Hump Day Camel Story

THE CAMEL IS THE SYMBOL OF A SEASONED MISSIONARY

By Cheryl K. Carpenter

As you come to the one-year mark of your mission, I am sending you this camel to remind you how far you have come, and where you are going. There are many similar characteristics of a great missionary and a camel.

The first is the "hump". Yes, you have crossed the mark and now are over the hump of the first year. But remember the hump of a camel is used to store food for the long journey. Camels can go for long periods of time without food, but he must store his food in his hump. A Missionary has learned from so many experiences, but a wise Missionary will store the knowledge he has gained, and put it to greater use the second half of his mission.

Another important symbol, is what the camel does to be prepared to carry his load for his Master. A camel sometimes protests his heavy load, but he drops to knees for his Master, and once started, he patiently carries his load. As a missionary sometimes the load seems heavy and difficult to carry. But when you drop to your knees and succumb to the Master's will, he will carefully lead you and you can bear the load patiently, and do your Father in Heaven's work as he would have you do. This is why the camel's knees are heavily padded, as a Missionary, your knees are calloused from the many hours of kneeling in prayer.

The camel has high set eyes, that enable him to see long distances. A Missionary has his eyes set on higher things, he follows the Spirit that enables him to see the Children of God, those who are seeking answers, and he teaches them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The camel has broad, two-toed feet, that keep it from sinking in desert sand. A missionary has a broad knowledge and a firm testimony of the Gospel. This enables him to teach with boldness and stand firm in his testimony. The people you teach do not yet have the blessing of such a sure-foot, but as you teach with love and the Spirit, you will help them gain their own testimony that will help them walk on firmer ground. One that will lead them back to their Father in Heaven.

So you see, a Missionary has a lot in common with a camel. Put this camel where you can see it often. Dedicate yourself to do as the camel does. Serve your Master well and patiently over the long journey. You have come a long way, there is still much ground to cover. Continue to move forward, serving with love, until your mission is complete and your Father in Heaven will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

P-Day 51

Hi mom! 

Thank you for the package and card. It was great! I really enjoyed the story you sent. And yes I went and burned the shirt. Nobody listened to Elder Gentry and brought a camera or an iPad. Well oops. So we don't have any pictures. But we went down by the river where me and Elder Gentry took photos that one time. We also went with The YSA elders. We sprayed my shirt with spray paint and then lit it on fire. It burned very quickly. Then we went to red Robin and ate. 

We had exchanges this week. I went to the YSA Ward with elder White and Elder Gentry stayed in Wasilla with Elder Elliott. We did a lot of service and tried finding a lot of people. Overall it was a very good exchange.

We went to Anchorage twice this week. On Wednesday we went to the temple. It was awesome. Probably one of my better ones so far. Afterwards A member from Fairbanks that knew Elder White took us out to eat. Then we went to visit some Hmong members and they fed us well also. 

On Thursday we had trainer training meeting. That was also a very spiritual meeting. It was also one of the better ones I have been to so far. Elder Wilson, my old zone leader, is the new AP. He is with Elder Goodsell, his old companion (they were my zone leaders together). I also met the new Hmong elder. He speaks pretty good. I was able to throw out a few words he didn't know though 👍😈 he will do very well there. We ate lunch with Tsakong too. 

Stephanie is progressing well. We finished up the lessons and taught tithing and Word of Wisdom. She will be out of town for the next two weeks so I am glad we finished early. by the time she is back we will have one to prepare the baptism.

All we did was service this week. It seems like every day somebody was calling us to come help them. I actually got a sunburn in Alaska... We helped clear bushes, move people, picked weeds, set up an Iditarod event and basically burned all the possessions of a member who is moving. That last one was my favorite one.

Wasilla is doing alright. The work is moving forward and there will be good things to come. I need new running shoes. Would it be cheaper to mail or just put money in? (Btw if so give me a limit lol) 

I love you,

Elder Hayden Frey

District Leader

P-Day 50

Hi my favorite mom!

We had a pretty good week this week. It was transfers! Nothing special happened for us though. We just did normal missionary work. Imma get on Chandler for not doing it!! Did Jacob? I think I come close with the lining of the pig stomach. But I don't think it was a pig... Or a cow.... Or a moose... Or any animal besides a cat or dog. I was with Asians for 9 almost 10 months. 

That's funny about the delays!! Haha what luck. Of course I bet Alyssa was freaking out. Haha and who thought Alaska would get warm. It got as high as 93 here in Wasilla. Crazy! I've seen -20 and 93 in the same year. 

Not much happened this week. We taught Stephanie the Law of Chastity and keeping the Sabbath day holy. She has gotten pretty close with Brother and Sister Dahl. Their fellow shipping, and Bishop’s is awesome. Bishop is still in Israel so no lessons at his mansion. 

We finally got Ward mission plans set up and rolling in both wards!!! I came in with like.... Nothing.... No investigators, an average of 2 lessons a week, a huge disconnect in missionary work and the ward, no WMLs.... We got a new WML in Wasilla Ward and we created a Ward mission plan that's just getting set up. He's doing a great job. We are all learning together. We met the Memory Lake WML finally after a transfer. We kicked him in the butt and created a mission plan and presented it to the Ward council and going to start spreading it. We pulled a baptism out and have Stephanie on date. We have several solid investigators. Teaching between 10-20 lessons a week. Things are picking up. I'm happy to say I left the area better then I found it just like PMG says. Things are looking up. Me and Elder Gentry are getting things going for sure. 

Love you!

Elder Hayden Frey

91 degrees in Alaska is HOT- especially when no one has A/C.

Letter to the Youth

I wrote to all the missionaries serving from our ward and asked them 3 questions for an activity we are doing this week for mutual.

1.  What are some things you did to prepare to serve a mission that are now helping you to be a successful missionary? (Both spiritual and temporal) 

2.  What do you wish you would have known about a mission before you left?  What could have prepared you more?

    3.  Any words of wisdom for the youth of the Bella Vista ward?

 Here is Elder Frey’s response...

Dear Youth of the Bella Vista Ward, 

This letter is directed to the young men but young women, take the principles it teaches into your hearts as well. Young men are expected to serve by the Lord. You are not, but, the choice of serving a mission is between you and the Lord. 

If you are on the fence on whether or not to serve a mission, or if you do not want to serve a mission, I have a piece of advice for you: go on one. There is only one time in your life that you get to dedicate every aspect of your life 100% to the Lord. Think of it as tithing. You are giving ten percent of your first twenty years to the Lord. As he promises us: "The windows of heaven will be opened and he will pour out blessings and there shall not be enough room to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). 

For those of you who are scared you don't know enough, you are not alone; Enoch felt the exact same way when the Lord called upon him to serve. Enoch said: "Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?" (Moses 6:31) The Lord promised him, "Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled" (Moses 6:32). If you do your part and study the lessons from Preach My Gospel, and read from the Book of Mormon, I promise you the Lord will do his part and fill your mouth. You know enough. 

Continue to read the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the World's greatest treasure. As Joseph Smith said in the introduction of the Book of Mormon: "the Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." The Book of Mormon, as Joseph Smith stated, is the keystone of our religion. It is the basis of our testimony. The Book of Mormon tells us that the Church has been restored, that the church was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that we Heavenly loves us enough to give his Only Begotten. I have read the Book of Mormon 5 times so far and I learn something new every time I read it. If we want to talk to Heavenly Father, we pray, if we want him to talk to us, we read the scriptures and listen to the Prophet. 

There will always be peaks and troughs, or up and down moments in your mission and your life. Elder David A. Bednar shared a story about a man who drove his brand new truck up the mountain to cut wood. "Sadly, my friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried. My friend decided, “Well, I will not just sit here.” He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man" (David A. Bednar, Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease, April 2014). 

The truck is us in our life. We go along and everything is going well. Suddenly our tires lose traction and they spin in place. We can no longer spiritually progress, it is our testimony plateau. Once the heavy load, or burden, was placed inside the truck. It has the traction to continue on the path. The interesting part was, the same amount of gas and power was applied when he was stuck and got unstuck. That is when we are doing all the right things: reading, going to church, praying. God relies on these troughs or down times because during the down moments it will get hard; that is the point. God withdraws from us. The teacher will always stay quiet during the test. These troughs are test of our faith, obedience and diligence, they are stepping stones for us to climb higher. The peaks are when miracles happen. Little growth comes from inside a comfort zone. We need to be tried and face burdens so that our faith and testimony grow. We can be doing all the right things but, if we don't have trials, we can't progress. There is no growth in a comfort zone. Get out of your comfort zone and serve. Choose the harder right not the easier wrong. 

I want to extend a commitment to you today. Doctrine and Covenants 62:3 says "Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you." There is power in this verse. I challenge you to bear your testimony to at least one person. I bear my testimony like many, many times a day. I can feel the power it has on me and on others. I know that the Angels are singing in Heaven rejoicing every time I bear my testimony. I know they will sing and rejoice when you do to. Will you bear your testimony to at least one person this week?

Let your light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16). Be an example to the unbelievers (1 Timothy 4:12). People see the difference between you and others that are not in the gospel. It's like we are walking around with an apple pie; everyone sees that we have that pie. The pie is desirous above all other pies (1 Nephi 8:11). Others want that pie. It is our job to share a slice of the pie with everyone. Give a slice to everybody you see. When you share gospel messages and your testimony, those you share it with get to experience the goodness and joy of the gospel and the Holy Ghost. Everyone has the Light of Christ inside of them. The Light of Christ is simply, "the knowledge of good and evil" (Moroni 7:16). Everyone already knows of the gospel and its teachings, they have that Light. As Boyd K. Packer states in PMG, "the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there. The gospel will have a familiar ‘ring’ to them." We aren't teaching anything crazy or foreign. Like George Vue Yang, one of my recent converts told us, "When other churches taught me, it went in one ear and out the other. When you guys teach me, I understand it." It was familiar to him. It was like hearing it for a second time. We are simply adding oil to the lamp or uncovering the candle for the Light to shine forth; giving that slice of the pie. 

I have been out for 1 year and I can tell you that this is the greatest experience I will ever have. You get to take a break from the World for two years. You do not realize the stresses of living in the World today. That means no video games, no school, no texting, and no music. While that may not seem appealing, you do not know how relaxing it is to get away from all of it. You will never feel more relaxed and more stress free then when you are on your mission. There is nothing to worry about. 1 year so far has felt like a week of school. You just go around and share the truths that you treasure in your heart. You are sharing the truth of the restored gospel, the true church, so you have no reason to fear.

If you plan on serving a mission I commend you and I promise you the Lord is happy with your intent to serve. I have one piece of advice for you: don't strive to become a returned missionary. That tag is too easy to get. Anyone can come out and give 2 years of little effort and return with the RM tag. When you go on your mission, make it your goal to become a returned disciple, a true follower of Christ. A steadfast and immovable servant of the Lord. Serve with all your might mind and strength that you my stand blameless before God at the last day (Doctrine 4:2). That is a disciple of Christ. Make it your goal and do not stray from it. When you come back it shouldn't be a swan dive back into Babylon (Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Stay By The Tree, April 2015). The road to discipleship is a life long path, not an "effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of once and for all" (Dieter F Uchtdorf, Are You Sleeping through the Restoration? April 2014). It begins now, strengthens on your mission, and flourishes when you return and live the principles learned.

I know this is the church that Christ established when he was on the earth. It is the true church. There are people out there just waiting for this message. They are waiting for you to share it with them. Oh how great your joy will be if you bring just one soul to Christ. Imagine the joy you will feel if you bring many to him (Doctrine And Covenants 18:15-16). I promise you that serving a mission will be the greatest thing you could ever do. A mission is the event that people talk about forever. Ask anyone you know that has served. The biggest regret I have heard from those that haven't served is not serving a mission. A mission will follow you for the rest of your life. It will either haunt you with regret, or it will bring you and many others everlasting joy. "Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35). Don't be that person that when the missionaries go to dinner and ask where you served reply, "I didn't because I didn't want to." How do you expect the Lord to bless you when you don't give anything to him. How do you expect to answer to those people you promised before this life to bring them the gospel. They are lost and waiting for you. How can you expect to have a family and sacrifice yourself for them when you cannot give a worthy sacrifice to the man who gives you breath. How do you expect to pay the price for celestial glory when you can't go give up 2 short years of your life. 

I bear my testimony the Book of Mormon is the word of God; Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration and that Christ died and rose so that we may all return again. By his blood we are cleansed and by the spirit, we are sanctified. Follow the commandments, live the gospel, study your scriptures, and have happiness. 

-Elder Hayden M. Frey

P-Day 49

Hi Mom!

Alaska is awesome! The work is going great. Me and Elder Gentry are doing well. We are both staying of course. I am moving to district leader.... I mean I basically already was my whole mission but yeah. And good news! They are white washing Hmong! I called the Hmong elders the other day and they were sitting at a members watching a movie 😑😑😑 my current zone leader has only two more transfers left (which is training) and is whitewash training Hmong. Meaning, he is training the Hmong elder in Hmong and the two in Hmong are being taken out. 

Stephanie has a baptismal date- July 16. She immediately committed and she is awesome! We only have a few lessons left for her. Elder Gentry committed her like a boss! He is doing really awesome as a missionary. He is a good teacher. 

We had a dinner with the YSA elders. They bet me I wouldn't go the whole dinner only speaking Hmong. It was a cool family so yeah. But I did it so they bought me ice cream. I said all the prayers and taught the lesson it was funny. 

We also talked to the Hmong family this week. And we got another potential Hmong family. But it was just an awkward doorstep conversation because the Big Lake elders didn't tell me who we were seeing so I just talked to the mom awkwardly. The daughter wanted to be baptized but the dad said no which is what I was supposed to clear up but the daughter wasn't home so we have to go back. 

Over the last few weeks we did some service for a elderly nonmember couple. Their daughter is a member in another Ward. They were a really sweet couple. We started doing service only but they started asking questions more and more as they warmed up. The wife would give us the awkward hugs. They really liked us and would feed us lunch as well. Well, we got a call yesterday from the daughter saying he was in the hospital. The husband requested a blessing from us. Wow! So we showed up and they wouldn't let us in. He had to be life flighted to Anchorage. He didn't make it onto the plane..... He lost all blood pressure and was transferred across the veil... It's really sad because I liked the guy. He was getting somewhere with the gospel. I'm glad for the plan of salvation. 

Love you!

The extra 2 are Elder White and Elder Carroll (not sure which is which though).

P-Day 48

Hi mom!

What another wonderful week! Time really flies. Just a year ago I was on my way to Alaska it seems like.... But the weather is nice: High 60s to low 70s. Sun is shining mixed in with a little rain. What can be more perfect than Alaska?! Nothing!  How are you? We are usually in the 60s-70s but today is 42 and rainy. We were gunna hike too....

We got to go to Anchorage this week and we had lunch with Tsakong. It was good seeing him and some of the other Hmong members. Speaking of Hmong, I have a lesson tomorrow with the Hmong family that the Big Lake Elders found. 

We also did service for this one fellow. It is the father of a returning less active in another Ward. He lives in ours and we helped him around the yard since he is getting older. He is a good guy and fun to talk to. He invited us over yesterday to his family BBQ and he asked a few questions and spoiled us with food. 

Stephanie is progressing really well. We taught the Plan of Salvation and the spirit was intense and she was in tears and choked up saying the closing prayer of the lesson. Bishop Gray and his son had awesome comments that really solidified it all. She is doing awesome progressing towards baptism! No date yet. We didn't have a promoting to give her one. 

Wasilla is blooming both outside and In the work. Things are going well, Elder Gentry is a stud and growing so well. I barely remember I am training ever. Enjoy the week! I know I will! 

Love, 
Elder Hayden Frey