Hey,
So today I have so much that I want to say it has been an amazing week but i don't think i have time to say it all so we'll see how it goes. Last tuesday the gym finally opened back up for devotionals and firesides they were redoing the bleachers and the floor but guess who came to the first devotional back in the gym. Elder Heffrey R. Holland!! An apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ It was amazing he has such a wonderful spirit about him and his message was super powerful. I deffinitly gained a testimony of the work that I'm doing and how important it is. I want to take the time today to share a bunch of qoutes and lessons that I learned from him. the first one was one that we her a lot but it hit me even harder with him saying it. he said," Give it your all no regrets. There has been maybe one day in the last 48 years that i didn't think about my mission but I don't know what day that is. do not miss one month, week, day, hour or minute." No regrets is what my plan is here and its not just because I'll have to think about it for the rest of eternity but because If I don't do my job for a month,week, day, hour or minute it affects the salvation of others too. Elder Holland said,"This is a war the battle of good and evil that has been going since before this life....luckily we aren't those fighting we are the Red Cross bringing bandages, stopping blood, saving lives." Wow what a statment I have always loved the hymns that talk about war because i knew that We were still fighting evil and we will continue to fight it until Jesus Christ returns to the Earth. This statement made me realize how important the missionary work is its not about getting people to join the church although that is the way back to our Heavenly Father. The Work is about helping individuals come closer to Christ We go out and we individually bandage and stop the bleeding of the Soul we are there to help people along there spiritual journey. Preach My Gospel say that our Purpose is to:"Invite others to come unto to christ by helping them recieve the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end." The last qoute i wanted to share with you was my favorite one from the night and Elder Holland said,"This is NOT Burger King we DON'T hold the Pickles, YOU are here to do this HIS way!!!!" This church is not the church of any one other then Jesus Christ I know that Christ leads this Church through President Thomas S Monson. There is no other way to do the work and get it done right other than His way. There is so much more that I wish I could say but time is runnin short. I know that Jesus Christ Lives He knows and loves each of us individually. I know that He WILL come again!
So just a few quick notes We get a new district in our zone this week and i think the chances are pretty good that Elder Buhler we be in it. That would be pretty cool. Thanks for the letters its great to here from everybody! I love you! have a great day and week. may God always be with you!
Love always
Elder Langley
August 23, 2010 -Ups and Downs in the Phases of Adjustment
Hello everyone,
Here we are at the start of week 3 in the MTC. Crazy huh? well we had an amazing fireside last night that I want to tell you about. Stephen B. Allen was the speaker and he is the director of the church missionary department. he told use the secret to having a great mission is to know the 4 phases of adjustment. the first stage is the honeymoon stage were you love everything. the second stage is just the opposite i forget what he called it but you hate everything and want to go home. the third stage is the grin and bare it where you figure out that its not so bad and you'll loose more if you go back rather then if you press forward. the final stage is successful adjustment. we all go through these stages over and over in life and we have these huge ups and downs in our life. Well Brother Allen told us the trick to even our lives out and be as productive as we can while we are here on the lords time. The trick is to completely skip step two and 'Forget yourself and go to work" as president Hinckley's dad would say. Serve serve serve stay in the honeymoon state as long as you can then when you feel yourself starting to slide out of it start serving the people around your family your friends random people you don't know and life becomes so much better! This week I've been sliding back and forth between 1 and 3 but I started to serve my companion and things became great i love this time in my life! I may not have a clue about what my teachers are saying in Spanish or how to say what I want to but i Love being here Serving my Heavenly Father and I know that if I do my best that the lord will help me with the rest.
I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last email or not but I ran into Elder Patchett. I actually get to see him a lot her and he is a Zone leader He only has 3 weeks before he flies off to Europe. I also met Sister Egbert(sorry I know I'm probably spelling that wrong but I can't think of how else to spell it) Kyle you have one cool younger sister! Missionaries come and go so fast out the the MTC we have a companionship in my district that leaves in 9 days to go to South America its crazy! this really is the lord's church and it goes to his children all around the world.
I love my branch President! he is such a cool guy and he knows so much. Sunday our sacrament meeting was on obedience and if i didn't have a testimony of strict obedience before that meeting I sure do now He told us some crazy stories that happened to him and the missionaries under him when he was a mission president in California. anyways I just thought i would mention that I know that Saylla and Mom will appreciate knowing that.
So i've had a couple people ask my about dearelder.com and how that works. When you write me a letter on that its free and its printed off right here in the MTC and put in my mailbox the same day. when you get on to the site you go to the provo MTC link if i remember right its on the left side of the screen. when you click that it'll pull up a from that you write the letter into all that you should need is my name Elder Keean Langley MTC box249 mission code MEX-TAMP departure date 10/11/2010 I think that's it then you write the letter and press send and then I get it. I think its the best way to get me mail and I'll get your addresses so that I can write back.
Sorry that this was quick and all over the place but i'm out of time. I love you all I'm doing great thanks For all the letters its great to hear from you all!!!! May God be with each and everyone of you is my prayer!
Love always
Elder Langley
Mom can you put the Woods on the list? Thanks Love you!!!
Here we are at the start of week 3 in the MTC. Crazy huh? well we had an amazing fireside last night that I want to tell you about. Stephen B. Allen was the speaker and he is the director of the church missionary department. he told use the secret to having a great mission is to know the 4 phases of adjustment. the first stage is the honeymoon stage were you love everything. the second stage is just the opposite i forget what he called it but you hate everything and want to go home. the third stage is the grin and bare it where you figure out that its not so bad and you'll loose more if you go back rather then if you press forward. the final stage is successful adjustment. we all go through these stages over and over in life and we have these huge ups and downs in our life. Well Brother Allen told us the trick to even our lives out and be as productive as we can while we are here on the lords time. The trick is to completely skip step two and 'Forget yourself and go to work" as president Hinckley's dad would say. Serve serve serve stay in the honeymoon state as long as you can then when you feel yourself starting to slide out of it start serving the people around your family your friends random people you don't know and life becomes so much better! This week I've been sliding back and forth between 1 and 3 but I started to serve my companion and things became great i love this time in my life! I may not have a clue about what my teachers are saying in Spanish or how to say what I want to but i Love being here Serving my Heavenly Father and I know that if I do my best that the lord will help me with the rest.
I don't remember if I mentioned this in my last email or not but I ran into Elder Patchett. I actually get to see him a lot her and he is a Zone leader He only has 3 weeks before he flies off to Europe. I also met Sister Egbert(sorry I know I'm probably spelling that wrong but I can't think of how else to spell it) Kyle you have one cool younger sister! Missionaries come and go so fast out the the MTC we have a companionship in my district that leaves in 9 days to go to South America its crazy! this really is the lord's church and it goes to his children all around the world.
I love my branch President! he is such a cool guy and he knows so much. Sunday our sacrament meeting was on obedience and if i didn't have a testimony of strict obedience before that meeting I sure do now He told us some crazy stories that happened to him and the missionaries under him when he was a mission president in California. anyways I just thought i would mention that I know that Saylla and Mom will appreciate knowing that.
So i've had a couple people ask my about dearelder.com and how that works. When you write me a letter on that its free and its printed off right here in the MTC and put in my mailbox the same day. when you get on to the site you go to the provo MTC link if i remember right its on the left side of the screen. when you click that it'll pull up a from that you write the letter into all that you should need is my name Elder Keean Langley MTC box249 mission code MEX-TAMP departure date 10/11/2010 I think that's it then you write the letter and press send and then I get it. I think its the best way to get me mail and I'll get your addresses so that I can write back.
Sorry that this was quick and all over the place but i'm out of time. I love you all I'm doing great thanks For all the letters its great to hear from you all!!!! May God be with each and everyone of you is my prayer!
Love always
Elder Langley
Mom can you put the Woods on the list? Thanks Love you!!!
August 16, 2010 -Greetings from the MTC
Hello Everyone!!!
So this last week seems like it has been forever long but it was great. So everyone tells me that the hardest part of the MTC is behind me and that this week is just going to fly by. So for starters THANK YOU to everyone who wrote me letters this week they really helped me get through the first week here. I've learned so much!! I've already taught the first discussion to several people here. I also can bear my testimony or at least part of it in spanish and I learned how to pray in Spanish. Its really cool because once we learn something in spanish we don't go back to english. so basically I only bear my testimony in spanish here and I only pray in spanish except when I'm at the temple cause most of what I want to say there I don't know how to say it. I'm going to work on learning how to say all that so I can pray in spanish at the temple too. So my Companion is amazing we have so much in common. His name is Elder Whitmer we are both the same height and about the same weight which is really cool because its not very often that i get to walk around with someone my own size that's not family. My preparation day is Monday.
Lasst night at the MTC fireside we had a really cool speaker his name is Newell Dayley. He composed the Music for Hymn 220 Lord I would follow thee. He pointed out some very interesting things and I think this hymn has become my favorite. the next time you listen to a hymn pay attention to the music and what it does to support the words I wish i knew how to explain everything that he said but i don't. I do remember one thing that he said that I never realized before and that is that the saying Lord I would follow thee through out the song changes. It starts as an aspiration then by the end of the song it changes to a commitment kind of like what has happened to me this last year. I've been aspiring to be a missionary for so long but now I'm finally here and its a commitment not an aspiration. I just thought that was something really cool that I never noticed before. I would challenge you to look it up and listen to the song and see if it means anything more when you look at the hymn like that. Its not just with that hymn that the actual music can add a ton to the meeaning of the song it happens all through out the hymn book.
I don't think that I have ever bore my testimony to y'all other when I give talks and I would like to take the opportunity to do that now. I know that Our Heavely Father lives and loves us all. WE are all his children and he wants us to return to live with him. Jesus Christ Lives and he suffered for each of us and made it possible for us to return to live with Him and Heavenly Father. The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God and When we read them our lives can and will change. I know that Thomas S Monson is a Prophet of God and He leads and guide the True church on the earth today. I am greatful for the opportunity to be a missionary! To be a deffender of the Faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints Is the true church that contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel(everything that we need to know to return to live with God again). I know that Families can be together for eternity throught the priesthood and temples. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
I love you all!! Take care and may God be with you through out this next week. Thanks again for the Letters they are a great strength to me!
Love Always,
Elder Langley
P.S.
just a reminder dearelder.com is the best way to send letters I get them the same day and then I have more time to write back rather then reading them all and only having 5 minutes to reply.
August 10, 2010 -Last Letter as Keean for 2 years
Hey everybody,
This week has been very eventful and I have a lot of things to cover and not a lot of time so I'm going get straight to it. I was able to see a lot of people this week, last week I wrote about how much I love and appreciate everyone. I spoke in church on sunday and though I'm not so sure how I did everyone said I did a good job, I was so nervous and sunday was about when the knot in my stomach started to appear. I know that a lot of you weren't able to come listen to it so I have a treat for you! A member of my ward recorded my talk which I am very grateful for. Here is the link for that I hope you enjoy it. http://willeweb.com/keean-langley.mp3 I've spent 19 years preparing for this week and now that its here I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. I only have 2 hours and 9 minutes before I become a missionary!!! I have really enjoyed my time this week with my family and friends. Today I have been running around and i realized that I wasn't as prepared to leave as I thought I was. anyways I got the last few supplies that I need and I report in the morning. I know that there are a lot of people that read this letter that are of other Faiths so I just want to take a minute to explain what is going on this week and a couple of terms that will be used. When I say that I only have 2 hours and 9 minutes till I'm a missionary you might wonder why its then and not in the morning when I report. Well tonight I have a meeting with one of my church leaders. In this meeting he will officially make me a missionary by giving me a special blessing in which he gives me the authority to teach what my church believes. When i get this blessing I also start using the title of Elder. Elder is a title like Bishop, Pastor, or Father, which means defender of the faith. So from tonight till the end of my mission I will be going by Elder Langley. The last term that I wanted to explain was MTC I'll probably be using this one a lot for the next 2 months. MTC stands for Missionary Training Center. the missionary training center is where I will be learning spanish and they will help me learn how to better explain and share the message I will be teaching in Mexico.
For the next 2 months an easy way to send me letters will be through dearelder.com withdearelder.com you will need the following information, which is also the address for regular mail.
Elder Keean Langley
MTC Mailbox #249
MEX-TAMP 1011
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604-1793
After my time in the MTC letters can be sent to the pouch mail. Pouch mail has to be a single sheet of paper folded into three panels and taped at the top only(no envelopes)
Elder Keean Langley
Mexico Tampico Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150
USA
Letters to the mission home have no restrictions but the stamps cost more. the address is:
Elder Keean Langley
Mexico Tampico Mission
Apartado Postal 241
89460 Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas
Mexico
I also wanted to remind y'all about the blog that my sister-in-law is doing. The web address for that is http://keeanintampico.blogspot.com/
I love you all and wish you the best! I'll write again the next time I can. May God Be with you!
This week has been very eventful and I have a lot of things to cover and not a lot of time so I'm going get straight to it. I was able to see a lot of people this week, last week I wrote about how much I love and appreciate everyone. I spoke in church on sunday and though I'm not so sure how I did everyone said I did a good job, I was so nervous and sunday was about when the knot in my stomach started to appear. I know that a lot of you weren't able to come listen to it so I have a treat for you! A member of my ward recorded my talk which I am very grateful for. Here is the link for that I hope you enjoy it. http://willeweb.com/keean-langley.mp3 I've spent 19 years preparing for this week and now that its here I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. I only have 2 hours and 9 minutes before I become a missionary!!! I have really enjoyed my time this week with my family and friends. Today I have been running around and i realized that I wasn't as prepared to leave as I thought I was. anyways I got the last few supplies that I need and I report in the morning. I know that there are a lot of people that read this letter that are of other Faiths so I just want to take a minute to explain what is going on this week and a couple of terms that will be used. When I say that I only have 2 hours and 9 minutes till I'm a missionary you might wonder why its then and not in the morning when I report. Well tonight I have a meeting with one of my church leaders. In this meeting he will officially make me a missionary by giving me a special blessing in which he gives me the authority to teach what my church believes. When i get this blessing I also start using the title of Elder. Elder is a title like Bishop, Pastor, or Father, which means defender of the faith. So from tonight till the end of my mission I will be going by Elder Langley. The last term that I wanted to explain was MTC I'll probably be using this one a lot for the next 2 months. MTC stands for Missionary Training Center. the missionary training center is where I will be learning spanish and they will help me learn how to better explain and share the message I will be teaching in Mexico.
For the next 2 months an easy way to send me letters will be through dearelder.com withdearelder.com you will need the following information, which is also the address for regular mail.
Elder Keean Langley
MTC Mailbox #249
MEX-TAMP 1011
2005 N 900 E
Provo UT 84604-1793
After my time in the MTC letters can be sent to the pouch mail. Pouch mail has to be a single sheet of paper folded into three panels and taped at the top only(no envelopes)
Elder Keean Langley
Mexico Tampico Mission
POB 30150
Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150
USA
Letters to the mission home have no restrictions but the stamps cost more. the address is:
Elder Keean Langley
Mexico Tampico Mission
Apartado Postal 241
89460 Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas
Mexico
I also wanted to remind y'all about the blog that my sister-in-law is doing. The web address for that is http://keeanintampico.blogspot.com/
I love you all and wish you the best! I'll write again the next time I can. May God Be with you!
August 4, 2010 -Home Again
Howdy,
I have been trying to figure out what to write about for the last couple of days and I hadn't come up with what would be good till I talked to Anna. We got talking about my week and what I have been doing. I drove to Colorado and I've been packing boxes and all that fun stuff but the one thing that I have been doing that means the most to me reflecting on the people that have helped shape me into who I am. I've been able to visit a lot of those people this week here in Colorado. My family, friends and neighbors from when I was really little, My scout leaders, basketball coaches, teams, teachers, friends parents. The list could go on and on but I think that the point is that in all our lives who we become isn't just a coincidence it has to do with the people that we associate our selves with. There is a Family that I spent a couple years living across the street from in Colorado I haven't actually seen them before to day in 10 years. I've always heard what their older boys were doing. I knew when they went on missions then when they got married and have kids. I realized today how big of a role they played in me getting to where I am today. If the situation ahd been different and they hadn't gone on missions I really think that I wouldn't have the strong desire that I have to go serve in Mexico. There are so many other areas that I could give similar examples of how people have helped me become who I am but i think that one is enough to get the point across. I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my life(which is everyone that gets this letter) for the positive influence that you have had. I have you to thank for helping me become who I am. I love you all! I hope you are all safe and I pray that God is with you and protects!
This sunday is my 'farewell' talk in Orem. Everyone that can is welcome to attend. After the block of meetings we will be having a get together at the house just down the street. Let me know if anyone has any questions. next tuesday will be my last letter before reporting to the Provo MTC.
Love
Keean
I have been trying to figure out what to write about for the last couple of days and I hadn't come up with what would be good till I talked to Anna. We got talking about my week and what I have been doing. I drove to Colorado and I've been packing boxes and all that fun stuff but the one thing that I have been doing that means the most to me reflecting on the people that have helped shape me into who I am. I've been able to visit a lot of those people this week here in Colorado. My family, friends and neighbors from when I was really little, My scout leaders, basketball coaches, teams, teachers, friends parents. The list could go on and on but I think that the point is that in all our lives who we become isn't just a coincidence it has to do with the people that we associate our selves with. There is a Family that I spent a couple years living across the street from in Colorado I haven't actually seen them before to day in 10 years. I've always heard what their older boys were doing. I knew when they went on missions then when they got married and have kids. I realized today how big of a role they played in me getting to where I am today. If the situation ahd been different and they hadn't gone on missions I really think that I wouldn't have the strong desire that I have to go serve in Mexico. There are so many other areas that I could give similar examples of how people have helped me become who I am but i think that one is enough to get the point across. I want to thank everyone that has been a part of my life(which is everyone that gets this letter) for the positive influence that you have had. I have you to thank for helping me become who I am. I love you all! I hope you are all safe and I pray that God is with you and protects!
This sunday is my 'farewell' talk in Orem. Everyone that can is welcome to attend. After the block of meetings we will be having a get together at the house just down the street. Let me know if anyone has any questions. next tuesday will be my last letter before reporting to the Provo MTC.
Love
Keean
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