Providence is the bomb

email 5/17/10
Providence is sweet! All the other Spanish missionaries agree that Providence is the 'promised land' for Spanish missionary work. The city is huge, and there are few white or black people--just Hispanics. I'm speaking WAY more Spanish here than I was in New Haven, and it's a really nice shift in gears. The Spanish ward here is stellar, and I love going to church in Spanish. The ward definitely functions differently and has its quirks (every ward is unique in one way or another) but it's a good kind of different. The Spanish community out here has a really big heart. They're very understanding people, and they're accepting of anyone and everyone. If we bring a new investigator to church we don't have to worry about them not making friends, because the second they pop in the door there are already several members there striking conversation and making them feel welcome. It's also really nice to be in a ward where I have a unique musical talent again-nobody else here plays piano, whereas in New Haven there were many Yale students who played piano, so at least I got that going for me right away. It was a nice ice breaker this last week as I got to know a lot of the members after I played in sacrament meeting. They sure do appreciate the spirit it brings, and I sure love the opportunity to serve and be the Lord's instrument.
Musical missionary opportunities have actually culminated recently with a mission musical fireside that we performed yesterday. A group of musically gifted Elders and Sisters in our mission got together and put together a musical program focused on the Savior, and we performed the first of our 3 performances last night in Woodbridge, Connecticut. I played organ for the program and sang a solo. All the missionaries in that zone brought investigators and members to the program, and it was a hit. It was awesome to see a lot of the people I knew from New Haven there as well (It's nice to know that they still remember me after 2 weeks and that they miss me.) We'll perform the program again this next Sunday for the Hartford area in Bloomfield, CT. There is something special about music-it speaks to us in a way that our hearts and souls are touched. It's true that some of the best sermons ever preached are through music. I certainly felt that way during our program as I sat in tears of gratitude at the spirit that overcame me as I listened to other elders and sisters bear their testimonies through music. Music is no invention of man, nor can man claim hold upon this talent as if he somehow owns it; it's a tender gift from God.
I had a pretty moving experience this last week as I taught an inactive member family in our ward here. It was Saturday afternoon, and we had a lot of appointments scheduled back to back all day, so we were in somewhat of a hurry to teach this particular family a short 15-20 minute message and get on our way. Toward the end of our brief message, we addressed a concern they had, and I got the most powerful spiritual impression that something was seriously wrong in their home. We had already wrapped up the lesson and were leading into our closing prayer, so we were swiftly in and out of the house. I felt like we had merely chipped the tip of an iceberg, and that were was a very grave problem yet to be discovered. The impression bothered me the rest of the day, and we'd already set up plans to see them the next day after church. However, Sunday morning before church we got a call from the wife who was frantic and in tears and told us that she needed our help right away. We left church with a member of the bishopric accompanying us, and we rushed to this woman's home, finally acting on the prompting I'd received the prior afternoon. To our dismay, we discovered in speaking with her that her husband, who wasn't home at the time, had been violently abusing her and degrading their 4 children, all under the age of 7, for at least 3 or 4 years. She was torn with both her fear and love for him, typical of any battered wife, and she pleaded for council. This time I was able to open my mouth and let the Holy Spirit guide, and we were able to sort out the situation. She took her 4 kids and left the home, and is currently living with a friend until she can get a flight to South Carolina to be with her mother. This experience is one of many that has taught me that the Lord truly speaks to and inspires His authorized servants on the earth, and He does so for the benefit of His children. He inspires men and women to do His will, and I'm grateful for the men and women in my lives who have acted on spiritual promptings to reach out to me in my own times of need. I seek more to console than be consoled, but we are all both givers and receivers in life at times. Ultimately, we are given every good thing we have from God anyway, so let us be a bit more giving of these 'free' gifts.
Our investigator Daniel Ferrufino was baptized on saturday and confirmed yesterday. He has a rock solid foundation of faith in Jesus Christ, and he'll be a great strength to the people here in Providence.
I pray for all of you every day, and most of you by name daily. May the Lord bless you.
With much love,
        -Elder Shepherd

Mothers Day‏

email 5/10/10
So it was nice to call home on Mothers Day. As a missionary, it's kind of weird to call home and talk to everyone-it seems so foreign, even though it still hits so close to home for us. It was really cool to be able to talk with Matt and Andy in Spanish-that was a blast! I can't wait to come home and talk exclusively in Spanish with them so that no one will be able to understand us. It sounds like that family back home is doing really well.
Everything is going really well in Providence, Rhode Island as well. It's not nearly as ghetto here as it was in New Haven, but there is still TONS of hispanics to talk to. Providence is a HUGE city, and it's normally covered by 2 different companionships: we have a Providence North area and a Providence South area. I'm in North, but the elder in South, Elder Russell, was supposed to be training an incoming greenie, but his greenie broke his knee in the MTC just before coming out, and so Elder Russell was landed in a threesome with Elder Cohen and I. So now, I have 2 huge areas with a huge teaching pool to look after. The other 2 Elders were companions in the MTC together, and they're both 3 months younger than me in the mission, so I have to be the senior companion and work it all out. It's been an interesting situation this past week, but my companions are both really good elders, and we're getting along just fine. We're still waiting to see if Elder Russell's greenie might come out in 2 weeks or so, but they're not sure if they're going to send him home or not. We just have to wait and see.
Elder Russell is pretty cool. He's from Spanish Fork, UT, and comes from a really great family. We instantly clicked-we're both really similar. He plays piano and sings just like me, and he plays saxophone-he even played tennis in High School. We both like the same music and get along great.
Elder Cohen is from Sacremento, CA, and he's a convert of about 2 years to the church. He's jewish, and, of course, everyone in his family for generations is jewish. His parents are currently being taught by missionaries in California, and he told us this last night as he spoke to them on mothers day that they're both reading from the Book of Mormon and they love it. Elder Cohen is awesome, and he and I will work really well together. He wants to work really hard and he knows why he is here.
The work here is progressing really rapidly, and it's awesome to be a part of a spanish branch. We always had to translate in New Haven, because we had a mixed english and spanish ward, but here we have a spanish branch. It was awesome to go to church in spanish for the first time! I'm so stoked to be here!
I couldn't be more sure of what I know to be true. I know that this church is the only church on the face of the earth that is guided by Jesus Christ Himself through a living prophet. This church was restored to the earth through Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon is the crystal clear evidence that we can hold in our hands and examine. The Book of Mormon is a true book, a volume of holy scripture, written by ancient prophets upon the American continents. As we come to know that the Book of Mormon is true for ourselves, we become convinced of every other truth that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer. Every single revelation and act of the church ever since has been guided by that same Authority, even Jesus Christ, and the whole of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the truth. It is the reign of God established anew upon the face of the earth. We hold all the priesthood keys and authority necessary to run God's affairs on the face of the earth, and we do so justly in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Of these divine truths, not only do I have no doubt, but there is no room for doubt in a world of shifting values and moral relativism. To God we must be true and consecrate our all, including our time, talents, and lives. This is the testimony of God that is in me, revealed through the power of His Holy Spirit, and I echo the testimonies of all those who have gone before in defiance of the very powers of Satan rearing his ugly head in the rhetoric and wisdom of the world. I witness of the divinity of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and I testify that He fulfilled the sacred mission of taking upon Himself the burdens of sin heaped upon all of mankind. Only in and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ do we even have the slightest speck of hope or happiness in this life, and in the life to come. To this I have consecrated my life, and to this I will be true.
I love you all so much, and I pray to our loving Father in Heaven for your health and support.
                 -Elder Shepherd

Finally Leaving New Haven

email 5/4/10
7 months in New Haven is finally coming to a close. I got my transfer call last night, and tomorrow I leave for Providence, Rhode Island. My new address will be:
733 Douglas Ave. #6
Providence, Rhode Island
02908
It's bitter sweet to be leaving New Haven. I have fallen in love with everything here and I have gained so many valuable experiences. The members here have been awesome, and I'll miss them a lot, as well as all my current investigators. They all cried when I told them that I was leaving-it made me kind of sad, but I also felt pretty loved. I guess I did do some good here after all.
We had a BAPTISM YESTERDAY!! WOO!! Veronica and her daughter Digna were baptized yesterday! The baptismal service was incredible, and their determination and drive to endure to the end is outstanding. The ward and the Lord will take good care of them. My heart couldn't be more full. I'll miss them a lot, but I'm glad that I got to be here and play a small role and be a spectator in their ongoing conversion process. I'll send pictures...
Well, the weather here has been really wet and hot. The weather outside is similar to the atmosphere of your bathroom after taking a really long, really hot shower-it's muggy and hot, and you inhale a lot mist. There have also been some very sunny days, and I'm enjoying the beautiful weather. I'm probably going to ruin all my white shirts this summer by drenching them in sweat... I'm not looking forward to that.
I'm swiftly running out of time on this email. I love you all, and I'm grateful for all the prayers and support that you've given me. New Haven has been wonderful, and I'm excited to begin a new journey in Rhode Island this week. I know that God loves us and answers our prayers. I have felt this sustaining love and the enabling power of grace provided through the atonement uplift me through my most difficult trials.
        With much love,
            -Elder Shepherd

Reaching Out

email 4/26/10
ransfer calls are this next week again, and I don't know how much longer they'll leave me in New Haven. I surely will go wherever I'm called to go, but I'm really attached to the people and the ward here, and I want to continue serving here. We'll see how it goes down this next week...

We should witness the baptism of Veronica and Digna this next sunday! We had some wonderful lessons with them this week, and they are both very excited and ready to move forward. I got to translate for Veronica as she had an interview with the bishop of our ward here (I never thought that I would be fluent enough to translate from spanish to english or from english to spanish on the spot...) She's been through a lot in her life as her mother left her family when they were young and as she now tries to raise her 4 children away from the influence of her drunk ex-husband. She's a very strong woman with a lot of faith in God. That's what gives me the most sollace concerning her- she has an abiding faith in Jesus Christ. No one wants to see my investigators get baptized as much as I do, but surely, there is something that I want for more for them than that. More than baptism, I want my investigators to have an abiding faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement. Everything else follows that principle and seed of faith. I am confident in her determination and sincerity.

I feel, as I imagine my mission president feels in his stewardship over dozens of needy missionaries, that, at times, my life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds. I've built strong and lasting relationships with so many people here that I could never give each of them the amount of attention sufficient to reflect my love and concern for them. I do my very best to give them the time and attention they deserve, but I only ever get 1 or 2 45 minute appointments with them a week, and some not even that. Therefore, I always let them know how much I love and care about them every chance I get. We all have a great responsibility as far as stewardship is concerned whether it's in our families, work, or callings. There is a consequential insufficiency of time to accomodate all such demands as we would like, but that is why we must set priorities and take advantage of every second of time that we have. My hope and desire is that I may be a blessing to others and not a burden. In short, I yearn for the emulative character of a disciple of Jesus Christ, not in word only, but in deed, soul, heart, and mind.

For example, I only have very limited amount of time to email weekly, and I don't have time to write all my thoughts or feelings to all those to whom I wish to respond; nevertheless, my heart and prayers reach desperately out to all of you. You are constantly in my heart, and I appreciate so very much your prayers and thoughts in my behalf.

With all the sincerity that my mortal frame can muster, I strive to be a true under-shepherd of our Shepherd, and seek the one amongst the ninety and nine. My zeal faintly resembles that of Alma in the 29th chapter of Alma when he exclaims "O that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!". I do not aspire to position, rank, or 'greater calling', and yet, I have a desire to stretch forth my voice unto all who will listen.
Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Redeemer of the world. He lives and guides His church through His living prophet and apostles. He restored His church in it's fulness to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith, and has blessed us with sacred volumes of holy scripture that we may study and prove for ourselves. I know that this work is true and marvelous.

       I love you all!

         -Elder Shepherd

email 4/19/10

I sure have been in New Haven for a long time. I've seen all the Yale students come and begin their year in the fall, and now they're all going home for the summer in a couple of weeks. They have been doing tours with the families of incoming yale freshman this last week, and it's been pretty funny to see all the newly accepted Yale students as well walking around campus with their parents. None of the new 'Yalies' with whom I've spoken are receptive to the gospel as of yet, probably because they just got accepted to Yale and so they are really full of themselves and boast in their own 'strength'.

New Haven is a completely different city during the spring and summer. All winter long, it was really dark and rainy, and there were no leaves/blossoms on the trees or plants. With the springtime bloom on the trees the city looks so much happier and full of life. It's especially been great since the weather has gotten warm enough that we can exercise outside in the mornings. There is a park up the street from our home where you can play basketball and tennis, and they have a really nice jogging trail through the thick, new england woods. Life is good.

We had some pretty crazy experiences this last week. We tracted into a rather large man from Puerto Rico who claimed to be a former rap artist until his schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorders caused him to lay low for a while. He invited us in, and we were attempting to teach him about the Restoration, but I gradually realized that he was on way too much medication to understand anything we were saying, nonetheless to pay attention for more than about 5 seconds at a time until he had to start talking about something else. We tried to wrap up the lesson nicely and leave him with a commitment, but as we were headed to the door he started begging to know how he could get baptized and become an elder like us. We explained very briefly the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him, but as we talked about repentance, he ripped his shirt off from his chest like Clark Kent revealing his Superman costume, and, tearing it in half, said, " I hate this shirt!". He was on too many crazy pills... We explained that we had to leave, and that we would give him a call, and we left as fast as we could. It was a pretty exciting experience. I think that we're going to avoid his neighborhood for a while.

All of our investigators made it to church on sunday, which is an unprecedented occurence, so I was pretty stoked yesterday. Veronica and her 9 year-old daughter Digna came to church again, and they are both really excited about getting baptized in the next couple of weeks. Veronica's husband still doesn't want to talk to us, and every time we're over there he's drunk, but I'm so impressed by the faith of Veronica. She's been true to her commitments, and really strong in the face of a lot of adversity. Her friends and family mock her faith and tell her that she's a boring person for not 'partying' with them every night, but she stays true to her testimony and faith in Jesus Christ. I really admire the faithfulness of many of the people I have met out here, members and non-members alike.

I've been recently impressed as I read from the Book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. Enos uses a lot of very descriptive and powerful words in recounting his experience. I'm running out of time to write this email, but I would admonish you to read the Book of Enos and pay special attention to the way he describes his prayer.

The next transfer cycle is in 2 weeks (May 2nd), and I fear that my time in New Haven may come to an end. I love this area, and I have had a lot of amazing experiences here. I really don't want to leave, but I'm also excited at the opportunity for change. We'll see how it goes.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers!

           -Elder Shepherd