Arizona Mesa Mission Address



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

June 25, 2012

Dear Family,

I would love to be in the middle of a cold rain storm right now.  I haven't even seen rain in three or four months, and the temperatures here are now constantly in the hundreds by mid-day. When I get home, I can't wait to figure out a gym and pool I can go to so I can have a solid workout routine.  I can't believe what happened to Jeremy.  I hope everything is going well for him and that there aren't any complications during his recovery.  I'm sure Bishop Quigley (from the NC Ward) attended the Arcadia Ward in Scottsdale for his granddaughter's baptism, which is covered by the Assistants, one of whom is Elder Ralphs, who was my second companion and trainer.  I think his daughter lives there.  Great to here dad is tearing it up with his calling and church responsibilities.  I wonder what kind of calling I'll get in my Singles Ward at BYU.  Anyway,  I hope you got my late father's day card.

I got your letter this week and loved the article you sent on Clay Christensen.  I was also really surprised at the comments from Danny Ainge, which were completely against a quote from the Prophet that was also included in the article stating that serving a mission is an obligation for all who have the Priesthood.  I found it interesting that the most successful Mormon sport stars didn't go on missions.

The District is doing really well.  We had a baptism this past week and have 13 baptisms left for the month of July.  We set another baptismal date for a young man in a part-member family.  His family has already come to church for three weeks in a row, are reading the scriptures regularly, and have had personal interaction with the Bishop, so that one is solid for July 15.  We are also working with this less-active, part-member family -- the Hernandez family.  The ward members seem to be really happy that we've gotten them to go to church for three weeks in a row.  Supposedly it's been a real struggle for other elders and members in the past.  They didn't come the first couple times we invited them when I was with Elder Eskeets but they are getting more comfortable with us coming to their home.  We coordinated with the Bishop yesterday on how we can help the father receive the Priesthood and baptize his daughter.  I'm hoping with the member's support we can get the daughter baptized this upcoming month.  The parents are kind of hesitant to let her be baptized after being inactive for a while, but I feel much better after talking with the Bishop, who is now gung-ho getting that family progressing towards the temple.

Elder Carrillo is an awesome elder.  It's nice to have a seasoned missionary as a companion again.  He has a great attitude and really tries hard even though the area is quite difficult right now.  Anyway, that's what's going on with me.  I liked the picture of Matt's sculpture.  Thanks for everything!!

Love,

Elder Kinney

Monday, June 18, 2012

June 18, 2012

Dear Family,

Thanks for sending the pictures of Sister Bray and the Davis' -- I hadn't seen them yet.  That was a very "trunky" week seeing all those people from home and talking about all these people I haven't seen in forever.

Matt seems to be tearing it up in volleyball.  Do they win a lot of games??  It's so weird that Matt is graduating I seriously can't believe it.  Now that I'm on my mission, I have a better perspective of what the gospel is and especially the "why" of the gospel.  Before my mission I knew the church was true despite whatever my actions portrayed but I never grasped its grandeur, and now that I do, I see so many things that I could have done differently (even things that aren't even gospel or commandment related) that could've helped me take advantage of all the opportunities of living in New Canaan, as well as being taught by so many amazing and influential people.  I think having this outlook will help me be more successful upon returning from the mission.

Our District is absolutely tearing it up!!  We have 12 baptismal dates and found 11 new investigators.  The English areas are really the ones doing great, while the Spanish areas, on the other hand, are moving a bit more slowly.  We have a bunch of new investigators that are kind of on the brink of progression and we are hoping to get 2 dates this upcoming week for the month of July.  It still feels good seeing the success of the other Elders.  Something that might contribute to that feeling is many of the referrals we have given them have turned into investigators and baptism dates.  So even while the work isn't going as fast as we would like in our areas, we still feel like the Lord has his eye on us and is placing us in peoples' paths.

One thing I recently implemented in our District last week, that can be linked to the success we've had, is counting and reporting the number of contacts we do in the street or wherever we go.  We have always put emphasis on talking to everyone.  But reporting contacts and striving for a numerical goal that you report, helps us not only talk to all those in our path but those who aren't.  In other words we're being a little more proactive in the "finding" process at our level.  We've seen a ton of success from it and have received great feedback from the other Elders in the District.  We've given them almost 10 referrals within the past 2 weeks (and like I already said, some have baptismal dates), and Elders Egbert and Kiene got 3 of their "news" this week from street contacts.  I've told the elders not to focus all of their finding efforts on street contacting because, as we've heard a million times, it isn't the most efficient "finding" method and we're really trying to work through members.  The Spanish potentials we've received from street contacts recently haven't been real great but we found all of our new investigators this transfer through the members.  Really, what made me try this in our District was studying the call-in reports from about 2-3 years ago where the District was raking in 12-18 "news" a week on a consistent basis.  Obviously, I don't have any demographic information on the area and how that's changed and there could be a million factors, but one difference was that they were talking with upwards of 400 people a week as a District.  I can guarantee that we aren't doing that, and talking with that many people had a direct correlation with how many "news" they were getting.  I'm hoping this trend can come back in our District as we try to be more proactive in our personal finding efforts in the streets while working in conjunction with the members.

Anyway, thanks for everything.  Can't wait to see you in like a month!!

Love,

Elder Kinney

Monday, June 11, 2012

June 11, 2012

Dear Family,

Dad, it's a good thing you weren't hurt in that bail you did at Tahoe!!  I haven't crashed on my bike for a really long time (probably about a year).  I would love to do a ride with you when I get back and if we're going for a ride on the road, of course I would use the Cannondale.  It was a really poor decision purchasing a mountain bike at the beginning of my mission instead of cycle-cross or hybrid, but I didn't know anything back then and there wasn't anyone to really help me.  All the roads are flat here and there is no need for all of the extra stuff a mountain bike has that slows you down.

I just saw Brother White's mormon.org profile!!  I watched it but couldn't hear anything because none of the computers here in the Family History Center have speakers and we can't use headphones.  Seeing the green landscape during the scenes shot at their home in NC made me realize even more how much I can't stand this desert.  The only colors you see here are brown, light brown, brown-green, and brown-yellow . . . just about all the colors you would imagine to appear in your vomit.  I am going to miss a lot of things, but the climate and environment are not one of them.  Too bad I'll only be in CT for three weeks -- then back to the desert again. :(

El Charro was pretty good but did not live up to my expectations or the all the hype that it gets from everyone.  The "famous" green chili burrito wasn't even close to the green chili burrito that my old Branch President's bakery made in Phoenix, and I've eaten in little hole-in-the-wall places that are absolutely delicious.  I would like to go back sometime and try another dish though.  I don't think I have ever eaten at a restaurant I've heard so much hype about.  I just want some good old Garden Catering or a steak, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with cones (which I'd now just smother in habanero sauce, something I would not have been able to tolerate before the mission).

This past week was an improvement, not only for us but for the entire District.  The English-speaking elders are tearing it up with 9 baptismal dates collectively.  We were basically at rock bottom after our last baptism, starting from scratch.  Even though the numbers aren't where I would like them, we got some new people and some solid potentials.  We are going by members homes a lot and asking for referrals.  We got a sweet one from another one of the youth in the Ward who is preparing to go on a mission.  He said he took his friend to the Visitor's Center and his friend got really emotional and told him that he wants to be baptized!!!  That's exactly what we're looking for.  The members are so strengthened when they play a crucial role in the conversion of an investigator.  We had Danny Quiros who brought us the first baptism I had in this area.  Osman German, came to District Meeting to share her experience with the District so they could get ideas on how to inspire their members and work through the youth.  Our District is seeing a lot of miracles stemming from the youth.  The Zone Leaders found 4 new investigators through Brian, our recent convert.  I'm focusing a lot on contacts in the street because when I look back in my District book, people were finding at least 5 new investigators a week and talking to over 100 in the street (sometimes almost 200).  I know the elders in our District are good at talking with everyone, but none of us are compared with the elders 2-3 years ago that recorded street contacts and raked in news on a weekly basis.  I think there is a difference between talking with everyone in your path and proactively finding people to talk to as companionships are traveling from place to place.  I think it's what people did back when they reported street contacts but it's not done anymore.  As we proactively work with the members we can also proactively find people in the streets even though it's less effective.

Anyway, I need to go.  Hope everything is well at home.

Love,

Elder Kinney

Thursday, June 7, 2012

June 6, 2012

Lora Davis sent these photos after she and her husband had lunch with Elders Kinney and Carrillo at their favorite restaurant in Mesa, El Charro!  The Davis Family moved back to Mesa from New Canaan about five years ago.

Monday, June 4, 2012

June 4, 2012

Dear Family,

I am going to have lunch with the Davis family on Wednesday at "El Charro", a really famous restaurant I haven't tried yet.  Brother Davis was pretty excited when I called because he had no idea his wife had dropped off a note the day before.  I'm looking forward to it.  The house where I am now is owned by an awesome family, and they have this awesome Chinese Shar-Pei (a type of dog) which is making me very eager to see Frankie again.

I am glad you enjoyed your century ride in Tahoe.  I've really gotten into bikes while on my mission.  I've acquired a bunch of bike-specific tools, and always help the other missionaries out with tune ups and stuff.  I look forward to mountain biking when I get back to Utah.  Do you ever use your Specialized mountain bike with the Fox suspension?  Because I would love to have it if it never gets used anymore.  I'm thinking of leaving my bike with a member here and then driving down from Utah to get it when I visit some of the converts and stuff.  That's may be the least expensive way to get it home.  I would just like to have it for riding around campus since it's not a mountain bike.

Congratulations to the Mets for their record breaker.  I can't wait to be able to watch sports again.  Who won the first two games of the Stanley cup??  New Jersey or LA?  I think LA is going to win because their goalie is super beastly from what I hear, and they completely wiped out the Blues and Coyotes.

I'm still District Leader in my new Zone.  My companion's name is Elder Carrillo from Kentucky (but his parents are from Guatemala and El Salvador).  It has been a real blessing working with him because he has a great attitude and a real desire to do the work and get things going in our area.  It's been awhile since I have had a companion who really takes initiative to be active in teaching and contacting situations (Elder Eskeets had that motivation but was hindered a bit due to how new he was in the mission and learning the language).  I'm a little bummed I'll only have Elder Carrillo for at most, this transfer and the three weeks of the next one that I'll be here.  We just had a baptism this past Saturday of Brian Rangel which was really good.  His whole family was there and you could tell his Mom was especially touched by the service.  He is the pioneer of his family in the church so we're looking forward to working with them.  We did find out, after talking to our Ward Mission Leader, that she desires to be baptized one day, so hopefully we can capitalize on that pretty soon here.

I'm sure the weeks are going to begin flying by even faster now that I am coming to the end of the mission.  It feels so weird just looking at pictures from my last area and thinking that it passed by as if it were a dream.  I am not going to be one of those missionaries who just stops working though, that's for sure.  I would love to send you pictures but somehow in my last area I lost my card reader or left it somewhere, so I'm going to need to buy another one at the store to send pictures.  Love you lots and hope all is well in NC.  Can't wait to see you.

Love,

Elder Kinney

PS - Sister Bray pulled over some Elders in my district and asked them if they knew me and of course they said yes.  I don't know if she is still in AZ but you can tell her the the next time you talk to her that the info got to me.