting is knowing that I know I can love this next place just as much as Citrus Ridge. It may be different in some ways, but the gospel is the same no matter where in the world you go. Also, it will be fun going back to the St. Pete zone. That's what zone I was in when I served in Palm Harbor, and I really enjoyed it then.
Well the last couple of days have been filled with goodbyes and promised return visits. Also I've been guaranteed free tickets to Disney. Any takers?? And they told me to come back on my honeymoon....I'm not quite ready to think that far ahead haha.
I love you all, and hope that getting back into the swing of things goes well!
Love you,
Elder Kade Bartschi
It sounds like you all had a great last week of Christmas break. Gained a few pounds and hid from the snow: yep, that sounds just like what I remember. I'm sure I've gained a few pounds, but not too much white stuff here in Florida. In fact it was 86 here the other day haha. It's great starting a new year, and I'm looking forward to people's schedules slowing down a little bit. "Call me after the Holdiays" can't be their excuse anymore ha.
One really good highlight of this week was another lesson with Frank Jones. He called us about two hours before the time he wanted to meet, which works for us because our schedule has been pretty flexible, but finding a member to be there that quickly can be tough. We made some calls and got Brother Briggs to do it. He's from Rexburg, and he and his wife just moved into the area because he's an actor at Disneyworld. Anyways, he's a great guy, and we ended up being able to get Frank to meet us at the church. Our lesson covered faith in Jesus Christ, and when we discussed that we started showing Frank around the church and kind of explained how our meeting process works. We got to the picture of Christ being baptized, and starting talking about that example that was set for us. I asked Frank that if when he finds these things to be true for himself if he'd be willing to be baptized...I didn't even get to finish the question before he answered "Yes, definitely" haha. I was pretty excited about that. He hasn't attended church yet, but once he does I think that setting a baptismal date would be possible. We then watched The Restoration, which brought a great feeling to the end of the lesson. He identified feeling the Spirit, and promised to keep reading and praying. He works on Sunday mornings, so he's working on getting that changed.
In other news, I'll be transferred on Tuesday. We found out on Saturday that my over 5 month stay in Citrus Ridge is coming to an end. I'm being moved over to Gulf Port, which is a small branch just south of St. Petersburg. I hear that there's a lot of work to do there and good people. I'll be serving with Elder Ames from St. George, UT. He's been out one transfer less then me I think, and I've heard a lot of good things about him. It's really odd to think that I'll be leaving this place! I know that I've been spoiled here way more then I probably will be elsewhere, from always having a car, to an awesome apartment that anyone (not just someone with missionary standards) would want to live in, to great ward members. But what's comforting is knowing that I know I can love this next place just as much as Citrus Ridge. It may be different in some ways, but the gospel is the same no matter where in the world you go. Also, it will be fun going back to the St. Pete zone. That's what zone I was in when I served in Palm Harbor, and I really enjoyed it then.
Well the last couple of days have been filled with goodbyes and promised return visits. Also I've been guaranteed free tickets to Disney. Any takers?? And they told me to come back on my honeymoon....I'm not quite ready to think that far ahead haha.
I love you all, and hope that getting back into the swing of things goes well!
Love you,
Elder Kade Bartschi
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