Heeeeey!!! How's it going?
It was great talking on Christmas! And yes, the time was short, but it helps to keep focused on the work here. Things are good! How was the drive down? How is the fam?How's today been in San Jose? 'Do you know the way to San Jose...' I'm guessing so, because it sounds like yesterday was really good! I did get Grandma and Grandpa's gift!!! That was HUGE!! I hope it didn't run them too much... And please, give them a big THANK YOU from me!!!
So...news since Christmas: The Cruz Familia has been confirmed!!!!! It was an awesome experience!!! I didn't do the confirmation, but I was able to stand in the circle and hear what wonderful blessings had been promised to them from their membership in God's church.
And other news, in terms of transfers..........
.....I won't be getting a new companion this transfer (As far as I know - things can change up until the morning of Transfer Meeting) Elder Kobayashi and I have some awesome plans we're looking forward to implementing over the coming months!!!
And that's most of the news that's been here since Saturday!! Not a whole lot of new stuff (but Elder Robertson is being transfered to another area, as well as Elder Nash and Sister Wright - She might be going back to Spanish speaking, which I hear she's anxious to do. Other than that...just 3 people being moved!)
I'm excited! This past transfer just flew by (though a big part of it was probably with both Thanksgiving - dia de accion de gracias - and Christmas - la Navidad), and so I'm hoping that this next transfer goes by just as smoothly. We were planning on going to NASA today, but that kind of fell through. Hopefully...during the next transfer we'll be able to go.
Is there anything you wanted/needed to ask when we talked, but just didn't have the time? I'm feeling fairly comfortable (with the language), but there are still times where I can't understand what people are saying! I want to work more at having a bigger Spanish vocabulary, and not just a Missionary vocabulary...But I do love speaking Spanish!! If I could speak it better, and understand it more, I'd speak it all the time! So I'll be practicing the language until I can speak it like that!! We actually even talked to someone over this past week who asked if my parents were from Mexico. That was definitely a boost!! The people here make it worth it. They're awesome! I don't know how much I've really said that, because it's so normal now. They're great!
Overall, I'm doing: Good! It definitely is hard right now, and a lot of times, but when we find and really help people like the Cruz familia...that is when I can be really happy, no matter what else is going on. Even if we're riding around with a piercing, icy wind and can't feel our faces...it's still good! Now, I wouldn't like to have days like that all the time, but every now and then isn't bad. And yes, I'm keeping bundled up. Those gloves really come in handy!! They've kept out the cold very well! They've been great!
I love you sooo much, and I know without all of you behind me like you always are, it would be SOO much harder than it is. But I know that this is the work of the Lord, and that He leads and guides it. And if it weren't for your examples, I probably wouldn't be out here right now. Thank you! I love you!
Well, I need to go now. It'll be very interesting to see who comes into our district, and what this transfer will bring!
I love you! Have a great New Year's day!! I'll talk to you soon!!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!
El Devinator
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Week 31 - Weekend in White - Wedding & Baptisms!
Hi Everyone!
In terms of lessons, we have done much better this week than most. But our OYMs are still suffering. We've been trying to find good places to OYM, where there are a lot of hispanics, and we might have found one, but nothing solid yet. Also, we need to plan time in to OYM, and I think once we've done that, we'll be back on track - in all of our categories. This area is working much better with bikes as we plan out where to go each day, and how to effectively work the area.
Our highlight for this week - We had the baptisms of Jose and Teresa!!!!!!!!!!! They got married in President Hernandez's office at 5:30, changed for the baptism, and then they were both baptized! But it was such a great experience!!!! And there were more people at that baptism than I've seen at the baptism of any one or two people!! Most of the branch showed up to support them!
And I don't think I've ever had to work harder at something before in my life! But the end result was very rewarding. I'm pretty sure everything that could have (or almost could have) gone wrong, did (Short of them not showing up at the baptism). I madde a list of the things I could think of that went wrong in my journal - There is a grand total of 14 things so far. But we kept at it. I feel that my faith has increased so much from this experience, and my testimony as well. I could feel the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost, leading us to what we should do next to guide the family to the waters of baptism. This Weekend in White has been great!!!! Marriage and two baptisms!!! AWESOME!!!! Plus, this has been the first time I have actually baptized while being out here. And I had to do it three times. It was kind of funny, because the water was chilly, and on the third time, I just pushed her all the way under the water for a second or two, then pulled her out. Even though it was an interesting experience like that, it was still awesome!!! One of, if not, THE greatest experience of my life thus far!
Let's see...after that, everything else just seems small here in comparison!! We're getting all ready for the holidays. The Arnett's son who is serving in the Armed Forces in California (But not really close - All the way out in the Mojave Desert), is staying here for the next little while. And at least one of their daughters with her kids and husband are visiting. So things are shifting over to a little bit of the wild side! But it's been really fun. Little kids are awesome to hang out with!! And I hadn't realized just how funny some of them are, too! Like, the Cruz's son - Crucito. He's 2 years old...and possibly over 80 pounds!! His run is hilarious, and he's always hiding in this cabinet under the TV and then jumping out. Crazy little kid!
We should be having a zone Christmas activity on...well, on Christmas! But the lame-er thing is that we have a half P-day on Christmas. Everyone's at home, but I've heard they're not really accepting of the message because they're so busy with friends and family. I guess we'll see!!
Wow!! That would be awesome!! Straight A's!! That's a big accomplishment!! And it sounds like they weren't the easiest classes in the world, either! Keep up the good work! Have you found what you want to do afterwards?
Make sure to congratulate Kaytlin for me!! Honor Band - I'd talked to some people in High School (and actually, Caleb Bronson was one of them) who did that, and they said it was amazing! That's so cool, that out of all of Northern California, Kaytlin was one of the 70!
Way to go, Justin! Keep up the hard work on the merit badges and your Eagle. I know for a fact that it'll help you later in life, even if there are things you have forgotten from your time in Scouting. I know you'll do great, and keep pushing on!
And Kristin! Thank you very much for the artistic paper in the Christmas box that mom sent out! It was so cool! I'm going to keep it for a long time!!!!! It always helps me to think of you, your sense of humor and how fun you are to be around! And I'll bet you're looking forward to Christmas! It'll be a blast!!
Well, I've got to hit the road. There's still so much to do, and so little time to do it in! I'll be calling home at either 3 or 4 o'clock on Christmas. It's going to be so awesome talking to you!!! I'm so excited!!!
Talk - yes, actually talk - to y'all soon!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!
El Devinator
In terms of lessons, we have done much better this week than most. But our OYMs are still suffering. We've been trying to find good places to OYM, where there are a lot of hispanics, and we might have found one, but nothing solid yet. Also, we need to plan time in to OYM, and I think once we've done that, we'll be back on track - in all of our categories. This area is working much better with bikes as we plan out where to go each day, and how to effectively work the area.
Our highlight for this week - We had the baptisms of Jose and Teresa!!!!!!!!!!! They got married in President Hernandez's office at 5:30, changed for the baptism, and then they were both baptized! But it was such a great experience!!!! And there were more people at that baptism than I've seen at the baptism of any one or two people!! Most of the branch showed up to support them!
And I don't think I've ever had to work harder at something before in my life! But the end result was very rewarding. I'm pretty sure everything that could have (or almost could have) gone wrong, did (Short of them not showing up at the baptism). I madde a list of the things I could think of that went wrong in my journal - There is a grand total of 14 things so far. But we kept at it. I feel that my faith has increased so much from this experience, and my testimony as well. I could feel the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost, leading us to what we should do next to guide the family to the waters of baptism. This Weekend in White has been great!!!! Marriage and two baptisms!!! AWESOME!!!! Plus, this has been the first time I have actually baptized while being out here. And I had to do it three times. It was kind of funny, because the water was chilly, and on the third time, I just pushed her all the way under the water for a second or two, then pulled her out. Even though it was an interesting experience like that, it was still awesome!!! One of, if not, THE greatest experience of my life thus far!
Let's see...after that, everything else just seems small here in comparison!! We're getting all ready for the holidays. The Arnett's son who is serving in the Armed Forces in California (But not really close - All the way out in the Mojave Desert), is staying here for the next little while. And at least one of their daughters with her kids and husband are visiting. So things are shifting over to a little bit of the wild side! But it's been really fun. Little kids are awesome to hang out with!! And I hadn't realized just how funny some of them are, too! Like, the Cruz's son - Crucito. He's 2 years old...and possibly over 80 pounds!! His run is hilarious, and he's always hiding in this cabinet under the TV and then jumping out. Crazy little kid!
We should be having a zone Christmas activity on...well, on Christmas! But the lame-er thing is that we have a half P-day on Christmas. Everyone's at home, but I've heard they're not really accepting of the message because they're so busy with friends and family. I guess we'll see!!
Wow!! That would be awesome!! Straight A's!! That's a big accomplishment!! And it sounds like they weren't the easiest classes in the world, either! Keep up the good work! Have you found what you want to do afterwards?
Make sure to congratulate Kaytlin for me!! Honor Band - I'd talked to some people in High School (and actually, Caleb Bronson was one of them) who did that, and they said it was amazing! That's so cool, that out of all of Northern California, Kaytlin was one of the 70!
Way to go, Justin! Keep up the hard work on the merit badges and your Eagle. I know for a fact that it'll help you later in life, even if there are things you have forgotten from your time in Scouting. I know you'll do great, and keep pushing on!
And Kristin! Thank you very much for the artistic paper in the Christmas box that mom sent out! It was so cool! I'm going to keep it for a long time!!!!! It always helps me to think of you, your sense of humor and how fun you are to be around! And I'll bet you're looking forward to Christmas! It'll be a blast!!
Well, I've got to hit the road. There's still so much to do, and so little time to do it in! I'll be calling home at either 3 or 4 o'clock on Christmas. It's going to be so awesome talking to you!!! I'm so excited!!!
Talk - yes, actually talk - to y'all soon!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!
El Devinator
Monday, December 13, 2010
Week 30 - Working with Families
Buenas tardes!!
Como estan? Todo esta bien aqui. Estamos trabajando duro con uno familia grande, para traerlos a Cristo por medio del bautismo. Hemos visto muchos cambios en sus vidas, y tambien en el espiritu adentro de su casa.
(Google Translation: "Good afternoon! How are you? All is well here. We are working hard with a family, to bring them to Christ through baptism. We have seen many changes in their lives, and also in the spirit into your home.")
It's been a big adjustment, going from a car in this area to bikes. We're still getting used to it. We'll have to check if there are any days where we can borrow the car from those in our district. That would make our time down in San Leon a lot better spent! With that in mind, that should leave time for OYM-ing (Open Your Mouth) scheduled in, and we should be able to make it to more appointments, if they are on opposite sides of town.
We're working with the Cruz/Melendez family still, and they're awesome!!! At first, Jose wasn't even thinking about marriage or baptism. Now, he's telling us that he needs to get to the court today so that they can be married before their baptism this weekend!!! I'm so happy to see their interest and the value it is in their lives. We're still working on them with their children, because they felt that their children were rowdy (though there were many more people who had rowdier children) and so they felt that someone should stay home with them. But things are going well on the Cruz/Melendez front.
Elder Kobayashi is awesome! He's always ready to go, even if he is a little tired at times, he knows why he's here and that's a great example for me. He's really helped me to enjoy the work, but work hard at the same time. The Gospel and 'fun' aren't at different ends of the spectrum. I think the reason I haven't said too much so far about Elder Kobayashi is because there's not really anything that I have to vent about (knock on wood), and we're having fun pretty much all the time. It's been great! I printed off a few pictures, and so I'll have to see if I can send some over there. It'll be great!!
As for calling, I think Sister Arnett said we can call from her house. It'll probably be at about 3 or 4'o'clock our time (1 or 2 your time? I don't remember...but hopefully, you can find out! I think we're 2 hours ahead, though...). We'll have 40 minutes to call then.
I'm pretty sure all the packages got here. There was the one flat one, with 2 others that were slightly bigger . Fun stuff! One of the bags looked like it has pajama pants in it - are those to wear for Christmas Eve?
I think we're supposed to be having a Christmas Zone Activity on Christmas Day, probably like a white elephant gift exchange. It should be fun! The zone is pretty big.
Sounds like this week was jam-packed! Did you get any jam? Anyway, how'd the rest of the White Elephant go? What did everyone else in the (immediate) family get? And how many dogs do the Henrys' have now? Seems like they're just getting more and more!!
This week was very intense. We didn't get almost eaten by dogs again (Although, one of the sister missionaries had a pretty big puncture wound from a dog bite - They're watching her for rabies. Fun stuff!!!), but we did see a HUGE accident off the 146 in Kemah. They had to life-flight 2 people away! And we were about 20 feet from the wreck - not when it happened, but there was a Pontiac soft-top that they had already ripped the top off of and were using the Jaws of Life (like when Grandma got in her wreck) to get someone else out. And we talked to a man who was slightly odd...he wasn't drunk, but he was completely against ALL technology. And he was ranting on how everyone was judging everyone else...kind of funny. "They do this, and they do that, but I don't judge people!!"
Christmas should be a fun time!! I'm looking forward to this time where we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer. It's amazing to be out here, serving Him, and finding out what it really is to love people and to want the best for them, even if they swear at us and reject us. They're great people, and I wish there were more who were prepared to receive this wonderful gospel. It will be very awesome, this weekend, to witness a true White Christmas as we see many people enter the Waters of Baptism. I am really excited for this, and I wish I would have realized just how important missionary work was before my mission. I would have worked so much harder to help out the missionaries, because every person really does need this Gospel.
Well, I've got to go now. It's weird to think we're already in Week 5 of this transfer! I'm looking forward to hearing from you next week, and then talking to all y'all on Christmas!!!
I love you!! Have a wonderful week!!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla! (Oh, and just wait until I tell you the story of how a couple of angels fell off the piano!! Remind me about that if I forget!!)
El Devinator
Como estan? Todo esta bien aqui. Estamos trabajando duro con uno familia grande, para traerlos a Cristo por medio del bautismo. Hemos visto muchos cambios en sus vidas, y tambien en el espiritu adentro de su casa.
(Google Translation: "Good afternoon! How are you? All is well here. We are working hard with a family, to bring them to Christ through baptism. We have seen many changes in their lives, and also in the spirit into your home.")
It's been a big adjustment, going from a car in this area to bikes. We're still getting used to it. We'll have to check if there are any days where we can borrow the car from those in our district. That would make our time down in San Leon a lot better spent! With that in mind, that should leave time for OYM-ing (Open Your Mouth) scheduled in, and we should be able to make it to more appointments, if they are on opposite sides of town.
We're working with the Cruz/Melendez family still, and they're awesome!!! At first, Jose wasn't even thinking about marriage or baptism. Now, he's telling us that he needs to get to the court today so that they can be married before their baptism this weekend!!! I'm so happy to see their interest and the value it is in their lives. We're still working on them with their children, because they felt that their children were rowdy (though there were many more people who had rowdier children) and so they felt that someone should stay home with them. But things are going well on the Cruz/Melendez front.
Elder Kobayashi is awesome! He's always ready to go, even if he is a little tired at times, he knows why he's here and that's a great example for me. He's really helped me to enjoy the work, but work hard at the same time. The Gospel and 'fun' aren't at different ends of the spectrum. I think the reason I haven't said too much so far about Elder Kobayashi is because there's not really anything that I have to vent about (knock on wood), and we're having fun pretty much all the time. It's been great! I printed off a few pictures, and so I'll have to see if I can send some over there. It'll be great!!
As for calling, I think Sister Arnett said we can call from her house. It'll probably be at about 3 or 4'o'clock our time (1 or 2 your time? I don't remember...but hopefully, you can find out! I think we're 2 hours ahead, though...). We'll have 40 minutes to call then.
I'm pretty sure all the packages got here. There was the one flat one, with 2 others that were slightly bigger . Fun stuff! One of the bags looked like it has pajama pants in it - are those to wear for Christmas Eve?
I think we're supposed to be having a Christmas Zone Activity on Christmas Day, probably like a white elephant gift exchange. It should be fun! The zone is pretty big.
Sounds like this week was jam-packed! Did you get any jam? Anyway, how'd the rest of the White Elephant go? What did everyone else in the (immediate) family get? And how many dogs do the Henrys' have now? Seems like they're just getting more and more!!
This week was very intense. We didn't get almost eaten by dogs again (Although, one of the sister missionaries had a pretty big puncture wound from a dog bite - They're watching her for rabies. Fun stuff!!!), but we did see a HUGE accident off the 146 in Kemah. They had to life-flight 2 people away! And we were about 20 feet from the wreck - not when it happened, but there was a Pontiac soft-top that they had already ripped the top off of and were using the Jaws of Life (like when Grandma got in her wreck) to get someone else out. And we talked to a man who was slightly odd...he wasn't drunk, but he was completely against ALL technology. And he was ranting on how everyone was judging everyone else...kind of funny. "They do this, and they do that, but I don't judge people!!"
Christmas should be a fun time!! I'm looking forward to this time where we celebrate the birth of our Savior and Redeemer. It's amazing to be out here, serving Him, and finding out what it really is to love people and to want the best for them, even if they swear at us and reject us. They're great people, and I wish there were more who were prepared to receive this wonderful gospel. It will be very awesome, this weekend, to witness a true White Christmas as we see many people enter the Waters of Baptism. I am really excited for this, and I wish I would have realized just how important missionary work was before my mission. I would have worked so much harder to help out the missionaries, because every person really does need this Gospel.
Well, I've got to go now. It's weird to think we're already in Week 5 of this transfer! I'm looking forward to hearing from you next week, and then talking to all y'all on Christmas!!!
I love you!! Have a wonderful week!!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla! (Oh, and just wait until I tell you the story of how a couple of angels fell off the piano!! Remind me about that if I forget!!)
El Devinator
Monday, December 6, 2010
Week 29 - Keep Investigators in Your Prayers
Buenas Tardes! Pues, casi esta!
I only have about 20 minutes for this e-mail, so hopefully, I'll be able to get everything in! Yup, I'm doing well. 's good. We started watching the Christmas devotional, but right after President Uchtdorf's talk, we were outside in the hall talking about a lot of the investigators we have. Four of them that we're working the hardest with are Jose and Teresa,(they're trying to get married) and Millie and Osiel (Daughter and father - we still need permission from her mother to baptize her) Please keep them in your prayers! They have baptismal dates for the 18th, so Satan is going to be working very hard to keep them from reaching those dates! Please, remember them!
I had a lot to talk to President about in our area, and so hopefully one day he'll be able to come out on exchanges with us. Jose and Teresa are awesome! They've been to church 2 times in the past...2 weeks! They are working on getting married right now, but the biggest deal is that they have to make it to the courts to sign the papers, but when they get there (because Jose works during the day) the courts are closed. So one of these days...we'll have to find a way to get them over there and get everything signed, and one of these days before the 18th. Because on the 18th (the Weekend in White), things are going to be crazy! We're working soooo hard to get these people to the waters of baptism, and we're loving it! You should have seen how happy all the missionaries were yesterday at church because everyone had investigators there!!! Hoo-ray!!!!!
We also have Osiel and Millie that we're working with. Millie likes coming to church, and it doesn't look like Osiel minds coming, either. We went over to his house in the morning and woke him up, so then he got ready and came to church! The biggest barrier is Millie's mom (though we do have a baptismal date with Millie right now!!!), and so we're doing everything we can to get that worked out. We want Presidente Hernandez to come with us when we have our next appointment with them, which is Tuesday, so that he can help to move things along in that area. We'll see how things go!
Well, that's been some of the biggest news here so far! We're all working towards that Weekend in White. Oh! And we had a booth at this town Christmas celebration on Saturday, and we talked to A LOT of people! We did most of the talking to them, though we did have two people come up and talk to us. Those were really good, because one of them, she had a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation. We also might be teaching someone who reads Thai better than English, so we received a Thai Book of Mormon to give to him. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet with him tonight!
Umm....Oh, the winter hat would be nice - the one I got from BYU. I didn't think it ever got cold here in Texas! And Kaytlin asked if there was anything she could make -Actually, there is! I don't know if she's still really into knitting, but if she is, I could really use a scarf! It would come in very handy against the wind and cold!
Black socks would do well as well. I've been running out of those faster now. I think the washing machine is eating them!!
Let's see, anything else...Were you able to get Caleb's address? ANNNNNDDDD.......I think that's it! Although, maybe a legit lightsaber would be cool. It would be legit. (2 ligit 2 quit!) YUP!
Well, I've got to hit the road! It's been Swell! I'm looking forward to hearing from you next week!
I love you!
Con Amor!
Elder Dev-o Collins
I only have about 20 minutes for this e-mail, so hopefully, I'll be able to get everything in! Yup, I'm doing well. 's good. We started watching the Christmas devotional, but right after President Uchtdorf's talk, we were outside in the hall talking about a lot of the investigators we have. Four of them that we're working the hardest with are Jose and Teresa,(they're trying to get married) and Millie and Osiel (Daughter and father - we still need permission from her mother to baptize her) Please keep them in your prayers! They have baptismal dates for the 18th, so Satan is going to be working very hard to keep them from reaching those dates! Please, remember them!
I had a lot to talk to President about in our area, and so hopefully one day he'll be able to come out on exchanges with us. Jose and Teresa are awesome! They've been to church 2 times in the past...2 weeks! They are working on getting married right now, but the biggest deal is that they have to make it to the courts to sign the papers, but when they get there (because Jose works during the day) the courts are closed. So one of these days...we'll have to find a way to get them over there and get everything signed, and one of these days before the 18th. Because on the 18th (the Weekend in White), things are going to be crazy! We're working soooo hard to get these people to the waters of baptism, and we're loving it! You should have seen how happy all the missionaries were yesterday at church because everyone had investigators there!!! Hoo-ray!!!!!
We also have Osiel and Millie that we're working with. Millie likes coming to church, and it doesn't look like Osiel minds coming, either. We went over to his house in the morning and woke him up, so then he got ready and came to church! The biggest barrier is Millie's mom (though we do have a baptismal date with Millie right now!!!), and so we're doing everything we can to get that worked out. We want Presidente Hernandez to come with us when we have our next appointment with them, which is Tuesday, so that he can help to move things along in that area. We'll see how things go!
Well, that's been some of the biggest news here so far! We're all working towards that Weekend in White. Oh! And we had a booth at this town Christmas celebration on Saturday, and we talked to A LOT of people! We did most of the talking to them, though we did have two people come up and talk to us. Those were really good, because one of them, she had a lot of questions about the Plan of Salvation. We also might be teaching someone who reads Thai better than English, so we received a Thai Book of Mormon to give to him. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet with him tonight!
Umm....Oh, the winter hat would be nice - the one I got from BYU. I didn't think it ever got cold here in Texas! And Kaytlin asked if there was anything she could make -Actually, there is! I don't know if she's still really into knitting, but if she is, I could really use a scarf! It would come in very handy against the wind and cold!
Black socks would do well as well. I've been running out of those faster now. I think the washing machine is eating them!!
Let's see, anything else...Were you able to get Caleb's address? ANNNNNDDDD.......I think that's it! Although, maybe a legit lightsaber would be cool. It would be legit. (2 ligit 2 quit!) YUP!
Well, I've got to hit the road! It's been Swell! I'm looking forward to hearing from you next week!
I love you!
Con Amor!
Elder Dev-o Collins
Monday, November 29, 2010
Week 28 - Thank You to Everyone!
Buenas Tardes!
First off, let me just say that Thanksgiving was great! It definitely wasn't the same as with family on most Thanksgivings, but we ate A LOT! We had our first meal appointment with Joshua Arnett, because his family wasn't home. They're out in Amarillo. It was pretty sweet - everything was microwaved, including the meat! And it tasted delicious! Then, we went to Presidente Hernandez's house and ate with his family. From there, we went to the Familia Garcia's house and ate some more, as well as shared a short lesson. Last but certainly not least, we stopped in at the house of the Familia Torres and had some bomb-diggity bean-and-hotdog-and-chile soup, as well as some chicken. Yup, we were stuffed for the next 3 days. Pretty great.
And, I wanted to shoot out a mass e-mail to everyone who sent birthday wishes over this past week/week and a half: If I had enough stamps, I'd write to each one of you individually and tell you how awesome it made my birthday! Thank you, one and all! It was a great way to bring in my 20th year!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
And thank you, mom and dad!!! It was great opening and reading all of the neat little rhymes and hints, and trying to guess what they were before I opened them. The birthday sign is still up over my bed!! It was definitely a great birthday, and I get to remember it each time I wear that awesome tie!!
This week went very well. I'm adjusting much more to being on a bike again, and we're organizing our area in order to visit more people on more days, without riding all the way around 7 or 8 towns. (Yes, our bike area covers at least 7 or 8 towns. Pretty intense) It's a work in progress, but it's going well.
This past week, we had set the goal for a baptism before the end of the week. There is a girl named Millie (12 yrs) who has been attending church, and wants to get baptized. We even received permission from her father to baptize her. But lately (these past 2 weeks of the transfer) we haven't been able to find her at home. We have an appointment tomorrow in which we are going to talk to her, her father, and her mother. We want to make sure she has that support from her family or really good friends before she is baptized so she doesn't get baptized into inactivity.
How are Elders Shelton and Squires? Wasn't Squires in our area before? Maybe he was in Chico...What are they like? are either of them new?
It's good to see everyone is doing great, minus the sickness going around. There's something very similar going around here as well. We had the opportunity to give someone a blessing last week for Bronchitis, and she's doing much better now.
And now, for the MISSION REPORT: (Insert Mission Possible music here)
We have a couple that is progressing. They have been to church, and their daughter was actually baptized by Elder Adams (Another Elder from California, I believe) during the first part of the year. They are planning on getting married, and we set a baptismal date for them for the 18th, and a marriage date for either on that day or before that. They said they don't want a big ceremony, just to be married (which is LEAGUES ahead of where they were at the beginning of last transfer, where they had been living together for about 12 years, but hadn't really even considered marriage). We're going to keep working with and praying for them, and we can't wait to see them enter the waters of baptism on the 18th, and enjoy such a wonderful Weekend in White!
The Weekend in White is a challenge we received from our mission president, where each companionship finds someone, or more than just one person, to baptize on December 18th and/or 19th. It's shaping up to be really good, and we're really hoping, praying, and working to make sure all goes well. We're doing our absolute best to do our part (and it's just so cool to be working this thoroughly and focusing so much on these people)!
OH! So today, for P-day, we have this cool scheduled activity - We've been talking to these kids at an apartment complex for about the past week. They've been shooting at us with nerf guns, and so finally we were like (and this was after Elder Kobayashi got shot in the same eye twice, and we were both hit with nerf darts a little...lower...than we would have liked), "OK! Monday, 5:00 - Nerf fight, us against everyone!" So that's what's going down! And there's this kid named Swell (Pretty swell name, right) who is ALWAYS outside swinging his lightsaber around and challenging us to a fight. I told him I am a Jedi Master (which, you know, I am), and that if he beats me, Jedi Knight Swell will be bestowed with the title of Jedi Master Swell. I am SO STOKED OF THIS P-DAY!!!!! I never would'a thunk I would get into a lightsaber duel while on my mission. I've also been thinking of a way (well, there are many, so a way that the kids would stay interested) to relate Star Wars to the Gospel, because almost all of them have seen it. It should be sweet!!! That is, if it doesn't rain...well, it should be sweet!!!!
Thank you for all the Birthday wishes, all the fun, and all the laughs!! I hope everyone has a great week, and if it's not great already, that it gets better!!
I love you all soooooo much!! Keep the faith!! Thanks for all the prayers and support! You're all in my prayers each and every day as well!!
Con mucho amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!!!
El Devinator
First off, let me just say that Thanksgiving was great! It definitely wasn't the same as with family on most Thanksgivings, but we ate A LOT! We had our first meal appointment with Joshua Arnett, because his family wasn't home. They're out in Amarillo. It was pretty sweet - everything was microwaved, including the meat! And it tasted delicious! Then, we went to Presidente Hernandez's house and ate with his family. From there, we went to the Familia Garcia's house and ate some more, as well as shared a short lesson. Last but certainly not least, we stopped in at the house of the Familia Torres and had some bomb-diggity bean-and-hotdog-and-chile soup, as well as some chicken. Yup, we were stuffed for the next 3 days. Pretty great.
And, I wanted to shoot out a mass e-mail to everyone who sent birthday wishes over this past week/week and a half: If I had enough stamps, I'd write to each one of you individually and tell you how awesome it made my birthday! Thank you, one and all! It was a great way to bring in my 20th year!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
And thank you, mom and dad!!! It was great opening and reading all of the neat little rhymes and hints, and trying to guess what they were before I opened them. The birthday sign is still up over my bed!! It was definitely a great birthday, and I get to remember it each time I wear that awesome tie!!
This week went very well. I'm adjusting much more to being on a bike again, and we're organizing our area in order to visit more people on more days, without riding all the way around 7 or 8 towns. (Yes, our bike area covers at least 7 or 8 towns. Pretty intense) It's a work in progress, but it's going well.
This past week, we had set the goal for a baptism before the end of the week. There is a girl named Millie (12 yrs) who has been attending church, and wants to get baptized. We even received permission from her father to baptize her. But lately (these past 2 weeks of the transfer) we haven't been able to find her at home. We have an appointment tomorrow in which we are going to talk to her, her father, and her mother. We want to make sure she has that support from her family or really good friends before she is baptized so she doesn't get baptized into inactivity.
How are Elders Shelton and Squires? Wasn't Squires in our area before? Maybe he was in Chico...What are they like? are either of them new?
It's good to see everyone is doing great, minus the sickness going around. There's something very similar going around here as well. We had the opportunity to give someone a blessing last week for Bronchitis, and she's doing much better now.
And now, for the MISSION REPORT: (Insert Mission Possible music here)
We have a couple that is progressing. They have been to church, and their daughter was actually baptized by Elder Adams (Another Elder from California, I believe) during the first part of the year. They are planning on getting married, and we set a baptismal date for them for the 18th, and a marriage date for either on that day or before that. They said they don't want a big ceremony, just to be married (which is LEAGUES ahead of where they were at the beginning of last transfer, where they had been living together for about 12 years, but hadn't really even considered marriage). We're going to keep working with and praying for them, and we can't wait to see them enter the waters of baptism on the 18th, and enjoy such a wonderful Weekend in White!
The Weekend in White is a challenge we received from our mission president, where each companionship finds someone, or more than just one person, to baptize on December 18th and/or 19th. It's shaping up to be really good, and we're really hoping, praying, and working to make sure all goes well. We're doing our absolute best to do our part (and it's just so cool to be working this thoroughly and focusing so much on these people)!
OH! So today, for P-day, we have this cool scheduled activity - We've been talking to these kids at an apartment complex for about the past week. They've been shooting at us with nerf guns, and so finally we were like (and this was after Elder Kobayashi got shot in the same eye twice, and we were both hit with nerf darts a little...lower...than we would have liked), "OK! Monday, 5:00 - Nerf fight, us against everyone!" So that's what's going down! And there's this kid named Swell (Pretty swell name, right) who is ALWAYS outside swinging his lightsaber around and challenging us to a fight. I told him I am a Jedi Master (which, you know, I am), and that if he beats me, Jedi Knight Swell will be bestowed with the title of Jedi Master Swell. I am SO STOKED OF THIS P-DAY!!!!! I never would'a thunk I would get into a lightsaber duel while on my mission. I've also been thinking of a way (well, there are many, so a way that the kids would stay interested) to relate Star Wars to the Gospel, because almost all of them have seen it. It should be sweet!!! That is, if it doesn't rain...well, it should be sweet!!!!
Thank you for all the Birthday wishes, all the fun, and all the laughs!! I hope everyone has a great week, and if it's not great already, that it gets better!!
I love you all soooooo much!! Keep the faith!! Thanks for all the prayers and support! You're all in my prayers each and every day as well!!
Con mucho amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!!!
El Devinator
Friday, November 26, 2010
Week 27 - Happy Birthday, Elder Collins!
BUENOS DIAS!!!!!
COMO ESTAIS?
This week has been chalk-full (wow, my english is failing even more now...is that even the right kind of chalk?) of adventures, suspense, intrigue, and large dogs.
But before I dive into my tale of tails, I'd like to discuss this business section.
Sorry I couldn't get a letter out last week! It was a jam-packed P-day, what with Elder McGuire packing up, playing games with the Zone Leaders, and going out to get frozen yogurt (which was again very good. I got some when I went down to visit Courtney Fuhriman in Danville). Good stuff, though a busy day. And I'm going to be doing a lot of writing to do for all the birthday cards and packages that are up here right now!
Umm...yup, the 2 short-sleve white shirts, 1 long sleve white shirt, sweater (probably black would be best), and the gloves are to wear while I'm riding my bike to keep warm, so whatever type you think would work best for that. I'm also looking at maybe getting a smaller camelback/backpack, but I'm not sure yet, so don't worry about that one too much right now. There might be a good one over at Wal-Mart, but I'm still not sure yet.
And yes, unfortunately, I wasn't able to hear a lot of what was on the tape. Was it the tape, or the recorder? Or, I guess, which one do you think it was?
Okey dokey! Meanwhile, back in Kemah, Texas...
So, out of the entire district, Elder McGuire was the only one to be transfered. Sad day...He's one of my best friends. But, now he can go on exchanges over to one of his old areas, and see some converts he has there! So I'm guessing he'll be very excited about that. And his companion is my old MTC companion, Elder Rice! Oh, and something Elder Kobayashi - my new companion from Idaho - pointed out was that out here in the field, I'm 4 for 4: 4 transfers in the field, and 4 companions. 5 for 5 if you count the MTC with Elder Rice! Then there was Elder Jenks, Elder Neilson, Elder McGuire, and now Elder Kobayashi. Cool stuff!
Then, later on in Monday, we celebrated Elder McGuire and my cumplianos bu going to a sushi place called Ichibons. Actually, the california rolls were very good. There was someone who cooked the rest of the food on this grill in front of us, and while he cooked it, he'd do different tricks and things with his knives, spatulas, and the food. It was really great! And, we realized that he was Mexican, so we started talking to him in Spanish. Actually, almost no one at that restaurant was Chinese...interesting...
Then, the first night Elder Kobayashi and I were companions out here, we had a pretty hairy encounter (and now I'm paranoid ever since). So, we went to this house that said: "NO TRESPASSING," and, "BEWARE OF DOG," but we thought those signs were just there to keep people out. So we walked up and rattled the gate, but no dogs came running. So we stepped in and took a couple of steps towards the house before a little dog (just a little bit bigger than Coco or Choxy) came running out and barked at us. So we thought, "Okay, no big deal." So we took another step in, and just then, a dog that was about half Phoenix's size bigger came bounding up. He had sharp teeth. The instant we saw him, I turned around, but Elder Kobayashi was already outside the gate. So I booked it around the gate and slammed it shut just as the dog jumped up and tried to bite us. Man, that gets the blood pumping! That was crazy! And when the lady came out to see what was going on, we contacted her, she said no, and we went on our merry little way, adrenaline still rushing.
Needless to say, it was an awesome way to start off the transfer.
Oh, and we're a bike area now. And my health stuff is actually going quite well with it. My numbers have been normal, not too high or low at all. I think the exercise has been helping a lot. But things are going well - no problems here thus far (knock on wood!)!
And one last thing before I go - We've been contacting a few different people from Guatamala, and so I'm really focused on learning one, part of one, or more than one dialect that they speak there, at least Quiche (Key - Chay). I'm excited! Should be fun!
Well, I've got to hit the road! We've got a volleyball game with some of the youth from the ward set up - should be intense!
I love y'all!!!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!
El Devinator
COMO ESTAIS?
This week has been chalk-full (wow, my english is failing even more now...is that even the right kind of chalk?) of adventures, suspense, intrigue, and large dogs.
But before I dive into my tale of tails, I'd like to discuss this business section.
Sorry I couldn't get a letter out last week! It was a jam-packed P-day, what with Elder McGuire packing up, playing games with the Zone Leaders, and going out to get frozen yogurt (which was again very good. I got some when I went down to visit Courtney Fuhriman in Danville). Good stuff, though a busy day. And I'm going to be doing a lot of writing to do for all the birthday cards and packages that are up here right now!
Umm...yup, the 2 short-sleve white shirts, 1 long sleve white shirt, sweater (probably black would be best), and the gloves are to wear while I'm riding my bike to keep warm, so whatever type you think would work best for that. I'm also looking at maybe getting a smaller camelback/backpack, but I'm not sure yet, so don't worry about that one too much right now. There might be a good one over at Wal-Mart, but I'm still not sure yet.
And yes, unfortunately, I wasn't able to hear a lot of what was on the tape. Was it the tape, or the recorder? Or, I guess, which one do you think it was?
Okey dokey! Meanwhile, back in Kemah, Texas...
So, out of the entire district, Elder McGuire was the only one to be transfered. Sad day...He's one of my best friends. But, now he can go on exchanges over to one of his old areas, and see some converts he has there! So I'm guessing he'll be very excited about that. And his companion is my old MTC companion, Elder Rice! Oh, and something Elder Kobayashi - my new companion from Idaho - pointed out was that out here in the field, I'm 4 for 4: 4 transfers in the field, and 4 companions. 5 for 5 if you count the MTC with Elder Rice! Then there was Elder Jenks, Elder Neilson, Elder McGuire, and now Elder Kobayashi. Cool stuff!
Then, later on in Monday, we celebrated Elder McGuire and my cumplianos bu going to a sushi place called Ichibons. Actually, the california rolls were very good. There was someone who cooked the rest of the food on this grill in front of us, and while he cooked it, he'd do different tricks and things with his knives, spatulas, and the food. It was really great! And, we realized that he was Mexican, so we started talking to him in Spanish. Actually, almost no one at that restaurant was Chinese...interesting...
Then, the first night Elder Kobayashi and I were companions out here, we had a pretty hairy encounter (and now I'm paranoid ever since). So, we went to this house that said: "NO TRESPASSING," and, "BEWARE OF DOG," but we thought those signs were just there to keep people out. So we walked up and rattled the gate, but no dogs came running. So we stepped in and took a couple of steps towards the house before a little dog (just a little bit bigger than Coco or Choxy) came running out and barked at us. So we thought, "Okay, no big deal." So we took another step in, and just then, a dog that was about half Phoenix's size bigger came bounding up. He had sharp teeth. The instant we saw him, I turned around, but Elder Kobayashi was already outside the gate. So I booked it around the gate and slammed it shut just as the dog jumped up and tried to bite us. Man, that gets the blood pumping! That was crazy! And when the lady came out to see what was going on, we contacted her, she said no, and we went on our merry little way, adrenaline still rushing.
Needless to say, it was an awesome way to start off the transfer.
Oh, and we're a bike area now. And my health stuff is actually going quite well with it. My numbers have been normal, not too high or low at all. I think the exercise has been helping a lot. But things are going well - no problems here thus far (knock on wood!)!
And one last thing before I go - We've been contacting a few different people from Guatamala, and so I'm really focused on learning one, part of one, or more than one dialect that they speak there, at least Quiche (Key - Chay). I'm excited! Should be fun!
Well, I've got to hit the road! We've got a volleyball game with some of the youth from the ward set up - should be intense!
I love y'all!!!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!
El Devinator
Monday, November 15, 2010
Week 26 - Rosmin's baptism was AMAZING!!!! Bien espiritual!
Hey hey hey! Estoy aqui today!
So, I guess I'll hit the bold points first! Here we go!
Yup, Sister Arnett pays for all of our food! It's very awesome! Their family is amazing!
Other supplies...I might need uno or dos short-sleeve shirts, and one long-sleeve shirt. I think I also might look at one of those sweaters to wear over, but by mission rules, it needs to be a v-neck (more or less) to show the tie.
CHRISTMAS!!! I'm so looking forward to the season! We're going to go caroling sometime in there, and (I'll probably need gloves...did you know it actually gets cool here?!) so I'll need to keep bundled up for that! Oh yeah! I've got that jacket from a while ago, that I wore when it snowed in the MTC. That one is still good! So good!
And now for the letter. bum bum BUM! Here we go!
It's been an amazing week! Rosmin's baptism was AMAZING!!!! Plus, it was really fun getting everything ready for it. We found out halfway through the day that Elder McGuire (I was on exchanges with Elder Nash in our area) that he had made all these really good plans...but almost nobody knew about them! Such as speaking, giving testimony, or what to bring for the baptism. It was some good work getting everything done, and it turned out swell in the end.
With her baptism (and I'll be sending you a tape whereupon my thoughts and feelings of the baptism are recorded), it was bien espiritual! She came up out of the water, and when she bore her testimony, both she and her future husband (who is a member of the Church) were crying (haha he more than she). But it is something I want everyone to feel. Words can't describe the feelings that were there, and the love that everyone had for her.
When she was confirmed the next day at church, it was very awesome seeing the promised blessings she received from her future husband. She is now part of a very big family!
We're doing a lot of good work here, and we're going to do even better. Sorry I don't have a lot of time to write today. I just wanted you to know how happy Rosmin's baptism made me feel. It's something I'm never going to forget, and something I hope you, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, and Kristin will be able to see and feel one day. This work that we're doing truly is the work of the Lord. We are His servants in this great work. We've been called to bring people to the knowledge of the great Plan of Happiness, because that's the only way we can find that true happiness we're looking for. And only through the great Plan of Happiness, can we be sealed together for time and for all eternity.
I love you sooooo much! I'm looking forward to hearing from you again soon! Keep the faith, fight the good fight! You're all in my prayers, each and every day!
Con amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
So, I guess I'll hit the bold points first! Here we go!
Yup, Sister Arnett pays for all of our food! It's very awesome! Their family is amazing!
Other supplies...I might need uno or dos short-sleeve shirts, and one long-sleeve shirt. I think I also might look at one of those sweaters to wear over, but by mission rules, it needs to be a v-neck (more or less) to show the tie.
CHRISTMAS!!! I'm so looking forward to the season! We're going to go caroling sometime in there, and (I'll probably need gloves...did you know it actually gets cool here?!) so I'll need to keep bundled up for that! Oh yeah! I've got that jacket from a while ago, that I wore when it snowed in the MTC. That one is still good! So good!
And now for the letter. bum bum BUM! Here we go!
It's been an amazing week! Rosmin's baptism was AMAZING!!!! Plus, it was really fun getting everything ready for it. We found out halfway through the day that Elder McGuire (I was on exchanges with Elder Nash in our area) that he had made all these really good plans...but almost nobody knew about them! Such as speaking, giving testimony, or what to bring for the baptism. It was some good work getting everything done, and it turned out swell in the end.
With her baptism (and I'll be sending you a tape whereupon my thoughts and feelings of the baptism are recorded), it was bien espiritual! She came up out of the water, and when she bore her testimony, both she and her future husband (who is a member of the Church) were crying (haha he more than she). But it is something I want everyone to feel. Words can't describe the feelings that were there, and the love that everyone had for her.
When she was confirmed the next day at church, it was very awesome seeing the promised blessings she received from her future husband. She is now part of a very big family!
We're doing a lot of good work here, and we're going to do even better. Sorry I don't have a lot of time to write today. I just wanted you to know how happy Rosmin's baptism made me feel. It's something I'm never going to forget, and something I hope you, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, and Kristin will be able to see and feel one day. This work that we're doing truly is the work of the Lord. We are His servants in this great work. We've been called to bring people to the knowledge of the great Plan of Happiness, because that's the only way we can find that true happiness we're looking for. And only through the great Plan of Happiness, can we be sealed together for time and for all eternity.
I love you sooooo much! I'm looking forward to hearing from you again soon! Keep the faith, fight the good fight! You're all in my prayers, each and every day!
Con amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Week 25 - Out Six Months Already!
Hey hey hey!
It's been a good day!
I'm just sittin' here, at the computer, pondering over the many mysteries of life...and how we're supposed to get to all the people in Texas and tell them we've got answers!
So, to start off with the business: We're good without a GPS. Actually, Sister A. (the member we live with) has one that we use. And if we're on bikes...we have a book of maps that seems to work fairly well.
The family we're with is AWESOME! The A.s - they've got a refrigerator just for us missionaries stockpiled with food, and she's a nurse, so she's up on all the latest and need-est information. Elder Nash from Kemah Norte was pretty sick (and still is) over the weekend, so he and Elder Durrant (the district leader) stayed over at our place overnight. The A.s also have a son - Joshua - who is preparing to go and serve a mission. I think he's already started on his mission paperwork, and it might actually already be in! So he's been helping us out a lot, even if he doesn't understand or speak Spanish too well.
I'll try to send some pictures soon (I've been trying to get over to print out pictures, but because Sister A. buys our food while we're here, we haven't really had a reason to go.). I've been trying to send them for most of the transfer, but so far...I haven't even been able to print them out!
And for Kemaaaaaaaaaah Central! This past week we had a great week! We went on SUPERCAMBIOS (Great, big exchanges!) with 2 other sets of elders, and a member for each Elder. Then we separated, and went forth to preach the Gospel to all the world. The Elders from Galvaston Island were here, because there was a HUGE morotcycle rally going on during the weekend (somewhere around 100,000 motorcycles!)! So we taught, contacted, and worked, and finally reached the Standard of Excellence and Beyond (the Standard is 20 sit-down lessons per week). We got 25! It was really awesome, and things seem to be moving a little better now! We should have a bomb-diggity week coming up this week as well!
Rosemin is almost all set for baptism! Her baptism is this Saturday at 6:00, and all she needs is an interview this Wednesday. And oh, she is SO ready! She's been ready since we had our first lesson with her! I think I told you last week, but she even brought a friend to church! And she was so excited when Presidente Hernandez announced it over the pulpit! It's going to be a wonderful experience, and I know she'll remember it for the rest of her eternity!
Also - (And I'm stoked about this part, too) We've had a referral since the beginning of this transfer and since my second day here. Finally, after much time and door knocking, we set up an appointment (finally as in after 5 weeks there was someone there to answer the door). And yesterday, on Sunday, we taught the first lesson on la Restauracion. And he (Jerman) accepted a date to be baptized on the 4th of Deciembre! Felicidades! It's going to be awesome! And hopefully, when we go back for our return appointment on Thursday, his wife will be there and they can all prepare for baptism together!
We also have someone that we're working with named Osiel. He has a daughter that wants to be baptized, but we need her father's permission first. So we taught him, and extended a baptismal date to him as well, which he accepted! Then, we went back on Sunday and taught him again (but I was with Julio - a recent convert that's probably one of the best member missionaries I've ever seen), and Julio just got straight to the heart of the issue and asked if Millie (Osiel's daughter) could have permission to be baptized. Osiel gave a solemn..."yes." And the Spirit was soooo strong there! Osiel knew this is important (though I don't think he knows just how important), and that if his daughter wants to be a part of it, she has his permission! We had been working on that for so long, it's wonderful to see things progressing now! He asked when she could be baptized. She's been to church enough times and has been taught enough to where she could be baptized this weekend, if she wants. And that would be wonderful! Hopefully, before this month is over, Millie will enter the waters of baptism, followed soon by her father and mother.
This is a great work that we're doing. There are those times that it gets really tough, but I've realized that there is no greater work I could be doing then the work we're doing right now. If people don't hear about the restored gospel, they can't enter into the Straight and Narrow path. They can't return to live with God. And if they can't return to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom, they can't have eternal families. And how devestating would that be if we couldn't be together forever?
Mom, Dad - Thank you for everything you've done to help us learn and grow and experience the blessings of the gospel. And thanks for sticking with us, even when we don't seem like we want to listen. Justin, Kaytlin, Kristin - Sorry if I've ever done things to upset you, on purpose or on accident. I hope if there was anything big, that you can forgive me. I love all of you more than you know.
Have a great week! I'm looking forward to hearing your voices and e-mailing you next week!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad - y mas alla!
El Devinator
It's been a good day!
I'm just sittin' here, at the computer, pondering over the many mysteries of life...and how we're supposed to get to all the people in Texas and tell them we've got answers!
So, to start off with the business: We're good without a GPS. Actually, Sister A. (the member we live with) has one that we use. And if we're on bikes...we have a book of maps that seems to work fairly well.
The family we're with is AWESOME! The A.s - they've got a refrigerator just for us missionaries stockpiled with food, and she's a nurse, so she's up on all the latest and need-est information. Elder Nash from Kemah Norte was pretty sick (and still is) over the weekend, so he and Elder Durrant (the district leader) stayed over at our place overnight. The A.s also have a son - Joshua - who is preparing to go and serve a mission. I think he's already started on his mission paperwork, and it might actually already be in! So he's been helping us out a lot, even if he doesn't understand or speak Spanish too well.
I'll try to send some pictures soon (I've been trying to get over to print out pictures, but because Sister A. buys our food while we're here, we haven't really had a reason to go.). I've been trying to send them for most of the transfer, but so far...I haven't even been able to print them out!
And for Kemaaaaaaaaaah Central! This past week we had a great week! We went on SUPERCAMBIOS (Great, big exchanges!) with 2 other sets of elders, and a member for each Elder. Then we separated, and went forth to preach the Gospel to all the world. The Elders from Galvaston Island were here, because there was a HUGE morotcycle rally going on during the weekend (somewhere around 100,000 motorcycles!)! So we taught, contacted, and worked, and finally reached the Standard of Excellence and Beyond (the Standard is 20 sit-down lessons per week). We got 25! It was really awesome, and things seem to be moving a little better now! We should have a bomb-diggity week coming up this week as well!
Rosemin is almost all set for baptism! Her baptism is this Saturday at 6:00, and all she needs is an interview this Wednesday. And oh, she is SO ready! She's been ready since we had our first lesson with her! I think I told you last week, but she even brought a friend to church! And she was so excited when Presidente Hernandez announced it over the pulpit! It's going to be a wonderful experience, and I know she'll remember it for the rest of her eternity!
Also - (And I'm stoked about this part, too) We've had a referral since the beginning of this transfer and since my second day here. Finally, after much time and door knocking, we set up an appointment (finally as in after 5 weeks there was someone there to answer the door). And yesterday, on Sunday, we taught the first lesson on la Restauracion. And he (Jerman) accepted a date to be baptized on the 4th of Deciembre! Felicidades! It's going to be awesome! And hopefully, when we go back for our return appointment on Thursday, his wife will be there and they can all prepare for baptism together!
We also have someone that we're working with named Osiel. He has a daughter that wants to be baptized, but we need her father's permission first. So we taught him, and extended a baptismal date to him as well, which he accepted! Then, we went back on Sunday and taught him again (but I was with Julio - a recent convert that's probably one of the best member missionaries I've ever seen), and Julio just got straight to the heart of the issue and asked if Millie (Osiel's daughter) could have permission to be baptized. Osiel gave a solemn..."yes." And the Spirit was soooo strong there! Osiel knew this is important (though I don't think he knows just how important), and that if his daughter wants to be a part of it, she has his permission! We had been working on that for so long, it's wonderful to see things progressing now! He asked when she could be baptized. She's been to church enough times and has been taught enough to where she could be baptized this weekend, if she wants. And that would be wonderful! Hopefully, before this month is over, Millie will enter the waters of baptism, followed soon by her father and mother.
This is a great work that we're doing. There are those times that it gets really tough, but I've realized that there is no greater work I could be doing then the work we're doing right now. If people don't hear about the restored gospel, they can't enter into the Straight and Narrow path. They can't return to live with God. And if they can't return to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom, they can't have eternal families. And how devestating would that be if we couldn't be together forever?
Mom, Dad - Thank you for everything you've done to help us learn and grow and experience the blessings of the gospel. And thanks for sticking with us, even when we don't seem like we want to listen. Justin, Kaytlin, Kristin - Sorry if I've ever done things to upset you, on purpose or on accident. I hope if there was anything big, that you can forgive me. I love all of you more than you know.
Have a great week! I'm looking forward to hearing your voices and e-mailing you next week!
Con mucho amor - a infinidad - y mas alla!
El Devinator
Monday, November 1, 2010
Week 24 - "My feet just led me..."
Hi -de- ho, familia!
Things have been going well here (mostly). This week, starting off and going in to it, wasn't the greatest. By Saturday, we still only had 2 lessons for the entire week. We were both getting really frustrated with how it was going. But on Saturday, we had a unique experience. We were on our way back for lunch, and we had the impression to return to an appartment complex that we had already left. So we quickly made our way to the complex (Shady Oaks) and got out of the car, neither of us knowing where to go, who to talk to or what to say. But we got out of the car, and my feet just led me to someone to talk to. That's really the only way I can explain it. I had this feeling to talk to this man sitting down on the railing, and so we did. It didn't feel right to talk to someone else, and he really stood out.
So we wound up talking to him, and I guess Elder McGuire has talked to him before. He says that he was baptized down in Mexico, but his records aren't in his home ward, and so we now have his birth date to look them up. But in the end, we sat down and taught a lesson to him and invited him to the Stake Conference of yesterday. And he went, too! It was so cool when he opened up the door (he had forgotten the time, so he got ready really quickly) and said, "Yo voy!" And afterwards, he said he got 5 hours of work in, though he hadn't had work for some time. He even realized on his own that it was a blessing from God from doing those things which God wants him to do. Definitely a cool experience!
For this next week: We already have appointments with a lot of members, and some return appointments to receive referrals from them. We're looking forward to doing some really good work this week!!
So that was one of my favorite experiences for this week. But also really awesome: Rosemin has her baptismal date coming up! It was moved from the 6th to the 13th for work purposes, but it's on-track. We need to keep checking up on her, just to make sure things are going well, but she's really looking forward to it! It's so cool to see someone this excited and this ready for baptism!
Well....I only have 4 minutes left, so I'd better wrap this up. Things have been going fairly well here, and I'm looking forward to this coming week.
I just want to wrap up with the words,
I LOVE YOU!!!! A infinidad - y mas alla!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Dev-i-o
Things have been going well here (mostly). This week, starting off and going in to it, wasn't the greatest. By Saturday, we still only had 2 lessons for the entire week. We were both getting really frustrated with how it was going. But on Saturday, we had a unique experience. We were on our way back for lunch, and we had the impression to return to an appartment complex that we had already left. So we quickly made our way to the complex (Shady Oaks) and got out of the car, neither of us knowing where to go, who to talk to or what to say. But we got out of the car, and my feet just led me to someone to talk to. That's really the only way I can explain it. I had this feeling to talk to this man sitting down on the railing, and so we did. It didn't feel right to talk to someone else, and he really stood out.
So we wound up talking to him, and I guess Elder McGuire has talked to him before. He says that he was baptized down in Mexico, but his records aren't in his home ward, and so we now have his birth date to look them up. But in the end, we sat down and taught a lesson to him and invited him to the Stake Conference of yesterday. And he went, too! It was so cool when he opened up the door (he had forgotten the time, so he got ready really quickly) and said, "Yo voy!" And afterwards, he said he got 5 hours of work in, though he hadn't had work for some time. He even realized on his own that it was a blessing from God from doing those things which God wants him to do. Definitely a cool experience!
For this next week: We already have appointments with a lot of members, and some return appointments to receive referrals from them. We're looking forward to doing some really good work this week!!
So that was one of my favorite experiences for this week. But also really awesome: Rosemin has her baptismal date coming up! It was moved from the 6th to the 13th for work purposes, but it's on-track. We need to keep checking up on her, just to make sure things are going well, but she's really looking forward to it! It's so cool to see someone this excited and this ready for baptism!
Well....I only have 4 minutes left, so I'd better wrap this up. Things have been going fairly well here, and I'm looking forward to this coming week.
I just want to wrap up with the words,
I LOVE YOU!!!! A infinidad - y mas alla!!!!
Con mucho amor,
Dev-i-o
Monday, October 25, 2010
Week 23 - Companion not feeling so well this week
Heeeeeeeeey!
First off, could you send me a copy of this letter? I liked the awesome quotes! (see below) I almost laughed out loud! Especially the one about the hearse! That is definitely true, especially here.
We've run into so many people who say things like, "Yes, I'm catholic," but when we ask them what that means, they just say, "That I have a belief in God." Hmm....
But we do have someone, who I have told you about (Rosemin) who is progressing very well. She still has a baptismal date for not this Saturday, but I believe the following. Hopefully and prayerfully, that still works out. Seeing the happiness and understanding she has from praying and investigating the Church...I just makes me realize and appreciate just why we are out here, and is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel, and the great blessings it brings to everyone who truly seeks it out.
Let's see, this week...
We didn't do very well this week, in all honesty. During my time with Elder Jenks, we reached an awesome goal of 30 lessons, and over 70 OYMs. With Elder Neilson, there was only 1 day I didn't get my OYMs, and a constant number of 21 - 23 lessons each week. Here...Only 32 OYMs, and 6 lessons. A major part of that is that my companion suffers from really bad migraines, and so there were 2 days that we were inside for almost the entire day, and 2 other days when we left after 6:00 at night. The medicine he's taking isn't helping very much, and so it's frustrating when we can't get out and work. So this last, most recent time, I organized the upper room where we study, and designed a board that should cut weekly planning down from 4 crazy-long hours (or more, sometimes. We do weekly planning each Thursday) to just 1.5. I'm really excited to put it together! And this week...I'm really looking forward to working hard until I can't work anymore. Then, I can finish the week out, and if we haven't reached our goals...I can know we've worked our hardest!
We found someone (Well, re-found someone, I guess) named Beto. I went over and talked with him, set up an appointment (which he actually wasn't there for, but we'll see later). He wants to stop drinking, and he asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon. I didn't have one on me, so I promised I'd get it to him later. A few minutes later, I had recovered my backpack from the car, and we were teaching an investigator outside of his house. Beto came over and asked for the Book of Mormon (He was partially drunk as well...but anyway!). I said, "Sure!" marked 3 Nephi 11 (the first thing that came to my mind), and gave the Book of Mormon to him. He's a pretty cool guy, and hopefully we'll be able to find him again soon, to be able to teach him!
Oh, and one more thing about Rosemin - She even brought a friend to Church this past Sunday! I'm not sure what her friend thought, because they had to leave quickly after Sacrament meeting (Meme L., her future fiance, was going over to Galvaston to meet her parents. I hope everything went well!
Thank you very much for the package!! I got everything and really appreciate it!
Well, on that note...I'm going to hit the road. I still have to E-mail President Saylin!
I love y'all sooooooo much! Thank you for all your prayers, love, and sacrifice!
Con amor - a infinidad - y mas alla!
El Devinator
Below are the quotes he received:
"The best vitamin for a Christian is B1."
"Under same management for over 2000 years"
"The wages of sin is death. Repent before payday."
"Christians, keep the faith... But not from others!"
"Seven days without prayer makes one weak."
"Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your Bible (or Book of Mormon)."
"Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday!"
"Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church."
"No Jesus - no peace, Know Jesus - know peace!"
"Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive."
"Satan subtracts and divides. God multiplies and multiplies."
"It's hard to stumble when you're down on your knees."
"God answers kneemail!"
First off, could you send me a copy of this letter? I liked the awesome quotes! (see below) I almost laughed out loud! Especially the one about the hearse! That is definitely true, especially here.
We've run into so many people who say things like, "Yes, I'm catholic," but when we ask them what that means, they just say, "That I have a belief in God." Hmm....
But we do have someone, who I have told you about (Rosemin) who is progressing very well. She still has a baptismal date for not this Saturday, but I believe the following. Hopefully and prayerfully, that still works out. Seeing the happiness and understanding she has from praying and investigating the Church...I just makes me realize and appreciate just why we are out here, and is a testimony to me of the truthfulness of the gospel, and the great blessings it brings to everyone who truly seeks it out.
Let's see, this week...
We didn't do very well this week, in all honesty. During my time with Elder Jenks, we reached an awesome goal of 30 lessons, and over 70 OYMs. With Elder Neilson, there was only 1 day I didn't get my OYMs, and a constant number of 21 - 23 lessons each week. Here...Only 32 OYMs, and 6 lessons. A major part of that is that my companion suffers from really bad migraines, and so there were 2 days that we were inside for almost the entire day, and 2 other days when we left after 6:00 at night. The medicine he's taking isn't helping very much, and so it's frustrating when we can't get out and work. So this last, most recent time, I organized the upper room where we study, and designed a board that should cut weekly planning down from 4 crazy-long hours (or more, sometimes. We do weekly planning each Thursday) to just 1.5. I'm really excited to put it together! And this week...I'm really looking forward to working hard until I can't work anymore. Then, I can finish the week out, and if we haven't reached our goals...I can know we've worked our hardest!
We found someone (Well, re-found someone, I guess) named Beto. I went over and talked with him, set up an appointment (which he actually wasn't there for, but we'll see later). He wants to stop drinking, and he asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon. I didn't have one on me, so I promised I'd get it to him later. A few minutes later, I had recovered my backpack from the car, and we were teaching an investigator outside of his house. Beto came over and asked for the Book of Mormon (He was partially drunk as well...but anyway!). I said, "Sure!" marked 3 Nephi 11 (the first thing that came to my mind), and gave the Book of Mormon to him. He's a pretty cool guy, and hopefully we'll be able to find him again soon, to be able to teach him!
Oh, and one more thing about Rosemin - She even brought a friend to Church this past Sunday! I'm not sure what her friend thought, because they had to leave quickly after Sacrament meeting (Meme L., her future fiance, was going over to Galvaston to meet her parents. I hope everything went well!
Thank you very much for the package!! I got everything and really appreciate it!
Well, on that note...I'm going to hit the road. I still have to E-mail President Saylin!
I love y'all sooooooo much! Thank you for all your prayers, love, and sacrifice!
Con amor - a infinidad - y mas alla!
El Devinator
Below are the quotes he received:
"The best vitamin for a Christian is B1."
"Under same management for over 2000 years"
"The wages of sin is death. Repent before payday."
"Christians, keep the faith... But not from others!"
"Seven days without prayer makes one weak."
"Prevent truth decay. Brush up on your Bible (or Book of Mormon)."
"Beat the Christmas rush, come to church this Sunday!"
"Don't wait for the hearse to take you to church."
"No Jesus - no peace, Know Jesus - know peace!"
"Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive."
"Satan subtracts and divides. God multiplies and multiplies."
"It's hard to stumble when you're down on your knees."
"God answers kneemail!"
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Week 23 - Concluding Speaker in Church (in Spanish!)
Hey hey hey!
How's everything going? It was absolutely AWESOME to get your e-mail! And thanks for the conference talks! They actually came in really handy, especially because I had to give my first talk in church this past sunday, while I've been out in the field.
I gave a talk in the MTC, but that was only about 5 minutes, and I read directly off the paper. This past sunday, the ward mission leader gave me a call (along with another new missionary, Elder Nash from Oregon) and a sister who is heading back to temple square this coming week. I was called to speak last. That was definitely something new! I haven't even been the concluding speaker in English before! So I was preparing my talk for about 3 days beforehand, and even up to the last few minutes before I got up to speak. And I said a HUGE prayer just before going up there. Once I got up there, my nervousness and worry kind of went away, and I stood there, not reading 100% off my paper, just kind of glancing down for cues and scripture references, and I talked for the remaining 15 minutes. I definitely owe a lot to the Lord and the Holy Ghost for bringing everything to my rememberance that I needed!!! I was speaking with words I had struggled with before, and saying just what came to mind. It's interesting: My last companion, Elder Neilson, talked about now worrying about what to say. It was a lot like Qui-gon in Star Wars (I love making those comparisons!! ): "Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." (or, in this case, the Spirit) At first, I thought: "What?! That's kind of...weird." But I've realized that that's a way to trust in the Lord and the Spirit. When those impressions come to mind as to what I need to say, I need to say them, and they're usually what the people we're teaching need to hear. Pretty sweet experience!
Haha and yes, the house IS on that same cul-de-sac, and very close to the ocean. I'll see if I can take some pictures today and develop them, then send them back home. It's an amazing area!! The family is great, and they have 1 son still at home (Along with 3 daughters, married, and I think 1 other son). But Joshua, the 1 son they have at home, has only been home for about 4 days of the past 2.5 weeks. He's been traveling to visit family, like his brother and sisters. Lots of road and flight time!
You mentioned birthday and Christmas coming up. Umm....I think I'll have to put in some more thought on those. Music is always good, especially classical and MoTab, with a little bit of EFY thrown in (And I think that's the extent of the music we're able to listen to!) But I was wondering if you'd be able to send something out in the next week or two: Because Halloween's coming up, I had a question. Is anyone using that Superman tie? If they are, that's fine. No worries! But if not...We can't really dress up, so I'm thinking that might be the extent of my dressing up for this year (Which I don't like very much. I love throwing together costumes and stuff! I guess this will have to do! I'll be a missionary for halloween this year!)
Also, could you send out that Calorie King book? And maybe a suggestion on where I might be able to get a less-expensive food scale, or brands that are good but don't cost too much? I might be counting carbs soon...yippie!!!
And one last thing - Could you send me the lyrics to "With a Touch of the Master's Hand?" I've had that in my head a lot, and I want to get the right words stuck in there.
So, we also went to the Temple this past week. An awesome experience! It was different from the Sacramento temple, sitting there, especially with the little bit of time that we had there. Within minutes, we were in and out of the Celestial Room. I would have liked a little more time to meditate, but I did get the chance to talk into the voice recorder and record some of the inspiration I receive. It was definitely an interesting experience.
Oh, and CERTAINLY not least: We have a really solid investigator named Rosemin. She's the boyfriend of the ward clerk (I think I told you about the experience we had when we extended the baptismal date - very cool! If not, I'll record it and send it on over!) We came back later and asked her if she prayed about Joseph Smith, and she said, "yes." Then, we asked if she knew that he was a prophet of God. She gave a solid, "Yes," without hesitation. I haven't seen anyone answer like that since I've been out here in the field! It was such a great experience, and the Spirit was just crazy strong! There aren't really words to describe it!
Haha so those stickers and bell...they might come in very handy! And actually, I might see if I can trade in my mountain bike for one of those beach cruisers you see everywhere in Chico State. We'll be riding in style haha...but only if they have cruisers with mountain bike gears!!
Good to see everything is going so well! Well, minus Taylor with her torn tendons!
And Janne...Really makes me wonder what Steve is thinking right now, and how quickly he'll be up there with the swat team...
Pues, necesito salir. Pero, voy a escribir una carta a vosotros! Nos vemos, y hasta luego!
Les amo - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!!
El Devinator
How's everything going? It was absolutely AWESOME to get your e-mail! And thanks for the conference talks! They actually came in really handy, especially because I had to give my first talk in church this past sunday, while I've been out in the field.
I gave a talk in the MTC, but that was only about 5 minutes, and I read directly off the paper. This past sunday, the ward mission leader gave me a call (along with another new missionary, Elder Nash from Oregon) and a sister who is heading back to temple square this coming week. I was called to speak last. That was definitely something new! I haven't even been the concluding speaker in English before! So I was preparing my talk for about 3 days beforehand, and even up to the last few minutes before I got up to speak. And I said a HUGE prayer just before going up there. Once I got up there, my nervousness and worry kind of went away, and I stood there, not reading 100% off my paper, just kind of glancing down for cues and scripture references, and I talked for the remaining 15 minutes. I definitely owe a lot to the Lord and the Holy Ghost for bringing everything to my rememberance that I needed!!! I was speaking with words I had struggled with before, and saying just what came to mind. It's interesting: My last companion, Elder Neilson, talked about now worrying about what to say. It was a lot like Qui-gon in Star Wars (I love making those comparisons!! ): "Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." (or, in this case, the Spirit) At first, I thought: "What?! That's kind of...weird." But I've realized that that's a way to trust in the Lord and the Spirit. When those impressions come to mind as to what I need to say, I need to say them, and they're usually what the people we're teaching need to hear. Pretty sweet experience!
Haha and yes, the house IS on that same cul-de-sac, and very close to the ocean. I'll see if I can take some pictures today and develop them, then send them back home. It's an amazing area!! The family is great, and they have 1 son still at home (Along with 3 daughters, married, and I think 1 other son). But Joshua, the 1 son they have at home, has only been home for about 4 days of the past 2.5 weeks. He's been traveling to visit family, like his brother and sisters. Lots of road and flight time!
You mentioned birthday and Christmas coming up. Umm....I think I'll have to put in some more thought on those. Music is always good, especially classical and MoTab, with a little bit of EFY thrown in (And I think that's the extent of the music we're able to listen to!) But I was wondering if you'd be able to send something out in the next week or two: Because Halloween's coming up, I had a question. Is anyone using that Superman tie? If they are, that's fine. No worries! But if not...We can't really dress up, so I'm thinking that might be the extent of my dressing up for this year (Which I don't like very much. I love throwing together costumes and stuff! I guess this will have to do! I'll be a missionary for halloween this year!)
Also, could you send out that Calorie King book? And maybe a suggestion on where I might be able to get a less-expensive food scale, or brands that are good but don't cost too much? I might be counting carbs soon...yippie!!!
And one last thing - Could you send me the lyrics to "With a Touch of the Master's Hand?" I've had that in my head a lot, and I want to get the right words stuck in there.
So, we also went to the Temple this past week. An awesome experience! It was different from the Sacramento temple, sitting there, especially with the little bit of time that we had there. Within minutes, we were in and out of the Celestial Room. I would have liked a little more time to meditate, but I did get the chance to talk into the voice recorder and record some of the inspiration I receive. It was definitely an interesting experience.
Oh, and CERTAINLY not least: We have a really solid investigator named Rosemin. She's the boyfriend of the ward clerk (I think I told you about the experience we had when we extended the baptismal date - very cool! If not, I'll record it and send it on over!) We came back later and asked her if she prayed about Joseph Smith, and she said, "yes." Then, we asked if she knew that he was a prophet of God. She gave a solid, "Yes," without hesitation. I haven't seen anyone answer like that since I've been out here in the field! It was such a great experience, and the Spirit was just crazy strong! There aren't really words to describe it!
Haha so those stickers and bell...they might come in very handy! And actually, I might see if I can trade in my mountain bike for one of those beach cruisers you see everywhere in Chico State. We'll be riding in style haha...but only if they have cruisers with mountain bike gears!!
Good to see everything is going so well! Well, minus Taylor with her torn tendons!
And Janne...Really makes me wonder what Steve is thinking right now, and how quickly he'll be up there with the swat team...
Pues, necesito salir. Pero, voy a escribir una carta a vosotros! Nos vemos, y hasta luego!
Les amo - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!!
El Devinator
Monday, October 11, 2010
Week 22 - Transferred to a New Area!
Hey hey hey!!
How ya'll doing today?!
Before I get too in-depth, here's the address:
101 Bending Shore Court
League City, TX 77573
And actually, here's the interesting thing: We're living with members. They're members of the English ward, but members nonetheless. It's very weird, to say the least. There are different rules to living with members as opposed to living solo in un apartmento. Like, this isn't just our place. We actually need to clean up after ourselves. And so there's good and bad about it. The good, is that they're great people, always nice to talk to and ever helpful. The bad...they're AWESOME people!!
As we were upstairs planning, I heard someone on the show they were watching say the names: "McGee! Abby!" "Whoa, hold up there, boss!" "I don't think so, Denozzo!" So, they love NCIS, they have Star Wars shirts sitting up on the dresser at the top of the stairs, and they have a box of Stargate DVDs sitting on top of the bookshelf. I haven't really talked to them about all that, but I'd better be careful not to get unfocused on all of that!
Anyways, Kemah (Our area, though we live in League City) is pretty cool. It's HUGE. We cover about 5 towns. Not little cities, towns. And we're in a car, of which I am actually not too big of a fan. I look forward to riding my bike around, and talking to people. Because of transfers and my lack of desire this past week, what with everything moving around, I only got 27 OYMs. Terrible. So this week, we'll hopefully be on our bikes more often. That way, we can talk to more people and get more appointments, and from that, more lessons.
We did have a great lesson this past week. The ward clerk, who we call Meme for some reason (or gordo, because he calls us flaco uno y flaco dos), has a girlfriend that he wanted to introduce to the Church. So we went over and taught her. He told us beforehand that he wanted her taught bit by bit, piece by piece, and to not extend a baptismal date in the first lesson. We decided to let the Spirit guide, and if she wasn't ready for a date yet, we'd wait till next time.
When we taught, we had the AMAZING opportunity of having the Spirit strongly present in the lesson. By the end, we extended the baptismal date, and she accepted! She is preparing to be baptized on the 30th of October, at the end of this month. She seems very solid about it, and hopefully she keeps those desires.
This past Saturday, we also had a Tri-Mission conference. Elder Claudio R.M.Costa was there! He spoke at General Conference, I think in the Saturday afternoon session. It was a great lesson! One of the things he taught us was about OYMs: a new approach. He would go up to someone and ask, "Are you a member of our Church?" and when they would say, "No," he would ask, "Why not?" One thing led to another, and eventually, each of those people he talked to invited him and the missionaries back for a visit. It was a very good conference, and was great to learn what he came all the way from Salt Lake to teach us.
Let's see, what more to say? Oh, my companion: Elder McGuire. He's from the Sacramento area. Small world? He's a good, hardworking missionary. So far, we've gotten along just fine.
Well, I've got to hit the road now. We've done e-mailing a little differently than I'm used to, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a written letter off. If not, just know that I love you, Mom, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, and Kristin, and I keep you in my prayers each and every day!
I love you all, a infinidad - y mas alla!!
Con amor,
El Devinator
How ya'll doing today?!
Before I get too in-depth, here's the address:
101 Bending Shore Court
League City, TX 77573
And actually, here's the interesting thing: We're living with members. They're members of the English ward, but members nonetheless. It's very weird, to say the least. There are different rules to living with members as opposed to living solo in un apartmento. Like, this isn't just our place. We actually need to clean up after ourselves. And so there's good and bad about it. The good, is that they're great people, always nice to talk to and ever helpful. The bad...they're AWESOME people!!
As we were upstairs planning, I heard someone on the show they were watching say the names: "McGee! Abby!" "Whoa, hold up there, boss!" "I don't think so, Denozzo!" So, they love NCIS, they have Star Wars shirts sitting up on the dresser at the top of the stairs, and they have a box of Stargate DVDs sitting on top of the bookshelf. I haven't really talked to them about all that, but I'd better be careful not to get unfocused on all of that!
Anyways, Kemah (Our area, though we live in League City) is pretty cool. It's HUGE. We cover about 5 towns. Not little cities, towns. And we're in a car, of which I am actually not too big of a fan. I look forward to riding my bike around, and talking to people. Because of transfers and my lack of desire this past week, what with everything moving around, I only got 27 OYMs. Terrible. So this week, we'll hopefully be on our bikes more often. That way, we can talk to more people and get more appointments, and from that, more lessons.
We did have a great lesson this past week. The ward clerk, who we call Meme for some reason (or gordo, because he calls us flaco uno y flaco dos), has a girlfriend that he wanted to introduce to the Church. So we went over and taught her. He told us beforehand that he wanted her taught bit by bit, piece by piece, and to not extend a baptismal date in the first lesson. We decided to let the Spirit guide, and if she wasn't ready for a date yet, we'd wait till next time.
When we taught, we had the AMAZING opportunity of having the Spirit strongly present in the lesson. By the end, we extended the baptismal date, and she accepted! She is preparing to be baptized on the 30th of October, at the end of this month. She seems very solid about it, and hopefully she keeps those desires.
This past Saturday, we also had a Tri-Mission conference. Elder Claudio R.M.Costa was there! He spoke at General Conference, I think in the Saturday afternoon session. It was a great lesson! One of the things he taught us was about OYMs: a new approach. He would go up to someone and ask, "Are you a member of our Church?" and when they would say, "No," he would ask, "Why not?" One thing led to another, and eventually, each of those people he talked to invited him and the missionaries back for a visit. It was a very good conference, and was great to learn what he came all the way from Salt Lake to teach us.
Let's see, what more to say? Oh, my companion: Elder McGuire. He's from the Sacramento area. Small world? He's a good, hardworking missionary. So far, we've gotten along just fine.
Well, I've got to hit the road now. We've done e-mailing a little differently than I'm used to, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a written letter off. If not, just know that I love you, Mom, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, and Kristin, and I keep you in my prayers each and every day!
I love you all, a infinidad - y mas alla!!
Con amor,
El Devinator
Monday, October 4, 2010
Week 21 - Transfers this week...
Hola! Bonjour! Buenos Dias!
Wow! Life IS changing around quite a bit! I'm going to have some new cousins when I get back! Yippie-kie-ehhh!! And it sounds like life is going to sure be an adventure, just as it always is!
haha I'm glad Kaytlin liked the ants!! They were pretty tasty (at one point, with the first one. After that, though, they kind of got less delicious...and less...and less.......As for why I ate them...bragging rights? haha no. I just knew if I didn't try them then, I might never try them again! At least I know what they're like now! I've had that experience!
Thanks for Mikey's address! With everything we're doing today (pictures, maybe some shopping, eating) I'm not sure who I'll be able to write. But hopefully - I'll get a letter or two off! So if I'm unable to get a family letter off this week...that's why. But you can be sure to expect a nice and good update in the coming week!
You said what Kaytlin does for this Science Ambassadors program is go and learn more in the world of science, and then teach it to elementary-grade kids. Does she have any desire to be a teacher when she's older? Has she taught any classes so far?
haha and as for Elder Neilson - That's just his personality. He usually does smile and joke around a lot, with missionaries, members and investigators alike. He's got a way with people that really sets them at ease, and leads to better conversations about gospel topics, where they're a little more receptive. That's something I want to emulate in my own life and teaching.
And Justin - Thanks for the letter!!!!! I know you don't like to write a lot, which makes it even more awesome to get in the mail! And how're you feeling? Pain from the wisdom teeth starting to ease up a bit? Hopefully, all is well in a little while! And back to school again!! (haha fun...) Best of luck with the driver's test this coming week!! Or the next week...monday, right? And before I forget - there's someone sitting at the computer next to me (not my companion) who's playing Runescape. I was like, "Runescape?! Justin!! I remember that!!"
Love you!
Love,
El Devinator
Good job with the test, mom! I know it wasn't the grade you were looking for, but do you find out the areas you need to study now? It's going to be a lot of work, but just take some of what the apostles said (I think it was President Uchtdorf):
"Slow down and simplify life."
Not that you need to study any less, or take any less classes. But maybe that you have some time set aside specifically for study, and focus on that then, not letting the worries of all your other classes or tasks that need to be done fill your mind. Just focus on what you're doing at the time, and pray for the guidance you need to prepare and achieve the results you want and need.
And speaking of conference: It was WAYYYY too fast! I was sitting there in the chapel afterwards, thinking, "What? It can't be over yet. We need another session. Maybe a week's worth of sessions." I felt incredibly spiritually uplifted. It's awesome to be able to simply focus on the work on the Lord, and that makes the words of His Prophet and Apostles have so much more value in my mind. I'm definitely looking forward to the next session of conference - coming to a chapel and TV near you, April 2011!
Recipes - Any recipes are ALWAYS welcome! And that book is a big help! I'll for sure be using the cookbook in days to come! And I think I've come up with a food schedule that works fairly well for the week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas. I'm still looking for snack ideas, though. I'll be eating a lot of Jiffy Pancakes and Oatmeal, and a lot less of cereal. Which is good. I want to try to find some healthy things too, though. Things that are healthy but less-expensive. And I'm not in need of a journal. Actually, I think this one should last me almost to the end of my mission. It says that there's 400 pages in there, and the pages are pretty big. But I'll be sure to let you know if I'm in need of another one anytime soon!! And I'm looking forward to hearing your voices sometime in the near future, too, once you find the voice recorder! It'll be awesome!!
And...the moment of truth.......
drumroll, please.....
The transfer word is........
I'm getting transfered. And so is Garrett, ahem, Elder Black. It sure is going to be interesting.
I'll go where the Lord wants me to go. And where ever I'm going, that's where He needs me. But I've come to love this place soooo much. The people here are amazing! They're so humble and willing to learn, and willing to lend an ear, even if they don't want to change. The branch, though small, is really more of a family. You've got the older, more vetran-like members/converts to the Church, who are kind of like the loving parents to...well, to everyone. It's been great.
We haven't had a baptism here yet, which has been kind of disappointing. But we do have a few dates set up for this coming month and the beginning of the next, dates which should turn out great if they are able to get work off and begin attending Church. Luis is still pretty solid, but he hasn't come over to church in quite some time. Enrique, though his mother said he can't be baptized, is still coming out to church functions and on Sundays. Carlos is still reading and looking for his answer. And Juan...we'll see what happens with Juan. He's a great guy, and I love him to death. Satan's been working on him pretty good, and he won't pick up the Book of Mormon "because of the easiness of the way." Hopefully, sooner rather than later, he'll pick it up, read, and realize the feelings and blessings he had when he began reading and praying the first times.
To tell you the truth, I'm really anxious about transfers. I've really been getting along with Elder Neilson, and that took a lot of work to do, on my part. Just the general connecting with anyone. Though I may be incredibly talkative and outgoing at home, it's been tough to connect with anyone to the point where I can really consider us good friends. I've been able to do that with Elder Neilson, and just when we hit that point, the transfer calls come. Elder Neilson is a great missionary, and I know he's going to go on and do great things, both here in the feild, and whatever he does later on in life. He's got the drive, the work ethic, and the friendliness to make good any situation.
Well, I've got to get going. I still have to send my weekly report in to President Saylin. But I just wanted to let you know that I love you SOOOOO much! I keep you in my prayers every night and every morning, and thank you so much for keeping me in yours!!! I can feel the strength I gain from your prayers each and every day!! Please keep me especially in your prayers this week, that we can start the new transfer off great!!
I love you all!!! Thank you for everything!! Keep up the good work!!!
Con todo de mi amor,
El Devinator
Wow! Life IS changing around quite a bit! I'm going to have some new cousins when I get back! Yippie-kie-ehhh!! And it sounds like life is going to sure be an adventure, just as it always is!
haha I'm glad Kaytlin liked the ants!! They were pretty tasty (at one point, with the first one. After that, though, they kind of got less delicious...and less...and less.......As for why I ate them...bragging rights? haha no. I just knew if I didn't try them then, I might never try them again! At least I know what they're like now! I've had that experience!
Thanks for Mikey's address! With everything we're doing today (pictures, maybe some shopping, eating) I'm not sure who I'll be able to write. But hopefully - I'll get a letter or two off! So if I'm unable to get a family letter off this week...that's why. But you can be sure to expect a nice and good update in the coming week!
You said what Kaytlin does for this Science Ambassadors program is go and learn more in the world of science, and then teach it to elementary-grade kids. Does she have any desire to be a teacher when she's older? Has she taught any classes so far?
haha and as for Elder Neilson - That's just his personality. He usually does smile and joke around a lot, with missionaries, members and investigators alike. He's got a way with people that really sets them at ease, and leads to better conversations about gospel topics, where they're a little more receptive. That's something I want to emulate in my own life and teaching.
And Justin - Thanks for the letter!!!!! I know you don't like to write a lot, which makes it even more awesome to get in the mail! And how're you feeling? Pain from the wisdom teeth starting to ease up a bit? Hopefully, all is well in a little while! And back to school again!! (haha fun...) Best of luck with the driver's test this coming week!! Or the next week...monday, right? And before I forget - there's someone sitting at the computer next to me (not my companion) who's playing Runescape. I was like, "Runescape?! Justin!! I remember that!!"
Love you!
Love,
El Devinator
Good job with the test, mom! I know it wasn't the grade you were looking for, but do you find out the areas you need to study now? It's going to be a lot of work, but just take some of what the apostles said (I think it was President Uchtdorf):
"Slow down and simplify life."
Not that you need to study any less, or take any less classes. But maybe that you have some time set aside specifically for study, and focus on that then, not letting the worries of all your other classes or tasks that need to be done fill your mind. Just focus on what you're doing at the time, and pray for the guidance you need to prepare and achieve the results you want and need.
And speaking of conference: It was WAYYYY too fast! I was sitting there in the chapel afterwards, thinking, "What? It can't be over yet. We need another session. Maybe a week's worth of sessions." I felt incredibly spiritually uplifted. It's awesome to be able to simply focus on the work on the Lord, and that makes the words of His Prophet and Apostles have so much more value in my mind. I'm definitely looking forward to the next session of conference - coming to a chapel and TV near you, April 2011!
Recipes - Any recipes are ALWAYS welcome! And that book is a big help! I'll for sure be using the cookbook in days to come! And I think I've come up with a food schedule that works fairly well for the week. Breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas. I'm still looking for snack ideas, though. I'll be eating a lot of Jiffy Pancakes and Oatmeal, and a lot less of cereal. Which is good. I want to try to find some healthy things too, though. Things that are healthy but less-expensive. And I'm not in need of a journal. Actually, I think this one should last me almost to the end of my mission. It says that there's 400 pages in there, and the pages are pretty big. But I'll be sure to let you know if I'm in need of another one anytime soon!! And I'm looking forward to hearing your voices sometime in the near future, too, once you find the voice recorder! It'll be awesome!!
And...the moment of truth.......
drumroll, please.....
The transfer word is........
I'm getting transfered. And so is Garrett, ahem, Elder Black. It sure is going to be interesting.
I'll go where the Lord wants me to go. And where ever I'm going, that's where He needs me. But I've come to love this place soooo much. The people here are amazing! They're so humble and willing to learn, and willing to lend an ear, even if they don't want to change. The branch, though small, is really more of a family. You've got the older, more vetran-like members/converts to the Church, who are kind of like the loving parents to...well, to everyone. It's been great.
We haven't had a baptism here yet, which has been kind of disappointing. But we do have a few dates set up for this coming month and the beginning of the next, dates which should turn out great if they are able to get work off and begin attending Church. Luis is still pretty solid, but he hasn't come over to church in quite some time. Enrique, though his mother said he can't be baptized, is still coming out to church functions and on Sundays. Carlos is still reading and looking for his answer. And Juan...we'll see what happens with Juan. He's a great guy, and I love him to death. Satan's been working on him pretty good, and he won't pick up the Book of Mormon "because of the easiness of the way." Hopefully, sooner rather than later, he'll pick it up, read, and realize the feelings and blessings he had when he began reading and praying the first times.
To tell you the truth, I'm really anxious about transfers. I've really been getting along with Elder Neilson, and that took a lot of work to do, on my part. Just the general connecting with anyone. Though I may be incredibly talkative and outgoing at home, it's been tough to connect with anyone to the point where I can really consider us good friends. I've been able to do that with Elder Neilson, and just when we hit that point, the transfer calls come. Elder Neilson is a great missionary, and I know he's going to go on and do great things, both here in the feild, and whatever he does later on in life. He's got the drive, the work ethic, and the friendliness to make good any situation.
Well, I've got to get going. I still have to send my weekly report in to President Saylin. But I just wanted to let you know that I love you SOOOOO much! I keep you in my prayers every night and every morning, and thank you so much for keeping me in yours!!! I can feel the strength I gain from your prayers each and every day!! Please keep me especially in your prayers this week, that we can start the new transfer off great!!
I love you all!!! Thank you for everything!! Keep up the good work!!!
Con todo de mi amor,
El Devinator
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Week 20
Hie-de-ho, there, familia!!!!
It's great to see things are going so great (Minus for the stressing, but that'll pass as the test passes...and then there will be more tests...anyway, great to hear about Outback! Sounds like everything went AWESOME-ly, especially with the Aussie-style fries! I love those things! And the bread is AMAZING!
And especially, thank you so much for Elder Lowe's address! I've been wanting to write to him and see how he's doing. It looks like he's out in Florida for right now. Hopefully, if he's waiting on his visa, it'll come through in a bit!!
And Stake Young Men's Secretary for dad?! I'll bet he's really excited for that! He gets to work with the youth again, in one manner or another! Just (almost) like olde times!!
Things seem to be a-changin': Justin's probably not too excited for braces OR wisdom teeth. Has he talked to you about it at all? I sent him a letter this past week. Do you think he might write back? I'm really wanting to hear how he's doing. We talked just fine at home. A letter is just putting those words on paper. Hopefully, everything goes well with the wisdom teeth. Tell him I love him! And best of luck with the wisdom teeth and braces! I need to see some pictures if he eventually gets them put on!! And I'll be sending some pictures down here, too, in this week or the week coming.
Sorry about that cold, Kaytlin! I have been working on getting over one, too. Hopefully, it's not too bad, and it's almost gone. How's the soccer going? Still playing goalie at a game or two?
hahaha way to go, Kristin! Filming AND costumes! I remember a couple of those times that we filmed and got into costume, like Brad with that 'Popcorn' video, or dressing up for some of the more intense 'Ninja Training Camp' episodes. I'll bet you had a lot of fun!!
Wow, looks like things are busy outside the immediate fam, tambien! How do Amy and Jimmy like the fact that Kylie is coming back so soon? And when did they first have their exchange student move in? Has Collin been there for a while? Does he speak English pretty well? What language do they speak in Belgium? French, right?
Then school's going to get even busier! Don't worry, though: You're going to do great on your mid-term. Just study hard, and pray beforehand. But it sounds to me like a really good plan of action, school-plan-wise! You've always been interested in education - and the 'intreaguing' things about society...mainly the people we all run into. If you could see some of the people we've run into out here! Not that they're bad, or weird, or anything like that. It's just that each and every day brings new experiences, and exposes me to some type of person I haven't encountered before. And with billions of people here on the earth, there are billions and billions of thought patterns and philosophies that are always really interesting to hear. But even though they're interesting to hear, it's an interesting feeling to know that the message we carry is one that can bless them not just in this life (though we are blessed beyond measure for our obedience to God), but in the life to come. I'm especially looking forward to the blessing of an eternal family. I need to learn how to explain that better in OYMs, because that's incredibly important and unique to the Church of Jesus Christ. His Church. The One and Only.
Before I forget: I did get the cookbook, from the mission office. Maybe we just accidentally threw away the notice that we had something in the front office. I'll have to check when I get back. Usually if we see a pile of advertisements in our mailbox, we just toss them in the garbage. I think now I'll check through, first. Journal-wise, I have one up here that I'm going to start, so for right now - I don't think I need a new one yet. Lorenzo...we haven't talked to him since, but he wasn't very open the first time, so we're spending more time trying to find and teach the people who have been prepared by God here. Luis had a baptismal date for yesterday, but alas! He didn't come to Church the Sunday before, so we had to move his date to the 30th of October. And now we may have a problem, because we didn't realize we were going to have a Halloween party/baptism. The wards in the building are going to be throwing a Halloween party that same night. Maybe we can move his baptism up if he gets to church 2 more times, and has the true desire to go.
My companion's been great. He's been helping me to open up and talk more (which I've had a big problem with here - especially during lessons and when I'm frustrated at the apartment). He's a really cool Elder, and he's been handling the stress of District Leader well. I don't know how he does all that he does! But somehow, he does it, and things turn out alright in the end!
And let's see, the mission in general...The mission is a great experience! I don't think there is anything in this world that could compare - and maybe even in the universe - to the work we're doing. Where else do you get to wake up each and every morning, with the spiritually-confirmed knowledge from God that we're going out into the world to bring God's children back to Him? No one else has this ability, other than this Church. And it's amazing to see the change in people when they realize it, too.
That doesn't mean it isn't tough, frustrating, or discouraging sometimes. There have been days when I just don't feel I can go on, and that I'm ready to give up. But then something comes into my mind that helps me to keep going. The Spirit moves me to pick myself up and continue the work of the One who has sent us here. Very frequently, the Lord reminds me of my inadequacies in teaching, in Spanish, in talking to people...but then he helps me get through it. A huge help has been my companion, Elder Neilson.
Oh, and we do have transfers next week. The transfer has flown by far too quickly!! So if you send a letter this week to this address, I'll get it by Friday or Saturday. And then on Monday I can let you know if I'll be getting transfered, and if the letters need to be sent to the mission office until I can give you my new address. We'll see. I love this area, so...we'll see.
During the week! Some great things were a'happenin'!
After an appointment with someone named Donato (Almost one of the Ninja Turtles!), we got stuck behind a stopped train that was having some mechanical problems, so it was stopped, blocking traffic between Richmond and Rosenburg for about an hour. We were trying to get to another appointment, but we couldn't cross the tracks (illegal AND a bad idea). So we talked to some people in the infinitely long line of cars that was waiting to go across. We talked to one guy (a Pastor - Yes, there are SO MANY over here) that asked us a lot of questions about how he can be saved. Surprisingly, he wasn't as argumentative as some of the other pastors we've run into here 'abouts. He gave us a card for the address of his church, and told us to stop by. That'll be sometime this week, so hopefully we get the chance to see him!
Someone else we talked to we think was the reason why the train stopped. A lot of people were calling us over to their cars to find out what was going on. One of these people called us over, and eventually asked what we did as missionaries. This hombre and his wife had a lot of questions. She was studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses, but didn't seem too fond of them. As soon as we got their address (here in town) the train started moving again. We walked with the car for a bit, trying to set up an appointment with Frederico (the hombre in the car). We'll see how it goes this week!!!!
Well, I've got to his the road. I've loved hearing about everything going on over there! There's always something new, it sounds like!!
I love you all SOOOOOO MUCHO!! A infinidad - Y mas alla!!!
Love,
El Devinator
It's great to see things are going so great (Minus for the stressing, but that'll pass as the test passes...and then there will be more tests...anyway, great to hear about Outback! Sounds like everything went AWESOME-ly, especially with the Aussie-style fries! I love those things! And the bread is AMAZING!
And especially, thank you so much for Elder Lowe's address! I've been wanting to write to him and see how he's doing. It looks like he's out in Florida for right now. Hopefully, if he's waiting on his visa, it'll come through in a bit!!
And Stake Young Men's Secretary for dad?! I'll bet he's really excited for that! He gets to work with the youth again, in one manner or another! Just (almost) like olde times!!
Things seem to be a-changin': Justin's probably not too excited for braces OR wisdom teeth. Has he talked to you about it at all? I sent him a letter this past week. Do you think he might write back? I'm really wanting to hear how he's doing. We talked just fine at home. A letter is just putting those words on paper. Hopefully, everything goes well with the wisdom teeth. Tell him I love him! And best of luck with the wisdom teeth and braces! I need to see some pictures if he eventually gets them put on!! And I'll be sending some pictures down here, too, in this week or the week coming.
Sorry about that cold, Kaytlin! I have been working on getting over one, too. Hopefully, it's not too bad, and it's almost gone. How's the soccer going? Still playing goalie at a game or two?
hahaha way to go, Kristin! Filming AND costumes! I remember a couple of those times that we filmed and got into costume, like Brad with that 'Popcorn' video, or dressing up for some of the more intense 'Ninja Training Camp' episodes. I'll bet you had a lot of fun!!
Wow, looks like things are busy outside the immediate fam, tambien! How do Amy and Jimmy like the fact that Kylie is coming back so soon? And when did they first have their exchange student move in? Has Collin been there for a while? Does he speak English pretty well? What language do they speak in Belgium? French, right?
Then school's going to get even busier! Don't worry, though: You're going to do great on your mid-term. Just study hard, and pray beforehand. But it sounds to me like a really good plan of action, school-plan-wise! You've always been interested in education - and the 'intreaguing' things about society...mainly the people we all run into. If you could see some of the people we've run into out here! Not that they're bad, or weird, or anything like that. It's just that each and every day brings new experiences, and exposes me to some type of person I haven't encountered before. And with billions of people here on the earth, there are billions and billions of thought patterns and philosophies that are always really interesting to hear. But even though they're interesting to hear, it's an interesting feeling to know that the message we carry is one that can bless them not just in this life (though we are blessed beyond measure for our obedience to God), but in the life to come. I'm especially looking forward to the blessing of an eternal family. I need to learn how to explain that better in OYMs, because that's incredibly important and unique to the Church of Jesus Christ. His Church. The One and Only.
Before I forget: I did get the cookbook, from the mission office. Maybe we just accidentally threw away the notice that we had something in the front office. I'll have to check when I get back. Usually if we see a pile of advertisements in our mailbox, we just toss them in the garbage. I think now I'll check through, first. Journal-wise, I have one up here that I'm going to start, so for right now - I don't think I need a new one yet. Lorenzo...we haven't talked to him since, but he wasn't very open the first time, so we're spending more time trying to find and teach the people who have been prepared by God here. Luis had a baptismal date for yesterday, but alas! He didn't come to Church the Sunday before, so we had to move his date to the 30th of October. And now we may have a problem, because we didn't realize we were going to have a Halloween party/baptism. The wards in the building are going to be throwing a Halloween party that same night. Maybe we can move his baptism up if he gets to church 2 more times, and has the true desire to go.
My companion's been great. He's been helping me to open up and talk more (which I've had a big problem with here - especially during lessons and when I'm frustrated at the apartment). He's a really cool Elder, and he's been handling the stress of District Leader well. I don't know how he does all that he does! But somehow, he does it, and things turn out alright in the end!
And let's see, the mission in general...The mission is a great experience! I don't think there is anything in this world that could compare - and maybe even in the universe - to the work we're doing. Where else do you get to wake up each and every morning, with the spiritually-confirmed knowledge from God that we're going out into the world to bring God's children back to Him? No one else has this ability, other than this Church. And it's amazing to see the change in people when they realize it, too.
That doesn't mean it isn't tough, frustrating, or discouraging sometimes. There have been days when I just don't feel I can go on, and that I'm ready to give up. But then something comes into my mind that helps me to keep going. The Spirit moves me to pick myself up and continue the work of the One who has sent us here. Very frequently, the Lord reminds me of my inadequacies in teaching, in Spanish, in talking to people...but then he helps me get through it. A huge help has been my companion, Elder Neilson.
Oh, and we do have transfers next week. The transfer has flown by far too quickly!! So if you send a letter this week to this address, I'll get it by Friday or Saturday. And then on Monday I can let you know if I'll be getting transfered, and if the letters need to be sent to the mission office until I can give you my new address. We'll see. I love this area, so...we'll see.
During the week! Some great things were a'happenin'!
After an appointment with someone named Donato (Almost one of the Ninja Turtles!), we got stuck behind a stopped train that was having some mechanical problems, so it was stopped, blocking traffic between Richmond and Rosenburg for about an hour. We were trying to get to another appointment, but we couldn't cross the tracks (illegal AND a bad idea). So we talked to some people in the infinitely long line of cars that was waiting to go across. We talked to one guy (a Pastor - Yes, there are SO MANY over here) that asked us a lot of questions about how he can be saved. Surprisingly, he wasn't as argumentative as some of the other pastors we've run into here 'abouts. He gave us a card for the address of his church, and told us to stop by. That'll be sometime this week, so hopefully we get the chance to see him!
Someone else we talked to we think was the reason why the train stopped. A lot of people were calling us over to their cars to find out what was going on. One of these people called us over, and eventually asked what we did as missionaries. This hombre and his wife had a lot of questions. She was studying with the Jehovah's Witnesses, but didn't seem too fond of them. As soon as we got their address (here in town) the train started moving again. We walked with the car for a bit, trying to set up an appointment with Frederico (the hombre in the car). We'll see how it goes this week!!!!
Well, I've got to his the road. I've loved hearing about everything going on over there! There's always something new, it sounds like!!
I love you all SOOOOOO MUCHO!! A infinidad - Y mas alla!!!
Love,
El Devinator
Monday, September 20, 2010
Week 19 - Working in Rosenberg
HOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
Hooo-Rah!
(Couldn't help bringing a little General W.R. Monger into the mix!)
haha I am DEFINITELY going to start saying that whenever anything goes wrong or confusing up here! Well, but maybe en espanol (Que el flagnard?!)
And I've finally realized why Justin has so many...como se dice...interesting events going on right now! And there's one simple solution! It's because he's not writing! If he had written...he wouldn't have had to worry about fillings or doctor's appointments! (haha if only...)
As of this minute of this hour of this day of this week in this year in this century, I haven't received the cookbook yet. But if not, it could show up sometime today or over the course of the next few days.
And about the journal - If you haven't picked it up yet, don't worry about it. I realized I have something that will serve very well as a journal. It's completely blank, and actually says 'Journal' on the inside. When I wrote you, I thought I was using it for something else, but that is no longer the case. Though if you did buy it, and no one has need of one over thar' yonder, I can keep it here until I finish up this next journal (or start that one, and finish with this one). Either way, I feel that something will work out. And could you possibly e-mail Elder Lowe and find what his address is for his mission office? Or his place? I just want to find out how he's doing. Thanks for forwarding his e-mail to me!
So, we've had a VERY eventful week up here!
It started off just like any other day in the mission...but these missionaries, little did they know, would be experiencing some memorable experiences that would change the course of human history (Okay, not quite, but they were definitely memorable!)
The first experience we had passed on miercoles. We contacted this guy standing outside of his car, gave him a card, and walked off. He hung up the phone and called us back over, asking how long we'd be in the area for. We wound up setting up another appointment for later on in the day.
Something we're working on is being on time. We were running late for the appointment, so he called the number on the card! Way cool! So we wound up getting there about 30 minutes late (It was on the outer edge of our area) and we started teaching. About halfway through the lesson, and I'm not sure how it came up, he just brought up the fact that he and his roommate are gay. That kind of phased me for a little bit. We still continued on, but the lesson wasn't one of the better ones we've taught. We had to tread lightly for fear of offending him (because later in the lesson, we had begun teaching about how God loves us all, and he gave us this response of "Well, obviously." Not sure how to take that one.). So we finished the lesson, and he actually invited us out for a BBQ and golf one day. And so ended that lesson, and an interesting experience. We do teach everyone, regardless of their beliefs or opinions.
Another interesting experience! My companion, Elder Neilson, OYM'd a man standing outside of a building, which he later realized was a church (There's a whole lot of excitement on the subject of religion out here - almost literally, a church on every corner. Sometimes, 2 or 3 on a corner.). We helped him take down, move, and set back up one of those car shade covers. After, he invited us inside his church to talk. In the beginning, he said, "Okay. I'm just going to let you talk, and I'm not even opening my Bible." Way cool!!! Except, he didn't say anything about listening. When we pulled out the Book of Mormon, he fulfilled the prophesy of, "A Bible! A Bible! We have a Bible, and need no more Bible!" For some reason, everyone seems very put-off that God still speaks, and that there's more than one book in the world wherein we can find His counsel and direction for us. Hmm...strange...
And...I was able to get 84 OYMs (Open Your Mouth) this week! That brings me to a total of 225 for this month so far! I was very surprised when I actually reached that number! It was great!
Well, I need to hit the road, Jack (But you can bet I'll come back!). I love hearing from you!! All of your letters and e-mails are always great, and it's so much fun to hear about how things are going at home! Keep me posted!
I love you!!! A infinidad - y mas alla!
Con mucho amor,
El Devinator
Hooo-Rah!
(Couldn't help bringing a little General W.R. Monger into the mix!)
haha I am DEFINITELY going to start saying that whenever anything goes wrong or confusing up here! Well, but maybe en espanol (Que el flagnard?!)
And I've finally realized why Justin has so many...como se dice...interesting events going on right now! And there's one simple solution! It's because he's not writing! If he had written...he wouldn't have had to worry about fillings or doctor's appointments! (haha if only...)
As of this minute of this hour of this day of this week in this year in this century, I haven't received the cookbook yet. But if not, it could show up sometime today or over the course of the next few days.
And about the journal - If you haven't picked it up yet, don't worry about it. I realized I have something that will serve very well as a journal. It's completely blank, and actually says 'Journal' on the inside. When I wrote you, I thought I was using it for something else, but that is no longer the case. Though if you did buy it, and no one has need of one over thar' yonder, I can keep it here until I finish up this next journal (or start that one, and finish with this one). Either way, I feel that something will work out. And could you possibly e-mail Elder Lowe and find what his address is for his mission office? Or his place? I just want to find out how he's doing. Thanks for forwarding his e-mail to me!
So, we've had a VERY eventful week up here!
It started off just like any other day in the mission...but these missionaries, little did they know, would be experiencing some memorable experiences that would change the course of human history (Okay, not quite, but they were definitely memorable!)
The first experience we had passed on miercoles. We contacted this guy standing outside of his car, gave him a card, and walked off. He hung up the phone and called us back over, asking how long we'd be in the area for. We wound up setting up another appointment for later on in the day.
Something we're working on is being on time. We were running late for the appointment, so he called the number on the card! Way cool! So we wound up getting there about 30 minutes late (It was on the outer edge of our area) and we started teaching. About halfway through the lesson, and I'm not sure how it came up, he just brought up the fact that he and his roommate are gay. That kind of phased me for a little bit. We still continued on, but the lesson wasn't one of the better ones we've taught. We had to tread lightly for fear of offending him (because later in the lesson, we had begun teaching about how God loves us all, and he gave us this response of "Well, obviously." Not sure how to take that one.). So we finished the lesson, and he actually invited us out for a BBQ and golf one day. And so ended that lesson, and an interesting experience. We do teach everyone, regardless of their beliefs or opinions.
Another interesting experience! My companion, Elder Neilson, OYM'd a man standing outside of a building, which he later realized was a church (There's a whole lot of excitement on the subject of religion out here - almost literally, a church on every corner. Sometimes, 2 or 3 on a corner.). We helped him take down, move, and set back up one of those car shade covers. After, he invited us inside his church to talk. In the beginning, he said, "Okay. I'm just going to let you talk, and I'm not even opening my Bible." Way cool!!! Except, he didn't say anything about listening. When we pulled out the Book of Mormon, he fulfilled the prophesy of, "A Bible! A Bible! We have a Bible, and need no more Bible!" For some reason, everyone seems very put-off that God still speaks, and that there's more than one book in the world wherein we can find His counsel and direction for us. Hmm...strange...
And...I was able to get 84 OYMs (Open Your Mouth) this week! That brings me to a total of 225 for this month so far! I was very surprised when I actually reached that number! It was great!
Well, I need to hit the road, Jack (But you can bet I'll come back!). I love hearing from you!! All of your letters and e-mails are always great, and it's so much fun to hear about how things are going at home! Keep me posted!
I love you!!! A infinidad - y mas alla!
Con mucho amor,
El Devinator
Monday, September 13, 2010
Week 18
Hoooooooooooola!
Sounds like things are going grand-ly! And yeah, I got the box with everything in it. Thank you so much!!! Hopefully, I won't have to use the tire equipment anytime soon, but it I do, it's good to have, right there and handy!
To grandma and grandpa (All four of ya!) Happy belated Grandparents' Day! Hope it was a fantastic one!!!
As for food - I'm trying to buy more filling and healthy food for lower cost. I think I'll be buying some oatmeal and cinnamon for most mornings, and jiffy muffins make really good pancakes!
Rain jacket-wise: I'm good with the ones I have. I have one lighter one that actually keeps the rain out quite well. The other one is for colder weather that should work better with rain that isn't quite so heavy.
If you get the chance, another journal would be awesome! I'm getting low on pages in this one, but I should have enough to last me for the next 2 weeks. Nothing expensive or anything, just something with enough pages that I can write in for the next segment of my mission.
Here, we have an oven, microwave, toaster, and blender. But I haven't used the blender yet, so I'm not sure if it works. I'm trying to come up with cheap ideas for filling lunches or dinners. I've got breakfast pretty well taken care of.
Time Out for Women sounds like it's been really awesome every year, but especially awesome this year! John Bytheway! He's so awesome!!! Maybe you can send me some of the notes you have from the conference!
And actually, I have met Elder W! He arrived at the beginning of this last transfer!! I'm not sure how he's doing (He's in another zone, I think), but when I've seen him, he seems to be doing alright. And I hope his mission experience gets all the better!
And, to write you a little about what I think was going through my mind for the first part of my mission:
At first, when I was feeling terribly homesick, I was wanting to suffer silently, I think. I guess I wanted to "play the hero" and take it all upon myself to endure, and not talk to you about it. Then, I started getting the concern (just seemed to come out of the blue) that when I got back, things wouldn't be the same. We wouldn't have that awesome 'dynamic duo' thing going on, and that I'd be a completely different person, with absolutely no sense of humor. That wouldn't be too fun. So, I've decided that I'll tell you all about the good times AND the rough times. And when you're having a rough time up there, you can let me know. Things might be tough sometimes, that's true, but like you said, we can rely on Jesus Christ and His Gospel for those things that we need and the strength that we need, too.
So like I said in my letter, things are tough sometimes. And lately, I've had a lot of thoughts of home. Life at home with family and friends, and just how different it is from life here. One of the Hermanas in our district said something during our last district meeting that stood out to me a little bit. The life we're living now is the life that the Lord wants us to have. There are habits and attributes that he wants me to gain while I'm out here that will make me a better person when I return. So I've been trying to change my thoughts and my habits to become the person that I believe the Lord wants me to become. It'll come gradually, but it'll still come. And I'm sure we'll still have a great (if not better) Mamma-son, Devin-son relationship.
And Justin! Great to hear from you!!! Another 3 minutes filmed? Awesome! How's the editing going? Have you gotten that Action Essentials program or the Movie Scores program yet? You've got to let me know how they are! They looked sooooo cool, what you can do with the bullets and things, and how you can make the music that fits in exactly with that's going on in the movie! How many people are in it? Do you have a script written out? How about the climax of the movie? A really intense action scene? I can't wait to see how it turns out!!!
Things here have been great! Well, getting much better! Luis is progressing towards his baptism, which is scheduled for the 26th of this month. We also have a few different people who are moving right along, which is awesome! Last transfer, we had a lot of lessions, but not a lot of solid people. Now, we're working on getting both.
Elder Neilson is a really driven guy. He has so much work to do, so much on his plate, but he still has time to make breakfast for both of us a lot of mornings. He's a pretty swell companion! I want to take some (or a lot) of the attributes he has, and emulate those in my own life and in my mission. He said something that stood out to me. We're here for two years (still seems like a very long time to me). That means we have 2 years worth of time for self-improvement. Thinking about that, I could return a MUCH better person that I left, and that is what I want to do. It will take a lot of work, each and every day, but it'll be worth it in the end.
And doing this work that we're doing - there isn't anything else in this world that we could do (maybe other than raising a family in His Gospel) that is worth this much. Not making movies, going to the moon, or discovering a new element. We're in the work of saving souls. Most of what else I had done up until this point really seems pretty insignificant.
But I've got to go now. I love you all SOOO MUCH!!!!!
And mom - Happy early birthday!!! Have a great one!!!! Enjoy every minute!!
Con mucho amor - A infinidad, y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
Sounds like things are going grand-ly! And yeah, I got the box with everything in it. Thank you so much!!! Hopefully, I won't have to use the tire equipment anytime soon, but it I do, it's good to have, right there and handy!
To grandma and grandpa (All four of ya!) Happy belated Grandparents' Day! Hope it was a fantastic one!!!
As for food - I'm trying to buy more filling and healthy food for lower cost. I think I'll be buying some oatmeal and cinnamon for most mornings, and jiffy muffins make really good pancakes!
Rain jacket-wise: I'm good with the ones I have. I have one lighter one that actually keeps the rain out quite well. The other one is for colder weather that should work better with rain that isn't quite so heavy.
If you get the chance, another journal would be awesome! I'm getting low on pages in this one, but I should have enough to last me for the next 2 weeks. Nothing expensive or anything, just something with enough pages that I can write in for the next segment of my mission.
Here, we have an oven, microwave, toaster, and blender. But I haven't used the blender yet, so I'm not sure if it works. I'm trying to come up with cheap ideas for filling lunches or dinners. I've got breakfast pretty well taken care of.
Time Out for Women sounds like it's been really awesome every year, but especially awesome this year! John Bytheway! He's so awesome!!! Maybe you can send me some of the notes you have from the conference!
And actually, I have met Elder W! He arrived at the beginning of this last transfer!! I'm not sure how he's doing (He's in another zone, I think), but when I've seen him, he seems to be doing alright. And I hope his mission experience gets all the better!
And, to write you a little about what I think was going through my mind for the first part of my mission:
At first, when I was feeling terribly homesick, I was wanting to suffer silently, I think. I guess I wanted to "play the hero" and take it all upon myself to endure, and not talk to you about it. Then, I started getting the concern (just seemed to come out of the blue) that when I got back, things wouldn't be the same. We wouldn't have that awesome 'dynamic duo' thing going on, and that I'd be a completely different person, with absolutely no sense of humor. That wouldn't be too fun. So, I've decided that I'll tell you all about the good times AND the rough times. And when you're having a rough time up there, you can let me know. Things might be tough sometimes, that's true, but like you said, we can rely on Jesus Christ and His Gospel for those things that we need and the strength that we need, too.
So like I said in my letter, things are tough sometimes. And lately, I've had a lot of thoughts of home. Life at home with family and friends, and just how different it is from life here. One of the Hermanas in our district said something during our last district meeting that stood out to me a little bit. The life we're living now is the life that the Lord wants us to have. There are habits and attributes that he wants me to gain while I'm out here that will make me a better person when I return. So I've been trying to change my thoughts and my habits to become the person that I believe the Lord wants me to become. It'll come gradually, but it'll still come. And I'm sure we'll still have a great (if not better) Mamma-son, Devin-son relationship.
And Justin! Great to hear from you!!! Another 3 minutes filmed? Awesome! How's the editing going? Have you gotten that Action Essentials program or the Movie Scores program yet? You've got to let me know how they are! They looked sooooo cool, what you can do with the bullets and things, and how you can make the music that fits in exactly with that's going on in the movie! How many people are in it? Do you have a script written out? How about the climax of the movie? A really intense action scene? I can't wait to see how it turns out!!!
Things here have been great! Well, getting much better! Luis is progressing towards his baptism, which is scheduled for the 26th of this month. We also have a few different people who are moving right along, which is awesome! Last transfer, we had a lot of lessions, but not a lot of solid people. Now, we're working on getting both.
Elder Neilson is a really driven guy. He has so much work to do, so much on his plate, but he still has time to make breakfast for both of us a lot of mornings. He's a pretty swell companion! I want to take some (or a lot) of the attributes he has, and emulate those in my own life and in my mission. He said something that stood out to me. We're here for two years (still seems like a very long time to me). That means we have 2 years worth of time for self-improvement. Thinking about that, I could return a MUCH better person that I left, and that is what I want to do. It will take a lot of work, each and every day, but it'll be worth it in the end.
And doing this work that we're doing - there isn't anything else in this world that we could do (maybe other than raising a family in His Gospel) that is worth this much. Not making movies, going to the moon, or discovering a new element. We're in the work of saving souls. Most of what else I had done up until this point really seems pretty insignificant.
But I've got to go now. I love you all SOOO MUCH!!!!!
And mom - Happy early birthday!!! Have a great one!!!! Enjoy every minute!!
Con mucho amor - A infinidad, y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Week 17 - Eating Ants?
Hooooooola!
Good to hear from all of you!!! Your letters give me just that little bit of energy and support that I need to continue on through another day.
Those pictures were fun to take! And now, they're not giving us enough money to buy food... haha just kidding. But they're also not chocolate covered (ants). It's been interesting, trying some of the different food around here. I'll send some home for all of you to try when I finish recording on the first tape (Which should be by next P-Day!).
My new companion's name is Elder Neilson. He's a pretty cool guy. He's definitely a hard worker, and usually focused really well on what we need to do. Our apartment is now clean, organized, and actually nice to come home to (though maybe that's not a good thing - A dirty appartment would keep us from going home up until 9:30 each day!).
That's awesome, to hear about Dad's experience. I think he'd be surprised at just how much impact he's had on so many people's lives! And I'm sure he'll be called to something in the near future, where he'll have the opportunity to help a lot of people again.
Good to hear Justin's doing great! And that program - Action Essentials? - will be a great program, along with the movie scores/orchestra pieces that will come with the other one! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing his cinematic, epic movies when I get back!
The address here is still the same, so feel free to send mail/etc. back to here again! It'll get here faster than through the mission home/office. And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Kristin's town, and hearing about Kaytlin's soccer feats. I've really gotten into soccer, but we rarely have time to play. Though, if we're always working, I guess that's not a bad thing!
And for what's been going on here! Drum roll....
Well, we have an Elder Kobyashi here - Just like the Kobyashi Maru in Star Trek! Soo cool!
Anyway, we have two people who are doing really well. They've both been reading, and both have been to church once. We haven't been able to find either of them recently, though, so hopefully we'll get a lession in here tonight with both of them!
It's definitely been storming a bit here. Usually, it'll rain off and on. But the past few days...no luck. Nonstop rain, and every now and then, it just pours like a bucket of water. We were inside teaching for the worst of it yesterday, but today, not so great. We put the bike rack on the English Elder's car (Elder Black and Elder McPherson), and by the time we got into the car, we were drenched. And that was through the black Mr. Mac's trenchcoat that we picked up. I'm kind of disappointed with that.
But what was even more awesome - There was someone at church who has been coming with his friend. He's 14 years old - but he said he wants to be baptized! We were like, "Fantastic! Where is he?" He even bought a tie yesterday! We just want to keep him interested enough so that when we've finished teaching the lessions, he still wants to be baptized.
Well, I've got to go. Sorry, this wasn't more with information about here. There hasn't been a lot going on, but I'll write what I remember in the next letter (on paper).
I love you all!!! Thank you soo much for your support! I can't wait to get your letters and e-mails over the coming weeks!
I love you! A infinidad - y mas alla!
Elder Dev
Good to hear from all of you!!! Your letters give me just that little bit of energy and support that I need to continue on through another day.
Those pictures were fun to take! And now, they're not giving us enough money to buy food... haha just kidding. But they're also not chocolate covered (ants). It's been interesting, trying some of the different food around here. I'll send some home for all of you to try when I finish recording on the first tape (Which should be by next P-Day!).
My new companion's name is Elder Neilson. He's a pretty cool guy. He's definitely a hard worker, and usually focused really well on what we need to do. Our apartment is now clean, organized, and actually nice to come home to (though maybe that's not a good thing - A dirty appartment would keep us from going home up until 9:30 each day!).
That's awesome, to hear about Dad's experience. I think he'd be surprised at just how much impact he's had on so many people's lives! And I'm sure he'll be called to something in the near future, where he'll have the opportunity to help a lot of people again.
Good to hear Justin's doing great! And that program - Action Essentials? - will be a great program, along with the movie scores/orchestra pieces that will come with the other one! I'm definitely looking forward to seeing his cinematic, epic movies when I get back!
The address here is still the same, so feel free to send mail/etc. back to here again! It'll get here faster than through the mission home/office. And I'm definitely looking forward to seeing Kristin's town, and hearing about Kaytlin's soccer feats. I've really gotten into soccer, but we rarely have time to play. Though, if we're always working, I guess that's not a bad thing!
And for what's been going on here! Drum roll....
Well, we have an Elder Kobyashi here - Just like the Kobyashi Maru in Star Trek! Soo cool!
Anyway, we have two people who are doing really well. They've both been reading, and both have been to church once. We haven't been able to find either of them recently, though, so hopefully we'll get a lession in here tonight with both of them!
It's definitely been storming a bit here. Usually, it'll rain off and on. But the past few days...no luck. Nonstop rain, and every now and then, it just pours like a bucket of water. We were inside teaching for the worst of it yesterday, but today, not so great. We put the bike rack on the English Elder's car (Elder Black and Elder McPherson), and by the time we got into the car, we were drenched. And that was through the black Mr. Mac's trenchcoat that we picked up. I'm kind of disappointed with that.
But what was even more awesome - There was someone at church who has been coming with his friend. He's 14 years old - but he said he wants to be baptized! We were like, "Fantastic! Where is he?" He even bought a tie yesterday! We just want to keep him interested enough so that when we've finished teaching the lessions, he still wants to be baptized.
Well, I've got to go. Sorry, this wasn't more with information about here. There hasn't been a lot going on, but I'll write what I remember in the next letter (on paper).
I love you all!!! Thank you soo much for your support! I can't wait to get your letters and e-mails over the coming weeks!
I love you! A infinidad - y mas alla!
Elder Dev
Monday, August 30, 2010
Week 16
HOOOOWWWWWWWW-DEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
It was great getting your letter today! Sounds like things are (mostly) bomb-diggity. That was really sad to hear about Bishop Sannar. I don't know why anyone would do something like that, and I can't imagine what it is putting his family through. Life...it seems so sure at times, but then we are reminded at just how fragile it is. But in this gospel, we can know for certain that all is well. Our loving Heavenly Father cares for us and is there for us in the good times, and especially in those terrible, heartbreaking times. I hope his family receives all the strength and blessing from the Lord that they need, and then much more.
This week has been a week 'o changes [Ch-ch-ch-changes (name that movie!)]. Oh, and the package should get here on Friday - the day we have Zone Meeting. That's when they bring all the packages to the meeting, and we pick them up and bring them home. I'm looking forward to getting it!
And, side note - I actually can't open up forwards (mission rule), but I really want to see how Elder Lowe (That's who it was, right?) is doing. Could you print it off and send it to me, when you have time? That would be FANTASMIC!
Sounds like there's been a lot going on! How are your classes? By the time I can check back again, it'll be almost 2 weeks that you've had those classes, right? How are they going?
That's soooo cool to hear about Thao and Phong are going to the same place! Different languages, but what are the chances of that? They're going to do great!
My companion's AWESOME! He actually reminds me of someone from the student ward over in Chico, who is serving in Japan right now - and they're about the same height! 6'6"!! Pretty big guy! And then, we had an elder come in this past transfer (I've already been here for a transfer?! Como?!) who is 6'11"!! Wow! He's a hard worker. Plus, our apartment wasn't really...well, not the cleanest apartment in the mission. Fortunately, not the dirtiest, but Elder Jenks and I just never cleaned it, because whenever we were at home, we were planning or sleeping. Now, though, you'll be proud to know we're going through and doing a really deep cleaning, and it's only day 5! We've reorganized the room, cleaned the kitchen, sprayed and killed a whole lot of cockroaches (fortunately, I've only seen one that was about half the size of a computer mouse), and now we're working on the living and dining areas. It's going to be good! And already, it feels so much nicer in there!
As for the actual reason we're here - there have been some ups and downs. Remember the one who lost her baby at birth? Well, she just had another baby boy, and she sent us a text message. She told us she wants to discontinue our meetings, because she wants to baptize her son in the church they're already attending - this Sunday. Apparently, we weren't wholly clear on the whole "authority" part, or that baptism of little children is a solemn mockery of the ordinance of baptism. And we wouldn't explain it exactly like that, but we'd clarify a lot on the whole authority part. We're hoping to still meet with her and sort things out, but we'll see.
As for lessions, we didn't do so hot this week. Only 11 sit-downs (though no one was in our area for the first part of the week, what with Elder Jenks heading home and transfers). OYMs, though - 71! And I'm going to try to increase that during this next week as well!
And....we had an investigator named Luis, who fell off the face of the map for a while. But we found him, worked hard to invite the Spirit into the lession, and he accepted the commitment to be baptized! And he's been to Church before! Way cool!
We also started teaching someone who is the boyfriend of a member, menos activo, and he said he's never felt the same as he did when he attended the Church, and he commited to a date for baptism, too!
So, we didn't reach the goals we had set. But we really helped people to come unto Christ, feel His Spirit, and have that desire to get baptized. All in all, a VERY good week!
I also had the opportunity to give my first blessing in Spanish this week! The experience was amazing! And the Spirit was so strong in the room then. The words just kind of...not flowed, but as I focused on the Hermana that I was giving the blessing to, the words entered my mind, and I was able to struggle through the blessing. It was a blessing for her, but I feel it was also a blessing for me from the Lord to be able to give this blessing.
Well, we've got to get going. So much time, and so little to do! ...Wait, scratch that, reverse it. This is the start of a good week, and we're going to work until it is a great week!
I love you all soooo much! Thanks for all your prayers and support! They keep me going, each and every day!
Con amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!
Dev
It was great getting your letter today! Sounds like things are (mostly) bomb-diggity. That was really sad to hear about Bishop Sannar. I don't know why anyone would do something like that, and I can't imagine what it is putting his family through. Life...it seems so sure at times, but then we are reminded at just how fragile it is. But in this gospel, we can know for certain that all is well. Our loving Heavenly Father cares for us and is there for us in the good times, and especially in those terrible, heartbreaking times. I hope his family receives all the strength and blessing from the Lord that they need, and then much more.
This week has been a week 'o changes [Ch-ch-ch-changes (name that movie!)]. Oh, and the package should get here on Friday - the day we have Zone Meeting. That's when they bring all the packages to the meeting, and we pick them up and bring them home. I'm looking forward to getting it!
And, side note - I actually can't open up forwards (mission rule), but I really want to see how Elder Lowe (That's who it was, right?) is doing. Could you print it off and send it to me, when you have time? That would be FANTASMIC!
Sounds like there's been a lot going on! How are your classes? By the time I can check back again, it'll be almost 2 weeks that you've had those classes, right? How are they going?
That's soooo cool to hear about Thao and Phong are going to the same place! Different languages, but what are the chances of that? They're going to do great!
My companion's AWESOME! He actually reminds me of someone from the student ward over in Chico, who is serving in Japan right now - and they're about the same height! 6'6"!! Pretty big guy! And then, we had an elder come in this past transfer (I've already been here for a transfer?! Como?!) who is 6'11"!! Wow! He's a hard worker. Plus, our apartment wasn't really...well, not the cleanest apartment in the mission. Fortunately, not the dirtiest, but Elder Jenks and I just never cleaned it, because whenever we were at home, we were planning or sleeping. Now, though, you'll be proud to know we're going through and doing a really deep cleaning, and it's only day 5! We've reorganized the room, cleaned the kitchen, sprayed and killed a whole lot of cockroaches (fortunately, I've only seen one that was about half the size of a computer mouse), and now we're working on the living and dining areas. It's going to be good! And already, it feels so much nicer in there!
As for the actual reason we're here - there have been some ups and downs. Remember the one who lost her baby at birth? Well, she just had another baby boy, and she sent us a text message. She told us she wants to discontinue our meetings, because she wants to baptize her son in the church they're already attending - this Sunday. Apparently, we weren't wholly clear on the whole "authority" part, or that baptism of little children is a solemn mockery of the ordinance of baptism. And we wouldn't explain it exactly like that, but we'd clarify a lot on the whole authority part. We're hoping to still meet with her and sort things out, but we'll see.
As for lessions, we didn't do so hot this week. Only 11 sit-downs (though no one was in our area for the first part of the week, what with Elder Jenks heading home and transfers). OYMs, though - 71! And I'm going to try to increase that during this next week as well!
And....we had an investigator named Luis, who fell off the face of the map for a while. But we found him, worked hard to invite the Spirit into the lession, and he accepted the commitment to be baptized! And he's been to Church before! Way cool!
We also started teaching someone who is the boyfriend of a member, menos activo, and he said he's never felt the same as he did when he attended the Church, and he commited to a date for baptism, too!
So, we didn't reach the goals we had set. But we really helped people to come unto Christ, feel His Spirit, and have that desire to get baptized. All in all, a VERY good week!
I also had the opportunity to give my first blessing in Spanish this week! The experience was amazing! And the Spirit was so strong in the room then. The words just kind of...not flowed, but as I focused on the Hermana that I was giving the blessing to, the words entered my mind, and I was able to struggle through the blessing. It was a blessing for her, but I feel it was also a blessing for me from the Lord to be able to give this blessing.
Well, we've got to get going. So much time, and so little to do! ...Wait, scratch that, reverse it. This is the start of a good week, and we're going to work until it is a great week!
I love you all soooo much! Thanks for all your prayers and support! They keep me going, each and every day!
Con amor, a infinidad - y mas alla!
Dev
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Week 15
Howdy, y hola a toda!
Where to begin?
Sounds like things have been going very well! How is everyone looking forward to school? How are the girls doing with school starting back up? I know Justin doesn't sound too thrilled.
Justin!!!!! Good to hear from you!!! I saw a few pictures that Mike sent from the trip. You looked like you were really enjoying those waverunners!! And the rope swing must have been great! Did you get any flips in? What's your movie about? Do you have a script for it? If you do, could you send a copy here sometime? And maybe some screenshots, if available - I think it's really cool that you're making that movie! Let me know how it's going! I love hearing from all of you!
Over here, things have been LOCO! Elder Jenks is leaving. That's just the beginning, though. Yesterday, we saw a hit-and-run happen in the road between a guy on a bike and a car. Intense! The guy on the bike rode out into the street (so he was at fault). A car pulling out of a driveway didn't see him, and somehow, he didn't see the car (maybe a little "buzzed?") and so he started swerving wildly, and smacked into the side of the car! He fell off his bike and went sliding about 5-6 feet, and the car took off! The guy got up after a few minutes, and we went over, checking if he was okay, and if he needed help or anything. I didn't realize until later that he could really only speak Spanish. But hey, it was dark! So anyway, he got up, hopped on his bike, and rode off into the twilight. For sure, one eventful night!
Then, a little time before that, we had Church. And someone we had only shared one lession with showed up! (Giovani) It was awesome!!! But we could tell he was uncomfortable. I guess it is a lot to absorb, and I don't think I explained things to him enough to the point where it really clicked. So he wound up heading home after sacrament with his son, but it was awesome to have him show up!
We also had someone named Luis Samora come with a member family, and he sat with them during sacrament. He seemed to really enjoy the service, and I'm praying that he really felt the Spirit there, and will come back again. But not only sacrament did he sit through, but all the other classes as well! Both people (along with another investigator who showed up - without her member boyfriend!) showed up, and it was really amazing. Getting people to church (as I've probably mentioned before) has been our biggest impediment to baptism. Although, if they don't want to go to church, they're not ready for baptism. We don't want to baptize them into inactivity, though even just one baptism would be great. The branch is sooooo small - we need people from outside to help out!
Annnnnd...this Wednesday, we have transfer meeting. As of now, I haven't the foggiest idea of who my companion will be! Or, for that matter, how we'll manage this area in Brazos. I feel so underprepared, so unready to work it. Fortunately, who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies, so I'll have to do my best to qualify for His qualification!
We were in the middle of a thunderstrom yesterday, and the power went out, so we didn't have the chance to e-mail. Fortunately, we had permission to e-mail today. Hoooray!!!
I'm on exchange with some elders from Houston 4 West, and they're pretty cool. They've got a unique dynamic that I'd like to try to develop (well, something like that) with my next companion.
And now, I've got to get going. But it's been great! I'm especially looking forward to pictures that are coming through! I love seeing all of you, and I'm really looking forward to hearing from all of you on some of those tapes! I've already started my documentation, I guess you could say, on this voice recorder. It'll be great to hear your voices!
I love you all sooooooooooo much!!!! I hope life is going well, that school is pretty good, too, and that everyone is doing great!! I'm looking forward to e-mails again next week! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a letter out this week, but hopefully this covers everything that's been going on here!
I love you all! A infinidad, y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
Where to begin?
Sounds like things have been going very well! How is everyone looking forward to school? How are the girls doing with school starting back up? I know Justin doesn't sound too thrilled.
Justin!!!!! Good to hear from you!!! I saw a few pictures that Mike sent from the trip. You looked like you were really enjoying those waverunners!! And the rope swing must have been great! Did you get any flips in? What's your movie about? Do you have a script for it? If you do, could you send a copy here sometime? And maybe some screenshots, if available - I think it's really cool that you're making that movie! Let me know how it's going! I love hearing from all of you!
Over here, things have been LOCO! Elder Jenks is leaving. That's just the beginning, though. Yesterday, we saw a hit-and-run happen in the road between a guy on a bike and a car. Intense! The guy on the bike rode out into the street (so he was at fault). A car pulling out of a driveway didn't see him, and somehow, he didn't see the car (maybe a little "buzzed?") and so he started swerving wildly, and smacked into the side of the car! He fell off his bike and went sliding about 5-6 feet, and the car took off! The guy got up after a few minutes, and we went over, checking if he was okay, and if he needed help or anything. I didn't realize until later that he could really only speak Spanish. But hey, it was dark! So anyway, he got up, hopped on his bike, and rode off into the twilight. For sure, one eventful night!
Then, a little time before that, we had Church. And someone we had only shared one lession with showed up! (Giovani) It was awesome!!! But we could tell he was uncomfortable. I guess it is a lot to absorb, and I don't think I explained things to him enough to the point where it really clicked. So he wound up heading home after sacrament with his son, but it was awesome to have him show up!
We also had someone named Luis Samora come with a member family, and he sat with them during sacrament. He seemed to really enjoy the service, and I'm praying that he really felt the Spirit there, and will come back again. But not only sacrament did he sit through, but all the other classes as well! Both people (along with another investigator who showed up - without her member boyfriend!) showed up, and it was really amazing. Getting people to church (as I've probably mentioned before) has been our biggest impediment to baptism. Although, if they don't want to go to church, they're not ready for baptism. We don't want to baptize them into inactivity, though even just one baptism would be great. The branch is sooooo small - we need people from outside to help out!
Annnnnd...this Wednesday, we have transfer meeting. As of now, I haven't the foggiest idea of who my companion will be! Or, for that matter, how we'll manage this area in Brazos. I feel so underprepared, so unready to work it. Fortunately, who the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies, so I'll have to do my best to qualify for His qualification!
We were in the middle of a thunderstrom yesterday, and the power went out, so we didn't have the chance to e-mail. Fortunately, we had permission to e-mail today. Hoooray!!!
I'm on exchange with some elders from Houston 4 West, and they're pretty cool. They've got a unique dynamic that I'd like to try to develop (well, something like that) with my next companion.
And now, I've got to get going. But it's been great! I'm especially looking forward to pictures that are coming through! I love seeing all of you, and I'm really looking forward to hearing from all of you on some of those tapes! I've already started my documentation, I guess you could say, on this voice recorder. It'll be great to hear your voices!
I love you all sooooooooooo much!!!! I hope life is going well, that school is pretty good, too, and that everyone is doing great!! I'm looking forward to e-mails again next week! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get a letter out this week, but hopefully this covers everything that's been going on here!
I love you all! A infinidad, y mas alla!
Dev-i-o
Monday, August 23, 2010
Hola, y'all! Como estan?
Well, time here is moving a little faster. A lot of times, the mornings are really long. And then my mind starts to wander during studies, and I have to refocus, and then get to working again. But during the day, things usually go well. We're constantly moving and working, and the challenge (that I've faced so far) has been one that I've enjoyed and striven to meet and surpass. I have yet to meet or surpass it, but I can do it!
Elder Jenks is leaving next week. That part has been hard. He's not trunkie, but he talks a lot about how he wonders how things will be different, what he is going to do with his life, how he's going to get back into school...etc.
But I'm really interested to see who my next companion will be! Then, I have to know the area very well...I have to admit, I'm kind of nervous about that! But, it'll be fun! Just have to work all the harder, really focus on the work.
I've seen Garrett quite a few times up here. Actually, he was sitting behind me here in the library and e-mailing, too! He's doing well. Though now, they have a companionship of 3, because someone went home early - someone that wasn't in my MTC district, but who came out with us on the plane. It was sad to hear about that, but I hope he'll be able to return, if it's something like that.
ANYWAY, back to happier things!
We've been meeting with a lot of people, and we've been trying to extend a baptismal date at basically every first lession. And what do you know! Our numbers of people with a baptismal date have gone up! But the toughest part is getting these people to church. Every once in a while, someone shows up. But if they don't have 3 sundays in church, they can't be baptized. And we don't want to baptize them into inactivity.
Let's see, what else has gone on...
Going day to day, and thinking about the transfer to come, it seems like we've talked to nearly everyone here in Rosenburg. We'll ride past a place, and Elder Janks says: "we've already been there." But somehow, something new happens every day. I've been thinking that the days will be very empty (and there are some days that a lot of our appointments fall through, and we feel like we haven't taught anyone), but somehow, things seem to turn out alright.
The day before yesterday, we had an intercambio, or exchange, with the Zone Leaders because Elder Jenks is the District Leader. Elder Scavo, who is also from California, was my exchange buddy. He also did something that's called "running" with me on the first day. That was where we just go out and talk to as many people as we can in a half-hour, and then return to our "base of operations" (aka: the church building). This time, I learned even more from him. He came to our area, and basically said, "Lead on! I'll follow you." And so that's what happened! We talked to a lot of people, taught about 4 lessions, and got a few return appointments with people. But what stood out the most to me was his sincerity with everything, and his pure love for the people. He could just so easily talk to them, and they were all almost like family to him. That's something that I want to develop is that sincere love for the people here. And I'm working at it. It can be kind of hard at first, but fortunately, the Lord is here helping.
We taught a couple (also, not married) named Sylvia and Doroteo - Kind of like Dorito! Well, at least, that's what he said...So Doroteo talked a lot, but eventually, we talked a little about the Plan of Salvation. Sylvia read all of the pamphlet that we left her last time we were there, and even tried to explain some of it to Doroteo. Way awesome! She looked like she was ready to be baptized right then and there! She had had a stillborn baby, and had to give to others up for adoption, and got a lot of...discouraging? yeah, I think that's the word...feedback from her family. Her belief in God, her praying to God, and the fact that her baby died, and she still trusts in Him. She's been through a lot, but she's strong! They didn't come to church this past week, so we'll have to see what happened. She's going in for a c-section this week, so that might have been part of it.
Dad, how's the reading going with the Standard Works? Justin, what are you studying in seminary this year? I kind of want to read the same scriptures you are, in spanish, at the same time. Could be fun!
Food! Surprisingly, almost all of the food I have eaten here has been AMAZING! And you know me, the picky eater. So that's been awesome! I even come home now and throw a few tortillas on the stove, and have me some more mexican food, though in no way similar to some of what I've eaten so far. But it's great!
Well, I've got to get going. Time's almost up!
Mom, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, Kristin...and yes, you too, Phoenix...I love you all soooo much! Tan mucho! You're always in my prayers!
Con amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!!!
Dev-i-o "Captain Awesome" Collins
Well, time here is moving a little faster. A lot of times, the mornings are really long. And then my mind starts to wander during studies, and I have to refocus, and then get to working again. But during the day, things usually go well. We're constantly moving and working, and the challenge (that I've faced so far) has been one that I've enjoyed and striven to meet and surpass. I have yet to meet or surpass it, but I can do it!
Elder Jenks is leaving next week. That part has been hard. He's not trunkie, but he talks a lot about how he wonders how things will be different, what he is going to do with his life, how he's going to get back into school...etc.
But I'm really interested to see who my next companion will be! Then, I have to know the area very well...I have to admit, I'm kind of nervous about that! But, it'll be fun! Just have to work all the harder, really focus on the work.
I've seen Garrett quite a few times up here. Actually, he was sitting behind me here in the library and e-mailing, too! He's doing well. Though now, they have a companionship of 3, because someone went home early - someone that wasn't in my MTC district, but who came out with us on the plane. It was sad to hear about that, but I hope he'll be able to return, if it's something like that.
ANYWAY, back to happier things!
We've been meeting with a lot of people, and we've been trying to extend a baptismal date at basically every first lession. And what do you know! Our numbers of people with a baptismal date have gone up! But the toughest part is getting these people to church. Every once in a while, someone shows up. But if they don't have 3 sundays in church, they can't be baptized. And we don't want to baptize them into inactivity.
Let's see, what else has gone on...
Going day to day, and thinking about the transfer to come, it seems like we've talked to nearly everyone here in Rosenburg. We'll ride past a place, and Elder Janks says: "we've already been there." But somehow, something new happens every day. I've been thinking that the days will be very empty (and there are some days that a lot of our appointments fall through, and we feel like we haven't taught anyone), but somehow, things seem to turn out alright.
The day before yesterday, we had an intercambio, or exchange, with the Zone Leaders because Elder Jenks is the District Leader. Elder Scavo, who is also from California, was my exchange buddy. He also did something that's called "running" with me on the first day. That was where we just go out and talk to as many people as we can in a half-hour, and then return to our "base of operations" (aka: the church building). This time, I learned even more from him. He came to our area, and basically said, "Lead on! I'll follow you." And so that's what happened! We talked to a lot of people, taught about 4 lessions, and got a few return appointments with people. But what stood out the most to me was his sincerity with everything, and his pure love for the people. He could just so easily talk to them, and they were all almost like family to him. That's something that I want to develop is that sincere love for the people here. And I'm working at it. It can be kind of hard at first, but fortunately, the Lord is here helping.
We taught a couple (also, not married) named Sylvia and Doroteo - Kind of like Dorito! Well, at least, that's what he said...So Doroteo talked a lot, but eventually, we talked a little about the Plan of Salvation. Sylvia read all of the pamphlet that we left her last time we were there, and even tried to explain some of it to Doroteo. Way awesome! She looked like she was ready to be baptized right then and there! She had had a stillborn baby, and had to give to others up for adoption, and got a lot of...discouraging? yeah, I think that's the word...feedback from her family. Her belief in God, her praying to God, and the fact that her baby died, and she still trusts in Him. She's been through a lot, but she's strong! They didn't come to church this past week, so we'll have to see what happened. She's going in for a c-section this week, so that might have been part of it.
Dad, how's the reading going with the Standard Works? Justin, what are you studying in seminary this year? I kind of want to read the same scriptures you are, in spanish, at the same time. Could be fun!
Food! Surprisingly, almost all of the food I have eaten here has been AMAZING! And you know me, the picky eater. So that's been awesome! I even come home now and throw a few tortillas on the stove, and have me some more mexican food, though in no way similar to some of what I've eaten so far. But it's great!
Well, I've got to get going. Time's almost up!
Mom, Dad, Justin, Kaytlin, Kristin...and yes, you too, Phoenix...I love you all soooo much! Tan mucho! You're always in my prayers!
Con amor - a infinidad, y mas alla!!!!!
Dev-i-o "Captain Awesome" Collins
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