Memorial Weekend

Happy Memorial Day (yesterday)!

It's good to hear that you got to spend Memorial Day in Downey. I don't think it would really feel like Memorial Day doing anything else. Also, it's crazy that whit is graduated now! But it sounds like it all went really well.

We had a really good week here. First off, we pushed James' baptism date back again. He's been staying strong with the Word of Wisdom, but we talked to the Bishop here and he doesn't feel like he should be baptized just yet. We heard that from the Bishop on Wednesday, and so we had to tell James that we would be pushing his date back that night. James has been working really hard to stay away from his addictions and he is getting married this Saturday, and so we weren't sure how well he would take us telling him that his baptism wouldn't be happening that week. Well he showed up to the lesson, not in the best of moods, which did nothing to make me feel better about telling him. We started the lesson by talking about how well things have been going for him, and then we talked about how he'll be waiting a little while longer to get baptized. He wasn't too happy about hearing that, but after the lesson he called us and said that he had been praying about what we had talked about and he felt a lot better about the decision to get baptized in June. He and Melissa showed up to church this Sunday, and both are really progressing a lot. They ended up coming to the English ward, and they had a meeting with the Bishop.

I had a really neat experience this week because I was able to go back to Citrus Ridge for the baptism. I'm not sure if you remember me talking about the Termini family while I was serving in Citrus Ridge, but they're a really nice family there. The dad, Dennis, was on our reactivation list, and so for the 6 months I was there I worked pretty closely with him. He was overcoming some strong addictions, and his ultimate goal was to be able to baptize his daughter when she turned 8 in May. It was a real struggle while I was there, but by the time I had left he was attending church sporadically. Well I got a call early last week letting me know that he was going to be baptizing his daughter and that they'd really like for me to make it back for that. Fortunately I was able to find a ride over there, and it was an awesome experience. It was amazing seeing them walk into the water, and then watching Brother Termini baptize her. They asked me to be in the circle as she was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost, and it's something I'll definitely remember. The gospel has made such a change in Brother Termini's life, and it will continue to bless him and his family. You'll never find someone happier then when they're feeling the Spirit and knowing that what they're doing is right. You couldn't have wiped the smile off his face as he told me how happy and blessed he felt to be able to perform that baptism for his daughter. I loved being able to see that. Also, it was a lot of fun seeing the members that I got to know pretty well as I served there. They're awesome people, and it was great being able to catch up on what has been going on.

Our Memorial Day was a lot of fun because we were able to head over to Clearwater Beach, and we had a ward social. We didn't get to go on the actual beach, but it was fun to walk around the shops. The weather was beautiful, and I got plenty of sun. Ha the farmer's tan is probably going to be permanent.

Well I'm on exchanges up in Palm Harbor right now, and I'll let you know how it goes next week. It's fun to be back up here, and I think that we'll be able to go see Cheryl Comini today! Have a great week, and I love you so much!

Elder Kade Bartschi

President’s Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

During World War II, a young bombardier was preparing to go on a practice mission. At the last minute, his General changed his assignment. While he was completing his new assignment, the plane he should have been on crashed and burned killing all aboard. I will never know who died that day, but the young bombardier was my father. In gratitude, I recognize in this event that my life is a gift that has come at a very real price. My father lived a good, long life and left this earth after being sealed to my mother in his 80’s.

I often think of my parents, but I find that my heart, in a very real sense, turns to them on Memorial Day. A day set apart as a day to remember. Let us not forget. This holiday is not just another day. Our freedom to preach the gospel is provided for us at a costly sacrifice. Let us remember.

In parallel comes the thought of another day, long ago, when words were etched on cloth and hoisted high as the Title of Liberty: “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children.”

And yet still another gave His life for us that we may live. “…I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me…”3 Nephi 27:13-14

A modern prophet once said that the most important word in the dictionary is, “remember”. As a mission we have committed to show Him that we remember by being “Remember This” missionaries. That which we remember, we don’t take for granted. As we pause this Memorial Day and remember the lives of our loved ones who have gone before, and our freedoms that are provided for us at so costly a sacrifice, and our God, whose hands purposely retain the marks to remind us that he always remembers us, let us remember “how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah…..he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in Him shall be saved” (2 Ne.2:8-9).

I testify in a very personal way that I have sought and felt the gift of the Atonement and the joy of spiritual redemption. I believe in Him and I believe in you.

I love you.

President Summerhays

Ray's Game . . .

Hey everybody!

I'm glad you all had a good weekend in Boise. I'm really impressed that Whit was able to place! Due to the fact that I was quite the track specimen.....haha nevermind. But it really did sound like a good time. I'm excited to see the pictures from it (hint, hint). Also, it's crazy to think that Whit graduated from Seminary! Time really has flown by.

We had a pretty good week here. We met with James a couple of times, and he's doing really well. We had a lesson with him on Wednesday and basically just focused on the Word of Wisdom and the atonement. He had a slip up this week with smoking so we've moved his date back to this Saturday. I really feel like he has genuine motives though. He and Melissa have been making a lot of changes in their lives that are bringing them in the right direction. They've even offered to help fellowship people that we're teaching. We also taught them about the Plan of Salvation. The missionaries before us had covered that with him, and I was impressed by how much he remembered. He was able discuss a lot of it with us, and Elder Moffett has a puzzle that we use for the lesson that helps a lot. They didn't come to church this Sunday because Melissa's son got sick, but overall I think they're doing really well. James can identify the Spirit when we talk about the gospel and he really believes that it's true. We have another lesson scheduled with him for tonight so I'm anxious to see how he's been doing with his reading of the Book of Mormon and with the word of wisdom.

Now try not to be jealous, but....we got to go to a RAY’S GAME this week!! I'll give you a little background first. On Tuesday we were over at Sister Heler's (a really nice less active lady) house for lunch. She had bought us a ton of groceries and so we were taking them back to the apartment when we got a text from our Bishop. They currently have a girl from Utah living with them and she sells season tickets for the Rays. Well the in the text he told us that they had two extra tickets to the game and was wondering if we could get permission to go. Ha well of course we wanted to go, but I wasn't sure how to bring that up with President Summerhays. We just decided to call and see what he said. When he answered I explained that our Bishop had invited us to the game and that he had promised to talk about the missionary work in the ward as well. President just laughed and said "that's fine, just be back in for curfew". Haha we were really surprised, but really excited. They were playing the Yankees that night, and even though the Rays got beat....it was still a really good time.

We also had a lesson with Tony this week. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation as well, and he seemed to accept it. A lot of times when we talk about the Plan of Salvation it's really unique and different from what people have ever heard before, but he was able to understand what we were talking about. No one can deny how much sense it all makes, and how perfectly it all fits together. When we testified of the Atonement I know that he felt the Spirit and began to understand how important it is. Unfortunately he didn't come to church again this Sunday, so hopefully we'll be able to discuss that this week.

Sunday was really great. Mike gave his talk on his conversion, and it was awesome. He began by talking about how it was Glen Beck that first sparked his interest in the church. Glen talked about how close-knit and unified it was, and how it had strengthened his faith in God. Mike said that's he has found the same thing to be true. He also talked about how he has always loved his "dry wine, full bodied beer, and dark rich coffee", and that he has tried to quit some of them in the past but never had the ability to do it. But once he started meeting with us and the Spirit came into his life he was able to just stop all of it. He also bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and that it was through the Spirit that he found out their importance and truthfulness. Wow I felt the Spirit so strongly while he was talking, and you couldn't wipe the smile off of mine or Elder Moffett's faces. He's such a great guy, and it was so good to hear his testimony and be apart of his learning experience.

Well I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all your support and the things you have taught me. I hit my year mark this week and I can't believe how much I've learned in the past year. My testimony has been strengthened so much, and I continue to have witnesses that let me know what I'm doing is right. I've never done anything as rewarding in my life, and I'm looking forward another year as a missionary.

I love you!

Elder Kade Bartschi

President’s Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

I have written a lot about setting a pattern here that will bring you peace, happiness and productivity in your education, in your marriage and family, in your career and in your service to your fellow man. I love each of you and I have so much confidence in who you are and who you can become. I am confident that he has placed us here as ordinary people together in this mission, at this time, for specific present and future purposes. My heart aches at the thought that I will not help you reach your full potential. My heart rejoices at the thought that you will increase your faith and your talents and go forth in His strength now and in your future lives. I was taught and I have taught you many times that, “A young man or young woman will seldom, if ever, rise in their lives above the PATTERN they establish for themselves in the mission field.” Many of you are setting a beautiful pattern here. I thought you would like to read of some of your fellow missionaries’ rejoicings:

“It has been so long coming and I am finally starting to see the fruits of my labors. I know that as we open our mouths to our friends and try to share our beliefs by inviting them to come to an activity, or listen to the missionaries or read the Book of Mormon that we will never lose a true friend. We can only gain an eternal friend, and they will be so grateful to us, and their families will be stronger. I can testify personally that the Book of Mormon has changed my life! As I read from it every day, I gain greater faith, hope and charity, greater strength to resist temptation, and just an overall peace that comes from knowing I am on the straight and narrow path to eternal life.”

“What an incredible adventure and gift we have been given. I believe sometimes that I am getting far more out of my mission than I am giving, and I am giving everything I can think of. But, I guess that is always the way the Lord works. When we follow and keep the commandments of God, He opens up the windows of heaven and pours out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

“I laid my hands on her head, and said the words at the beginning to seal the anointing, and then I just waited. I waited for the spirit to tell me what to say and the words came. There wasn’t even time for the words to register in my mind. They just came out of my mouth.”

Most of us have had or are having these types of experiences in the Florida Tampa mission. It reminds me of a quote from Elder Bednar, who reminds us of our capacity as ordinary people. “We should find great comfort in the fact that ordinary people who faithfully, diligently and consistently do simple things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results.”

You have my confidence and affection. I love you.

President Summerhays

Congrats Whit and Brayd

Hey family!

First off, CONGRATS WHIT!! I'm really proud of how well you did at districts. Also, it sounds like you did awesome as well Braydy. I'm excited to hear how it goes at state. I'm sure you'll all do really well.

We had a pretty good week here in Seminole. Last Sunday Melissa Lopez, a member of the spanish branch, asked us to come and meet her fiance. His name is James Blasser and it turns out that the missionaries have been teaching him off and on for the past year. He was raised Jewish, but he was converted to Christianity at 15. He has a strong testimony of Christ, and he like what the church teaches. He and Melissa are planning on getting married soon, and he'd like to get baptized before that takes place. We started teaching him this week, and things have gone really well. I was a little worried at first that he just wanted to get baptized for Melissa, but the more we teach him the more comfortable I feel about it. I'm really impressed with how much he has remembered from his past lessons, and he's been really sensitive to feeling the Spirit. He and Melissa are recovering addicts, so the Word of Wisdom is going to be a big thing for them. It's a little bit difficult because they both understand what it is, but the temptation is really strong for them. This week we taught them about the Restoration of the gospel and began teaching about the Plan of Salvation. James really caught onto the Plan of Salvation and he loves how it all fits together. As part of that lesson we talked about the Word of Wisdom as well. We weren't sure if they were going to be open with us about their past addictions, but fortunately they were. The reason why we knew about that in the first place was because it was written on his teaching record by past missionaries. James had had a problem with popping pills so we knew that if he didn't bring it up on his own we would have too. Ha that was an awkward situation I didn't want to be in, so we were praying that they'd feel comfortable enough to let us know what they needed help with. At the end of the lesson, Elder Moffett gave James a blessing and then I was able to give one to Melissa to help give them strength to make it through these trials. It was a great experience and the Spirit was really strong as we talked about relying on the Savior to make it through this. They were both at church on Sunday, and we currently have his date set for this Saturday. It's pretty tentative, but I think he could make it.

Also this week we got back into contact with Tony! He's the fiance of a lady in our ward, and we taught him....maybe my second week in Seminole. Well we were finally able to meet up with him, and it went really well. We watched The Restoration, and we all could feel the Spirit. After watching it we asked Tony how he felt about Joseph Smith and The Book of Mormon, and he said he felt peace and comfort about them both. We asked him what his goal was as far as the church is concerned, and he told us that he'd like to become a member at some point! We were really excited about that, and will be meeting with him again this week.

Mike is continuing to stay strong. We had a lesson with James at the church on Saturday, and while we were waiting we saw Mike's car pull up. I was a little confused until I realized that he was showing up to clean the church with the high priests. Haha I was really impressed with him, and apparently so is the ward. We were talking to Mike after church yesterday, and he told us that a member of the bishopric asked him to talk for 3 minutes in Sacrament meeting next Sunday and to share his conversion story. He's really worried about it, but I know he'll do an awesome job.

Other then that, things are still going well. Our zone got changed up quite a bit this last transfer, and it's going really well. The missionaries are working hard, and it's awesome to see the work progress.

Well I love you and have a great week! Thanks for all you do.

Elder Kade Bartschi

President’s Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

As we continue on our missionary journey together, my desire for your happiness increases. I know that you are happiest here when you are teaching and baptizing. One bridge between teaching and baptizing is inviting and promising.

I recently read a parable of a renowned chef who invited guests to his home for a special evening. He prepared an elaborate meal for the occasion. On the appointed night, he invited his guests to tour his kitchen where they could smell the wonderful aromas from the meal he had prepared. He talked to them about the process of preparation. When the tour was completed, he thanked the guests for coming and escorted them out of the door of his home without a bite. David M. McConkie, Church News.

As missionaries of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are often like the chef. We will plan and prepare our lessons, but sometimes we forget to invite them to partake of the doctrine and to make commitments that will bring about repentance and strengthen their faith in our Savior. We can learn from our Savior’s example because when the Lord teaches doctrine, He always invites and He always promises blessings. The Lord promises blessings and we as missionaries are helping our investigators recognize the blessing. “The invitation to action and the promised blessings are always there with the doctrine” (Russell Osguthorpe General Sunday School President).

As we read about the Lord’s promises in the Book of Mormon, we must internalize the lessons we are teaching. We must also invite and make commitments ourselves that will bring about our repentance and strengthen our faith in the Savior.

We must learn to always recognize the blessings. We do this by pondering and reflecting on our many blessings. Each night we should consider those things that we have been able to accomplish with the Lord’s help. Next we must work at recognizing the manifestations of His hand throughout each day. As we learn to recognize the Lord’s hand in our lives each day, we will recognize the blessings we have received. As we recognize our blessings, we express gratitude to our Father in Heaven. “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things”(D&C59:7). This will always invite the spirit to be our constant companion. With the spirit, we can find, teach, invite and promise. With the spirit we will baptize.

As we continue to internalize the scriptures and read about the promises in the Book of Mormon, I know the promise can be yours found in D&C 84:85, “Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say; but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.”

I thank the Lord for each of you, and I truly believe in you.

President Summerhays

Happy Mother's Day!!

Hey my family!

Happy day after mother's day! Well, I'm not sure if I have anything new to tell you. Ha it's kind of a let down to email you all the day after I just got to Skype with you. But just for the record, I'll pretend that we haven't talked about it all and let you know how my week went anyways. It was so good to talk to you all yesterday though! It's nice to see that my family is how I left them. Sure there's subtle differences, but overall you're the mom dad and siblings that I left.

So to start the week off, I sprained my ankle pretty bad. Last Monday we were playing basketball and I was running down the court with my head turned so I could see the ball. That means that I wasn't watching where I was going, so when I turned and looked to see where I was headed, I ended up coming to a stop on top of someone's foot. I felt it pop and it began to swell up immediatly. One of the sister missionaries was in the nursing program at BYU before she came out, and so she knew what to do. I got it checked out a couple of days later by a doctor in the ward and he said it's just a bad sprain and I'll have to take care of it. That made it really hard for us to do a whole lot this week. Basically we could just go out to our set appointments, and then the rest of the time I had to be laying down with my foot elevated. What kept us sane though was teaching Mike. We had a lesson with him on Tuesday and taught about the set up of the priesthood. He was really humbled by the thought of having the authority to act in God's name. It was a good lesson and he felt like he learned a lot from it. We also had our last official lesson with him on Thursday. We showed him the Finding Faith in Christ DVD and answered any last questions that he had before baptism. He loves the church movies, and the Spirit was really strong and Mike was able to identify that. We promised him that the step he was taking was going to change his life for the better. On Saturday Elder Ames came up from Gulfport and interviewed Mike. Everything went well with that, and Elder Ames said he was awesome. Well leading up to Sunday was a little stressful. The program was all organized and put together, the only issue was my ankle. Ha Mike had asked me last week to baptize him, and thanks to the sprain I wasn't sure if that would work out. Well we waited things out, and then on Saturday I decided that my foot would hold up. We filled the font extra high, and fortunately it went just great. The talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost were great, and I didn't end up dropping him in the font. All good things. Mike's wife came to the service, and she really enjoyed it all. I know she could feel the spirit during his baptism and also when he got the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was such an awesome experience. Mike is now a member of the church, and hopefully his wife with notice the big change in him.

Well it has been a good week. A little slow at times, but Mike getting baptized made up for all of that. I'm so grateful that Mike is bringing the gospel into his life, and I'm so happy I've been able to be apart of that. I love you all, and hope we all realize how fortunate we are to know about the restored church of Jesus Christ.

Have a great week and know that I love you!

Elder Kade Bartschi

The St. Petersburg Zone

Elder Moffett and I with the other set of Seminole Elders taking pictures with some of the signs in the area.

Mike's baptism!

Me with a couple of the missionaries in the mission office.

Me on crutches with Elder Moffett.

A couple pictures of my ankle swelling up.

The is a snake that I accidentally ran over in our car. It's called an indigo snake, and it was actually alive when we walked back to it. I think it was dead at the point in the picture though...hopefully.

President’s Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

I feel much love and gratitude for you this morning. I love our Book of Mormon reading. Some of us accepted the challenge to ‘let virtue garnish our thoughts’ for one whole day. The Book of Mormon helps us do that. The Book of Mormon testifies: “…turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and …serve Him with all diligence of mind…” President Monson gave this prophetic promise in the April 2010 conference: “Brethren, fill your minds with good thoughts and your actions will be proper.”

I testify that there is no better way to fill your minds with good thoughts than daily feasting on The Book of Mormon. I repeat: there is no better way to fill your minds with good thoughts than daily feasting on The Book of Mormon. Please lay claim to the promise that “your actions will be proper” by daily feasting on The Book of Mormon. In the April Conference of 1980 we were taught these prophetic words: “The great overall struggle in the world today is, as it has always been, for the souls of men. Every soul is personally engaged in that struggle, and he makes his fight with what is in his mind. In the final analysis the battleground is, for each individual, within himself. Inevitably he gravitates toward the subjects of his thoughts.

Ages ago…was stated this truth: “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he”. If we would escape the lusts of the flesh and build for ourselves and our children great and noble characters, we must keep in our minds and their minds true and righteous principles for our thoughts and their thoughts to dwell upon…If we would avoid adopting the evils of the world, we must pursue a course which will daily feed our minds with and call them back to the things of the Spirit. I know no better way to do this than by daily reading The Book of Mormon.”(President Marion G. Romney) I know there is a power that comes into our day each and every morning that we feast upon The Book Mormon. This power allows us this very day to: do good, love and lift others, resist temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary and to stay on the straight and narrow path. This power insures that today’s actions will be proper. This power insures that today’s thoughts will be garnished with virtue. And if your actions will be proper this day because of your feast in The Book of Mormon, then why not make every day’s actions proper by a similar daily feast.

I know we are reading the Book of Mormon together at this time. I plead with you to continue to read it every day of your lives. I remind you to look for the promises in the Book of Mormon. Remember this: Read the Book of Mormon with those you teach. I believe in your capacity to act properly. I believe in your capacity to let virtue garnish your thoughts. I love you and I believe in you.

President Summerhays

Good Week in Florida . . .

Hey Family!

I'm glad you all had a great week. It sounds and looks like you had a lot of fun. We had a good week here in Seminole as well. It was definitely full of ups and downs, but overall it was good. We had some really great lessons with Mike this week. The first one was on Tuesday and we taught him about fast offerings and the ten commandments. He's been doing a lot of research on his own and reads through the gospel principles book, which means that he has a pretty good handle on everything we're teaching him. Brother Beckman was back for his lessons this week, and that really helped as well. He's a really great guy and adds a lot to our lessons. We also had a lesson with Mike on Saturday. We were trying to decide what to teach him because he's gone through just about all of the missionary lessons. We decided to watch The Testaments with him, and I'm really glad we did. He's been building his faith in the Book of Mormon and every time we talk to him he sounds like he's doing better. We watched the movie at the church, and the Spirit was so strong during the entire thing. When the movie started to do the little clips of Christ's life so you can understand the correlation between the timeline of the Book of Mormon and Bible, Mike really started to tear up. It felt so refreshing to me to watch the movie as well. When it got to the part when Christ appears and talks with, and blesses the people, there was no doubt in my mind that it was true. You could just feel so strongly that what you're watching is inspired. When we turned the lights on at the end, Mike was struggling to maintain his emotions. He was wiping tears away the whole time, and let us know that this he feel like he's gotten his answer that the Book of Mormon was true. It's such a testimony to me that it's the Spirit does the teaching. Mike is still planning on this coming Sunday for his baptism and we're really excited for him.

We also had a pretty good lesson with Patsy Heughen this week. Her husband is Mark, and he's been away from the church for a while. She came to church last Sunday and wrote down a bunch of the questions that she came up with so we weren't quite sure what to expect. Ha fortunately it wasn't too off the wall and we were able to help calm some of her concerns. They came to church again this Sunday and I think they enjoyed it. Patsy wasn't feeling well so they took off after Sacrament, but we'll be following up with them this week. They're both really great, so I hope they enjoyed it.

There was a bit of a setback with Paige this week. She texted us and let us know that she's not ready to be baptized yet and would like more time. It's kind of frustrating because I know that she's ready, but it's hard to show her that. She's in a really big transitional stage of her life, so I think that definitely is playing a part. We did find out that she'll be moving into the yw president's home this week though. That'll be good for her, and we're hoping that we help her out.

Well, I love you all so much! Sorry this email isn't too detailed, but I'll be talking to you on Sunday! Ha hopefully that will make up for it. I can't wait to see you!

Love,

Your Missionary

Elder Kade Bartschi

President’s Letter

Dear Sisters and Elders,

I love you. I loved being with you this last week. In my last letter I spoke of understanding the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we need to internalize it to experience a mighty change of heart. This week’s letter will focus on the grace of the Savior’s Atonement.

In Elder David A. Bednar’s first testimony as a member of the Twelve, given in October of 2004, he shared the powerful principle of grace through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Quoting Elder Bednar, “In the Bible Dictionary, we learn that the word grace frequently is used in the scriptures to connote a strengthening or enabling power….thus, the enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity.” (Ensign, Nov. 2004,p.76).

Peter said, “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our…Saviour, Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18). And the Lord added in this dispensation, “Ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth” (D&C 50:40). This grace is spiritual knowledge and power that changes how we as missionaries see ourselves, increases our capacities, and magnifies our ability to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. This grace comes as we as missionaries exercise faith unto obedience, faith unto sacrifice, and faith unto diligence. The constitution for growing in grace is Doctrine and Covenants section 4.

As missionaries we will need heavenly help to overcome challenges. Some of us need to overcome fear and selfishness, some of us need to learn to teach with love and spiritual power, some of us need to improve our exact obedience, and some of us need to have the strength to stretch long after the mind tells us to stop. With the appropriate effort on our part, the Savior will help us to become what we could not become otherwise.

My prayer is that we as missionaries, in our difficulty, will go to the Savior in prayer and remember, “and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them” (Ether 12:27).

Sisters and Elders, be confident in who you are. I promise you that the Lord will be with you as you teach of His indescribable gift. I love you and I believe in you. Remember this: Love the Lord and serve Him the very best you can.

President Summerhays

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!

I'm glad to hear everything is going well, and from the sounds of things, you're all really busy. Ha I thought I was tired, but I'm still getting about 8 hours of sleep a night. I wasn't sure how I'd like being on such a set schedule, but I've grown to appreciate it. I'm sure you'd like to try it sometime :)

Well, we had a good week here! We started it out with an exchange, but I ended up staying here for it. Elder Moffett went up to Hudson, and Elder Weston (from Rockland, ID) come down to Seminole with me. He was fun to be with and we got to talk "Idaho" for a little while. Ha Elder Moffett is convinced that it's a different language when I talk to someone from our side of the state because we can always find connections of some sort.

Anyways, while Elder Weston was here we set a baptismal date with Paige! We went over to the Klemm's house for dinner, and afterwards we talked about the things that we've been teaching her. She's still not 100% sure where she wants to go to school, but she decided that May 15 is when she'd like to get baptized. We had kind of set that date in passing last week, but once we brought up the topic of baptism with her this week you could really feel the Spirit. She knows that the church is true, it's just going to be a matter of her taking the leap of faith and going through with it. I'm really praying that she will continue to progress towards the date.

We also taught Mike a couple of times this week. He's still continuing to do really well, and has accepted everything we've taught him. On Wednesday we taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he really enjoyed all of it. He said that he's really been experiencing an increased amount of peace and happiness in his life. I really like teaching about faith and repentance, because it's the basis of everything we do. We will always have that opportunity to increase our faith, and repenting is a great way to do that. Mike has really been taking it upon himself to learn more about the church on his own as well, and was asking us about things like CTR and giving blessings. We then had a lesson with him on Friday, and taught about the Word of Wisdom, the Law of Chastity, and the law of tithing....otherwise known as the "big three" haha. He already had an idea of what they were before we taught them and has been trying to already implement them into his life. He said that he has stopped drinking wine with his dinner, and is working on not having anymore coffee. He's set on getting baptized on Mother's Day, and he ordered himself a triple combination off the church site. His testimony of the Book of Mormon is growing and he said it feels like it's something that is building each day.

Church was really good yesterday! Mark and Patsy showed up, which we were really excited about. They're the couple I told you about a few weeks ago who had moved down from Indiana. He's a member that hasn't been in a long time, and she was raised baptist and her dad was the minister. Well we saw them on Thursday night, and they promised that they'd be to church on Sunday, and sure enough they came. Patsy has a really strong set of personal beliefs, so I wasn't sure how she would take it, but it turned out well. Sacrament meeting was great and focused on the life and resurrection of Christ. Patsy took notes during all of it, and then invited us over for dinner tonight. She said to be ready for a bunch of questions, so I'm excited to hear what she thought about all of it.

Well I hope you all have a great week! I love you and thanks for the birthday gifts! Speaking of my birthday, it was a lot of fun. Ha it actually didn't feel too much different then a regular day, but Sister Typner (an awesome lady in the ward) got me a cake, and we went to Olive Garden for dinner. So it was definitely a good day.

I love you guys!

Elder Kade Bartschi

Hey, this is a story that was read on Sunday during Sacrament meeting. It was really awesome, and a good one to share.

"DON'T LEAVE IT ON THE DESK"

Kind of long – but an excellent Easter Story

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the western United States . Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course their freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor's class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Dr. Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know.... I've never done 300 at a time" "Do you think you could?" again asked Dr. Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve. "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," said the professor. Steve said, "Well... I think I can...yeah, I can do it." Dr. Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday.. Let me explain what I have in mind."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson's class. Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" "Sure!" Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked,"Joe, do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes."Dr. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was on the basketball team,and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, "Scott do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own push-ups?" Dr. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Dr. Christianson said, "Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Sternly, Jenny said, "No." Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten....Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, "No!" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row,

Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your push-ups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want." And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Professor Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?" Steve said, "Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut." Dr. Christianson said, "Okay, Steve, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now.Jason, do you want a donut?" Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. "Yes," he said, "give me a donut." "Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?" Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Professor Christianson quietly asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda. Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. "Dr. Christianson, why can't I help him?" Dr Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push-ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes." "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, 'Into thy hands I commend my spirit.' With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten. "

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile."Well done, good and faithful servant," said the professor, adding, "Not all sermons are

preached in words." Turning to his class, the professor said, "My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His Only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.""Wouldn't you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?"

Happy Birthday Whit!!

Happy Birthday Whit!

Ha I feel like I've been writing "happy birthday" pretty frequently. Britt, Braydy, Dad, Whit, and I seem to fall right in a row. I'm glad you were able to spend it in Reno though! That tournament is a blast to go to, and it's pretty handy being able to celebrate birthdays there.

Well we've had an awesome week here! Most of that is due to working with Mike. It's crazy to think of how quickly things can progress and change in a week. We had two lessons with Mike this week, and the first one was on Tuesday. Since the first lesson we had with him with a little jumbled, we thought it would be best to go back over some of the things we had taught. So we recapped some principles and then watched "The Restoration". Well about five minutes into it the disc started stalling and skipping pretty badly. Fortunately, we had another copy and so we stuck that one in. About ten minutes into this one we realized it was the DVD player that was ruined, not the disc. I just kept praying the entire time that "I don't care if it skips at this part, but PLEASE don't let it skip during the First Vision". Of course, everything went fine until the first vision. Haha at that point the player absolutely freaked out. Miraculously the subtitles kicked on so you could at least read what was happening.

Mike was still really nice after the lesson and when we asked him about Joseph Smith, he told us "well I don't see why it couldn't happen". We challenged him to ready 3 Nephi 11 and he said he'd do it. Also we scheduled another lesson for Thursday of the same week. This time we taught the Plan of Salvation and it went really well. The longer Elder Moffett and I are together the smoother our teaching goes. E. Moffett also has a cool visual for this lesson that really helps things. Now Mike is really easy to read when he's confused because he'll squint his eyes and furrow his eyebrows. So when he does that we continue to teach and explain until that look goes away haha. It's a pretty fool-proof method. Anyways, the Spirit was really strong during the lesson especially when we were testifying of the atonement. Mike is really motivated to change his life around and this is exactly what he's looking for. At the end of the lesson we asked him what he's been feeling and thinking when he reads the Book of Mormon and when we teach. He expressed that he feels a peace and calm that he's never had so consistently before in his life. We knew then to ask him if he would be willing to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God? He thought for a second and then said with a smile that he'd like that. We set the date for May 1st. Following that he told us that he had to reset his password at work this week....can you guess what he set it to? "Heavenly Father Confirm the Book of Mormon". I'm telling ya, at that point I got goosebumps and knew that he was somebody that had been prepared to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This Sunday was Stake Conference which was pretty cool. I've served in 3 of the 6 wards (Gulfport, Palm Harbor, and Seminole) in the stake so I saw a lot of people that I knew. It was really cool to see a lot of the people that I've been able to visit with and get to know. Mike came on Sunday and asked us if it would be possible to move his date. His wife isn't interested at all in learning about the church, but she'll be out of town that weekend and he'd really like for her to be there for it. We asked him when would be better and he said he'd like for it to be on Mother's Day. The priesthood in the ward is singing a song for the women then and he said that he wants his wife to be there for that as well. From the sounds of things that will work out perfectly.

We have a lesson tonight with Paige, and hopefully we'll be setting a date with her as well. She's decided on a college, St. Leo's in Zephyr Hills, and so hopefully with that not stressing her out she'll be ready to think about this. We're praying that it work out.

Well I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for all you do, and I'll keep you posted on everything happening here!

Love you guys!

Elder Kade Bartschi

President’s Letter

18 April 2011

Dear Sisters and Elders,

It is a privilege to be under call from a prophet to serve in this day. I love being immersed with you in this greatest of all causes at the greatest time in our earth’s history. I pray that you will always remember who we are serving, why we are serving and how we must serve.

God is a God of promises. Some come in our Patriarchal blessings, some are written in the scriptures and some are written in our hearts. Some we don’t even know yet. Every promise and every dream that is right will be yours if you consecrate and sacrifice your time, talents and hearts in this ministry. For the sake of the work and for those you serve, don’t waste time. We need to have a sense of pace and urgency in our work. I hope you are enjoying your reading of the Book of Mormon and looking for His promises to us. Many of you have shared some of those promises with me:

If you keep the commandments, you will prosper in the land.

His arms are stretched out still

If you hold on to the rod of iron, you will be protected from the fiery darts of the adversary.

During this Easter season, it is particularly nice to read the promises of the prophets when they teach of our Savior. ‘all those who have hearkened unto their words (prophets) and believed that the Lord would redeem his people...For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions…. Behold the bands of death will be broken…..he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead ….for all those what have believed in their (prophets) words, or all those that have kept the commandments….

I bear testimony that He will keep His promises for God can not lie. I know that He is the living Christ and we can grow closer to Him through our study of the Book of Mormon.

“Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows….He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities…and with His stripes we are healed. I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in his bosom. The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.

The words which praise Him anciently continue to praise Him today. I testify now that He will continue to pour out His spirit upon each of you who fully embrace the culture of our mission and this cause- to find, teach and baptize. Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for your labor. Thank you for your love. Thank you for remembering. I love you.

President Summerhays