So this week brings in another 6 week transfer cycle in the mission, but it also brings some more challenges and changes for me. I'm combining the 2 areas that I just split up back into 1 area because there aren't enough Spanish missionaries in the mission to cover all of the areas we have. So I'm staying here in providence, and my address is :
Elder Shepherd
304 Pearl St. #203
Providence, Rhode Island
02907
They're sending a missionary who is going home in 8 days to South Providence to help me join the 2 areas again, and then I'll continue work with my current companion, Elder Cohen, covering the entire city of Providence. My area is so huge, and I have TONS of people to work with right now. I'm definitely not going to have problems finding people to teach. My biggest task will be knowing how to prioritize my time so that I can be most effective. Planning will be more than my bread and butter, it's going to be my everything. It doesn't surprise me though that planning seems to be really hard for many missionaries. Missionaries in general are regular young adults who have never really planned out anything in their entire life beyond a date, and even that not very well. I've definitely learned the crucial importance of planning ahead and prioritizing my time out here in Providence. My decisions are usually never decisions between what is 'right' and what is 'wrong', but they are choices between what is 'good' and what is 'best'. I think it's really easy to fill up our time with 'good' things. The trick in our every day lives is learning the difference between what is important and what is not, or, in other words, what is MOST important. A lot of 'good' things in life just aren't all that important. We should daily seek counsel and assurance from the Lord regarding our decisions so that he can help us to see what is most important. Tell Him what your struggles are, and tell Him what is important to you. He'll guide and direct you as you humbly lay out your situation before Him and offer thoughtful solutions. Finally, ACT on what you feel is most important, and report back to Him in prayer how it went. As you follow this process of personal revelation, you can be assured that He will lead you in righteous paths, and that He will help you focus on what matters most. Remember, the purpose of prayer isn't to change the will of the Lord or to impose our will upon Him, but it is a means in which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into harmony one with another. When we desire to act based solely on our own wills or ambitions we ignore the will of the Lord in our lives, and we surrender inspired guidance and promised blessings. If we pray with the intent to submit ourselves to God and do His will, the Lord will make it clear to us how we should proceed. He will tell us in both our 'mind' and our heart'. This is important because it lets us now exactly how He answers us, that is, in both a logical way (mind/thoughts) and a revelatory way (heart/feelings). Thoughts and feelings are involved.
I definitely have my work cut out for me this transfer, and my district size is also increasing. I'm now the district leader over the areas of Providence and 4 other surrounding cities, and I have 10 other elders in my district besides my companion and I. I'm going to need to stretch a lot, but I'm grateful that the grace of the Lord is sufficient for my weakness.
I love you all, and I hope that you had a good 24th of July Weekend!
Your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
Monday, July 26, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
We need more love.
So, last week was really crazy, and I didn't get a chance to email, so I apologize for not writing everyone. This week was pretty rad, though, so I hope it makes up for it.
We had a leadership training for all the leaders in the mission on a new missionary program that the church is starting up. They're completely changing the curriculum of how they teach missionaries in the MTC's and how the training should be done in the field. The new curriculum focuses exclusively on teaching skills, like listening, asking good questions, adjusting teaching to meet needs, etc... I am SO stoked about it! The problem with most of the missionary force right now isn't that they don't know how to do missionary things, but that they really aren't being effective teachers. They're raising the standards as far as teaching is concerned, and they're more effectively teaching missionaries how to teach. The church also produced a new set of "Preach my Gospel" DVD's which shows examples from a mission in California of great gospel teaching. They're teaching all of the leaders how to teach and how to teach others how to teach so that we can then teach our districts and zones how to teach (did you get all that?) Anyway, I'm really excited with this shift in focus--it's definitely going to make missionary work more effective.
I noticed that since the training I received that I've been teaching WAY better than before. It's not that I wasn't a good teacher before, but I've really been able to hone my skills. My philosophy has always been 'love in teaching'. I don't care how capable the teacher is, or how well they explain things, that teaching means nothing without love and sincerity. God has blessed me with a whole lot of love to give--now he's helping me adapt my teaching skills. Love first, then teaching. There is no other way.
So I was visiting with Sister Flores, an inactive member of the church in our area who owns a little store in Providence in a pretty rough neighborhood, and buying vanilla extract imported from the Dominican Republic (it's SO much better than the regular stuff), when someone ran into the store to tell her that someone just threw a rock through her car window. We went outside with her, and sure enough, her entire rear window was shattered, and a group of little kids scattered. Sister Flores doesn't speak English, and she recognized one of the kids as her neighbor, so we accompanied her over there to see if we could clear up the situation. The neighbors didn't speak Spanish, so we were translating for her, and it was obvious that their little 9 year old boy threw the rock. It was also obvious that the dad didn't want to pay for it (I wouldn't either) but he came to take a look at the car anyway. Sister Flores wanted him to pay for the window, and he didn't want to admit anymore that his son did it because he didn't want to pay for it, so they decided to call the police. Of course, the cops didn't speak Spanish, and they favored the man who could speak English, so they just left without doing anything about it. I felt really bad for Sister Flores, who was the victim of not just some little boy's mistake, but an obvious victim of discrimination because of her brown skin. I did all that I could do to help, and at least I could give Sister Flores a voice and stand up for her, but her neighbor totally took advantage of her, and no one else would stand up for the little, old shop-owner from El Salvador. Where was the justice OR mercy in this? Where was the christian love that we should show for our neighbor? It's a sad story, and stories like that are all over the place here.
I wish sometimes that I could just take away the suffering and trails from those that I love, but I know all too well that I cannot. The Plan of Salvation would be pointless and ruined if that were possible, and we would never be able to learn or progress. I certainly don't love suffering, but I'm grateful for adversity in my life. It's the adversity in my life that has made me who I am, and it's my Savior that has helped me to overcome such adversity in a positive way. Without the suffering of Jesus Christ, all of the suffering that we go through is in vain. Without the Atonement that He freely offered, adversity would do nothing more than beat us down, and we would have no hope for the future. Through the Atonement, we are healed, we overcome tribulation, and we receive the strength necessary to fight another day and press forward. Let us face adversity and suffering with a hopeful heart and optimism.
We should learn from the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we should lift one another. Why don't we stand up for those who are oppressed? Why don't we stand as witnesses of Christ is not just word only, but in DEED? Let us lift the heavy hearts of our brethren! Let us show them the love that our Savior showed all of us! Let us allow the pure love of Christ to be our motive, our walk and our talk. Find someone who is hurting, and do something good for them. That's what Christ would have you do.
I love what I do, and I am honored by the opportunity to suffer scorn and affliction for the name of Christ. He already did the same for me.
Thank you for your prayers. I feel them sustaining me. I've never felt the power of prayer more profoundly in my life as I have this past week. Remember that the, "fervent, effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) I'll need your prayers this week as I have to see the doctor again.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
We had a leadership training for all the leaders in the mission on a new missionary program that the church is starting up. They're completely changing the curriculum of how they teach missionaries in the MTC's and how the training should be done in the field. The new curriculum focuses exclusively on teaching skills, like listening, asking good questions, adjusting teaching to meet needs, etc... I am SO stoked about it! The problem with most of the missionary force right now isn't that they don't know how to do missionary things, but that they really aren't being effective teachers. They're raising the standards as far as teaching is concerned, and they're more effectively teaching missionaries how to teach. The church also produced a new set of "Preach my Gospel" DVD's which shows examples from a mission in California of great gospel teaching. They're teaching all of the leaders how to teach and how to teach others how to teach so that we can then teach our districts and zones how to teach (did you get all that?) Anyway, I'm really excited with this shift in focus--it's definitely going to make missionary work more effective.
I noticed that since the training I received that I've been teaching WAY better than before. It's not that I wasn't a good teacher before, but I've really been able to hone my skills. My philosophy has always been 'love in teaching'. I don't care how capable the teacher is, or how well they explain things, that teaching means nothing without love and sincerity. God has blessed me with a whole lot of love to give--now he's helping me adapt my teaching skills. Love first, then teaching. There is no other way.
So I was visiting with Sister Flores, an inactive member of the church in our area who owns a little store in Providence in a pretty rough neighborhood, and buying vanilla extract imported from the Dominican Republic (it's SO much better than the regular stuff), when someone ran into the store to tell her that someone just threw a rock through her car window. We went outside with her, and sure enough, her entire rear window was shattered, and a group of little kids scattered. Sister Flores doesn't speak English, and she recognized one of the kids as her neighbor, so we accompanied her over there to see if we could clear up the situation. The neighbors didn't speak Spanish, so we were translating for her, and it was obvious that their little 9 year old boy threw the rock. It was also obvious that the dad didn't want to pay for it (I wouldn't either) but he came to take a look at the car anyway. Sister Flores wanted him to pay for the window, and he didn't want to admit anymore that his son did it because he didn't want to pay for it, so they decided to call the police. Of course, the cops didn't speak Spanish, and they favored the man who could speak English, so they just left without doing anything about it. I felt really bad for Sister Flores, who was the victim of not just some little boy's mistake, but an obvious victim of discrimination because of her brown skin. I did all that I could do to help, and at least I could give Sister Flores a voice and stand up for her, but her neighbor totally took advantage of her, and no one else would stand up for the little, old shop-owner from El Salvador. Where was the justice OR mercy in this? Where was the christian love that we should show for our neighbor? It's a sad story, and stories like that are all over the place here.
I wish sometimes that I could just take away the suffering and trails from those that I love, but I know all too well that I cannot. The Plan of Salvation would be pointless and ruined if that were possible, and we would never be able to learn or progress. I certainly don't love suffering, but I'm grateful for adversity in my life. It's the adversity in my life that has made me who I am, and it's my Savior that has helped me to overcome such adversity in a positive way. Without the suffering of Jesus Christ, all of the suffering that we go through is in vain. Without the Atonement that He freely offered, adversity would do nothing more than beat us down, and we would have no hope for the future. Through the Atonement, we are healed, we overcome tribulation, and we receive the strength necessary to fight another day and press forward. Let us face adversity and suffering with a hopeful heart and optimism.
We should learn from the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we should lift one another. Why don't we stand up for those who are oppressed? Why don't we stand as witnesses of Christ is not just word only, but in DEED? Let us lift the heavy hearts of our brethren! Let us show them the love that our Savior showed all of us! Let us allow the pure love of Christ to be our motive, our walk and our talk. Find someone who is hurting, and do something good for them. That's what Christ would have you do.
I love what I do, and I am honored by the opportunity to suffer scorn and affliction for the name of Christ. He already did the same for me.
Thank you for your prayers. I feel them sustaining me. I've never felt the power of prayer more profoundly in my life as I have this past week. Remember that the, "fervent, effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) I'll need your prayers this week as I have to see the doctor again.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
Friday, July 9, 2010
4th of July
email 7/8/10
I couldn't email on Monday because apparently we celebrate the 4th of July on the 3rd and the 5th, so OF COURSE the libraries were all closed. Tuesday we had zone conferences, and yesterday I had appointments scheduled for every hour of the day already (both a good and a bad thing), so I'm emailing on Thursday, and I will email again on Monday. Weird.
I think the founding fathers would be pretty shocked and a bit ashamed to see the way people celebrated the 4th of July here in Providence. There were lots of murders, lots of drinking, lots of car accidents, and trash EVERYWHERE the next morning. Everyone had hangovers the next day as well, so the whole city seemed to be a little lethargic. We deemed it kind of stupid to be out on the streets at the time, so we retired to our apartment early that evening (it was a good choice). "Happy Birthday America! Sorry that your party was so lame." (Who can guess that movie quote?)
This week was really cool because Elder Dowdy finally got here, and my threesome split up. It was bittersweet. I loved the threesome, and I'll miss it, but I'm excited to be in a normal companionship for the first time. I've been in a foursome for 4 transfers, a threesome for 3 transfers (including the MTC), and I've yet to be in a regular companionship, but I'm stoked for it. It's been a whole lot less hectic with just 2 of us, and I find it much easier to focus. I'm really glad that my teaching pool survived the split between the 2 new areas, and that I still have tons of work to do up in North Providence. This week has been really productive so far, and we still have lots of good things set up for this weekend, so all is on the 'up and up'.
I had a pretty cool experience this week when I found a woman, Luz, on the street to whom I just gave a card for a free video of Jesus Christ, and set up a return appointment. We showed up at her house for the appointment, and she actually led us to her daughters house so that we could teach the 2 of them together. We had a really good lesson with them as we watched the church video "Together Forever" and taught them about God's plan for families. Luz loved what we were teaching, and mentioned to me before we left that first appointment that she had been searching churches her whole life trying to find the 'truth' and had pretty much given up her hope when she saw me in the street. She said that the only reason she invited me back was because she was so blown away by how nice and sincere I was. She said that she'd never seen such a countenance in someone before, and even though she was weary of hearing about religion, she knew something was 'different about this one', just because I was nice to her. I have a testimony that there are honest truth-seekers from all different walks of life and circumstances. They are all around us, and they are kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it. Some are actively seeking for specific answers, and some just don't know what to look for. As members of this church, I pray that all of us may be more conscientious of the opportunities around to us to share the gospel in simple ways. Just being a 'nice' or 'happy' person may be the clue that people see about you that leads them to investigate the church. You don't have to proselyte, but you should always be a witness of Christ, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Being a witness of Christ is both profound and very simple, but whatever you do just 'let your light so shine before men... that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." Being a witness of Christ, in many ways, involves little more than just being good to people.
I love this Gospel, and I love this wonderful opportunity I have to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. I know that this church is true, and I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
I couldn't email on Monday because apparently we celebrate the 4th of July on the 3rd and the 5th, so OF COURSE the libraries were all closed. Tuesday we had zone conferences, and yesterday I had appointments scheduled for every hour of the day already (both a good and a bad thing), so I'm emailing on Thursday, and I will email again on Monday. Weird.
I think the founding fathers would be pretty shocked and a bit ashamed to see the way people celebrated the 4th of July here in Providence. There were lots of murders, lots of drinking, lots of car accidents, and trash EVERYWHERE the next morning. Everyone had hangovers the next day as well, so the whole city seemed to be a little lethargic. We deemed it kind of stupid to be out on the streets at the time, so we retired to our apartment early that evening (it was a good choice). "Happy Birthday America! Sorry that your party was so lame." (Who can guess that movie quote?)
This week was really cool because Elder Dowdy finally got here, and my threesome split up. It was bittersweet. I loved the threesome, and I'll miss it, but I'm excited to be in a normal companionship for the first time. I've been in a foursome for 4 transfers, a threesome for 3 transfers (including the MTC), and I've yet to be in a regular companionship, but I'm stoked for it. It's been a whole lot less hectic with just 2 of us, and I find it much easier to focus. I'm really glad that my teaching pool survived the split between the 2 new areas, and that I still have tons of work to do up in North Providence. This week has been really productive so far, and we still have lots of good things set up for this weekend, so all is on the 'up and up'.
I had a pretty cool experience this week when I found a woman, Luz, on the street to whom I just gave a card for a free video of Jesus Christ, and set up a return appointment. We showed up at her house for the appointment, and she actually led us to her daughters house so that we could teach the 2 of them together. We had a really good lesson with them as we watched the church video "Together Forever" and taught them about God's plan for families. Luz loved what we were teaching, and mentioned to me before we left that first appointment that she had been searching churches her whole life trying to find the 'truth' and had pretty much given up her hope when she saw me in the street. She said that the only reason she invited me back was because she was so blown away by how nice and sincere I was. She said that she'd never seen such a countenance in someone before, and even though she was weary of hearing about religion, she knew something was 'different about this one', just because I was nice to her. I have a testimony that there are honest truth-seekers from all different walks of life and circumstances. They are all around us, and they are kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it. Some are actively seeking for specific answers, and some just don't know what to look for. As members of this church, I pray that all of us may be more conscientious of the opportunities around to us to share the gospel in simple ways. Just being a 'nice' or 'happy' person may be the clue that people see about you that leads them to investigate the church. You don't have to proselyte, but you should always be a witness of Christ, no matter where you are or what you are doing. Being a witness of Christ is both profound and very simple, but whatever you do just 'let your light so shine before men... that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven." Being a witness of Christ, in many ways, involves little more than just being good to people.
I love this Gospel, and I love this wonderful opportunity I have to be a special witness of Jesus Christ. I know that this church is true, and I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
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