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
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
No more threesome?
email 6/28/10
Well, Maria passed her baptismal interview, but her family continues to play this hypocritical role by telling her that they're 'understanding' and 'accepting' of her decision to be baptized, but also telling her that she's not allowed to be baptized. She said that, no matter what, she's being baptized 1 month from now. The only reason her family wants her to wait is so that they can try to fill her with anti-Mormon garbage and get her to change her mind, like they've been doing since the beginning. Oh well, Maria stays strong and does everything she needs to do. We just pray that 1 month will be a very short time.
Elder Russell's unfortunate companion who has been stuck in the MTC for the past 4 months is finally coming to Rhode Island this week. His doctor cleared him today, and he's flying out tomorrow. Elder Russell is pretty excited to finally have his trainee here, and we're pretty excited to be able to split up our 'huge' area into 2 'manageable' areas again. I'm getting a completely fresh area that hasn't even been touched yet. I'm pretty stoked—there are a lot of things I want to do with it. First thing: I'll be working on starting up a teaching pool from scratch. It's both exciting and daunting, but I'm looking forward to it. Elder Cohen is really excited to get out of the threesome so that he can take as long as he wants in the bathroom in the morning again. He'll learn to speed up once he gets transferred to a foursome.
I've been translating again the past 2 Sundays, but from Spanish to English. We've had stake high councilmen visiting our ward, and I've been translating in the meetings for them. It's really different translating from Spanish to English instead of English to Spanish—it works my brain in a TOTALLY different way. I'm getting pretty good at translating, though. I hope to continue to be able to practice translating—it's a really useful skill that the Lord has blessed me with. It's still REALLY difficult to translate in real-time, especially when a Dominican or Puerto-Rican is speaking, because they speak really fast with really terrible accents where they slur all of their words together and truncate syllables. Yuck! Sometimes, Americans are just as terrible to translate for. I never realized how fast we speak in English until I had to translate. I've gained a much greater appreciation for public speakers who can pace themselves and speak clearly from the pulpit—they are few and far between.
Elder Russell has been sick for the past couple of weeks with some stomach problems, and several times this week he needed to stay home for the afternoon. We got really organized with our ward missionaries and members, and we went on TONS of splits and exchanges. We actually got a lot accomplished despite the setbacks. It's been really fun to branch out and teach with other people too. This Saturday, we organized an afternoon where all the elders in my district and I are going on splits with young men from the ward. We've all got appointments set up to see either investigators or less-active families, and we hope to motivate the young men to serve missions. If all works well with this activity we plan to do it once or twice a month.
We're just getting ready to split the area, and not too much else happened this week, but this week should be pretty crazy. With the 4th of July coming up this Sunday, there's a lot of cool things that the city or Providence is doing. There is so much history here, it's insane. That's one thing that the West Coast sure doesn't have. I would still rather live in the West, though. I'm so happy to be where I am and to be doing what I'm doing. I'm really living the dream out here in Providence. This is truly the 'promised land'.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
Well, Maria passed her baptismal interview, but her family continues to play this hypocritical role by telling her that they're 'understanding' and 'accepting' of her decision to be baptized, but also telling her that she's not allowed to be baptized. She said that, no matter what, she's being baptized 1 month from now. The only reason her family wants her to wait is so that they can try to fill her with anti-Mormon garbage and get her to change her mind, like they've been doing since the beginning. Oh well, Maria stays strong and does everything she needs to do. We just pray that 1 month will be a very short time.
Elder Russell's unfortunate companion who has been stuck in the MTC for the past 4 months is finally coming to Rhode Island this week. His doctor cleared him today, and he's flying out tomorrow. Elder Russell is pretty excited to finally have his trainee here, and we're pretty excited to be able to split up our 'huge' area into 2 'manageable' areas again. I'm getting a completely fresh area that hasn't even been touched yet. I'm pretty stoked—there are a lot of things I want to do with it. First thing: I'll be working on starting up a teaching pool from scratch. It's both exciting and daunting, but I'm looking forward to it. Elder Cohen is really excited to get out of the threesome so that he can take as long as he wants in the bathroom in the morning again. He'll learn to speed up once he gets transferred to a foursome.
I've been translating again the past 2 Sundays, but from Spanish to English. We've had stake high councilmen visiting our ward, and I've been translating in the meetings for them. It's really different translating from Spanish to English instead of English to Spanish—it works my brain in a TOTALLY different way. I'm getting pretty good at translating, though. I hope to continue to be able to practice translating—it's a really useful skill that the Lord has blessed me with. It's still REALLY difficult to translate in real-time, especially when a Dominican or Puerto-Rican is speaking, because they speak really fast with really terrible accents where they slur all of their words together and truncate syllables. Yuck! Sometimes, Americans are just as terrible to translate for. I never realized how fast we speak in English until I had to translate. I've gained a much greater appreciation for public speakers who can pace themselves and speak clearly from the pulpit—they are few and far between.
Elder Russell has been sick for the past couple of weeks with some stomach problems, and several times this week he needed to stay home for the afternoon. We got really organized with our ward missionaries and members, and we went on TONS of splits and exchanges. We actually got a lot accomplished despite the setbacks. It's been really fun to branch out and teach with other people too. This Saturday, we organized an afternoon where all the elders in my district and I are going on splits with young men from the ward. We've all got appointments set up to see either investigators or less-active families, and we hope to motivate the young men to serve missions. If all works well with this activity we plan to do it once or twice a month.
We're just getting ready to split the area, and not too much else happened this week, but this week should be pretty crazy. With the 4th of July coming up this Sunday, there's a lot of cool things that the city or Providence is doing. There is so much history here, it's insane. That's one thing that the West Coast sure doesn't have. I would still rather live in the West, though. I'm so happy to be where I am and to be doing what I'm doing. I'm really living the dream out here in Providence. This is truly the 'promised land'.
With much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
No longer a teenager
I am no longer a teenager as of last Saturday, and I just wanted to thank all of you who let me know it in a special way. I owe shout-outs to Janice and Matt for the tie and 'goodies', my Uncle Alan and Aunt Shirlene for the awesome granola, Dennis Randall for the card and love, and mom and dad for the CD's, bubbles, and 'dulces' (Spanish for candy). I had a really good birthday!
I also owe a shout-out to all the fathers - Happy Fathers Day! It was an eventful week!
We got 14 new missionaries in our mission this week, which means that almost every companionship in the mission was effected by the recent transfers. My threesome still remains intact while we wait for Elder Russell's companion to finally get the OK from the doctor in the MTC to say that his knee is healed. In the meantime, we still cover 2 areas, and I've got my work cut out for me. With all the new challenges and difficulties we faced this week, there was a comparable amount of blessings and divine intervention to supplement. Maria still wants to get baptized this Saturday, but her family broke into open opposition this week. She expressed her feelings and concerns with us, and we reassured that God would strengthen and uplift her as she did her best to live His will. She has no doubts about the church, and she's already put up with a lot of adversity. She's ready to make this step and be baptized. We continue to pray that her family will be more understanding, and that Maria will have the courage and strength she needs to do what she knows is right.
A lot of learning Spanish is simply picking up accents. I find it really funny that I've picked up a lot of different Spanish accents. I can speak very clear/correct Spanish, but when I'm with Dominicans, I can speak like the Dominicans speak, and when I'm with Guatemalans, I speak as the Guatemalans do. I speak pretty good Mexican and Puerto Rican Spanish, but I still refuse to speak Cuban Spanish--it's absolutely horrendous. El Salvadorian Spanish is probably the clearest Spanish that exists out here. Andy tells me that Uruguayans speak really well, but I haven't met any yet, so I wouldn't know. I was recently talking to a man who spoke Portuguese, and I was shocked by how well I could understand and communicate with him. Spanish and Portuguese are really similar, and yet, so different. I'm going to try and pick up some more Portuguese while I'm out here.
Elder Russell bought a GPS this week, and we had a lot of fun with it. We put in the addresses to all of our members and current investigators, and color coded them with different colored flags so that we now have a virtual map of the area. It's REALLY useful, especially when an appointment cancels, because we can then pull up our map and see who is close by and who is our highest priority at a glance. It's the future of missionary work. When my kids are serving missions, they'll probably 'download' their ward directories and areas onto a standardized, missionary handheld device that will act as their map, cell phone, GPS, etc. I've got a lot of cool ideas about technology and missionary work, but I'll probably have to wait for technology to catch up with some of them.
I love the mission, and there are a lot of good things happening in my area right now. I know that God answers our prayers in the way that's best for us, and I thank all of you for your prayers on my behalf.
I love you!
-Elder Shepherd
I also owe a shout-out to all the fathers - Happy Fathers Day! It was an eventful week!
We got 14 new missionaries in our mission this week, which means that almost every companionship in the mission was effected by the recent transfers. My threesome still remains intact while we wait for Elder Russell's companion to finally get the OK from the doctor in the MTC to say that his knee is healed. In the meantime, we still cover 2 areas, and I've got my work cut out for me. With all the new challenges and difficulties we faced this week, there was a comparable amount of blessings and divine intervention to supplement. Maria still wants to get baptized this Saturday, but her family broke into open opposition this week. She expressed her feelings and concerns with us, and we reassured that God would strengthen and uplift her as she did her best to live His will. She has no doubts about the church, and she's already put up with a lot of adversity. She's ready to make this step and be baptized. We continue to pray that her family will be more understanding, and that Maria will have the courage and strength she needs to do what she knows is right.
A lot of learning Spanish is simply picking up accents. I find it really funny that I've picked up a lot of different Spanish accents. I can speak very clear/correct Spanish, but when I'm with Dominicans, I can speak like the Dominicans speak, and when I'm with Guatemalans, I speak as the Guatemalans do. I speak pretty good Mexican and Puerto Rican Spanish, but I still refuse to speak Cuban Spanish--it's absolutely horrendous. El Salvadorian Spanish is probably the clearest Spanish that exists out here. Andy tells me that Uruguayans speak really well, but I haven't met any yet, so I wouldn't know. I was recently talking to a man who spoke Portuguese, and I was shocked by how well I could understand and communicate with him. Spanish and Portuguese are really similar, and yet, so different. I'm going to try and pick up some more Portuguese while I'm out here.
Elder Russell bought a GPS this week, and we had a lot of fun with it. We put in the addresses to all of our members and current investigators, and color coded them with different colored flags so that we now have a virtual map of the area. It's REALLY useful, especially when an appointment cancels, because we can then pull up our map and see who is close by and who is our highest priority at a glance. It's the future of missionary work. When my kids are serving missions, they'll probably 'download' their ward directories and areas onto a standardized, missionary handheld device that will act as their map, cell phone, GPS, etc. I've got a lot of cool ideas about technology and missionary work, but I'll probably have to wait for technology to catch up with some of them.
I love the mission, and there are a lot of good things happening in my area right now. I know that God answers our prayers in the way that's best for us, and I thank all of you for your prayers on my behalf.
I love you!
-Elder Shepherd
Thursday, June 17, 2010
I'm staying in Providence
email 6/14/10
I'm officially staying in Providence. Elder Russel's companion is still recovering from a broken knee in the MTC, so we'll still be in our threesome until he come's out. We get the news today on when he'll come out, but it looks like we'll be in the threesome for at least 2 more weeks. Our district leader is leaving, and I'm the new district leader of our Spanish district. All of the other elders in my district are younger than me, and I only have 10 months in the mission, which means we'll be a pretty 'young' district. I'm the only elder who understands all of what's going on at church and in our meetings every sunday, since everything is in spanish and the other elders are all still learning. I'm really excited for this opportunity to stretch myself. This will be a really good transfer.
I'm not sure yet how I feel about turning 20 this week. I won't be a teenager anymore, which is cool, and at the same time, I feel like my childhood is somehow being taken away from me. The up's outweigh the downs, and I'm overall looking forward to it.
The weather has been mostly decent this week. It's been rainy on and off, but it's also been in the 60's and 70's, so it hasn't been too terribly hot. I continue to learn more and more how much Elder Russel and I are pretty much the same person, including with our new work-out routine how a couple mornings a week we wake up a little early and play tennis. We're a pretty even match, and we've had tons of fun doing it. Now that it's the summer, we can get out of the apartment to work out in the mornings. It opens up so many possibilities.
Life is super awesome, and we're still looking forward to Maria's baptism this next weekend. Her 16 year-old son started coming to church with her, so we're starting to teach him as well. Her husband still doesn't want to talk with us, but he's totally fine with Maria's decision to get baptized. Maria is cruising through the Book of Mormon, and she takes in tons of information. When we came in for our appointment this week, she began by saying,"You know, I mentioned to some of my friends at work that I was going to be baptized, and they told me that I needed to know some things about the mormon church before I went any further...etc..." I thought to myself, "Oh no, her friends fed her lies and hurt her faith..." Her friends told her that high ranking officials in the church still practice polygamy in secret and have 4 or 5 wives each stashed away, along with other garbage. I was kind of worried as she related to me what she'd been told by her friends, so I explained the truth and where the rumors probably originated from. I asked her if she felt that the Book of Mormon was true. She replied immediately, "I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true." I had nothing to worry about after all. As long as you know that, there is NOTHING in this world that can lead you astray. I explained to her the connection, and she beamed in agreeance. "I know that if they would read the Book of Mormon, they would know too." She's got it.
With the knowledge that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it was translated by God's prophet to usher in this last dispensation comes the realization of the truthfulness of the Restoration. It's the key of our religion because without the Book of Mormon we have no claim to modern prophets, revelation, priesthood keys, etc... It's SO simple- FAR more simple than we make it out to be sometimes. It's true or it isn't-black and white. If it is, then this church, as well as everything that accompanies the message of the restoration, is true. The real thing that sets God's church apart from any other church of men is because it is built upon the rock of Jesus Christ, which means that a continual source of revelation from the Savior has guided this church since the beginning. This church is just someone's 'best guess' at what ancient volumes of scripture contain and signify. We aren't just doing what we do because it 'says so in the Bible/Book of Mormon'. If this church does something, it's because that's what God would have it do. That's the key, that's what is so special! God speaks continues to speak to us, and He guides us, even now. I love the scripture is 2 Nephi 29:9 that says, "I (God) speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever." God is still doing His work today, and in order for it to press forward and function, His children are in CONSTANT NEED of divine revelation, inspiration, and guidance. More scripture comes forth daily as God speaks to His children, and an open canon of scripture in our day and age continues and set's God's church apart.
I love the work I'm engaged in, and I live every day "rejoicing that [I am] counted worthy to suffer shame for [Christ's] name', just like Peter and John in Acts 5:41.
I love you all, and I'm grateful for the prayers. Keep on keepin' on!
-Elder Shepherd
I'm officially staying in Providence. Elder Russel's companion is still recovering from a broken knee in the MTC, so we'll still be in our threesome until he come's out. We get the news today on when he'll come out, but it looks like we'll be in the threesome for at least 2 more weeks. Our district leader is leaving, and I'm the new district leader of our Spanish district. All of the other elders in my district are younger than me, and I only have 10 months in the mission, which means we'll be a pretty 'young' district. I'm the only elder who understands all of what's going on at church and in our meetings every sunday, since everything is in spanish and the other elders are all still learning. I'm really excited for this opportunity to stretch myself. This will be a really good transfer.
I'm not sure yet how I feel about turning 20 this week. I won't be a teenager anymore, which is cool, and at the same time, I feel like my childhood is somehow being taken away from me. The up's outweigh the downs, and I'm overall looking forward to it.
The weather has been mostly decent this week. It's been rainy on and off, but it's also been in the 60's and 70's, so it hasn't been too terribly hot. I continue to learn more and more how much Elder Russel and I are pretty much the same person, including with our new work-out routine how a couple mornings a week we wake up a little early and play tennis. We're a pretty even match, and we've had tons of fun doing it. Now that it's the summer, we can get out of the apartment to work out in the mornings. It opens up so many possibilities.
Life is super awesome, and we're still looking forward to Maria's baptism this next weekend. Her 16 year-old son started coming to church with her, so we're starting to teach him as well. Her husband still doesn't want to talk with us, but he's totally fine with Maria's decision to get baptized. Maria is cruising through the Book of Mormon, and she takes in tons of information. When we came in for our appointment this week, she began by saying,"You know, I mentioned to some of my friends at work that I was going to be baptized, and they told me that I needed to know some things about the mormon church before I went any further...etc..." I thought to myself, "Oh no, her friends fed her lies and hurt her faith..." Her friends told her that high ranking officials in the church still practice polygamy in secret and have 4 or 5 wives each stashed away, along with other garbage. I was kind of worried as she related to me what she'd been told by her friends, so I explained the truth and where the rumors probably originated from. I asked her if she felt that the Book of Mormon was true. She replied immediately, "I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true." I had nothing to worry about after all. As long as you know that, there is NOTHING in this world that can lead you astray. I explained to her the connection, and she beamed in agreeance. "I know that if they would read the Book of Mormon, they would know too." She's got it.
With the knowledge that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it was translated by God's prophet to usher in this last dispensation comes the realization of the truthfulness of the Restoration. It's the key of our religion because without the Book of Mormon we have no claim to modern prophets, revelation, priesthood keys, etc... It's SO simple- FAR more simple than we make it out to be sometimes. It's true or it isn't-black and white. If it is, then this church, as well as everything that accompanies the message of the restoration, is true. The real thing that sets God's church apart from any other church of men is because it is built upon the rock of Jesus Christ, which means that a continual source of revelation from the Savior has guided this church since the beginning. This church is just someone's 'best guess' at what ancient volumes of scripture contain and signify. We aren't just doing what we do because it 'says so in the Bible/Book of Mormon'. If this church does something, it's because that's what God would have it do. That's the key, that's what is so special! God speaks continues to speak to us, and He guides us, even now. I love the scripture is 2 Nephi 29:9 that says, "I (God) speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever." God is still doing His work today, and in order for it to press forward and function, His children are in CONSTANT NEED of divine revelation, inspiration, and guidance. More scripture comes forth daily as God speaks to His children, and an open canon of scripture in our day and age continues and set's God's church apart.
I love the work I'm engaged in, and I live every day "rejoicing that [I am] counted worthy to suffer shame for [Christ's] name', just like Peter and John in Acts 5:41.
I love you all, and I'm grateful for the prayers. Keep on keepin' on!
-Elder Shepherd
The Lord is my Shepherd
email 6/7/10
This week was another week full of hard work. We were on our bikes a lot this week, and we put a lot of miles behind us. I'm getting in really good shape here in Providence! The humidity is the thing that killed us this week. The temperatures were only in the mid 80's, but the air was very thick with moisture. We get out of the shower in the morning and we never get dry for the rest of the day. I prefer the dry heat to this nasty, muggy air.
Virginia was baptized this Saturday by her son, Daniel, whom we baptized 3 weeks ago!
It was a really awesome experience to see Daniel receive the priesthood and then be able to exercise it to baptize his mother. The blessings are pouring down upon us in Providence, and I couldn't possibly be happier. I kind of think that I'm really spoiled as a missionary. Elder Russell likes to remind me that, "We're not spoiled--we're blessed!" Either way, we're living the dream here. I included pictures of Virginia's baptism and of my district here. We're a pretty wild bunch of elders (In a good way).
I feel like I just emailed all of you yesterday--this week went by really fast. We're doing a lot right now to get our ward mission plan moving along. This ward has 3 companionships of Spanish elders in it, 2 companionships covering the city of Providence, and 1 companionship covering Central Falls, another small nearby city. We have about 20 called ward missionaries in this ward, and only 6 or 7 of them are active members. We're focusing our efforts on the 15 or so that don't come to church... I kind of feel like the bishop is just tossing out ward missionary callings to all the less-active members to force us to reactivate them. It's not a bad idea to get them to spend more time with the missionaries; we want to reactivate them and help out the ward. It's just that this ward functions very differently from any other ward I've ever been in. It's slightly dysfunctional just because most of the members are 1st generation members of the church who don't have any experience; so they were all tossed into the refiner's fire right off the bat. I love the ward, and the people are angelic, but we just have to be on our toes to make sure that everything runs correctly and that false doctrine isn't taught in the gospel principles class every week. I'm not complaining. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this ward and the members. It's just different--but I like different.
I only have 1 more week left in this transfer cycle--transfers are on June 15th. There's a 99.99% chance that I'm staying here in Providence. Of course, we're still in our threesome, and there's a shortage of Spanish missionaries in the mission, and we don't know if our President will send one of us away and leave just 2 of us to cover the 2 areas here or send another missionary to split up the area into 2 different areas again. We're already short on the number of Spanish missionaries we're supposed to have to support the areas we currently have, so there are several 'zebra' companionships right now with 1 English and 1 Spanish elder paired up to cover 2 areas and 2 wards at the same time. I'm really interested to see how this next transfer cycle is going to play out. Anyway, it's safe to say that I'm probably staying here. FYI= If anyone plans on sending me mail or packages, I have a new address that you need to send it to:
304 Pearl Street #203
Providence, Rhode Island
02907
You know, just in case you wanted to send me something... (It's my birthday on June 19th... if you wanted to know.)
I have seen so many blessings and miracles since I got here in Providence, and I continue to see more every day. I know that the Lord takes care of His servants, and He will always sustain them in their hour of need. I reflected a lot recently on a Psalm 23 in the bible, which reads "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." The psalm is beautiful, but this line in particular stuck out to me. What does it mean to 'not want'? Certainly, there are a lot of superficial things that I 'want' but am not blessed with, but I don't believe that granting our every whim is what the psalmist meant by that phrase. When the Lord is my Shepherd, and I am one of His fold, He will truly lead me to feed in green pastures, where the still waters flow, meaning that I will never be found 'wanting' in that I will have the necessities of life as well as the tender love and care of my Shepherd. I will always have what I need, and I will always be content and happy with what I have. It gives me a lot of comfort as I see the world in the scary and chaotic state that it's in today to know that I need not fear as long the Lord is my Shepherd and I am His sheep. Important question: How do we know if we are His sheep? "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.." Follow the voice of the Good Shepherd! Familiarize yourself with His voice by communing with him, reading the scriptures, going to church, crying unto Him in prayer... Pay attention to how He responds, and you will find that He ALWAYS answers you, and He ALWAYS leads you in the right path, but you have to do the following and follow Him. He cannot and will not force any man to heaven-you have to want it. If you want security, peace, happiness, and love now and in the eternities, use your agency and follow Him, and He will always take care of you.
I love my Savior, and I know that He lives and loves us, and guides us through His living prophet, and of this I bear you my witness.
I love you all so much, and I thank you for the prayers and your continued support.
-Elder Shepherd
This week was another week full of hard work. We were on our bikes a lot this week, and we put a lot of miles behind us. I'm getting in really good shape here in Providence! The humidity is the thing that killed us this week. The temperatures were only in the mid 80's, but the air was very thick with moisture. We get out of the shower in the morning and we never get dry for the rest of the day. I prefer the dry heat to this nasty, muggy air.
Virginia was baptized this Saturday by her son, Daniel, whom we baptized 3 weeks ago!
I only have 1 more week left in this transfer cycle--transfers are on June 15th. There's a 99.99% chance that I'm staying here in Providence. Of course, we're still in our threesome, and there's a shortage of Spanish missionaries in the mission, and we don't know if our President will send one of us away and leave just 2 of us to cover the 2 areas here or send another missionary to split up the area into 2 different areas again. We're already short on the number of Spanish missionaries we're supposed to have to support the areas we currently have, so there are several 'zebra' companionships right now with 1 English and 1 Spanish elder paired up to cover 2 areas and 2 wards at the same time. I'm really interested to see how this next transfer cycle is going to play out. Anyway, it's safe to say that I'm probably staying here. FYI= If anyone plans on sending me mail or packages, I have a new address that you need to send it to:
304 Pearl Street #203
Providence, Rhode Island
02907
You know, just in case you wanted to send me something... (It's my birthday on June 19th... if you wanted to know.)
I have seen so many blessings and miracles since I got here in Providence, and I continue to see more every day. I know that the Lord takes care of His servants, and He will always sustain them in their hour of need. I reflected a lot recently on a Psalm 23 in the bible, which reads "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want..." The psalm is beautiful, but this line in particular stuck out to me. What does it mean to 'not want'? Certainly, there are a lot of superficial things that I 'want' but am not blessed with, but I don't believe that granting our every whim is what the psalmist meant by that phrase. When the Lord is my Shepherd, and I am one of His fold, He will truly lead me to feed in green pastures, where the still waters flow, meaning that I will never be found 'wanting' in that I will have the necessities of life as well as the tender love and care of my Shepherd. I will always have what I need, and I will always be content and happy with what I have. It gives me a lot of comfort as I see the world in the scary and chaotic state that it's in today to know that I need not fear as long the Lord is my Shepherd and I am His sheep. Important question: How do we know if we are His sheep? "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice...My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.." Follow the voice of the Good Shepherd! Familiarize yourself with His voice by communing with him, reading the scriptures, going to church, crying unto Him in prayer... Pay attention to how He responds, and you will find that He ALWAYS answers you, and He ALWAYS leads you in the right path, but you have to do the following and follow Him. He cannot and will not force any man to heaven-you have to want it. If you want security, peace, happiness, and love now and in the eternities, use your agency and follow Him, and He will always take care of you.
I love my Savior, and I know that He lives and loves us, and guides us through His living prophet, and of this I bear you my witness.
I love you all so much, and I thank you for the prayers and your continued support.
-Elder Shepherd
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