email dated 11/16/09
Elder Shepherd had his very first baptism yesterday, and it was totally awesome! I really can't take much credit at all for it, but it was a lot of fun teaching her, and she will be a great member of the church here.
Yesterday was a crazy Sunday! We had our "Invite a friend to church day" yesterday, and it went really well. All of the members were really excited, especially those who actually got friends to come. We had 22 at church to talk with, all of them with an immediate support system because a friend brought them to church. The ward here is really catching fire, and we have a great follow up planned to keep their momentum and enthusiasm rolling. Even those who didn't get friends to church learned a lot by breaking out of their shell a bit and extending the invitation. Our success isn't really measured by how many people get baptized or come to church-it will be measured in the invitations that were extended and how we each learned and grew from the experience. Of course, it does always feel even better to see people get baptized and make those changes in their life.
Our mission president came to the baptism, and was taking pictures with us after when he told us that my companion, Elder Taylor, was being transferred. It kind of ruined my happy feeling at the time. I'm way bummed that I've only gotten to spend 1 transfer with my trainer, but I am excited for change and for new opportunities to learn and grow. Transfer meeting is on Tuesday, and I'll be getting a new companion who I'll be 'killing off' (He has 23 months and I'll be his last companion). He's actually an Assistant to the President right now, and he was with the President to greet me when I got off the plane. He'll be on the defensive line for BYU's football team when he goes home (He's huge!). I'm looking forward to serving with him, and at the same time I'm really sad to lose my trainer. However, he just got transferred to a city bordering New Haven, and he'll be my zone leader, so he won't be far and I'll still see him a lot.
So, transfers this week. It's pretty crazy. We're getting 2 more Spanish missionaries in the mission, which will be fun for me because I won't be the ONLY new missionary. The next closest Spanish-speaking missionary to me in 'age' has been out for 8 months already, so I'm the newbie by a long shot. Our mission (All of Rhode Island and Connecticut) had 146 Elders in it at the beginning of this year, and by the end of December we'll only have 72, which is the complement for this mission. It's pretty crazy-they're closing areas and apartments left and right, but my area is pretty safe. I'll probably stay right where I am for a little while longer. I guess the church is just sending fewer missionaries out here for one reason or another. Sad.
"Well, that's what's going in (Connecticut), let's see what's happening in your neck of the woods." Kudos to whomever can guess that quote from a very famous weatherperson...
I'm doing well, and excited for this next transfer which will encompass both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hope all is well in your lives, and remember to trust in the Lord and lean on Him for all your support.
With much love,
-Elder Shepherd
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
It's that time of year
All of the fall leaves are falling off of the trees now, and there are leaves EVERYWHERE! So many leaves! It gives us great service opportunities because everyone has a ton of leaves to clean up. I dream of how much fun it would be to pile up all of the leaves and jump in them, like the old days. But then I would get my nice clothes all nasty and dirty...
The humidity is an interesting thing for me to experience. Last night it wasn't too cold but I could see my breath against the humidity in the air. I'm SO excited for this winter season. All the other missionaries are dreading it every second as it gets colder and closer to snow, but nothing is going to get me down! I LOVE snow way too much! Sure, it makes it hard to do missionary work-but in no way does that dampen my spirits or make me love it any less. It's gonna be sooo cold... I can't wait. We're planning Christmas programs for December now, and I've begun listening to Christmas music. It makes me so happy!
We have a baptism this upcoming Sunday! Yay! It's very exciting for us and especially for this ward. The whole ward has really rallied together and is beginning to catch fire with missionary effort. This Sunday we're having a really special 'invite a friend to church day'. The members are all really excited, and they've all been inviting their friends and associates. Please pray for the success of this event that we've put so much time and effort into. This should really get the work moving in this area, and we hope to see a lot of success from this event.
I love you all, and I hope that you are enjoying life!
-Elder Luke Shepherd
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Halloween
email dated 11/2/09
How was Halloween? We had to be in our apartment by 6:00PM on Halloween, because things get pretty crazy on Halloween. That, and knocking on doors wouldn't have worked out so well that night. Anyway, the other 3 Elders and I spent the night in our apartment carving pumpkins and playing board games (Risk and Monopoly, and we had to have special permission). It was awesome. I don't even have a candy hangover this year from sugar overload.
We had a trunk-or-treat Friday night at our ward here in New Haven- it was pretty awesome! We (the 4 Elders) did an activity where we hang donuts to the end of a string and we had all the little kids try and eat them with their hands behind their backs. It was great fun. Then the fire alarm got triggered by the young women's smoke machine, and we had to evacuate the building. Consequently, the elevators in our building got shut off (our church is more like a 4 story apartment building), and we had many people who couldn't get out because they were old and in wheelchairs couldn't make it down the stairs. It was a very eventful night...
Sunday was CRAZY! 10 minutes before sacrament meeting starts the guy who is supposed to translate our meeting into Spanish for the Spanish members calls us and tells us that he's sick and won't be able to make it. So my companion runs off to get translation set up, and is doing that the rest of the time. Meanwhile, the gospel principles teacher calls me and tells me that she can't make it, and that I'll have to teach gospel principles (IN SPANISH!!) with no forewarning. Then the second counselor in the bishopric grabs me and tells me that this woman wants her baby blessed today but the guys who's supposed to do isn't here, and he wants me to do it and it has to be in Spanish (AHHHH!!). And then one of my investigators calls me on the phone the next second and says that he wants to come to church but his ride fell through and he needs a ride. This all happens in 5 minutes, and my companion isn't there to help me because he's translating as sacrament meeting is beginning. It's at times like these in my life that I wonder, "What in the world have I gotten myself into!?" I ask a really nice member to go pick up my investigator and tell him where he lives, and he faithfully runs off to do it. I call my investigator and let him know that his ride is on the way, and run to grab a gospel principles book so that I can at least see what topic I'm supposed to be teaching before gospel principles. The bishopric decided to put off the baby blessing until next time (phew...).
The entire day on Sunday was like that. It was insane! It was pretty awesome at the same time, but it was more insane that it was awesome.
On the flip side, it really made me stretch myself. I was running a million miles an hour and speaking Spanish that I didn't know I knew. Missions are the coolest things in the world.
I love life here. I enjoy every single day to the fullest, and I give it my all 100%. We have a really solid baptism lined up for the 15th of November, and we have 2 more really good baptismal prospects for the last week of November. The work is progressing, and the ward here is just fantastic. Missionary work can't press forward without the help of the members-I've come to learn the importance of this more than ever now that I'm a missionary. Having members who are enthusiastic about missionary work and are willing to help and invite their friends is what results in success and long-lasting conversion. "Every Member a Missionary!"My time is short, so I must say "hasta luego".
I love you all,
-Elder Luke Shepherd
How was Halloween? We had to be in our apartment by 6:00PM on Halloween, because things get pretty crazy on Halloween. That, and knocking on doors wouldn't have worked out so well that night. Anyway, the other 3 Elders and I spent the night in our apartment carving pumpkins and playing board games (Risk and Monopoly, and we had to have special permission). It was awesome. I don't even have a candy hangover this year from sugar overload.
We had a trunk-or-treat Friday night at our ward here in New Haven- it was pretty awesome! We (the 4 Elders) did an activity where we hang donuts to the end of a string and we had all the little kids try and eat them with their hands behind their backs. It was great fun. Then the fire alarm got triggered by the young women's smoke machine, and we had to evacuate the building. Consequently, the elevators in our building got shut off (our church is more like a 4 story apartment building), and we had many people who couldn't get out because they were old and in wheelchairs couldn't make it down the stairs. It was a very eventful night...
Sunday was CRAZY! 10 minutes before sacrament meeting starts the guy who is supposed to translate our meeting into Spanish for the Spanish members calls us and tells us that he's sick and won't be able to make it. So my companion runs off to get translation set up, and is doing that the rest of the time. Meanwhile, the gospel principles teacher calls me and tells me that she can't make it, and that I'll have to teach gospel principles (IN SPANISH!!) with no forewarning. Then the second counselor in the bishopric grabs me and tells me that this woman wants her baby blessed today but the guys who's supposed to do isn't here, and he wants me to do it and it has to be in Spanish (AHHHH!!). And then one of my investigators calls me on the phone the next second and says that he wants to come to church but his ride fell through and he needs a ride. This all happens in 5 minutes, and my companion isn't there to help me because he's translating as sacrament meeting is beginning. It's at times like these in my life that I wonder, "What in the world have I gotten myself into!?" I ask a really nice member to go pick up my investigator and tell him where he lives, and he faithfully runs off to do it. I call my investigator and let him know that his ride is on the way, and run to grab a gospel principles book so that I can at least see what topic I'm supposed to be teaching before gospel principles. The bishopric decided to put off the baby blessing until next time (phew...).
The entire day on Sunday was like that. It was insane! It was pretty awesome at the same time, but it was more insane that it was awesome.
On the flip side, it really made me stretch myself. I was running a million miles an hour and speaking Spanish that I didn't know I knew. Missions are the coolest things in the world.
I love life here. I enjoy every single day to the fullest, and I give it my all 100%. We have a really solid baptism lined up for the 15th of November, and we have 2 more really good baptismal prospects for the last week of November. The work is progressing, and the ward here is just fantastic. Missionary work can't press forward without the help of the members-I've come to learn the importance of this more than ever now that I'm a missionary. Having members who are enthusiastic about missionary work and are willing to help and invite their friends is what results in success and long-lasting conversion. "Every Member a Missionary!"My time is short, so I must say "hasta luego".
I love you all,
-Elder Luke Shepherd
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