From Matt

Monday, June 25, 2012

Dear Mom!

Well it’s good to hear from you! Things are going well for us, and the work is great. Thanks for all your prayers; I need them lots, haha! Elder Scott is a new missionary, and this is his first area, but he is doing SO well! A lot better than previous companions. :)

Congrats Sam and Hailey! That is so cool! Jenna, huh? She’s a cutie. I'm so proud! :) That’s a ton of fun! :)

Devin passed away? Oh no... That poor family. That breaks my heart. I am so sorry to hear that. Please send them my love. I'll write today. gosh...

Things have been going well for us here. Don't be surprised if Michelle King calls you to talk about craft things. If you get a chance, please bear her your testimony of the church! Or at least bring it up very casually. :) You are the best mom! I brag about my family all the time! :)

I inherit my stress patterns from you, mom! THANKS! Haha I stress over the littlest things ever. I'm trying to stop, but I just go crazy over small stuff, Haha! Thanks for that trait! No, I’m just kiddin. I love ya

So not a whole lot of new stuff! We visited a less active lady last night that lives way up in Alpine Forest and she is absolutely NUTS! She took us in her back yard and pointed out the elves making presents, a horse eating a dog, and chinchilla’s that are tunneling into her garage. So SO weird! Haha we left as soon as humanly possible. :) It reminded me of a scary movie! Yikes.

But things are going well! We are so blessed and loving life. Thanks for the support! I love to hear from you, and a  package would be nice! :) It’s been a while since I’ve gotten snail mail from ya! ;) I love you mom!

--

Elder Matthew Monk

 California Ventura Mission

         -  Jan. 2011 - Jan. 2013 -

Best kept secret!

Over the week-end, Wynn and I went

camping with Wynn's brother, Mike and his

wife, Karen.  We went to Mackay and 

explored the mining community

up on the hill. 

We took our RZR and Mike took Grandpa's 4-wheeler.  We explored
all the old buildings and took tons of pictures.

The weather was simply perfect and we had a great time!

I didn't know Mackay was so beautiful!

We ventured to the top of the  mountain looking for a lake so
Mike could go fishing.  We almost made it except
for one little problem. . .   a snow drift covering
the trail.

We hiked up and looked over the top and this is
what we saw.  Simply beautiful!

Just enjoying the view!

In front of the snow drift!

We saw some amazing sights!  Things you can't see  unless
you go for a ride on the wheeler!  :)

Trussle bridge

Mackay Reservoir in the back ground.

Our camp site!  We stayed at a tourist park right in Mackay by the
rodeo grounds.  It was so nice and FREE!


It was so nice to get away and relax.  I loved sitting and
visiting in the evenings.  Mike and Karen lived in Ohio for years.
They just moved to Idaho Falls in January.  It has been so
fun having them so close.  It was a great
week-end!

New Grand-baby!

We got our third grand-baby. . . 

Sam and Hailey had a baby girl born ---

June 18th, 2012

11:33 p.m.

6 lbs. 7 oz.

20 inches long

& just beautiful!

18 days early!

Isn't that a grand surprise.

Please welcome

~Miss Jenna Monk~

So neat seeing Sam so in love with this little girl.

Something about a Mom seeing her son become

a Dad is just priceless.

I am so confident that these guys will be great 

parents.  They are so prepared and ready

for the challenge.

I just love all three of them so  much!

As I held Jenna this afternoon I thought

how wonderful it is to love someone so

much when we had just barely met.

She is so adorable and sweet!

I love her tons already.

Welcome to the Monk clan.

Father's Day #2

Steven, Brooke, Emily, and Camden

came to visit Grandpa last night

for Father's Day.

Just had to share. . . 

Camden riding a little car.  Emily used to ride this
just like Camden is doing.  Notice how
well his nose is healing!  It hasn't even been two
weeks yet and it looks great.  Boy, little ones
heal fast!  Thank Goodness!

I still can't believe how cute this shirt is that the kids made Wynn.
Isn't it just the cutest!
Totally made his day, he promptly went and put it on.
I think Wynn has a new favorite shirt now.

So thankful for such good kids we have!
We continue to be blessed.  

Father's Day 2012

Boy, father's day was sure different this year!  Usually

we have a big dinner and all the kids come.

This year Wynn and I were up at BYU-I the whole

day.  No big dinner but the kids did come and

wish Wynn a Happy Father's Day.

Natalie even baked him a cake!  Isn't 

it so cute. . . 

So glad she did because I then had something

to give everyone.  :)

Sam and Hailey came on Sunday evening 

along with Natalie.  Steven, Brooke and the

kids came on Monday night.

I am so blessed to have Wynn as the father

of our children.  He is a wonderful father and

husband.  Matt says it very nicely. . . 

Hi Dad!

I just want to drop a note to say, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!"

Thank you for always being a good example to me.  I look up to you

so  much, and I know that you are following the spirit.  I am thankful

that you founded your family on principals of the Gospel, and raised me 

learning those things.  I am so proud of my  Dad, the Bishop.  Thank you for 

your loving, righteous example.

I LOVE YOU!

Elder Matt Monk

Today's letter from Matt

Monday, June 18, 2012

Hi Mom!

Well, I'm sorry I gotta make it quick, I just had a conversation with Michelle for a half hour, so I don't have a lot of time. They are SOO CLOSE!!! and guess what?!?! We have 4 people with Baptismal dates! Sam and Susie Evans (Monica's other 2 kids), and two guys we just met in Bear Valley. One is dating a member (They are in their 40s) and one that was referred to us. We invited him on the 1st appt and he said YES!!! The work is ON FIRE! We have like 18 investigators  - Its crazy! So much work!!! Elder Scott is amazing, and I love him. Send some stuff for him too if you don't mind. :) Love you mom! Our address is

Elder Matthew Monk

21311 Golden Hills Blvd. Apt. D

Tehachapi, CA 93561

I'm so glad that you love your new ward!!! That is so awesome. Tell dad Congrats, and That I love him, and look up to him a lot! :) You are going to be so blessed. :)

Its good to hear about Camden! I love that guy. Please send my love.

Don't worry about the wind! It blows all the time here! Remember all those windmills I told you about? YEP! We got it too! haha I love you mom!

Will you please send some stamps too? It’s so hard to buy everything you need on a little budget. I did get a gift card from a member for laying sod, so I bought all the toiletries I need (Shaving cream, razors, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.). It was just a little bit of money, enough to get the necessities. But Stamps are so expensive! And I like to keep in touch with some friends (Bridger requires 3 stamps, but we only write maybe once a month). Thank you so much mom! You are the best! If you send a priority envelope, please put it in the Teflon (or whatever) envelop, because every time I get the paper ones, they are always falling apart way bad! (Like the one I sent your moms day stuff in). Thank you, I love you so much!

The church is true! I read O. Vincent Haleck's talk today about "to do", you would love it. I loved it! Thanks for all your support, you rock!!! I love you!!

Here's my presidents letter, I think it goes into more detail about my week. :) I love you mom!

President Castro!

Well, I love Elder Scott! He is such a good missionary, and I appreciate you putting us together! I am so glad that you receive revelation! I know that you followed the spirit in this decision, and I feel blessed for it! Thank you.

It has been an AMAZING week! We have been blessed to have many new investigators and a lot of teaching appointments, leading to new investigators with baptismal dates! We met with one man on Saturday night, talked about the church and some questions he had, introduced the Restoration, then invited him to be Baptized on July 14, and he accepted. Elder Scott invited him, and He did so well! He is a very prepared missionary, and knows his stuff.

I feel so blessed to be here for another transfer. I feel like there is a lot of work for us to do, and I feel like I am meant to be here. I read my Patriarchal blessing this morning, and it talks about me serving a mission to people who await my coming, and will be blessed because of the opportunities I make available to them, and I feel like that is speaking SPECIFICALLY about Tehachapi. Thank you for sending me here. I have grown so much.

Things are going well for me. I am so happy! Elder Scott is a very solid missionary, and is doing well. Thanks for all you do! I love you,

Elder Monk

-- 


Elder Matthew Monk


 California Ventura Mission
         

-       Jan. 2011 - Jan. 2013 –

The Wilson's - the lady who made the potpourri
(He has a Finland shirt on!  They were there
3 weeks ago!)

Our zone t-shirts that I designed!
Haha I didn't know I could draw!

The back!

Elder Stratton and I on our truck!  :)

Note from me (Nancy):
This is Matt's best friend, Elder Hodges on the left with
his companion.  They are serving in Germany.
I just had to add this picture.
Aren't they so cute?
We get lots of e-mails from Matt's friends.
I just love hearing from them.
Such a fun time in their lives!

Hailey's baby shower

Last night was Hailey's baby shower.

She went to the Dr. and he said she won't make

it to her next appointment.  That means

the baby is going to be here anytime.  She isn't

due until the 7th of July but the little one

is ready to come!  

We are so excited.  

I pray everything goes well.

I planned on having the shower out on my deck

but the stupid wind was blowing so hard.

We just ended up having it in the living room.

It was so fun to plan and carry out.  I just

love doing stuff like this.

We had a great turn out and Hailey

got such nice gifts.

Blessed once again. . . 

 Sarah made this darling bear riding a motorcycle.

It is so cute, I love it!

(I just wish I would of got more pictures.)

Camden up date. . .

Brooke brought over the kids yesterday to help

get ready for the baby shower.

I just had to share this picture of

Camden's nose.

It looks so much better.  The stitches

are out and just the strips are left.

He is just the cutest little guy.

He loves to have his picture taken.

We are so blessed.

from Matt

June 11, 2012

Hi Mom!

Well, Crazy times here! Let me tell you about them.

ES and I have been getting along A LOT better, and NO, men have these

Problems too. I guess it's just a missionary thing, but all is well.

He was just stressed out and a little homesick like I said, but doing

better. The remedy to this is he likes to get milkshakes at Sonic

(They're half price after 8:00pm, so we do it often.) But anything to

make him happy! :)

Monday a Couple in the BV ward took us to Taco Bell for dinner. Their

son is on a mission in New Jersey, so they love to be with us! They

are way nice, and a lot of fun to be with. What good members we have!

:)

We had dinner with a family that just moved from Oxnard on Tuesday!

They are sweet. Bro. Jaster got a job at Edwards Air Force Base, so

they came up here. Their kids are hilarious! Famous quote from the

night, "I've had diarrhea since Easters!" (I think it's from Nacho

Libre?) Haha they are fun.

We met with Andre on Wednesday, and Bishop had already interviewed him

for the Priesthood, and he received it yesterday! It is so cool to see

him progress in the gospel. He has a lot of good support too! Bishop

Munson and his Brother, and some friends in the ward. :) It’s awesome!

A dang guy has been working on putting new linoleum in our apartment

since Wednesday. He had to tear some floor boards out around the

toilet because it was rotting... NASTY. Then he didn't even pull up

the old stuff, he just glued the New over top of it, so it’s really

bumpy and the floor squeaks. There is also a hole in our tub, so he

put duct tape on it, after telling us that he was a professional

builder for 40 years, and how good he is. His most often used quote,

"Well, that’s good enough!" Nope. haha it was a terrible job, and it

took him until Sunday morning to finish a tiny area! (Just our little

kitchen and tiny bathroom!) So that was annoying!

Friday we were doing our laundry and planning at the Weavers, and

Michelle (Investigator) called and we talked on the phone for about an

hour. She told me that she was literally scared for her life that I

would get transferred, because she has learned the most and come the

farthest with me. It sounds weird, but she was very sincere, and it

meant a lot. The gist of the conversation was that she is ready to get

baptized, but there is just something that is holding her back (She

wouldn’t say what, and it's not our business.). But she and John are

amazing and have made SOO Much progress. John hasn’t drank coffee for

over a week now!! It is amazing to see the changes the gospel is

making in their lives. I feel so blessed to be a small part of that.

Will you put their names in at the temple again if you haven’t lately?

John and Michelle King.

Saturday we and the other elders laid sod for a guy in our ward. 4

FULL PALLETS, and 2 3/4 PALLETS! It was a lot of work, but we knocked

it out in about 2 or so hours, and the guy (Less active) made us a

huge BBQ and then gave us each a gift card to the grocery store. Haha!

It was a lot of fun, and it looked so good! :)

We got to speak in the Golden Hills Sacrament meeting yesterday! I

used one of the stories you sent me on that daily note thing you sent

a while ago. The story of the girl and the pearls. It went so well! I

love speaking in Sacrament! It was a lot of fun.

Last night the Assistants called me and told me that I would be

training again (sigh) and this morning we found out that I'm staying

and Elder Stratton is going back down to Oxnard. Crazy times! At first

I was pretty bummed, but a thought came to me last night, that this is

a great opportunity for me to grow! Even more! I was kind of hoping to

go, but also wanted to stay to see John and Michelle baptized... I was

torn. So staying is going to be good, and a lot easier since I don't

have to Whitewash, I kind of know the area. Sooooo... It’s good. Haha!

I'm happy. At first I was kind of peeved by president, because he said

that I'd only be away for 2 transfers, but then I thought, "Well, I

need to stay here for John and Michelle. This is why I’m here. I need

to be here." so I’m pretty happy. And not mad at president. :) haha He

receives revelation for us! I love serving a mission, and I know that

this church is true!

I'm sorry to hear about Cammo! I hope he's ok. I'm so proud of dad! Our

whole Gospel Principals class talked about him yesterday! I mentioned

that, "My mom is an Angel..." in my talk, and so we were talking about

Heavenly Father and Someone was like, "Well, we know your mom is an

angel, your dad can't be that bad!" or something, then we talked

about how great of a dad I have! :) I love you dad!

Well parents, thanks for everything you do for me! I love you dearly

and you are in my prayers, keep me in yours. Thanks for all your

support! It doesn’t go unnoticed! I l love you.

Dad what buildings does your ward cover? Let me know!

Mom, a package would be much appreciated! :) haha same address -

Golden Hills Blvd! :) If you are looking for ideas... Jerky! I love

what you sent last time! Anything SpongeBob related, a Temples

magazine, and any Music! (Especially Reflections  - Another

Testament!). I love  love love you! Thank you so much!

Love, Elder Monk

New Bishopric

Wynn was called to be a bishop up at BYU-I.

1st stake ~ 39th Ward.

He was set apart on Sunday, June 10, 2012.

His counselors are:

1st - Lonnie Mortenson

2nd -  Darrell Dutson

(Don't you love how they each 

have the same hair cut?)

What a totally humbling experience.

Wynn is going to love this calling.  He is

so excited to serve.  It's been fun watching

him become "more comfortable" if you will.

I feel so blessed!  I can't think of anything

better than to have a husband that is

willing, able, and worthy

to serve our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ.  

The church is true!

Fence is coming along. . .

Remember last February when our fence blew down?

We are trying to get it rebuilt.

Boy, what a job!

Wynn has been having his cancer treatments

and they make him so tired and so we have

been struggling getting this fence built.

Remember when it just poured a couple

of Saturdays ago?  That was the day

Wynn, Steve, and Sam poured the

cement for the posts.

What a wet day to say the least.

Sam and Steve were both sick 

when they came that day and then

they were out in the rain  all

day long.  

So grateful for such good sons!

 But, this week, we made such progress!

 I have been waiting to plant my garden because

I know it will get trampled on when the fence

is being built.  

I hope I get a garden this year!

We shall see. . . 

Sam and Hailey gave me this

Strawberry hanging basket and I have

been picking strawberries!

Don't they just look delicious?

(It might be my only garden this year).

Just had to share!

This is a picture of the table runner I made for Elina

to take back to Finland with her.

I hope she likes it.

Natalie wanted me to make her a quilt but just

not enough hours in a day.

Counting blessings

Two things I am very thankful for:

1)  Priesthood blessings &

2)  Dr.'s that know what they are doing.

Last Wednesday evening, Camden pulled a motorcycle

trailer type thing on top of  him.  It hit him square

in the face!  I guess blood was gushing everywhere!

Emily thought Camden's nose was going to come off!

Very scary!

After a trip to the E.R., a cat scan, and

20 stitches later, we pray he

will be okay.  Pretty bruised up

but oh, loved so much!

 Still such a happy baby!

They did an amazing job stitching

this little guy up.

Oh, isn't he just the cutest?

We love you Camden!

Our trip with Elina

Last week Elina, a girl Natalie taught in the mission

field, came from Finland for a visit.

There were four sister missionaries that

knew her and they are all from Utah

except for Natalie.  Each will take

a week with Elina.

Natalie invited Wynn and I to take them

to Yellowstone Park!

What a beautiful day for our visit and

oh, how much we did enjoy the

company!  

 Here we are at the Grand Canyon

of Yellowstone.

In my opinion, the most beautiful part of the park!

Natalie, Elina, me, and Cassidy.

 Elina, me, and Wynn.

 Such cute girls!

 Best friends forever!

We feel so blessed that Natalie had the opportunity

of going on a mission and developing

these life long relationships.

PRICELESS!

 This is why Yellowstone is named Yellowstone.

 Our beautiful daughter!

After a long day this is what

our back seat looked like driving home.

I also got to go to Jackson Hole and then to 

the Bar J Wranglers with these girls on

Wednesday.  We had so much fun.

I hope Elina got a good feel for 

life in South East Idaho.  

She will now go to Utah and spend time with

the other Sis. Missionaries there.

Natalie will go to Utah each week-end

to enjoy more festivities.

They will do many temple trips, a

luxury to a Fin!