Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Life in Dumas

Elder Varvel is still loving life in Dumas! He made it through his first transfer and is staying there! He was so happy about that! Sadly, Elder Lemmon was transferred! Sawyer was bummed about that. He got two new companions, Elder Nelson, and Elder Davis, and he can already tell they are going to have a great time together!

Saying goodbye to Elder Lemmon

He said the weather is turning cold:
So this week was super slow as far as missionary work goes... the reason being.... 20 degree weather all week and snow on the ground! It was a crazy cold front and apparently it is here to stay for the winter! You know how usually in Idaho the cold just comes on kind of gradually????? Well in Texas it comes on all at once! Like literally minutes! We were out playing soccer last week (which I have discovered that I really like) in 75 degree weather. Well, we can see this big dust cloud moving toward us  and when it actually gets there the temperature went from 75 degrees to the 40's within minutes! It was crazy! And then it has just gotten colder since! Only 20 degree weather which I guess isn't bad for Idaho but I have lost all of my cold resistance and am dying! I am even wearing my Cookie Monster Pajama pants underneath my slacks to try and keep warm and I am still freezing!

Elder Varvel, Elder Davis, and Elder Nelson freezing in Dumas!
A family in Dumas had a pet monkey! Sawyer got to feed it ramen noodles.

Bailey likes a cute boy named Mason. I always love telling Sawyer this kind of stuff, because his responses are the best. I told him how nice Mason was, and that he was pretty shy. This is what Sawyer had to say:
Bailey has a crush on another boy?!? I don't care if he is nice, or shy. Boys are gross, disgusting creatures! Let him know that he better stay REALLY shy until I get home! 

I also reminded him that she would be turning 15 in the beginning of November:
I wasn't really thinking about the fact that Bailey will be turning 15 until you mentioned it.....HOLY COW!!! She can't possibly be that old! She was only like 10 when I left wasn't she?!?

It's pretty apparent that he doesn't think his sister should be growing up while he's gone!

Sawyer has met some amazing people in Dumas! 
We have this way awesome investigator named James, who is from Sudan. We were out in Cactus and he actually came up to us and thanked us for everything that we do. He told us that he had been listening to some christian music the night before and praying the Lord would send someone into his life. We showed up the very next day! He came to church with us, and he fit in with everyone so well. It was so cool!

A couple of days ago we were driving down the road to try someone and Elder Nelson says,"Guys, I think there was a Foosball table by that dumpster." So we go and try who we were going to try and they weren't home so we drove back and sure enough there was a Foosball table by the dumpster! So Elder Nelson and I get out and are about to throw it into the trunk and then we wonder if it belongs to the person who's house we are right next to. So we just sit there and think for a little bit and then I say, "Well, we could go ask them." Elder Davis was too embarrassed so he stayed in the car while Elder Nelson and I go up and knock on the door. This guy comes out and we ask him if the Foosball table was his and he said that we could take it because they threw it out. Then we started talking to him a little bit more and shared the 'He is the Gift' initiative that the church is doing for the Christmas season. Turns out he is a youth pastor for one of the big churches here in Dumas and he said that he was going to show the video at his church! How cool is that!?! Then at church the next day someone pulls me out of one of the classes and says there was a guy who gave us a Foosball table outside. I went outside and sure enough he was in the parking lot with a pool table and an air hockey table that go with it that he wanted to give to us!!! Coolest thing ever!

The missionaries have been teaching a big guy named Seth Swaford. Sawyer loves him and says he's like a big ole teddy bear. This next story may be my favorite thing ever!
I spoke at church which was really fun! I love doing it! But that's not the big thing. The big thing was that we had 3 investigators there! James, a girl from Congo, and SETH (the big guy)!!!! It was a big deal for him to go because we have been trying to get him to come for a long time! Here is the story. One of the reasons that he didn't want to come to church was that he only had overalls to wear and he was going to feel self conscious going to church in those. So we told him that if he went to church we would wear overalls with him. Brother Pool took us and got us overalls the night before and we wore overalls to church! Funniest part is.... Seth didn't believe us and so he didn't even wear them! So we were just wearing overalls for fun! Soooo funny!!! 

This is seriously the best picture ever!
Elder Nelson, Elder Varvel, Seth, Elder Davis, Sister Christofferson, Sister Manwaring, Sister Brown, and James (from Sudan)

Thanksgiving
Sawyer had a great Thanksgiving in Dumas! He had dinner with the Pool's, and then they went to the church to play games with the sister missionaries and the Rodriguez family. Sister Rodriguez is a seminary teacher, and Brother Rodriguez is in the branch presidency. They have 2 teenage daughters and a 10 year old son, and Sawyer says the family is awesome!

Fun with the missionaries!
It's nice to see that he still pulls faces when he gets his picture taken!
One of our biggest fears when sending Sawyer on his mission was that he would get kidney stones while he was serving. He made it a year and a half with no problems. Then in his last e-mail he wrote this at the very end:
Oh btw, I got a kidney stone this last week! It was a little one and passed super fast but it still hurt like none other!
It helped me to know that so much other stuff is going on in his missionary life, that he barely mentioned the kidney stone as an after thought. Now we'll just pray that their aren't bigger ones in there!

 I'm so glad that he loves his area, loves the other missionaries, and loves the people in Dumas. I'm grateful for amazing people who watch out for him and take care of him while he's away from home. Like I always say, I hope I get to meet these people some day.

Happy Halloween!

We sent Sawyer a cute Halloween package, but I forgot to take pictures of the cute stuff in it before we sent it. He spent Halloween on a mission tour with Elder Pino of the seventy. He listened to a talk that Elder Pino gave in Spanish, and was excited that he could understand the whole thing without any problem. He mostly speaks English on his mission, but it's good to know he's still learning Spanish while he's out there.

Based on the pictures he sent, the missionaries were able to get into the Halloween spirit! They got their faces painted by Brenda Moya and Corina Ramirez, while they were at the Sanchez house.

Brenda did Sawyer's Halloween make up!
Elder Lemon, Elder Varvel, Brenda, and Corina.

Elder Lemmon and Elder Varvel

Dumas, TX

Sawyer got transferred to Dumas, Texas. With this transfer, he has served to the very east, very west, very south, and now very northern part of his mission. He's excited to be in a bigger town. Dumas has between 14,000-15,000 people. His new companion is Elder Lemmon, and they hit it off right from the start. Sawyer was made the district leader of the Pan Handle District. He's excited about the added responsibility, and to get to know the other missionaries in the area. This was a much needed change for him, and we're excited to see what life brings him in Dumas!

Movin' up north
Elder Varvel and Elder Lemmon
The Pan Handle District- Sister Brown, Elder Nelson, Elder Ellsworth, Elder Gadd, Elder Varvel, Sister Manwaring, Elder Packer, Sister Tu'akalau, Elder Thiel, Elder Lemmon, Sister Dahl, Sister Thomson, Elder Cole
There is a place outside of Dumas called Cactus. It's sounds so interesting. This is what Sawyer said about it:


I don't know if I told you about Cactus yet but I will tell you again anyways because it is awesome! Cactus is this little town outside of Dumas that has refugees from all over the world! It is like a completely different mission that's for sure! There are people from all over Africa, Asia, South and Central America, and the Arabian area! We are teaching some sweet people out there! You should see our supplies! We have copies of the Book of Mormon in Thai, Lao, Swahili, Arabic, Amharic, Quiche... It is awesome! 

Here is a 'garage sale' sign from Cactus that the missionaries thought was funny. I guess it shows that most of the people there don't speak very good english.

From the letters and e-mails we've already received, it sounds like Elder Varvel is loving Dumas! He said he hopes he can finish out his mission there.

Dumas is awesome! The people here are great! I get to be around other missionaries, there is a Taco Bell and a WalMart, and my companion and I get along really well. So, everything is going great! We have the coolest ward mission leader of all time too! His name is Brother Pool, and he's the man! He rides around on a motorcycle, plays racquetball, and is a video gamer. It is the coolest thing ever! He is a way awesome mission leader here too!
My district is awesome! It is really big, but they are all great missionaries. We have a sister in the district who is from New Zealand. She is Tongan, and has the coolest accent ever! She is also a big spaz, so she is really fun to have around. It took me a full week to memorize her name, Tu'itokaloto I'loamanu Tu'akalau, or Sister Tu'akalau as she is known in the mission.

Leaving Van Horn!

Transfers came, and Sawyer is finally leaving Van Horn. He loved this area, and especially the members there, but he was definitely ready for a change. He spent the day saying goodbye to some very special people.

Saying goodbye to Joel Hamby- He was Sawyer's 4th baptism in Van Horn.
The Harris family- There was no church building in Van Horn, so they met for church each week in the Harris' house.
Daniel was one of Sawyer's favorite people in Van Horn! He said that someday he'll grow a sexy mustache like him!
Ben, Xavier, and Janelle were Sawyer's first baptisms on his mission. He'll miss these kids a lot!
Pastor Brian and his family- The missionaries worked a lot at the food bank that Pastor Brian helped with.
The Aberman family- One of only 3 or 4 member families in Van Horn. 
Saying goodbye to his zone leaders, Elder Davis and Elder Cuningham. 
Saying goodbye to Elder Porter and Elder Pack.
Goodbye to Elder Hilton
Sawyer found a cute little frog on his last day in Van Horn.
A goodbye kiss for his frog friend

Sawyer spent a lot of time in this small town. He had some rough times, and some great times there. I'm grateful for the experiences he had, lessons he learned, and the amazing people that took such great care of him while he's been there.