February 27,2006

Hey there!
Wow, sounds like thigns are exciting back home especially in regards to the work!
Its cold, but im dealing. its becomming easier and easier to bear the cold. it was 5 degrees this mornign w/o windchill... with it was like -20... fun!
i dont know of any other missionaries who dont get alot of letters, they all seem to get a ton because of the email thought, ill let you know if i find out about any! thats really cool of you to offer. its tought being out here, and its always good to hear a pick-me-up.
Those phone call referals are the best!! its such a great thing to help people recieve the gospel, i had a few great ones in the MTC. 45 minutes talks about the gospel.
sounds like the wrestling team did well though. its like you said, especially being out here on the mission has really put things into perspective and makes the "time and material" part of life seem so much less. its a great charecter building point of view, its amazing how many ways the gospel blesses yoru life.
Its hard to be out here. i thought i wasnt gonna be able to do it. somthing i was taught quickly by P.T (President Thompson) and Elder Flethcer is that your willingness and the best of your efforts is all that you need to do. everybody has a different "best", and the Lord just asks for that from each of us. You dont have to be Dan Jones to be a good missionary. the Lord will use yoru willingness, and your skills to do his work. we are given weaknesses that we may use them to become stronger... learning, especially from our mistakes, and being humbled is how we become perfect and better. rmember what paul says "i rejoice in infirmites, in reproaches, in necesstieis, in persecutions for Christs sake. for when am i weak, then am i strong"... and the coup de grace of encouragment... philipians 4:12 (i think) "i can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me". ive learned that having alot of knowledge does not make a missionary good. it can help, but i personaly feel that in some ways it makes it harder for me to rely and listen to the spirit. that is one of my personal goals. you might want to share that with all the people you know. remember, who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies. we will never achieve the perfection of Christ... the best part is that he doesnt expect us to.
sounds like mom will be having fun up in quilitin country. Sister Pabsts here LOVES to quilt, mom should send her some pictures or talk to her about it. shes a super nice lady.
We helped a family move last week... it was intense. all day in a BLIZZARD! hahaha it was worth it though to do work, i thought i was going to die hahaha!
it is kinda hard always getting along with a companion 24/7, but i think its a good lesson to be learned especially at an early age.
so this week we had exchanges with the ZLs, that was good. Elder Lyman and Elder Victors. they are awesome.
We have this couple in the branch named richy and cheryl. they are both blind, and its so funny to hear them say "it was nice to see you". i think alot of blind people live here in N.Adams, since there are alot of road signs that says "blind person ahead"... i think the signs here are funny, ive been taking pictures lol ill send em home. crazy N.E!! the couple is so awesome though. they go to great lengths to learn abou the gospel, and they truely love Christ. they walk to insitutes at nights, trusting completely in their Dogs... its amazing faith. the Lord does bless them alot.
So the other week we tracted into this guy named dave! he was severly traumatized from his child hood. it was amazing to feel the spirit kinda YELL in my ear "READ ALMA 7:11!!!". i was so excited to help him realize that the atonement covers all the pains of mortality.
Another thing. two days ago i gained a true testimony that people from beyond the veil are helping us (i even sense Opa some times). Flo (ive mentioned her), has some family who havnt been responsive to the gospel at all, but have been very nice to us. the other night, they started and plain oput asked to know about the BoM, eternal families, adn the restoration!! i was so excited to teach them! it was amazing to see them cry from the spirit. later did i realize that John Grover, their deceased father, had last wished for his family to accept the gospel... i believe he was tehre with us.
Well, thats been my week. i ripped one of my pair of jeans this week, so i kinda need another pair if i have any left at home you can send them please.
other things i asked for i dont NEED, but would like. Dad, you remember about the FAIR journals? sign up for the monthly email and just send me the new relases and additons to the Topical Guide (hard copy if you can, i dont have any compuiter time essentialy). dont worry about the Nibbley stuff, its too long lol. well dad, thanks for the pics. love ya.
take care, and ill talk to you soon. love ya.
stay strong,
Elder Onken

2 x 2/22

hey mom!
sounds like things are exciting. im glad to hear about your schooling and work endeavors. i know those RNs are really going to help. one of the innactives we are working with is a Nurse.
i felt reallllyy home sick for the first few days, it was terrible. the president called tho, and i talked with him and ever since then ive been feeling really good. everything just feels stagnant. there is no today or tommrow, its just one long continuous work day.
mmm guacamole... the ward mission leader took us to lunch yesterday and we had Thai food. it was amazing to have somthing not N.Eish. guess he would be the one to take us there, since he is the only member that isnt a weirdo massachussian.
Dont go to boston much. we are given 1300 miles a transfer (6 weeks), and Boston is about 200 miles away. We spend most of our P-Days down in pittsfield with the DL and his comp, Elder Farr and Elder Johnson. we play Magic The Gathering lol, its funny. sometimes we will go to Amherst to play B-Ball, but thats also pretty far.
most of the work is done in N.Adams. our area is pretty large, and so much work to do. we dont go out of N.Adams very much, except into williamstown which is the Nice party of the Berkshires.
I cant wait to hear about Mark. ive been thinking about him alot lately, i hope everything go through. let me know right away.
well. ill write a longer letter in a minute, im gonna check the rest of my emails.

Hey Fam!
Wow, dont have long to write (6 minutes), lets see how i do!
well, i had no idea about the outside world. that was evident when i discovered that 1, it was the olympics, 2 it was valentines day and 3, it was presidents day, and 4, there was teh superbowl lol.
The other day kinda sucked. Elder Flethcher was sick, and when i was studying i ripped my suit pants when sitting down into a chair!! the arm thing caught my pants and RIP! it sucked, but my super uber sewing prowess allowed me to sew it up like new! you would be proud mom.
I spent alot of that day reading and studying with study guides about the scriptures. but at one point i was so bored, that i started learning to write and speak hewbrew names by using the bible dictionary as a guide. it was awesome. dude, my RPG names will rock from now on.
P-Days are cool. spend them witht eh DL and his companion elder Farr and Johnson. we play Magic the Gathering all day lol, its sweeet and geekishly cool.
We had an investigator who was really interested the other day, but then rejected us when we came back for the next appointment! it was just like "we arnt interested anymore"... kinda sucks, but wahtever. the lord will bless us. we had 2 runnins with some Born Agains... its frustrating because they asked us to pray to knwn that our church wasnt true. when we asked how we would know, they couldnte even describe how you can know the truth!!! i was so tempted to bash em wih the discrpensies of the bible, but i though that wouldnt bee too great.
other than that things are going well, i have 2 minutes left on the computer, and im sorry that this message sucks, but there was alot to write lol! next week itll be better, i swear. well i miss ya guys, i hope all is well! love ya
Elder Onken

Feb 13! Hey there

Hey there!

How is everything? This week has been pretty nuts! Tuesday and Wednesday we did service with a bunch of old geezers (haha jk). We served them meals and they wanted us to play bingo with them... I thought that was a joke, but they really do play bingo!! One lady named Rose is like 98 years old and she likes to flirt with all the missionaries I guess, its really funny, but she's so energetic. I wanna be that energetic when im 98!

We did a LOT of tracting. We have 2 new investigators. My hands were freezing off, its like 10 degrees and I was ready to die. Elder Fletcher just keeps me going tho, I'm grateful for him. He tells me "the harsher the weather, the greater the reward"... in reality he was saying, "the harsher the weather you're tracting in, the hotter your wife gets", but I got what he was saying. So we were almost on snow-alert, because the big Noreaster storm was coming in, like 10-15 inches of snow, but it just missed us and we only got like 3. I like when its snows because its warmer than usual. If it's too cold it won't snow, and usually the wind doesn't blow (which is what makes it really cold) when it's snowing (unless its a blizzard).

So we tracted into a reverend who was having a super bowl party ( I may have mentioned this before)... can you say Sabbath Day Holy?! But whatever lol. We are thinking of going to talk to her about lesson 5 (the commandments) lol. Other than that we have a guy who wants to read the entire BoM, and so we are going back in 2 weeks. We tracted into this girl the other day. It was kinda funny because it was the first time I had talked to a girl in a month, so I was like.. "uhh... the book of mormon is good... uhh... joseph smith was a prophet... can we come back and teach more"... not that bad, but kinda lol. Usually people shut the door or say "I'm catholic" (which I don't quite understand what they mean by that response...) before we can actually say anything, so it caught me off guard lol. Although she asked us to come back Monday (today), so we have an appointment with her and her parents.

On Sunday church was cut short because none of the speakers nor teachers showed up lol it was interesting. This branch is hilarious. every Sunday we go have dinner with the branch presidency, and the Pabsts. It's so much fun. I am so grateful for the Pabsts. They had been having some family issues, so we made them bread! It was fun, and they sent you a picture I believe. We gave a short lesson on the Bread of Life!!! John 6:35 I think... Alma 7:11-13 also. It's good stuff.

On Friday we had dinner with Flo Grover again lol. This lady is like 70's, but she is the coolest person ever. She was telling us how she had to help her son move because he has back spasms, so she was the one taking the couch up the stairs, and how she had to push the van up a hill lol. She made us good food. Everybody here cooks potatoes and ham!!! I've had it like 09243%12#2 times!!!!one!!eleven!!!onehundredandeleven!!!(nick will get that). It was funy thought. We played dominoes with her (a game called Chicken Foot), it was alot of fun. She's such a nice lady. She loves to take care of her Elders, we are grateful for that. She's getting baptized in April I think. It's been 6 years!! Finally shes doing it!

Hrm, other than that things are pretty much the same here in N. Adams. New England is so strange tho! EVERYBODY smokes... it makes everything and everybody look 10 years older. We can't figure out why they even start. Driving here is weird. People will stop in the middle of traffic to let somebody make a left hand turn in front of them... it's courteous I guess, just not quite safe. They say "expect the unexpected is an understatement when driving in N.England".

Things are going well, I'm enjoying it and time seems to be going by pretty fast. I was really home sick the first few days, but that's just because it was so different. Every day it becomes a little bit less. Thanks for the emails to everybody who sent them. I think I've responded to everybody who sent one. Studying the scriptures has never been so fullfilling. I've learned so much. I have learned more than ever that the Lord does answers prayers. It's ridiculous. Every day I see the amazing miracles the Lord blesses me with. Not just in regards to the work, but just in my own emotional, and physical welfare. I do not know the words, nor am capable of feeling the emotion necessary to express my love and appreciation to the Lord, to the extent and sincerity that my spirit desires. I am grateful to be here on my mission. I've learned more now than ever that this is truly the Lord's church, and that God does live. Words do no justice to that which is deserved. I meet a lot of people who have closed their minds and hearts in what they think is the correct dogmas of God. I have also learned that the spirit can break that, and truly open the hearts of all men. The standard of truth has truly been erected, no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing, every knee shall bow. its an amazing thing.

I love you all, keep strong. I pray for you all daily. Love you, miss you, stay safe.

Elder Onken

A fun note from Elder & Sister Pabst - 2/11/06

Dear Brother & Sister Onken,
See, miracles do happen! Elder Fletcher and your son actually baked
this bread themselves, and it was good!
They are both good missionaries. We're glad to have them here.
Elder & Sister Pabst

February 7, 2006

[Editor's Note: I was fortunate enough to be on line when this came through and got to exchange a few emails back and forth. He must use the public library to email and since it is closed on Mondays, we'll probably be hearing from him on Tuesdays. He is using a myldsmail.net address and I have a snail mail address. I've decided it is too risky to post it here (don't want any crackpots writing to him) so write to me at debonken@gmail.com and I'll send the addresses to you.]

Hey there!
how is everything? So im here in Mass. and its very cold. its like 20 degrees right now, and im about ready to die. its been snowing the past few days, but not terribly. When we first got here to Mass. we were picked up by the APs at the airport and loaded our luggage into the mission vans, where we met the pres and his wife. Instead of driving directly to the mission home in Belmont, the APs took us on the "T" (the train/subway). They gave us all BoMs and we headed over to Boston Commons. Once we got there Elder Haslam sent 3 of us off in one direction. We started contacting right away. I had a nice 30 minute talk with a man. he was really nice, but i think he was a tad bit crazy since he said his name was Ramseus the Great hrmm... Well, After that we went to the mission home and had dinner. after dinner we had a testimony meeting and turned in for the night. We woke up early the next morning and headed over to the Chapel where the transfer meeting was going to be held. My trainer is Elder Fletcher from Orem Utah. hes really cool and smart, and has been teaching me alot.

I think its kinda ironic that my first area is a small town named North Adams. Its the furthest away from the mission home you can get. Probably the welfare capital of Massachussetts, and the most po-dunk place i could imagine. Absolutely opposite from back home. The drive was about 2.5 hours, and i was able to see the countryside of Mass. all on my first day. Mom, dont you have a friend who lives in N.Y? thats my area! lol, its kinda far though. everything outside of boston is so remote. i think 75% of Massachusetts' population is in Boston itself. there are 5 zones in the mission. The population is so central in Boston ,that my zone is half of the entire mission land wise. North Adams is the smallest branch in the entire mission. we have about 20-30 active members, but about 60 including inactives. The church is located in the back of a Days Inn, but its a really nice building. Elder Flethcer and I are lucky that we have 2 senior missionaries in our area. Elder and Sister Pabst are from Idaho, and have been out a year. They are so nice, and its been a great help having them here. We are well fed here in N. Adams, the members take great care of us.

So the first days are still a little hazy, and i was so home sick that i coudl barely take it. Things are so different here in N. Adams, let alone being here and on a mission. It was culturaly shocking, but every day gets a bit better. We went tracting the day after i got here, and we had pretty good success. We got 1 new investigator, and 2 prospects. the new investigator is named Alfred, and he has 7 children and a wife. We are going to go teach him on wednsday. i hope that goes well. other than that, there is a lady who has been investigating for 6 years, and now she has a set a baptisimal date. her name is Flo Grover. i cant even exlpain her, she is the nicest, most rough and tumble kind of old lady you could meet lol. she has no teeth, and looks about 80, but she has more energy than me! lol. Another of our investigators is a guy named Joe Novak. he has been meeting with the missionaries for about a year. hes grown up catholic, but loves to meet and talk with us about twice a month. hes probably in his 60s, but still very active. He finaly told us that he believes Jospeh Smith is a prophet, and that he did in fact see God the Father and Jesus Christ, but thats about it. hes an existentialist... I've now had a first person account of how such a wide open and positive attitude, can in fact hinder someone. we are going to have a lesson with him and have the topic be truth. he just doesnt understand that there is in fact one 100% correct way. Another ivnestigator is a lady named Veronika. she was born in Frankfurt Germany, and moved here when she was younger. After a marriage of 35 years, her husband started to abuse her. its a very sad story, but we have been doing a lot of service for her while she moves in. she came to church last week and loved it.

Ive had pretty good experiences here, but its still tough. Not alot of people are very open to us. in fact, most people wont even wave back to you when you say hi. we tracted into a Reverand the other day. Jill Grahem... she wasnt to keen on us. North Adams is so small, but it has more churches than i have ever seen. its famous for its 7 steeples. it has 3 Catholic Churches, but only 1 preist to run them all... still trying to figure that one out.

Its cold, and my ears hurt i think ive lost some weight since ive been here. although i have been eating jell-o, other than that the meals have been pretty healthy. P-day was cool. we went with the whole zone down to Amherst and hung out there. We played Basketball and ate at wendys as a zone. i even played Magic: The Gathering with one of the other Elders lol! the DL Elder Farr is actually in the Army. we were talking about stuff, and it was an interesting conversation. Tommorow we are going back into Boston to report to the Mission Pres. itll be a good opportunity to see the whole district from the MTC. its crazy to think ive been out a month, but when i really think about it i feel like ive been out a long longer than that. I was talking to Elder Johnson, and he was telling me that it feels like that until after youve trained (4 month point), and then it all feels the same. Well, i really have got to run, but i hope i can write back soon. I love you all and miss you. write back to this email or to [deleted] .hope all is well.

Elder Onken

A Phone Call - or two

Received a phone call at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning from Skyler at the SLC airport. He sounded well and excited to be finally getting into the field. Tonight (2/2/06) we had a message on the answering machine from a Sister Pabst who reports that Skyler arrived safely in the mission field this morning, has a companion named Elder Fletcher, was fed a good meal, exhibited good manners, and already has people to teach. He is serving in a very small branch in North Adams, Massachusetts which is in the northwest corner of the state. It looks from the map to be surrounded by large park lands so it must be beautiful. Actually I read that it is the Berkshires. Hopefully on Monday we'll get an email. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Debi