More Info...from Kendra Kaiser

So, let's just say that Kyle is not the most informative person...so luckily we have others that are willing to give us some further information! Kyle's trainer is Elder Kaiser from Broomfield, Colorado. He has been on his mission for 14 months (which is great because Kyle has a seasoned trainer). Our mom received an e-mail from Elder Kaiser's mom giving us some of the information! Where Kyle is serving is on the island of Oahu (you can see on the map below the zone break down). Kendra (Elder Kaiser's mom) indicated that the people of Hawaii, members and non-members of our church, are friendly. She said that the members feed the missionaries very well and send left-overs home with the missionaries. Good think Kyle is in a biking area...lose some of the added lbs.!! Anyway...until next week! Hopefully Kyle will start to open up a bit more and give us the goods!! Until then...

September 29, 2008

Here is the e-mail I got from Kyle today...if I get more e-mails from others I will add them to this!! I had asked him about his street contacting and how it went.

"well it was good! we gave away our copies of the bom and got numbers for follow up! but thats not my area. im in the mililani zone in the mililani 1st ward! the members are super awesome! and we have 3 investigators and hopefully one about to be baptized! ill be mailing home my memory card probably next week cause its almost full!!"

HAWAII OR BUST!!!

On September 23, 2008 Kyle left his stay at the MTC and left for Honolulu. He attempted to call our mom, who forgot her phone...so we didn't really get to hear from him prior to his departure from Utah to Hawaii. We haven't heard from him personally, but we received an e-mail from his mission president and his wife. Here is the contents of their e-mail (they included photos):

Aloha LaBarre Family,

Elder LaBarre has arrived safely in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, has done some street contacting in Honolulu, been assigned to his first area and companion and is off and running. He looks fabulous and we are excited to have him in our mission. We will take good care of him over the next 2 years--he will truly become one of our sons.

Attached are a couple of pictures taken shortly after he arrived.

Mahalo nui loa and much aloha,

President & Sister Peterson

MTC Comp

Okay, so Kyle in his quick e-mail on 9/17/08 indicated that his MTC companion is Elder Blake Buhrley, who is from North Ogden, Utah. That is pretty much it...perhaps one day we will receive pictures!! When we do, it is promised to be posted!

September 10, 2008

This was our first e-mail from Kyle after he entered the MTC, as soon as we receive photos we will get them on here!!

i just set up this account for the next 2 years and also tell kelly and family and what not that if they want me to get their emails day of (this applies to you too!) so i thought i wouldnt have as much time to type all thats been happening (by the way thanks for the shot records!!) so last night we had a devotional with president uchtdorf and he gave an apostolic blessing to the missionaries and
their families and ill send it word for word in a letter! but he was talking about missionary work. and he told us to work our heels off and to never forget the weight of our calling and that we are the extended arm of the apostles and we're doing their work! and the spirit was so strong when he said that we would bless the lives of generations to come, after he shared how thankful he
was of the missionaries that converted his wife;'s family!
we've been learning so much! i wish i could share with you all the lessons ive been learning (in detail) but ive had lessons on humility (these are personal spirit taught and not a class lesson) patience and notetaking! president scott said that if you write down your thoughts and notes and such the lord with bless you and cause those things youve written down to come to you
in a time of need and you recieve a better chance of getting more revelation and deeper insight!
i now love taking notes! and its awesome to look back on my study journal and see my spiritual progression and see the thoughts i have while studying and how they still apply! its so awesome here! i cant wait to go out and bless peoples lives!

love
elder labarre

MTC Day

On September 3, 2008 my mom, my sister Kelly, her husband Jason, Rob, Amelia and I took Kyle out to lunch at Tucano's in Provo and then took him to the MTC. It was a sad but great day! Kyle will be gone for 2 years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii. He received his mission call the day of his high school graduation and we were all there that day too! It has been a joy seeing Kyle grow up and now going on a mission. He is a great kid and will do great things for the people of Hawaii! I love you Kyle and am proud of you!! Here are some photos of the day!
Here we are at Tucano's waiting for the food to come!

Here is Kyle taking his luggage to the MTC...what's with the white sunnies?
Kyle and Kelly getting ready to cross the street from the parking lot to the MTC.
A quick family shot before going inside, including from L-R Me, Amelia, Rob, Jason, Kelly, Kyle and my mom!
Because Kyle had a brand new suit on, he hadn't used his pocket, so Kelly was very helpful and helped unstitch the thread in his pocket!
Although Kyle was set apart as a missionary for over a week at this point, but going into the MTC he received his name tag with the famous "Dork Dot". For those of you who have served a mission and gone to the MTC you know exactly what I am talking about...for those of you who don't know what it is, let me tell you! When a missionary goes into the MTC they receive their name tag. On their first name tag is a bright orange dot that shows that it is the missionaries first day at the MTC. Basically those that have been at the MTC for a week or so give them a bit of a hard time (thinking they are cool because they have been at the MTC for a week). It is pretty funny! Anyway, the mom is the one that gets to put the missionary's first name tag on. So that was cool for my mom!
Here is my mom with our Elder LaBarre!

Here is Kelly & Jason with Elder LaBarre

Rob, Amelia & I with Elder LaBarre
Kelly, mom, and I with Elder LaBarre
Elder LaBarre and I right before going into the meeting room...where we will say our goodbyes.
Amelia with her uncle Elder LaBarre. When he comes home Amelia will be 3 and walking and talking! I can't even imagine!!


After all these photos were taken we went into a meeting room where the missionaries are welcomed by the MTC president and given a bit of instruction on what will happen in the MTC. It is a pretty hectic schedule but the most spiritual and uplifting time a person can ever have. I'm excited to hear from my brother! I will try to keep people updated on his mission! Love you Kyle!!!

The Call to Serve

We went to Colorado on the last weekend of May to see Kyle graduate from high school! His graduation took place at Red Rocks Amphitheater, which was an amazing venue. After graduation we went to lunch at Olive Garden and then went to our mom's and checked the mail. In the mail was Kyle's mission call!!! We all ran inside and started making phone calls to our sister Aaron, our brother Peter and Kelly's husband, Jason for all to hear where Elder LaBarre would be sent. Of course we gave Kyle rules, such as he was not to jump ahead and read where he was going before reading it out loud, and he had to read every line. As Kyle began reading the spirit hit me so hard that here my baby brother was going on a mission, something he has been preparing his whole life for. Kyle is called to the Honolulu, Hawaii mission and reports to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on September 3, 2008. Kyle will be English speaking. This is so exciting!! I am so excited for Kyle! Since he received his call, he went to the temple in preparation for his mission. Rob was his escort and it was a wonderful day. It was a very filling weekend!