There has not been much to write about lately, so it seems like fake letters when I try to think of stuff to say. 

The library was closed last week so we had to email on Tuesday. We had dinner with the High Priest Group Leader and his family for Easter. It was just a normal dinner nothing too special. But it was good. We also did Operation Gratitude, that service where we help with care packages for military service people.

The work is going along like always, slow and steady. Last week our investigator decided that we were too much like the 7th day advents and he didn't want to get baptized. So yeah, we are going to work with him and try to resolve his concerns. Thanks for the prayers they were felt.

We had a cool experience this week at church, Orson Scott Card came to our ward for church cause his daughter lives in our ward, so that was pretty cool. We also had a less active family feed us lunch which is always a highlight. Not much else happened this week cause of rain and heat so not very many people outside or at home, so it was a much slower week. On Saturday, the other Elders in our ward and we took half of our lunch hour and went to a car show that was in our area. Look there is even a picture with me in it, how nice... So yeah, I didn't take the photos, but hey photos are photos right.

Love
Elder Hyde

New Companion

Elder B went to Granada Hills and he is with Elder Tobchan. I am with Elder Gibson, he is from a little ol’ place called American Fork Utah, kinda, he has moved around a lot, too, so he is awesome.

It was transfer week so not much happened. We taught an investigator twice... in one day.... yeah. Then we went about doing good. Also, we nearly melted when it randomly hit like 100 this week..... as a person who sweats I was not a happy biker.

We did work and taught Charles and set a baptism date with him for April 12th, so that is cool.

It is getting hotter here, it is so wonderful hurray, NOT :(

General Conference is going to be awesome and it is my last one on the mission, crazy.

Well, not else much to say this week. We are going to play tennis today should be fun. Have a good week,

I love you

Love

Elder Hyde

Epic Adventures

Q: How often do you do splits?

A: We try to do two with the Zone Leaders and two with the District Leaders and so it is nice, I like them. Elder Burgess doesn't, everyone is different about them. We have only four sets of sisters, which is very low from when I first showed up in the mission. There are sisters called as Sister training leaders so pretty much girl Zone Leaders since there are so many sisters. They do splits and they help out with stuff and they have a car although mostly all sisters have cars. Our office Senior couple is Elder and Sister Hall who are the parents of President Hall.... weird I know.

It is fun to be reading in the New Testament and be like hey I have been there Ephesus and Thessalonica and Cappadocia and stuff like that.

I am doing good, my back is still slightly out but I keep going which is goodly dumb.

We have a few good investigators and we just got a new one and a new baptismal date. Members are crazy as always and also super awesome we love them, they take real good care of us. The bike is ok, I am just trying to keep up with it. So I am going to take it to a member to do an over haul/ tune up on it. I will need to get a new back tire soon it has like no treed on it any more.

President is good, he is just trying to keep everything balanced since he goes home in like 3 months-ish. We had a good week, taught a lot, got the baptismal date, and did a junk ton of community service.

We also went to this super awesome lookout point where we could see the entire San Fernando Valley and some of the L.A. valley. It was up on Mulholland over off Hayvenhurst. Then after we went on an epic adventure to find somewhere to eat that was kinda cool. We went to like a diner but it was mucho moneys so we left that and so we looked for somewhere else and so our epic just ended with a sad Taco Bell run.... haha but it was fun none the less.

I love you have a great week.

Love

Elder Hyde

P-day Adventures/Happy Valentine's Day

What is one funny thing that has happened this week? 

I can't really think of any, but something fun is we had dinner at a counselor in the stake presidency. We eat there every Sunday night. We have lots of fun cause he is a laid back Hawaiian guy and he has a wife and son. So we have lots of fun over there just talking about stuff.

Yeah, I got the package on Friday, thanks. It is pretty great of Mish to send them for you.

We didn't have too much going on this week. But this coming week we have interviews with the president and then we have stake conference and a doctors trip and exchanges. So yeah, the week is going to fly by, even more so then the other weeks, even though they go by so fast already. We taught a few of our investigators but we weren't able to meet with the other ones and it was sad. Valentines was odd because we weren't really sure what to do that night because everyone was either gone on a date or if they were home they weren't really going to answer the door. So yeah, we walked around and talked to a few people, but they were in a hurry. We did meet one guy to refer to the Spanish missionaries.

Well I have figured out how to send photos so here you go!

Love
Elder Hyde

 

Alma 60:7 Can you think to sit upon your thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor, while your enemies are spreading the work of death around you? 

Teaching in Encino Ward

Zone Conference - Seth on right side of picture half way back.

Q: What was the most spiritual thing that has happened this week? 

A: Umm I don't know. I guess during the week I have noticed that I have learned so much on my mission about the gospel. My scriptures are all marked up and still look nice though, so that is nice. I can answer people’s questions in church. I participate in church, which is also very different. But yeah, the Spirit has confirmed that I am a missionary of the Lord and that I am changing for the better. Doesn’t mean I am a completely different person, but the same just better. 

We are going and teaching a bit lately. We are teaching a man named Charles B, he is a former Marine. He said he did 2 or 3 tours in Nam, so he is a little messed up in the head. Also, we aren't sure if he knows what year it is or anything, but he is a cool old black guy from North Carolina. Then we are teaching a Jewish guy and a mom and daughter from Belize, so yeah we have a weird teaching pool right now. We have stake conference in 2 weeks. This is my second ward conference in the Granada Hills building and my second visiting member of the Quorum of the Seventy. 

I will keep Grandma Kathyrn in my prayers that is nice of Katie to go down and help her and take her for her cataract surgery. 

Love 

Elder Hyde

Short Update

Encino is doing well. It is hard with it being slow, but we do a crap ton of Less Active work and lots of service. I am trying very hard to stay focused. I know I will be glad that I did this and grateful, too. I am going to finish strong. Well, we didn't have too much happen this week. We had a few lessons and we went by Less Actives. Oh, did I say I wasn't transferred nor was Elder Burgess.

I love you and Hope you have a good week.

First week in Van Nuys, Encino Ward

My address is 16815 Van Owen #201 Van Nuys Ca 91406.

Q: The best thing that has happened this week?

A: Hmmmm, well, one is that we were doing work on Tuesday night, I think, and we were visiting less active members and it started to rain a little. As we were walking out of the apartment building we were in we saw a family trying to get into their house because they had accidently locked themselves out. (I know they lived there ‘cause they had talked with the manager to get a screw driver to try and get the window open) But the kid was too short and was standing on the other side of the rail on the second floor and his mom holding his shirt. So I did what I do, I helped. I did not realize that I am actually quite good at breaking into apartments because I got them in in a hurry. Hurray for long arms and problem solving! haha. Then we also found a new investigator this week, her name is Angel. She is 17 and is dating a less active boy from the North Hollywood 5th Spanish ward. She is willing to listen and learn and read so we should be meeting with her later in the week. Hope she actually read and prayed.

We did as much as we could with it being New Year’s this week. We had a 7 pm curfew for New Year’s Eve, but for some reason the New Year’s Eve day they dropped the curfew, so yeah. The member wouldn't let us leave until we watched the ball drop on New York time zone so she was all fretting about it and then they go to turn it on and we had missed it! So it was a bust, haha, oh well.

Our investigators are doing pretty well. It’s the members I am more worried about right now. We don't have a ward mission leader right now because ours, about a week or two before I showed up, decided to become less active. We have an assistant ward mission leader but not a WML. The ward is an interesting ward, everyone either goes less active, moves, or dies. The Valley is a sad place at times. Elder Burgess has been in the area for 3 months so we are thinking that he will either transfer this one or not .... yeah that was deep, we know.

We have finished our 2 weeks of winter and are now back to summer, haha. It is about 75 outside right now and it is 11am. Your trip sounds cool. I think that it will super fun and I will be going on a trip this weekend too! I will be going to Sherman Oaks on an exchange with the District Leader, so yeah it will be a fun trip. They are on bike too so we will enlist one of the other two elders who have a car to drive us to the exchange.

I love you all too, I miss you and I pray for y'all as well. Well, I would like to send photos but the LA county library's computers have so many restrictions it won't let me in to my card to send photos so um I guess it will just have to wait for a slide show when I get home.

Love

Elder Hyde