WELCOME HOME ELDER TURNER!!!!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
8.14.12
Sorry I didn't get to write you yesterday, but we had interviews with
President Brough and a Zone Council so we didn't have time. Today I woke up tired
and exhausted knowing that I'm coming into my last few days of work but with a
prayer to start off the day I was rejuvinated and ready to go. My companion and
I have been getting up at 5am to go running and work out to start off the day.
I'm trying to get back in shape before I get home and I take it as part of my
training for wrestling season. My companion and I are working really hard
talking with everyone and inviting the whole world to be baptized. My companion
and I were preparing that family to be baptized this Sat but we felt that they
aren't prepared with a testimony to be able to stay strong in the church so we
decided to help them prepare to be baptized on the 1st of September. I'm ok with
that because I know that I am doing my part and I know that I will be able to
leave my area much better than I found it with 3 families with baptismal dates
for the first weekend in September. I've been blessed and I have seen the Lord's
hands in my life with many miracles and many blessings over the past two years
and I know that in the following years the Lord will continue to use me as an
instrument in His hands.
This week as I was reading the Book of Mormon in my personal studies my
attention was called to a few verses that talked about how instead of going home
the prophets turned around to continue preaching the word. I feel that the Lord
needed me to see those verses to establish the firm desire in me to share the
gospel when I get home. I may be returning home physically, but my spirit has
been turned to the Lord and I will never be able to go back to who I was. I have
such a strong desire to share the gospel and I pray that my desire will
continue. I have pondered a lot on the point of riches of the world and pride as
you mentioned and I'm glad you brought that up because I know that if I continue
to be faithful the Lord will bless me with the things that I need and I have
seen by the example of my mission president that when we are focused on the Lord
and His glory, He will never forsake us. I asked President Brough in my
interview yesterday, How have you been able to put high goals in your life and
reach them? He said " Elder Turner, if we reach every goal that we ever
establish, have we placed them high enough?" That impacted me and he then said
that we would talk more about that in my last interview on Wednesday.
Thank you for depositing that money. I got the letter from Brooklyn
yesterday and I have to be honest I wasn't expecting it and so when I saw the
letter waiting for me it put a huge smile on me face. The picture she sent was
great and she looks so different as to what I remember. It's going to be crazy to
see everyone again, but I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of changes. I
can't think of many people other than those who will get notified thru facebook,
but just make sure that Jonny and Paula are invited and Deb and the neighbors.
Mom I will eat anything you want to make, but I would love spaghetti :) You
know that your spaghetti is the best.
I will write an email next Tuesday but it will probably be short because
I'll see you next Thursday. I love you so much for all the emails that you have
sent over the last two years and know mom that I have apreciated them with all
my heart. I love you and I'm grateful for the example that you have given me and
the support to serve the Lord. I'm different and I hope not to scare anyone when
I get home, but I'll be looking forward to seeing you all Thursday night.
Love,
Elder Kasey Marshall Turner
8.7.12
This week was a great week! I find myself being drained every night when we arrive home. I think that it has in part to do with the amount of time I've been out here and also with the way that we are working. I love feeling worn out in such a great cause. Last night we had a family home evening and we watched the Joseph Smith movie and Joseph say something to the effect that while we are building the Lord's temple He is building us. As I work to build His kingdom He builds me. The process will be lifelong, but I know that this has been the best part of my life, the most edifying. I love being a missionary and working for my Lord and Savior.
This past Sunday was my last fast and testimony meeting of the mission and I feel blessed to have been able to share my testimony. It was probably the most simple testimony that I shared, but it was what I felt of the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I know with all of my heart that the Book of Mormon is true. Something that you could share that I have learned in my mission is that the Savior loves us more than we can comprehend and he shows us that love in many miraculous ways and if we are not in tune with the spirit then we will miss those miracles. The other day it was pouring rain and I left my umbrella in the house because my companion lost his umbrella. We were getting soaked so we looked for shelter under a bus stop and waited a bit for the rain to settle down. As cars drove by they splashed up a nice wave of water so we stood on the bench to avoid the wave. As we waited, a truck drove by passing another car and soaked me from my waist down with filthy mud water. I was a little irritated but I thought to myself that getting angry wasn't going to dry me off so my companion and I just laughed. We decided that the rain had calmed down enough and as we began to walk, within 5 min a bus passed by and told us to get on and that he wasn't going to charge us. A miracle although plain and simple the Lord showed His infinite love for us.
It would be a good idea to transfer some money into my account because I'm not sure how much my bags are going to weigh, but I'm not going to bring a ton of stuff home. Some of my clothes are very worn out and the things that are in good condition I'll give them to someone who will need them much more than I will. I'll bring back a few things but I will do my best to not have my bags over weight.
I hope that I will be able to have a good influence on the boys when I get back. I know that Satan is working very hard on them to distract them and to pull them into his misery. I worry for them and pray that they will be able to see thru the mist of darkness.
I know this is a short email, but my time is running up. I love you mom. I know that families are eternal and I know that we will be together forever. Thank you for teaching me the truth of the gospel.
Love,
Elder Turner
This week was a great week! I find myself being drained every night when we arrive home. I think that it has in part to do with the amount of time I've been out here and also with the way that we are working. I love feeling worn out in such a great cause. Last night we had a family home evening and we watched the Joseph Smith movie and Joseph say something to the effect that while we are building the Lord's temple He is building us. As I work to build His kingdom He builds me. The process will be lifelong, but I know that this has been the best part of my life, the most edifying. I love being a missionary and working for my Lord and Savior.
This past Sunday was my last fast and testimony meeting of the mission and I feel blessed to have been able to share my testimony. It was probably the most simple testimony that I shared, but it was what I felt of the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I know with all of my heart that the Book of Mormon is true. Something that you could share that I have learned in my mission is that the Savior loves us more than we can comprehend and he shows us that love in many miraculous ways and if we are not in tune with the spirit then we will miss those miracles. The other day it was pouring rain and I left my umbrella in the house because my companion lost his umbrella. We were getting soaked so we looked for shelter under a bus stop and waited a bit for the rain to settle down. As cars drove by they splashed up a nice wave of water so we stood on the bench to avoid the wave. As we waited, a truck drove by passing another car and soaked me from my waist down with filthy mud water. I was a little irritated but I thought to myself that getting angry wasn't going to dry me off so my companion and I just laughed. We decided that the rain had calmed down enough and as we began to walk, within 5 min a bus passed by and told us to get on and that he wasn't going to charge us. A miracle although plain and simple the Lord showed His infinite love for us.
It would be a good idea to transfer some money into my account because I'm not sure how much my bags are going to weigh, but I'm not going to bring a ton of stuff home. Some of my clothes are very worn out and the things that are in good condition I'll give them to someone who will need them much more than I will. I'll bring back a few things but I will do my best to not have my bags over weight.
I hope that I will be able to have a good influence on the boys when I get back. I know that Satan is working very hard on them to distract them and to pull them into his misery. I worry for them and pray that they will be able to see thru the mist of darkness.
I know this is a short email, but my time is running up. I love you mom. I know that families are eternal and I know that we will be together forever. Thank you for teaching me the truth of the gospel.
Love,
Elder Turner
Sunday, August 5, 2012
7.31.12
Thank you for the email and the love that you show me week after week. That is so crazy that Andrew is getting married tomorrow. I'm so proud of the kid and I hope that it's the best day of his life. I miss him, but I will catch up with him here in a few weeks. That's great that you were able to get a car and hopefully now things will be able to sail a bit smoother in reference to the car situation. Zack's had braces for a long time, but that is great that he got them off now. I can't believe that Mack is starting 7th grade. I'm sure I'm going to be shocked to see how big these kids are. I'll be waiting for Brooklyn's letter in the mail. By the time I get it and have time to respond, it'll get to her faster in my hand.
The work continues to progress and we are blessed to see that we will be preparing more people to be baptized in August before I finish. This past week we found a family due to a reference of a recent convert and that family came to church this Sunday and accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 18th of August. God is providing miracles and I know that through patience and faith and fervent prayers more and more miracles will continue to come forth.
On Friday it rained a lot and I left my umbrella in the house because when we left there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was toasty hot. Rain was the last thing on my mind. Around 3pm we began to hear thunder and about 10 min later it began to rain. We found shelter quickly because it was raining hard and we needed to put our books in plastic bags so that they wouldn't get wet. It was pouring hard, but don't think that the rain stopped us. Yes we got soaked, but there were children of God waiting for us. I was so wet that I was reminded of the hot summer days working in the backyard with dad and taking a break to jump in the pool with our clothes on to cool off. That is what I felt like soaked from head to toe. I love Guatemala.
Love,
Elder Turner
Thank you for the email and the love that you show me week after week. That is so crazy that Andrew is getting married tomorrow. I'm so proud of the kid and I hope that it's the best day of his life. I miss him, but I will catch up with him here in a few weeks. That's great that you were able to get a car and hopefully now things will be able to sail a bit smoother in reference to the car situation. Zack's had braces for a long time, but that is great that he got them off now. I can't believe that Mack is starting 7th grade. I'm sure I'm going to be shocked to see how big these kids are. I'll be waiting for Brooklyn's letter in the mail. By the time I get it and have time to respond, it'll get to her faster in my hand.
The work continues to progress and we are blessed to see that we will be preparing more people to be baptized in August before I finish. This past week we found a family due to a reference of a recent convert and that family came to church this Sunday and accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 18th of August. God is providing miracles and I know that through patience and faith and fervent prayers more and more miracles will continue to come forth.
On Friday it rained a lot and I left my umbrella in the house because when we left there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was toasty hot. Rain was the last thing on my mind. Around 3pm we began to hear thunder and about 10 min later it began to rain. We found shelter quickly because it was raining hard and we needed to put our books in plastic bags so that they wouldn't get wet. It was pouring hard, but don't think that the rain stopped us. Yes we got soaked, but there were children of God waiting for us. I was so wet that I was reminded of the hot summer days working in the backyard with dad and taking a break to jump in the pool with our clothes on to cool off. That is what I felt like soaked from head to toe. I love Guatemala.
Love,
Elder Turner
7.24.12
This week was a week of miracles and blessings. I love the heat, as far as the temperature goes and also the heat that I feel as I'm working to find the chosen children of the Lord to bring them to the waters of baptism. This Sunday my companion and I had a miracle with the baptism of a man that my companion had been working with before I got here and with that baptism we completed a family. Another great miracle from this week is that we put a baptismal date with a sister that my companion has been teaching since he got to the area 4 months ago. I see the hand of the Lord blessing me in many ways especially in the fruits that He is allowing me to gather in the short time that I have left. I love being a missionary and I love working in the Lord's vineyard because I know that there is no other work more true and essential than that of missionary work. Not only do we work to convert others, but we work to convert ourselves. I am working day after day to strengthen my own testimony as I share it with others. I know that Christ is our Savior and that He suffered for our sins so that we will not have to suffer if we will just be obedient.
That's crazy that school starts here in 2 weeks!! Time is just cruising and there's nothing that we can do about it other than just take advantage of the opportunities that the Lord gives us. I hope that the boys wrestle. I miss wrestling so much in fact I don't know how, but I need to get on a mat when I'm home. I am grateful for the experiences that I had in wrestling, as hard as they were because they prepared me to man up and take the challenges head on. I'm excited to wrestle when I get back because my attitude is different and my confidence is stronger. I know what I have in front of me and I'm gonna take it down shot by shot. That's cool that the boys are gonna have classes together and that one of those classes is piano. I wish that I could have learned piano when I was younger but I never really had the desire. Tell the boys that they better do all they can to learn it and to practice it because if they don't they are gonna get old and regret it.
Well the work here in Escuintla is moving forward and we are trying to help a lot with retention because a lot of people get baptized but they don't stay very active. That is a big problem here in the coast but we are working with the leaders in the District (we're not a stake yet) so that the missionaries will work hand in hand with the Branch leaders. Every week my companion and I go to a different area to do divisions with the other missionaries to help them work better. Are focus is on the missionaries and companionships who aren't baptizing and so far we have been seeing success with the divisions. I'm glad that the Lord trusts me to be able to help missionaries reach their full potential and to help them be more outgoing and direct with the people we talk to. It may seem strange, but here in Guatemala the people are being prepared and so often times it may be the first time we talk to them and we challenge them to be baptized on a specific date, that way we can see who are the people who are going to progress and who are the people that are truly prepared.
Well time is running short but know that I love you. Your prayers are felt. Thank you.
Love,
Elder Turner
This week was a week of miracles and blessings. I love the heat, as far as the temperature goes and also the heat that I feel as I'm working to find the chosen children of the Lord to bring them to the waters of baptism. This Sunday my companion and I had a miracle with the baptism of a man that my companion had been working with before I got here and with that baptism we completed a family. Another great miracle from this week is that we put a baptismal date with a sister that my companion has been teaching since he got to the area 4 months ago. I see the hand of the Lord blessing me in many ways especially in the fruits that He is allowing me to gather in the short time that I have left. I love being a missionary and I love working in the Lord's vineyard because I know that there is no other work more true and essential than that of missionary work. Not only do we work to convert others, but we work to convert ourselves. I am working day after day to strengthen my own testimony as I share it with others. I know that Christ is our Savior and that He suffered for our sins so that we will not have to suffer if we will just be obedient.
That's crazy that school starts here in 2 weeks!! Time is just cruising and there's nothing that we can do about it other than just take advantage of the opportunities that the Lord gives us. I hope that the boys wrestle. I miss wrestling so much in fact I don't know how, but I need to get on a mat when I'm home. I am grateful for the experiences that I had in wrestling, as hard as they were because they prepared me to man up and take the challenges head on. I'm excited to wrestle when I get back because my attitude is different and my confidence is stronger. I know what I have in front of me and I'm gonna take it down shot by shot. That's cool that the boys are gonna have classes together and that one of those classes is piano. I wish that I could have learned piano when I was younger but I never really had the desire. Tell the boys that they better do all they can to learn it and to practice it because if they don't they are gonna get old and regret it.
Well the work here in Escuintla is moving forward and we are trying to help a lot with retention because a lot of people get baptized but they don't stay very active. That is a big problem here in the coast but we are working with the leaders in the District (we're not a stake yet) so that the missionaries will work hand in hand with the Branch leaders. Every week my companion and I go to a different area to do divisions with the other missionaries to help them work better. Are focus is on the missionaries and companionships who aren't baptizing and so far we have been seeing success with the divisions. I'm glad that the Lord trusts me to be able to help missionaries reach their full potential and to help them be more outgoing and direct with the people we talk to. It may seem strange, but here in Guatemala the people are being prepared and so often times it may be the first time we talk to them and we challenge them to be baptized on a specific date, that way we can see who are the people who are going to progress and who are the people that are truly prepared.
Well time is running short but know that I love you. Your prayers are felt. Thank you.
Love,
Elder Turner
Sunday, July 22, 2012
7.17.12
Well as you know, I had changes and I'm in a new area with a new responsibility and a new companion. I'm in Escuintla in a branch called Golondrinas. My area is considered coast and it is pretty hot here. The rain is also a lot more intense here than it is in the capital, so if you're not wet from the rain you're wet from sweat. My companion is Elder Varela. He is from Honduras and he 24 yrs old. He is a great companion and we get along great. He is a very hard worker and he loves being a missionary. We get along great, he's like a brother to me. The Lord knows why he does everything and even when we don't know understand why the Lord will bless us as we do what He says. The area is known to be a baptizing area and we have been working with a few people to prepare them for baptism and we are focusing on finding many more people to be baptised here in August. I know that if I apply the things that I have learned in my mission here in these last 6 weeks I will be able to see many fruits. The field is white already to harvest and I will be thrusting in the sickle to bring these people to Christ.
That's great to hear about the activites that you all are doing. It's so nice to have summer vacation and to be able to relax a bit, but in some things there just can't be rest. I love being a missionary. How many more weeks until school starts? Are the boys doing any wrestling camps? How is work going for you mom?
Something that was kinda funny this week happened last Thursday when my companion and I were knocking doors. Remember that my new area is hot and the people don't have the luxury of A/C and many of the houses have roofs made of sheet metal which makes a house of brick turn into an oven so many people go around with their shirts off and many others wear just the necessary clothing. We knocked the door and a lady came to the door and we began talking to her and then a few seconds later 2 little bald boys came running to the door butt naked. I just tried to hold my laugh in.
Love,
Elder Turner
Well as you know, I had changes and I'm in a new area with a new responsibility and a new companion. I'm in Escuintla in a branch called Golondrinas. My area is considered coast and it is pretty hot here. The rain is also a lot more intense here than it is in the capital, so if you're not wet from the rain you're wet from sweat. My companion is Elder Varela. He is from Honduras and he 24 yrs old. He is a great companion and we get along great. He is a very hard worker and he loves being a missionary. We get along great, he's like a brother to me. The Lord knows why he does everything and even when we don't know understand why the Lord will bless us as we do what He says. The area is known to be a baptizing area and we have been working with a few people to prepare them for baptism and we are focusing on finding many more people to be baptised here in August. I know that if I apply the things that I have learned in my mission here in these last 6 weeks I will be able to see many fruits. The field is white already to harvest and I will be thrusting in the sickle to bring these people to Christ.
That's great to hear about the activites that you all are doing. It's so nice to have summer vacation and to be able to relax a bit, but in some things there just can't be rest. I love being a missionary. How many more weeks until school starts? Are the boys doing any wrestling camps? How is work going for you mom?
Something that was kinda funny this week happened last Thursday when my companion and I were knocking doors. Remember that my new area is hot and the people don't have the luxury of A/C and many of the houses have roofs made of sheet metal which makes a house of brick turn into an oven so many people go around with their shirts off and many others wear just the necessary clothing. We knocked the door and a lady came to the door and we began talking to her and then a few seconds later 2 little bald boys came running to the door butt naked. I just tried to hold my laugh in.
Love,
Elder Turner
7.16.12
Dear family of Elder Kasey Marshall Turner,
It is with appreciation that I inform you that Elder Turner, has been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Guatemala Guatemala City Central Mission. This comes as a result of revelation from the Lord. He has demonstrated diligence, hard work, faith, love and has obtained the respect of the rest of the missionaries.
As a Zone Leader, I will work closely with him to motivate and influence the rest of the missionaries in his zone. At the same time, Elder Turner will be expected to lead and exemplify every aspect of missionary work.
I appreciate having Elder Turner as a servant of God here in the mission field. I truly know that he is a special son of God.
Yours faithfully,
Mission President
Dear family of Elder Kasey Marshall Turner,
It is with appreciation that I inform you that Elder Turner, has been called to serve as a Zone Leader in the Guatemala Guatemala City Central Mission. This comes as a result of revelation from the Lord. He has demonstrated diligence, hard work, faith, love and has obtained the respect of the rest of the missionaries.
As a Zone Leader, I will work closely with him to motivate and influence the rest of the missionaries in his zone. At the same time, Elder Turner will be expected to lead and exemplify every aspect of missionary work.
I appreciate having Elder Turner as a servant of God here in the mission field. I truly know that he is a special son of God.
Yours faithfully,
Mission President
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