surprise birthday party from elders and sisters

Hey Mom!

I am doing fine, how are you? I think that every transfer that I am here in Saipan increases the chance that I will be transferred to another island! All the missionaries have said you can't be on saipan too long and not very many missionaries are on their first Island for six transfers or like 9 months! So I think it cound happen that I go somewhere else but I hope not, I really like it here in Saipan!

I am proud that Emily drove to Winnipeg all by herself with hailey! I never did that! I can't believe that Brendon Lyons and Zach Kerr are both going to the same mission (Winnipeg) reporting to the MTC the same day, that is so crazy! That's so awesome though! Thats nice that Denise came up to Calgary with all her kids this week and you were able to spend time with them. Thats crazy about Lauras niece falling out her second floor window and surviving with minimal injuries. I hope that she gets better!

I am praying for you all, all the time! I bet grandma and grandpa kearl are anxious to get their call. I do remember that my call took so long to arrive in the mail! I can't wait to hear where they are going! Thats so exciting!

I had a good week. I am still having fun and happpy to be here! We are very gradually progressing with our investigators. We made a plan with Niciaana of what we need to do before she gets baptized. She still needs to come to church regularly. Alfonzo has been coming to church. He needs help with family history one of the members said he would do it, so that's good!

Well I gotta go love ya bye Ua sinei pwe ei Mwichefen mi ennet! I know that this church is true!

Chommong tong ngenikemi (I really love you all)

Seni Elder Dan Kearl

Oh yes, these are the pictures from my birthday. The other missionaries did a suprise thingy for me and it was really fun. The green necklace is made from candy and the other is made of shells!
thats Elder Early in a suit we found in the sisters car which a member had given to them!

elder kearl turns 20!

sidenote: today (in saipan) it is dan's birthday (tomorrow in canada). it made me feel a little old when i turned 40. however, to think i have a son who is 20 years old makes me feel even older. what can you do, it happens. lots on my mind this day as i reflect back 20 years. what a day that was. waking up from an emergency c-section to a little bundle of joy that arrived 11 weeks early weighing in at 1 pound, 11 ounces. that day i wondered if he would even live the next 24 hours. he did, and the next day, my dad and derek gave him a priesthood blessing that promised him he would grow up and be a normal boy. that was reassuring but there have been many anxious moments and days of worry and concern. i wish that 20 years ago I could of caught a glimpse of dan today and perhaps read this email (email didn't even exist then) to know that he would be happily serving a mission in a far away land. I guess that's where faith and the reality of mortality come into play. i know 'normal' has a very wide range, and we are ALL 'normal' in our own quirky way with different strengths and weaknesses. that's what makes life what it is.
i have posted a picture of dan on his first birthday. it was in my mom's backyard and was attended by many family and friends, truly a day of celebration to make it that far.
the other picture is of dan and michael cooper on dan's 3rd birthday on the path behind our house in edmonton when derek was attending law school. ironically, we attended michael's missionary farewell today in okotoks; he is going to mexico city learning spanish. i saw a grown up michael up on the stand speaking, but in my mind i pictured michael as a two year old, pushing dan around in our red wagon, they were good little playmates. i am grateful for memories.
anyhow, here is dan's update for the week.....btw...i love my dan so much!!!
julie

Dear Mom!

It was great to hear from you again! I really liked the birthday package you sent to me! Everything fits great and I love everything! It was very nice for you to do that for me for my birthday! I especially liked the personalized shirt and the socks! Elder Early loves his t-shirt too! It's so weird that I am 20 years old. I don't really feel any different though. Today ELder Early wrote HAPPY BIRTHDAY with shaving cream on the bathroom mirror!

Thats really sad to hear my friend Curran died, he was a good person. Thats exciting for Zach Kerr to receive his mission call to Winnipeg, he will have a good experience too! One of my EFY friends, Helmut, is going to Vancouver and he is super stoked!

I am really happy to be here in Micronesia, I love it here. We are finding new investigators and we have a few progressing which is always good!

We had Zone Conference here in Saipan with our new mission President and it was very good. President Mecham said that we are going to try to have a stake in Saipan and that is our goal as missionaries. He is really fired up to be here and so is Sister Mecham. They are really good people but different from the Dowdles, just as good but he is a little more reserved and soft spoken. So far he has really liked to be here and to meet new people! The interview was only ten minutes and he just asked where I am from, what I want to do after my mission and how long I have been out etc. He was taking notes the whole time! He was really nice to talk to. Sister Mecham also sat down with us to get to know us and asked the same questions! It was all a very positive experience.

I love you! I loved the package so much!

Seni Noum, Chommong Tong Seni

Elder Kearl

the work goes on.....

Hey Mom!

How are you doing? I am fine, this has been a much better week! Thanks for your words of encouragement and love.

I did not know that Mike Cooper is going to Mexico City for his mission very soon. I am happy for him, that sounds like a fun place to go! Say hi to him from me at his farewell next week. I really like the idea of you printing off blog updates of my friends on missions and air mailing them to me. I only get 1/2 hour on the computer for P-days and in that time I have to read my emails, write my mission president and you guys. So if they are in print copy I can read them through the week. I can't wait to receive my first one.

Thats crazy that Emily has a boyfriend! I have never met the guy and I don't know who he is. No further comment.

Elder Early and I have been trying to clean our apartment better. We want to get it into good shape before President and Sister Mecham come on Thursday for Zone Conference!

To answer your questions, any colour would be good for a new tie, no preference! We have a car, but sometimes cars are too much trouble so we just want to ride our bikes around! It's nice to have a choice of transportation.

The work is picking up here in Saipan. We found some more new investigators. One is a chuukese lady who was meeting with the missionaries a while ago. She went to church alot and was almost baptized. Then the area got whitewashed (elders taken out of the area and not replaced) so she got lost. She moved and then we found her while trying to find another potential investigator! We had a really good experience with Niciana (that's her name) where we had a prompting to read Alma 26 with her. The problem Alma was having in this passage of scripture related alot to a problem she was facing with her daughter. Her daughter was not being treated well by her boyfriend. Niciana was really comforted by the scriptures we shared with her and the spirit was really strong. We had a member with us and he testified about how his brother was less active and really struggling. He shared how he prayed for him alot and he is doing much better and is actually preparing to go to the Boston temple to receive his endowments! Prayer is so important.

We had a missionary fireside last night at the church and we had some investigators there who have never been to church before! Another new investigator, Alfonso, really liked it and received some help with family history! We found him by sharing information about family history and doing service for him. We had a good lesson with him on thursday! We also took people on a tour around the church which was fun! When we talked about family history with Alfonso, Elder Nicerio told him we could find our ancestors all the way down to Adam! He thought that was pretty cool. Our family needs to do more family history! You should go to the center down in Cochrane for family home evening for an hour! I already did mine before my mission. It is in an envelope in my old room (or whosever room that is now). You should take those names to the temple and do them!

Mom, a mission is the hardest thing I have ever done. But even when it is really hard I think about how I need to be here and that always helps me carry on and persevere! Thanks for sending that quote in your email, I am going to remember it!

Time is going really fast for me I can't believe that i am almost reaching my 9 month mark. So weird and crazy!

Well I gotta go, love ya, see ya,

Chommong tong Ngenikemi Ai Famini
(much love to you my family)

Seni noum missionary
(from your missionary)

Elder Kearl
or
Elter Kearn
(thats how they say elder kearl in chuukese)

side note: this is the quote I sent to Dan last week that he was referring too.
"As a new missionary serving in Preston, England, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley was facing a major trial in his life. He was sick when he arrived in the mission field, and he quickly became discouraged because of the opposition to the missionary work. At a time of deep frustration, Elder Hinckley wrote in a letter to his father that he felt he was wasting his time and his father’s money. A little while later, Elder Hinckley received a reply from his dad. It said, “Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.”

Earlier that morning during scripture study, Elder Hinckley had read in the Bible, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it” (Mark 8:35)." julie

a year ago today...

dan received his mission call!!! i am big into remembering dates in my mind. it always brings back memories and emotions, both good and bad that have happened in my life and the lives of my children. this was a day that was very exciting for our entire family. he was the first grandson to serve a mission in both the kearl and rosenvall family. we were so relieved that the call finally came after waiting four LONG weeks. dan, in particular, was thrilled about his assignment to a foreign land. it has been a great place for him to serve and I look forward to 15 more months of watching him experience life, serve others and grow personally. the happiest day of all will be when he comes home and i finally get to give my boy a great big hug. i miss that alot!
julie

new investigator

Hey Mom

I am ok! It has been a hard week but things are getting better.

If you haven't sent my birthday package yet, could you send me some socks, a tie and maybe some extra garments.

I love to hear updates on Emily and Scott, sounds like they are having fun and making some money! That was good to hear that dad was able to meet up with one of his old mission companions in Canmore this weekend. Wonder what it would be like for me to meet up with one of my old mission companions in the future! I am so excited about Grandma and Grandpa waiting for their mission call! Let me know when they get it. I am also anxious to hear about Brendon Lyons and Zach Kerr and where they will be assigned! I hear from my friends a little bit. If you could forward their weekly updates to me, i would really appreciate it.

The work is not very fun right now but we are still working our hardest and trying our best, there just seems to be many difficulties in the way! We found one new investigator, she is half Korean and half Japanese and she is the Girlfriend of a recent convert!

Saipan Ward is doing better all the time. It has been 7 months since they became a ward instead of a branch. They are learning as they go along. As missionaries we are trying to sit down with families and help them improve their missionary efforts. We have some families that are really excited to do missionary work! Maybe you should try that back home for a Family Home Evening, discuss ways to be better missionaries!

You were asking about my friend, James Ocaya. I see him sometimes but not as much as I would like. He is still in our area but he is moving back to Garapan to another barracks. We are definately going to try to see him this week!

Well I love you.

Ai Tong NGrouk Famini

Seni Elder Kearl

1/3 DONE!

sidnote: it's so hard for me to believe that Dan is already 1/3 done his mission. in the beginning time seemed to creep along, now it is going by a lot faster for me. julie

Dear Mom:

Hey Mom! How are you doing? I am doing just fine!

To answer your question, No, I have not met my new mission president. We will have zone conference here in Saipan on July 21st and he will be coming for that. I can't wait to meet him, the zone leaders just met him and they say he's awesome! I don't know much more than that!

I don't really know what I want for my birthday package! I don't need or want anything, although I am excited to see what you put in it! Whatever you send will be appreciated.

Today is the 4th of July and for Companion Study we sang the national anthem 3 times. Well only the first verse but I was a good sport about it! We did nothing for Canada Day, I did remember it though. Today we had two barbecues to attend for the 4th of July.

Thats so crazy that Diane Henry cousins son was called to serve a mission in Micronesia Guam. Maybe he will come to Saipan. I can't wait to meet him!

That is really crazy about Jon and Sister Ruiz winning Wipeout Canada. I am really excited for them. Thank you for keeping it on the PVR for me, I can't wait to see it when I get back home. (don't worry I am not trunky).

That sounds like fun for Emily and Scott to attend their church camps. Scott will love the big Helaman's one.

I am so pumped for Zone Conference and to meet my new mission president!

Well I love ya and I am sorry this was short, we have had a very busy day with it being the holiday and all.

I gotta go, c ya bye!

Ai Tong Ngeni Kem OM Famini

Seni Elder Kearl

I later met Diane Henry's cousin Elder Loveless