Last Mission Email‏

email 8/10/11
My Dearest Friends and Family,
So my very last P-Day is on a Wednesday... weird. So you get my last email on a Wednesday instead of a Monday.
This last week has been a whirlwind adventure. I was invited to perform at an "Interfaith Musical Fireside" where music groups and performers all from different churches got together to perform a concert at the LDS chapel in Trumbull, CT. I accompanied several other people, singers and groups from other churches, as well as performed my own solo and sang in a quartet. It was awesome! I'm attaching a picture of me with a gospel choir singing group that was awesome...

I got to go to the temple for the first time since the MTC this Saturday with my district! IT WAS SO GRAND! It felt soooo good after so long. I've attached a picture of us at the temple.

That same day, last Saturday, Dunia Vasquez entered the waters of baptism and I had the privilege of baptizing her. She's wanted to be baptized but for a long time her father wouldn't let her. We helped her write down and organize her testimony which, when she bore it to her father, softened his heart so much that he let her be baptized. She's a really bright girl and will be strong in the gospel.

All of the missionaries in my district have been really excited to get free stuff from me that I'm not taking home; particularly, they've been coveting my ties, because I have a rather impressive tie collection that I've acquired in the mission. I gave away TONS of ties this morning. I'm only going to end up bringing several of my choicest ties home. I love ties. Beyond that they fought over other stuff as well, office supplies and other random articles and knick-knacks that didn't make my 'take home' list.
Saying goodbyes this week was really hard. I think that tears were shed in every single appointment I've had for the last couple of days. I'm really going to miss this place and I know that I'm going to be missed. The relief society women in the branch here are still trying to convince me to stay. The branch threw a "Goodbye Party" for me last night. I cried my eyes out as they sang "God be with you til' we meet again". My emotions have been a mess recently. I've been filled with happiness and conflict. I suppose that it's perfectly natural to be sad to say goodbye to something and someone that I love so dearly.
I am so excited to come home and reunite with all of you! I have served my heart out for the past 2 years and given the Lord everything I have. It's a really good feeling to come home with no regrets. I didn't leave anything on the table. I'll touch down in Utah at 3:40 PM this Friday with nothing but joy and satisfaction for having served faithfully. I'll see you then!
     with much love from your favorite elder,
            -Elder Shepherd

2nd to last Email‏

email 8/1/11
Picture #1 attached is a picture of Elder Haggard from Australia, me, and Elder Cohen from California underneath "Ensign" street. We just liked the name of it and wanted a picture. We'll do the same with "Zion" street another day...

We continued teaching a man this week who hasn't been to church in over 10 years. We watched the Finding Faith in Christ church movie with him and testified of the atonement and of repentance. The spirit was really strong and he was really moved by the lesson. He came to church on Sunday and wanted me to sit next to him the whole time. He loved it and told me after church was over 'thank-you' for bringing him back. I don't really feel like I did much of anything, I was just in the right place at the right time. This man will be a great strength to the small-but-growing branch here in Hartford. We visited another less active family this week--rather, we had an FHE activity with them which we organized with a great member family in Bolton, CT, the Wade family!

I translated for the Garcia family so that they could participate in the lesson and then we played a fun matching game. We were able to bond pretty well with Brother and Sister Garcia (who we had never met before that evening) and they enjoyed their time spent there. They commented to us that they had loved it and had felt the spirit that evening. We are going to visit them again this week to see if we can continue to work with the whole family and get them all back to church together. I included a picture of me with the Wade family at the FHE. Good times...
I had an interview with President Evans this week. We had a good talk about how the work was going and how I've enjoyed my mission and my advice to future missionaries. I kind of figured because I was only going to be 'his missionary' for a month that he wouldn't take too much time to get to know because he has over 200 other missionaries to worry about who he'll actually get to know much better, but I was pretty floored by his sincerity in our interview. He was very endearing and I warmed up to him quickly. He told me that he was really sad that I was leaving and that he wished he could have had more time to work with me. I felt the love. I love President Evans.
So I spoke in church on Sunday and my assigned topic was "missionary work" (it was like giving my homecoming talk, except I gave it in Spanish). I spoke about some of the cool experiences that I've had here in the mission field and how much the mission has blessed my life. I cried. It's beginning to hit me that next week I am actually going home and that this will be over. There is so much work to be done and I'm so lost in it all that time has pretty much flown out the window. It's a weird feeling.
I love my mission and I am excited to share all of my stories and experiences with you all when I come home.
      with much love from your favorite elder,
              -Elder Shepherd

Shepherding sheep in HOT weather.‏

email 7/25/11
So we had a branch activity this last Saturday here and had a picnic. (I included a picture of me enjoying a good burger at the picnic.)

Several of the relief society sisters started talking about how much they're going to miss me and how I shouldn't go home. They tried to convince me stay here in Hartford. "I can't. Where would I live?" I posed. "Come live in my house! We have a guest room!" One sister shouted. "I don't have any money and I need a job.  Where would I work?" I retorted. "I know that so-and-so is hiring and blah blah blah... We'll get you a job!" They were determined. Before I could come up with another problem another one shouted out, "We need you to play piano in our meetings!" and another one said, "We need a new branch president!" (now they were just getting ridiculous...) They are bent on me staying in Hartford but I keep telling them that it's not gonna happen.*sigh* They're gonna miss me a lot and it's gonna be hard to say goodbye. I love Hartford... but I can't wait to come home! (that was a trunky-ish comment)
"Pioneer Day" just isn't the same when you're not in Utah. Nobody here celebrates it. None of the other missionaries even knew what it was! (Of course they didn't grow up in Utah so I can't fault them.) The stake did have a ''pioneer day activity'' but it was largely unattended. :( I was really happy though that a stake high counselor came to the branch yesterday and spoke in church about the pioneers! He gave a great talk about the pioneers and perseverance and he related it to how we have to live our lives as 'modern day pioneers'. He spoke of how the "pioneer children would sing as they walk, and walk, and walk, and walk, and walk" (the lyrics and music to that popular children's hymn depict the scene really well). He said that just like how the pioneers had to take step after step after step to reach their ultimate destination of 1300 miles we have to take step after step after step in our lives to reach our ultimate destination of the Celestial Kingdom. Although many of the things the pioneers did were very routine (walking and walking and walking), with every little routine step they made it brought them closer to their goal. We must do a lot of seemingly little, routine things daily, and progress may not seem to come all at once, but it's crucial that you keep on walking towards our heavenly home, step by step, day by day, prayer after prayer, turning countless pages of scripture and making countless correct decisions. All of it adds up after a while! He also shared moving pioneer stories that brought us to tears. I love thinking about the pioneers and reflecting on what they went through. There is so much to learn from them!
We did a lot of biking this week again (hence the biking pictures I included with the email).

However, we didn't bike this last Friday and Saturday because it was HOT and HUMID in New England! It was like walking in an oven... 105 degrees with high humidity... I'm amazed that all my clothing has survived the 2 years of abuse I've put them through. My shirts have endured to the end and are still intact but I have some 'tracting pants' that should probably be burnt at the earliest convenience because after hours and hours of use in the hot sun they've been sun-bleached and drenched in sweat enough for a lifetime.
We went to the hospital this week to give a blessing to an inactive member that we've been working with for a while. We got there to find out that his kidneys were failing and he was going through dialysis. We offered him a priesthood blessing and prayed there with his family. We all felt the spirit and the calm assurance that everything would work out. As far as we know up to this point the dialysis is working and he's improving. He should be able to leave the hospital soon. The priesthood works and the "effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much..." (James 5:16-17)
So we got an awesome phone call from Isabel, one of our investigators, who said that her boss had called her and asked her to work and Sunday. She's worked on Sunday's a lot because she gets paid overtime for doing so but since we taught her about the church she's felt differently about that. She told her boss, "No more! I'm going to church on Sundays!"  Her boss was OK with that and won't bother her anymore. I was so proud of her! What faith she exercised! She will definitely be blessed for that. She loved church on Sunday and is excited to meet again with us this week. :)
We randomly got a phone call from a man who has been inactive from the church for about 10 years. He said that he wanted to meet with us. We visited him on yesterday afternoon and he warmly greeted us and introduced himself as Hermano Alegría (Brother Happiness-what a great name!) He was baptized in Lima, Peru in the early 90's and had served in various capacities in the church including a branch president and bishop. He had fallen away when he moved to Connecticut, but he said that it left an 'emptiness' inside of him and he always knew that he needed to return but wasn't ready to face it. I told him that no one has exhausted their last chance for repentance and that we were so happy to be able to meet with him and help him. We both sat with tears in our eyes as I testified about repentance and the love that God has for us no matter what. He was a very humble man and was hopeful about how he knew that he was close to filling up the emptiness inside of him and rekindling that spiritual flame that he once had burning bright. We didn't have to do much, just listen to him and testify of love and the atonement. It was a sweet lesson and we felt a sweet spirit. The spirit impressed in my mind and on my heart the truthfulness of the doctrine and the sweetness of repentance. Brother Alegría commented on my last name and was excited to find out what "Shepherd" meant (pastor de ovejas-someone who herds sheep, Jesus is the Good Shepherd, etc.). He thanked me for 'shepherding him' and living up to my name. It was a great experience.
The mission is good and I am SO HAPPY. It feels good knowing that I've given it my all for 2 years. I have no regrets.
       with much love from your favorite elder,
              -Elder Shepherd

Listen!‏

email 7/18/11
My companion and I started biking this week as opposed to taking the bus or walking and we are getting in good shape and having SO MUCH FUN! Beyond that we're able to get to our appointments quicker and it's a really efficient way to travel in Hartford. (As long as you don't get run over by all the crazy people in Connecticut who don't know how to drive, you'll be fine!) I included several pictures of our biking escapades this week with the email. We drove by this awesome apartment complex on our bikes and saw that the name was 'Shepherd Park' and I just had to go back and get a picture with it.

The second one is just another shot that my companion took while stopped at a stop sign.

The third biking picture is a rather artistic photo that I took of my companion overlooking scenic 'Pope Park' right across the street from our apartment building here.

It was kind of an uphill ride and I didn't notice that he fell behind until I was already at the top of the hill and he was walking his bike up 100 yards behind me. Anyway, it made a great photo op.
It seems like everyone in Hartford was depressed this week. Several of our investigators were struggling with personal problems and stress this week, and one less active member we are visiting said that she's so depressed that she doesn't want to do anything anymore. We had a lot of lessons this week with people who were dealing with depression and stress and we spoke a lot about the atonement and the peace that comes through repentance and obedience. Jesus Christ left us some of the most comforting words I've ever known. One of my favorite scriptures had great application to those we taught this week: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither be afraid." (John 14:27) "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek anddlowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt.11:29-30) It's hard to watch people I love so much going through really hard times but I know that it's all for a good and wise purpose. The roots of their faith will deepen and they will come to know the Savior in a way that they never could have unless they suffer. It will be good for them. My mission has been really hard for me at times and I've had to struggle and suffer. I'm so grateful that I had to do so because I have come to know the Savior more intimately. I am able to understand more fully life and other people's problems as well as I gain the wisdom that is only generated by genuine first-hand experience. We did a lot of listening and consoling this week. I believe that's an essential part of teaching and relationship-building. You have to sit back and listen sometimes, and other times you need to know what to say and how to say it in exactly the right moment. I believe that if you listen with love and trust in God that you'll be able to do both effectively in any circumstance.
For example, I spoke with a really stubborn and belligerent man in the street 2 days ago that made absolutely no sense when he spoke and tried to confuse us with open-ended questions and condescending demeanor. It was clear that he wouldn't listen to anything and had only in mind to get in his two bits and run away, so all I did, catching him in his guile, was boldly bore testimony, called him to repentance, and walked away, leaving him in a furious stupor for having thwarted his pathetic attempt at infesting others with doubt and anger. In another episode this week I turned from bold orator to meek listener as Natividad unloaded her burdens and stresses and expressed a lot of pent-up feelings that she'd been having. She needed someone to listen with love to what she was going through and to sympathize and build her up. We said very few words to her during that whole hour that we were with her but we really didn't need to. We said a lot more through our demeanor than we could have with a thousand words. She got the message: "We're there for her. God is there for her. Everything will turn out OK." As Paul would have said, "I would rather speak 5 words [by] understanding... than 10,000 words in an unknown tongue." (1 Cor.14:19)
It was a great week and we will have another great week this week! I love the mission and at the same time I am excited to only have 3 weeks left!
    with much love from your favorite elder,
            -Elder Shepherd

Baptisms!

email 7/11/11
We were caught off guard this week as we walked into our appointment with Natividad. We sat down and before we could even say a prayer the first thing she said to us was, "I am going to be baptized on the 30th of July!" We were both ecstatic of course and asked her, "So what happened?" She told us how she'd been studying The Book of Mormon earnestly and sincerely for the first time and how she'd been praying that week to know if it was true. She woke up in the middle of the night the day before our appointment with her mind filled with what she'd been reading from The Book of Mormon. She said she felt inspired to pray and she rolled out of bed and began to pray. After about 30 minutes of prayer on her knees she said that she felt the spirit powerfully witnessing to her that what she'd been reading was true and that it was time for her to be baptized. She sobbed. It was a really sweet experience. I'm looking forward to her baptism.
Josselyn got baptized and confirmed this weekend! Woo! She is the girl who prayed and made a promise with God and got her residency in the US. I attached a picture of us with her parents at the baptism.

She's the girl in the middle with wet hair (we took the picture after the baptism because she was embarrassed about having to wear a 'fat white jumpsuit' that didn't fit her and didn't want picture of her in it.) The baptism was sweet and the members of the branch were really supportive of her. It was good to see them extend a hand and open their hearts to receive her into the branch.

The other picture I attached is one of my companion and I at the temple. I realized that last week I didn't send you one of Elder Castellano, so here it is! Elder Castellano and I get along really well and we teach really well together. It's gonna be a really good last couple of weeks!
We have a lot of work going on right now in our area and several more baptisms for the upcoming 2 or 3 weeks. We were teaching Maria this week and had left her an assignment to read and think about the application of 1 Nephi 8, Lehi's Vision. I was really impressed at how well she understood it and the conclusions and insights that she took from it. We just let the scriptures and the spirit do all the work and all we did was facilitate the teaching moment. I explained to her that just like Lehi did I feel a strong desire to share the fruit of tree of life with others and that that was why we were teaching her, so that she could enter the path through the waters of baptism. She really liked the application and she felt the spirit really strongly. She said that she's been praying and knows that what she's read in The Book of Mormon is true and that she wants to be baptized someday. She will be baptized in coming weeks.
I am soaking in every moment and taking of advantage of every opportunity. I want to be able to finish my mission strong and have no regrets and about how I served or what I did. I know that through our hard work and obedience that God is blessing us abundantly insomuch that we are privileged to see the fruit of the harvest. I love this work and know it to be the work of God.
     with much love from your favorite elder,
             -Elder Shepherd

New Comp, New Mission, New Investigators‏

email 7/5/11

The 4th of July over here has been much more like a long 2 week celebration--people have been doing fireworks since 2 weeks ago every night and we hear and see them non-stop. Of course, from the 19th floor of our tower we can see the fireworks all over Hartford really well! It was a fun celebration. It was really low key, though, surprisingly. I guess I live in a really heavily spanish populated area so many of them weren't celebrating our independence day because they aren't citizens and they celebrate their own countries' independence days (which for many of the Central Americans is in September). In other areas there were huge celebrations but right where I live there wasn't. It was a good 4th of July all in all. Go America!
Being part of the new Massachusetts Boston Mission is pretty exciting. There are SO MANY missionaries that it blows my mind. When we all met together this last Thursday for our mission conference we completely filled the chapel in Belmont Mass. with missionaries. I got to do a musical number and did an arrangement I put together of "How Great Thou Art" with the 4th verse put to the melody of "You Raise Me Up" at the meeting. It went really well and brought the spirit. President Evans was telling me how sad he was that I was going home in 6 weeks and wouldn't be here much longer to be their 'music man' in the mission.  It was exciting to meet tons of new missionaries! It was particularly cool because now there is a temple in my mission! The chapel where we had our conference is at the bottom of the hill where the Boston Mass. temple is situated. We took the opportunity to walk up the hill and take pictures at the temple. 

It was so nice to be at the temple again. It's been 21 months since I went to the Provo Temple in the MTC and since then hadn't seen the temple. We also took a big mission picture with the whole new mission in front of the temple. The temple is closed for cleaning right now but I will be able to go to the temple the day before I fly home with the mission president and his wife. I'm so EXCITED! I attached a picture of me in front of the temple as well as a picture I took of President and Sister Evans in front of the temple. The 3rd picture is a picture of me and my favorite missionary friends Elder Russell and Elder Phillips at the temple.

This is a really exciting change! There was a lot of enthusiasm and energy as we met as a mission. President Evans was very humbled by the whole experience and asked for our sustaining prayers and obedience. I imagine with roughly 200 missionaries stretched over Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut that he has a lot on his plate. I won't give him trouble for very long :) No, I'm not trunky.

My new companion is really cool! His name is Elder Castellano and he's been in the mission about 6 months. He was born in Honduras and he grew up in New Jersey. His mother his from Honduras and his dad was born in Holland but was raised in Italy (His grandparents are Italian and Castellano is actually an italian name) so he's a 'mix'. He speaks spanish really well considering that he mostly spoke english in his house and his whole time growing up. He was baptized about 2 years ago when he was 18 years old. He would have been baptized when he met the missionaries a year earlier but his parents wouldn't let him so he had to wait until he was 18. He's got a strong testimony of the gospel and a lot of enthusiasm. He's really outgoing and funny and he's definitely a future leader in the mission and in life. We are going to have a really great time serving together. He will be my 9th and final companion in the mission field.
Cool experience this week: We were teaching Luordes in Manchester and she asked us a lot of questions about the priesthood and where power and authority come from. She told us that last week when we visited her and gave her a blessing that she felt a 'power' move through her body as we laid our hands on her head that calmed her and made her feel better. She said that she knew it was the Spirit and that the blessing we gave her came from God. She has become more receptive to our message since then and is more serious about her commiment to attend church and read the book of mormon. The priesthood has been restored  to the earth and God speaks from the heavens in our day and time. What an incredible message we have to share with the world! I know it's true and I know that priesthood power and authority are found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Other cool experience: We set a baptismal date with Natividad this week. She was kind of hesitant to commit to something that she wasn't sure about yet and so we explained that if she doesn't feel ready or want to be baptized than she won't be. Later that very same day she called us and asked us, "What day is my baptism again?" We told her when. "Oh, is that going to be in the chapel in Bloomfield or in the temple?" We told her that it would be in the chapel in Bloomfield. "Oh, well when can I go and do baptisms inside the temple?" We explained that after her baptism she can have an interview with the branch president and go to the temple that very next week at our branch temple trip. "Oh great! Well, that was all I wanted to know! Bye!"*click* I was pretty floored because I didn't even know if the date that we set with her was going to stick. It turns out that she really wants to go to the temple and knows that she needs to be baptized to do so.

We are going to have a baptism this Saturday and I'm so excited! The work in Hartford moves forward at an ever increasing rate!

    with much love from your favorite elder,

          -Elder Shepherd

You may be wondering why I'm emailing on Wednesday this week instead of Monday. Transfer meeting is tomorrow on Thursday so President Evans moved our P-Day to Wednesday so that everyone could pack their stuff. More than half of the missionaries are getting transferred--it's insane! Everything is going to new and different for my last 6 weeks which will make everything exciting! I'm really excited for the all-mission conference with over 200 missionaries tomorrow in Massachusetts.
It's official that I'm staying here in Hartford until the day that I fly home on Friday, August 12th. My companion is getting transferred to Boston (lucky duck). He's pretty stoked about it. He was trained here in Hartford and then he goes to Boston--he's so spoiled. I'm happy for him and I'm really happy that I get to finish my mission here in Hartford where it all began. The work here is going REALLY well and we're getting into homes and teaching new people. These next 2 weeks we should see 2 baptisms if all goes well. Chanel is really ready to be baptized--in our appointment with her this week she had been studying topically using the guide in the back of the scriptures and was studying the second coming and Adam and Eve (they were the lessons from church on Sunday) and she had tons of insights and questions. She is really smart and will be a great strength to our small branch here. She's also really gung-ho about raising her daughter in the gospel and says that there's no greater blessing for her as a parent than what we've taught her about the gospel. I was touched by that and I thought about the long-reaching effects of missionary work. The people I teach and affect will then touch upon the lives of their families and many others, even over the course of several generations. Perhaps I have done a lot of unseen good. All in all I'm content with the work I'm putting forth because I know I'm giving it my all and I love to testify of the Savior.
I think I'm learning a lot about being "content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me" to borrow Alma's phrase. It's both good and tough being a perfectionist. It's good that I'm always striving to be better, but it's bad in that it's very easy to never be content with where you are at right now. We should be content with what we have and where we are but without slipping into the idea that mediocrity is OK or that there isn't room for improvement. I think I have better learned to be happy with who I am and what I've accomplished without becoming wholly self-satisfied and complacent in my behavior. It's a really tough balance to find and I'm not an expert yet, but the mission has done wonders for me. I'm glad that I've served the way that I've served and I'm motivated to become even better and let God expand my capacity.
Picture Attachment 1: Me, Elder Downs, and Elder Cohen (Elder Cohen is my former Jewish companion from Providence) with a family we love and have taught.

Picture Attachment 2: I call this "Park Street". It's pretty epic if you think about it. It was an imitation of "Abbey Road" by the Beatles but I was not going to take my shoes off to walk across Park Street because you have no idea what is on the ground there... I think we're better dressed than the Beatles though.

Picture Attachment 3: So there is this awesome fountain near the capitol with all these Indian statues. I thought that this one really captured the ferocity of the fishing indian and the fear of his prey.

I am in love with this work and I love every day! I love my Savior and know that this is God's work.
      with much love from your favorite elder,
              -Elder Shepherd