Christmas in Saipan

Rannineem Mom!

Ifa Usom!(Hows it going?)
I am doing just fine.  This seems so wierd since I just talked to you yesterday!  We were very busy yesterday with Dinner appointments and a baptism that it is not even funny!  I am so sad this is the last week before transfers.


Thanks for all the packages you and grandma sent me and also for the letters people sent me they were really nice!  


I am sorry I don't write more but we only have 30 minutes of emailing each week and in the time I have to read all my emails and write you and the mission president!  I am sending some pictures.  


I know that the church is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that the Book of Mormon is true!  

Upwap Chufengen(see ya)

Ua Tong En (I Love Ya) 

Love Elder Kearl

Best Christmas present of all

It was a very different Christmas in the Kearl home this year with Dan's absence and the passing of my mom.  We went to Laura's house on Christmas Eve and she had invited the missionaries serving in Airdrie over.  We met an elder who was in the MTC at the same time as Dan.  He mentioned that he met an elder from Calgary who was going to Guam.  I showed him a picture of Dan and his face lit up when he said 'that's the guy'.  What a small world.  Little did Dan know that this Elder from St. George would be spending Christmas with his family in Calgary.  When I asked Dan about him, he remembered this guy too.
The biggest highlight this christmas was being able to phone Dan in Saipan.  We tried calling him on Christmas Eve (Christmas Day for him) with the phone number he gave us and received a message saying we had reached the sister missionaries.  We were dying thinking he had gave us the wrong number.  I told Scott and Emily to keep trying to call and hopefully they would at least have Dan's number.  After about an hour we got through and were overjoyed to hear his voice.  He could only talk for a minute because he was just leaving to go to a baptism.  We called the next day and were able to all talk to him for one hour.  Dan was very careful to monitor the time to make sure he didn't go over the allotted time.  I can understand now why missionaries are only allowed to call home twice a year.  I think he was feeling a little homesick after and it made me miss him more too.
Before hand I made a list of questions to ask him so I wouldn't forget anything.  While we were talking he was out on his balcony and was counting how many lizards crossed his feet.  He said his apartment was very small, just a little bigger than his walk in closet back home (an exaggeration, but it made the point).  He said the people there would die if they saw how big our house was in Calgary; many people there don't even have bathrooms in their home.  He loves island life and is used to the heat and humidity.  We all laughed when he told us that he drove a brand new Toyota Tacoma, just like his dad.
He told me how important the members were in missionary work and was getting after me for not referring more people to our missionaries serving in the Tuscany Ward.  He shared it was interesting to see all the work that is involved when a new stake is created.  They were calling a high council and high priests to serve.
It was so, so, so good to hear his voice and feel the enthusiasm he has for the gospel and for missionary work.  I could tell that in a very short period of time he had matured a lot and was humbled by the experiences he has had.  He expressed an enormous amount of appreciation for the blessings he has received in his life.  I love my boy!

update from saipan

Ranineem Mom

How are you?  I never saw Elder Perry when he was in Saipan.   He just came to see some sights,  he didn't visit the members, no one really knew when he was coming!  

I don't know how long I will be here on Saipan,  I might go to Chuuk or something to learn Chuukese better or they might send some missionaires from there.  I have 3 meal appointments for Christmas Day.  President gave exceptions to the new rule of not going outside of area to eat for christmas day.  I ate so much at the christmas Party.   

Thanks for the Drivers Liscence you sent me, and by the way still have not gotten Christmas Package!  So glad to hear that  some of my friends are going on missions, I  hope all of them can go!!  I am sending some pictures right now.   No baptism on Christmas,  we have more to teach our investigators!  So excited though! 

I know Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and that Jesus Christ loves us and He paid for my sins and I can return to live with Him again.

I gotta go c ya

Love Elder Kearl

P.S mail is very slow here  

from lds.org, first stake in guam

On 10 December, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles created the Barrigada Guam Stake, the first stake for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Territory of Guam.

A stake is an administrative unit composed of numerous congregations (called wards and branches) within a geographic area (similar to what other faiths might call a diocese). The Church operates thousands of stakes worldwide.

Guam News Watch and Kuam News covered the apostle’s visit, including a stop by the former World War II veteran to the Pacific War Museum.

There are 1,971 members of the Church living in Guam.

new stake in Guam

Hey Mom

Ranineem!! SO this week was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!  President had told us a few weeks before that when ever a a new stake of zion comes to an area the Lord always prepares more people to accept the Gospel.  In the Marshall Islands baptisms tripled I REALLY DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN THIS SOON BUT it did and I think the work may start to go faster too!  We already have seven investigators and two investigators with Baptismal Dates!!   

Its awesome that the Guam District turned into the Barrigada Guam Stake,  It means that more people will be prepared to recieve the Gospel and President Dowdle has more time for Missionary Stuff.  Because before all the Districts in the Mission were lead by him too!!   

I am so glad to be here. I love Saipan!!! President had made a rule that we couldn't eat with members outside our area  and alot of people here like to feed all of the missionarys and so when we apologized they just said they feel sorry for us because we are so skinny!!  I am sending some pics.

Love ya c ya

Love Elder Kearl

Hey Emily

Ranineem!!!  Things here are good.  Alot of people have fake, cheap christmas trees up here!  Me and Elder Deocampo are doing fine.  I don't mind living on my own but now I really want to get married after Mish!!  


So good Tanner put his papers in.  Have any of my other friends got there mission calls? please let me know!  now I can't email anyone outside my immediate family but I can send letters.  If you could give me there addresses that would be good.

Mail does take along time from Canada though so we all have to be patient!  Alot of people do have moustaches, its so funny how unsubconcious everyone is, like when you go around and teach you see stuff and your like "why do they do that?" and then you think "because they can"  and when you live here for a couple weeks then it all makes sense.  The jungle is pretty good, not alot of animals like your thinking its just one island city here with only dogs and cats that people here call Boonie Dogs most our strays so you don't pet them either!! Oh and I can almost pray and I can bear my Testimoney in Chuukese!!

I gotta go c ya

Ua Tong En (I love u)


Love Elder Kearl

loving Saipan!

Hello Mom

I loved the package and everything in it.  Thank you so much,  the christmas advent calenders were funny,  my comp likes them!  Did u get any of my letters I sent form the MTC?  Did u get those pictures I sent in the mail? How is Canada? 

I am doing good, its alot of tough work reopening an area and we did better this week so I know that we can do this!  This week was a really hard week but it was also so rewarding!  So to describe Saipan in such short amount of time:  Imagine a poor Island City with 15,000 people, alot of them are filipinos.  We have a jungle where alot people live.  We have really started to focus on the members and they are beginning to trust us and so they are going to start help us find people to teach!  

I was in an interview with President Dowdle (hes about as short as me but solid and he has a big voice and he really cares about the missionaries and the work). He told me that if I keep working through the members and having faith that our area will have more baptisms, the Lord will prepare more people as the new stake is created in Guam.  Saipan is part of the Guam District and when the stake comes Saipan we will be part of the Guam Stake)  He said that when a stake was created in the Marshall Islands, Baptisms tripled so I am really excited for whats gonna happen here because the work is very slow in Saipan. 
 
My companion  is 105 pounds and is from the Phillipines.  He's a little strange but he is a really good missionary.  His mission call said he was supposed to preach the Gospel in Tagolag here so we go through a lot of lessons and conversations where he is just speaking Tagolag and he says an english word and I have to catch on from there!  There are alot of Phillipinos here and they are so good!! They really emphasize family and they are good kind hearted people.  Most of My "mothers" here are Phillipino!  

The Mission President gave us a new rule that is really strict but I know it will bless us.  We can't eat outside of our area and we have the fewest members in our area.  Before people would invite all the missionaries over (all six of us, four elders and two sisters) and they get pretty offended when we don't come.   But miraculously when we had to tell people they weren't offended they just told us that they felt sorry for us now because we are so skinny! 
We have a very international zone, each missionary is from a different country.  I'm Canadian, my comp is filipino, the elders are american and marshallese and the sisters are australian and Pohniphein).  Its so wierd but so good, we are the closest zone in the mission!!  


Did u send my drivers liscence yet? I really need it in three weeks because here in Saipan you have a month where you don't need you licence and then you show them it and you get a saipan licence and my Comp doesn't Drive!! 

So I gotta go

C YA  
Love ya
Love Elder Kearl  

First email from.......SAIPAN!

Rannaniem Mom

IFa Usum(How are you?) I know you miss me mom.  I am in Saipan right now in a small internet Cafe!! 

I have a companion from the phillipines and he is so funny.  He is supposed to preach the gospel in tagolog and so I preach in English and he speaks Tagalog!!  I have to learn a launguage right now it is really hard but I could proably get it soon. It is called Chuukese and I will have to learn some tagolog too because alot of people in Saipan are from the Phillipines!!


Its so awesome here, the people are nice, the weather is hot (I am sweating so much) and we already have an investigator getting baptized, her name is Delia she is philipino(half of Saipan is philipino). she is such a sweet old lady.  When we taught her a couple days ago she told us that she was gonna be our mother!! (there is also this one chuukese women named Grandma Bernie and also three other women who said they will be our mothers).  We set a date for Christmas Day and she first started investigating because she came to church and felt the calm peaceful spirit at church and while we teaching her!! She wants to keep feeling that spirit she sad she wants to come to church and feel the holy ghost!! 


I love the people here, they are so awesome, they luv the missionaries. We always have meal appointments and we already have 3 set for Christmas Day, we will probabley get more too, i HAVE GAINED 20 POUNDS SINCE i GOT INTO THE MTC!  I am now 120 punds!!  This place is so awesome.  We are reopening a new area because we didn't have enough missionaries for a time so we only have one investigator but if we keep working it will get better!!  

I eat alot of philipino food and also american and its all so good.  People are pretty poor here its pretty sad, its humbling, so grateful for back home.  No one really cares, they live in everything from an old barracks (which has really small rooms that people live in and like 10 families share a bathroom its pretty sad! )  We do alot of our finding in these jungle roads away from the main roads,  thats where we found a barracks and also really small tin houses!!  People live in anything here its insane!!    


I love being a missionary, it is not fun all the time but I luv it!  There are alot of mangy dogs here (called boony dogs)  and they keep barking at us maybe because I smell so bad from sweating!

I absolutley without a doubt know this church is true and that Jesus is the Christ and because He loves me He atoned for my sins and that the Book of Mormon is true!!

I gotta go 

Iov you

Elder Kearl

and off he goes...to the other side of the world!

Elder Kearl is on his way to Micronesia Guam.  They left the MTC at 300 am and he was allowed to call me from the airport.  It was so great to talk to him, even if it was only for a few minutes.  He was nervous and excited.  It is -30 in Calgary so I think it made him happy to know that Guam was 60 degrees warmer.  Lucky guy! He shared that even though the MTC was challenging, it was a great experience and he learned alot.  He was grateful he was so familiar with Preach my Gospel and the scriptures.  I am anxious to hear where he will be assigned to.  Bon Voyage!

things are great in the MTC!

Hey Family,

hows it going?

Thanks for the packages they were so awesome, I got all of them and they really helped.  All the other Elders in my district were happy that I had alot to share,  some of there family lives were not that great at home so it helps that I got stuff to bring them stuff!  I also saw Elder Palmer first day of MTC!  I got my Travel itinerary and I leave on 3 am tuesday Nov 23 for Guam and I can call u at the airport.  I don't know what time there but probably 12-3 sometime between there Hawaii time! 

I met one of Grandpa Rosenvalls old companions, Elder Charles Barnes on Friday. 


This week was intense, alot of changes! Elder Mafi and Elder Beaty could not get along so Elder Mafi got transferred to the zone leaders companionship so its just me and Elder Beaty!  I learned to love my companions when they wouldn't stop fighting.  I was trying everything to make them get along like when ever I prayed It would make me cry how much I wanted them to get along and then the Branch President talked to me about it and he said " Elder Kearl I know you have been trying tour hardest to make your companionship stop fighting and the Lord is aware of what you are going through and what you have done.  Tell your parents that your a good missionary and if you keep this up you will be blessed in Micronesia!"  I never knew it would be this hard to love my companions or that a misson would be this hard but I love my experience here at the MTC! 


Tuesday night Elder Bednar came on tuesday and gave us a talk and later gave us an apostilic blessing.  He told us that if we would strive to study and understand the doctrine that we would have the spirit wiht us and the blessings of God would distill like the dews of heaven!  When the apostles come to the MTC they are not as serious as they are in general conference.  Elder Bednar told us to take off our suit jackets and to get comfortable.  When he got up to speak he said he remembered when he was in ther MTC back when in the days of Parley P Pratt!  Then his wife interrupted him and got to the puilpit and said "don't say that they don't know who Parley Pratt is!"   Elder Bednar was so embarrased he did not say anything for 5 minutes!  


I am so blessed to be here and I know it I am grateful for this wonderful oppurtunity and I know Joseph Smith is a Prophet Of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God and that the Book of Mormon is true and Jesus Christ is the son of God and He loves me and because of that He atoned for my sins so I can live again.

Thanks for everything everyone sent me it really helps getting stuff, it lifts my spirits.  I have one question could you send my Sams and Bretts and Tyson addresses?

Love Elder Kearl

First email from the MTC!

Hey mom!

How are you?

I am great, I feel so loved here, its hard but its fun and I love it!  I have two companions Elder Beaty form St. George and Elder Mafi from Hawaii who is tongan.  They are good companions, nice guys, good elders, but they don't get along with each other but both them get along with me so I am the keystone of this Companionship!  They both have different qualities that I like and don't like.  I have a sweet district, everyone is american and we have another Haiwaiian.  Everyone in the district is going to Guam except two who are going to the marshall Islands.  My first Sabbath was good, we went to the temple today and It was awesome!  I love the food, I eat rice with every meal and I tried the best thing today, biscuits and Gravy tastes so good, Elder Fisher from Texas told me to try it.  I leave Nov 24 for Micronesia and I got the package with the backpack,  nothing yet from Mr. Mac. Thank you so much!   I don't mean to be rude but could you please send me sandals, a real towel, a camera cord to plug into a computer and also send me my friends addresses because I would love to write to them!  I love u all, I miss u all and I want you to know the Church is true , Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and the Book of Mormon is the word of God! sorry!  So much to write so little time.

Elder Kearl       

getting ready to go....

Dan was required to obtain 4 visas before entering the MTC; Federated States of Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and United States of America.  We were anxious about the US visa because many other elders had been delayed in receiving theirs. The mission department told us if it did not arrive by November 1^st, he would be delayed until December 15^th.  We went ahead with taking him to the Cardston Temple to receive his own endowments on October 16th, and having a farewell and open house the weekend of October 30th.   Derek said that if there is a God in Heaven his visa would arrive on time, and it did.  On the afternoon of November 1^st, we received a phone call from SLC notifying us that his visa had been approved and if we could get him to Provo by the weekend he would be able to start right away.  We had to wait to actually receive the visa in Calgary before he could leave Canada.  He reported to the MTC on Saturday, November 6^th.  The best part was that since he was the only elder reporting that day, Derek and I were able to take him right into the MTC to say good-bye.  He was very excited and nervous all at the same time.  As a mom, I felt every single emotion leading up to and including that day...joy, nervousness, sadness, and excitement.

Dan is my miracle baby, being born 12 weeks early, weighing only 1 pound, 11 ounces.  I remember when he was a baby his future was uncertain, and I hoped and prayed that he would be healthy and well enough to be able to serve a mission when he was 19, and I feel so grateful for this privilege he has now.  I felt 100% peace the day we said good-bye.  I knew Dan was well prepared to go and teach the gospel to others.  He had always been diligent in reading his scriptures, attending seminary and studying Preach My Gospel.  He had a strong desire to be a missionary and serve the Lord his whole life.  Most importantly, I knew that Dan knew how to turn to the Lord for comfort and strength.  I had witnessed it first hand many, many times as he faced struggles in his life. 

This same year my sweet mother passed away and I was blessed to feel the ‘tender mercies’ of the Lord through this experience.  I felt peace at this time understanding and believing in the Plan of Salvation, and having the Holy Ghost as a comforter.  As hard as it was to say good-bye to Dan for two years, I felt that if he could share the gospel and the plan of salvation with even one person during his mission, it would be worth the sacrifice.  My mom would have been so proud of her ‘Danny boy’ and I know she is watching over him from up above.     

i hope they call me on a mission

On July 15, 2010, after 4 long weeks of waiting, Dan’s mission call finally arrived.  He was called to serve in the Micronesia Guam mission, English speaking, with a report date of November 3^rd.  It is a moment I will never forget, we were thrilled and excited to share the news with family and friends.  We were familiar with the mission since Aunt Liana had served there nearly 20 years ago, although we hadn’t heard of anyone else going there since.  Micronesia is comprised of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean.  The name Micronesia derives from the Greek micros, meaning small, and nesos, meaning island.  It is located north of Australia and east of the Philippines.