Week 6: "Off Putting Week" and Transfers

Hello hello and how do you do,

So, I got, and am using a keyboard now, it's awesome. If there are any

typos, I'm still adjusting to the keyboard, so, you've been warned.

And concerning Austin, I was not expecting Idaho, tell him good luck for me!

ANYWAY, this week has been one of those "off putting weeks", as in, so

much has happened, but only on a select few days.

So Monday, was our second zone p-day for the transfer, and we got to

clean a house. The mission home to be exact. You see, the zone leaders

decide what we are going to do for zone p-days and other events with

"zone" in the title, so, instead of going to the zoo, or hiking on a

path right through a forest of trees that are in the process of

changing colors... we got to clean, for about 3 hours. Don't get me

wrong, we got free pizza, and it was a great experience, but there are

only two chances to go out of our area to see sights per transfer.

Tuesday was one of those "nothing really" days. We helped clean a

member's house as a service project, he being unable to clean it

himself, and the rest of Tuesday was spent doing little to none, as we

had no real appointments, and no one was available.

Wednesday was a little fuller, we had the day scheduled from

appointment to appointment, but each where about an hour apart, which

meant we had roughly 40 minutes to sit around or seek potentials.

Thursday, oh man, Thursday was a doozie. Basically, we had the entire

morning planned out, we would bike to a less actives, and then bike to

a potential appointment, and then bike to ANOTHER potential

appointment, and then tract a bit, BUT, a stick was thrown into our

plans when, on our way to the less actives, a piece of scrap metal,

about yeah long ———————— , punctured my back tire. Fortunately, A

recent convert saw Elder Scott trying to patch it, and was able to

give us a ride, in his little Honda Civic sized car, bikes and all, to

our appointment, she wasn't home. Elder Scott was able to put a

temporary patch on the tire, we biked home, and the day just kinda

ended there.

Friday was a slow day as well, we woke up kinda late, biked to the

less actives we where not able to see the day prior, biked home for

lunch, and I was out. I slept for about 3 and a half hours, and woke

up just in time for our dinner appointment, to find out they canceled

on us.

Now, Saturday, was interesting, 'cause, it was the Saturday before

transfers. I am not getting transferred... ELDER SCOTT... is getting

transferred.... and as such, I am staying in Brandermill, becoming the

senior companion for the area.... and I have NO idea... what I am

doing.... but hey, I might get a car, so we will see what happens. But

as far as the day goes, it was another slow one, we went on a blitz

(mini exchange) with the zone leaders, and went tracting, in an area

that we would not otherwise be able to get too without a car for about

two hours, we went to Wendy's following.

But, that is about it for my week, again, it's been a slow up and down

process, but I'm still hanging in there for the most part.

Love all y'all back home, I miss you all so much.

Love ya Mom.

-Elder Tayler Hagen

The Door to no where on the side of our home.

Genealogy: me, my trainer, and his trainer

Most mornings here in Virginia

 Me , Elder Scott, and Estes Family. Deadpool is to Brother Estes (our ward mission leader) like the Flash is to me. (Tayler loves all things Flash, the comic book hero)

Week 5: Big Time Bike Crash

Hey Mom and others! It's so great to hear from you!

Anywhosers, my week has been, long, to say the least. 

So, starting with Monday, I crashed on my bike, big time.... So, the day itself was fine, a normal p-day, woke up, went out to Taco Bell for lunch, emailed, shopped, etc etc... It wasn't until the end of p-day at 6, where things became difficult. Since, it's humid here, wind of any kind, goes straight through our clothing, so biking at night, which is now earlier in the day, becomes a problem. So, Monday night, we where biking home from the church after a long day of biking about, when we got to a downhill slope that had no shoulder for bikes, none whatsoever. As a result, a car got a little to close, I swerved into the gravel, it was too cold to hold on effectively, my front tire got caught on a rock, I went over the handle bars, and I slid a good 3 feet. 

But I'm fine! I got scrapped up a bit, nothing's torn or broken, my bike chain came off, but I was completely fine aside from a little bit of blood.

Tuesday, we had our first zone conference, it lasted from 10 in the morning, to about 4 at night. To give a brief explanation of what was taught; mission work with members, steps to help a progressing investigator to baptism, and keeping your car clean and ready. Fun fact, the church has to deal with over 400k in damage done to cars because of improper backing out alone, statistically, that would add about 23 new cars to all missions world wide. Afterwards, we visited a less active who doesn't attend because he takes care of his mother, and had dinner at another less actives, who, I kid you not, is probably my favorite person to visit. He is an ex-combat engineer for the military, he showed us a potato gun he built that he almost shot down a helicopter with a plastic bag with.

Wednesday was Wednesday, a lot of visiting with less actives, a lot of potentialing, and a lot of biking. We did get to meet the new bishop of he Bramdermill ward officially, nice guy.

Thursday we didn't do much but walk about. Friday was about the same.

Saturday, we raked leaves, for about 3 hours. The rest of the day was spent potentialing, with no one really interested.

Sunday, was a great way to end a week. First of all! It was fast Sunday, because we had stake conference last week, so, I woke up, didn't eat breakfast, got ready, and was picked up by pj, the most recent baptism in the stake, at 8:40. He drove us to the old Clover Hill ward to attend their sacrament, because he, pj, was being confirmed, and asked if elder Scott and I would join in the circle. We sat around afterwards until around 1, when our sacrament started. Testimony meeting lasted an hour and a half, the rest of the time we had a meet and great potluck, and boy howdy, was the meal just absolutely fantastic, everything from Hawaiian pulled pork (baked till it just fell apart in pineapple), to chili with chicken in it, to some phenomenal mac and cheese. The day ended with a visit to a member of our ward whom is one of the oldest living quadriplegics, he was injured in a rugby accident, and had been that way for about 20 years. It really made me grateful for my health.

Anyway, that's been my day, I don't have many pictures to share with all of y'all, I'll try to do better next week.

Love you!

-Elder Tayler Hagen

This is what Virginia looks like in the fall, colors, colors everywhere.

Week 4: "Hallowclean" and Spiders

Hey!

In regards to me telling you I crashed last week, it was nothing

dramatic. Basically, there was an uneven piece of sidewalk and a

particularly low hanging branch that seemed to know exactly where to

hit me. Essentially, it hit my helmet, knocked me off balance, my

front wheel hit the chunk of protruding cement, and I fell over onto a

patch of grass. No harm, no staining on my clothing, nothing.

This week, was a interesting one in the sense that, I,  me, the Hagen

kid, am serving in a new ward. And because of such, being in a new

ward, and technology being wonky, everyone (investigators, less

actives, etc, etc,) In our app on our iPads called the area book,

disappeared,  because we where no longer missionaries of the Clover

Hill ward, and had been "transferred" into the Brandermill ward, in

which at the time of writing this email, had no data connected to it.

And so, we had nothing really to do but look around and try to find

something for the first couple days.

Monday, was p-day, and Halloween. And since it was p-day and

Halloween, the first half of the day was a spent as a normal p-day.

But the normal afternoon "end of p-day", was an mandatory In doors by

5pm, in which everyone was told to clean their apartments in the

allotted 4 hours... apartments being the key word, cause, I live in a

house.... it's a little bigger... but I digress. We spent a majority

of our time cleaning out the studio apartment below our home in which

missionaries used to stay in until they got permission to move to the

upstairs. But let me tell you, that apartment, was trashed, it reeked

of mold, garbage and moldy clothing where thrown a muck, and the worst

part, in my opinion, was the thousands of spiders we ended up having

to kill.

So In short we did nothing but clean our home, get groceries, and

email. The day was dubbed "Hallowclean" by the mission office.

Tuesday, we went to our regularly scheduled appointments with those we

where teaching that where still within our ward boundaries, and the

rest of the day we spent finishing cleaning, because again, I live in

a house, not an apartment, and there only is two of us. I do want to

pause and mention I found a talk by Thomas s Monson that I had been

looking for, it is entitled "finding our way home".

Wednesday, I woke up in the morning at 7 by mistake, showered, cut my

lip shaving, studied, and left our home around 11. We helped a recent

convert and a member repair a sliding door, ate lunch, and headed

towards the Brandermill neighborhood to see if we could go talk to a

recent investigator that Elder Scott knew of. She wasn't home. So we

went to the church. Around 6 we went on an blitz, which, is when we

exchange just for a couple hours, we went with the Manchester elders

to meet new members that we had acquired during the boundary change,

Thursday was nothing special, just an average day of biking and more biking.

Friday, was a special day. Friday, was a day in the mission we call,

"return and report". Essentially, all new missionaries and their

trainers, head to Richmond to discuss our first 4 weeks, and to hear

some talks and instructions. Afterwards, we are dismissed with a

temporary companion to head into downtown Richmond to go street

contacting. My temporary companion was one of the two APs (assistants

to the president). After street contacting for about an hour and a

half, we got a ride home, and went to a zone meeting which used up the

rest of our day.

Saturday, was a special day, it was the day we got ready for service,

in our Sunday whites. So Saturday morning, we helped a lady move, and

the elders and my companion thought it would only take 30 or so

minutes, so we shouldn't worry ourselves in changing into our service

clothes. nay nay, we where there for 2 hours moving stuff through hair

and dust and all matter of white shirt staining stuff. We finished,

the lady (a non member) thanked us, tearing up a bit, and we left.

That afternoon, elder Scott and I had nothing planned, so we decided

to go and tract Brandermill, again. And on our way over, we got a call

from a member of our ward, a less active, asking if we could help him

move garbage into the back of his truck. And without changing, we

reared our bikes towards his home. After we finished, the less active

being a combat engineer, where able to shoot off a round out out of a

potato gun. He told us a story of how he almost accidentally shot down

a helicopter with the same gun we fired, and a plastic bag wrapped in

duct tape.

Sunday, It was stake conference, the Brandermill ward was sustained,

and some really good talks that I wish I where taking notes on, where

given. Sunday night, we had our first baptism.

So, a little explanation about this baptism. This investigator, had

been an investigator for what I had been told had been about 3 years,

being an older gentleman, he was a bit stubborn when it came to the

concept of being baptized. He, wasn't our investigator directly... he

was within our area, but didn't want to talk to the elders, he only

allowed visits from the sisters, whom where in the same ward at the

time, and only recently, he has opened up to the elders. Now, elder

Scott told me that PJ, the name of the investigator, had no intention

of being baptized before the previous transfer. Anyway, One Sunday, he

was feeling extremely sick, and he had an impression that he should

ask for a blessing. And so he was given one by a couple members in our

ward. The next day he woke up, the illness was gone, and he had been

touched by the spirit.

Me and elder Scott got to preside as the witnesses.

And, now it is Monday the 7th, p-day once again, the end, of another

week, love all ya! Have a good week!

-Elder Hagen

Spider filled studio apartment... Before

Studio apartment...After

Elder Hagen can cook... Mac N Cheese

Baptism Program

Week 3: "Transferred"

Elder Mario

   
Happy Halloween!

So, my week has been a real blur, nothing really stood out. Basically

to sum it up, it's been biking up and down, to and fro, there and

back, visiting members and less actives with a couple potential

investigators in between. But hey, I'm keeping trying to keep

optimistic, so, it's been good.

Yesterday, Sunday, was actually pretty interesting, I got transferred.

So Sunday, we had a special meeting with our ward and two other wards,

and president Smith and his wife showed up. Essentially what happened

was our stake presidency, had called this meeting to create another

ward out of the already existing wards, each with an attendance of

about 300. So, my previous ward, Clover Hill, and the two other wards

above and below us, had boundary changes, and as a result, our

residence, just so happened to be in the middle of the new ward, the

Brandermill ward.

And so, here I am now, opening a new ward as the first junior

missionary in the Brandmill ward, we lost a good chunk of members, but

we gained a good amount as well. The best part being our new bishop,

bishop Gregory, grew up in San Dimas.

(This next bit is his response to something I wrote him about a Relief Society lesson I'm teaching on President Uchtdorf's talk: “O How Great the Plan of Our God”. In it President Uchtdorf encouraged us to remember the great knowledge we have, and not taking it for granted. One of my favorite lines from this talk was “We tread a path covered with diamonds, but we can scarcely distinguish them from ordinary pebbles.”)

About your relief society lesson, I would agree in the fact that it

gets misused, often times the stuff we learn, or the information we

read, gets pushed aside, mistranslated, or just simply forgotten,

usually making all that this life is for, experiences, learning,

bringing ourselves closer to Christ, pointless. Essentially, we are

wasting those diamonds, throwing them back among the pebbles thinking

they are useless.

But, that's about it for my email, the pictures are of the new area,

and the other of me and elder Scott, plus two other elders from our

zone, wearing mustaches.

I love you and everyone else so much, I miss ya, it gets hard

sometimes, but knowing everyone is rooting for me helps me so very,

very much.

Love ya, stay safe! I've already crashed my bike once! No one was hurt!

-Elder Tayler Hagen

old ward boundaries above, new below (with the new ward's area, Brandermill)

The Mustache Gang (love reminders that these are still young kids)

Week 2: One for Mom and One for Dad (and finally pictures)

Mom:

Hi!

So, to answer your questions... I did get the box, thank you so much

for it! The snacks where a bit overkill, but, I digress. The sleep

water, it helped me fall asleep and I don't wake up as much, but I

think it has some side effects, as in I need to use the restroom more,

and It feels like I am dizzy all the time. And yes, I am feeling

better, it was apparently just a REALLY bad cold, and allergies.

Elder Scott has been out about 8 months now, he heads home the March 

before I leave. And yes, that address I sent you, the 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 

home, is shared between me and elder Scott.

The neighborhood is quite, very, quite, and on a hill, so, every night

after we are done biking, I have to pedal myself back up, that hill.

So, this week, just kinda flew by. In all honesty, it's been a blur

aside from the usual biking and tracting and some of the bigger

events, For example, Tuesday, it rained, so, me and elder Scott, where

riding around in the humidity all day. And on Saturday, we had a

"service project" in which we supervised a hike with a member of our

ward and his Weblo troop.

And that's my week. Nothing to spiffy, nothing too exciting, thank you

so much for the packages, love ya, I'll write to you next week! bye!

Love,

Elder Tayler Hagen

Dad

Hey hi!

So, sorry for not sending you an email last week, I got caught up in
reading all the mail that was sent to me, that by the end of the
period in which I could send mail, I didn't get the chance to write to
you. I'll try better about getting you an update.

I am doing a lot better, thank you and mom for the packages, me and
elder Scott have been snacking away at all the different junk foods,
and the medicine, it was a tad excessive, but I am now prepared for
the next time I get sick.

Thank you for the pictures every week as well, my email does this
strange thing where it hides emails that are over two weeks old, so,
getting new pictures from you and the family every week is a real
treat, I especially like the one you sent of you and mom with Spencer
and his friends on the Matterhorn,

So, I know you get and read moms email, so, I won't rehash anything I
said to her, but I want to answer and reply to your questions and your
week cause, you asked them, and told me about your week.

So, for starters, I wasn't disappointed when I said my work was a lot
of reactivation, I know my calling, and inviting all to come unto
Christ is what I am here for, whether they have heard his name or not,
so if I sounded bummed, I wasn't, it's just hard to convey emotion
through text.

So, my iPad, I actually got it the day I arrived. Our plane landed, we
picked up our luggage, and we where shipped off to the  local stake
center for iPad orientation. I can get and read emails all week long
as long as I have wifi, so feel free to write anything during the
week.

Smokers, I have seen 0, and it has kinda bummed me out. From what I've
been told, unless it's an indoor smoker, it can get too humid here for
a smoker to stay smoking. I wish I can be there for some pulled pork,
we can get it at our local Bojangles restaurant, but it ain't the
same.

My ward is having a "fall festival", basically the same thing your
doing, but, with a focus on all of fall instead of a focus on
Halloween, and chili, we are having a chili cook off.

And, that is basically it! I try to write to everyone that emails me
when I have time, so I'm really sorry I wasn't able to get to you last
week, anyway,

Love ya! I hope you, Spencer, Mom, and Jacob, continue doing well, I
pray for you every night and can't wait for Christmas when I get to
Skype all of you!

Continue doing well! Help Spencer learn and manifest his priesthood
calling, tell everyone back home I miss them! Thank you for
everything! Love ya dad!

-elder Tayler Hagen

And look, pictures!

We went to Waffle House before our "service project".

Hiking

Our house

My District

Week 1: Answering Questions and Learning the Ropes

To answer all the questions,

I can only write on p-days yes, and it is always on a Monday. And, I am not 100% sure about visiting the temple, Elder Scott says near the end of ones mission we spend a day there, but I dunno for sure.

Spencer: asked me what my favorite restaurant or store is, and to give him the honest answer, out here is almost exactly like home, but with trees, a lot of em, and no Del Taco or In N Out or Grand Burger.... So basically, what I liked at home, they still have out here, there really isn't anything special.

Dad: I am in the city of Midlothian, and my address is 

11506 Clintwood Terrace. Midlothian, VA 23112.  And yes, It is a house that me Elder Scott share, a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home.

My companion, Elder Scott, is from Ogden Utah, and I am not in a car, I have to ride the bike you 

sent me (Elder Scott is a cyclist, he assembled it) up hills all day long, and it gets exhausting. 

The members are feeding us quite well, almost 7 meals a week, and no, it's mainly been spaghetti or a slab of meat with potatoes. 

The mission president and his wife are extremely nice, they do not have younger kids, so no, all their kids are all grown up and have moved out.

There really isn't any work to do here besides reactivation and member check ups, the people of Virginia are extremely stubborn when it comes to religion, and usually are not open to conversion or even hearing our message.

I can't answer questions 7 and 8, the 3 wards surrounding me are about to be reorganized, so, as of right now, the area is small because I am on a bike, but the Clover Hill ward, is pretty decent sized for around these parts.

Alright, onto my week. So, Monday, I spent all day on an air plane, we woke up at 3 in the morning to board a charter bus that took us to Salt Lake, I called home, boarded my flight, and flew off to Atlanta for a brief layover before flying to Richmond. We landed and where greeted by our mission president, his wife, and all the office workers for the mission. We gathered our luggage and where taken to the mission home where we spent the night. The following morning, we where told we could sleep in until 7:30, which, was a blessing, and we got dressed, went to the stake center, and met our companions and trainers. It took about 30 minutes for us to get to our home for the next six weeks, where, I unpacked, Elder Scott already having been living there for the past 3 months, showed me around. Wednesday through Friday was all about the same, biking/walking around (I was using a members bike), visiting members and less actives, and just simply getting to know the area. Saturday, I had to take off as a sick day, the coughing and congestion had gotten awful. Sunday, I was feeling a bit better, so, we went to our meetings and church, where me and another sister missionary from California where introduced. After church, a member drove us around to again meet some less actives and members. And that is basically my week! Greeting and meeting people. Nothing too fancy, nothing to spiritual, just getting to know the layout of the land.

Anyway, I hope you all are having a good time back at home. Love ya! I'll see if I can send pictures later today or next week! 

-Elder Hagen 

(There were no pictures)

Mission Pres Email

Dear Brother and Sister Hagen,

We are so grateful that our new missionaries arrived safely in Richmond.  They were a bit weary due to early morning travel, but we fed them dinner, held a brief orientation, and got them some rest.  I met individually with each of our new missionaries and am so impressed by their dedication and desire to follow Jesus Christ.  Tuesday morning, we assigned them their first area and missionary companion.

                     

Elder Hagen will be serving with Elder Scott in the Clover Hill A Area.

Mail will be sent directly to them at the following address: 11506 Clintwood Terrace Midlothian, VA 23112.

Thank you so much for your love and support of these great missionaries.  It is truly our privilege to serve alongside them.  

May God's choicest blessings be with you.

Best regards,

Corey B. Smith

President, Virginia Richmond Mission