Sweet, Chase is Home from Alabama

"Chase is the same but Better" - Well done thou good and faithful servant!

Farewell to Some Great Missionaries

The Mission held farewell activities today for some wonderful missionaries! — Ammon Clanton, Shelisa Schroeppel, Nanci Brown, Bryce Olson, Chase Oppenlander,Trent Smitley, Dane Coleman, Aubrey Kelley, Jake Starley, Tyler Gebert and Brandon Urry.

Note from Elder Oppenlander's Family

Elder Oppenlander is due home Thursday, June 13th at 4:05 pm.  We're excited to see him!  If you've enjoyed reading his blog, you are welcome to come and hear him give his mission report on Sunday, June 16th at 10:00 am at the following location:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
4142 Cerritos Avenue
Los Alamitos, CA 90720

Enjoy reading his last email from the Alabama Birmingham Mission!

Last Email from the Mission Field!!!

Mom and Dad!

I am freaking out hahahahah!!!!!!! Oh gosh! My lil heart can hardly handle all of this stress. It just doesn't feel real! It is bittersweet for sure. I’m not worried about transitioning back at all. I know that I have the talents and work ethic necessary to be successful, it’s just the suspense for it all to actually happen. I’m pretty sure when I get off the plane I’ll need at least a good 20 minutes to chill out and compose myself before I can actually see y’all haha. So yeah, I’m going to be freaking out :)

But it sounds like y’all are having a great time in Utah and got to see a ton of family! That is awesome! Travel home safe tonight! And could you send me my flight info so I can feel like I actually know what is going to be happening haha? Please. I don't like being unprepared :)

This week has gone by super fast over here. It has been weird to realize that I had all of my "lasts" in Alabama. Like my last time in church, and the last Friday and last Saturday. It all has just gone by so fast! These next two days are going to be busy! I’m going to make it that way so I will stop freaking out so much. I do need y’all to let me know what I should do with the following items.

1-blender....should I bring it or leave it?

2-blanket and sheets....throw away or what?

3-bike.....it will cost $150 to ship home????

4- that's about it hahaha

But yeah! Please email me back with the answers ASAP! That will take 50 pounds of stress off my shoulders. Other than that, everything is peachy. I am happy with the work I have been able to do here. I’m glad for the way I have carried myself and I feel as though I made y’all proud. :) Now I’ve just got to keep it up and don't shrink back from all that life is going to throw at me. I’m ready though :) Let’s do it! I will see y’all on Thursday!

Email me back as soon as you can please! Gracias!

Elder Oppenlander...soon to not be Elder anymore :( 

It's June!

Family!!!

What’s happnin’?  You already know my flight plans?? Shoot, they don't tell me anything over here, but I’m sure I’ll find out this week. It is crazy that this is my last full week over here in Alabama. It has been good! My week has been pretty good. It was super hard as far as missionary work is concerned, but we were able to see a ton of members and get closer to them. Just had a hard time with our investigators and finding new ones. So holler in some prayer for me! This lil girl needs it haha. :)

Anywho, Connor’s party sounds like it was a blast! Too bad the coolest two cousins didn't show up ;) haha. But I’m really looking forward to seeing them all again! I miss me a good Philly cheese steak as well. Goodness. Glad to hear all is well with the family. And I’m not sure about my bike. It keeps getting worse and worse. So I’ll either just ride it all sketchy like and fix it when I get home, or just leave it here. I'll probably bring it home though. Might as well.

When will Lauren know about the Nickelodeon thing??? That is sweet!! Is she excited about that? And I’m jealous that Lauren got to watch a bunch of movies with Jackie! And I’m still surprised that Lauren likes her haha. I always thought that Lauren would despise whoever I dated. But that is amazing!

Oh, and I get to go to the temple on Wednesday with my zone! A week before my last transfer meeting, so that will help out a lot with worrying about coming home and all of that. I’m super glad I have that opportunity. How long is my layover in Minnesota? Is it like 6 hours or something? Goodness, I can’t believe this is happening! Two years went by quick, for sure.

So, yeah. This week was good, I got fed a ton. I ate some deer for the first time in my life and I cooked it myself. Bro. Hunter gave it to us --- they shot it in their back yard! I had sooooo much food this week. We had a man food activity and I ate like a king. I challenged a member to a game of horse shoes and put him to shame ;) haha it was so much fun. We have gotten a lot closer to the ward these last couple of days and they have been more and more willing to help us out. And we need that help! So I am happy! I got one last week to make some magic happen, so that's what I’m gonna do. I hope y’all have a great time up in Utah doing your thing for Betty! That will be good to see all the family and say hi to them for me.

And I have 30 minutes left on the computer, so ask me some questions! Or comment on something haha. Love y’all!

Yo man,

Elder Oppenlander

President Holzapfel's message to the missionaries on Memorial Day

Today is an American holiday, "Memorial Day."
In earlier times, it was known as "Decoration Day," because families decorated the graves of their relatives with flowers who had been killed in the American Civil War (1861-65). The tradition of placing flowers on graves now includes any deceased relative.
The holiday is a particular significance in the South where families gather from long distances at a prescribed time and day during this three-day weekend. Often these gatherings include a religious service and a meal known as a "Dinner on the Ground" or "Pot Luck." In addition to paying respects to their deceased relatives, Memorial Day is an opportunity to renew and strengthen family ties.
In the United States it also represents the beginning of the summer vacation with Labor Day (held in September) representing it's end.
Southern BBQ will a prominent role in today's activities. The local parks and campgrounds will be filled.
Remembering has always been an important of human activity. In ancient Israel, the Eleventh Commandment (after the Ten Commandments) has always been, "Thou Shalt Remember!" Of course, in the Bible, the command to remember has to do with remembering the mighty acts of God.
In particular, the Book of Deuteronomy places heavy emphasis on remembering, "Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord they God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm" (Deuteronomy 5:15).Prophets and Apostles have said that remember is perhaps one of the most important words in the dictionary.  For example, President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) noted that one of our greatest needs is to remember (See "Circles of Exaltation," address to religious educators, Brigham Young University, 28 June 1968, p. 8).
The word  "remember" is used 352 times in the scriptures. Add its variants and the number climbs to 550.
Of course, in our weekly Sacrament meeting, we hear the words, "always remember Him" (see Doctrine and Covenants 20: 77,79) as we prepare to renew our covenants with the Lord.
May the Lord bless you this day to remember all the blessings you have received from our loving Heavenly Father. May you also "always remember" the Jesus Christ who gave Himself to us that we might live more abundantly.  Finally, please remember family and friends who have blessed you with the gifts of life, love, and friendship.
Best wishes and love, 
President Holzapfel
Alabama Birmingham Mission

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day!!!

So far today, I have already been to the Athens Memorial Day celebration. They shot off guns like it was no big deal haha. And that was all of our plans until now. Just got to shop and clean that apartment. So hopefully it will be a relaxing day.  Which will be good because this week was pretty rough haha. A lot of our plans fell through and it just felt like somebody was draining our energy. We still were able to set some baptismal dates with Diana and Brittany. They are a mom and daughter we have been teaching. So pray for them! They are about all we got going right now. We haven’t been able to have a lesson with Tatyana and Tinei this week. But I am excited for this coming week. It is summer here, so I am hoping a lot more people will be home and we will be able to do some good.

New member of the family!!!! I can’t believe that Tyler and Allison have had 2 kids since I have been gone haha. Wow! I’m glad all is well with them. I'll remember to keep them in my prayers.

And Lauren is famous!!! That is hilarious haha. Hopefully this will help her to get a job and get rolling on that animation. :)

How come Gpa can’t go to Connor’s graduation??? Just doesn’t want to, or is his health not too great right now? Tell Dad and Gpa to have fun and not get crazy. And man, Connor is going to be a freshman in college the same time I am haha. That will be crazy. And am I signed up for school? And should we talk to Bro. Blackmun about that job? I don’t know if it is still too far away or not. But yeah, we only got 2 weeks till I’m home, so you don’t have to worry about it if you don’t want to. But it sounds like y’all had a great week and have another great week lined up this week. I can’t believe Chris and Corbin are already home. Gollee! It’s going to be crazy when I get home. I can’t believe this is actually coming to an end... Shoot.

But yeah, things are going great over here. My bike is falling apart though. And I don’t want to fix it this close to going home. So I’m not sure if I’m going to bring it home or not. We'll see. Things are going great, its just crazy that all of this is actually going to end. Like in ward council meetings and things, we are already planning stuff for after I’ll be home. And in choir, we are practicing songs that they are going to sing the week after I leave. It’s crazy!!!!!!! So really, I’m just focusing on finishing strong and preparing myself mentally to come home. This week was the first time i actually got nervous about coming home. It never seemed real until recently haha. It’s going to be intense, but I know it will be good for me. Just a big mental switch. So pray for me to chill out! That’s all I really need right now. Holler at me if you have any questions or comments!

Have an amazing week.

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

Saw a Tornado

Mama & Papa,

I definitely saw the tornado on Wednesday. :))))))) I thought I was about to leave my mission and never see one. So that made my day! We were standing on the balcony of our porch and you could see it. It was really close but it was tiny so I wasn’t afraid at all. But it was raining super duper hard. All the tornado sirens were going off, and all the fire trucks and police cars were doing their sirens, and our weather alarm went off. It was cool and all the news people were saying it came out of nowhere! But I’m alive. :) And Sister Wilding isn’t in my zone. She is in the Huntsville zone. So I haven’t even met her so I won’t be singing happy birthday to her.

And that is crazy that Corbin is home!!!! Oh my gosh it is crazy. And I only have 3 and a half weeks left...  Goodness gracious. And Chris Sanchez' mom is getting baptized!!!! That is awesome. And I miss me a good ole pool party. Lauren will do well as the Linger Longer person. She should put some good southern food up in there. Black eyed peas with mayo in it :) haha. (Which is actually really good but unhealthy) How do you get up in the organ pipes at church? I remember President Hale always talking about it but I never figured out how to do it. Is it the one ladder on the stage? I bet it is :) how was the new Star Trek movie. I also heard that an Iron Man 3 movie out??? I didn’t even know that they were going to make another one haha. Are y’all at Disneyland right now?? This 18 year old in my ward is coming to Long Beach this summer. Her dad says his son lives in Long Beach and that she is going to stay there with him. He wants us to take her around and show her California though. It’s for her senior trip! That would be fun! Gotta show Jackie off to her haha. ;)

And speaking of not going to Disneyland in forever... I haven’t been there forever!!!! We need to go when I get home! And that is a bummer that you missed Becka! They told me that the seminar was awesome. I need to learn how to live my life now. I'll teach that seminar actually ;) I don’t have anything to send a picture with. Elder Yogoh left my camera bag on top of the car and it fell off on the freeway. So that uploader thing is roaming Alabama somewhere. I found all the other stuff. Just not that.

Everything is going amazingly though! I still love Athens. The ward is starting to warm up to us and we got fed yesterday. :) We are trying to work a lot with the ward and get to know them. There are plenty of great people here we just need to show them that we are worth knowing and trusting. So yeah, I’m happy! Today I’m just shopping and getting ready for tonight’s "Empty Nesters" Family Home Evening. We are teaching it haha. Good food though! Maybe i should get some shoelaces!! And please pray for Tatiana and Tinei. You say Tinei like Tanay. They came to church yesterday and are doing really well!

Have a great week!

Love Elder Oppenlander

Tornado Surprises Athens, Alabama 5/17/13

ATHENS, Ala. (AP) — An unconfirmed tornado on Friday afternoon knocked down trees, flipped Dumpsters and damaged the roof of the nearby WalMart in Athens.

A forecaster at the National Weather Service in Huntsville said the suspected tornado started about a mile south-southeast of Athens and moved in a line toward southwest Ardmore. It struck at about 2 p.m.

Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson said that he saw the backside of a wall cloud that had a tail. Police followed as it moved up Route 31 to Interstate 65.

He said a minor injury was reported as a woman rushed to find shelter. Signs at a strip mall and a Zaxby's restaurant were also blown down.

Emergency management director Rita White said the only confirmed report was a "funnel cloud that hit treetops, power lines and knocked down one tree on a house on Roy Long Road."

Andy Kula, a meteorologist with the Huntsville National Weather Service, said the Storms Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., had placed the Tennessee Valley in the slight risk category for severe weather.

The storm's second touchdown in Limestone County occurred about 2:45 p.m. on Oak Grove Road south of Ardmore. Responders reported that the storm was sucking up debris and damaging rooftops and trees.

Limestone County Sheriff Mike Blakely said he received reports of two houses and a barn damaged on Thatch Road in the Oak Grove area.

"Our deputies said the tornado appeared to touch down a couple of times in that area, but most it stayed in the air," Blakely said. "It had a lot of lift in it, so we were very lucky that we didn't have any more damage than we did."

Happy Mother's Day!

Hey hey!

It was really good to see y’all yesterday, and it sounds like you were all able to have a pretty good Mother’s Day! That is good to hear. I could tell that Aunt Kris was a little teary hahaha. :)  It is going to be good to be with y’all again soon! And we for sure need to get those swim trunks and all match. That would be super classy :) my waist is 32!! Get those suckers. I miss having all the grill-outs with Uncle Bret and Bill as well. Filet mignon sounds too good. You all lived it up! That is cool that you were able to go out to Arizona and see Paige’s graduation. That is crazy that she has already graduated from college and I haven’t even started haha. Man, I need to get on it when I get home.

Those missionaries in California seem like they get fed a lot more than I do. I will definitely let these people know that they need to step it up haha. I don’t have any more things to send home. Do you really think I should just leave my bike here, and buy a new one when I get home??? Because I really want to bike when I get home. Like to school, and on the weekends and things. I guess I’ll just buy a motorcycle hahaha! If Mom ever lets me get one!

But yeah, this week was great and talking to y’all made it all the better. We found tons of new people to teach, but only two of them are progressing so far. We will keep working on it, though :) We are working hard and we are enjoying Athens tons. Elder Craner still complains that I bike too fast, though. He will get in shape and catch up before long. Those snacks have been great as well. Thank you so much for sending those to me.

But yeah ... only 4 weeks left on my mission. I have to work hard and do all I can to help these folk out. Thank you so much for encouraging me and helping me to come out here. It has been well worth it thus far. And I know it will continue to be these last 4 weeks. Keep praying for me! I always pray for y’all.

Have a great week in sunny California!

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

We held a "Polish, Pizza, and Activity" on Monday, 13 May. In an effort to maintain our mission vehicles, we ask the missionaries to wax their cars every six months. To make it a little more enjoyable, we provided pizza and asked them to organize a fun activity. - President Holzapfel

Cinco de Mayo

Hola familia!!!

I am in church from 7:30 your time to 10:30 your time. So it looks like we are going to have to Skype after y’alls church, like 5 o’clock or so?? I don’t know, talk to me about it! I am so jealous of your break the fast...oh my days, that sounds too good. Also I need to go to Nick’s work and get some of that horchata and flan. :) I love Mexican food! It was also Elder Craner’s birthday yesterday, so we went to our Ward Mission Leader’s house and his wife cooked us some burritos and made some cupcakes for dessert. It was soo good. We are low on money over here, so our meals have been pretty simple like bean and rice burritos, pasta and whatnot. Its actually good now that I think about it haha. But if you have it in your mind to send a package soon, it would be nice to send granola bars and snack foods. No candy haha. We have been out and about a lot and eating early lunches so we are starving during the day. And I don’t want to spend money buying food all the time. So if you could send me some tracting snacks, I would be super pumped haha.

And is it your game plan to change everything about our house before I get home?? Shoot haha. Changed the first couch, then my bathroom, then the fireplace, then the yard and now the other couch? Gollee haha. It’s ok though. I’m a chameleon, I adapt so well. ;)

That is good that Jackie had her records moved to the singles ward. And I’m positive that I told Chris I had a sister. He just never met her, so it probably never stuck in his mind. He is funny haha. Lauren deff doesn’t need a go between for guys. She has handled that pretty well the last 23 years of her life hahaha. She is scary hahahaha. I’m not sure if Corbin will go to the ward or not? He might just go to BYU or something.

And I have not been keeping track of the number of gophers diving into the pool at all. Y’all can do that for me. I’m too busy over here! And my week has been great. In the last 4 days we have found 7 new investigators, and biked all over the place. It is historically cold right now, too. Usually its around 80 by now, but as of the moment its in the 50s and 60s and has been raining for 3 days straight. So I’m soaking wet :) And yeah, that family I had dinner with was the Baker family, and I went longboarding with them. Send me that picture, by the way! I wanna see it! Anyways....yeah, I am loving it here. Athens is a tiny lil town and super country. It’s super flat, so super easy to get around on bikes, and we have a car for now. The sisters gave it to us, since they left the area. Elder Craner is from Burley, Idaho. He has been out one transfer shorter than I have and we get along well. His last companions have been pretty (aka really) disobedient, so he is pumped to be with me :) Cuz I actually work, and we are actually happy because we are successful. So that is a pretty good feeling, and I’m glad I can help him. Most of the members here are 50 and older and so it’s been pretty hard connecting with them and getting them excited for missionary work. But I’ll get my country on and get these members pumped!!! No big deal.

And I have 25 minutes left on the computer, so ask me any questions you want. We need to figure out Skyping for Mother’s Day, too! I'll probably call you that morning and figure it out. It’s going to be crazy to have the whole family there haha. Make sure Jackie is invited! Make sure she’s there . . . not a joke haha. But respond to me!

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

Last Transfer - Madison Zone, Athens, Alabama

Chase's last transfer is in Athens, Alabama near Huntsville
Elder Craner is from Burley, Idaho

April Photos

Mary, in the pink pants, and her friend Keshia who wants me to baptize her haha. In the projects of Tuscaloosa. The baby is "Cookie", Keshia's daughter.  Keshia had 2 more kids but they died in the tornado.

 Kerry and me

Frisbee Gold 

Sister Monroe is the one who made me chitterlings (aka chitlins). She's holding the picture of us that she keeps it on her fridge - haha

The Bakers from Vestavia Hills, Alabama with Elders Jensen and Oppenlander
Showed them how to longboard down the hills

Last Transfer!

Hola!!!!

It’s my last transfer on Wednesday and I am leaving!!! So I have to pack again, but I think I’m going to wait until tomorrow so if they decide to last minute me again, at least I won’t have to unpack all my stuff. But with that comes a question. I don’t need my winter stuff anymore...should I send some stuff home, or give it away or what? I don’t want to pack it all in my suitcase… plus I got a ton of books to send home. So let me know if it’s worth it to send it all home.

And I’d be so down for Pres. Holzapfel’s homecoming talk!! That would be awesome! And Estefan won the student Emmy!!! That’s what I’m talking about! That means she gets to go to the real Emmy’s, right??? Sweet, and Lauren was looking pretty cute...what happened? hahaha :) Jackie knows how to do her thing ;) but that is awesome. Hopefully, Lauren will make some more movies so I can go to an award ceremony.

And tell Van and Shirley that the missionaries in Talladega live 2 streets behind the School for the Deaf and the Blind where they grew up, and I have been there!!! Rode my bike all over that place.

Jackie is gonna move her records to the singles ward? Y’all just wanted me to get sucked in to going to the singles ward haha. It’s going to be funny to have dad as my bishop! :) And yeah, I have no idea what is going to happen when Chris gets home. We'll just have to see! And I haven’t taught the people in the mall all week because I was on exchanges. But Kendra, she works in Radio Shack, said she is going to Denmark to find an Oppenlander so she can have that last name hahahahaha. She is super funny! And I got fed once this week at the Bakers’ house. We had Family Home Evening over there with some recent convert, and they had just bought some longboards....so you already know that the dad, the teenage son and I were downhilling it hahaha. They had this li'l hill outside their front door. Too much fun!

No meetings, no tornadoes this week, just a li'l rain. Mariana will be getting baptized on Sunday but I won’t be here :( haha. No biggie though, I’m just glad its happenin’. Took over a year, so it’s about time! And Paige and Connor are graduating and I’m missing it haha. Shoot! But the party in Hawaii will make up for it all. That will be so much fun. Time is for sure flying by. Corbin only has 2 weeks left! And now I only have 6...email me back right quick if you can! I’m doing great and I’m excited for this week.

Love y’all!

Elder Oppenlander

April 22, 2012

Family!

I thought y’all would have been home by now for sure! So that means you are probably driving home as we speak! Drive safe!!!!! And yeah, I love the good ole Deedee memories! Makes me want to get another dog, don’t you feel the same way? :) And are y’all both driving a car a piece home, or what? Also, sounds like your week wasn’t too busy, but you were able to have a lot of fun. And I can picture you and Rick going through Gma’s stuff and crying haha. That must have been good though, to spend that time with Uncle Rick and talk. I have no idea what we should put on Gma’s gravestone. You should put one of her songs that she used to sing all the time on it haha. I'll keep thinking of a scripture, but none are jumping out at me right now.

I can’t believe that Tyler is going to have another kid by the time I get home. Geez! I won’t know two of my relatives. And why is Lauren being so mean to me hahaha. Tell her she knows that she wants my room because its way better than hers, and Nick would never sell all of his burritos to her. He has a special supply just for me. And I could absolutely not feel any love from what she said :(   She needs to step up her love game.

All is going well over here in Cahaba Heights! Elder Jensen and I did a fireside for the youth in our branch last night, and everyone loves us!! Throwing down some good info for them, and I had such a good time. I love teaching people. :) I have been being all kinds of awkward lately walking up to everyone and talking to them. Y’all would be proud! We are teaching the entire store of RadioShack in the Brookwood Mall. All of the employees are either less-active members, or investigators we have picked up from talking to them as we visit the less-active folk. We also are teaching the lady in Sunglass Hut, the dude in the Snack Shack, and the guy at Journeys (both are less-active members). Haha so we spent a lot of time in the mall this week but we weren’t shopping!! We were teaching people. We also got fed like 8 times this week. I don’t know what was going on, but I was loving it. I barely ate any of the food I bought for this week. And last night at the fireside they sent us home with a bunch of snacks. So we are pretty much good for this next week too. So yeah, I’m doing great. Nothing is wrong and I am learning tons and tons everyday. Transfers are in 9 days, so I think its kind of crazy that I only have like 7 weeks left on my mission. But it is good, because just the thought of going home is making me push myself to work harder and do more and more. Can’t give up just because time is running out!  1 Corinthians 9:24 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain”. Gotta keep on running haha. But yeah, if you have any questions, ax me! I love y’all! Hope you have the best week ever. 

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

April Showers!

Sup yo!

Yeah, we had some crazy weather this week but it wasn’t a big deal at all. We had to stay inside our apartment for a while, but there has seriously been a lot worse weather than that before. We just had to play it safe :) It just rained for part of the day and had some good wind. Not bad at all.

The front yard looks great! Those plants are going to take some time to win my heart, but I will give them a chance :) Sounds like you had a good week, and you are going to have a busy week coming up! When did Lauren decide to move back to California? I haven’t heard anything about this!!! Is she just going to work or what? That will be good, though.  You won’t be an empty nester anymore! And I get home in less than 2 months. Oh, and today is my 22^nd  month mark!! Crazy or what???? I’m glad people still asking about me back home. I thought I would have been old hat by now haha. All of these other missionaries are out from the ward.

And Nick isn’t working at Mimi's anymore? That is cool that he will be working at a Mexican place. I’m gonna have to visit him when I get home....

But wassup here in the dirty south is I’m tired! We had our zone activity today and it was off the chain! We got the Elders Quorum to bring a BBQ to the church and we grilled burgers, hot dogs then played some volleyball, basketball and frisbee. I was out of control a lil bit haha. It was so much fun. I’m drained right now though. I’m also on exchanges with Elder West (Elder Ingersoll trained him :) so since I trained Elder Ingersoll, he's my grandson...if our mission used that terminology but we don’t haha.

We had 5 meal appointments this week, so you can rest assured that I will be coming home fat and happy. I have been working out like crazy and I had the fattest blister on my foot! From playing basketball on Thursday with our investigators. I taped the skin in my journal hahahaha. I know that is super weird but it was worth it :) We had a really good week meeting tons of people. We walked around Southside and contacted for hours this week. The weather is seriously perrrrrrfect. 73 right now and I’m diggin it. Seasons are changing up in here! It is good though, all of the new missinoaries are doing great in the zone and we had a blast today in the zone activity. Also it is weird because all the new missionaries look up to me because I know so much about the scriptures. I don’t feel like I know that much, but I know a lot more then I did back home that’s for sure. Haha its amazing what will happen if you actually pray and read your scriptures! Who would have thought!

But I am in love with my mission. I have grown so much, and I am still growing! I’ve learned how to be happy no matter what, and I’ve learned how to talk to people and connect with anyone. Like this week I made a new friend in this homeless dude named "Freedom" haha nuff said. You can guess what he was like just by his name ;) Also met a Christian Science lady. Hasn’t gone to the doctor her whole life and she is like 67! Crazy stuff!

I never did get around to buying shoelaces, but at the same time I’m just waiting for the ones I have to break. No rush :) That’s just how I’m feeling lately. Not worrying about the little things, and just trying to focus on the main things and get them going well so I won’t have to worry about regrets or anything. Are there any questions y’all have for me? I feel like all I do is blabber on and on in the emails haha. So if there is anything you want to know, email me back right quick. I got 17 minutes left!'

Love y’all! Hope your week goes smoothly!!

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

General Conference

Mom and Pop! 

General Conference was way too good! I took like 300 pages of notes and I love the way I feel afterwards! I’m always so excited and hopeful! Who wouldn’t want to feel like that!? Elder Holland threw it down once again! “Lord, I believe.  Help Thou mine unbelief.” I loved the way he compared how important belief is to the father getting his son healed. You need to first see and acknowledge your strengths, then worry about your weaknesses. LOVED IT! I really liked Elder Uchtdorf’s quote, “Spiritual light rarely comes to those who merrily sit in the darkness waiting for someone to flick the switch” as well. There were too many good ones this conference. The music was amazing too! I think the BYU choir was amazing! There were two missionaries from my mission in it!

Oh, and speaking of Costco! I had a Costco pizza for the first time since I was home. That stuff is way good! And the gopher season already started, huh? What do you mean Abby didn’t want to play with it? haha. I can’t believe she is still obsessed with playing ball. Has she lost any weight, or is she still a big ole chub? OUR YARD LOOKS BARREN!!! I CANT BELIEVE Y’ALL WOULD DISRESPECT OUR YARD LIKE THAT! haha. Man, it is going to take a while for all of that to fill back in. I’m sad you took the Japanese maple tree out! That thing was my favorite.... :( its ok though, I’ll get over it.

How was I looking in the pictures from the interview?? Good, or no? haha and why doesn’t Dad want to go to the Student Emmy's? That should be the most exciting thing he has done for a while. He’s turning into grandpa O haha. : ) That would be sweet if Estafan wins! I could claim that my sister is famous! That would be awesome…

And my week has been uh-mazing. We got our car back on Friday, its a new car but same style and all of that. So it has been nice to be able to see some more areas that are out of bike range. We also went on exchanges with the Spanish elders and it was so fun. I found a 5 dollar buffet that is money! I’ll have to bring y’all to eat there haha. My bike is holding up, the wheels are a lil off true and the brakes are acting up, but I can take it to the shop and they could fix all of that. My shoes aren’t holding up, though! I might need dad to send out that polish. They are looking pretty shady right now, and I’m on my last pair of laces. I have to switch the laces out between my dress shoes and my walking shoes. So hopefully they won’t break or I won’t have any laces for either pair haha. Don’t worry about sending any, I can probably pick up some out here, we have a Macy’s and all of that. I probably won’t have to burn anything when I get home haha. Both my suits are still good, and my shoes just need to be taken care of more. I won’t be able to fit in any of my pants, like jeans and stuff when I get home. My thighs are way too big haha, and they are still chickeny, just buff chickeny : ) haha. And we try to go to the botanical gardens each week, but this week they have a spring plant sale, where they sell like 100,000 plants. It’s out of our area, so we couldn’t volunteer for that, but we will go there next week.

But nevertheless, this week was great. We weren’t able to find too many new people, but we did find a couple. Also Marianal, the Swedish Brazilian lady I have been teaching since LAST April is finally ready to be baptized!!!!!! So I am soooo pumped about that. I have taught her for no joke an entire year. So I am super excited for her baptism. Also we went to follow up with this one couple I met on exchanges a month or two ago, and they were doing great.  We left a blessing with them and blessed them that the wife would find a job, and the husband would be able to do well in school and keep his family his top priority. So we show up one month later, and the wife has three jobs!!! It was awesome to see, and she said, "oh yeah, I heard about you guys. As soon as you left last time, my husband called me all excited!" So that was good to hear, and we told him about General Conference, and he watched it at his house. So I’m excited to see what happens with them. They aren’t in my area though! So I’m going to have to be on the missionaries’ back to get it done. It is always good to see how the gospel really does bless people! So excited to see some more miracles in my life.

And that is good that Gene will be able to help out a little. I hope I can get that job! That would be amazing. And classy. I sure do look good in a suit ;) haha. If you have any questions, I will be on for a while longer! I love y’all and I hope you have a great week! Keep praying for me! It helps!

Love,

Elder Oppenlander

Spring Photos

 Elders Oppenlander & Jensen, Zone Leaders for the Birmingham Central Zone

Service at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, AL

Caught at General Conference

 Interviews

Waiting for Conference to start

Happy Easter!

Yo yo yo!

Easter was way too beautiful over here in Alabama. It might have been raining outside, but it was raining the spirit inside!! Haha! It was really good, and Elder Jensen and I got to teach Sunday School. Bore some mad testimony about the resurrection and everyone loved it. And you still need to send me some pics of the yard ‘before’ so I can appreciate what the gardener is going to do.

And Elder Holland is my favorite speaker for sure. I always get so much out of his talks, and it has been great to learn from him. I can’t believe I never watched General Conference growing up. That was dumb of me! There is so much good stuff that I have missed. And what is the dry packer or canner or whatever? I’m guessing that is for food storage.  Never knew there was one in Fountain Valley though. How is John doing? Does he still come to church and all of that? And yeah, I can’t believe that all of this time has already flown by. It’s weird that I have less than 12 weeks left of my mission haha. Goodness gracious. I can’t believe it. Doesn’t feel real at all. And what type of smoothie thing did you get? It even makes tortilla soup??? No way! That sounds so cool! I just got a plain ole smoothie machine, but it still works wonders.

This week was good again. And yeah, that picture was of me putting together Sister Butt's bike. She is a sister in the zone, and they were struggling. Elder Jensen is doing well on the bikes and we still don’t have a car, so we are going to get fit :) I love it! We have had to bike to church and we have to bike there tomorrow for Zone Training meeting as well! Luckily, we didn’t have to bike to the temple on Tuesday, that would have been rough. We got a ride there and we were able to relax and enjoy it. I got to see Elders Yogoh and Ojelade this week at Zone Leaders Council as well. And I got my first temple recommend interview since being back home. Can you believe that 2 years have gone by since I first got a recommend?!  So this week was action packed and i still love everything about being a missionary. Today we’ve got to shop, eat, and then we have two appointments with recent converts. What’s new with y’all? Anything exciting planned? 

Let me know!

Love, Elder Oppenlander

March Photos

President Holzapfel's Car Died so Elder Oppenlander came to the rescue 

President's Friend, Jeff Cottle, out with Elders Oppenlander and Jensen

Chivalry is not dead in Alabama

From 7 to 13 Zones

Palm Sunday

Mom and Pop!!!

How are y’all doing this week! Did you meet Miss California? She has a profile on mormon.org!!! And why don’t y’all have one yet? And I want to go to a Long Beach State volleyball game so badly. They sound like they would be super fun and I would be down to have a 70’s dance off!!! Haha, We are going to have to go see one of those when I get home! That is good that Jackie got an Easter basket, too! I love mine ... besides all the candy! Are you trying to fatten me up or what!? I love the peanuts and other things, though! Thank you so much! That boating shirt is super classy as well!

My week here was great. I thought I was leaving then they changed it up on me. I’m still with Elder Jensen and they split the zone to Birmingham Central and Birmingham Northeast Zones. So I’m the Zone Leader for the Birmingham Central Zone, and it’s only 4 units. We have 16 missionaries, 8 Sisters and 8 Elders. We got 24 new sisters this last on Wednesday and only 1 Elder haha. So it has been kind of crazy, but fun. We had to give our car to the new sisters, so we have been biking everywhere and Elder Jensen isn’t diggin’ it too much. I love riding around, but he likes getting rides haha. I also tracted into this lady who works at a nice salon, and she is going to cut my hair today! Super excited about that.

So Dad, you want a story?....Here’s one for ya!

So there is a less active member in the branch I have been working with since last April. I’ve gotten pretty close to the family, and this past week the husband died because of heart failure. We stopped by their house and found out he died, so we got their home teacher and came over to give them a blessing. And the daughter is also having surgery today, so she wanted a blessing for that. We are sitting down visiting, and then we do the blessing. And as we are standing there getting ready to go, the wife says ..."Elder Oppenlander, you'll be home in a year, right?" and I say "Yes, ma’am" then she drops a bomb on me! She says, "Can you come back to Alabama in a year and stand in for my husband, Rod as his proxy in our sealing ceremony?".... haha! I freaked out, and so did their daughter! She was all, “Mom, we need to talk about this”! And then the mom says, ''Your Dad and I talked about it before he died, and we had it settled between Elder Oppenlander and another missionary, and we made our decision and chose Elder Oppenlander!".... so what I’m trying to say is that I guess I know when we are coming back to visit Alabama hahaha. Next year, Spring Break! That threw a big one on me! That is a super big deal!!!!!!! And of course I couldn’t say no, so I said yes. And right after that, we left, and we got in the car and I said "Oh, Dear..." and our ride, Bro. Sadler, Elder Jensen and I just started laughing we were so excited! It was so unreal. We laughed the whole way home and I just kept thinking, did this really just happen? So, Mom and Dad --- I need to come back to Alabama a year from now to help Sister Sokolowski get sealed to her husband for time and all eternity. There is a story for you, Dad.

Things have been going great, I have investigators to teach, I have service to do, and I have to come back to Alabama a year from now.  : )

Elder Oppenlander