Monday, December 28, 2015

Christmas....Goodbye to Ventura....Hello to Santa Maria!

Hello Mom, Dad and Family (Elder Hunt). 
How are you all? Well, Skype was good, of course. That made me a tad sad, but hey, it was the boost I needed to carry on. 
For updates this week, Sister Carleton (one of the Brazil Visa waiters) emailed me and so did Elder Hunt. 
Since we talked this week, this will be shorter, but... I am leaving Ventura to go up to Santa Maria, Third Ward and since President is going to tell you, I might as well. I am going DL (District Leader), so that should be fun, I think haha. Another reason, this will be short is because I am sending like 30 pictures home hahaha (I just LOVE getting pictures !!)
Christmas Present
I Am Canadian Shirt 
Monday was kinda boring, and yea, I think I crashed the computer with all the pictures I just sent hahah. So Monday we did really nothing. 

Tuesday was good, more of a full day. We did service in the morning and helped a member move stuff around and cleaned up his driveway. We also went Christmas caroling with a member and that was fun. 

Have enough ties??
Wednesday was cool. We went and did some more service for Penny. She is an active, older lady and then we went to the Griffeth's and they took us out for lunch. That was so good, we went to like, a smoke grill place. 
We had our bible study and that was sweet. We also had a really nice lesson with Renea and we tried to set up a date, but she is not quite ready yet. 
We had a nice visit with Sister Curiel, then Sister Tanaka, and after that, a nice visit with a guy named Dan, who is pretty cool. 
We went out with Dan and ate, so that was pretty cool, the second time that day haha. For dinner, we had a memeber take us to a really great hamburger joint called, 'The Habit'...soooo gooood. 
After supper we had a nice visit with this outdoors man. He is not a member, but his wife is and we talked about Banff and hunting...oh so great!!!

Thursday was cool. We went caroling to all the places in our district and I went back to Fillmore so that was awesome to go back there. We went to a few other area's as well and then back to President's house for a Christmas Eve party and that was fun. We had 2 zones there, so like 40 missionaries. That was fun!

Friday was cool. We had an awesome district meeting and I set a new goal for this year to be obedient. We had a great meal at the Terry's and we also talked to our families. Hahaha. Mine is doing so great!!!! Well, pretty great. They cried lots and made me cry hehehe ;) I love y'all so much!!! 
Then we hung out at the Tennison's for the rest of the night. That was good, except Lauren was being annoying, emailing y'all and would not tell me hahahah. 

Saturday and Sunday were saying goodbye pretty much and just getting photos. It was good and I am pretty happy about leaving. Not that Ventura was bad, just I'm excited to go up North so it should be good. 
Ventura, California 
Well, mom, have a Happy New Year. Dad, I love you so much and I am so grateful for all of you. Dad, you are the best, keep being the best you!!
Shel, be happy. One year is nothing, then we'll be in YSA together
Scotty, so great to see you! I love you brother, you are the best. I miss you so much. 

MAMA and Cin, Brea, Niss, Papa, Kym and everyone else...it was great to see y'all and to know you're doing okay. 
I love you all, and I'll see you soon. 

Elder Routledge

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Crazy Dream, Mission Extension...and CHRISTMAS !!

This was weird. So I was having minor doubts, okay not doubts, just a bad day, so I pleaded with the Lord for an answer if this church was true, and well, he sure answered me, because the next morning I only read talks about the power of the Book of Mormon, then that night I had a dream. In that dream were lots of people, but the only two I remember are you and...Sister Armsworthy. I was up on some stand and I was bearing my testimony to everyone and I could not even speak because I was crying so much and through my tears, I quietly uttered, "I know this church is true" and I just remember waking up with peace and joy come over my body !! Then, I got 4 packages with some amazing ties and some amazing gifts ! I was talking to the AP, Elder Young about Elder Dial, then I got a tie from him. How cool!!! ALSO PICTURES!!!! YAY!!!! 
I want to say a special thank you to Mom, Dad, Momma, Papa and all the men who put ties in here. Thank you!!!
So..that is the big updates but it was a good, crazy week!!!

Monday was cool. We had a hike that was very cold, like 50 degrees with wind, man was it cold! We also had a really nice dinner and got a little present from Sister Black so that was pretty great. That's really all for Monday. 

Tuesday was, well that crazy dream...yep that is all. 

Wednesday we had an actual busy day. We had a nice visit with Mark in the morning & a great lesson with Renea (she is new and very solid). We also had a nice visit with Laura. She is a great lady, she is 47 and can no longer walk and is in some home. It is rather sad, so we co by with a handful of joy...or try haha. We also had a great lesson with Nancy. She is newer as well and she really loved the lesson. She is searching. 

Festival of Lights 
Thursday was...okay AMAZING. So we had our Christmas program for the mission and we got a new scripture theme to work on and it is patience, the thing I struggle with the most. That was very weird to have that be the new theme. WE also talked about how we can be better missionaries and that was pretty cool. We had a great lunch, and man, they can cool. Like chicken with stuffing and veggies...so good. We had a mission talent show as well, and that was so funny and just so great. The last part of the day, President and Sister Felix talked about angels and how they are all around us and that was out of the park, great !!! It was cool, but we got a new challenge...so we have to read the WHOLE Book of Mormon by MARCH!!! But wait...we have to mark every time it talks about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So anytime it mentions, faith, repentance, baptism, getting the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end...I am on 1 Nephi 12 so far. It was a great day !!!! 
Festival of Lights 

Friday I got my packages, so that was great!!! I opened the ones I was supposed to hahah. It was great. It will be the best Christmas and hey, if when we Skype, you're at Mommas, that would be crazy...just saying...
We did a lot of service helping someone move. That makes like 40 moves on my mission now. Probably 25, but lots. We also went and had a nice visit with Penny and HEY..GUESS WHAT??? I FINISHED THE NEW TESTAMENT ! It was great. Revelations was a tad hard, but oh so great!!

Saturday I was on an exchange so we stayed pretty busy and tonight I saw the parade of lights, which is a bunch of boats lit up, driving past the harbor. It was great. And hey, we actually got rain here, it is a miracle.

Sunday was pretty good. So Elder Bronson and I sang in the ward music sacrament meeting, so that was cool. We had a great lesson the second hour on the 12 tribes of Israel and that was really cool. I actually learned a lot from it. 
Sunday night we went to Lauren's for her birthday and that was fun. 
It has been a really great week. 

Mom, Dad, Shel, Scott, Mama, Papa, Niss, Star, Brea, Kris, Austin, Trish, Cin I Love you all!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Have a great week, enjoy Christmas Eve for me and party hard in my honor. 
Muah
We'll see y'all in a year. 

PS - Mom, my mission will be extended for one week, so I'll be home the next week in January 2017, so the 15th of March. We'll be having a 7 week transfer because the 2 week to 3 week change for the MTC time will tack on a week. 
Muah
Love you, 
Bye :)

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Big Waves, a Fun Christmas Party and A Blessing

Updates..really not lots at all, just doing good. Skype times, we'll talk and let you know soon, but probs in the evening like 5 maybe or something like that. (eek !! This Momma can NOT wait for that !!). I know you hate hearing this, but it will be short because, you know Christmas, everyone is talking to me. (I hate short emails, but I'm grateful for all of you emailing him. Thank you <3). 

Monday was good. We had a nice view of some crazy waves, so that was cool. We saw some surfers out there and for sports, we went and played football in a field and that was cool. We had a nice dinner with our Ward Mission Leader and that was cool. Tonight we saw the Tennisons and Lauren is in Canada visiting, getting me some Canadian goodies hahaha so that is cool.

Tuesday was good. I was on an exchange with Elder DeCosta. That was nice, we had a good, busy day and had some great talks about our missions and it was just a fun day. 

Wednesday was simple. We went to a lesson with Mark, had a nice bible study, a nice dinner with the Colvens and Elder Bronson and I had a really good talk and set up some good goals to be better. I am trying hard to be positive but I am finding it hard and I don't know why. Sometimes the smallest things bother me, it's not some major problem, so you can take a breath haha (He knows his mother VERY well lol). 

Thursday was good. We had a really great weekly planning meeting and we talk lots about our and how to better our missionary efforts. We had a nice lesson with Lauren's little sister because she reached out to us and wants to become active again, so that was a cool little miracle. We had a nice dinner with one of the Bishopric members and the Floyds joined us as well. 

Friday we had a great district meeting. We plan to have a secret Santa so that is going to be fun. We also had dinner with a member in which we were 40 minutes late for, but she was super nice about it, so it worked out. 

Saturday all we pretty did was set up for the awesome party. We tried some people, then went back and had a great dinner, a cool little show and an awesome Christmas party. It was really awesome. I got so full, we got some good left overs and we took them to Mark and that cheered him up.It was just a good day. 

Sunday we had a really nice Sunday in church and the Spirit was just so great there. It was pretty awesome. We also delivered the Sacrament and gave a blessing to one of our sicker members, so that was nice. Then we headed back for Stake choir warm up and I did okay. I missed a few notes, but you could not really tell, but it was fun singing up there in front of everyone. It was really fun and it brought a lot of joy to me and Elder Bronson. 

Well mom, this is short and I am sorry. We'll skype soon and we'll talk lots haha. I love you so much muah. Dad, your great. Keep it up. Your the best, Shel. Love you and just keep finding joy and seek the gospel. Scott, well you're just great, love you brother!! 
Love you all, talk to you all soon. MUAH Bye

Kev

Ocean-Side Visits, Another Baptism...and Singing in the Choir !

MOM !!! THIS WEEK WAS GREAT!!!

Monday was so great. We went to the fire halls and I got a Ventura shirt so that was cool. We also went to the pet store and I held a blue skink, but this one hated me and pee'd on me. Man, I miss Blue now. She actually likes me. We also went and got some Christmas ties and then to a kids book store and I saw some old books you used to read to me, so that was a fun flashback. We had dinner with part member family on the ocean front. 

Tuesday was fun as well. We went and did some service for a less-active lady named Penny, we did some stuff on Mormon.org where I got some talks and all that good stuff, and then saw Sister Tanaka again. 

Wednesday was cool. We went to the dry cleaners and the guy started to bash us, then I kind of flew of the handle. I talked to my Comp after and he told me to do better, so I am going to try. We had a good lesson with Mark and I got to play and talk about his lizard again. After that we had a cool bible study and visited with Laura. 

Thursday was good. We went and did some service for Sister Hanawalt. She was the one we had dinner with on Monday. We pulled out like 20+ boxes of Christmas stuff for her, some from her garage and some from a tiny, spider filled attic, so fun, fun, fun. We had great weekly planning, where we pretty much did a self check and talked about how we can both be better Elders. It was pretty nice and a good breath of fresh air. 
We had dinner with the Colvens and Brother Colven is a freaking tank. He is like probs 6' and is like a modern day Nephi. It was good. 

Friday was great. We had a cool district meeting and I gave a talk that I did crummy at, but it was all missionaries so I brushed it off. We spend the majority of the day down by the water seeing people and had dinner with pulled pork sandwiches at the Stassforths and some good ole pumpkin pie. After dinner we met one of our cool investigators, R. They invited us in and fed us and we had a great chat. 

Satuday...ahh yea this day was good. We saw Sister Tanaka and had some birthday cake with her. We saw Nancy and the Tennisons and then went to Oxnard. I baptized Josh and Elder Payne baptized Kenna but that was a fun night. Man, that was so great. We had an awesome service and a really nice snack, dessert thing and I also met a wonderful young lady there at the baptism. I know, it's weird, but yea, I'll go into details later, least to say it was a great night haha. I also got permission to continue to email the mom, so that is sweet. 

Sunday...okay, hang on mom, I did somethings I never do. First, I bore my testimony about our 7 year mark coming up and about dad's baptism. We had a great meeting, the Spirit was glorious. Second, I watched the Christmas Devotional and payed full attention and took notes. That was just so amazing, a great start to a great year ahead. Now, this next year is what we call the Black Out year of my mission, it is the full year on your mission, the year start to end. 
OKAY...you ready? So I am getting nervous just saying this to you...I know your probs like, "What is it!?, tell me already"...okay so mom, Elder Bronson and I....joined...BOTH the Stake and Ward choirs!!!! So I am singing for both the Stake and WArd in a week and I love it, so I will be joining the ward choir back home, after I fix up my voice. Got lots of practice to do. It was so much fun, it felt like the first time I really sang and I felt powerful, so great. (This is a BIG deal, as I had been asking Elder Routledge to join me in the choir for ages! May have to join the choir in my new ward :) )

Okay mom, dad, Scott, Shel...MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Try to give lots this year, check out the new video at Christmas.mormon.org and have a great week. I love you all back home. MUAH and we'll talk and Skype soon !!! 
See ya, 

Elder Routledge

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

A Good Week with Home Visiting & Thanksgiving Dinner

AHHHH man, Austyn looks so great in front of the temple ! 
Updates this week. So for Christmas, you will have to send the package to my house. 
I am going back to Oxnard to baptize Kenna and Josh on Saturday as well :) 

So Monday was cool. I got 2 new fire patches and am getting like 3 today I think, so that is cool. We went on a cool hike today and low and behold, I forgot my camera and the sun was getting over the ocean. Oh so beautiful, but you will have to picture it in your mind. It was great though. We had dinner with our Stake President because he is in our ward again and he remembers me from the last time I was in the stake, so that was cool. 

Tuesday consisted of Panda Express, Mormon.org and a cool visit to a less active lady who is in a home because she has so many illnesses. She is about 46 and she needed a visit so we saw her and that was cool. We also saw Sister Lark and apparently she emails you (yes, she does lol !). We gave her son a blessing and had some cake with them this week, so that was cool. 

Wednesday was good. We visited our ward leader and it was fun talking to him. He has a bearded dragon, so that made me miss Blue (Elder Routledge's Blue Tongued Skink (type of lizard)), so give her kisses for me (yuck!). We also had our bible study and that was good. After we had a nice dinner with Sister Cox and her two kids and then visited with our RS Prez (Relief Society President) and got some names to see. 

Thanksgiving Dinner
 Thursday was great. We visited a lot of ladies that were in homes, so we could make them feel loved today. And guess what ???!!! I don't know if you remember Sister Tanaka from my first area, she was old and would always give us RC Cola, anyways, she is nin our area now, so we saw her so that was cool. We also went to Oxnard for a nice turkey dinner with one of the Senior Missionary Couples, The Floyds. That was, oh so good. 

Friday was good. We had an amazing zone meeting and man, that had some great things, our mission being so young is held at just such a high standard. WE had a really great zone goal put in place, and man, it was cool. We also saw a few other really cool less actives today. It was just a good day. 

Saturday was sweet and bad. First we had to get our car checked out because we got a notice that our airbags might be screwy but there were fine and that wasted like an hour of our morning. After we went to the Terrie's for Thanksgiving dinner and you know food and me love each other, so that cheered me right up. We had some great conversations, oh it was fun. 
That night we went and saw Lauren, she served in Canada, but that was cut short as my comp got sick. He's really shy so when he gets nervous, he gets sick and I felt bad for him. But we took him home and he started to feel better. 

Sunday we had a really nice sacrament meeting and church was just good. After church we went back to Lauren's to finish our lesson and my comp was feeling better and we had a great lesson. She is really cool, man we played Janga as part of our lesson and it was fun. She might be gong to school in Idaho, that is not far from me ;-)

Well Mom, Dad, Shell (smile), and Scotty. I love you 4 and I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks (skype call on Christmas Day !!). I love you all. Tell them family I say hello and I love them and tell Momma, Trish, Niss and Brea sorry for not writing more but I will try hahaha. 
Love you Momma and I am doing really great. 
Talk to y'all soon. 

Love Elder Routledge

"Cool" week, Transfers & Sister Items

Hello mom. Sounds like it has been a crazy week. I have little time today being that I'm at the library again, but I have lots of news. 
Elder Bronson & Routledge 
I am in Ventura with my new companion, Elder Bronson. He is so great, we have had a good week. 
So, he has lots of pictures from home, so could you send me hard copies, like maybe 100 pictures or more, of all of you. 
Our new district here is almost all young missionaries, besides me and 3 others, so it's a little crazy but cool. I was thinking this week, remember when we first got baptized and you were all sad because our whole family was not at church? Well now we are all at church, you have a missionary out and look how great dad is doing. Not that your not doing great, your a momma, so your just stellar (I sure love this boy of mine). 

This week was crazy good. Monday we did shout outs in my last area, said goodbyes and all that fun and I packed. 

Love all the PINK !
Tuesday we had a great transfer meeting. I got to see a lot of people and said bye to some great ones, it was just fun. We went to our new apartment, (Oh and I am driving a Cruize now, so that is cool), but our apartment used to have Sisters in it, so we found some items...let's just say we did not want to find, so that was fun cleaning that all out. Then we had dinner with a cool family. 

Wednesday was cool. We met this less active RC (not sure what that stands for) and he has back issues but is really cool. We also had a bible study at this Senior Citizens Home and that was cool. Dinner was with the Bishop and he is great. He is an ex-fireman and man, is he cool. Just made me want to be a fireman all the more. Dad, you and me are going strong and I am getting more patches today from this new area. 

Thursday was cool. We had service in the morning and we got to demo a wall !! This guy is re-doing his house, so we got to go nuts on a wall. That was great. He also treated us to a tri tip sandwich lunch, then we did weekly planning, and got to know our area. 

Friday was cool. We had our first district meeting and I got to talk to the Sisters serving from my first area in Fillmore. Sadly, most of the people I was teaching have been dropped, but it is still cool to hear how the area is going. 

Saturday we were down on the beach front, home visiting people. It was cool. There are some really great people down there and most of my area is on a hill so I look over almost all the ocean EVERYDAY !!! I can not look to my right and not see it, so that is cool. We also attended a Spanish baptism today and that was really cool. Even in a different language, I had love fill my heart. 

Sunday was so great. We got to meet all the members and because we took over the Sisters ward they are so thrilled to have Elders so it was great. We had a good meeting and all the Priesthood holders in the chapel got up and sang, as did I, and it was really cool. Then we went by this one less active family and the one daughter served in Canada. She got sent home early BUT she is planning on going back in April to finish her mission. That would be cool because we could stay in contact, she is very cool mom. She is a really great member and man, she had us all laughing up, the whole family did, but don't get the wrong idea or anything, but she is pretty great. 

Well mom, dad, Scott, Shell. You're all so great and I love you all. Sorry for the shorter letter, but MUAH. Take care. Wish Niss the best for me. 



Monday, November 16, 2015

Transfer, War Museum and LOTS of Pictures !!

Hello mom. 
Updates - I head off to Ventura 2nd ward to serve there. I am very excited to go and think it will be great. I love the new starts. This is going to be a short email with lots of pictures !

Monday was cool. We went to an old War museum, which was very cool. There were lots of awesome things on the seabee's which were a WW2 construction team so they had some very cool things and there was the coolest quilt. After that we saw Wrebell & Kenna and Josh. 

Tuesday was good. We had food share service in the morning, then later that day we went on splits with the ward missionaries. We also had our sports night which was fun and then had smoothies after. 

Wednesday we visited people, like all day, lesson after lesson. We were on the strand, so down by the ocean, almost all day seeing people. Then we went and visited the Thorckmortens (gun guy) and that was, well you know, awesome. By the way, when I return I am growing my beard out and getting me a gun (think it's time my Canadian boy come home...he's becoming Americanized !!! lol). We also had dinner with Brandon and his wife and she gave us haircuts and that night we went on splits again. 

Thursday we had weekly planning and that was good. We had two dinners so that is always good. Friday we had a district meeting and saw people and then on Saturday and Sunday we said goodbye and got lots of photos. 




I do not have lots of time, I want to send a few things to y'all. 
So, first I am really so grateful for my mission and the friends I am making and the things I am seeing. It has really dawned on me that I have already been out 10 months and, no lie, it feels like I blinked one time. The joy that comes from serving is so grand, but it makes time vanish. 

I am so very thankful for just all of you back home, everyone of you. I pray for you all every single night. You are so amazing. A mission would be impossible without your support. 
Now I know mom is probably crying, but mom, dad, you are the best parents I could ever have. You do so much for me and I do not say thank you enough. 

Shelby and Scott. You are the best family, I love you both SOOO much. You two are so great. I think about you both all the time and love you both so freaking much, you don't even know. 

Friends - Jared, Austyn, Brandon, Nick, Andrew. You guys are just the best. Thank you as well. Freak, I miss hanging out with y'all, but remember just TAKE IT LIKE A GOPHER. 

I love you all so much back home. Thank you and we'll talk next week. 
Elder Routledge

(there were lots of photos sent this week but Elder Routledge didn't add in the names of the people. I'm guessing most of these are members that looked after him while he was serving in the Oxnard ward)
 












Lessons, Big Baby and more Food

Ocean View
I have turned into a baby. It was like 60 degrees and I was freezing cold, I even put on a coat and was still cold. Ahhh I have no idea why. 

So this week was better. Monday we got an oil change in our car, had a zone activity where we played volleyball and had a great dinner with Tilio (the Samoan). He has invited us over for Thanksgiving. A Samoan holiday, yep I am in deep waters haha. After we met Kenna and Josh and have set a new date for their baptism, December 5. 

Cali Sunset
Tuesday was cool. We went and did some Mormon.org stuff, went and had lunch with this RC (not sure what that is) and had a lesson with him as well, and saw water seals haha. We also had another lesson with Nora (the older lady) and then had a nice dinner in a beach house and saw kenna and Josh again after. 


Wednesday we met with Kenna and Josh again. With them being so ready and us moving the date, we try to see them as often as we can. This morning we had a meeting with our WML (Ward Mission Leader) and that was good. We went over some of the names of the people we are working with, then had lunch at the other Elders apartment. We also taught Wrebell this week, we taught Joey and had dinner with the Nelsons. We ended the night with a lesson with the Renosso's. We were running around all day and I was super sick this week, so it was crazy. Any down time we had, which was like none, I was resting because I was coughing up cows (I'm guessing coughing a lot?) and was so sore. I am feeling a big amount better now, not great, but I am doing better. 


Thursday was sweet. We had a good weekly planning session, had our apartment inspections, which were not bad, and had a deep clean today. Now our apartment is spotless, not that it wasn't before, they are just very picky. We ate at a buffet for lunch which was good and we tried to stop by and talk to a few people. Today was good. 

Oh no, time is running out. There is never enough time for emails. 
Friday was good. We had a really good zone meeting and Pres. said that our mission is very young. We have almost half of our missionaries under 6 months out, well over half, so Pres. just talked about how we can be good examples and work hard for them. Tonight I ate at an Asian place and I am starting to like fish I think. I'm not sure yet, though. 


Saturday and Sunday were good. I was on an exchange with a Hawaiin Elder named Elder DeCosta. He is really cool and we had a really good day. 
Sunday we had a great day of church and a nice dinner at the Ybanez home. 

Well mom, keep doing awesome. Make sure you read and help the family do great as well. Believe it or not, you kinda lead them back home :)
Just keep up everything you do. It is so great. 


Muah 
I love you all so much