email dated 11/30/09
Ok, so this last weekend, an Elder who lived in our apartment previously broke into our apartment while we weren't there and left a goodie for us... When we cam back into our apartment, I opened to door to my bedroom to find a half-naked black man (not wearing pants) holding a baseball bat standing there. I started screaming. I turned on the light only to find that it was a very realistic mannequin that I had been punked. The other elders in the apartment had a really good laugh about it. It scared the heck out of me at the time, but now I can look back and laugh about it. I have great pictures to show you...
Yesterday was another crazy Sunday, and we had 13 less-active Spanish members at church! It was totally awesome! Many of them hadn't been to church in a long time, but Elder Pawlak and I are spending the bulk of our time reactivating the Spanish population here so that we can begin baptizing again. We're crazy busy with appointments for the upcoming week already, and we will continue to see more success. We have an investigator, Olga, who is moving towards baptism in the next couple of weeks. She is a superstar! She loves the Book of Mormon, and she loves going to church. She just has to quit her coffee. It's a hard addiction for many people to break, but we keep praying that she will find the strength to overcome it, and I hope you're all praying for her too.
It's beginning to get colder here. We've had abnormally warm weather for November (50's and 60's with sun), but this last week the wind started to blow really hard, and regardless of the 55 degree weather, the humid wind off of the ocean penetrates all your clothing, and it feels more like its 10 degrees. It's intense! I just can't wait until it snows! I'm eagerly awaiting the winters first snowfall here in New England.
I had a great thanksgiving. We went to our wards 'Turkey Bowl' and got to play some 2-hand touch football. Is was pretty sweet. I'm still really sore, but it was worth it. We spent all afternoon celebrating thanksgiving at a members home: the Bonneys. They have 14 children, all between the ages of 2 and 16 years old. It was crazy fun! We played board games and entertained them while the oldest daughters helped the parents prepare for dinner. After feasting, and a long day of thanksgiving day traditions with their family, we went to the church at about 6:30PM, and watched Ice Age 3. It was awesome.
Well, I'm running out of time, but I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Take some time to ponder about what matters most, and the things that you are truly grateful for.
Mucho Amor,
-Elder Shepherd
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Love Thy Neighbor
email dated 11/23/09
My first week with a new companion has been pretty much awesome. Elder Pawlek goes home on December 22nd, which means that he’s on the home stretch, and that I’m going to be stuck into a threesome right before Christmas. It’ll be pretty fun though-not as fun as a foursome, but still pretty awesome. Anyway, Elder Pawlek and I work really well with each other. He served in New Haven 1 year ago at this same time, so he has knowledge of the area and already has a relationship with the ward and some of the recent converts who he baptized a year ago. Our primary focus right now is to build up the attendance of Spanish members at church, and increase the activity of our Spanish members. We can’t baptize someone into the ward when they have no hope for fellowshipping because no one else goes to church that speaks their language-so we’re focusing a lot on the less active and recent converts. Many of the people Elder Pawlek baptized since last year have since gone inactive, so it’s a miracle to have him back because he already knows who they are and their conversion experiences. We’re gonna have such a good transfer.
It’s crazy how warm it has been this November in Connecticut. It hasn’t snowed, it hasn’t been rainy, and it’s averaged in the 60’s and upper 50’s. Everyone says that this is REALLY strange for this time of year, because normally winter begins to hit really hard right now. I’m OK with it, but at the same time I’m ready to embrace winter. I am kind of fearful for the humid cold and the ‘freezing rain’ though. This is absolutely the greatest time of year.
Ok, funny story time. So, last Saturday we had our car parked in front of our apartment, and as the other elders went out to leave for their appointment in the morning they saw it getting towed away, along with all the other cars in the street. With no prior warning, the city decided to clean our street and instituted an ‘emergency cleaning’ or some crap like that, and towed all the cars. It was so bogus, and totally not our fault! At the same time, there was nothing we could do about it, so they landed us with a $77 towing fee and a $50 ticket. Well, missionaries are already broke, and so every last penny of our foursome’s money went into paying for it, because we had to break into our emergency funds, and we had no money left for food for the next 2 weeks. Just great.
Well, just this morning we were racking our brains trying to figure out how we were going to eat for the next 2 weeks when a sister from the ward showed up at our house with a van full of food for us. “Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas Elders!” Sister Thomas exclaimed at our shocked faces at all the food she was bringing us. We were completely blown away at her generosity, and couldn't refuse the offering that she forced upon us. We were more than grateful as we unloaded a van full of food to the rim with enough food and goodies to feed the 4 of us for the next month and a half.
God takes care of His missionaries, I’m convinced of it. I’ve seen and heard some incredible things out here of generosity and kindness. We were visiting with a man in our ward last night who was given a brand new truck, free of charge, from a member of our stake presidency, because he was a distress financially and needed it to get to work. He related this to us with tears in his eyes and said “that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? We have to take care of one another.”
It’s so true. We have to take care of one another. Lift those who droop in sorrow, and offer your services to those who are in need. May we all learn to be more loving and concerned about our neighbors, and be loving to all of God’s children. Be aware of the poor and needy-they are our Father’s children, and He loves them very much. Especially at this time of year, you will have ample opportunity to serve. There are many good things to do and good causes to engage in, but whatever the project and act of love just remember to follow the admonition of the Savior to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. That is how we can serve God and show our love for Him. Our love is a direct measure of our faith.
I am doing very well, and I love the work I’m engaged in. I pray for your safety and continued success in all your endeavors. I love you all.
-Elder Shepherd
My first week with a new companion has been pretty much awesome. Elder Pawlek goes home on December 22nd, which means that he’s on the home stretch, and that I’m going to be stuck into a threesome right before Christmas. It’ll be pretty fun though-not as fun as a foursome, but still pretty awesome. Anyway, Elder Pawlek and I work really well with each other. He served in New Haven 1 year ago at this same time, so he has knowledge of the area and already has a relationship with the ward and some of the recent converts who he baptized a year ago. Our primary focus right now is to build up the attendance of Spanish members at church, and increase the activity of our Spanish members. We can’t baptize someone into the ward when they have no hope for fellowshipping because no one else goes to church that speaks their language-so we’re focusing a lot on the less active and recent converts. Many of the people Elder Pawlek baptized since last year have since gone inactive, so it’s a miracle to have him back because he already knows who they are and their conversion experiences. We’re gonna have such a good transfer.
It’s crazy how warm it has been this November in Connecticut. It hasn’t snowed, it hasn’t been rainy, and it’s averaged in the 60’s and upper 50’s. Everyone says that this is REALLY strange for this time of year, because normally winter begins to hit really hard right now. I’m OK with it, but at the same time I’m ready to embrace winter. I am kind of fearful for the humid cold and the ‘freezing rain’ though. This is absolutely the greatest time of year.
Ok, funny story time. So, last Saturday we had our car parked in front of our apartment, and as the other elders went out to leave for their appointment in the morning they saw it getting towed away, along with all the other cars in the street. With no prior warning, the city decided to clean our street and instituted an ‘emergency cleaning’ or some crap like that, and towed all the cars. It was so bogus, and totally not our fault! At the same time, there was nothing we could do about it, so they landed us with a $77 towing fee and a $50 ticket. Well, missionaries are already broke, and so every last penny of our foursome’s money went into paying for it, because we had to break into our emergency funds, and we had no money left for food for the next 2 weeks. Just great.
Well, just this morning we were racking our brains trying to figure out how we were going to eat for the next 2 weeks when a sister from the ward showed up at our house with a van full of food for us. “Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas Elders!” Sister Thomas exclaimed at our shocked faces at all the food she was bringing us. We were completely blown away at her generosity, and couldn't refuse the offering that she forced upon us. We were more than grateful as we unloaded a van full of food to the rim with enough food and goodies to feed the 4 of us for the next month and a half.
God takes care of His missionaries, I’m convinced of it. I’ve seen and heard some incredible things out here of generosity and kindness. We were visiting with a man in our ward last night who was given a brand new truck, free of charge, from a member of our stake presidency, because he was a distress financially and needed it to get to work. He related this to us with tears in his eyes and said “that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? We have to take care of one another.”
It’s so true. We have to take care of one another. Lift those who droop in sorrow, and offer your services to those who are in need. May we all learn to be more loving and concerned about our neighbors, and be loving to all of God’s children. Be aware of the poor and needy-they are our Father’s children, and He loves them very much. Especially at this time of year, you will have ample opportunity to serve. There are many good things to do and good causes to engage in, but whatever the project and act of love just remember to follow the admonition of the Savior to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. That is how we can serve God and show our love for Him. Our love is a direct measure of our faith.
I am doing very well, and I love the work I’m engaged in. I pray for your safety and continued success in all your endeavors. I love you all.
-Elder Shepherd
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Baptism #1
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
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
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
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Quick little Spanish tid-bit
email 10/26/09
Ok, so the way the verbs work in spanish is that there are basically three kinds: -ar, -er, and -ir ending verbs. (ayudAR=to help, descansAR=to rest, traER=to bring, servIR=to serve, etc...) You just change the endings to say something different. (ayudO=I help, etc...) Anyway, I'm not gonna get into all the details, but you can also add on prefixes similar to english when you want to say the 'opposite' of something like "dress vs UNdress" or "tie vs UNtie". In spanish you can add on DES sometimes to have the same effect. However, I ran into a problem with this one. You see, the verb for 'to tie' is "nudar". One would think that the verb for 'to UNtie' would be "DESnudar"... I was explaining repentance in spanish and when I thought I was saying, "We will untie ourselves from our sins," I was actually saying, "We will get naked in our sins"... desnudar is the verb for "to get naked or nude". Spanish people must think I'm such an idiot...
I hope you're laughing your head off right now.
Anyway, I just wanted to share the "Elder Shepherd mistake of the week"
I love you all!
Ok, so the way the verbs work in spanish is that there are basically three kinds: -ar, -er, and -ir ending verbs. (ayudAR=to help, descansAR=to rest, traER=to bring, servIR=to serve, etc...) You just change the endings to say something different. (ayudO=I help, etc...) Anyway, I'm not gonna get into all the details, but you can also add on prefixes similar to english when you want to say the 'opposite' of something like "dress vs UNdress" or "tie vs UNtie". In spanish you can add on DES sometimes to have the same effect. However, I ran into a problem with this one. You see, the verb for 'to tie' is "nudar". One would think that the verb for 'to UNtie' would be "DESnudar"... I was explaining repentance in spanish and when I thought I was saying, "We will untie ourselves from our sins," I was actually saying, "We will get naked in our sins"... desnudar is the verb for "to get naked or nude". Spanish people must think I'm such an idiot...
I hope you're laughing your head off right now.
Anyway, I just wanted to share the "Elder Shepherd mistake of the week"
I love you all!
I think I'm gaining weight...
email 10/26/09
I love all your emails- Keep 'em coming! I especially liked the Faith/Tyce/Nathan/Ivy/Kathryn email this last week. Good stuff. I love to hear what's going on back home.
Each week gets successively better here. Fall is in full swing, and I have a ton of beautiful pictures of bright red and yellow trees to prove it. I have to reiterate how much I love the trees. I'm such a 'sap' when it comes to 'trees and nature'. Ha-ha... I kill myself, I'm so funny...
We had the craziest rainstorm yesterday too. The rain was coming down in thick sheets--it was like a monsoon. It also happened to be one of the Elders’ birthday, so we went out to eat and celebrate that night. We went to this wings place--it was awesome. All you can eat wings/fries/drinks all night and your choice between 20 different flavors of wings with each successive plate. We were there for about 2 hours--pretty much awesome! I think I gained at least 20 pounds from just that meal alone.
The members here feed us really well. I haven't gotten to eat very much of my own food because we are meeting with a lot of members and less actives right now in preparation for this awesome activity. We're doing this really awesome activity right now with our ward to teach them about 'Preach My Gospel' and how they can invite their friends to this 'Invite a friend to church day'. We're having a special meeting on Nov. 15th in which all of the members have taken challenges from us to pray about their friends and invite them to come to church on the 15th. We've organized it so that only the basic doctrines of the church will be taught in the form the Preach My Gospel organizes it: Sacrament Meeting=2 talks about the Restoration, Sunday School=Plan of Salvation, 3rd Hour classes=Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a safe day to bring people who aren't familiar with the church to become acquainted with our basic doctrines and teachings without coming to some crazy fast and testimony meeting where they hear about how to 'Hie to Kolob' or some other weird stuff you hear over the pulpit from strange members... I could scare you with some of the stories I already have about fast and testimony meetings here. Your prayers would be appreciated in behalf of this activity we're planning. We also have 2 baptisms planned for that day as well, so keep praying hard for us.
So all the stuff we're doing right now keeps us incredibly busy. The work is progressing despite the fact the I'm afraid of sounding like an idiot every time I open my mouth to teach in Spanish. It's really scary when you don't speak the language, I'm not gonna lie. I trust in the promises of the Lord to His servants and open my mouth anyway with the faith that it will be filled.
We're teaching this Cuban lady right now (If you're unfamiliar with Cuban Spanish I'll fill you in: it's absolutely horrendous and impossible to understand) and she loved our lesson about the plan of salvation. Her whole family has passed away in a series of tragic events, and she left Cuba to get away from it all. She would be golden if it weren't for one thing, which is both good and bad--she finally got a job. It's good because there are SO MANY people out of work here and struggling to make ends meet, especially among the Latino population. It's a bad thing because she has to take on these ridiculous hours and now works 6 days a week, including Sundays. Bah! Satan has such a strong hold on things out here. We went to meet with one of our investigators on Saturday who has overcome drinking and smoking so he can get baptized just to find him drunk and hung-over because of an argument he had with his girlfriend. It's so sad to see the powerful hold these addictions have on people--they literally lose their agency when they're controlled by these addictions. We're helping him out now and continuing to give him our full support.
Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking! Stay away from any addictive substance including pornography--they will weaken your character and strip you of your ability to exercise agency. You become a slave to their pathetic capacity to provide temporary 'happiness'. "Wickedness never was happiness".
Take care of your bodies and minds, and make sure that you feed your soul with 'that witch doth satisfy'. Christ has said that "whosoever will drink of the water which I shall give them will never thirst..." Partake of the 'living water', and find happiness and strength through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have a happy Halloween this week!
Your Elder,
I love all your emails- Keep 'em coming! I especially liked the Faith/Tyce/Nathan/Ivy/Kathryn email this last week. Good stuff. I love to hear what's going on back home.
Each week gets successively better here. Fall is in full swing, and I have a ton of beautiful pictures of bright red and yellow trees to prove it. I have to reiterate how much I love the trees. I'm such a 'sap' when it comes to 'trees and nature'. Ha-ha... I kill myself, I'm so funny...
We had the craziest rainstorm yesterday too. The rain was coming down in thick sheets--it was like a monsoon. It also happened to be one of the Elders’ birthday, so we went out to eat and celebrate that night. We went to this wings place--it was awesome. All you can eat wings/fries/drinks all night and your choice between 20 different flavors of wings with each successive plate. We were there for about 2 hours--pretty much awesome! I think I gained at least 20 pounds from just that meal alone.
The members here feed us really well. I haven't gotten to eat very much of my own food because we are meeting with a lot of members and less actives right now in preparation for this awesome activity. We're doing this really awesome activity right now with our ward to teach them about 'Preach My Gospel' and how they can invite their friends to this 'Invite a friend to church day'. We're having a special meeting on Nov. 15th in which all of the members have taken challenges from us to pray about their friends and invite them to come to church on the 15th. We've organized it so that only the basic doctrines of the church will be taught in the form the Preach My Gospel organizes it: Sacrament Meeting=2 talks about the Restoration, Sunday School=Plan of Salvation, 3rd Hour classes=Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a safe day to bring people who aren't familiar with the church to become acquainted with our basic doctrines and teachings without coming to some crazy fast and testimony meeting where they hear about how to 'Hie to Kolob' or some other weird stuff you hear over the pulpit from strange members... I could scare you with some of the stories I already have about fast and testimony meetings here. Your prayers would be appreciated in behalf of this activity we're planning. We also have 2 baptisms planned for that day as well, so keep praying hard for us.
So all the stuff we're doing right now keeps us incredibly busy. The work is progressing despite the fact the I'm afraid of sounding like an idiot every time I open my mouth to teach in Spanish. It's really scary when you don't speak the language, I'm not gonna lie. I trust in the promises of the Lord to His servants and open my mouth anyway with the faith that it will be filled.
We're teaching this Cuban lady right now (If you're unfamiliar with Cuban Spanish I'll fill you in: it's absolutely horrendous and impossible to understand) and she loved our lesson about the plan of salvation. Her whole family has passed away in a series of tragic events, and she left Cuba to get away from it all. She would be golden if it weren't for one thing, which is both good and bad--she finally got a job. It's good because there are SO MANY people out of work here and struggling to make ends meet, especially among the Latino population. It's a bad thing because she has to take on these ridiculous hours and now works 6 days a week, including Sundays. Bah! Satan has such a strong hold on things out here. We went to meet with one of our investigators on Saturday who has overcome drinking and smoking so he can get baptized just to find him drunk and hung-over because of an argument he had with his girlfriend. It's so sad to see the powerful hold these addictions have on people--they literally lose their agency when they're controlled by these addictions. We're helping him out now and continuing to give him our full support.
Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking! Stay away from any addictive substance including pornography--they will weaken your character and strip you of your ability to exercise agency. You become a slave to their pathetic capacity to provide temporary 'happiness'. "Wickedness never was happiness".
Take care of your bodies and minds, and make sure that you feed your soul with 'that witch doth satisfy'. Christ has said that "whosoever will drink of the water which I shall give them will never thirst..." Partake of the 'living water', and find happiness and strength through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have a happy Halloween this week!
Your Elder
I love all your emails- Keep 'em coming! I especially liked the Faith/Tyce/Nathan/Ivy/Kathryn email this last week. Good stuff. I love to hear what's going on back home.
Each week gets successively better here. Fall is in full swing, and I have a ton of beautiful pictures of bright red and yellow trees to prove it. I have to reiterate how much I love the trees. I'm such a 'sap' when it comes to 'trees and nature'. Ha-ha... I kill myself, I'm so funny...
We had the craziest rainstorm yesterday too. The rain was coming down in thick sheets--it was like a monsoon. It also happened to be one of the Elders’ birthday, so we went out to eat and celebrate that night. We went to this wings place--it was awesome. All you can eat wings/fries/drinks all night and your choice between 20 different flavors of wings with each successive plate. We were there for about 2 hours--pretty much awesome! I think I gained at least 20 pounds from just that meal alone.
The members here feed us really well. I haven't gotten to eat very much of my own food because we are meeting with a lot of members and less actives right now in preparation for this awesome activity. We're doing this really awesome activity right now with our ward to teach them about 'Preach My Gospel' and how they can invite their friends to this 'Invite a friend to church day'. We're having a special meeting on Nov. 15th in which all of the members have taken challenges from us to pray about their friends and invite them to come to church on the 15th. We've organized it so that only the basic doctrines of the church will be taught in the form the Preach My Gospel organizes it: Sacrament Meeting=2 talks about the Restoration, Sunday School=Plan of Salvation, 3rd Hour classes=Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a safe day to bring people who aren't familiar with the church to become acquainted with our basic doctrines and teachings without coming to some crazy fast and testimony meeting where they hear about how to 'Hie to Kolob' or some other weird stuff you hear over the pulpit from strange members... I could scare you with some of the stories I already have about fast and testimony meetings here. Your prayers would be appreciated in behalf of this activity we're planning. We also have 2 baptisms planned for that day as well, so keep praying hard for us.
So all the stuff we're doing right now keeps us incredibly busy. The work is progressing despite the fact the I'm afraid of sounding like an idiot every time I open my mouth to teach in Spanish. It's really scary when you don't speak the language, I'm not gonna lie. I trust in the promises of the Lord to His servants and open my mouth anyway with the faith that it will be filled.
We're teaching this Cuban lady right now (If you're unfamiliar with Cuban Spanish I'll fill you in: it's absolutely horrendous and impossible to understand) and she loved our lesson about the plan of salvation. Her whole family has passed away in a series of tragic events, and she left Cuba to get away from it all. She would be golden if it weren't for one thing, which is both good and bad--she finally got a job. It's good because there are SO MANY people out of work here and struggling to make ends meet, especially among the Latino population. It's a bad thing because she has to take on these ridiculous hours and now works 6 days a week, including Sundays. Bah! Satan has such a strong hold on things out here. We went to meet with one of our investigators on Saturday who has overcome drinking and smoking so he can get baptized just to find him drunk and hung-over because of an argument he had with his girlfriend. It's so sad to see the powerful hold these addictions have on people--they literally lose their agency when they're controlled by these addictions. We're helping him out now and continuing to give him our full support.
Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking! Stay away from any addictive substance including pornography--they will weaken your character and strip you of your ability to exercise agency. You become a slave to their pathetic capacity to provide temporary 'happiness'. "Wickedness never was happiness".
Take care of your bodies and minds, and make sure that you feed your soul with 'that witch doth satisfy'. Christ has said that "whosoever will drink of the water which I shall give them will never thirst..." Partake of the 'living water', and find happiness and strength through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have a happy Halloween this week!
Your Elder,
I love all your emails- Keep 'em coming! I especially liked the Faith/Tyce/Nathan/Ivy/Kathryn email this last week. Good stuff. I love to hear what's going on back home.
Each week gets successively better here. Fall is in full swing, and I have a ton of beautiful pictures of bright red and yellow trees to prove it. I have to reiterate how much I love the trees. I'm such a 'sap' when it comes to 'trees and nature'. Ha-ha... I kill myself, I'm so funny...
We had the craziest rainstorm yesterday too. The rain was coming down in thick sheets--it was like a monsoon. It also happened to be one of the Elders’ birthday, so we went out to eat and celebrate that night. We went to this wings place--it was awesome. All you can eat wings/fries/drinks all night and your choice between 20 different flavors of wings with each successive plate. We were there for about 2 hours--pretty much awesome! I think I gained at least 20 pounds from just that meal alone.
The members here feed us really well. I haven't gotten to eat very much of my own food because we are meeting with a lot of members and less actives right now in preparation for this awesome activity. We're doing this really awesome activity right now with our ward to teach them about 'Preach My Gospel' and how they can invite their friends to this 'Invite a friend to church day'. We're having a special meeting on Nov. 15th in which all of the members have taken challenges from us to pray about their friends and invite them to come to church on the 15th. We've organized it so that only the basic doctrines of the church will be taught in the form the Preach My Gospel organizes it: Sacrament Meeting=2 talks about the Restoration, Sunday School=Plan of Salvation, 3rd Hour classes=Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's a safe day to bring people who aren't familiar with the church to become acquainted with our basic doctrines and teachings without coming to some crazy fast and testimony meeting where they hear about how to 'Hie to Kolob' or some other weird stuff you hear over the pulpit from strange members... I could scare you with some of the stories I already have about fast and testimony meetings here. Your prayers would be appreciated in behalf of this activity we're planning. We also have 2 baptisms planned for that day as well, so keep praying hard for us.
So all the stuff we're doing right now keeps us incredibly busy. The work is progressing despite the fact the I'm afraid of sounding like an idiot every time I open my mouth to teach in Spanish. It's really scary when you don't speak the language, I'm not gonna lie. I trust in the promises of the Lord to His servants and open my mouth anyway with the faith that it will be filled.
We're teaching this Cuban lady right now (If you're unfamiliar with Cuban Spanish I'll fill you in: it's absolutely horrendous and impossible to understand) and she loved our lesson about the plan of salvation. Her whole family has passed away in a series of tragic events, and she left Cuba to get away from it all. She would be golden if it weren't for one thing, which is both good and bad--she finally got a job. It's good because there are SO MANY people out of work here and struggling to make ends meet, especially among the Latino population. It's a bad thing because she has to take on these ridiculous hours and now works 6 days a week, including Sundays. Bah! Satan has such a strong hold on things out here. We went to meet with one of our investigators on Saturday who has overcome drinking and smoking so he can get baptized just to find him drunk and hung-over because of an argument he had with his girlfriend. It's so sad to see the powerful hold these addictions have on people--they literally lose their agency when they're controlled by these addictions. We're helping him out now and continuing to give him our full support.
Stay away from drugs, alcohol, and smoking! Stay away from any addictive substance including pornography--they will weaken your character and strip you of your ability to exercise agency. You become a slave to their pathetic capacity to provide temporary 'happiness'. "Wickedness never was happiness".
Take care of your bodies and minds, and make sure that you feed your soul with 'that witch doth satisfy'. Christ has said that "whosoever will drink of the water which I shall give them will never thirst..." Partake of the 'living water', and find happiness and strength through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I love you all! Have a happy Halloween this week!
Your Elder
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