Issaquah

Family,

I am finally here! It is hard though. Gone are the days where the "investigators" took every word of advice and people (aka other missionaries walking around the MTC) on the "street" were always ready and willing to have another lesson or even listen to you.

I am assigned to serve in the Issaquah 5th ward. We are east of Seattle in the city of Issaquah, among the mountains and evergreens. It is a really nice area and the ward is really great! The ward is supportive of missionaries and they try their best to find us people to teach. Many people here are comfortable and not really interested in the gospel, but they are really nice and supportive to the LDS missionaries. But because of the members, we do have people to teach and there are 2 people on date to be baptized! This week we got one new investigator. His name is Marcello and he is from Brazil. He was referred to us by a family in our ward and we teach him at their home. So far we have taught him 2 lessons about the restoration, but it is hard because he doesn't understand a lot of English. Luckily Bro. Maximo (the man who referred him to us) knows Portuguese and translates for us. Marcello has a lot of questions, but is ready to accept the gospel. He went to church in Brazil, but when he moved here he didn't find one that fit for him so he quit going to church. I know that in our lessons he has felt the spirit.

My new companion's name is Elder Kitchen. He has been out for a little more than a year and is a really good missionary. He is from Mesa, Arizona. He has been serving in this area for 8 months and he knows the members well. They really trust him and I know that because of their trust in him, the Lord has allowed him to serve in this area for so long.

This has been one of the quickest, but longest weeks of my life. President and Sister Larkin picked us up at the airport and we were taken to the mission home where I met my new companion. President Larkin is really great and I can't wait to get to know him even better. Every day has been a lot of walking and meeting people on the street. We teach every day members, non-members, and our new investigators.

The mission has a goal to baptize 720 people by the end of the year. So far they have about 380 so we have a long way to go. President Larkin has continually told us that he prays every day that we can get that number and he has faith that if every missionary works hard that we can. So I pray every day that we can find people to teach. We are to try to talk to 80 people a day, but it is really hard, especially here in the suburbs. We haven't made that goal yet, but each day we do talk to more and more people.

Elder Kitchen and I have our own apartment, which is pretty nice. We do have a kitchen, but whenever we go to members houses, they offer us food. We have dinner with members about twice a week, but the generosity of the members helps us get by.

Washington is beautiful and I am grateful I have such a good companion. I am excited to see dad in conference this week. As always the Church is true and I can feel your prayers every day! I love you!

Love, Elder Richard Fetzer

First Letter from Seattle: September 21, 2010

President and Sister Larkin

Dear Family,
Whoa, I am actually here! Today we got on the plane and I got to sit by a man who was coming to Seattle with his daughter to get surgery. They are Mormon, but we still had a nice gospel discussion. An elder in front of us had a good gospel discussion and we gave away a pass along card.
We got off the plane and found our mission president. He is really great and I can't wait to get to know him more.
Now we are at the mission home and are going to eat a really good meal. We saw the city today and it is beautiful!
Love,
Elder Richard Fetzer
p.s. I will write soon!

Quick Update

Richard left the MTC for Seattle early this morning. He was able to call us from the airport and is excited and nervous to begin preaching the gospel. Just a reminder, instead of using Dear Elder, you can now write Richard at the address on the sidebar.

MTC Pictures

3 of 5 going to Seattle from our district. L to R: Elder Boice, Elder Fetzer, Elder Westover

My district at the temple. L to R: Elder Cooudy (Ventura), Elder Griffin (Ventura), Elder Westover (Seattle), Elder Moak (Ventura), Elder Christiansen (Ventura), Elder Smith (Seattle), Elder Stowell (Ventura).
Bottom row: Elder Boice (Seattle), Elder Hopkinson (Seattle), Elder Fetzer (Seattle)

(Self-explanatory)

Me and my companion, Elder Westover

Elder Westover holding me in the palm of his hands.

MTC week 2

I can't believe its almost time to leave the MTC. I have learned so much in so little time.I got my travel itinerary! I leave Septembe 21 and get to Seattle about 9:30 AM. There are 13 elders going to Seattle (2 of them speak other languages). We are to report to the MTC travel office at 5:00 AM that morning! There goes another good night of sleep, which I have never gotten here.

I really can't wait to finally head off and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. In devotional on tuesday I learned why missionary work is really so hard. They played a clip of Elder Ballard telling us that salvation is never cheap! It is true! Throughout time, the faithful have never had it easy. Jesus Christ suffered for us, but he said that we are to pay a small token of that price in order to gain salvation. The pioneers were persecuted, they died in order to show the world what they believed. Even today, in a time of turmoil, the Church has its challenges. As you see, all have had to pay some sort of price for the gospel. A mission is hard because it really has always been that way. Our faith will be tried and tested, but in the end we can live with Christ again and what greater reward could we have?

Sunday was a long day. At night the missionaries get to watch movies :D. This week we watched Legacy, a cheesy film with bad acting and lines, which we all came back quoting, but with a powerful message of the pioneers. It is really amazing how the Church has grown into what it is today! The pioneers could never have immagined it. It showed me that throughout all the trials that the Church has gone through, God always provided a way to bring forth His gospel to all the world. The faithfulness of our pioneer ancestors brought us the gospel, and for that I am eternally grateful.

On Sunday, Elder Westover and I gave our district a lesson on obedience. We must always follow God's commandments. God asks us to do hard things, but I know we will be blessed when we follow Jesus Christ.

Yesterday, my district helped in hosting the new missionaries. It was funny seeing how nervous the new missionaries were and I remembered that morning as well. It was scarry coming into the MTC the first day! It was good to remember how far I have come since then and think of how far I need to go in order to be the missionary I want to be.

Love,
Elder Richard Clark Fetzer

Writing Elder Fetzer

Rich asked me to tell everyone to use dearelder.com while he's in the MTC. He gets those letters the very same day. He is only allowed to use email with family. We will continue to post portions of his emails to family on this blog.

Thanks, The Administration.

MTC: Week 1

Hey Family!

As I watch the timer slowly time out I will try my best to write a good letter. First off, the MTC is great! The spirit is so strong here and this is definitely the most spiritual time I have EVER had. My companion, Elder Westover, is really great and we get along really well! The days here are long. Each day feels like a week, and the week here feels like a day! Really strange. Anyways, this week we have learned how to teach lesson 1. Learning the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is important because people need to know that we are Christ's church. It is really amazing using the principles used in Preach My Gospel and learning how to teach by the Holy Ghost. As it says in the scriptures, the spirit really does fill your mouth with words to say when you are in need.

Here in the MTC we use the Teaching Resource Center, where local "investigators" or actors who are called to be investigators from the members around Provo. This week we taught the Christiansens, an older couple who moved to Utah for retirement. They have attended many other christian churches and want to learn more. Me and my companion had to learn how to make a lesson plan, based around the restoration, to fit their needs. We decided to include a bit about eternal families because we knew that they might want to know that the first lesson.

Today my district went to the temple. Elder Westover and I decided to do sealings. It was really amazing that we got to be part of that ordinance. As missionaries, we are only allowed to act as the children, but even that is special.

I have seen so many people I know here! It is really fun to see people I haven't seen since college or even High School. My district is pretty great! There are 10 in our district and half are going to Seattle, and half to Ventura, CA. There are six other Elders in the room next to us also going to Seattle. It is really strange because I feel like we have all known each other before we got to the MTC. I know the 9 other Elders in my district are all going to be really great missionaries!

Here at the MTC we are definitely in a bubble. Whenever we see non-missionaries outside it is really strange. It is kinda like in Toy Story where the green aliens say "Strangers, from the outside." I really have no idea which day it is anymore, but it is okay. Weekends are kinda crazy because we hear the BYU stadium next to us erupt with excitement with every goal, but we never know who wins. I guess it is just part of MTC policy.

Overall, this has been a very good week! We had an amazing devotional about how the choices we make help us become who we are. I am glad I have made the choice to serve a mission. It is the BEST thing I can be doing right now.

Well, the timer is almost up so I better end. As always, I know the Church is true and I love you!

Love,

Elder Richard Fetzer

First letter from the MTC

September 1, 2010
Dear family,

Well, I made it through my first day here at the MTC. It is really strange being here. I am actually a missionary! The spirit is strong here and I am excited to learn more about the gospel. Today I checked in and moved into my small room. I met my companion, Elder Westover, from Arizona. He is really cool! I'll send a picture later. Today we had an orientation then a live teaching session where actors came in and acted like investigators. A large group of missionaries tried to teach them. It is really amazing how prepared to hear the gospel some people are. Today was a rush of info I will probably forget but will learn as time passes.

I love you and hope to hear from you soon!
Elder Fetzer