Families are Forever

Elder Leavitt and I were able to attend a family sealing!

Hello family!

This has been a heck of a week! We have been running around like crazy with barely any time to catch our breaths! I guess you could say there was a lot of anticipation building up for General Conference. A lot of changes were made amongst the General Authorities and general officers of the church..but I'm getting ahead of myself!

So the fun really began on Tuesday when I got a call from Elder Leavitt telling me that a guy I worked with in Pleasant Grove, UT, Don, is getting sealed to his wife in the Salt Lake City temple on Friday and he wants me to come! Without any hesitation, I quickly called President Killpack seeking permission to leave the mission and attend this momentous event. I received the green light and off I went to PG on Friday morning to meet up with the family who we would be riding up to SLC with. Elder Leavitt and I jumped in the car and off we went! It was a very wet ride up the freeway. It was literally raining buckets! It was almost like we were driving through a river on I-15 headed north. When we neared downtown Salt Lake, the rain subsided. We grabbed lunch and off we went to the temple! We arrived at about only to find out that the sealing ceremony wasn't until later. We looked at each other and went off to do some initiatories to pass the time. We reconvened with the family around 3 in the marriage waiting room. They took all of us back to the sealing room (which was quite small btw). The sealer came in, gave them the whole spiel and performed the ordinance! Despite it being a brief performance, it is still one of the most profound ordinances held within the temple. To think that they are now sealed to each other for their time here on Earth as well as throughout eternity...like...forever and ever....is quite a feat to comprehend. Yet, it's super cool! Well, the ordinance was finished and we were filed back to the marriage waiting room. Elder Leavitt and I took another route to avoid the congestion all these slow moving old people were making... Well, we rounded a corner..and who walks by us? President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. We stopped dead in our tracks like a deer in the headlights. We were so starstruck we didn't say a word until he rounded another corner. Though, I can confidently say that I was smacked in the face by the spirit as we walked by us. Man...the power coming from that guy...and apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. A powerful moment I won't soon forget. Looking back now, I really wish I had said something...but oh well...maybe next time! (hopefully there will be a next time!) We joined the rest of the family outside of the temple, took some pictures, and headed back to Utah County. Well, so we thought. I-15 south bound was completely bumper to bumper from 4000 S in Salt Lake to Timpanogos Highway in north Utah Valley. Holy whip it was a very long drive. Fortunately, I brought my iPod so we had some music to help pass the time.

Saturday morning arrived and we went over to a family's house to watch conference. What a wonderful round of talks from Apostles and Seventies. We met up with the other elders for the afternoon session at another members home. This was the session we were all waiting for. This was when they called and sustained 3 new apostles to take the places of President Boyd K. Packer, Elder L. Tom Perry, and Elder Richard G. Scott. Warmly welcomed, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, Elder Gary E. Stevenson, and Elder Dale G. Renlund joined the holy apostleship on that faithful day. Sunday morning had to have been my favorite session! Amazing talks. The one that really got me going was President Monson's talk. I wasn't sure if he was gonna make it! He progressively got lower and lower on the pulpit, his words were drawn out and his breaths were shorter. Poor guy had to be carried back to his chair by his escorts after his talk. What really got me though was the power of his testimony. He wasn't about to give up. He was determined to finish his talk no matter what. He is a true example of the believers. I love President Monson. He is the man! 

Well, that about sums up the excitement of this week! I hope each of y'all had an awesome week chocked full of the spirit!

Love you guys! Y'all are the best! Until next week,

-Elder Ahrens

2015 October General Conference!

Hello family!

Where to begin? Let's start with Tuesday. So, early Tuesday morning, Elder Calderwood and I got ready and headed on over to Eagle Mountain, UT (about 20 mins east) with our Zone Leaders to attend the mission tour with Elder Wilson of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. There we joined our zone, as well as two other zones (so basically half of the mission), and sat and chatted and waited patiently for President and Sister Killpack as well as Elder and Sister Wilson to arrive. It was an 8 hour conference. President, Sister Killpack, and Elder Wilson had a lot of great things to say. Much was taught, much was learned. Elder Wilson actually got in to it quite a bit! Towards the end, he actually had us make "movie trailers" for chapters 2-4 of the Book Of Mormon which was pretty sweet I'd say! Only 3 districts were chosen to share their trailers and sadly ours wasn't one of them. That's okay though. So at different portions throughout the conference, there would be folks sharing different musical numbers...well, right after lunch, it was my turn. After much practice and anticipation, it was my time to shine. I got up there and things went really well. I messed up a couple times so I got a little frustrated with myself. I don't think it was because I didn't know the song...more along the lines of stage fright. I've always hated performing in front of other people...but now I'm pretty sure I found my way on to Sister Killpack's radar for future gigs such as this.

So on Wednesday we met with our newest investigator.  She comes from a background where she had the church in her life, but had the choice of her own about getting baptized. She decided against it until she was more ready.  Elder Calderwood and I have been invited to visit with her and we are excited to work with her!

So over the past couple of weeks, Elder Calderwood and I have made it a point to meet with and get to know each Stake President, Bishop, and Ward Mission Leader on a personal level. By doing so, we hope to develop a relationship and trust with these men as we each move forward hastening the work in their respective stakes/wards. President McCune drilled in to our heads on countless occasions: "These leaders will NOT direct you to the folks in their wards if they don' trust you first!" By meeting with each of these leaders individually in a formal Missionary to Bishop/Stake President/WML meeting, we hope to accomplish that. That's kind of what this week has consisted of. Being that I didn't really have the opportunity to familiarize myself with the East and Cedar Hollow stakes in the short 6 weeks I've already been here, things should start to look up for us now that we know each of these wards.

Lee and Crystal Edwards took me back to PG so I could meet up with Elder Leavitt to attend a baptism of someone whom I worked with while I was there. It's this little 8 year old girl. It was nice to see people who I knew back there. The baptism was something special! That's for sure!

So yeah...that's this week! Getting to know people. Evidently, it will probably continue in to next week. We've got 20 wards! That's a lot of tracking to do! It's keeping us occupied since people we teach like to cancel on us -_-

Anyways, thank you all so much! Until next week!

-Elder Ahrens 

Never thought I'd do this!

Hey family,

So this has been a great week filled with excitement, disappointments, and a whole lot of biking. .  Ya know, you really start to appreciate the simple things in life..like a car...when you're forced to bike/walk around everywhere.  Needless to say, I'm staying in shape! I'm going to have thighs of thunder and buns of steel!

So there was a copious amount of precipitation this week.  Which, of course, made biking a challenge. Tues afternoon, we camped out in a chapel due to the insane amount of rain that day.  We were there with the Lehi North Elders so it wasn't too bad.  When the rain finally let up, we headed off to someone's house to do a quick pop in visit.  While we were there, they fed their snakes some rats which was pretty cool.  Following that, we committed the whole family to reading the Book of Mormon together.  After that, we went to the ward BBQ and at there a with a couple of families that we know.

We finished off that night with a coordination meeting with the stake presidency and high counsellors of one of the stakes we cover. It was a really good meeting we discussed everything going on within the stake as well as things we would like to see through prior proper planning to prevent poor performance. The 6 P's. Anyways, we're hoping to see some sort of fruition from the plans we made. You best believe we'll be following up soon.

On Wednesday evening, we met with a family for the first time. It's a part member family. He's a member, she's not. She was blessed as a baby but not baptized at 8. She was one of those kids that was given the ability to choose whether or not she was baptized at 8...which is fine. In the past, she's met with missionaries. However, she didn't feel like it was something she wanted to pursue.  We got to know her and her family! They are way cool and she is so ready to receive the gospel at this point in her life. We're excited to help her along this journey. 

Some fast forward...we went to the Cedar Hollow 7th ward where one of our recent converts attend. The chapel where this ward meets is actually in the Lehi North elders' area. We were hoping to meet up there with them since Elder Laffidy had a pivotal roll in his conversion. Unfortunately, the other elders had other ward obligations and our recent convert was sick. So we just kinda hung out. That night, we went to a fireside in the west stake. It was from the movie, the Cokeville Miracle. If you haven't seen the movie, it's about an elementary school bombing in Cokeville, Wyoming. There, I met the filmmaker/producer for it, who has also filmed 17 Miracles, and a few other church films. Also, one of the survivors from the bombing 29 years ago was in attendance. She spoke to us and told us about the traumatizing experience she had on May 16, 1986. It was way cool!

This morning, we woke up and went to a member's house to burn a shirt for an elder in our district. It was his year mark today! Happy first day of Fall! Let the crisp mornings, bonfires, and pretty leaves begin!

Well, that about sums up my week!

Lee and Crystal, could you please help me with something? So this upcoming Saturday, Elder Leavitt is holding a baptism for someone he and I worked with in the Grove Creek stake. I was wondering if you could please take me to it! Pleeeeeease!

Anyways, that about does it! Thank you so much! I love each of you and pray for you every day!

Take care,

Elder Ahrens

Utah Orem Mission

612 W 100 S

Lindon, UT 84042

Myself, Elder Laffidy, Will & Randy from VA

Our hike to Mt Timpanogos Caves

Hello family!

Here is my weekly email...a day late...as thing a usually go! 😅

So Elder Laffidy and I have been doing a lot of stuff here in the Lehi North Area! Despite not having a car, some how we make it happen. Whether it be walking, biking, or getting rides from local members, we make it to our appointments! It's been really fun serving here with Elder Laffidy so far! There's never a dull moment between us.

So yesterday for P-Day we hiked up the Timpanogos Cave Monument in American Fork, Canyon which was a ton of fun! Me, Elder Laffidy, Will, Randy, and Crystal all set out around noon,1100 feet up in an hour and
a half for the mouth of the cave! It was a pretty neat hike. We had the most incredible view of the canyon as well as the valley from up there. Several rock formations as well as vegetation. Will and Randy had struggled a little bit due to the elevation and air thinness. Elder Laffidy and I did pretty well considering we've been here for a little over a year so we're acclimating to it all. The cave tour was pretty sweet! Lots of formations. It was pretty chilly in there! It was nothing like caving in Boy Scouts when we could explore and go off and check things out. Here we all stayed on the path they had created. Anyways, we finished the tour and went back down and went our
separate ways! It was really nice to see Will and Randy again. We were reminiscing quite a bit and poor Crystal and Elder Laffidy had no idea what was going on. Anyways...that's that!

So before the hike, we had a little extra time so we all drove up to Tibble Fork Reservoir a few miles up the canyon and hung out there for a little while. While we were there, we hiked up to a higher spot and
enjoyed the view and talked for a while.

That night we met with a inactive who is really good friends with one of our families. We met in their home and this poor girl has been through a lot and wants the direction of the gospel in her life...needless to say...it was one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever been in. It was incredible. We shared D&C 18: 10,14-16 with her. Wonderful verses to discuss that God loves every single one of his children unconditionally. 

I'm looking forward to the awesome adventures that God has in store for me over the next week! Until then...I love you all!

-Elder Ahrens

Transfers for necessary growth!

My new companion, Elder Laffidy.

Saying good-bye to Pleasant Grove :(

Hello family!

Greetings from wonderful Lehi, UT! Yep, transfers were last Wednesday and I was put BACK in to Lehi. The same exact area that I started in a year ago! I'll tell ya what, it's really nice to come back and see everybody again! So while I was gone, the area had taken over another area...so right now we cover 4 stakes in Lehi....and we're on our bikes...so that's fun. Makes getting to our lessons a little challenging.

So here's how transfers went. So we all gathered in this chapel in Lindon, UT. Transfers begun. President Killpack introduced the 3 new guys who were called to the Utah Orem Mission! Could you imagine getting that on your call letter? Anyways, the areas started to come around. We finally got mine. "Elder Laffidy, serving in the Lehi North Area. Meet your new companion, Elder Ahrens!" He and I shot up and was just relieved and excited! Gave each other a big ol bro hug and off we went! We couldn't get over the fact that we were serving together! It was awesome! Over the past few days, he and I have had a great time catching up! Walking around, seeing people. Elder Laffidy and I have a lot in common. We talk openly, we aren't afraid to talk to people. It's so nice! We really enjoy working together! I can't think of a day this past week where we didn't have a few good laughs!

I'll quickly tell you a little bit about Elder Laffidy. He's a great guy. We hit our year mark together. He's from Hartsville, South Carolina. He's the oldest of 4. He's 2 months older than me. And he is a fantastic missionary.

Which reminds me! On Saturday evening, we're gonna go up American Fork Canyon with a family and Elder Laffidy and I are gonna burn our shirts together to celebrate our 1 year mark!

I'm sure gonna miss the folks of Pleasant Grove but I'm glad to be back here in Lehi. I knew I had unfinished work to be done. Many stories and experiences to come!

I love you all!

-Elder Ahrens

Final Days in Pleasant Grove, UT then transfers!

Kirk's spongebob imitation.

Running into friends from VA!

More friends from VA!

My companion Elder Leavitt.

Elder Leavitt

Hello madre y padre!

So since yesterday was always on the move, I didn't have "time" to get a good solid email home! So here we go!

So last Monday night, we went to a Family Home Evening night with one of our YSA wards. Their activity for the night was Life Lessons 101: Auto Maintenance. I decided why the heck not? So I told the guy running the show that I was a bit of a gear head and could help him with anything he needed. This night consisted of taking this girl's car and inspecting the basic things. Oil, tranny, washer fluid,antifreeze, tires, etc. I soon realized that this car was on the verge of killing itself. It was about 1.5-2 quarts low on oil and the tires were over-inflated by about 20 pounds. Yikes! I ended up talking more than I expected. I guess when you know your stuff, people expect you
to use it! It was fun! Good people. I got to help a bunch!

So on Wednesday we had interviews with President Killpack for the first time ever! He took us in one by one, and interviewed us briefly.

Anyways, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, we met with one of our recent converts who has asked us to teach him the Temple Prep Lessons. It was kinda cool to go through those with him just because I never went through them before I went through for my own endowment. There is some interesting insight shared in the manual. It was all stuff I knew but it was cool to see what it said.

On Friday, we had Zone Training Meeting. This is where our whole gets together and we're taught by our Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. It was one of the longest ZTM's I've ever been to but was really good.

Saturday we had exchanges with Elder Carder and Elder Romriell. I went to their area with Elder Romriell and man did we have fun! Elder Romriell and I get along really well. We have similar interests and all of that good stuff. In the morning, we did some service from Bro.Edwards. We took three loads of crap to the dump with his big ol crew cab Ford. It was fun! After that, we did some contacting. I met one of Elder Holland's mission companions! There is a story that he shared that I'm going to have to put in a voice memo or something because it's way too long to type. But yeah! After that, we had a few lessons. They went really well! After the lessons, we went and talked to Bro.Capt (Elder Capt's father) who was outside working on his boat getting it ready to head down to Lake Powell for the weekend. Elder Romriell wanted to take a picture with his 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger. I asked
Bro. Capt to back it out. I'll send some pics. Then we talked about a bunch of stuff! After that, I packed my stuff up and went back to my area with Elder Leavitt. Good day!

Sunday was where things really were put in to perspective. Fast forward to the evening where we had a fireside at the AlpineTabernacle in American Fork, UT with the Alpine YSA Stake. President Larry Gelwix was the keynote speaker. President Gelwix is the head coach of the Highland Rugby Team and he and his team are the ones
represented in the movie Forever Strong. He also presided over the California Fresno Mission. He told of several experiences that helped him acknowledge the promptings of the spirit in his life. Another experience I'll have to share in a voice memo because it's too long to type out.

So yeah! Better late than never, but there it is! My week! I love you sooooo much!

-Elder Ahrens

Sent from my iPad

Greetings from the Utah Orem side of the Utah Provo Mission! Yes, I'll admit it. I'm having a hard time accepting the name "Utah Orem Mission". Anyways, this morning at 8:00 a.m. our mission divided right on the Provo-Orem line. Orem consists of north Utah County, stops at Point Of The Mountain on the east side of I-15, however continues on past the point on the west side of I-15 tracing up to Herriman, Bluffdale, and Riverton. The Mt. Timpanogos temple is the only temple in the Utah Orem Mission! The Utah Provo Mission will keep its original boundaries but expand south in several directions. It will be acquiring Price, Nephi, Mona, and Moab. The UPM
will have the Provo Mtn, Provo City Center, Payson, and Vernal temples within its boundaries. The Manti temple will just be outside of the boundaries, much like Oquirrh Mtn and Jordan River are just outside of the Orem boundaries. Crazy stuff happening! Me, as well as 96 others from the Utah Provo Mission are leading the pack as far as being the first missionaries ever in the Utah Orem Mission. Ya...we have bragging rights.

So over the course of last week was Strawberry Days here in PG. One of the biggest community events of the year. There was this huge carnival set up in town that had tons of people and little shops to check out. It was a great contacting tool! We got a few referrals from it! Also, if you haven't tried strawberries and cream, I recommend you do so now.

So last Tuesday, I was talking to Jason R. from Spanish Fork, UT and he and his Priests were coming up to American Fork, UT to have a celebratory dinner for one of the priests, Dallin,who left on his mission to Indianapolis, Indiana last Wednesday! Jason wanted us to come with them since I was really close with him and the priest quorum...so we went! It was a lot of fun! It was nice to talk and hang out like the good 'ol days.

So on Thursday we went to the Pleasant Grove Rodeo! Now, you gotta understand that I LOVE rodeos! Elder Doherty and I went to one like every week in SF. They are so much fine and the environment and vibe is just fun! To compare it, it's almost like going to NASCAR race. People are fun, the music is crazy, and the only difference is they aren't drunk because we are in Utah! So in this rodeo, there was this famous rodeo clown that would come every year! He was a crackup! At one point, he had this horse that he was messing around with. Talk about the tamest horse ever! He had it do yoga (put its face down and legs extended forward), it had it roll on its back and he sat on it, raised his front arms up like pretend motorcycle handles and pretended to "ride" the horse. It was hilarious! After that, he jumped up on the horse now standing and it picked up his whip from the ground and
handed it to him with its mouth! It was awesome!

On Saturday, a guy who we had been working with who was excommunicated from the church was re-baptized in a member's pool! It was sweet! Once he was baptized and confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost
again, we could literally see a light emanating from him. It was so rewarding and humbling to see him re-enter the waters of baptism to make those sacred covenants with our Heavenly Father.

Fast forward! Now we're back to this past week! On Tuesday, the entire Orem portion of the Utah Provo Missionaries gathered together in AF to hear President McCune address us one last time. After that, each of us
had a few minutes to speak with President, Sis. McCune, and their son,Daniel. It was so rough. I love the McCune's! President is such a great man. He lead the Utah Provo Mission to great things over the past 3 years. It was truly a humbling experience to serve with him. I look forward to all of the reunions in the coming years! I'm going to all of them!

On Wednesday evening, we had the privilege of attending an Eagle Scout Court Of Honor for a member in one of our wards. Elder Leavitt and I had the privilege of sitting in the Eagle's Nest. The Scout Council Member for the area also happened to be the stake Young Men's President. So...go figure...he recognized our presence in the Eagle's Nest and he thanked us for setting a good example for the youth. Not that I'm bragging or anything, It's just cool for these boys to see two missionaries sitting up there. I would want each of them to reach that great accomplishment!

Sunday was probably the busiest day of the week! We attended the Ward Council of one of our YSA wards, stayed there all three hours, went to coordination meeting...and then things slowed down. We had dinner,
taught a lesson...THEN! we joined one of our recent converts in his conferral and ordination to the office of Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood! I've mentioned this individual in the past. It was so great to see him move forward with this! Now he has the opportunity to go in the temple and receive his endowments! We're super excited
for him!

Okay...my fingers are wore out now....that does it for this weeklyemail x2! Until next week!

Love you all!

-Elder Ahrens