Merry Christmas 2009

Elder Ipsen & Elder Williams

on the Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach California

Part of December 14 E-mail

There was kind of a cool experience too.... We met with a new investigator last saturday, his name is daniel. He is engaged to sarah who has been a less-active member and they just both moved here about two weeks ago. well he's been searching different churches for his whole life he said.. catholic, christian, baptist, and even muslim. But he's never really felt that any of them were true. A couple weeks ago he lost his job and him and sarah were going through some pretty tough times so they decided to come to our church. And that happened to be the week that me and elder williams were talking in sacrament. remember how i talked on adversities and its importance? Well he told us on saturday that it hit home.. cause of all the crap he was going through. and when he heard that talk he knew that this was the right church. and that nothing has ever touched him more than at that moment. Its kind of crazy cause I had no idea who he was 2 weeks ago. And for that talk.. I was trying to gear it towards ashley to help her.. but it ended up helping someone else out. Its just weird how the lord works sometimes. Anyways... he told us that he wants to get baptized and they're already talking about getting married in the temple in a year :) The only thing is.. we have to wait to baptize him until he gets married to sarah. cause they're living together. And they're getting married february.

New Pictures =)

HAPPY " BUMP " DAY

-COR-

( six months down )

=)   YEAH !

We all love and miss You !

Halloween

 Serving at the Marine Corp Recruit Depot

Halloween was real fun though... we had the halloween party on Friday, me and Thompson were chili cook off judges. We ate like ten different chili's.. the apartment was hating me that night. lol. We were also in charge of the party, pumpkin bowling.. lol that was fun too! Then... for halloween we had a barbecue in our courtyard in our apartment complex. we had the zone leaders come over, and a couple less actives. Lol, it was funny, we didn't have any light outside so we had to find a few extension chords and take a couple lamps outside so we could see! It all turned out good!We had a really productive week too.. we taught about 15 lessons and got a couple people with baptisimal dates. The person we're working with mainly right now is Ashlee Tower. She has a date for the 22nd, the day before Thompson goes home! She's the greatest girl, she'll be a really good member.. pray for her though please!    But anyways, hope you guys had a rockin halloween.. did you do anythign fun for it? what did everyone dress up as? Let me know how everyones doing! love you guys have a great week!

Transfered !

Part of Oct. 19th E-mail from Cory....

Good morning!! So I got transferred to... clairemont! I'm still in the same zone. And this area is right next to my last area(pacific beach) I really like it here.. the ward seems really good and missionary minded. My companion is Elder Thompson.. He's from richfield UT. Lol he's the funniest kid. We always played basketball as a zone last transfer so I already knew who he was. He's 6'5 so it looks pretty cool when we walk down the street :) He goes home after this transfer though! We've already had some crazy stuff happen lol. We got our car towed the first day we were together.... lol but we didn't have to pay anything to get it back.. the apartment manager helped us out. And then.... we weren't able to go to the BYU game BUT there was a BYU fireside at our stake center last friday and we got to go :) They do a fireside the night before every game. Bronco talked, an offensive lineman, and their backup quarterback, gaskins or something? And then after it was over we went up and talked to bronco mendenhall! Shook his hand and everything.. BOOM! We talked to harvey Unga too :) got his autograph. woot.

Elder Shelton - Elder Ipsen

Transfer day

after three months as companions

Cory 9/28 E-mail - The Lord works in Mysterious Ways

Something else kind of cool happened last week too... we went to visit Fred(which we usually dont just stop by cause he doesn't really like us dropping in on him) but we did anyway. He lives in north PB, which is kind of a rougher area. well we parked a block or two away from freds house and walked over and talked to him for a bit. While we were talking to him outside we heard a bunch of sirens and saw a police helicopter flying overhead.. so we're like what the crap? We talked with him for like 5 minutes then we started back to our car. And, on the street where our car was parked there was like 6 cop cars, a car crashed into a house, and a bunch of cops wrestling with this guy. we just kind of watched and listened to this guy yell and scream. and fight with the cops. ( He was on Heroin) when we were watching this lady came up to us and told us what happened. She said that This guy had gotten into two fights with his girlfriend and had gotten into a couple car crashes, and she had seen this guy fight his girlfriend. So talked with him and tried to cool him down. She said that he was talking about suicide or taking someone elses life. While she was talking with him she saw me and elder shelton pull up in our car, park across the street and walk over to Freds house. She said that when she saw us get out and start walking, it felt like jesus was walking with us. That there was just a glow, an amazing feeling coming from us. Lol, its kind of funny cause we had no clue what was going on. But anyways, while we were talking this lady pulled into the driveway where we were standing. We got talking to her and found out that she was a less-active member and has kids that hasnt been baptized. She's been going through some rought times in life, and... wants to get back to church. So.. we set up an appt and we're going over there on thursday to teach her and get her back to church! Cool huh? what are the odds of all of that stuff happening perfectly? the lord works in misterious ways. We're also gonna be teaching the first lady that came up to us and told us what happened. :)




Love you all, hope you have a great week!

San Diego Transportation

Tyler would Love this one !

The spirit of music

A little time to relax :)

Aug 20,2009 We received an Amazing 6 page letter

I will forever treasure this letter! Cory bears testimony and expresses many heart felt experiences. We feel this letter is too special to post, but We hope you will be able to feel the spirit bear testimony to you as you see and read on this site a very small part of the things Cory is experiencing on his mission. Cory ended his letter bearing witness that miracles STILL do happen. Heavenly Father still answers our prayers, And he's always with us during our trials and challenges.

First Transfer July 21 - Change is always hard ! New area Pacific Beach.

Family Home Evening and dinner with the Philipinos,the day before being transfered from each other.

Received New Pictures July 23

Nanay Eusebia & Tatay Carlos

The Mijarez Couple

E-mail from June 22-
Last week me and Elder anda were about to go home and get ready for bed but we decided to knock on one more door. Bro. Mijarez answered the door.. and started to tell us that he's been thinking about us and that he's been inactive for a few years and that his wife is going into surgery and he wanted a blessing for her. We gave her a blessing and everything and after that they were like saying that the lord works in misterious ways and that they have felt that they have been missing something in their life and they are coming back to church! cool huh.

First Baptism Sunday July 12

Alise Baptism

I have couple more scriptures for you.. DC 62:3 and DC 50:24. And, I was reading this book the other day, i read this quote and it just hit me hard. It said "When no one else around you understands how you are feeling, the Lord understands." So true, always remember that. I also came across this when I was reading... Its called "Look to this day" "Look to this day! For it is life, the very life of life, in its brief course lie all the varieties and realities of your existence! The bliss of growth; The glory of action; the splendor of beauty; For yesterday is already a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision; But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day." Remember to not look to the future, cause if you do you'll miss whats right in front of you! :) i hope i didn't leave anything out... But Thanks again for all your love and support! Love you all! Tell the granpas I love them too! Mahal ko kayo!! :) have a great week yo's. Elder Ipsen

Fourth of July at Point Loma Navy Base

Yo. Whats up. ha ha last week was pretty alright. Except like ten of our appointments fell through :( we have a baptism this coming sunday though.. its a black girl named alise. Pray for her! Yeah I didn't know i could send the pictures through the internet either but I guess i can? Elder anda showed me how :) I tried to send you a video too but it wouldn't work. Its on my camera though so you'll see it when i send my memory card home. My ankle isn't getting better but it isn't getting worse! it doesn't bug me that much.. it just looks like i have a fleakin kankle. ha ha! Answers....:)Last P-day we didn't really do anything fun... we had a lot of stuff to buy and clean. So.. it was kind of boring ha ha. and today we don't really have anything fun planned either. Just basketball! But next week we're taking a boat ride around the bay for only 8 dollars so That'll be pretty fun!We do get to know the other missionaries in our Zone. cause we have zone meetings and stuff. Now, a zone is made up of a few different districts. and a district is made up of 6-12 missionaries so yeah. In my district there are 7 missionaries.. you'll see pictures of them when i send them home. Theres 3 samoans, me, elder anda, and a couple white boys from riverton! For the money, when we first got here they gave us a credit card and it has 122 dollars each month. Thats more than plenty for me.. I had like 50 left over! and they also give us a gas card too... thank heavens. Cause we fill it up like every 3 days!Yeah i have enough shirts and everything thanks! I'm gonna buy a san diego shirt sometime! if i ever run out or anything ill let you know :)The language is tough.. all the words sound the same haha. but, yeah im working on it! I pretty much just try to memorize different sayings and stuff.

Um... 4th of July was pretty bomb here.. we woke up early and trashed the samoan elders' car because it was elder tavete's birthday. and then we had a pizza party for him at a members house and played ping-pong for like 2 hours. And then we went to this carnival at point loma (a navy base) and watched the fireworks! It was fun i got a lot of pictures of everything. The fireworks were so beautiful because it was over the water and you could see the reflection and everything! oh goodness.

But, like i said it was a pretty unproductive week with investigators... but the Mijarez fam came to church again. 2 weeks in a row! This next week should be pretty busy with investigators though. I'll let you know. Well, I do a lot of reading here on my mission so I have some scriptures for ya'll to read. you can do it during family home evening or on your free time! These are some of my favorites... Joshua 1:9, Jacob 6:12, 2 timothy 1:7, D&C 19:38, John 14:27,28, Proverbs 3:5,6, D&C 8:10, Ether 12 (all of it. especially verse 27) D&C 24:8, and.. D&C 42:46 (good one for our grandmas) :) keep updating me on everything at home please! I hope i didn't leave anything out. When are the hunts? Keep up the good work! remember to pray every night and morning! :) Love you guys have a wonderful week!!!Love, Elder Ipsen

Elder Anda and Elder Ipsen

San Diego Temple

Hummmm I wonder who is doing better Cory or Mom

Monday June 15 Cory's 1st E-mail from San Diego

ok so... my P-days are monday if you didn't already know! But ill try and answer all of your questions! But first off I'm glad you got that card! I couldn't remember when fathers day was so I just sent it early :) ok so here goes.... I did like flying.. it was only like a hour and a half flight though.. and the plane was small! but it was fun i liked it. Um.. my companion is Elder Anda from the phillipines.. he's funny. He speaks fluent tagalog, and yeah we get along, he's been a good trainer for me. No, I do not have a new mailing address.. it is still just the 7404 armstrong one... every monday we go pick our mail up from that place. We live in an apartment... it's pretty nice.. just a little dirty ha ha. There was a HUGE daddy long leg spider in my shower today! And I will send you home my memory card from my camera so you go pring the pictures. The bedding that you sent me was plenty! thanks for the lemon heads too :) I eat just like any other normal human does. ha ha jk. WE buy our food from the grocery and usually have breakfast and lunch in our apartment. And then we have dinner appointments each night. And we are driving.. I am driving actually. Elder Anda doesn't have a drivers license so I have to drive everywhere... california drivers are crazy! I almost got in a wreck my first day driving lol. but i didnt thank goodness. No, I didn't have to put my bike together.. there was a man there that put together all of our bikes.. that was nice. And no, the hair cut sucked! they cut the sides way too short... I don't want a missionary haircut! lol, i havent seen the San Diego temple yet but we are going for a session this wednesday. And after that we go every six weeks! On our P-day, which is today, we do our laundry, email, write letters, and do anything else that we need to get done.. and we can play sports with the other missionaries! then at 6 we start proselyting again. On sundays we go to church and after that we just have a normal day of working. But at church I think they like to pick on the new missionaries.. I had to say the closing prayer in sacrament meeting AND teach Elder's quorumn! It all went really good though. I've liked everyone we've taught! And i am happy and ok! So.. let me tell you a little bit about my mission... I'm serving in National City. In the Bonita 1st ward. It is the most diverse place you'll ever see haha. I didn't see a white person when we were tracting for a couple days. In our church there are samoans, filipinos, african americans, mexicans, and a couple whites! It's cool though to learn more about all these people. The samoans are my favorite they are so so funny. Some other news.. a large part of my area speaks tagalog/filipino. So.. they're having me learn it! It's a really confusing language. we've taught a couple of tagalog speaking investigators and i am just SO lost. but i'm kind of getting the hang of it. kumusta=how are you. ano ang pangalan= whats your name. taga saan ka= where are you from. I'll get the hang of it lol. bababa ba. That is a sentence in tagalog haha. That means to go downstairs. or something like that. Haha but I am having fun and liking it! we have a baptism scheduled for this saturday and ill tell you how that goes. We have a couple new investigators to teach this week, and they seem promising :) But yeah I'm learning more and more each day about the gospel. But keep the questions coming if you have more! I love you all and keep up the good work! How is everything going at home? Anything new? CTR love you!!

Pres. Donaldson E-mail

Greetings from the California San Diego Mission!

Your son, Elder Ipsen has safely arrived in the mission field. I am delighted to have him serving with us among the wonderful people of Southern California. In addition to the tremendous weather and scenery, we have remarkable missionary opportunities.

Thank you for sending such a wonderful missionary to our mission. I am confident that with your prayers and his hard work that he will have a rich experience here in San Diego that will bless both him and those he teaches.

I have attached a couple of pictures that were taken this afternoon at the Mission Home.

God bless you for your sacrifice in sending us your son to labor among some of Heavenly Father's choicest spirits.

Lee Donaldson

President, California San Diego Mission

Cory is on his Way to San Diego !

Cory called this morning at 7:17 a.m. ! We got to talk to him for 25 minutes !
He said the MTC was good but he is glad to be done ! He is excited for San Diego !
He said the airport was full of missionaries leaving! He still has his sense of humor ! Yeah ! He called his companion sort of weird, then said oops, we aren't even suppose to say slang words. He said he tried hard for two days on that one . lol
It was so sweet to hear his voice!!! I told him I listen to his voice on the messages at home,
he said.......weird...... :- I think he is doing better than us !
I Love You my Cory !!!!

Sweet Surprise ! Cory Called Home Today

Yesterday June 4, we got an e-mail :) Cory's companion has the swine flu and is in quarentine. Cory and his whole district are on Medicine. He was postponed to leave for San Diego till June 16.

This morning Friday June 5 at 8:49 a.m. Cory was allowed to call home for 3 1/2 Minutes and tell us that he will be leaving for San Diego after all, this coming Tuesday June 9 at 8:30 a.m. He will also be able to call from the airport !!

It was so wonderful to hear his voice !! He is excited that he can leave as scheduled !

Cory's First E-mail Thursday May 28, 2009

Well.. today is my 8th day in the MTC! kinda crazy huh? It's going by so so fast. The first few days went by pretty slow but lately time is just flying. Today is my first P-day so I finally got a chance to set up my e-mail. The new missionaries came in yesterday so we are no longer the "new guys" But overall I'm having a blast.. it took some getting used to but I'm learning to love it. I'm learning so much about the gospel and stuff that it's not even funny! We're seriously having the gospel thrown at us like 24/7. But I'm having a good time! I decided that you guys are the slowest writer backers in the WORLD. I sent you a letter like last freaking Thursday! I'm kinda dissapointed about that.. just kidding! Funny story... The other day me and some other elders were walking to gym and these german elders ran by us and my companion said something about germans! So one of the German elders looked back while he was running and he smacked right into a pole! fell down and everything! Probably the funniest thing I've seen in my life. Oh and mom did you take that cd over to Ryann? If you did how did it go? And don't worry I've been taking a lot of pictures and writing in my journal every night.... :) There's not too much else to tell you guys except write me back with whatever questions you have.. And hurry and write me back! So slow! But how are things back at home? Is everyone surviving without me? I hope so ha ha. Is April still alive? Let me know how everything is going at home! Tell tyler to give me some jazz and office updates! and tell Austin to keep up the free-running stuff and he'll be pro one day. And... tell Alex to do good in school and keep up the wrestling!! and tell Hailey good luck in school and everything else! ha ha. Love you all lots! Tell the boys they can write me every now and then if they want! Read your scriptures and pray morning and night! it helps. Love you all!! :) - Elder Ipsen

1st letter Tues. May 26 Yeah !

MTC Tearful Farewell

We finally got his first letter Tuesday May 26 !