Week 68: Farewell, North Carolina

Hello, friends and family!

I hope all of you are doing well! We had a really interesting week!

We only had 3 lessons this week despite the tons of appointments we had scheduled, and that stank it up, but the lessons we had were good. Since Elder Clegg and I are both leaving, Elder Bentley from the Jacksonville 2 area is going to be replacing one of us. He has a pretty good idea of what the area is like because he serves next door AND he started his mission in our area! He already knew 4 of our investigators and got to meet the other 2 when we went on a 4-hour exchange last Monday.

Elder Bentley and I taught Sean about the importance of being obedient to commandments, praying often, and studying the scriptures, and he soaked it up like a sponge. He's a brilliant young man, and I'm excited for him to get baptized in a few weeks.

After we taught Sean, we taught a second lesson to Justin, who, you will recall, wants to be baptized in a few weeks. He expressed out of the blue that he doesn't like going to church and doesn't believe that he needs to in order to have a good relationship with God. We taught him that while discipleship isn't solely based on church attendance, it's important to go to church weekly after you're baptized so that you can take the sacrament and thereby renew the covenants made at baptism that bring a remission of sins. We read some verses from 3 Nephi 18 about the sacrament and he noticed the correlation between them and certain Bible verses. But... he didn't come to church, so it seems like Elder Bentley will need to go over that with him again. :)

We had our final lesson on Tuesday with Carlos. He's doing great! Last night (Sunday) is his 10th day without smoking and we are super proud of him! We had to break some sad news to him that he couldn't actually be baptized until he has certain things concerning the law figured out because restitution needs to be made. It was the first time I've ever seen him sad... he started crying. It broke my heart to see this big tough man crying, and I felt for him, but at the same time I was really happy to be reminded that baptism is so important that it's a tragedy to him to have to wait a little longer. Carlos has changed so much over the time he's been taught by the missionaries. Elder Clegg says that when he met him for the first time (in the beginning of October), he didn't think that he would ever even be slightly receptive to the gospel message. But he had changed a lot since I arrived and has changed even more over the last 7 weeks. It's been amazing to see him transform because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Carlos began to cry over the bad news, we testified that repentance is real and that the Atonement is real and that it's something that can't be had by cutting any corners. We expressed our love, and as representatives of Christ expressed the Savior's love for him. Carlos said that even though it hurt him to think that he would have to wait longer (and we don't know how much longer) to be baptized, he would press forward and continue to be prepared for baptism. What strong faith! I love Carlos and his whole family! Please continue to pray for him that he will stay strong. He's doing great!

Over the span of three days we built a really nice wheelchair ramp for Frank. Well, the materials are really nice and will probably outlast his trailer if a tornado comes through, but you can kinda tell that it was constructed by a whole lot of amateurs. For a free ramp, it will do the job. :) It was a lot of fun to build. Our foreman was Bro. Patino, our ward mission leader, and our work force consisted of Carlos, and all 6 missionaries. It was a blast! Except for one part where I was drilling holes in some of the posts with a half-inch drill bit and a massive power drill. Something happened to where the drill fell out of my hands and when it hit the ground the button got pushed in. The drill bit started to spin against my shin and it got all tangled up in my jeans. Luckily, everything was fine... it just hurt like the dickens and now I have a rainbow-colored bruise the size of a baseball on my shin and calf. No big deal. After we finished the ramp on the third day we helped Bro. Patino dig some trenches in his lawn to start creating a French drain, which I guess will be a draining system under his lawn that will reduce flooding in his backyard and take the water into the drain along side the road. That was fun too. It might be weird to say this, but I'm going to miss North Carolina dirt. It's so much easier to dig than Utah dirt!

I've been thinking a lot about the importance of coming to church. It started in our lesson with Justin, and when the Spirit directed us to the right answer and the right scripture for him. Since then I've been thinking about his questions... "Why do I need to go to church?" My mind kept going back to the importance of taking the sacrament. I think that's something that a lot of people who have been baptized but have stopped going to church either don't understand or have forgotten. It occurred to me that just as baptism by authority is the only way to receive an initial remission of sins, taking the sacrament is the only way for someone who has been baptized to receive a remission of sins, beginning after the first mistake made following baptism. I was grateful for the remission of sins I received at my baptism as I watched a little girl who the sisters have been teaching get baptized on Saturday. I am so grateful for the Atonement and Christ's mercy in allowing us to receive yet more forgiveness as long as we seek to repent and are willing to commit again to keep the commandments and remember the Savior.

It still hasn't sunken in yet that I'm going to be in Utah in 2 days. I will miss being a missionary. I have grown so much on my mission. I've learned so much, too, about the truths of the gospel, how to be a better disciple and man in general, and (especially) the love that the Father and the Savior have for us as children of God. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ---faith in Him and His Atonement, repentance, baptism by authority, receiving the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end---is the way, "and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God," and that it is "the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (2 Nephi 31:21). I love the Book of Mormon because it teaches these and other truths that bring peace, joy, and comfort to the lives of any and all those who read it. I know that the gospel has been restored from apostasy and that the Book of Mormon is a large part of the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies concerning this restoration.

I know this email is just getting longer and longer, but while I'm still an official representative of Jesus Christ and His missionary, I want to extend to you a final invitation, and that is to do missionary work. I have also been thinking a lot lately about why, if the spreading of the gospel is the most important cause in the universe, is it left up to us---imperfect, distracted, and usually-fearful people. I remembered a previous time when I thought of this question and the answer I received: if the Father's "work and... glory [is] to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), then in what other way can we better become like Him? None, that I can think of. I have also learned because of Preach My Gospel that setting a good example is NOT doing missionary work! So many times Elder Clegg, my other missionary companions, and I have invited people to do some forms of missionary work and they have said "Well... we're being good examples to our nonmember friends and neighbors." Elder Clegg and I have talked about it a lot, and we're super glad that the members of the church are keeping their covenants and living higher standards than the world. But we are also concerned because they seem to think that missionary work includes setting a good example. While setting a good example is a wonderful way to prepare people and get them curious, almost no one will do anything to start coming unto Christ until they are invited by someone else who has already come to Him. Missionary work always includes extending any kind of invitation to come unto Christ. "People will not likely change unless they are invited to do so" (Preach My Gospel, pg. 196). But all people can change!

I invite you to invite someone to come unto Christ in any way. Some of you probably think "All of my friends are members"---no one says that you can't invite other members to come closer to Christ! And I know that there are nonbelievers all around you, whether you live in Kaysville, Logan, Salt Lake City, or Las Vegas. I testify that if you pray to the Lord in the search of someone you can invite to come closer to Christ, that He will direct you to someone you can serve and invite. It will bless their lives and it will certainly bless yours. I testify that you will be happy.

I also know that God loves us and leads us where we need to go if we didn't withstand.

I'll talk to you later!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 67: Every Little Thing is Going to be Alright

Hey friends and family!

Hope you had a great week! This week was pretty good for us. A lot of interesting stuff happened.

We have been helping out our investigator, Frank, a lot since he got back at the beginning of the week. He has dialysis every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, but he can't get out of his trailer because of his wheelchair. So we go to his home with our ward mission leader, Bro. Patino, and manually lift him out of his trailer and down the front steps and help him get in the car; when he comes home from dialysis, we help him into his wheelchair and lift him back inside. We actually just came back from helping him into his car and we'll have to get him back into his trailer in a few hours. We're building a wheelchair ramp for him tomorrow though so we probably won't have to do it again after today. We helped clean out his trailer. He is a big-time pack-rat, but it was interesting to see all of his stuff... his crossbows, swords, knives, guns, canes, stuffed deer heads, and his wolf. Yup, he has a full-bred timberwolf named Tasha. Good stuff.

We were finally able to meet with Ted for the first time in about 3 weeks. He's going through sniper pre-indoctrination... basically the program started with 80 people and they can only move on to sniper school when there are 4 people left, so the instructors are basically trying to physically weed people out. He told us that the day before he had to wake up at 12:30 am, run to the beach in freezing weather, swim for a couple miles in the ocean, and then run back. They do all this physical labor and they only get an hour of sleep each night. There are only 17 people still in the program and it's only been about a week. He still really wants to get baptized, and all that's stopping him is getting a day open that he can be baptized! Please keep praying for him.

We've been teaching a 13-year old boy named Sean who wants to get baptized, too, but his dad, who is a non-member, wants him to wait for 30 days before getting baptized to make sure that Sean doesn't just jump on the Baptism Bandwagon. Today is day 8 and we're meeting with him again tonight. He's really bright and I have no doubt that he will be strong during these 30 days.

We're still meeting with Carlos and he has been tobacco free for almost a week! He's doing super well. He's been taught everything. We just found out that because of some things he's done in the past he can't be baptized for another 2-3 months. We're sad because we know he's going to be sad since otherwise he could be baptized in a little over 2 weeks, but we hope he will be understanding. Please pray that he will understand and not revert back to smoking to get over the stress.

We went on exchanges and Elder Brewer and Elder Clegg found a new investigator named Justin! He said he was planning on getting baptized into the Church anyway! What a find! We are meeting with him for the second time tonight.

The experience that's been most influential to me this last week was when we went to give a blessing to a less-active 40-year old  woman in our ward after church. Her husband came and picked us up and didn't really tell us a lot about the details of what was going on, besides that she had some medical problems she was dealing with. When we got there, she rolled into the front room in her wheelchair, and she looked exhausted. She excused her children from the room and told us her story. She told us that several years ago she was dealing with a lot of constant pains in her left leg. The pain eventually spread to her face and her arm. She was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It eventually got to the point that she had to be in a wheelchair and very few pain medications could do anything. Her memory and ability to concentrate were fading. She had had an MRI and was anxiously and fearfully waiting for the results. As she told her story, I was continually reminded of myself. Her problems sounded so much like mine, only several years more advanced. I have to admit that it was kind of scaring me, too. Here we were, talking to this woman who was exhausted and weak, practically immobile, and in constant pain despite medication, and I have been feeling a lot of the same symptoms as she had about 20 years ago. I was also nervous because I didn't know what to say to her. However, as I began to give her a blessing, I felt the Spirit work through me and I knew exactly what to say. The words came right out. And as they did, I felt like the Lord was not only providing her with comfort, but I felt very comforted too, as if some of the words also applied to me. It was a tender mercy that we were able to meet her and that I was able to be the vessel through which God would give her a blessing. After the blessing, she had a smile and a bunch of tears on her face. As I reached out my hand to shake hers, she grasped it and held on for several seconds, looking up at me with that smile as she cried and cried and cried. It was a sweet experience and I could tell that she felt God's love for her. I know that everything is going to be all right for her, and it will be for me, too.

I testify that God loves us and wants us to be happy. He sent His Son to feel the pain of sin and of mortal life. I testify that He hears us and answers our prayers.

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 66: Elder Pieper Visits the NCRM

Hello, friends and family!

This week was pretty great. We had an awesome combined zone conference and I got to see a lot of my mission friends, including Elder Peck and Elder Simmons, whom I was really excited to see. Elder Paul B. Pieper from the Quorum of the 70 visited us and took up several hours of the meeting, teaching us about preparing with the Spirit, hope, priesthood keys, helping investigators answer their own questions to strengthen their relationship with God, working with church leaders, finding the "elect" (those who "hear [God's] voice and harden not their hearts" [Doctrine & Covenants 29:7]), and the importance of the qualifications for baptism. He taught so many great things that I wish I could start my mission over again so that I could apply all the new things I learned. But I guess I felt the same way when Marlin K. Jensen, Elder Holland, and Bro. Watson and Bro. Wade from the missionary department came and spoke to us. I've come to learn that no matter how experienced or knowledgeable you think you might be as a missionary (and probably everything else in life), you can always learn more... a lot more. I love having that experience as I read the Book of Mormon over and over and learn something each time. I also see it as I teach investigators; I don't know why I'm still surprised when someone receives a miracle or experiences conversion. I look back at all the times where the hand of God has been present throughout my mission and am humbled as I realize that even though I've been a missionary for almost a year and a half that I still have so much faith to gain. While my faith isn't perfect, I do know that God loves His children because I have seen over and over again that He blesses those who come unto Him and calls to those who haven't started on the path just yet. Isn't it great?... The gospel is so, so true! :)

One great experience we had was the opportunity to meet for the first time with Dan, a new investigator. We were told by a missionary who served here about a year ago that he would be someone we might be able to help accept the gospel. It turns out that Dan already believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith saw what he said he saw. I asked him why he hasn't been baptized, then, and he kind of skirted around the question and said a whole lot of nothing in particular. It was easy to discern that he didn't quite understand the magnitude of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so we taught him all about it and why it's so important. He seemed to understand it pretty well, and he said he would be baptized once he knows in his heart that what we taught is true. However, when we invited him to be baptized on a specific date, he told us a few understandable reasons why he wouldn't commit to a date. It will be hard to see where it all will go from here because of the nature of his excuses, but if I know anything about the gospel, it can change his hearts and resolve any concern that he might have.

One sad thing that happened this week was we got a text from Amber's husband, Luke, saying that things are really busy for them with her pregnancy, work, and the issues concerning the custody of her son, and that they will keep coming to church but they want to stop meeting with us and she will let us know when she's ready to be baptized. We are really concerned because 1) they haven't been to church in 6 weeks or more (including yesterday's meetings), 2) we know that if they make God a priority in their lives than He will make sure everything works out well for her, 3) they never told us about their concerns and we could have easily started meeting with them less frequently, 4) it doesn't sound at all like something Amber would say because she has loved meeting with us, and 5) we can't get a hold of either Amber of Luke on the phone and they won't respond to our texts or phone calls. All we can really do at this point is pray for them to change their minds or at least call us back so we can testify that God will help her if she puts Him first. Please pray for them!

Another sad thing is that I found out that I will be coming home on February 6th for medical reasons again. My back has been feeling much better, but my hip has been getting rapidly worse and the weird shooting pains have come back hard. At first I was pretty upset. It felt like we're just going back to the drawing board. My 2 1/2 months back in Utah were really difficult and super frustrating and I don't want to do it all again. I was sad that there is a high risk that I won't be able to come back again even if I do get better. I felt very unprepared for what comes after mission life. I didn't want to leave the people I've come to love so much here. And actually, not much of that has changed.

I still feel unprepared, scared, sad, and frustrated at times, but I have learned so much over the last three years that God sometimes throws curve-balls at us. From my years of playing baseball I have learned that curve-balls are hard to hit. They look like they're going to hit you right in the face and break your nose. But when you can see that it's a curve-ball coming---not just a wild ball thrown by a bad pitcher---you know that it's going to end up in the strike zone. It takes a lot of faith to not only jump out of the batter's box but to stay in and swing. What if the pitcher doesn't really know what he's doing after all? What if I get a black eye or one of my teeth gets knocked out? It can be hard to take that swing, but if you remember who the pitcher is and trust that the ball will curve into the strike zone, it is likely that you'll hit it. I have learned that God is a perfect pitcher, and sometimes He throws us curveballs because He knows that we'll never improve as batters if He only feeds us fastballs right over the plate. He knows that our faith won't grow if we give up and dive out of the batters box... especially when we might strike out because we didn't have the courage to stick around and see where the ball would end up.

God is a just God and He doesn't hold back trials from anyone. Whether you're batting 1.000 or it seems like all you can hit are fouls, or even if you strike out everytime, God will give us trials from time to time because He knows that it will help us to grow. I testify that God loves us! I know that. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins so that He would know how to help us. If life were easy, we wouldn't need the Savior. I testify that we do need Him, and that if we come unto Him He will always bless us with peace and comfort, even if our difficulties linger. As our pain lingers, His pain lingers. It is worth it to Him to personally go through even more pain so that He can provide us with opportunities to grow and become more like Him.

I am grateful for your prayers and support that have been on my behalf for the last many months. Thank you!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 65: Blah

Dear family and friends,

This week was... unique. A lot of great stuff happened and some other not so good things. Let's start with the good, shall we?

None of our lessons were outstandingly unusually breathtakingly earth-shatteringly amazing, but there was one that Elder Clegg and I are super excited about! Amber, the investigator whose life seems to have flipped-upside down ever since she started meeting with us, accepted a baptismal date invitation! She will be baptized on 27 Feb. Actually, it could be way sooner than that. As we were making the lesson plans that morning, Elder Clegg and I decided on the 27th as a good date for her because we knew she had a smoking problem and would likely need some time to quit. When we arrived at her house, we found out that she found out that she is pregnant! So she quit smoking cold turkey. Awesome! She has really great faith.

We also got to teach part of a mission prep class for the young men. It was great to be able to help out.

Other fun things included a man we met who claimed that he was "a prophet on social media" (whatever that means) and that if we were real Christians we would "do something 'bout da skreets". He was yelling before we even talked to him and trying to debate with us. We couldn't really get a word in and it was really sad that he rejected our message before we even tried to share it, but it always amuses me when really interesting people do really interesting things. Hopefully he'll be a little more calm the next time missionaries come his way.

The not so good stuff is basically this: Elder Clegg is going home to get surgery and both of us were in a lot of pain all week long. So we didn't exactly get as much done as we hoped. Please continually keep us in your prayers! Prayers work (for example: Amber!).

I know that God loves us so much that He allows us to deal with difficult experiences so that we can learn and grow. Trials are a refining process. They help us to become more humble and identify our biggest weaknesses and our dependence on the Lord. They are opportunities to become stronger and to learn more about God... and ourselves. They also allow us to become more like Christ. I testify that He endured the most horrible of all trials that could conceivably be endured. Because He has felt our pain and our sufferings He can perfectly empathize with us and carry us. He's already been through it all, and I know that that is true. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and it testifies of the Atonement of Christ. I also know that the Holy Ghost is alive and working to testify to the hearts of men and women everywhere that Jesus is the Christ, the gospel has been restored, and that through the Atonement we can find strength through hard times.

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 64: Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was SO great! Good stuff all over the place! I hope you are all doing great and are hitting the ground running in the new year.

Despite the fact that our week included New Year's Eve and New Year's Day (no proselyting on the 31st and for half of the 1st), a zone training meeting in Wilmington, and a doctor's appointment for Elder Clegg in New Bern, we taught a ton of lessons last week! And they went really well!

Carlos is doing so much better with quitting smoking! He's almost there! I love Preach My Gospel, but sometimes the needs of your investigators just demand that you make up a lesson from scratch. And that's what Elder Clegg and I did with Carlos and his family. We noticed that he had a powerful desire to quit smoking, but he wasn't letting his desires turn him to action. So we created a lesson for them that we hoped would get the ball rolling and help him to act. We started out by telling the story of the Brother of Jared and how the Lord commanded him to do something really hard (crossing the ocean to settle in the promised land). In order to keep that the commandment, the Lord gave him a lot of answers to some of the questions he had (how to build the barges, how they would get air, how the barges would be steered, etc.). However, the Lord also gave the Brother of Jared the responsibility and opportunity to come up with a plan to solve other problems by himself (how to provide light in the barges). As the Brother of Jared thought up a "gameplan" and presented it to the Lord (ask the Lord to fill stones with light), his faith and humility increased and he was not only rewarded with his desires, but he received many other unbelieveably amazing blessings. Then we related the story to Carlos and made a gameplan with him. We handed him a pad of paper and a pen and invited him to write things down that he would do to quit smoking. We invited his family to also make a gameplan of things they could do to support and help him. They have placed their gameplans in their home where they can see them, and things have changed remarkably since then. They get along better, they communicate more, and---let's not forget---Carlos is really close to quitting cigarettes completely! We're helping out, too. We call him everyday to follow up with him and ask him if he smoked; Elder Clegg bought him sunflower seeds and cinnamon gum to help him quit; and I bought some pictures of Christ for them to hang in their home (since that really helped bring the Spirit into my room in my college apartment). The Lord is helping out too... Carlos suddenly got sick and just can't get himself to smoke! The Lord answers prayers in mysterious ways, that's for sure!

We had a couple lessons with Frank, our amputee-investigator. We taught him about the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost and resolved a bunch of his concerns about being baptized. His concerns had everything to do with practical and medical things (how we would cover his stump, what he would wear, how he would get in and out of the font, etc.), and after we resolved all of them he accepted our invitation for him to be baptized. He has a lot of faith! He will need to make a lot of changes in his life, but we know that if he exercises his faith the Lord will help him and he can receive the blessings of being baptized by someone with God's authority. Unfortunately, he got shipped off to Kinston (out of our zone) for rehab, and he won't be back for another 3-6 weeks. We had the missionaries in Kinston go give him a visit, and he seemed to enjoy it. Meanwhile, we are building a wheelchair ramp for his trailer. That should be fun.

We had a lesson with Amber and her less-active husband Luke. It was the first time I've been able to meet them. They seem to be really progressing, but it's obvious that Satan really doesn't want them to be heading this direction. In the last two weeks there have been issues with her custody over her son and her first husband, a tree fell on Luke's head, and an abscess appeared really close to her eye. They are staying strong though. The lesson we had with them was a rough one because her aetheist 15-year old sister, Lexi, was there... by force. Her parents (who haven't even met with us ever) made her go to Amber's for the lesson, and it was very clear that she couldn't care less about God and would rather be anywhere else. We'll see where that takes us. Amber said that her dad has a lot of questions about the Bible... he thinks that it was slowly corrupted somewhat over the years because of man's translation. We couldn't keep from smiling when we told her to let her dad know that we have an answer to his questions. She was really excited and it seems like this answer is something he has been looking for for a very long time. He should be at our next lesson with Amber on Wednesday.

Our lessons with Ted were amazing. He is so great! He just came back from leave after being with his family for Christmas for a couple of weeks. He had a lot of really deep questions, but we were able to answer all of them and he not only understood the answers, but he loved them and thought they made so much sense. His first question was our belief in the Trinity, and he was actually smiling when we explained to him that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are seperate beings but one in purpose because it made more sense to him than the beliefs he had been brought up on. He also asked us if he could be baptized without living the law of chastity because he was in an active immoral relationship with his girlfriend. We told him that he couldn't. He surprised us when he said that even though it would be hard to change the nature of the relationship, he would begin to live the law of chastity now because he wanted to be baptized worthily and not do anything wrong. He even has a desire to go to the temple. He's on fire! The only problem is, he and his other infantry buddies are always training in the field and he doesn't know his schedule beyond a few days at a time. He has been trying to talk to his officers about a day he can be baptized but they aren't being cooperative in telling him his schedule. After he's lived the law of chastity for three weeks the only thing stopping him from being baptized is actually finding a day to do it!

This morning we went to see some pretty neat military memorials in our area. Their was a memorial for troops in Beruit who got attacked and killed by suicide bombers, one for the Vietnam war, and another for September 11th. It was pretty neat. I found the names for quite a few Schancks and Shanks on the glass for the Vietnam war memorial. Please pray for our troops... I know and love quite a few of them!

One thing I love about my mission is it has really helped me understand the importance of making goals and it has taught me how to reach them. I've been doing really well at mine so far... I've been writing in my journal everyday even though at first I hated it, I'm eating healthy, and I'm getting better at catching myself when I lack charity. I feel the Lord's help as I "set goals and make plans" (as Preach My Gospel always says) to improve. I know that as we create a goal or a "gameplan" that if we have faith in the Lord and allow Him to touch our plans to reach our goals, then He will help us and even bless us with excess. It worked for the Brother of Jared, it's been working for me, and I know it will work for you! Whether your goal is to get in shape, to get better grades, or to read the scriptures better than you have in the past, I know the Lord wants to help you. I know that He has given us some of the answers to accomplish our goals already through the restoration of the Gospel. One of those answers is the Book of Mormon. I never get tired of testifying of its truthfulness because between each email I write my testimony of it grows stronger and I have a deeper conviction of its divinity with each week that goes by. Most importantly of all, I know that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah and the Savior of the world. I also know that He will come again, and it will be soon.

Please pray for Carlos to have help to quit smoking; for Frank to respond well to his rehab and to be able to return soon; for Amber to heal and be protected so she can continue to progress without any more problems; for Lexi to have her heart softened; and for Ted to find a day when he can be baptized. Please also keep Elder Clegg and I in your prayers; I have been hurting lately and Elder Clegg has a problem with his abdomen. It is very likely that he will need to return home for surgery, and soon. I know that the prayers of the faithful work!

Also, good luck with the next semester, all you college people! And congratulations to Whitney and Chris on being sealed in the temple! I'm happy for you!

I love you all and hope that I get to hear from you soon!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 63: Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Dear friends and family,

I hope you had a merry Christmas and that you felt the love and peace of the Savior on that special day. I testify that He lives and loves us. My testimony of that has grown so much this last week. There are a lot of struggling people in this town. One of them is Frank, an older gentleman that we've been teaching. I haven't even been to his house yet because everytime we've seen him it's been in his hospital room. He has diabetes and it's really messed up his feet. In fact, one of them was infected really bad so they had to amputate his lower leg. Last time we visited him, he had been out of the surgery for only two hours and he was in a lot of pain. He called the nurse in and told her he wanted more medicine, and she said she couldn't give him more because they gave him the strongest pain killer and he couldn't have another dose for hours. I'm sure I speak for Elder Clegg as well when I say that we wanted so badly to be able to help him. We knew that there was nothing we could do to take his pain away. But I knew there was Someone who could. We gave him a priesthood blessing and I could feel the Lord's love for Frank. After the blessing we discussed the feeling of the Spirit that had filled the small room. Frank thanked us and said "I can already feel a difference in my pain." I also know that because of the Savior and His Atonement we can have our pain alleviated and even removed, in some cases. I testify that Jesus Christ knows what it is like to lose your right foot. He knows of the pain of the recovery. I also know that because He has felt that exact pain, that He alone can perfectly empathize with Frank to help him through this time.

I also know that because of Christ we can all have our pain lifted. Whether you are a lonely widow, a frightened soldier, a dying patient, a discouraged missionary, a troubled criminal, a sorry sinner, or just a normal person with normal problems, I know that you can be healed through the Atonement of Christ. I know this because I have met all kinds of people with these discriptions and I have seen how the gospel of Jesus Christ has helped them access the Atonement and find relief to their minds, bodies, and spirits. I know the Redeemer lives!

Our week was very slow. So many people are on leave to see their families for the holidays. On top of that, there is a sickness spreading around the entire city and it seems to have gotten into every home of the few families that are still here. three of our seven investigators are in town and two of them are sick. The other one is dealing with a lawsuit concerning the custody of her child and despite our promising that a message about the gospel will help she hasn't allowed us to come over yet. We contacted a lot of referrals, though, which is good. Anyway, I don't have a lot of great stories about lessons or proselyting because not much has happened.

Christmas was pretty good. We got to eat breakfast on Christmas and dinner on Chrismtas Eve and Christmas day with members. My favorite part about the whole holiday was sharing a message with the families who fed us about the glorious news of the restored gospel and how we can give the gift of missionary work to members. And of course getting to talk to my family even though it's only been a couple weeks since I've seen them. It was especially great to be able to talk to Christa this year. 

Other exciting news: we have a new addition to our backyard buddies. We've been getting so much food from members (we get fed about every day... except for during the holiday season, apparently) that we can't eat all the leftovers and goodies they give us before some of it goes bad. So we've been putting the bad food on our back deck for the 11 stray cats that live in the woods behind our house to eat. At first when I heard about this tradition I thought the past elders were pretty stupid, but when I realized that the cats were already coming I figured, "Eh, what the heck" and so I've been throwing my cold pizza crusts out onto the deck. The other night we found out that not only the cats have been loving the food when we peeked out our window to see a big fat possum chowing down on some stale pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. He was huge! Since the 11 cats already have names, we decided to name him, too. We call him Pachus the Possum, named after the king of the Nephite dissenters in the Book of Mormon. Kind of a weird name, I know, but we found it in the pronounciation guide in the back of the book. We looked up who Pachus was in the index, and he seems like a varmint himself so we figured it would be a good name for our possum.

Yesterday in church one Sis. Bluth (a sister missionary in our ward) and I performed Dad's arrangement of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" for cello and piano. We were kind of nervous because we only had one day to put it together and the cello we got was a 3/4 cello, which Sis. Bluth had to adjust to, but it turned out really great. She played beautifully and I was really pleased with how I did. Our ward loved it, too, and they're asking for more!

This morning I had a great experience. A week or so after I returned here from Utah I felt like something was missing. I didn't have the Spirit as strongly as I remembered having it before. I have been doing my best to be exactly obedient to the mission standards and the commandments, I've been working hard, and I just couldn't figure it out. Yesterday at church I realized that the biggest difference between now and then is that I haven't been reading as much from the Book of Mormon. Since I've been back, I've just been using it to supplement my studies, rather than focusing my studies around it. Today I got a fresh copy of the Book of Mormon and decided to start over with it and mark certain concepts with different colored pencils, like I did several months ago. I read the introduction and the first 9 chapters of the book, looking for references to Christ and His doctrine and Atonement. An hour later, when personal study had ended, I realized that the missing something had been filled in by the Spirit. I testify of the truthfulness and divinity of the Book of Mormon. I know with all my heart and soul that it is a book from God.

To every one of you that is reading this now, I invite you to read the Book of Mormon. It doesn't matter if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint or not, and it doesn't matter how many times you've read it in the past. As a literal representative of Jesus Christ, I promise you in His name that if you read it with real intent, looking with faith to know how you can strengthen your relationship with Christ, that you will find what you are looking for. You have absolutely nothing to lose---I know from experience that this book will only bless your life. To miss out on the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon is to miss out on the blessing of coming closer to God. I know that the Book of Mormon is true because I have read it and witnessed it change my life and transform me into a better disciple of Jesus Christ. I have seen that happen to dozens of people as I've had the humble privilege to be one of two to bring them the book that the Savior wants them to read the most. I extend this invitation only because I love you and I know that by accepting it you will be happy and blessed by the Lord.

I am grateful to my ward at home. Thank you for your love and the support you have given to me. You are in my prayers and I love you all very much!

Again, I know that Jesus is the Christ, our loving Savior, Redeemer, and Atoner. I know that the fulness of His gospel and the authority to administer sacred ordinances was lost but has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The work of the Lord is hastening.

I hope to hear from you soon! And I hope you have a great new year's eve! Don't do anything stupid because people that do stupid things on holidays make it so that missionaries like me have to stay inside all day!

With love,  Elder Schank

Merry Christmas from Elders Schank and Clegg

Week 62.5 Merry Christmas (tomorrow)

Dear friends and family,

This one will probably be short because Elder Clegg and I have to share one computer we found in the family history library in the church.  So I got my package this morning. My presents are sitting under our ghetto Christmas tree, along with Elder Clegg's gifts. Tomorrow we are having Christmas breakfast with the Sutherland family and dinner with Bishop Reese's family. The area is really great. We've had some great lessons with Carlos and his family. Two of his kids got baptized last month, his wife is returning from less-activity (well... we think so... no one can find her records but she remembers her baptism and obviously is familiar with LDS culture), and the other kids are younger than 8. He is trying to quit smoking because that's all that is keeping him from being baptized. We had a few other lessons with Ted, a 21-year old grunt Marine. He told us that he knows our message and the Book of Mormon are true and he wants to be baptized. Most of our investigators (6 or so) are gone for Christmas so I haven't even met half of our teaching pool. Good stuff is happening.

One funny story is we went to contact a referral named Marco. Church headquarters told us he wanted a missionary visit. So we went and we were really excited to meet him! We knocked on the door and a really abrasive, large Hispanic man in shiny blue silk pajamas (belly button clearly visible) opened the door. He told us he knew who we were, that we didn't believe the truth, and that he believes we're a cult. He seemed surprised that we weren't shocked at all when he said that (we get it all the time). We tried to clear up any misconceptions but he didn't want us to tell him what we really believe. He accosted us with the whole "don't add or take away from this book" problem in Revelations, and then quickly changed the subject when we had a completely sensible explanation and told him the correct interpretation of that verse. (We get that one all the time, too.) Then he targeted me and started testing my Bible knowledge by quoting obscure Bible verses and challenging me to fill-in-the-blank and judge our beliefs in God. I got most of them right, but after I missed one he told me that I was totally unfit to be an elder because I didn't know the Bible well enough. We kept trying to bear our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and things to him but he always went back to how I didn't have the Bible memorized and was a terrible missionary because of it. It was hilarious. We were pretty fed up with him trying to keep provoking us into argument so we struggled for the next 5 minutes to leave. We asked him if there was anyone in his area who was lonely for Christmas or who we could help. He said he did, but he wouldn't tell us because if we were really ministers of God then the Spirit would direct us to them. I guess he doesn't know how the Spirit really works---through people. It's always sad to see how some people completely harden their hearts to the truth. It does, however, make me grateful that I have the gospel in my life, and it motivates me to find those who are ready to accept it for themselves.

I invite everyone this Christmas season to watch a video about the birth of Christ. I love the Savior and I know He is the Messiah. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. I love that book!

I hope that all of y'all have a very merry Christmas! I love you and hope to hear from you soon!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 62 - Elder Schank is back in black!

Hello, friends and family!

It's been a whirlwind of a week! I found out last Thursday that I was coming back to the mission! I was set apart on Sunday evening and I shipped out early Monday morning. My family came into the airport with me and we gave our goodbye hugs just before I went through the security check... right behind a whole bunch of other missionaries! They probably thought I was some totally apostate new missionary. They weren't going to North Carolina, I found out, but I met the group going to my mission at the terminal. I didn't get to sit next to them on the plane, which was kind of a bummer because I was looking forward to talking with them, but it was good, too, because I got to sit next to some nonmembers and share some of our message with them. One of them was a lady from New Orleans named Priscilla. During the flight from Atlanta to Raleigh, she game me her phone number to give to the missionaries in Louisiana.

When we left the terminal to get our luggage, we were met by President and Sister Bernhisel, the two new assistants to the president, and Elder Farr, who was my first companion in Hope Mills. (He was one of the assistants, too, but he finished his mission today so he was helping to train the new assistant.) I already knew a lot of what was going on so I pretty much hung out with him all day after we got back to the mission home and I had my interview with Pres. Bernhisel. It was great to catch up on things. I found out in my interview that I was being sent to the Jacksonville 3 area, home of Camp Lejeune, a big Marines base. I'm excited to see the similarities and differences between serving in an Army town and a Marine town. I can already tell that this place needs the gospel really bad, even though I haven't even been here for 24 hours. I'm super excited to be here.

On Tuesday morning I was an honorary assistant to the president for the day. I helped transport the missionaries to and from places, revise the transfer board, and run errands for new missionaries who forgot stuff places and the mission president and his wife when they needed things. When the transfer meeting almost began, I was received by a lot of my mission friends with a really warm welcome. They said they were really excited to see me back, but I don't think they have any idea how much more excited I am to be back. We received our assignments and then headed out to our area. Jacksonville is in the Wilmington zone, really close the southeastern coast of the state. When we arrived, I met my companion, Elder Brady Clegg from Eagle Mountain, UT. He's a really great missionary, and I've been really impressed. He has been on his mission for three months (he entered the mission when I left it) and so I will be follow-up training him. He was in a tripanionship with Elder Black and Elder Langford, who trained him, until I came. Elder Bentley came with me to be Elder Black's companion. We weren't able to move back to our original apartment, so the four of us all camped out in the Jacksonville 2 apartment. It was kind of cramped, but really fun. E. Clegg and I slept on the couches. That night we also taught a part-member family that's struggling with getting along with each other, but they are great and I love them very much. The gospel has obviously already helped a lot and I can't wait to see how they change even more! I forget the first name of the dad, but he is going to get baptized soon! We just need to help him quit smoking first.

This morning we had district meeting, and we got to meet the sister missionaries that work in both the 2nd and 3rd wards, the military relations missionary couple, and the Hampstead elders. Elder Brewer is our district leader (and one of the Hampstead missionaries), and he's a good friend of mine in the mission. It was weird to look around the room during our meeting and realize that I was the missionary who has served the longest in our whole district, except for Elder Brewer who goes home in 6 weeks. I can already tell that the next 9 months are going to fly by. (Yep... only 9 months... I found out I come home 17 Sep 2013.)

After the meeting we came back to our apartment and Bro. Petino, our ward mission leader, helped us move to our new apartment. It's more run-down than I expected. Elder Clegg and I will be having a deep-clean day tomorrow because it smells bad and it looks like someone broke in. (I don't think anyone really did, but the place is in shambles.) We live in a quad-plex, surrounded by a bunch of marines. There are helicopters that come from the airfield in the camp and they fly over our apartment and they're really loud. They remind me of the trains in Kaysville and make me feel at home. We basically dumped our stuff in our apartment and headed straight here. Hopefully we'll have time to go shopping right after this before we get picked up for dinner with a member and leave to teach a couple lessons to night. If we're really lucky, we might even have time to unpack.

Anyway, it's been great so far. I love the missionaries I serve with. They are great elders and sisters. I know the gospel is true and that the Book of Mormon changes lives because it is true as well. I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost and how it testifies when we bear testimony. I know that Jesus is the Savior and I love Him with all I have.

I hope that you are all doing well and I would love to hear from you! (My address is below.) 

With love,

Elder Schank

North Carolina Raleigh Mission

6508 Falls of Neuse, Ste. 100

Raleigh, NC 27615

United States

http://mormon.org/me/2JZ1/KennySchank/

Goodbye Elder Schank....take two

Inter-Mission, Week 1: Hello, again, Utah

Hello, Friends and Family!

This has been a crazy week. Probably one of the weirdest weeks of my life. I think I'm going try to send most of these email updates on Monday like I used to do when I was in the field, so if you want to stay posted check for them then. (If you don't want these updates just let me know and I won't send them to you.) I guess the best way to do this is to just give a summary of each day. That makes this email really long, so I'll do a short version, too.

Short Version:

I came home and I'm doing pretty good. It's really weird being back. I had a lot of doctor appointments and after some exams they think that I have a disease called ankylosing spondylitis, which basically means the bones in my pelvis and spine are fusing together. It's not a sure diagnosis yet; in fact, an x-ray shows that all the bones are fine. I'm going to get an MRI done on Friday to get a better look and either diagnose or rule it out for good. I also had a blood test done; haven't gotten the results yet. It's been great to see my family. I'm still hurting quite a bit. I got released as a missionary and I'll be returning to North Carolina once the problem is all taken care of. General conference was awesome; I got to go to the priesthood session and Sunday morning session.
I've been able to do vicarious work for the dead in the Logan, Brigham City, and Bountiful temples.

Long Version:

Last Tuesday:

I started to get a little bit of a glimpse of how awkward this stage of my life (my "inter-mission") is when I was grouped along with the returning missionaries. It was a weird kind of feeling… going home but not really ending my mission. For all intensive purposes, I was a "returning missionary", but while everyone else was thinking about college and jobs and relationships and things I wasn't thinking about any of those things because they don't really apply to me. We had an awesome dinner provided by some of the sister office missionaries, had exit interviews (for me it was kind of like a "get well soon" interview), and closed the night with a great testimony meeting. I had a lot of mixed feelings. It was a good but pretty uncomfortable day.

Last Wednesday:

We headed off to the airport. Everyone got their bags checked at the airport and were ready to go with their boarding passes… except for me. Apparently someone in the missionary travel department had reserved a spot on the airplane for me but never made the payment! Turns out there wasn't any room for me on the second plane, so I had to fly first-class from our layover in Atlanta to Salt Lake City. Oh, shucks. As we flew over Utah, I was surprised at how open it was and how big the mountains are! I had forgotten about all of that. It was beautiful. The man sitting next to me was amused by my excitement and how I was taking pictures of the brown "desert". We finally landed and made our ways to the baggage claim areas. When I saw my family, I was surprised to see how much my littlest siblings have grown, especially when Becky, my youngest sister, rushed me and rammed me all the way up to my sternum with her face as she gave me a big hug. Jacob had grown like a sprout, too, and though Adam hadn't seemed too much taller, he definitely seemed a lot older. As I was going through this sibling inventory, I realized that almost half of them were gone. It seemed like our family had shrunken significantly even though 6 of the 8 of us were together again. After lunch at Cafe Rio, we headed home. The first thing I did when I got out of the car was fall into a face plant on the grass. I missed the nice, green Utah grass. After doing a little unpacking, I headed off with Dad to the Conference Center in Salt Lake City for the dress rehearsal of the choir that would sing in the priesthood session of general conference. One of the choir members was too sick to make it to the dress rehearsal, so I got to serve as a place-holder for him and I sang along with the choir for the rehearsal. It was a lot of fun and it brought back a lot of wonderful memories of the times I have had the opportunity to sit in those seats behind living prophets and Apostles and sing and listen to their words as they spoke to the world. Following the rehearsal, we drove to my stake president's home so he could release me. While I no longer have an obligation to live missionary standards, he encouraged me to live the same standards regarding the missionary schedule and media. My family is being very supportive of that. It was a long day.

Thursday:

Woke up early in the morning and had family scripture study. I missed that. After a while my parent came with me to the doctor to start taking care of the problem. He referred us to a rheumatologist, who we saw later that day. They suspected ankylosing spondylitis, a disease that, if I understood correctly, basically causes the cartilage in my spine and pelvis to deteriorate and the bones to fuse together. At the end of the appointment with the rheumatologist he had an x-ray taken of my lower back and pelvis to try to rule out (or diagnose) ankylosing spondylitis. Between doctor visits mom cleaned my teeth at the dentist's office.

Friday:

Went back to the doctor's office to get another blood lab done to check for a few more things. After that we drove up to Logan to pick up my sister Sarah from her dorm at Utah State University. It was great seeing her again… I missed her so much! We headed to the Logan temple to complete vicarious ordinances for the dead; I baptized and confirmed Sarah and Dad baptized and confirmed me. After the temple, we went to the infamous Bluebird restaurant on main street then went back onto the campus to pick up Sarah's friend Josh and take him home for conference weekend. On the way back to Kaysville we stopped at the Brigham City temple and did more work for the dead. When we arrived at the baptistry, there was already a large group of young women doing baptisms. Because they didn't have very many men there, I was asked to help baptize some of them. I got to baptize about five of them, then Sarah, and then Josh. Then Dad baptized me again. When we got back home we played some games and did some other fun family stuff.

Saturday:

General conference begins! When President Monson announced that young men can now serve missions at the age of 18 and young women, 19, the Spirit filled our family room and Mom, Dad, Sarah, and I were visibly touched. We made the realization that Sarah could serve now, and Adam could apply in just about a year and a half! Even 10-year old Becky and 13- year old Jacob are excited to serve missions. Wouldn't that be great if all 6 of us served?! Between conference sessions, Bro. Winkelman from our ward came by to see me and we talked a little bit about our missions in North Carolina (he served in the Charlotte mission). After the second session of conference, Adam, Jacob, and I headed to the conference center for the priesthood session. We got to sit on the 7th row because Dad was conducting the choir. The talks were great and the choir did a great job on the music. I especially liked Dad's arrangement of "Hope of Israel". It was so powerful! After conference the four of us went to Red Robin for some burgers, steak fries, and our traditional game of "I spy" whenever we eat at that place. It was a great day.

Sunday:

My good friend Hailee invited me to go with her and her ward to sing hymns next to the protestors before general conference, so we went back to the conference center in the morning and it was a cold but great time. Even though the protestors were trying to cause a lot of disruption and contention, I could feel the Spirit as we sang, and I could visibly observe how it affected other church members as they filed into the conference center and even the other pedestrians as they bustled to and fro. We left our posts and went inside the conference center ourselves just in time for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's broadcast, "Music and the Spoken Word" (which was great), and the Sunday morning session of General Conference immediately followed. It was an amazing session of conference. My favorite talks were "Where Is the Pavilion?" by President Henry B. Eyring and "The First Great Commandment" by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. While at the session I got to see some other friends, and it was good to see them again. When I got home I laid down for a little bit because I was hurting pretty bad. It was totally worth going though! I got to talk to my grandparents on the phone before the final session started, and that session ended too early. I can't believe conference is already over! The good news is there's only 6 more months we have to wait for the next one! :) Following the Sunday afternoon session and a quick nap, another family from the ward came by and delivered cookies for our family to comfort us and show support to me. I was very touched because I know that that family has gone through a much worse trial lately, but they still were aware of me and how I felt. They inspired me to look for more opportunities to serve and to never make excuses or think that I'm exempt from helping others.

Monday:

We had more appointments to get looked at and take care of "The Problem". Got a phone call saying that every thing in my back and pelvis that was x-rayed looks perfect, so we'll do an MRI on Friday to look for more. Not much else huge happened besides that we had a block party for family home evening and I got to say hello to some neighbors I haven't seen for a while and get to meet about 4 other families that have moved into our neighborhood since I left for North Carolina.

Yesterday:

Went to the Bountiful temple with Mom. The work I did took a lot less time than Mom's, so I had some extra time to sit in a special place in the temple and just study, ponder, and pray. I love the peace that is always in the house of the Lord. I missed being able to go to the temple so often. Hopefully I'll be able to go to the Salt Lake City, Oquirrh Mountain, Draper, Jordan River, and Timpanogos temples, too, before I leave again. Had some mission-cavities filled. In the evening we drove to the BYU football stadium to watch Adam's high school marching band competition. His band did a great job and I really liked their performance. My cousin Julia came and watched with us, and after the competition we went to the creamery for some ice cream.


I have some job opportunities here and there to earn a little extra money. I am also going to be volunteering to help the missionaries working in the family history center at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in temple square. Well… that's pretty much it! I've done a lot of piano playing recently to get out the stress because I can't run around and exercise like I used to. Like I said, it's been a weird week: full of mixed feelings and pain but I'm trying to be optimistic and hopeful.

There are a lot of things about this situation that I don't know: what the problem is, how to fix it, when I will be able to return to the mission field, etc. But I do know that God has a plan for me and that He loves me. Despite the difficulty of it, I'm grateful for this experience to help me build my faith. I know that the Lord blesses those who accept His will and have desires to serve Him.

"Many of us, in moments of personal anguish, feel that God is far from us. The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are,     covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our own desires, rather than a feeling of “Thy will be done,” create the feeling of a pavilion blocking God. God is not unable to see us or communicate with us, but we may be unwilling to listen or submit to His will and His time. Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him. That is not easy in a world where the opinions of other human beings can have such an effect on our motives. But it will help us recognize this truth: God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children" (President Henry B. Eyring, "Where is the Pavilion?", General Conference, 7 October 2012).

I know that this statement is true. God does see us, and if we incline our minds to Him---in both times of peace and times of turmoil---He will grant us great blessings and our lives will improve. I know that to be true. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that God has restored His gospel again.

I love you all so much! I hope you're doing well! I hope to hear from you soon! (You can email me now! :) )

Love,

Kenny Schank
(801) 546-0444
ksschank@gmail.com
elderschank.blogspot.com

P.S. The phone number above is my phone number; I don't have a cell phone.
P.P.S. The blog site above is still running. (It contains all of my weekly email updates.) Due to the size of the files, there will be more pictures included on the blog than on the emails.

Week 61: Good bye (for now) North Carolina!

Hello, friends and family!

This week was a wonderful week. It was a hard one, too. I'll start with the happy stuff.

On Friday we had an awesome zone leader/district leader training meeting. We were instructed by President Bernhisel as well as Bro. Watson and Bro. Wade from the proselyting division of the missionary department of the Church. It was so good! Some of the things they taught us completely changed my mission! Bro. Watson, who is the director of the proselyting division, was really good at speaking and motivating us, but it was the topic that really brought the Spirit. He focused everything on the Doctrine of Christ (faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end) and taught us how everything that Jesus Christ taught (and that we should teach) points back to the Doctrine of Christ. I wish I could have recorded it because it was amazing. At least I took 4 full pages of notes. It was awesome.

Saturday was a great day as well: I got to baptize Trevaughn, the 9-year old boy we've been teaching. It was so great. It was awesome to see how many members of the ward came to support him even though he's really young. It was probably the first time his mom, Yvonne, set foot in a LDS church building in a really long time. Among the people there to support him were Angie, his step-sister; Tristan, her boyfriend; and one of our other investigators, Lynette. Lynette loved the service and seems to be even more excited to be baptized herself. We taught her about the Word of Wisdom in a lesson right after the lesson and she is excited to receive the blessings promised for obedience to that commandment. Following the lesson she watched the Relief Society general broadcast and loved that, as well.

It was also a hard week because I had to say goodbye to a lot of people I love. Sunday was fast and testimony meeting (because of general conference this coming weekend) and after Trevaughn's confirmation I wanted to bear my testimony one last time to the people I've been serving around and with for the last 7 and a half months. As I sat on the stand and waited for my turn to speak, I looked out over the congregation and saw all the people I have come to love---members and investigators included. I had planned to only let them know that I was getting transferred because I didn't want a lot of attention, but as I began to share my testimony, the Spirit prompted me to briefly explain the whole situation of me returning home to resolve medical issues. It was hard to hold back my emotions and I realized really how much I love these people! As I shared the short story and testified of the truth, the congregation, little children included, went completely silent and I felt the Spirit again confirming to me that I'm doing the right thing in going home for a time. After sacrament meeting, a man who we helped return to activity and his still-semi-returning-to-activity wife came to tell me goodbye. I had only really spoken with her once or twice, but she had tears in her eyes and thanked me for sharing my story with her because it had really spoken to her. Her husband said that he didn't want to come to church that day, but his wife told him that they needed to go (it's usually the other way around). I'm grateful that she followed her prompting that she needed to be at church and that I was able to receive a prompting to share something that could strengthen her testimony.

Aside from that confrontation with that couple, though, I almost regretted having shared the whole story with the congregation because I got a lot of attention in the halls and classes after sacrament meeting. I felt very, very loved, though, by the Hope Mills 1st ward. Several people wanted to exchange hugs, handshakes, and/or contact information. A lot of people spoke comforting words and I was able to say goodbye to some people we've been working with that I probably won't be able to see again. One priest even gave me a hug and told me that I was his second favorite missionary ever (I'll take it)! I was touched by how much the ward showed love toward me, including people I didn't think I knew that well. I feel, though, that the Hope Mills 1st ward and many of the people in it have made it into a special place in my heart.

After church a drunk kid tried to break into our car. Luckily, Steve, who got baptized the week before Trevaughn, saw him, stopped him, took his knife from him, helped him calm down, and got the police to come pick him up. Go, Steve! :)

That's about it! After this I'm going to pack up some stuff and I head out on Wednesday. You can reach me by email at kennyschank@gmail.com (if I remember correctly). See you soon, and make sure you watch General Conference! I promise it will be worth it!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 60: See you soon...

Hello friends and family!

It's been a great week. Steve, Karen, and Carlie were all baptized! It was awesome. So many people came that it almost filled the chapel! Elder Simmons and I were asked to give the talk on baptism, which was pretty interesting because 1) I'm not used to team teaching behind a pulpit into a microphone and 2) it's weird giving a talk, not teaching a lesson. WAY different. They are going to be such strong members, I can really tell.

Left to Right: Me, Elder Simmons, Carlie, Karen, Steve, Bob Hales, Chris Fuhriman, Sister Brown, Elder Brown

Things are going well with many of the investigators. We lost 3 this week (due to the baptism) but the Lord brought us 7 more people to teach this week.

A family of 4 former investigators called us out of the blue and asked if we could come over and talk to them because they've been going through a really tough time. When we went to teach them, they were all there, plus a fifth person. They live in really humble circumstances in a dangerous pocket of town. They have been humbled a lot because of recent trials and they are much more prepared to receive the word. In fact, they all have accepted to work towards November 10th to be baptized. The biggest problem was they were going to get evicted. We shared some comforting scriptures with them from 3 Nephi 13 and promised them that the Lord would take care of them if they were to make Him their priority. After we returned to our apartment, we prayed long and hard for a miracle to be provided for this family. Turns out that a few days later they were evicted. For a few days, they had to live in a broken car. But when we called them again to check on them a few days later, they were back in their trailer again and things worked out to where they can still live there! I know that the Lord was behind it.

Another man we taught, Kevin, was the husband of an inactive woman. When we first met him last week, he asked us "Who is Jesus?" That's always a bad sign; everyone in the South knows who Jesus is, so we knew he wasn't asking us out of curiosity but to test us. I guess our first answer was good enough for him so we were able to set up an appointment to meet with him again. As we met at the appointed time, he pulled out a really nice pamphlet out of his Bible that was called "Christianity: Cults & Religions". Here we go! He started reading what the pamphlet said "Mormons" believe and---I'm not gonna lie---there was some pretty ridiculous, border-line blasphemous stuff in there. We were able to set him straight and he was willing to accept the truth. He's a really staunch Baptist with an impressive knowledge of the Bible, and he says he will know if the Book of Mormon is true if it doesn't contradict the Bible, so I'm not worried. It will be interesting and probably pretty difficult to help him understand the truth, but once he joins the Church he will be a super solid member. We have high hopes for him, especially because there were several times were he said, "My church teaches this, but I believe it's more like this..." and those things that he believes that digress from his church's teachings are actually more in line with the truth.

The final person we found this week was Lynette's daughter, Victoria. Lynette had a great time at church and got emotional during Sunday school and Relief Society. She is just eating it all up! She loves the new knowledge she is gaining from the restored gospel. Victoria seemed a little overwhelmed during our lesson because her mom had a lot of questions that wouldn't make sense to anyone without a little bit of a background, but she said she'd read from the Book of Mormon and meet with us again. I think she also has really high potential.

David is doing really well. He had to go to the hospital again this week because his "stump" is acting up again. But ever since that spiritual experience he had he's known that the Church is true and that he needs to be baptized, so that's given him a greater reason to live the Word of Wisdom. He's been tobacco free for over a week now! We usually don't baptize people unless they've been living the law of chastity and the Word of Wisdom for the last three weeks or more, so he should still be ok to be baptized 13 October.

Trevaughn, our nine-year old investigator, is excited to get baptized this weekend. I think his step-sister Angie is jealous because she has to wait till October since we haven't taught her as much as we have him. He asked me to perform the ordinance on Saturday and I look forward to it. It's going to be a stressful evening---there's a baptism in the other ward right before Trevaughn's, then right after the baptism we're teaching Lynette and Victoria, and we have to make sure to end at 7:30 so that they can make it to the ice cream social the sisters in the ward are having before the Relief Society General Conference broadcast at 8---but I'm excited!

Yep, things are going great here in Hope Mills. I love this place. The work is just so amazing!

So... if you're observant like my Dad, you would have noticed that the subject for last week's email said "The Best and Worst Week". I told you why it was the best, but I forgot to tell you what I meant by "the worst." Last week was the worst week as far as pain goes. When we weren't teaching a lesson, or planning or making phone calls, I was pretty much laying on the floor trying to find some relief. That made me think a lot about what the Lord wants me to do about it. Over the last two weeks, through inspiration I received in the House of the Lord, while at stake conference, and through personal prayer, I feel that I received an answer from Him. My thoughts and feelings began to be inclined towards the idea of going home to seek out physical therapy and return to the mission field once the problem is resolved. This wasn't in accordance with my will, but as I thought about all the reasons in the past that I didn't want to leave, a quiet and peaceful reassurance came into my heart as if Someone was saying "Don't worry about it; it's going to work out." I have a testimony that God answers the prayers of His children. It doesn't come all at once, and it never comes without work. But through diligent prayer, fasting, and real intent---including submitting my will to God---I was able to gain the answer I was looking for. I know that it is an answer from God, and because of that I am not afraid or even upset to do what He wants me to do. Why would I rather yield to my own desires than to the will of God? I would be a fool to think that I have a greater idea of what lies ahead than does my Heavenly Father. And so I will be returning to Utah on October 3rd (9 days). While I'm not afraid or upset, it still is a very hard decision and I am going to miss working here and being a missionary a lot. I am looking forward to returning soon to the mission field to complete my mission. I hope it's soon, "but if not" (Daniel 3:18)... not my will, but the Lord's be done (see Luke 22:42)!

So... yeah! I know it's probably pretty surprising and all-of-a-sudden. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon! (If you send a letter after Wednesday it would probably be best to send it to:

726 Mill Shadow Dr.
Kaysville, UT 84037.

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 59: The Best and Worst Week

Dear Friends and Family,

This week was totally awesome! It was absolutely amazing. We had a lot of great lessons and we are working with so many great people who are doing such a wonderful job! For example, David, who in the past has not been progressing due to Word of Wisdom issues, had a revelatory experience the other day while reading the scriptures. He had a specific question, and he prayed in faith for an answer to his questions. As he read, he felt the spirit answer his question and confirm to him that the Lord desires him to live the doctrine of Christ and be baptized by authority. What an amazing miracle! At the end of the lesson, he took us into his home and showed us a sealed carton of cigarettes. He gave us a permanent marker and asked us to sign the box, signifying that he would live the Word of Wisdom for the rest of his life.

We taught Trevaughn and his family several times this week. It's always hard to teach with 12+ people in the room, but it turned out pretty good each time. Yesterday, we taught Trevaughn the law of tithing, and while it made sense to him and all of his siblings, Yvonne told us that she doesn't believe in paying tithing. Yvonne's children, those who benefit from her income the most, practically rebuked her and told her that she should pay her tithing. It was interesting to see as her several children, with their firm and steadfast testimonies, had the faith in God's commandments to do that.

Everyone else is doing really well. Angie can't wait to be baptized; Steve, Karen, and Carlie are getting baptized on Saturday; and Lynette is already telling everyone that she's a Mormon even though she won't be getting baptized till mid-October.

This weekend we also had a great stake conference. Our stake was reorganized because our stake president is moving, so it will be interesting for us to work with a new stake president to coordinate the missionary work in the Fayetteville stake. In each session, we were addressed by Raleigh temple Pres. & Sis. Scott (Richard G. Scott's brother and sister-in-law); Elder Keith Giddens, our area seventy; and Elder Corbridge of the 1st quorum of the seventy. Both meetings were excellent. I was grateful for the opportunity to learn from such great leaders, and to the Lord for providing us with leaders who hold His authority to teach and minister.

I made an important realization during the tail-end of the final session of the conference. I realized how important it is for us to receive trials in our lives, and how much of a blessing they really can be. As many of you know, my year of college was a very difficult time for me. Physically, it was very painful and it was emotionally difficult to cope with the fact that I may or may not be able to serve a mission as I would like to. During that experience, I learned how to humble myself enough to accept the Lord's will and have faith that His plan is more perfect than mine. It was a really hard time... the hardest time I had in my life up to that point. However, I'm grateful for that experience because without it, I may not have been able to cope with these harder trials I am now facing with as much faith or trust in the Lord. It seems to me that the trials I faced before my mission were preparatory tribulations that in the end gave me the added strength I would need to face the trials I'm wading through now. I am grateful that the Lord loved me enough to prepare me then for now.

I know that Christ is our Savior and He feels the pains of all of us. I love His gospel and I know it is true. His church has been restored... what a wonderful truth! I love the Book of Mormon and know it to be true. It provides me with so much peace to endure the difficult trials of life:

2 Nephi 2:1-2

2 Nephi 4:20

Jacob 3:1

Alma 26:27

Ether 12:27.

Love you all so much!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 58: More Blood Tests

Dear Friends and Family,

Hope you're doing great! Things are just awesome here. First a quick update on my health.

To be honest, it's been pretty rough this week. I'm not really sure why, either. I talked with Dr./Elder Smalley again and he sent me to get my blood checked for the 4th? time to see if I have mononucleosis (mono), Lyme disease, or a vitamin D deficiency. He should probably get the results either today or tomorrow and he will let me know what they are as soon as he gets them.

Aside from how I've been feeling physically, though, this week has been awesome. We were able to teach a lot and we had 7 investigators come to church... more than I've ever had come on my mission! The best part is they all really enjoyed it.

We had another lesson with Nitza, Katrina, Jerome, and Trevaughn (he's the 10 year old investigator), this time with their step-sister (Angie), their mom (Yvonne), and Angie's boyfriend Tristen.  To be honest, it really wasn't that great of a lesson because we were trying to cater to the needs of 7 people, 5 of whom all wanted to share their thoughts and experiences, and all that in about 40 minutes. The good news is Angie expressed a desire to join the church and be baptized!  One of the funny parts of the lesson was when we found out that Tristen apparently was forced by Yvonne to attend because even though she doesn't want him dating her daughter she said that if he's going to have a relationship with Angie then he needs to listen to us! First of all, that's awesome because it shows that Yvonne is opening up and showing support now, and it also gets us another person we can share the restored gospel with! Double plus. Further into the lesson, Yvonne (kind of) bore her testimony to Tristen about how accepting the gospel and being baptized would be a blessing to him, because then he could get sealed to Angie in the temple. He looked pretty embarrassed. We thought it kind of turned him off a little bit, but lo and behold, there he was at church on Sunday with Angie, Katrina, Jerome, and Trevaughn!

Church was awesome. Jerome passed the sacrament for the first time and loved it, and Britt, a less-active sister we've been working with came to church for the first time in a long time with her two daughters. She was happy to be back! Our investigator named Charlie came to church with two member friends, and one of them brought her non-member mother and brother. David was back in church for the first time since he left the hospital. Steve and Karen were making all kinds of awesome and impressive comments in Sunday School and Relief Society/Priesthood... Steve was sharing with us how Moroni was such a great example of faith and Karen was talking about the importance of watching General Conference (which, by the way, I can't wait for!)!!! After church, another returning less-active man we've been working with went to have a bishop's interview to get things straightened out, which was super exciting to me. Trevaughn wanted to know where he was going to get baptized so we showed him the font. Angie ran up when we opened the font doors and pushed Trevaughn to the side so she could peer over the glass and she said "Is this where I'm getting baptized?" She is SUPER excited to be baptized... so I think she'll accept our invitation when we extend it tonight. :)

The A/C is almost fixed. Supposedly it's getting taken care of today.

I know the Book of Mormon is true! I love it and I know that it represents a full restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hope you're all doing well! I love you and hope to hear from you soon!

With love,

Elder Schank

Week 57: More Miracles, More Heat

Hello friends and family!

Sorry to get this email in a day late... the library was closed yesterday due to the Labor day holiday. On the plus side, that gave us time to golf. One of the priests in our ward was willing to pay for me and Elder Simmons to go golfing with him. It was my first time ever. Apparently my first hit was really good for never having even held a driver before... but it went downhill from there. I stopped after the 4th hole because I didn't have any golf balls left! Whoops. We walked all 9 holes and it was super hot and really humid out, so I got a half-decent sunburn, a few more mosquito/gnat/ant bites, and after 27 days of constantly sweating (yep... our A/C is still out) I finally stopped sweating at about 3:00 because I had no more water to sweat! When we got back to the little place where you pay to golf, I got a drink of water from the water fountain and all of a sudden I started sweating again. It was the weirdest feeling. I think I may have got a little bit of heat exhaustion because I was down and out for the count last night... especially cause it was still 92 degrees in our apartment at 10:30, our bedtime. All in all, it was a great day.

Physically, besides the sunburn and bug bites, nothing has improved nor worsened. Thanks to everyone who has been continuing to keep me in their prayers. I testify that the Lord hears you.

I got to go over to Raeford on an exchange with one of our district leaders. It was a Spanish-speaking area, so that was interesting. I tried really hard to help out but I really didn't do too much. I was able to understand most of what was said in the lesson we had that day, but all I knew how to say was "hola" and "buenos tardes". I actually tried to pray in Spanish at the request of the investigator, so I went gringo-style and opened in Spanish ("Padre Celestial..."), spoke the body of the prayer in English, and closed en el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen! It was rough and I think I embarrassed the missionary, but the investigator smiled so I guess it was ok. We also got to teach English to a woman at the literary center to help her prepare to become a citizen, and that was pretty interesting.

We have had an incredible week. Let me tell you about some more miracles:

Remember Lynette, the lady who didn't want to get baptized but changed her mind when the Spirit prompted her that we were teaching the truth? Well, she came to Church on Sunday and loved it! That night, we taught her in a member-family's home again and had an experience really similar to last time. She told us that she knew that the Book of Mormon was the word of God and that she believed that God called Joseph Smith as a Prophet to restore His church, but she admitted that she felt torn between our church and her previous one. We read 3 Nephi 11:1-11 with her, which has nothing to do with that concern. The Spirit was so strong that by herself, before even asking her about it, she said that she knew she needed to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because it offered more and could bring her closer to God than any other church she had been affiliated with. She also invited her daughter to attend church, a great example that when we feel ourselves being converted we have desires to help others find the truth as well. She is excited to be baptized in mid-October.

Another great miracle. We've been working with a part-member family and it's been going great. Nitza (19), Katrina (14), and Jerome (12) are less-active members who have started to read the Book of Mormon and pray daily and both we and they have seen drastic changes in them already. Their little brother, Trevaughn (10) is not a member and he is progressing really well. He reads better than any 10-year old I have ever seen and he comprehends it all, too. We've kind of been focusing on all 4 of them, because even though most of them are members they don't really know that much about the doctrine because their fathers are out of the picture and their mom, despite her membership in the Church, is almost not supportive at all. On Sunday, Jerome received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained a deacon. We weren't able to make it to the ordination, which we were really sad about, so we called them later that night to congratulate Jerome. Angie, their 14-year old Jehovah's Witness half-sister, answered the phone and told us that she wants to join the church! We were speechless because we thought that it would be nearly impossible to convince her to even sit in on a lesson. But apparently, she has been listening in another room and has felt the Spirit as we've taught her siblings, and she wants to learn more and get baptized! If that's not a miracle, I don't know what is!

Right now, every single one of our investigators is progressing towards a date to be baptized and I feel SO so blessed to be a part of this great work. We need to keep working hard so we can find more, but I am grateful to be working with these seven individuals. What an amazing blessing it is to watch each of these great people embrace the restored gospel of the Savior and metamorphose as they allow the Atonement of Jesus Christ to fill them. I feel such great happiness to be able to help my brothers and sisters do this and I am so, so proud of the decisions they are making and the battles they are fighting.

It is amazing to me that all of these 7 people have Christian backgrounds. While they are all unique, they do have that in common: they all have gained at some point in their lives a testimony that Christ is their Savior previous to the time that we first came in contact with them. Something else they all have in common is that, despite their various Christian backgrounds, each one of them has found more through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. To me, that is a testimony that there was in the past a great falling away from truth and that the authority of Christ was gone. But I testify that it is back, and the fulness of the gospel is here today to help transform all people, Christian and non-, to grow closer to God and become who He wants them to be.

I also testify of the reality of miracles today. I've shared this scripture once, and I'll share it again:

"And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.
Behold, are not the things that God hath wrought marvelous in our eyes? Yea, and who can comprehend the marvelous works of God?
Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?
And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
And whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing, unto him will I confirm all my words, even unto the ends of the earth."(Mormon 9:15-21, 25.)

I know that God is a God of miracles, and He works those miracles every day. I KNOW that God has restored His church, and that it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why would so many miracles occur if it weren't? Some people I talk with might think that all these great things are just coincidences or that I just call them miracles because it's fun to think that; but I testify that these truly are miracles and that only God could work such incredible works.

I know the Book of Mormon is true and that Christ is the Savior. God loves us! :)

I hope you are all doing fantastic! It would be great to hear from you!

With love,

Elder Schank