Christmas Card - "Twas the Night Before Christmas, FNM Mission Style

Email 12/26/16:

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

So this week has been pretty busy as I'm sure it was for everyone. This is our Christmas card picture. It kept getting pushed back but here it is. (left to right) Elder Prescott, Me, Elder Middleton, Elder Bratt.  I also wrote a revision of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" just Farmington New Mexico Mission style.  Here it is...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Every missionary was stirring, even Elder Krauss;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes a new Tacoma would soon be there;

The Elders and Sisters were away from their beds,
Calling to repentance all the crackheads;
My comp in his scarf, and I in my cap,
Pause on our journey for his broken shoulder strap,

When out of the dark there arose such a clatter,
We spun around to see what was the matter.
Down to the ground my hand flew like a flash,
The dog once there ran away in a dash.

The moon on the breast of the not fallen snow
Gave a lustre of mid-day to nothing below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a junky ol' trailer and eight men with beer,

With all that beer they weren't lively or quick,
We knew in a moment they all must be sick.
More slow than a slug they staggardly came,
They whistled, and shouted, and tried calling our name;

"You Dasher! You Dancer! You Prancer, You Vixen​!
You Comet! You Cupid! You Donner, You Blitzen!"
Too drunk and confused they walked into a wall,
Then shortly thereafter asleep did they fall!

We sprang to our truck, and gave out a whistle,
And away we flew like the down of a thistle.
But we exclaimed to the world as we drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

So yeah that was just something we thought was funny.  But anyway, the worst thing that happened this week was when we had to help this lady pack up her stuff so she could move.  It was awful, because her house just stank to high heaven, and I felt like I needed to shower 5 minutes after walking in.  It was like a warm sticky stink, and there was mouse poop on her counters, and it was just a disaster in her house.  But it was her shed that was the worst... It was literally like staring into the pit of despair, black mold everywhere, it stunk, and it just looked like death in a shed.  

Christmas was really good though. We were fed plenty, given a fair amount of gifts, and we had a lot of people who don't normally attend church come and attend, so that was good.  I did confirm a recently baptized lady from 3rd ward a member of the church. I was so nervous. She even came up to me and asked me if I was nervous, and I said I was and that my leg was shaking, and she said she knew because my hand was shaking as well, but it was a good  experience.  

My companion, Elder Middleton, goes home on Wednesday, and I am headed to Teec Nos Pos for the week, so that is the only other news I have.

Love you all,
Elder Takis

We Skype You a Merry Christmas

So great to Skype with Elder Takis Christmas Day! Among other things, he said he does miss his beard and his longer hair, and he misses mountains; where he is in New Mexico it is totally flat except for some mountains he can see off in the distance in Colorado, 45 miles away. He says those mountains taunt him because he knows they're there, he wants to get to them, but he can't. He's gained 10 pounds, feels out of shape, and has been eating a ton of really spicy food that he's still adjusting to, but he's loving his mission and is doing really well. He also spoke a little Navajo for us!

Gingerbread Houses

Text from Sister Heslop on 12/23/16:

"...I live in Kirtland 2nd ward where your wonderful son is serving a mission. It has been such a pleasure getting to know him a bit over the past few weeks and he has been such a great missionary! Tonight the Elders joined us at our big extended family dinner and gingerbread house contest. I just wanted to share a few pictures with you! Merry Christmas!!!"

Dinner

Dinner photos on 12/19/16.  Thanks to the family who fed the crew and shared pics with the parents! 

Elder Takis told us that Elder Middleton
likes to do goofy things to him when people take pictures.
We marveled that Middleton's hand is as big as Takis's head.

Stomach Flu

12/19/16 Email:

So this week has been pretty insane.  3rd ward is having another baptism, and the lady getting baptized asked me to confirm her, and my companion to baptize her.  So I am a little nervous about that, because it is this weekend, and I've never done it before but I think it will be good.  The stomach flu has been going around down here, so we have all been sick.  Elder Prescott, Elder Bratt, and Sister Elwood have all thrown up a ton, and me and my companion have been fighting it. We still feel a bit crappy, but hopefully it goes away.  And then yesterday we went over to an investigator's house, George, and we are trying to get him back on track for baptism, but nobody has asked him to be baptized, so I finally asked him, and he said he really wants to but still has things he is working on, so we are going to try and help him with that.  He accused us of number hunting not too long ago, because we would share a message every time we came over to visit.  So now we just ask him if he has any questions about what he has been reading in his scriptures. We talk about that and just visit with him for a while.  But he really opened up last night when I asked him why he wasn't baptized, so that was good progress.  We are working on our Christmas card, but we are not sure when we are going to have it done.  So yeah, that is what is going on down here.

Love you all,
Elder Takis

Birthday Surprise, Samoan BBQ, and Frito Pie

12/13/16 Email:

Hey, so sorry about not sending this yesterday, we were a bit lacking in time, but here it is.

This week has been interesting, but good.  Last Monday we were in Farmington to do some shopping and we ended up going and playing rugby with some of the Farmington Elders.  That just reminded me how out of shape I am. I was wheezing and coughing, getting cramps, and had a hard time getting air, but it was fun regardless, and rugby is an interesting sport. 

We went and did more service for Brother Schake. We were helping him put up more of his endless Christmas lights/decorations. He also made us breakfast, which was an odd combination of ingredients, but tasted amazing.  He made us sausage links, toast, tater tots (they were mashed up to look like hash browns), and fried eggs, but the best part of it was this sauce he made (which is fairly easy to make, just 2 ingredients) to go over the top of it all and it was Roasted Garlic Parmesan Ragu Sauce with Canadian Bacon in it, and it was absolutely delicious!

Then Wednesday things got crazy. I started having some issues, and then we went over to Sister Busch's and the District gave me a little surprise birthday party. I'll try and get some pictures from it, but yeah I opened the door and got confetti thrown in my face, but it was good, and I'm thankful for the people here, and the missionaries here as well, they are all great!

Thursday, was rough at first, I was feeling awful when I woke up so my companion told me to sleep in, so I did and that helped a little.  Then we went to zone training, where I was given more birthday greetings.  Not only that but me and my companion gave a training on "the list" which I wasn't prepared for because I didn't do a whole lot of studying because I wasn't feeling good.  But I feel like it went pretty good.  We had lunch after, and it was cooked by Elder Ah Chee, who is Samoan, and really knows how to cook Samoan BBQ.

Friday we got a Christmas present from the Mission Office!!! A new 2017 Toyota Tacoma:

Okay, it wasn't a Christmas present, but we did get one!  And I got the opportunity to be a witness at a baptism for a boy named Hector Contreras. He is in 3rd ward but it was still good to go to a baptism, I haven't been to one in a while! Then I went on exchanges with Elder Stewart, one of our Zone Leaders, which was pretty good.  

Sunday we had dinner with these 2 Polynesian brothers. They were hilarious. One is a RM and the other put his papers in last week.

Yesterday, we went to Farmington to do some shopping and then we went and had an awkward jam session at an investigators house in 3rd ward, but it was loud and fun! I've never played a bass guitar before, and the drums were really loud.  But, yeah, that is what is going on right now here.

Love you all,

Elder Takis

Oh and for your information, at dinner last night we were fed Frito Pie, which is Fritos, chili, cheese, sour cream, and lettuce, in a bowl.  I not only tried it, but I went back for seconds, so just thought that would be a good thing for you to hear.

Midweek Photos

Thanks to Sister Raymond both for feeding the elders and sisters and for texting some photos to their parents.  (Her missionary comes home on the 10th!)

The Canal of Doom and Other Crazy Experiences

From email on 12/05/16


Hello there,


Well this week has been a very interesting one... It started on Tuesday, literally 30 minutes after our studies.  We were going to an appointment, and we had Elders Bratt & Prescott accompany us because we needed a third male, and their appointment cancelled.  Anyway we decided to walk to it because it wasn't too far away, but it had just recently snowed.  So we were walking, and Elder Middleton and I, we always take a shortcut to get there, so we decided to take the shortcut.  The shortcut involved crossing an irrigation canal.  There hasn't been much water in it and there was this median block, or whatever you want to call it, in the middle, and that was what we used to cross.  The shoes I have don't have any traction on them, and the block was covered in snow and mud along with the sides of the canal.  I didn't originally want to cross and said we should take the long way, but they had all already crossed so I had to anyway.  We got across just fine, and when we got to this lady's house she wasn't home, so the appointment was a bust.  But we then decided to take the shortcut back because we had made it earlier.  Well, Elder Middleton and Prescott made it across just fine, and it was me and Elder Bratt left.  Elder Bratt was getting ready to go across, but he had a Book of Mormon in his hand.  I told him to give it to me so I could put it in my bag, but he said, "No, I'll just throw it across."  So he was sitting there getting ready to throw his Book of Mormon, that he had customized, and the whole time I could just picture in my mind what was going to happen, and it did. He threw it, the book opened up, and didn't make it across and hit the side of the canal.  The cover broke off, and fell into the canal, the pages slid down but were stopped by a sagebrush before hitting the water.  We just stood there for a couple of seconds, processing what had just happened, then Elder Middleton decided he would try and save it, so he started slipping down the side of the canal, got mud all over his pants, and didn't get the book pieces.  Well, Elder Bratt got frustrated and decided he was going to get it, so he stomped into the canal, picked up the pieces, and attempted to scale the steep, icy, muddy, canal side in is now sopping wet shoes.  As you can imagine it was a vain attempt.  He ended up slipping down, his shoulder sliding in the mud, and then splashing once again in the canal. Then he rolled over, getting more mud on him, throwing the book all the way up this time and climbing out.  So that was a fun adventure, and then the rest of the day, all of our appointments fell through.

The next day I went on exchanges with Elder Prescott.  While we were doing companionship studies, we witnessed a drug deal going down in our backyard...  It was quite funny because the guy who did the drug deal was the first person we were going to teach that day.  We went to teach him about the Atonement, but not surprisingly he wasn't home.  Then the rest of the day we drove around the Rez, all of our appointments for the day falling through.  We did meet a fair number of cute Rez puppies though.  And while tracting we came across a "pirate," his name is Herman, and he only has one eye.  I was a bit alarmed when he opened the door.  We also met a lady in her pajamas. So another interesting day. ("Rez" is the reservation.)

Most of our appointments fell through this week, but we did give a couple of blessings to a lady named Carla.

Friday we went to dinner with the sisters, and with an investigator named George Atcitty...and he is a really cool old guy.  Anyway he took us to Doc's Barbeque, and after, I was putting on my suit and my name tag flew off.  I found the back green magnet part but couldn't find the name tag part.  So we were all on our hands and knees in this place looking for my name tag.  Yeah, I was really embarrassed, cuz other people in the place started to help look too.  Anyway we looked for about 10 minutes, and I went to move a chair and I felt something weird in my sleeve by my elbow.  Turns out that my name tag had somehow gotten in my sleeve.  So, yeah, that was a fun little episode as well.

And then on Saturday while we were doing yardwork I found like 5 giant black widows, and we killed them.  But other than that it has been a pretty good week.


Love you all, and God Bless
Elder Takis

The canal of doom

The "Yellow Sub," where Elders Takis, Middleton, Prescott, and Bratt live

The Reservation

The Reservation

Elder Takis on the Reservation

First Week in New Mexico

From email on 11/28/16

Hey Everyone,


Week #1 in the field is complete!  I've done tons of service here, like weeding, chopping wood, putting up Christmas decorations, and even giving a dog a haircut and bath.

The picture of me chopping the pumpkin with a machete was on Thanksgiving...  It was with the Schakes...We helped him feed his chickens, pig, and bunnies.

The people here are nice most of the time. Me and Elder Middleton went out to teach a guy named Scott, and when we knocked on his door, we heard someone yell something, and we were like, "It's the missionaries," and there wasn't a response, and we both had the feeling not to knock again because this guy has a history of getting drunk and high, so we left the first time at that.  We went back a few days later, and we knocked, we saw someone peek through the blinds, then we heard a girl's voice shout out, "Nobody's home!" and we were like, "Really?"  Her response was, "Yeah, nobody is home. God Bless, and sorry it's f-ing cold outside!"  So we just left and had a good laugh about that.

Umm we go visit this lady named Sister Bush a few times a week to keep her company,,,  That was where we had our little dog grooming session.

But yeah the people are good for the most part, and most are actually Mormon, they are just less active.  So we do a lot of less active lessons, but it's good to talk to them about the gospel, and what they remember.

Yes, there are more Natives (Native Americans) than non natives, which is kind of weird but they are cool people.

It is snowing right now in Farmington, not so much in Kirtland, but it is very cold, and windy.  Our trailer house, the yellow sub, has a washer and dryer so we can do our laundry whenever we have time, so we don't have to wait till P-Days.  But other than that life is good,  I do get fed a lot, and so far haven't turned anything down and have tried everything.


Love,
Elder Takis

First photo Elder Takis sends from New Mexico is OF COURSE of a major baseball field.

Thanksgiving lunch was at the Schake's. They had two other Thanksgiving dinners, one the night before.

Elder Takis showing the pumpkin who's boss

Brother Schake pulled out some instruments and Elders Middleton and Prescott got busy.
Elder Takis wants to play the banjo now. He's been practicing the ukulele.

A page from Elder Takis's scripture sketch journal

Brief Rewind: MTC Photos

After a week in New Mexico, Elder Takis finally got some photos from the MTC to come through.

The district outside the Provo temple

Pizza with Chiles and People Who are Taller Than Me

Hey,

So this is my first day in the field, and just wanted to let you all know I made it.  We got off the plane yesterday and went to the mission home. It rained pretty much the whole day which was awesome because I haven't seen rain for a while!  After eating lunch, which was Little Caesers pizza with green chiles on them, we got interviewed by the mission president.  President and Sister Adams are amazing. They are so nice and are just wonderful people.  Then we had dinner, and then we went out with some missionaries in the area and went and did their lessons with them.  The missionaries are all very nice, and also the people here, they are really nice and funny.  We stayed at the assisted living home, which wasn't very big, only had 2 bathrooms. and housed around 30 missionaries, so I didn't get the chance to shower this morning and am wearing the exact same clothes I wore yesterday.

Today we went to the mission office, had our training, and got assigned our trainers and areas.  My companion/trainer, Elder Middleton, is from Sacramento California, is a basketball player, and is 6'5".  So just like for the past few years of my life I'm spending my time with people who are taller than me.  Sister Lowe is sending a picture of us sometime today so you'll get that.  Umm and my first area is Kirtland, New Mexico, which is like 15 minutes out of Farmington.  Sister Lowe will also send you my mailing address, so I'm not going to tell it to you, but that's mostly because I don't even know the mailing address.  That's about all I got for now, I will send you more info and details about things on Monday.

Love you all,
Elder Takis

First Stop

Elders Middleton and Takis with President and Sister Adams

Just got the following email:

We wanted to let you know that your missionary has arrived in the mission field and is doing well.

He had a good night’s sleep and had training this morning. He is now headed to his area [in Kirtland, New Mexico].

Elder Middleton is Elder Takis’s trainer.

Thank you so much for sharing your son with us.  We will love him and take good care of him.


Sister Lowe
New Mexico Farmington Mission Secretary

Farewell to the MTC

Received this "farewell" photo Friday night from Brother Parkinson (front left corner), one of Elder Takis's teachers at the MTC. That is Elder Takis's district in the picture. Five of the elders, including Takis of course, were heading to the New Mexico Farmington Mission. The sisters were heading to the Virginia Richmond Mission.  One of the elders was going to Tennessee, and we can't remember where the other two were going.

Elder Takis called Monday morning just before boarding his plane. He was super excited to be leaving the MTC and getting out in the field. He was also excited to "eat real food" for breakfast. We asked him to clarify. He said he got a hot sausage, cheese, egg breakfast burrito at the airport and it was the first hot breakfast he'd had in 2 1/2 weeks. (Hot breakfast is important to him.) He was way tired of donuts/bagels/muffins/cereal.

Safe travels, Everyone!

Hosting, Giving Thanks, and an Old Friend

This week has been good, and yes I got your package, thank you.

Sounds like you could use some Dilaudid haha.  It sounds pretty crazy and busy over there, and my schedule is crazy busy too.  Hope everything goes well.

So this week we got new TRC investigators, and one of them, his name is Braulio, is very interesting to teach.  The first time we taught him I'm pretty sure he fell asleep. He looked tired when we went in and it just got worse the longer we were teaching him.  He kept nodding off and then would kind of shoot up like he just woke up, and because of that I even kind of started to fall asleep, so my companion decided to wrap things up early.  Every time we go in to teach him he is the same, he'll nod off.  But when we start asking questions about his mother and stuff then he is wide awake and has a lot to say, most of which isn't good.  He has had a hard life, and so we are trying to help him. 

On Tuesday we had a devotional from Elder Gary E. Stevenson which was pretty amazing.  He and his wife talked about a missionary's Thanksgiving.  One of the things that really stood out to me was when he said that going on a mission shows gratitude to Heavenly Father, and it got me thinking about how gratitude is more than just saying "thank you," you have to show it through your actions, and what better way to show Heavenly Father our gratitude for this gospel and the joy, happiness and blessings it brings us, than to share it with the world.  

We got our travel itinerary a few days ago. I don't know if I've already told you, but we leave Monday morning at 4:20 AM, fly from Salt Lake City to Denver, then from Denver to Durango, and then we drive to the mission home.  So I'm super excited to see Durango, and really hope that I'll be able to serve there.  

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to host, and welcome all the new missionaries to the MTC. There were around 600 new missionaries!  Some of them were supposed to come next week but because of Thanksgiving they got moved to this week.  I only hosted one missionary, but it was a great experience!  He was from Tonga and is going to Samoa. He is the only member of the Church in his family, and his dad wasn't very happy with him for his decisions, but he wanted to serve.  The reason he was the only one I hosted was because he had a lot to do upon arrival.  He needed to go to the MTC health clinic, and then needed to go to the BYU health clinic to get a chest X-Ray.  So we got to leave the MTC campus, which I thought was amazing because when all you see is this little area that you are confined to for a period of time it's good to see something new.  We took a shuttle to the BYU health clinic, and then we walked back, then I took him to the missionary assistance office where he got the rest of the items he needed, because he didn't have everything, I think he got some shirts, shoes, and there were a few other things I can't remember.  But he did teach me some Tongan. Unfortunately I have forgotten most of it now, but I'm pretty sure "malo" is "thank you." That's about all I can remember, and I'm not even sure if that is right, haha.  

During dinner on Wednesday I got to see an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time!  It was *Elder Spencer Gleave!!!!  It was so good to see a friend that I played baseball with and that I have a lot of good memories with, so that pretty much made my day!  November 16 is one of my favorite days in the whole year!!  I'm pretty sure that there is only one person that knows why, too.

Anyway that's what's happening.  I don't know when I'll be able to email again, but until then I hope you're all doing well, and know that Heavenly Father loves you all, as do I.

Elder Takis

*Spencer Gleave, now Elder Gleave, is from a different part of Utah. Elder Takis and Elder Gleave were both chosen to play on a sort of "All-Star" baseball team that was together for two summers. They did some major traveling together and became very good friends, but only got to see each other occasionally after that when they'd run into each other at tournaments while playing for their respective high school teams, and when they were both selected as Utah High School All-Stars. Elder Takis later wrote that he had just sat down to dinner at the MTC and he saw Elder Gleave and ran up and gave him a hug and they had a good talk. Neither had any idea the other was there. Elder Gleave is going to be serving in Italy.

Elder Takis also tried to email some pictures, but had several technical difficulties so only a few of them are as yet available for viewing.

These cans have been passed down through 3 generations of missionaries in our district. 
We are at around 200 cans right now, and are trying to get to 300 before we leave,
then we'll pass them on to someone else.

View from the temple looking back over Provo.

Provo Temple and the first snow of the 2016-2017 Utah winter.

A Familiar Face

Brother Alex Nielsen, a good friend of the Takis family who used to be in the same ward, now teaches missionaries at the MTC. He tracked down Elder Takis to say hello.  Fun fact:  Alex served in the New Mexico Farmington mission a few years ago! Elder Takis was happy to see that familiar face.

News From the MTC, Finally

Elder Takis has been at the MTC for 8 days and no one has heard a peep from him in all that time, even though missionaries are supposed to be able to send an email their first day at the MTC, and missionaries usually get one P-day each week.  Finally, today, he emailed:

Yeah, sorry about that. Since I was late getting here my teacher told me to make my time on the computer quick, and with the way it sounded he was kinda telling me to get what you need to do done, and he said that if I emailed to make it quick so I just figured that I'd skip it and get to class. Today is our first P-Day, and they will be on Thursdays until we leave.  

The MTC is good, most of the time.  There have been quite a few times that I have been like, "Can we just get out in the mission field already, I'm tired of sitting in classes all day," and that's about how our whole district is.  My companion, Elder McFarland, is a great guy and missionary, and so are all the other elders and sisters in our zone & district.  We have a good time, and we all participate and share what we think and it is a good learning experience.  I have felt myself grow immensely in the gospel and closer to Christ.  I have already given a blessing to my companion, and have been a part of 2 other blessings as well, and it is really cool to feel the Spirit work through you and tell you what to say.  Me and my companion have been called as online coordinators, which doesn't really mean a whole lot because we don't really do anything different.  

We went to the temple this morning and it was really nice to be able to do that again, especially since it has been a few weeks since my last visit.  It was kind of weird, too, because the temple here isn't the same as the temple in Logan, but the Spirit was there nonetheless.  

I figure that you will all be pleased to know that I have eaten beans and mushrooms in some of the meals here, and I am still alive.  So I'm pretty sure I am starting to be blessed with the gift of stomachs.  

Yes, I heard that the Cubs won, and I had a secret celebration inside of me.  I also heard that Trump won the election, and I'm happy it wasn't Clinton.  

Other than that, umm, teaching is becoming easier with each time we teach our TRC investigators.  I also talked to a guy in Africa on the phone when we were in the referral center (RC), and he said that he wanted a Book of Mormon.  Unfortunately we couldn't ship it to him, and there aren't missionaries in his area that could bring it to him, so we are still trying to figure out how to get it to him.  

On Sunday we watched the talk that Elder Bednar gave in the MTC about the Character of Christ and it was really powerful, and the Spirit was so strong, and like everyone said, it did change my life!!! On Tuesday we got a devotional by Jennie Oaks Baker, and her family, and it was really good. They are amazing with music and I loved it!  

All in all, life is good--stressful, and busy, but good

Love you all,

Elder Takis

"And So the Adventure Begins"

After a really lovely meeting with the stake president and our bishop, where Elder Takis was set apart to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the New Mexico Farmington Mission, Elder Takis smiled at his mom on the way to the car and said, "And so the adventure begins." 

He was ready.

Well, HE was ready, but he wasn't READY because he wasn't packed. He had everything he needed, but it wasn't organized and he still had some laundry to do. He decided he was too tired to do anything more last night and planned to get up early this morning. But he didn't. So, twenty minutes before we needed to leave for the Provo Missionary Training Center, he was trying to rapidly pack even as we waited for the dryer to finish with some essentials. Everyone was folding this, tossing that, looking for this and that. Whew!

Hurry up and wait--we had a two hour drive to Provo. One of Ptolian's last acts was to fill out his mail-in ballot and vote on the way. It was a bittersweet irony that we had to drive past Brent Brown Ballpark at UVU and see the baseball team out practicing. Then we stopped at the park across the street from the MTC to take some photos and say goodbye without being too rushed. 

Elder Takis just had to tease his mom one last time.

The recently returned Elder Takis giving some last minute
advice and support to the newly set apart Elder Takis.
So glad the whole family had a little bit of time all together.

Smiles and teasing can't stop a mom from crying when it's finally time to go.

Elder Takis quickly switched from goodbye mode to business mode. He was ready and excited to go. With a last hug and a look over his shoulder, he turned his attention to conversing with his missionary host and he was off.

Godspeed, Elder Takis!