(2/16/10)

Dear Family,

How is everyone?! Is the snow melting or what?! Whats it like with seasons. Anyway yeah Juan got baptised this last saturday!!! He has changed so much!! He is awesome!! He was extremely prepared for the gospel. He was humble and ready to accept all the commandments with determination to never falter!! Thank you so much for your prayers!! We had another investigator named victor who was going to be baptised this saturday but he hasn't been keeping all his comittments so we might have to postpone the date. We are also teaching the guy named Diego and he should be baptised in two weeks and the week after that Juans friend and her son want to be baptised... but in the ocean!! So we'll see if we can get permission for that!!

This week has been awesome!! This whole transfere was honestly like a flash I cant really even remeber it!! We were so busy and we got along really well!! But tommorrow elder Radmall is going to Curacou and I am staying here and Elder Zenger (my last companion who is WAY cool as well) is coming back to Aruba from Curacou. They are doing some serious shrinking in the islands so basically they are shutting areas and keeping the missionaries that are already in the islands in the islands. Unless you go back to puerto rico. So I'll probably be here for another month and a half then head out to puerto Rico. I love the islands though!! Especially because I can speak the language!!

Yeah my new mission president is the area 70 here and he actually came and talked to us missionaires in the mission home our first night in Puerto Rico!! It'll be some interesting changes!!

So two months apart huh?! That is awesome and I like those names!! I hope everyone is getting excitted!! I better get some a lot of pictures!!

So whats this, Valentines day came and past and the olympics started?! I totally missed all that ha ha oh well I think thats a good sign!! I'm loving the mission!! Its going so quick!! I love this gospel and I love the plan of salvation!! I am so thankful that I can be with you all and my future family for the eternities!! Thanks for everything and let me know if I can do anything for you all.

Love Elder Knudsen

P.S. I have a new email that is darin.knudsen@myldsmail.net but I'm pretty sure it'll forward all the letters that come to my old one to this one.

Taste of Aruba (pictures)

I love the mission!!!!! (2/8/2010)

FAMILY!!
How are you all?! You all sound like your doing great!! so my mission president ended up not coming to the island this week but its okay we all understand! And yeah some huge changes!! It'll be exciting to see what new islands I have!! Hopefully no Dutch.
Brother Ponce came to Utah?! Thats awesome!! Its even cooler that steve talked to him!! That man is so cool!! We found him inative and not wanting to come back to church even though he is a high preist and he used to go out with the missionaries everyday!! My last day in the area Ponce he came back to church and said it was for good!
So this week I did the translating for church and it was intense but it was awesome at the same time!! We get a lot of people from right around where we live. Its interesting!!
So I dont have too much time so it might be alittle short! This week juan is getting baptised!! We found him the first of the transfere and he has a lot of tattoos and has had a hard life including his wife and family leaving him the past few months but he is So willing to do what it takes to get on the straight and narrow again!! He has accepted the law of chastity and the Word of wisdom so easy even though it will be hard for him!! I know the lord is blessing us!! Thank you so much for your prayers!! This church is true I know it!! I'm am so thankful to be a part of the missnionary work right now!!!! I love you family have a great week!!
Love Elder Knudsen
P.S. I haven't gotten any packages since I've been down in islands but i have faith they are in puerto Rico so no worries! Thankyou so much though!!

Letter from Aruba (2/1/2010)

Dear Family!!
So some pretty big changes are going to take place here in my mission. When my mission president leaves in july we are combining the Puerto Rico San Juan west and east mission into one mission and dropping the islands of Aruba Curacou and Bonaire. It is a little lame because I can speak this language pretty good now and I wont have another chance to serve down here and I love the people here!! But The Lord knows whats best. I'm going to try and get an extension on days on my visa so I can be down here till the end but we'll see. The ABC islands are now going to be with the Dominican republic mission and we are getting a lot of other islands... English speaking actually!! Crazy right!
Anyway this week was awesome!! We worked super hard to get our goals and we are seeing the blessings. We have Juan and marcia still want to be baptised and so we are working with them and making sure they dont have any problems with the commandments or anything and they have two friends as well that are listening as well!! Also we ran into another old investigator who wants to be baptised but we are pretty sure he has some problems that we need to help him with as well. Also in church I talked to this new guy and asked if he was a member and he said yeah but he isn't baptised so I told him we would be visiting him this week!! The Lord is definately blessing us!! It was acutally a miracle how the guy at church got in contact with the church here in aruba. This is the story (I wrote it in the Presidents letter so I"ll cut and paste:
In church yesterday a couple people came with one of our members. The two guys were actually brothers and one is a member and when I asked the other if he was he said yeah... but not baptised. So I told him we would pass by that week and start teaching him. It was amazing how he got in contact with the member that he came to church with. The member has been out of work for awhile and had been praying for a job or somekind of income and one day he ran into this guy who needed to rent a room. SO the member is now renting out his room and later they found out that they are both into the church just the one isn't baptised. They were both blessed. the member with some income and the other Guy, Diego, with a solid member who will get him to church and help him be baptised to join with his brother and mom.
Anyway so everything is going good family. I love ya and thanks so much for the letters!!
Oh yeah we have a chef in our area that is a member and he cooks for us everyweek and it is awesome!! We eat like 40-80 Dollar meals every friday. Last time we had Fillet Mingon and it was awesome!! I ate about three of them!!
I haven't gotten the jump rope yet but The president is coming down at the end of next week so just wait a bit before you send another one!! Thanks so much!!
I love you all have a great week!! Oh and last week sorry it was a holliday last monday so we worked!! Its been like a super long holliday these last two months here called carnival its weird!!
Love Elder Knudsen

Called to Serve (1/26/2010)

I love the mission. It is awesome!! Franciscos baptism went really well!! 3 of our investigators came and they all loved it. Two said they want to be baptised but in the ocean (which isn't super crazy down here) and one has a date to be baptised and he is fine with the font in the church! The Lord is really blessing us here!! Thank you for all your prayers!! Now we just need to get Franciscos Brother Jorge Baptised and they will be a power house family!!
Yeah Dad I remember you telling me about your earthquake!! ha ha I remember you saying you thought it was the second coming or something and you could see your floor doing waves ha ha.
Jared passed a 7 and a half hour test huh... Wow I dont know if I could even focus for that long ha ha Congrates!! The winter sounds pretty fun!! It is really hard to actually imagin snow and ice and stuff and so I've just stopped trying. Sometimes I can't even get my shower to go cold enough!!
But this week was awesome!! We have some awesome investigators but it is really hard to teach them because they love to talk and share!! However they are very humble and very prepared. One has cancer and one just lost his wife and his kids when his wife left him. Truely they are going through hard times but are blessed to be humble and willing to recieve our message like the people That Alma and Amulek taught in Alma 30... or 31 or something. We also have a teaching pool of like 30 investigators so its getting pretty intense to try and manage them and keep on teaching the prepared ones!
The branch here is super strong though. Some of the tourists this week were from sandy actually. Just over by Alta. Its always fun to translate and help people with the language here!!
I also got a letter form the young men this week. It was awesome!!
Anyway family I got to get going but I love ya and have a great week!! Dont ever forget how blessed we are in this church and especially as a family and extended family!! Helman 5:12.
Love Elder KNudsen!!

Here I Am (1/18/2010)

Dear Fmaily,
So Yeah I'm alive! there has been quite a few earthquakes right? Hatti and Venezuela and Argentina... Hmmmm but yeah we woke up the other day to a 4.2 size eathquake at 4 in the morning. It was kinda cool but we just went back to bed. I feel super protected as a missionary anyway so no worries!!
So this week we have a baptism!! His name is fancisco and he is super cool and super smart. He is a younger kid but he is smart! His mom was baptised a little while ago but he has never accepted a baptismal date. Luckly for us he finally accepted one, the first day I was here in aruba!! And we also are teaching these tree people that are totally supporting each other in the lessons. They read to each other and they are coming to church and everything!! They are awesome. They are Juan Evalyn and Marsha. They love it when we come over and say there is something that keeps them wanting to listen even though we teach a lot different then they are used to. Its awesome!! We are seeing success, the Lord is really blessing us!! I love it!!
My companion is super cool and super humble!! Its so cool I feel like Im on a misson with one of my friends!! We just have to keep working hard and stay super humble!!
The Rama is cool too. They are super helpful and when we sing on sunday it is extremely loud!! I love it!! we also opened a service at night for some of the members who cant make it to the morning one so we'll see how that goes.
We had another Iguana this week... It is alright but I guess it is actually super super heathly! Honestly the reason we have it is because the investigator wants to feed us but he cant afford any meat so he just has his friends bring him iguanas.
Oh and the Jumprope I havent gotten yet... so yeah I'm still... big boned.. I mean bigger.. Alright I'm getting pretty fat ha ha but I should get that jumprope soon. Thanks.
Here in Aruba they speak Papiamentu but a little different. More spanish is in it. And is Curacoa it has more dutch in it. But I love they language I feel super comfortable in it. Now spanish is a different story. But Pretty much everyone here can speack english and does speak spanish a lot of they time. Our branch usually is in spanish.
But thank you so much family or everything you do. I was reading in 3 Nephi 3 today and its about when all the nephites and the lamanites united together to go against the gaddianton robbers and I was thinking how we can apply that to our lives and I thought as a family we need to say united with daily prayer scripture study and family nights. And in doing so we will be stronger. Just like they were in this chapter. Also we need to unite as a church and comfort those that need it and to bare eachothers burdens and stand as a witness of Christ like alma said in Mosiah 18. I love you fam and have a good week.
Elder Knudsen

Aruba!! (1/11/2010)

So Aruba is awesome!! I love it. I'm with my very fist companion that was with me in the MTC, Elder Radmall from Eden Utah. He is super cool and we are really going to do good!! As far as the area... ITs a desert basically everywhere but I hear the cool part of Aruba is the beaches. I guess we'll find out. We're going to play football on the beach today for a little while. Oh yeah and its is super hot.
This past week I ate Iguana and horse!! Crazy right? Also the President came down this weekend and brught me some letters and a package and stuff. It was awesome!! Our Ward is awesome. Don and Geneil rasmessen sent me a letter and so Did the Martins and the Youngbergs. That was super cool.
The Branch here is awesome!! The members are super willing to go out with you it is so cool. I am blown away in the difference of success when the members help. It is crazy!! Oh yeah and they sing EXTREMELY loud here!! I love it. My living quaters are better than they were in Curacoa aswell. I love this. I found out that the president is cycling us through the islands so we can go back to Puerto rico and Till up the hard ground there! But I love these Islands and I can speak pretty awesome Papiamentu I realized. Way better than spanish actually.
But I love you all and thank you for the support. I hope you all get better. Your in my prayers! If you could pray for Juan and Francisco that would be awesome!! I love you so much an have a great week!!
Love ELder KNudsen
P.S. I emailed that Christmas letter again so I hope you get it!!