tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73996605962859242772024-03-12T18:12:12.065-06:00Elder Derek CroftElder Croft is serving for two years as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Washington DC North Mission. He began serving on December 29, 2010. <br><br>This blog is maintained by his father and contains excerpts from his letters home.Darren Crofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07184070934729488660noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-66591906708785149432012-12-26T11:16:00.000-07:002012-12-26T11:16:13.210-07:00Another weekWell family, I just spoke to all of you, and I guess I'll be seeing you
soon? So I'll keep this one short but still give an update so Jessica/
Hermana Croft knows what's going on over here. So like I was able to
tell some of you on the phone yesterday this week has been a good one
but one full of ups and downs... Sunday was quite the crazy day, but in
order for it to make sense I have to go all the way back to Thursday. On
Thursday we went up to the Visitor's Center so Nick could see the
temple, have his baptismal interview, and see the lights. It was quite
the experience, especially since it took us about an hour and 40 minutes
to drive there fighting city traffic, lets just say that I may be a
little bit more of an agressive driver than I used to be, but it's
necessary, it's one of those crazy driving worlds out there in
Washington DC. Anyways, that was extremely frustrating with a couple of
other frustrating experiences on the way as well, but after repenting of
our frustration we had a very spiritual time at the Visitor's Center,
so Nick was set for his baptism! Saturday we taught the Walters family
and it was an incredible lesson as well, they were all excited about
their baptism, the kids couldn't wait to "be mormon" and they were
excited to come to church the next day. We left their house once again
just feeling profoundly grateful for the opportunity to teach them.
Sunday came around and we were excited for what was about to be an
incredible day, the Walters family was going to be at church and Nick
was going to have his baptism, it was going to be perfect! However, as
usually happens, trials seem to come. Early Sunday morning we got a text
from Alex Walters, the son, saying that they wouldn't be able to come
to church that day... We were shocked but wanted to know why and after a
few texts back and forth we got a call from the mother, and it was
honestly the saddest phone call I think I have ever had on my whole
mission. Like Dad once said, the hardest and most depressing thing that
seems to happen on missions is when a family drops you. It's something I
had never experienced and something I had hoped I would never
experience, but the Mom called us and said that she just didn't think
this was for her, that she just couldn't believe some of the doctrine
and that she had made her decision to no longer listen to us or keep
with the lessons.... It literally felt like a blow to the gut, we had no
idea what to say and we just immediately began to pray as we spoke to
her, trying to find the words to say. She agreed to let us come by again
this week to answer some questions, and so we'll be going by hopefully
on Friday... But it was honestly one of the hardest moments of the
mission. All I could think about was this incredible family and fearing
that they would never be baptized. It's strange how as you teach them
you can just see their potential, that they were going to be incredible
members, that they would have such a greater spiritual abundance, and
that eventually they would go to the temple and be sealed. There were
quite a few tears shed... I'm not sure I've ever cried over an
investigator dropping us before, but this one definitely cut pretty
deep. However, not all hope is lost, it's normal for people to have
doubts and we are still praying and hoping, and we'll be fasting as well
that they can feel the spirit as we speak with them and decide to
continue. We love them a lot, it's crazy how you can come to love people
in such a short amount of time. I feel that that is one of the things
that has changed for me, that it's gone from caring about people to
truly loving them. Sunday continued and it was the best and worst of
times you could say. Nick's baptism was pretty incredible. There was
literally an outpouring of the spirit and the hearts of his parents were
touched as well as every single individual there. His parents are also
now interested in what their son is learning. Nick was weeping as were
most people in the room as talks and musical numbers were given. I've
never seen him display that much emotion and it was just incredible to
feel the love that was in that room. His father was also crying as he
saw his son become a devoted follower of the Savior. It was a powerful
moment, and I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to see Nick
progress. He has a bright future and I can almost see him as a
missionary, a father, a leader, and a priesthood holder. It also taught
me a lot about the Savior and our Father in Heaven. For them, and
hopefully for us, the sting of losing some of His children does not in
any way diminish the joy that is felt at one of His children making it
home. Nor does the joy of one returning diminish the sting of those who
are making mistakes. I feel that He feels both individually and
simultaneously in some inexplicable way. I guess it just means that His
love, while all encompassing, is also incredibly individual. So, it was
quite the incredible week. There were other things that happened, but
that's the main run-down of it all. I was thinking that this would be a
shorter email, but I guess not. <br />
I would just say once again, though I know I've said it many times. I
love the mission. I love living the gospel, I love the Savior. I am so
grateful for the opportunity I have had to be able to serve Him and my
brothers and sisters. It has literally been the most incredible
experience I could have ever asked for. I have literally seen miracles
daily, I have seen the hand of the Lord revealed in the lives of His
children. I have seen the power of the Atonement as it has worked in my
life and in the lives of so many. I testify that the Gospel is the "more
excellent way" that leads to exaltation. I know and am confident that
every one of us can make it back to the presence of our Heavenly Father
as glorified and celestial beings. There is no greater cause than the
one that we are a part of now, and that is spreading the gospel, whether
to our families, friends, or strangers on the street, preaching the
gospel is one of the greatest priveleges we can ever have. I know with a
surety that the Book of Mormon is more scripture, that it was
translated through the Prophet Joseph Smith by the power of God, and
that it truly is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I feel that my
testimony has been strengthened, and that my conversion has deepened. I
will miss the mission, a lot, and thankfully it's not over yet. There
are still many miracles left to be seen, and many more lives that still
need to be touched, and luckily, the work will go on even when I'm not
here. Still, I just hope that I can make the rest of life "real life"
Missionary life. BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-76897842071228202582012-12-26T11:15:00.001-07:002012-12-26T11:15:15.386-07:00Another weekSo this last week was probably one of the most spiritually uplifting
weeks that I've had on the mission. I feel that the Lord is blessing me
with some incredible opportunities which have both humbled and inspired
me. To begin with this last Monday we began to teach a family that was
referred to us by one of the members of the ward. It's a family of 6,
however the Father is currently not interested in the church. However,
we began to teach the mother and all of the kids and it has been an
incredible experience. We've already had 3 lessons with them and they
have a lot of questions on all of the doctrine but have loved how it all
makes sense and seems to go with the things they've thought of
themselves in regards to the pre-earth life, prophets, more scripture,
the godhead, etc. It's been just incredible to see how the Lord has
prepared these people to receive the gospel. We've also been able to
teach them with their member friends and it has been a further testimony
to me of the importance of members in the work. Their testimonies make
such a difference when sharing the gospel with these people. This last
Monday we were able to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ and
then invite them to be baptized! It was incredible to see the resolution
in their eyes and the joy that came as they accepted the invitation to
be baptized on the 13th of January. The Lord continues to pour out his
blessings on us and on His children. It is an incredible family and it
is just a blessing to be able to teach them. They're home feels like any
active member's home and they have such a light that just screams the
fact that they are ready to receive the restored gospel. So that's the
first miracle, the lessons in themselves are all miracles. The next
miracle is that Nick Cutter will be getting baptized this Sunday and
he's asked me to baptize him! That should be a pretty incredible
experience as well, he's a good kid that has grown a lot in the time
we've been teaching him. It'll be exciting to see him hopefully one day
go on a mission as well! So that is a very brief rundown of all that has
been happening in terms of our area. We've also been on tons of
exchanges and blitzes recently and have many more in the next week.
Things are crazy busy and it's been amazing to just be working hard,
seeing miracles, and feeling the spirit. There really is nothing better
than missionary work! <br />
We also had the mission tour this last week and I mentioned that Elder
Packer was coming. It was incredible as he spoke on the importance of
the spirit in missionary work, the goal of becoming, and of truly acting
as our Savior would act. I feel that it was exactly what the mission
and myself needed to hear. Through a variety of experiences and
spiritual impressions I felt that the meeting was specifically directed
at myself and the needs I've been having as well as the needs our
investigators have been having. Needless to say it was a powerful
experience. Then I had another incredible experience, one that I was
most definitely not expecting and for which I am extremely grateful. It
humbled me a lot, but I was interviewed by Elder Packer. Needless to say
it was quite the learning experience for me, and a spiritual experience
that I will never forget. The thoughts, impressions, and feelings run
deep on this one, probably too deep to really be able to describe.
However, he did say that he and his wife say hi to the family as well as
the grandparents. He is definitely an inspired man, and it was a
blessing to be able to be instructed by him. There truly is no
comparison for the blessing of the mission. I feel that the mission and
all of these experiences that I have been able to have have been
blessings too great to describe and that they have literally shaped me
to be a better person, and that they will in a large part define the
rest of my eternal life. The Lord is definitely doing His work, both
with ourselves and with those in our area. How incredible it is!<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-22971163777680500772012-12-11T21:25:00.001-07:002012-12-11T21:25:05.733-07:00Surprise, I'm writing a little bit early. This week our P-Day was
changed to a Monday which I forgot to tell you all about. It's because
we have a mission tour this week with Elder Packer from the Seventy.
Hopefully it will be an exciting one. However, that means it's only been
a little while since you all have heard from me, but still many
miracles have happened since then. I had the opportunity to go on
exchange once again, which is always an exciting experience! I was with
an Elder who has been struggling in a variety of ways throughout his
mission. It was good to be with him and to be able to see some of the
things that he brings to the mission and then point them out to him,
much like President Eyring spoke about in Priesthood session. It's
something that I have grown to love on the mission; seeing the stories
of each missionary and why they're here as well as why they've decided
to stay. We were able to set some goals that will hopefully be able to
help him not only in the mission but throughout the rest of his life. I
also had the opportunity to give my first interview to a white guy! Haha
I know that that sounds super weird but it's true, he's a really
prepared individual and honestly it was slightly intimidating. He's in
his mid-thirties and has served in Intelligence in the military, been on
"secret missions" etc. yet here I sat interviewing him for his baptism.
It was quite the humbling experience and I was glad that he was
prepared to be baptized and make a covenant with our Father in Heaven.
It always is such a miracle to see how people have come to know the
gospel and to see how they've changed in just a matter of weeks! We also
had a ton of crazy miracles at church this last week! We had a ton of
non-members show up! The father of our 18 year old investigator came to
church for the first time, a number of less-actives with their
non-member spouses also came, and then a youth also invited one of his
friends. Haha it was mind boggling as people just came through the door
and just kept on coming. Not all of them were interested in
investigating, but hopefully they were able to have a powerful
experience.<br />
We also had a miracle on Saturday evening which was quite incredible. We
have a member referral that lives on the edge of our area which is
about a 45 minute drive from where we live, therefore it's always a
gamble to go out and check on them, especially since no one lives even
relatively close to them. However, Elder Clapier felt inspired that we
should go out there and after calling them a number of times with no
answers we finally decided to go and commit ourselves to a long drive.
We got there right around 8:20/30 which is the time when you're supposed
to head back to your apartment if you aren't teaching anyone. Luckily,
or miraculously they were home! The man of the house had just arrived
and he invited us in and we were able to speak with them. It turns out
she's incredibly interested in the church and the following day came to
Sacrament meeting and then invited us to come to their house later on
this week for lunch and a lesson! It was a blessing to once again
recognize that it is the spirit that is doing the work.<br />
I've also been studying the Atonement recently and I have come to
realize more and more of its depth. It seems like every time I study the
Atonement I'm able to understand our Savior just a little bit more, to
gain a little bit clearer of a picture on who He is and what He's done
for each individual. What I've learned is unfortunately not something
you can really put into words as a new piece of doctrine or anything,
it's more just a greater appreciation and reverence for the Atonement.
"I stand all amazed" is the phrase that consistently comes to mind.BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-3212991021775425312012-12-11T21:24:00.001-07:002012-12-11T21:24:30.436-07:00Man, I'm trying to remember all that we did this week. From what I
remember there was a lot of driving! Haha we live so far away from
everything and we've had two meetings in the last week that have been at
least a 45 minute drive away without traffic, and with traffic it took
us almost two hours to drive there the other day! Still, we have had a
lot of cool experiences.<br />
This last Friday Elder Brown and I were called back into the office to
work on some things with President and the current Assistants. Haha I
admit it was pretty fun and that I realized in some ways I missed the
office. It's incredible how we can always seem to find joy in whatever
assignment we may receive no matter how different they may be. It was
fun to be with all those good elders and to see how the revelation and
inspiration flowed as we worked together on some of the problems/events
happening in the mission. It was honestly just good to be back with
President, and it was surprising to see the warm welcome that was given
by the Senior Couples in the office. I guess sometimes you never do
realize the impact that you have on people. It was just a blessing to be
able to associate with all of them once again.<br />
Our recent Convert Adam Beal is also now back in town and it was good to
see that he was able to maintain his testimony even after being in a
fairly toxic environment for the last week and a half. He's still just
as fired as ever and it's cool to see how gung-ho he is about the
gospel! We've also been back in contact with quite a few cool people
that had kind of fallen off the map during Thanksgiving and we were able
to help them progress quite a bit in a short lesson that we had with
them. Other than that the work continues, we've been on exchanges, had a
meeting with all of our District Leaders, and set some goals for the
transfer. It was good to be with the District Leaders and have what was
the equivalent of a PEC where we were able to talk about the specific
needs of the zone and come up with a plan of action for the following
month on how to help our missionaries continue to progress as well as
help their investigators progress. There is a lot of potential in the
zone right now and I just hope the missionaries can see the vision of
what it is that they're accomplishing.<br />
I also had the opportunity to give what we call here in the mission a
"death testimony" or in other words all the missionaries who will be
returning home bear their testimonies in the last big meeting. Ha, this
is probably the only time you will hear me mention anything related to
the end of the year, but it was a good experience. It was good to be
able to reflect on all of the things that I have been able to learn, and
of the testimony that I have received.... It's so interesting to look
back two years and look at all that has been done and learned. The
experiences gained, the friendships made, it's honestly overwhelming and
incredible. As says the hymn "I stand all amazed".<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-53772035929470242682012-12-11T21:23:00.000-07:002012-12-11T21:23:33.234-07:00Man, well this week has been pretty ridiculous with the miracles that
we've been seeing, I honestly am just constantly amazed at all the
miracles that we see on a daily basis! Thanksgiving was a good one, we
were with the Gillissen family, which one of these days when I remember
to bring my camera to the library I'll be able to send you home a
picture. They're a really nice family where only the Father is a member.
Unfortunately the mother is not interested but is extremely supportive
of the missionaries and of her husband. Unfortunately we weren't allowed
to proselyte on Thanksgiving so we spent a lot of the day with the
members as well as taking care of other little things that we had to do.<br />
This Friday was leadership meeting which as always was pretty enjoyable.
It's always good to gather and learn how we can better fulfill our
responsibilities as leaders in the mission. Let's see, what else has
happened, I'm not entirely sure, I left my old planner at home which has
all of the things that we did... Hm, all the days just seem to blend
together, it's crazy to see how quickly time is going by, it's hard to
believe that November is just about over, I could've sworn it had just
begun! Well, the things that stand out is that on Saturday we had
everything fall into place to have us go to the Visitors' Center with a
less-active couple that we've been trying to meet with for months. We
were finally able to go with them and watch an incredible performance on
the birth of Christ. The spirit was extremely powerful, particularly
during one of the numbers entitled "No other way". It talked about the
fact that the way Christ did it was the only way it could've been done,
that he had to come in a manger, etc. It was powerful to feel the spirit
bear witness of the reality of that fact! It is such a blessing to be
able to serve during this season! The even cooler part is that the
couple came to church the next day for the first time since I have been
here!<br />
Nick Cutter is also doing incredibly well. He's the 18 year old who went
to seminary. He's been really excited about the gospel and has even
begun to share it with all of his friends. Not to mention the fact that
we've been going out with one of the priests a number of times and he's
seen a lot of cool miracles in the lessons that we've taught. His mother
said that beforehand he hadn't been too sure about serving a mission
and now he's positive that he'll be going as soon as he graduates from
high school! Haha he even texted us and asked which appointments he
could go to with us this week, it's cool to see how serious he is about
preparing to serve a mission and he's been super pumped to share the
gospel with his friends, asking us for advice on how we can meet them,
etc. He's a cool kid and it's good to see that he's already doing
missionary work and catching the missionary spirit! Sunday we also had a
cool opportunity to visit a few individuals in the hospital. I say a
cool opportunity but it was also a rather sad one. There's an older
single lady in the ward who is quite the fireball. She's never been
married but is one of the most faithful people I think I've ever met.
She served a three year mission in Bolivia as a temple worker as a
senior sister. Unfortunately life seems to be catching up to her and she
has now been hospitalized with stage 4 cancer... Of course she began
talking to us about her will and how she was planning on giving
everything to the missionaries and to the church. It was quite the
humbling experience to be able to be with her, to pray for her, to have
given her a number of blessings in the past, and to just feel her
spirit. It's very true that some of the most valiant souls will never be
mentioned in the books of history and Sister Du Bois is definitely one
of those. We also were able to give a blessing to another man who has
stage 4 cancer and now pneumonia who was in the hospital and not a
member of the church. It was a powerful experience to feel of the power
of the priesthood and to be able to recognize how much we truly are
tools in the hands of the Lord to do his work. The day was a touching
one, particularly since it was a Sunday. I believe the spirit of the
Sabbath was felt in an even more profound way. We've also ran into a lot
of members who are coming up on the year anniversary of having lost
loved ones... It's been a powerful week, a week of feeling of the
reality of the gospel and of its power in our daily lives. The
priesthood, the plan of salvation, it's all just so real! I'm grateful
for that knowledge, without it I swear there would be no hope at all! I
don't know, I could go on and on about just the lessons and miracles
I've learned in this last week. The Lord is doing miracles. He's pouring
out his spirit, and he's teaching me a lot of lessons as well as
allowing us to bless the lives of others. How I love the mission!BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-47260222514166183952012-12-11T21:21:00.000-07:002012-12-11T21:21:30.190-07:00Well, this last week was transfers! Haha unfortunately it wasn't as
exciting as it once used to be, still, it's cool to once again have a
companion. Oh, that's right, I haven't told you all yet, my companion,
Elder Sanchez was called as a new Assistant to President Matsumori!
Haha, man, it was really hard to avoid telling him all about it for the
entire transfer. I've known for quite awhile that he would be the next
assistant. He'll do an awesome job and is one of the best missionaries
I've ever known. That meant that I was stuck in a trio for the last week
covering two areas and two wards! Haha needless to say it was yet again
another stressful, tiring, and very rewarding week. We've seen tons of
miracles in just the last week and it's exciting to once again see the
Lord continue to pour out His blessings on the people that we teach.
Man, I remember one missionary at the beginning of my mission that said
to me that he just wasn't excited about baptisms anymore, that he'd seen
too many and that it had just become routine. I made a promise to
myself that that would never be me, and I'm glad to say that the Lord
has been able to help me keep the wonder of the work that we do. <br />
This Saturday was the baptism of Adam, and it was as always an extremely
spiritual experience. It was incredible to see the depth of commitment
and emotion that was in his face as he stepped into the fount. He almost
started to cry as the prayer was said and he was baptized. It is just
so incredible to see the lives of people change. I can truly testify
that the greatest miracle is that of conversion. The fact that we can be
changed to become like our Savior is a miracle beyond compare! Adam is
well on his way to a long life as an active member of the church and
it's incredible to see how he's changed from a boy to a man in just a
few weeks. We've also had the opportunity to find and meet other
prepared people. This weekend we received a call from one of our members
saying that his son was back from college with his girlfriend that
wanted to hear what we had to say. We taught her twice, once with a
recent convert who bore his testimony on baptism, and as we talked about
how the gospel brings happiness and peace to our families, the hope for
an eternal family, and the blessing of a restart on life tears were
brought to her eyes as she realized something that she had been missing
in her life. It was just another incredible opportunity to see the
spirit touch someone's life when they just never had the chance to feel
it before. Man, I love the Gospel.... I just love seeing people change
and seeing the way they light up as they feel the spirit and as they
realize what the Gospel means for them. In the other ward we taught a
lady from Australia that felt the spirit so powerfully when the first
vision was told that she asked it be told again because she said it just
filled her up and just let her feel of God's love for her. This is the
work of the Lord and I don't think that for as long as I live anyone or
anything will be able to convince me otherwise. We've had a bunch of
other miracles as well in just the last week, and I'm sure there are
many more to come, but I don't want to overload you guys too much! Lets
just say I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission... <br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-15267663284089997352012-12-11T21:20:00.001-07:002012-12-11T21:20:17.358-07:00Ok, so this week was probably one of the most physically exhausting
weeks that I've had in possibly my entire life, haha man, it was
crazy.... So this week we were teaching Seminary on Thursday and Friday
and Tuesday, and I have a bunch more admiration for these kids and their
desire and diligence in getting up so early, man, it's crazy how much
waking up that much earlier just wiped us out! Still, it was really fun
to be able to teach these kids the gospel in a seminary setting, granted
the participation was sometimes lacking because they were all so tired,
but it was cool to be able to see their insights. I swear I wasn't
nearly as spiritual as these kids are now. They are definitely being
prepared to serve missions at a younger and younger age. We were able to
teach them about temples, sacrifice, and standing up for what we
believe in, all through the new testament. It was an enjoyable
experience and hopefully they were able to glean something from it that
was beneficial for them. Still, haha that means that we were really
tired. So we had a lot of stuff to do this week, one night we had to
stay up later planning a training because we had had no time at all
earlier in the week, and I'm serious, not even poor budgeting of time,
we had appointments, blitzes, exchanges, and meetings straight through
and so the training/class was pushed to the end. Anyways, we finished
the training and then woke up the next morning early for seminary,
showered, ate, drove to the church, taught seminary, returned home, and
then sat down to plan another training for a district meeting later on,
and we realized that it had only been 8 hours since we had finished
planning our last training.... Needless to say we were exhausted! Still,
it was super fulfilling and I'd much rather be extremely busy than have
too much time on our hands. Other cool things that have happened. We
finally were able to teach a kid named Nick Cutter who has been going to
seminary for the last two months. We sat down with him and taught him
the restoration and it was super cool. He said he'd pray about being
baptized and the next morning at seminary when we spoke with him he said
that God had said it was go! Haha it's super cool and he has a strong
support group. It just goes to show the power of youth sharing the
gospel!<br />
<div>
The other miracles continued to flow, Adam, a guy that wasn't goingn to
be able to be baptized because of probation is now going to be baptized
this weekend! It's honestly unbelievable what happened. He had a court
date on Thursday and the judge waived his probation!! Man, it was the
craziest miracle ever! He's a good kid, he's had a lot of issues in his
life and he is a completely different person! It was incredible! There
have been a lot of other miracles as well, last week was literally
probably the best week Elder Sanchez and I have had together so far,
miracles just kept falling from the sky!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I've also been thinking a lot this week about what
it means to be "fully invested". Unfortunately this week we received
news about a couple of missionaries who went home... It's interesting, I
thought that one of the hardest things on the mission would be when
investigators dropped us, but I think even harder than that has been
seeing missionaries go home... It's amazing how much I've been able to
come to care about these missionaries and how they honestly feel like my
brothers. I worry for them and pray for them so much, and just hope
that they'll be able to be ok. Anyways, it's made me ponder on what it
means to be fully invested and if I've really been able to invest my
whole heart, might, mind, strength, and soul into the work that we're
doing. Obviously some days and moments are better than others, but I've
been able to see that when I've been making a concious effort to be
fully invested in the lives of each missionary, investigator,
less-active, etc. that that is when the miracles have come, and that
that's when it's hardest and most joyful. I just hope I can become more
fully invested and help missionaries do so as well. I don't think we
ever realize the gift that it is to serve a mission, the gift that it is
to be able to give everything we have to the Lord. It's a blessing that
I literally cannot compare to anything I've ever before felt or
experienced....</div>
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-27998084093018784452012-12-11T21:19:00.001-07:002012-12-11T21:19:07.142-07:00<div>
Man, first of all, thanks for sending me pictures Rachel, I'm
pretty sure that these are the first pictures I've seen of our family
since Jessica left on her mission, which was I'm pretty sure over a year
ago! What in the world.... Man, it's honestly scary to see how much you
guys have changed. Mom and Dad still look the same but the rest of you
have grown so much it's crazy.... Man, I still think of you guys as 14,
14, and 10! Now you're old! Rachel you look like you're older than I am,
Jared looks about my age, and Jonathan, well you still look like
Jonathan but you look a lot older! Wow, that's really werid.... Not to
mention the fact that I am now convinced I will be the short and the
bald brother! I'm pretty sure my hair is falling out at ever increasing
rates, it's bad news, I'm just going to have to pray that I'll look kind
of like Elder Oaks when I'm old. Anyways, this week was a pretty good
one. We've seen quite a few incredible miracles, and I've been able to
have some incredible experiences as well. It's amazing how the Lord can
humble us so quickly and in such an inspiring way. This Thursday I felt
impressed to call one of my recent converts, Jose Paz who I knew should
be going through the temple soon and he answered and said that my phone
call was an answer to his prayers. He was planning on going through the
temple to receive his Endowment on Saturday and that he had been praying
to know who should be his escort and then he asked me to be his
escort... It was one of those experiences that is always so humbling, to
be able to serve someone in such a sacred way. It was incredible to be
with him and to go through the temple with him for his first time. The
temple president gave the little talk before the endowment and opened my
eyes to its vast importance and eternal significance. I can honestly
say that the temple will never be quite the same again. He said a few
things that can be said outside of the temple and one of the things that
impacted me and caused some major reflection was the following phrase:
"Baptism is the gate, the Holy Ghost is the guide, the Priesthood is the
power, and the Endowment is the gift." It's definitely something to
meditate on and it opened up the windows of revelation for me to a much
deeper understanding of the power of the endowment and the temple. It
was also just incredible to once again see someone make it all the
way.... It's been humbling these past two transfers to see the power and
change that the Gospel has brought to these people and to have been a
part of it. There truly is nothing greater than sharing the gospel and
seeing those who live it faithfully. I will forever be grateful for
these individuals and the opportunity God has given me to be a part of
their lives.</div>
<div>
We've also had some crazy miracles throughout our zone and area. In
our area we are now teaching a part member mother who is incredibly
prepared though skeptical. We had such a powerful lesson, and it was
only the second time that I've had the opportunity to say the first
vision in english on the mission, and it was incredible to once again
feel the spirit it brings. The lesson was powerful and her heart was
touched. We hope that she will soon be progressing towards baptism. Haha
she's an asian mom so she kind of reminds me of you mom. She'll be
praying about the Book of Mormon and if things are right I may have her
send you an email to ask you about your story. We also had a random
miracle where we were at a gas station and a man came up to us and asked
if we were from the church! It turns out he's muslim but is unsatisfied
with his religion and what it teaches and is looking for something
greater. He said he had seen us and was driving away when something told
him to turn back and speak with us! The Lord is at work in His
vineyard! He's in another area but I'll be keeping tabs on him to see
how he progresses. We also had a random lady come to church this
week with her less-active friend who also hadn't come for a long time.
So the Lord is blessing us with people to teach and the opportunity to
bless others lives. It's been pretty awesome, though still difficult as
we've dealt with many many dropped appointments with people we had felt
were solid. But the Lord has his timing as well. Oh man, then there's
another very sad but inspirational story. There's a guy named Adam, 20
years old, who has gone through a ton of things! He's completely turned
his life around and has been more gung-ho about baptism than almost
anybody I've ever taught and unfortuantely yesterday we had to break the
news to him that he probably won't be able to get baptized for a long
time because he is currently on probation for something he's done in the
past... Still, he is making such strides and is progressing in the
gospel. He's quitting smoking and when we asked him how he was doing he
said "Of course I'm doing great, this is for my baptism, this is for my
salvation, of course I'm going to quit!" It's been pretty humbling to
see such an intense desire to receive something even when there are so
many obstacles in the way. He has truly taught me better the meaning of
the gospel and atonement.</div>
<div>
</div>
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-33873551954435906422012-12-11T21:17:00.004-07:002012-12-11T21:17:47.672-07:00Ok, I have to cruise because the computer has a limited amount of time
and other elders are waiting, and unfortunately it's kind of late so
I'll give a brief run down. The storm was supposed to be epic and
unfortunately completely missed our area! Haha so it really wasn't that
bad, we were told to stay inside and all day all it did was rain and
blow a little wind, so unfortunately it was nothing spectacular. Other
than that this week has been a difficult one... We have a bunch of
people that were showing so much potential but that now are
struggling... We haven't been able to get in contact with a lot of
people, despite our repeated efforts and we're now pretty sure that most
of them are avoiding us. So it's been kind of a difficult week... It's
good because it's reminding once again of that mentality that you need
to have in the field of doing everything possible and then relying on
the Lord to provide the miracle, and miracles are happening. Just the
other day we were checking on a former when I felt the distinct need to
knock some doors around there. The first door we knocked was an old lady
that said she had just received a Book of Mormon from a friend that had
been trying to get her to listen to the missionaries. She knows a ton
about the church and says that maybe since she wasn't willing to let her
friend pass us to her God just decided to send us by! It was pretty
amazing and we should be teaching her later on this week. Other than
that, this week was crazy, we had a ton of meetings, and we also had
Elder Cook come and give a special mission conference. He talked a lot
about member missionary work, about the new influx of missionaries that
will be coming in, and about a lot of the changes that will be coming.
The work of the Lord is definitely progressing and we're going to see an
increase in the number of missions, missionaries, etc. It's pretty
incredible! I only wish that I could extend two or three transfers to
see it all happen! We also had some other meetings, Zone Leader Council,
which I admit it was hard to be on the other side again. It was just a
shock to realize all the things that have been happening that I haven't
even heard about when before I was informed on everything. It was
weird... Anyways, my time is really short, I'm sorry I don't have time
to say more, but things go well, I'll be sure to write more next week!<br />
<div>
Haha ok, I found another computer with a longer time limit. So I
still have to fly, but I'll try and give a little bit more detail. So
this week we also went on exchange and blitzed an area and saw this
incredible miracle! We knocked on the door of a less-active family and
they answered the door and invited us in and the first thing that the
lady says to us was that she had a friend that she wanted us to teach!
Apparently the Sunday beforehand she'd spoken to her about some of the
things that have been going on in her life and she ended up watching the
restoration DVD with her as well! So that day she set up an apppintment
for that night and the Elders were able to go and teach her! It was
awesome especially since that area has literally had 0 investigators for
over 3 weeks! It was a pretty awesome miracle! The Lord continues to
show forth His hand in the work! Man, it's once again been so humbling
to be out back in the field. You realize so much how you literally know
how to do nothing. They talk about building an area, etc., but in the
end after all you do it really is God that does the work. We've been
working effectively, organizedly, etc. and yet not too much seems to be
happening. But we continue to look for ways to improve and just keep
expecting those miracles that we know are bound to come, haha but it's
definitely been hard!</div>
<div>
Elder Cook also left us with an Apostolic blessing that our mission
would bless the lives of everyone that we care about, our families and
friends now and in the future. So that's another brief rundown.</div>
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-73900187164542789652012-10-28T14:26:00.002-06:002012-10-28T14:26:53.039-06:00Another crazy week!<div>
Man, life as a Zone Leader again is just as crazy as life as an
Assistant. It's incredible how we can always magnify our callings and
occupy our thoughts and time no matter the scope of the stewardship or
challenge. It was a pretty awesome week though I'm now struggling to
remember all of the things that have happened. We've been able to find
quite a few cool people recently and our days have been filled with
appointments all day every day! I honestly don't think I've ever had so
many appointments as we do now. A lot of them are with Less Active
members and we've been able to have some cool experiences as we've met
with them. It's interesting how I've felt such a pull to so many of
these Less Actives and a desire to help them probably more than at any
other point in my mission. There are a few that are progressing really
well in the Gospel. One of them is Scott, he's a guy that hasn't been to
church in 20 years but has now discovered that he needs God in his life
and the other day after a lesson we had with him he texted us thanking
us for the spirit we'd been able to bring into his life. It's funny how
your perception on life and people changes once you've got to know a few
people. I think before the mission I would've seen this guy and just
wondered how in the world he was going to clean up his life. He has two
kids with two different women, tattoos, he smokes, etc. but it's been
incredible to see how much of a desire he has to follow the Savior. He
was worried about coming to church because he's going to smell like
tobacco and he's worried that he won't be able to live all of the
commandments as a member, haha I'm pretty sure before the mission I
would've said something along the lines of, "well if you love the Lord
you'll definitely stop smoking and you'll do this and that, etc." now it
was completely different. It was the idea of "you know what, that's ok,
you just come and you feel right at home and start feeling the
atonement in your life. The rest will eventually take care of itself, as
for right now just come and feel the spirit and the love." It's been
cool to see the change in perspective on sin, its consequences,
repentance, mercy, and the nature of God. I believe He's a lot more
merciful and loving than we maybe sometimes give Him credit for.
Obviously it doesn't erase the gravity of sin, but it's interesting to
put it into perspective and hate the sin but love the sinner.</div>
<div>
This Sunday I also gave what was only my second talk in Sacrament
meeting. Haha it was an interesting experience, the High Councilor that
also spoke had come up to me the Sunday prior and assigned me a topic,
the topic? "Why do we need to repent in order to be forgiven?" Yeah, I'm
just glad that there weren't any Born Again Christian investigators in
there. Still it was a fun topic to study and prepare for and once again
it made me realize how much I've grown... It's strange to be able to
stand in front of the congregation and not be too nervous, still
nervous, but confident that the spirit was going to testify of what I
was going to say and that was really all that mattered. Strange how the
mission changes you so much...</div>
<div>
We've also had the opportunity to go on several exchanges with some
missionaries that have struggled to take off in their missions. It's
amazing how each of us struggle and try and struggle alone when if we
would just step outward a little bit everything would be so much easier.
This particular misisonary was struggling with a number of things,
negativity, depression, feelings of inadequacy, etc. and just hadn't
expressed it to anyone for quite awhile. I think that exchanges and
helping the other missionaries has become one of my favorite parts of
the mission. It's an opportunity to help others see and realize their
potential even though they already have the gospel. It just shows the
universality of the Gospel as it applies to all of God's children
whether missionaries, non-members, or anyone in between.</div>
<div>
We've also been helping out this one guy named Adam, man the guy's
life is crazy... He was doing really well, progressing in the gospel,
leaving behind bad habits, etc. and then in just the last 36 hours he's
lost everything... He was kicked out of his house, lost custody over his
child, has no money and no job, all because of a single decision that
snowballed and escalated.... It was a sobering realization that our
lives really do turn on small hinges and that each moment and each
decision carries with it heavy consequences. Thankfully he's been able
to maintain some hope, but it's going to be a long road to fix up his
life... Still, it's been cool to see how the Lord is teaching him, and
then teaching us as we've been able to help him.</div>
<div>
</div>
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-9449248716676985822012-10-28T14:25:00.001-06:002012-10-28T14:25:58.911-06:00Another WeekThis week for me has been an interesting one. I thought it would be a
little harder for me to get back into the swing of things in the field,
but surprisingly it hasn't been hard at all, in all reality I feel like I
was never really an Assistant. Unfortunately that feeling comes with
some pros and some cons, but overall it has been good to be back in the
field. I am currently in the city of Waldorf/White Plains in a ward
that's pretty cool, a lot like our ward at home, and with lots of
potential. Also being with Elder Sanchez has been good. Haha we're
already back to having those revelatory conversations that we always
seem to have. Still, we've seen some awesome miracles in the zone as
well as in our area. We've met people talking to them at their door that
"love the Book of Mormon because it just seems to clarify so much stuff
that must have been taken out of the Bible". Yep! We met a lady that
had that had already read some of it and just loved it before we spoke
with her. Then we had leadership meeting, a trip to the National Mall
and to the Arlington Cemetery with a bunch of sweet pictures that I'll
be sure to send you some time, as well as a lot of other cool things
that have been going on. The Lord continues to work and I continue to be
amazed at how much He can use us. I'll share briefly with you an
experience that happened just yesterday and was an extremely powerful
experience for me. I was on exchange, and the long of the short of it is
that God's plan is perfect. We randomly were in the right place at the
right time to have a member come with us to an appointment, which wasn't
going to happen if God hadn't orchestrated it, and then the appointment
wasn't there and we went to check on a potential investigator that they
had and this lady needed to hear from us! She started out asking us
about what made our church different than the rest, we of course told
her of prophets and modern revelation, and then she proceeded to say she
had a serious question to ask us. So we were able to go in, and she
unloaded her entire life story on us... She said she was amazed at the
fact that she was unloading all of this stuff on us because she only
ever told her husband these things and for her whole life had never
trusted or loved hardly anybody. Yet she said that she trusted us and
that she could see Christ in our eyes and in our countenances and that
she wanted the peace and happiness that we had.... It was one of the
most gratifying moments of the mission because it was just so real. We
were unable to do anything really, we have no experience, the scriptures
we read only do so much, but the spirit that the Lord blesses us with
to accompany us is real, and that's what mattered. We honestly said
almost nothing, we just listened and shared our love, concern, faith,
and hope, and that made all of the difference. It reminded me once again
of the "why" behind missionary work. After and during that lesson all
peripherals fall away. You're not worried about your teaching skills,
you're not worried about numbers, goals, or being extremely effective,
it all just falls away and you remember that the reason why we're really
here is to be representatives of the Lord no matter what, and in
whatever place we may be in. It was a reminder that this stuff is so
real, so necessary, and that it's only by the grace of God that we are
able to accomplish anything. All you're thinking about when you're in
that lesson is that you're just praying that she can feel something
because you have no idea what to say or do. It was a powerful
experience, and I direct this next part to Rachel and to Jared and to
Jonathan as they think about serving missions. Really all missionary
work is is being real. It teaches you how to be real, not just the "real
you" but the real Christ. It teaches you what He would do, what He
would say, and then it shows you how to best do it in order to help
other people. It's amazing how real the changes are in these people's
lives as well. We are blessed with the knowledge of the Atonement, and
not only the knowledge, but the power to activate it in the lives of the
people we meet. This lady knew all about Jesus Christ, she had faith in
Him, but she needs the Atonement to be activated in her life and we are
the only ones that are able to do it. It is probably the biggest
blessing we could ever ask for. That's about all I have to write about
though. I hope you all could feel a little bit of what I felt in that
lesson, it was a special moment, and a special blessing and I share it
with you all in hopes that it can maybe show you a little bit more what
we're really doing out here in the mission field, because the mission
field makes no sense until you're there and have experienced it for
yourself. So little siblings hopefully that's been of benefit for you :)<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-5153106523275363032012-10-28T14:24:00.001-06:002012-10-28T14:24:42.798-06:00Another week (transfers)Well, this week was transfers, and as usual it was a crazy week, full of
stress, lots of crazy last minute changes, meeting the new
missionaries, and now, getting released as an Assistant... Man, it was a
week just full of emotions but a lot of learning as well. I've now
finished being an Assistant and these last three transfers have probably
been some of the most intense months of my life, spiritually,
physically, emotionally, everything! I have learned so much serving in
this capacity and I'm going to miss it, but I'm more than willing to be
released as well. It reminded me of what Dad said about being released
as Bishop, he mentioned a leadership training where they said our time
serving is limited and that one day it will be over. Well, my service as
a missionary thankfully continues but I will miss the close association
I've had with the Matsumoris and the opportunity I've had to work and
care for so many missionaries. It has been a lesson on love,
understanding, seeing people with God's eyes, and a ton more. Not to
mention the organizational and time management and leadership skills
I've been blessed to have the opportunity to develop. It really was the
craziest ride. Still, the work continues even if we serve in different
capacities, and that brings me to these transfers.<br />
Transfers brought no surprises for me, haha since I've known for quite
awhile what was going to happen, but I'm pretty sure it shocked the rest
of the mission. I will be staying in the English program and I will
once again be a Zone Leader back with Elder Sanchez but this time in a
different zone where there are only English Elders. Feelings and
thoughts on the matter, well, it's going to be very different.... When I
found out a few weeks ago that I wouldn't be returning to the Spanish
program I was definitely saddened... I've loved the Spanish program, the
people, the culture, the love, and everything about it, and now the
Lord has called me another way... Being an Assistant and serving a
mission has taught me the lesson of "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." It's super sad to think
that I'll probably never serve in a spanish ward again, or teach
hispanic people... I honestly consider myself half hispanic! Still, I
know the Lord has a work for me to do and it's been humbling to see Him
direct my path. It's going to be a fun time!<br />
This week also brought some other experiences, meeting with the new
missionaries was of course incredible as usual. It's fun to be able to
feel of their spirits and it's been interesting to see myself change
with each testimony meeting. Each time we meet with them I've had the
chance to bear testimony and it's been cool to see how my testimony and
understanding of the Gospel has developed. I wish I could be where these
missionaries are now, at least in some ways. I wish I had as much time
left as them, but I am definitely grateful for the growth that I've been
able to experience and I wouldn't trade that growth for anything in the
world! Then I also got to teach with President and go on splits with
him for an hour and a half. It was a cool opportunity to be able to
receive counsel from him and just talk. He is an inspired man and I am
so grateful that I've been able to serve so closely with him and learn
from him.<br />
Then there was also General Conference.... Man, that was a crazy
experience as usual. I don't think I have ever received so much
revelation, both for myself and for those under my stewardship, as I
have in these two last conferences. I also particularly enjoyed the talk
by Elder Holland, as I'm sure everyone did, because it was the same
talk that he gave when I was in the MTC, two weeks into my mission. I
felt it was directed very personally to me, that the Lord had given me
that talk as a direction at the beginning of my mission and that this
was the interview near the end to see what I've done with it. There's
still a lot left to ponder on that one...<br />
I'm really not sure what more to say. It's weird, being released from an
Assistant feels like the end of a major part of the mission, a huge
learning experience, and it's made me change so much... My depth of
gratitude for the mission just gets deeper everyday. It is such a gift
to be able to serve the Lord full time, I always knew that it was never
much of a sacrifice and more of a blessing, but that understanding has
been deepened and amplified in the last few months. I am just grateful
that the Lord decided to let me serve Him as a missionary. Each day is,
has been, and will be a gift straight from Heaven. I'm excited to serve
more closely with all of these Elders and to be able to grow in my love
for them even more. It's amazing how much you can come to care for all
of these missionaries... Just as God lets us feel His love for the
people He teach, He has definitely let me feel His love for all of these
missionaries. It's honestly pretty overwhelming, 126 missionaries.BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-74994236915052835132012-10-09T09:17:00.001-06:002012-10-09T09:17:40.246-06:00Time flies by too fast!<div>
Man, time is just moving by faster every single day... It's
ridiculous how much stuff we do, how quickly it goes, and that it is
once again P-Day. So this last week was spent doing the finals on
transfers. Unfortunately it had a couple of bumps along the way, like
Elder Brown and I totally messing up all of transfers, but in the end it
turned at alright. Let's just say that it was probably one of the most
difficult times of the mission up until this point. It's silly too,
because it ended up not being too bad, but it's amazing how the mission
seems to amplify both your strengths and weaknesses. We strive so much
for perfection as missionaries, perhaps more than at any other time in
our lives, and because of that any little thing seems like a huge
problem. It's taught me a lot about myself, as well as about the things
that I need to work on with the remainder of the mission. </div>
<div>
However, we have had a few pretty awesome experiences. The church
recently constructed a huge new chapel on 16th street and Emerson NW in
Washington DC. It's a street that is just lined with tons of churches
and the church had to fight a huge legal battle in order to get a hold
of the property and then get the zoning permits to build a chapel on it,
but in the end it is probably the most impressive chapel I have ever
seen. To kind of kick off the opening of the building the church
spearheaded a service day here in the DC area and hosted it at the 16th
street chapel. It was so big that the city and the state jumped on board
and made it a public event. The church even sent 6 semi trucks with
$40,000 of food to the chapel and surrounding food banks as well as
$1,000 deposits to the bishop's storehouse to various food banks. Then a
bunch of members as well as non-members of other faiths got together
and we packed tons of boxes of food at the chapel. It was an incredible
experience to see so many people there serving, many of different
faiths, and to feel the spirit of service that prevailed in the area. It
was an awesome experience and it was the epitomy of deseret, haha it
just felt like a beehive in there! </div>
<div>
This week we've also had a number of meetings where unfortunately
we've had to "drop some cane" or "lay down the law" as they say in
English. Haha yeah, we had to clarify some issues that have been going
on in the mission, nothing major, but some little things, I've got to
say that that is still my least favorite part of being in leadership,
though it is still a good thing, it means we get to help people reach
their potential, which is what really matters. We also went to the
temple again today which is always an enjoyable and enlightening
experience. Other than that, not too much out of the ordinary has
happened, but I'm sure that this next week of transfers will bring a
number of surprises that I can't quite tell you yet ;) Let's just say
that it is going to be completely unexpected for anybody in the entire
mission...</div>
<div>
Meanwhile, Conference is coming!!! I've got some questions prepared, it's going to be sweet!</div>
<div>
</div>
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-38574732846154489322012-10-02T09:42:00.001-06:002012-10-02T09:42:35.127-06:00Another WeekWell, I cannot believe how much has happened in this last week! It's
been insane! We finished off zone conferences which was good, we were a
little bit worried about this one since one of the zones had been
struggling, but there was a good spirit there and the missionaries were
able to learn quite a bit. There was a new Senior Couple there that has
served 4 missions and they said it was one of the most uplifting Zone
Conferences they've been to, so we were pleased that everything went
smoothly and that the spirit was able to be there for everyone to learn
from. After that the week just picked up, we had another meeting on
Monday, Zone Leader Council yet again, which was held in a new chapel
that the church has built in DC. It's a super awesome chapel! It's huge,
new, and really nice. Hopefully the wards that attend it will be able
to take care of it well. We've also been on two exchanges with different
areas, and I got to be back on bike for at least a few hours! Haha it
was sweet to be back and to be able to talk to a bunch of people at
metros, in neighborhoods, etc. We had some cool experiences with some
people that were intially very cold and even almost hostile, but once we
were able to be a little bit persistent most of them opened up! It was
really cool to see. We spoke to a less active who is now Catholic, and a
Jew on the street that both started out talking to us completely not
wanting to hear anything, but by the end of it it ended as an extremely
positive contact and they were able to get some things off of their
chest that were clearly bothering them. Though they didn't accept return
appointments it was just fun to be able to be the Lord's messenger to
them in that moment.<br />
Then this week there were also two incredible experiences. We went to
visit a less-active man who was in some desperate need. His mother
called us and informed us that he had been in a car accident that
morning, that he'd recently been diagnosed with pneumonia, and that a
good friend of his had recently died. As soon as she called us we felt
impressed to obviously call the Bishop and we were able to immediately
go and visit him with the bishop and give him a blessing. It was yet
again another experience of just being clearly on the Lord's errand.
However, what was even more incredible was to be able to see the mantle
of a Bishop at work. We said very little, since John is under the
Bishop's stewardship rather than ours, and so the Bishop just spoke and
it was incredible to see him say things that were clearly coming
directly from the spirit. It was literally as if he were saying exactly
the words that the Savior would have said had he been there. It was a
lesson on leadership and ministering that I will definitely never
forget.<br />
Then, even more incredible, I was able to attend the sealing of the Del
Orbe family this past Friday!!! This is the family that was baptized at
the beginning of my mission when I was with Elder Shinost, and it was
one of the most incredible experiences... It was just amazing to think
back to the first day we met them, and then to think of all the lessons,
all the worry, all the prayers, and all the progress that has happened
for them to be able to come to the temple to be sealed. The only way I
can honestly describe it was that it was so real. It was as if I were no
longer a missionary, I was just there as me, not their missionary, just
their friend, who was so grateful that they had been able to reach this
point. It makes you think of the day when we'll all be gathered
together in heaven, we'll all just be brothers and sisters, grateful
that we were all able to make it there together. It was a good reminder
on the purpose of everything, of life, of missionary work, of the
Gospel, of everything. The purpose is eternal families, it is returning
to the presence of God, it's the happiness that comes as we live
according to Gospel principles. It was just a sweet moment to see them
all in the sealing room, and to see Valentin and Austri in the Celestial
Room, I honestly cannot describe all the feelings that I experienced,
or how incredible and sacred of an experience it was. It strengthened
and amplified my testimony of the Restored Gospel and it strengthened my
resolve to ensure that I one day reach that point, and that I help as
many people as I possibly can reach it as well. There really is no
greater joy than this... I'm just grateful that God has allowed me the
opportunity to serve a mission, it's such a gift of time and
experiences. There really is nothing that can compare, no amount of
schooling, dating, sports games, whatever it may be, God has allowed us
the gift of 18 months to two years of getting to know Him. Of
understanding His purposes, and of allowing us to become more like Him
as we serve Him and our brothers and sisters. The Church is true and
that truth is wonderful!<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-71500194544392435702012-09-22T13:08:00.001-06:002012-09-23T17:37:53.641-06:00Another Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGKNqoy2JrWFp1QyDDvzjX6dAELYyog8rw_iFdA3maGtpDi0acDIWPrPV2wrwATOQbaJPrcPVavAWF5MvH08MflulTIBXEwZSauxc5_GtDmw7k5rhB3buP75w8bZcPAcKCuEuKSCRfLXG/s1600/P1060076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGKNqoy2JrWFp1QyDDvzjX6dAELYyog8rw_iFdA3maGtpDi0acDIWPrPV2wrwATOQbaJPrcPVavAWF5MvH08MflulTIBXEwZSauxc5_GtDmw7k5rhB3buP75w8bZcPAcKCuEuKSCRfLXG/s400/P1060076.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVg8VS3XPqtwGxKlhnT0sUEe8KSTCLAYGBU2E4OguBsKzqqnJJydtU5ZwIibq57Yc-I5hVoE2MddbNUPHlpKMZAbl2cdctqldrHxxGLyz4R0Q_4eMcJ3gASOC-FhSEvFK15zDZHe5ad4J5/s1600/P1060033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVg8VS3XPqtwGxKlhnT0sUEe8KSTCLAYGBU2E4OguBsKzqqnJJydtU5ZwIibq57Yc-I5hVoE2MddbNUPHlpKMZAbl2cdctqldrHxxGLyz4R0Q_4eMcJ3gASOC-FhSEvFK15zDZHe5ad4J5/s200/P1060033.JPG" width="188" /></a></div>
Wow, haha another busy busy week! This week we've had meetings almost
everyday of the week since I last wrote! This week is the week of Zone
Conferences which is always an enjoyable time. We have the opportunity
to see the whole mission as well as to train the whole mission. It's
funny I don't get nervous for any other training but this one. It's kind
of intense to be training two full zones at the same time. I just hope
that our training is what they need to hear. It's always so humbling to
have the opportunity to train the entire mission on something. It's
crazy to think that our trainings really do seem to set the tone for the
mission and thus the tone for the lessons for each of their
investigators as well. Needless to say we think quite a bit about what
we're going to teach as well as trying to make sure that the training
has everything in it and is explained well. This transfer we trained on
the "process of purification" which I think I mentioned to you all last
time? So far it's been going well, though I admit that for some reason
Zone Conference Week seems to be one of the most difficult weeks of the
transfer. The devil knows my weaknesses well and seems to attack
non-stop during Zone Conferences to try and make sure that our training
isn't as good as it needs to be. The devil is an astute one, he's very
good at making you look at all your weaknesses and amplifying them a
million fold! Yeah, this time was better than last though, I was able to
recognize it a little quicker and fend him off a little bit easier, but
it's still interesting to see how the devil attacks and the Lord
defends right in the most crucial moments.<br />
<br />
I've also been thinking about some other things dealing with
conversion. It was interesting, the other night we passed by a less
active guy's house and started to speak to him. He was nice enough but
had left the church when he left home and he wasn't too interested. We
testified briefly and invited him to listen to us to try and rekindle
the faith of his youth. He declined and then we politely walked away as
if we'd just had a normal conversation with the man with no greater
significance than just that. As I was thinking about it afterwards I
realized that I'm not nearly as converted as I would like to be. It's
sad how we can sometimes become so casual in things that are of an
eternal nature. I left wishing that I would have been truly
"devastated", as Elder Holland says, because this man had no interest in
receiving the gospel. Obviously it's good to be polite and respectful
of another person's beliefs and practices, but I just got to thinking,
man, I know this stuff is true, and I know that without it he's really
not going to make it to the Celestial Kingdom, why was I so casual? I
notice a similar attitude in many of the missionaries and sometimes
members as well, where we understand that the Gospel will help people be
happier and help them have better lives, a better family, etc. All good
and necessary things; however, in the process we forget to look a
little deeper. We forget to remember that we don't do missionary work
"just to grow the numbers of the church, or to help people have better
lives." We do missionary work in order to "open the doors of the
Celestial Kingdom". And we are the only people in the entire world that
can do that. It's something I think I need to strive to remember and
recognize a little more frequently. Imagine the difference it would make
if every time we did home teaching, or invited a deacon back to church,
or knocked someone's door, or talked to someone in the street, if we
could just see them as God sees them, and realize that we have that
thing that will be of greatest value to them. I think that if we could
do that it would make a world of difference. We would be filled with
love for the people, we'd realize that we have to keep striving to share
the gospel despite rejection or if those who are unreceptive. I guess
you could say it was kind of a wake up moment. I believe that will be my
focus for the course of the next month or so, striving to see these
people as they are and recognizing the eternal significance of what
we're doing. It's incredible to think that God really has entrusted us
with the souls of these people underneath our stewardship... Anyways,
besides those moments of reflection it's just been a go go go week! It's
crazy to think that the transfer is already halfway over... Man, time
just disappears, and we're left just wondering how it all went by so
quickly. Still, at least it's happening, right! There really is nothing
better than the mission!BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-69402073742213444112012-09-17T11:11:00.000-06:002012-09-17T11:11:12.849-06:00Another WeekHm, well this week has been quite the busy one! We have a ton of stuff<br />
that we've been working on in preparation for the Zone Conferences<br />
that are coming up this next week, along with trying to balance our<br />
time in our area as well as going on exchanges, so it's been pretty<br />
insane recently! Now that it's my third transfer as an Assistant I<br />
decided I better try and do a little more than we've been doing in the<br />
past. I figured that now I know about how long it takes to get<br />
everything done so I'm not quite as worried about just making sure it<br />
gets done. It means that we've had time for more exchanges and more<br />
time in our area, but it also means we are literally running around<br />
every second of every day, haha which is a good thing! This past week<br />
we had a lesson with a part member father named Carlos. His wife<br />
recently reactivated herself and because of that he also became<br />
curious about the church. We were able to go and teach him but it was<br />
interesting to see the difference between him and his wife. His wife<br />
returned because she felt a spiritual abyss in her life and Carlos is<br />
on the other end where he's content and believes his life is pretty<br />
set. It was once again a reminder of the importance of an eternal<br />
perspective. His greatest desire in life is to have a good job in<br />
order to provide for his family so that they have no physical worries,<br />
which is definitely an honorable desire, we're just hoping we can<br />
inspire him to gain a more eternal perspective.<br />
There seems to be a similar temptation for all of us, whatever stage<br />
of life we may be in, and whether or not we are members of the church.<br />
We seem to see it constantly with the missionaries as well, that they<br />
just lack a little bit of that eternal perspective in regards to the<br />
work we're doing and the impact of their missions. We've been trying<br />
to find a way to inspire them and remind them of their potential. The<br />
vast majority of the missionaries are good, but there are always those<br />
few that we worry about and try to find a way to help. Haha it means<br />
we're already thinking about the next transfer and the next transfer<br />
may result in some interesting changes in the mission leadership (but<br />
I can't tell you too much about that yet, sorry! ;) )<br />
This week I was also reflecting on some of the lessons I've been<br />
learning in the mission and some of the themes the Lord seems to have<br />
been teaching me. One of the ones that stuck out to me, especially<br />
right now in the mission, has been the principle of submission. It's<br />
such an interesting thing to think about. We have to ask ourselves if<br />
we really are willing to submit to the Lord in everything we do,<br />
including giving up our dreams and desires even though they may be<br />
good ones, in order to submit ourselves to the will of the Lord.<br />
Whether that's in a career choice, marriage, schooling, friends,<br />
transfers, being faster, smarter, or whatever. It's been humbling to<br />
see how much the Lord seems to have been teaching me the lesson of<br />
submission throughout the mission/life. Granted it is one of those<br />
vital eternal principles ;) Still, it's been good to reflect on my<br />
level of submission and if I really am willing to give up all of my<br />
dreams and desires in order to fulfill the will of the Lord, even if<br />
it's completely different from every good desire I have. Something to<br />
think about.<br />
Random story, yesterday we went on exchange deep in the heart of the<br />
mission and due to traffic and some random mishaps I spent a total of<br />
5 hours of the day not driving, haha man it was crazy! Still, it was a<br />
good time to meet with the missionaries in that part of the mission.BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-29061602278683917642012-09-17T11:07:00.001-06:002012-09-17T11:07:08.391-06:00not too much this time!Haha so I pretty much just wrote you all on Saturday, so there's not too
much that has gone on since then, relatively anyways. However, we have
seen some sweet miracles. This Monday we had Zone Leader Council which
is always a fun meeting. It's fun to meet and council on things we can
do to better the mission. We've determined a few things we'll be doing
in the future with the mission. This upcoming transfer we'll be
implementing the process of purification again which I think I told you
all a little bit about last year. We' also determined our training for
the upcoming Zone Conference and Elder Brown and I gave a training that
the missionaries will be trained on in the upcoming week. We trained on
the power of bearing powerful testimony. We talked about how we need to
focus on what the lessons mean to us as we teach them, as well as the
difference between merely teaching the points of the lessons and
testifying of them. It's interesting to see the difference in lessons
when sometimes you can teach a lesson perfectly but it seems to do
literally nothing. On the other hand when you go in with the attitude of
sharing the truths that you've come to know are true it makes all the
difference. There is no replacement for the power of the spirit that
comes when we testify of the truthfulness of the Restoration, Plan of
Salvation, and The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Brown and I also got a
bunch of things ready for a mission wide activity that we had to day
called "Fall Sports Day". Haha I won't write too much about this but
we'll just say that it's pretty legit. To be simple and brief we play a
game called "Hero Ball" which is a combination of three games in one.
This year we decided to make the three sports Soccer, Capture the Flag,
and (drum roll please) QUIDDITCH! Haha that's right, think back to those
days of playing quidditch in the backyard, it was pretty awesome, all
the games go on at the same time on the field with soccer balls,
quaffles, and bludgers flying through the air with 52 missionaries on
the field at any one time. It ends up being something of a barely
organized chaos but it turned out really well. Only one person got mad,
and only one person got hit in the face so we considered it a success.
Not to mention the fact that it was good to be able to spend time with
all of the missionaries and provide an opportunity for them to get to
know one another.<br />
We also had some sweet miracles with finding. We had literally probably
about 1 minute in our area one evening and we decided to use it to go
check on a lady we'd never met. We were walking to her house and there
was a lady getting home with her little daughter. We stopped and talked
to her and she instantly opened up to us about some of the tragedies
that had gone on in her life. Her husband was in the military and had
cheated on her and left her and her three year old daughter all alone.
She talked about how intelectually she knew she shouldn't be mad at God
because everyone has agency but that she was obviously still struggling.
While she didn't accept a return appointment then we're hoping that
she'll receive the sisters when they go by in a week or so. It was just
cool to see how the Lord could use our limited time to put us in the
path of someone that clearly needed a message about his love and
awareness of her. It was a blessing to be able to testify to her of the
reality of God's love and the fact that we meet no one by coincidence.<br />
Haha it's also been a humbling week as a new sisters was recently
transferred into the area. She is on fire and has reminded us of the
fire we need to perhaps rebuild and then maintain. It was a good
reminder of the faith we need to have in our areas and the faith we need
to have despite how little time we may have. The Lord continues to
teach us little lessons each day and hopefully we're becoming better
each time. It's just weird to think that one week of the transfer has
already gone by... Crazy stuff!BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-51070121297200564392012-09-17T11:05:00.001-06:002012-09-17T11:05:40.795-06:00Another week, this one a bit longer than the lastWow, it's been such a crazy week! The week before and after transfers is
always super crazy, so sorry I didn't get to write to you guys any
earlier, we've just been running around like crazy from early in the
morning to late at night! So to give a brief run down of what we've been
doing for the past week or so is that we've just been crazy with
transfers and setting up for meetings. With transfers we were changing
things around until the Sunday before transfers trying to get things
right for what needs to happen not only this transfer but also the next,
so that's been a bit of stress, but luckily everything seems to have
worked out alright and that with only a few hiccups, hopefully
everything will go smoothly for this transfer! We've also had a few
tough days of trying to figure out what we need to train on for the
mission. Leadership meeting, which was yesterday, was an incredible
meeting, I honestly don't know if we've ever had one quite so spiritual.
It was all thanks to a workshop by one of the VC trainers on the
purpose of baptism and the joy of missionary work, mixed in with the
theme of reverence. It was super powerful. Reverence has become one of
the things I love to study and try to develop on the mission. It
honestly makes the biggest difference and sets the tone for our day,
lessons, meetings, etc. It's definitely an interesting topic to study
and apply. We've also been scrambling to get things ready for a mission
wide activity for this next Wednesday, Sports Day! We have a huge game
of sports called "Hero Ball". It's a combination of three sports on the
same field, we'll be playing soccer, capture the flag, and quidditch all
at once! Haha yeah it's going to be insane, hopefully it works out
alright.<br />
Amidst all the craziness of planning transfers and other activities and
meetings there have been a few extremely powerful spiritual experiences.
It's been incredible to see once again the Lord's awareness of who I am
and what it is that I need to hear. This last Saturday was an extremely
difficult day for us. For some reason we were just exhausted, we had to
do a bunch of stuff that we don't normally enjoy doing on a Saturday
but that we had to get done, and then it just felt as if Satan was
attacking us from all sides. Temptations, distractions, negativity,
frustration, we could not figure out what was going on! We just kept
praying for strength and that we would be able to accomplish all that
was needed. Eventually everything did work out but it was probably one
of the most difficult days of the mission. It felt as if the Lord had
decided to withdraw His spirit and leave us on our own for a little
while just so we would know what it felt like. It really was a
fulfillment of Ether 12:27 where the Lord showed us once again our
weakness so that we would come closer to Him and He could strengthen us.
Still, that day we still saw some incredible miracles, tender mercies
that kept us going through the day. There was a random guy that came up
to us trying to fundraise that eventually turned out to be super
interested in the Book of Mormon. We gave him a book and he immediately
asked us what our favorite chapter was so that he could read it that
evening! Incredible right! Unfortunately he lives in a van and was only
here for a few more days, but hopefully wherever he goes he'll be able
to get ahold of the missionaries. Then we also met this one guy that
looked like just a punk riding his mo-ped, haha but we talked to him and
he was an awesome guy. It honestly reminded me of Elder Schwitzer's
experience as a doctor because this guy is working over here to try and
get to California to be with his wife, he said they'd been married for 6
years and that the last four months away from her had been some of the
hardest. It was cool to see him light up as we talked about the
possibilities of eternal marriage thanks to the restoration, hopefully
he also will find time to meet with the missionaries in his area. So the
Lord continues to be able to work through us, despite our major
weaknesses, our limited time, and our limited ability. It's always just
incredibly humbling to realize that the Lord really does care about what
we're doing, that He is really is guiding us even when we don't feel
like it at all.<br />
This week we also got to pick up the new missionaries, man, that is my
favorite part of every transfer! It's just fun to see them come in and
to think back to the beginning of the mission. I honestly wish I could
have another two years... The testimony meetings were extremely powerful
and it was especially incredible to see the inspiration that worked
through President Matsumori. I've had questions recently about whether
or not I'm doing what the Lord would have me do in this assignment, if
I've been trying to use time effectively, if I've been diligent, if I'm
really accomplishing what he needs me to, and the Lord spoke through
President. He was able to give me the assurance, comfort, and guidance I
needed without even knowing the questions I was struggling with. It was
yet another testament to me that the Lord is incredibly aware of each
of us. I don't know, it's hard to describe all the feelings and thoughts
I've been having for the last week or so. This time of the transfer
always seems to be the time of intense inner reflection, what with the
coming and going of missionaries. All I can say is that I'm grateful for
the mission... I'm grateful for all that the Lord has been teaching me,
for the lessons, the struggles, the joys, the miracles, and the
opportunity to serve. I feel that the mission really does lead us to
conversion, it's just been crazy to think back to where I was before
hand, and to see the change that the Lord has worked in me... There
really is no greater blessing or miracle than the miracle of conversion.
I feel that recently I have come to know our Father in Heaven in a way
that I never have before. I feel that I can truly call Him Father and
that He truly calls me son. I don't know, it's just been a crazy week,
but I'm grateful for it!<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-53721195935757684542012-08-24T05:35:00.001-06:002012-08-24T05:35:05.163-06:00Another weekWow, this week has been exhausting!! I honestly don't think I've ever
been quite this tired on the mission. The weeks leading up to transfers
are always super intense, so we've been working a lot on the transfer
board trying to figure out where people are going and we met with
President a few times this week in order to discuss various
possibilities. It's always just so crazy to see how much thought and
time goes into everything behind the scenes. We also had transfer
recommendations where we talk with the VC trainers and the Zone Leaders
about all the missionaries and we get their suggestions on where they
should go and what type of companion they need. Then we compare those
with the logistics of transfers and any other things we feel need to
happen as well as what President feels should happen and then we come up
with a scenario that we end up always changing around, haha it's super
crazy! Still it's been cool to see, and the Sister missionaries have
especially taught us a lot about transfers. At least for us cold and
callous Elders when it's an Elder's last transfer we don't think too
much about him... We'll put him in a good spot but we figure he's
probably learned about all that he'll learn, the Sisters are much better
and taught us a good lesson. Their transfer recommendations were
centered around the two sisters going home to ensure that they got
everything they needed in their missions. It was just a good reminder
that we need to remember the individual in all we do, which is something
that sometimes becomes difficult when you just look at the transfer
board with other 100 missionaries. <br />
We've also had a tougher week with a couple of difficult experiences...
We had a missionary that had to go home and a companionship that had
some difficulties. It's always an incredible experience to be around
problems like those. You can feel so clearly the love that the Lord has
for each of His missionaries, it's very much like teaching lessons and
feeling His love for the investigators. The Lord is no respecter of
persons, missionary or investigator.<br />
I also have some really good news, the Mejia family from the city was
apparently sealed two months ago!!!! I didn't find out about that until
this week, but it was probably one of the happiest moments ever! Haha
Jessica and I always seem to have such similar experiences. I called one
of my recent converts this week who is now slightly less-active... It
honestly does break your heart to hear about them making such
destructive choices... It's strange because when you're at their baptism
all you can think about is how incredible it will be in the Celestial
Kingdom, and then when you hear about them making such wrong choices it
just tears you apart... Like Jessica said it really is a small taste of
what the Savior and Heavenly Father must feel about us as we stray from
the path, so it was a very double edged week, as most weeks in
missionary life are. The two extremes of fulness of joy and sorrow. I
just hope some of those guys can pull back out and regain the direction
they had beforehand. Jose Paz is also planning on going to the temple
soon with his family!!! It's just cool to see people progress!<br />
Oh we also had an awesome lesson with Phil where the spirit honestly
just took over. He had been going through some pretty intense trials,
the devil was nailing him at all of his weakest points, and we had no
idea. Luckily he hadn't given in, but he was coming close. Anyways, we
came to a lesson with what we had prepared for the week before not
knowing at all what was going on. We shared it and then he opened up
with everything that had been going on. The lesson was exactly what he
needed to hear and it helped him make some major decisions. He's now
firm in his decision to go to Utah to visit and to see if he can go out
there for school. While he's there he's going to hopefully go through
the temple open house and see temple square and a bunch of other things.
It was honestly as if Satan had thrown a huge stumbling block in front
of what was going to be a major opportunity for spiritual growth for
Phil. He'll also be doing baptisms for the dead for the first time in
Utah! Satan was clever, but luckily God was a step ahead as usual. It
was just another humbling experience to see how much God can use us with
out us even realizing it... It still amazes me that he can use these
two 20 year old guys to do his work, it makes no sense at all... Still,
I'm very grateful for the opportunity I have to let God use me, it's
just incredible to see all the things that happen each day that are so
beyond our control yet seem to turn out just perfectly... Haha though it
is really exhausting! Luckily He also seems to give us extra energy!<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-66191342816013704152012-08-21T07:04:00.001-06:002012-08-21T07:04:07.623-06:00Weeks are just flying by!Man, I honestly cannot believe that another week has gone by, it seems
like it's just been crazy! Anyways, I'm not entirely sure what happened
this week, haha but I'll do my best to remember as much as I can. Late
last week we finished off doing interviews with President Matsumori of
the rest of the mission. Obviously we weren't interviewing the Elders
but we had the opportunity to check all of their planners and make sure
that they're working well in their areas. That was a good experience,
and it was fun to be able to see all the Elders, as well as an
enlightening one! It was cool because we were essentially able to train
each companionship individually on how to effectively plan for their
areas and organize and focus their efforts. Hopefully they start to put
it into practice. We've also been working a lot on transfers since
transfers are coming up in a few weeks. President had left transfers
almost completely up to us, and then he was going to check and make
appropriate changes, so we've been working at transfers for the last few
days every spare moment we've had. It's incredible how many things go
into a transfer, but it's been a good experience once again and tomorrow
we'll be meeting with President to get additional insight on what
should happen with the next transfer. We've also had a few other
projects we've been working on for President, one is organizing a ward
mission activity, then we have a number of meetings that are coming up
in the next few weeks that we have to prepare for, as well as going on
several exchanges, etc. Haha it's honestly just been crazy and I feel
like I haven't slowed down for a single day in the last two months,
which thankfully is just how I like it! :)<br />
Man, we've also had a number of extremely awkward experiences with
members and checking on people. Haha so we don't always know when we're
going to have time in our area and so a lot of the time we just have a
list of people that we need to check on that we get from the ward
council and from the sisters that also work in the ward. So we went by a
few of them this week and had some super awkward experiences! First of
all we walked into a sensitive situation that the sisters had known
about for a few months and which we knew nothing about and ended up
having an extremely awkward dinner with a part active and part
less-active family knowing nothing about what we should share. We then
proceeded to knock on a Less-Active's door that I had forgotten I'd
knocked on at the beginning of my time here because we'd changed ward
directories and hadn't had time to update the information onto the new
one. Consequently I'd forgotten, until we were at the doorstep, that
this particular lady had converted to Judaism and was not at all
interested in returning to the church, not to mention the fact that she
recognized me as having knocked on her door a couple of months ago. Haha
then we went to visit a less-active, or so we supposed, and the lady
that answered the door was an active member I'd seen occasionally at
church but never spoken to. Caught off guard it was a super awkward
beginning, but then the story actually becomes cool. She told us a
little bit about her life and family, nothing too special, and then we
were debating inwardly on what to share with her since she obviously was
not the person we'd been expecting to visit. The scripture that kept
coming to mind was Alma 31:31-35. It was a scripture we had shared
earlier and we felt that it would be something we could share with her
as well. What happens next is a testament that God truly does work
through us despite the fact that we fall so very very short so very
often. The scripture we shared was one of her favorites and to her it
spoke about her family... Half of her family is Less-Active, including
her husband, and as we read the scripture the spirit filled the room and
she said that she felt just like Alma. That she so often prayed that
she would be able to bring "her brethren/family" back to the church but
that far too often she just felt discouraged from even trying. It was a
powerful moment and another incredible instance of where the Lord using
us as His instruments without us even realizing what we're doing. It's
super humbling, we literally do nothing, and yet the Lord can utilize us
and utilize even the smallest time we have in our area. It's been a
blessing to see the Lord magnify our efforts despite the fact that we
sometimes feel we can just do so little.<br />
BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-90950799454682858562012-08-08T13:45:00.000-06:002012-08-08T13:45:00.437-06:00Another week!<pre wrap="">Haha man it just amazes me how similar Jessica's mission and mine are! This week I also got to do a few exchanges, the only difference is that as an Assistant we actually don't take anyone into our area, we just go out with the people and work their area for a few hours. We had an awesome exchange down in the Southern part of the mission with an Elder that I picked up from the airport and then Elder Sanchez, my old companion! It was pretty sweet, especially since I was able to see how much this Elder has grown. At the beginning we were honestly just worried that he wasn't going to stay out on a mission, but it's incredible, he's come to love the mission and love teaching the gospel! Not to mention that we went to a teaching appointment with this super old but faithful guy. He's a baptist deacon and has donated literally thousands of dollars to his church, but he heard the message and loved it! We asked him what it would mean to him if there were twelve apostles and a prophet on the earth and he said in a Southern accent "Well, it would mean I'd have to follow them of course!" And if there was just one church from God? "Well I'd have to be a part of it of course!" Needless to say he accepted a conditional baptismal date and then committed to come to church and follow the baptismal calendar we would make for him! But the coolest part of it all was that this Elder was able to extend his first baptismal invitation of his life after being out in the field for something like 10 weeks! Haha Elder Sanchez and I had to keep pushing him along and staying quiet, but he finally did it and did it super well! It was just cool to see his face light up afterwards when he realized he had just extended a baptismal date to a pretty solid guy! </pre>
<pre wrap="">Phil is also doing well! Man, he's ridiculous! At church he was talking about how he hadn't done anything "extra" recently and so he wanted to go to the Visitor's Center and then he wanted to go to an addiction recovery program they have here and try and see if his story could help some people! He ended up coming to an FHE with us at the Matsumori's home for all the investigators and recent converts in the area. He had been asking before if there would be people there that he could help and when he came there was an eternagator for an area that hasn't been progressing at all! Phil started to talk to him and just told him his story, encouraged him to fast, and told him it was all worth it because he had to do it for his little daughter! It was honestly ridiculous! I could not believe how much Phil has changed! In just a few months he's gone from a guy that probably never would have listened to us to a guy that just has such a fire for teaching other people about the gospel. His testimony is a representation of what I call "real" missionary work, where you share it just because you feel it! If only we could always be like that! He's also super pumped about home teaching and about teaching his families to their needs and being there to help them out for anything! He's definitely someone that will magnify his callings! </pre>
<pre wrap="">We've also been working on quite a few projects here in the office, we're making a new binder for all the incoming missionaries with all the information they need, we've been working on transfers once again, and we've been working on all those other little problems that always seem to crop up! It's been pretty fun! All in all it's been a good week. Unfortunately my scripture reading has gone down from normal though, you'd think that as a missionary that could never be the case, but for the last 2 days we've had to be at interviews in the mornings and so we haven't had time for studies, and it's incredible to see how much your spirituality can start to lack just from missing a few days. Needless to say last night I had to do some scripture studying even though it was a little late, I was just starting to feel spiritually bogged down!
</pre>BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-40404063290820812922012-08-05T12:00:00.000-06:002012-08-05T12:08:44.147-06:00Time is flying by!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvGO3q2g8xqhnGaI-0ZG8ZuLXIydRS4ilobQ_uaLzEzrQGYy6p004A-XbCfHQmd5Hi_O7a4eEsJaRp6LXW_mgMzTtr2CfeeEIhML0PKXvK-cncVfWoL1h3r1DRTIjXq9ZwqgFnwnHvT64/s1600/P1050752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkvGO3q2g8xqhnGaI-0ZG8ZuLXIydRS4ilobQ_uaLzEzrQGYy6p004A-XbCfHQmd5Hi_O7a4eEsJaRp6LXW_mgMzTtr2CfeeEIhML0PKXvK-cncVfWoL1h3r1DRTIjXq9ZwqgFnwnHvT64/s320/P1050752.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<pre wrap="">Wow, I'm constantly amazed at how quickly time is going by! It's already August, which scares me out of my mind, but it's all good, I'm slowly putting myself in a deepening stage of denial about the fact that time is moving by, so my mind is currently convinced that it's actually May or June. Anyways, this week was a good one with a lot of interesting and different experiences. First of all we had Zone Leader Council this Friday which was actually a really really good meeting. Haha if there's one thing that's changed about me on the mission it's how much I've come to enjoy meetings! Haha yeah kind of a weird thing to say, considering my first week I was convinced that District meeting was a waste of time, haha how things change! Anyways it was a really good experience of working together in council to determine the needs of the mission and how we could work
together as leaders to address the problem. In the past Zone Leader Council had been a discssion of rules and if we should change any of them. Lost transfer Elder Pierucci and I received some sweet inspiration on the true purpose of councelling. Or in other words we just finally realized what the true purpose of Zone Leader Council was, so this time we were able to make the agenda items much more specific and useful to the needs of the mission as well. We were able to come up with some good action points which will hopefully be put into action soon. We also gave a training on To do v. To Be from that talk in conference. It was a really fun workshop to give, especially since we've felt that it's been one of the major things we needed to address throughout the mission. It's far too easy to fall into a routine of things, to fall into the trap of trying to sell the Gospel instead of preaching it, or in other words doing instead of being. It was a fun training, and an especially fun one to plan since we were able to learn a lot more about the subject as we stuied it. It really is all about the motive in which we do things. Of course the Do's and How's are important as well. The two are inseparably connected, but it was good to see the
emphasis shift a little bit more to the be and why of things as well.
This week I was also able to go on exchange in Landover Hills! That's two areas ago and the Elders had planned a lunch with Jorge Duenez one of the recent converts in the area! Man, it was just super good to be able to see him again and to see how he has progressed in just these last three months!
He's faithfully fulfilling his calling and doing misisonary work! In fact a friend that he invited to hear the missionaries will be getting baptized this Sunday! He's also planning on getting married to a girl in September who is also a faithful latter-day saint! Haha he's such an awesome guy and it was a definite tender mercy to be able to see him once again!
Ok then we had this crazy day on Saturday! Under the invitation of President Matsumori we went to a meeting in Southern Maryland, like southern southern Maryland to be with the senior couples, and (drum roll please) a visiting emeritus General Authority!!! Yeah, it was awesome to be able to meet him and hear his conversion story. He has a powerful testimony of the truth, and it's still just incredible to me to see the depth of their personal conviction and to hear the power behind the words that they say. Though the words we say are just the same the conviction behind them is incredible! His name was Elder Kikuchi! Dad you may have heard of him, he's one of the first General Authorities from japan and he's served as a General Authority for something like 20 years or more. It was one incredible experience! He spoke about the pioneers on the plains and about how we find God in the plains of our lives.
We were also able to roll out the new meeting program, and so far it's turning out well. It looks like it will be a good shift in the focus of the mission. It will give the Zone Leaders a much more organized way to train their zone, and will allow the District Leaders to have a little bit more responsibility as well!
Funny story of the week! We were at a dinner with some members and the family is super crazy! They have four little boys that are all super hyperactive! Anyways, their cat got stuck in a tree probably about 20 feet or more in the air and so one of the kids climbed the tree and got the cat. So he's stuck in this tree with the cat and he can't get down with the cat in his arms and he has to get the cat out, so we're staring at him in the tree, slightly worried because he looks like he's going to fall and kind of wondering how they're going to get the cat down. All of a sudden two of the other brothers run out of the house with a towel! Yep, that's right, they were going to do it fireman style! Aka they were going to drop the cat from the tree and catch him in the towel. The parents completely agreed that it was a good idea and so on the count of three the cat was thrown from the tree!! Yeah, not the best idea.... Unfortunately one of the kids just didn't have that great of a grip on the towel, forseeable? perhaps. So this is the sad but kind of funny part of the story, the cat nailed the ground!
Yeah, just picture this poor little animal being tossed from twenty feet up, it was a crazy sight! He did get a little cushion from the towel and in the end the cat was ok, but it was definitely one of the crazier experiences I've had at a member dinner before!
</pre>BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-67562625389858621972012-08-05T11:53:00.002-06:002012-08-05T11:53:14.134-06:00Another crazy week!<pre wrap="">Haha it seems like I just wrote you, but this time it's because I really</pre>
<pre wrap="">did just write you! Kind of, 5 days is a very short time here in the mission field. Anyways, this was another difficult and intense 5 days, still it was a good one. I'd been slightly worried about a few things, it's said to always be difficult when a new missionary comes into the office as an Assistant because the work here is completely different from any work we've ever done before. Suddenly the priority becomes the office and ensuring that everything goes smoothly; however, Elder Brown and I are both pretty gung-ho about missionary work so I'd been slightly worried about my companion getting used to the office work, but it's gone well. It took a few days but I think he's settled into the work as an Assistant, and I think he did it a whole lot faster than I did. It's also been an interesting week because we've had a lot of communication with President.
There have been some companionship issues, a meeting, and the implementation of a new set of meetings throughout the mission that we've had to discuss and coordinate together. It's really an incredible experience to work with President and Sister Matsumori. They are literally people who have sat for years at the feet of the prophets receiving instruction, guidance, and direction. It's been incredible to learn more about leadership and for the past few days the words of D&C 121 have just been running through my head as I've sought to align myself more with what's taught in just those few verses. It's incredible how those verses literally describe how we should govern our lives in all aspects of our
lives. Teaching, administrative work, parenting, companionships, leadership, and even just our daily interactions with people.
We've also had some incredible miracles in our area! This Sunday we had a little bit of time to go out and proselyte and we visited a part-member less active family, the Sharpes. Only the father was home and he's the non-member. He received us warmly and invited us in, haha which was surprising to us since most of the less-actives in this area are less-active for a reason and they make it known. Still we were able to have one of the most spiritual lessons with him as we talked about families, how the gospel can help him, and as we shared thoughts from the scriptures and conference talks. The spirit was penetrating him and we asked him if he and his family would like to receive the missionary lessons and he said yes! It was super awesome! It's really weird to work with white people, they're a lot different than hispanics, but it was also an interesting experience to see how the spirit can once again magnify our words even to someone who runs what is probably a multi-million dollar corporation. We were also able to teach Phil more about the Priesthood, and this Sunday he passed the
sacrament with a few other recent converts who had yet to have the experience! It's just incredible to see the spiritual progression of these people as they make the changes that the Lord invites them to make!
Still, this week has once again been a humbling one. There are so many things to juggle and inevitably I've let some balls drop. Luckily they haven't been too crucial, but it's still been humbling to feel the weight of so many things as well as the weight of the trust that President and the Lord have placed in us. Needless to say there have been quite a few stressful days in just these last 5, but it's good. The Lord stretches us to points where we feel like we're going to break, and then we realize that if we don't turn to Him we really are going to break! Haha but luckily I've been able to learn in just the past few days once again how much more real the enabling power of the atonement is in my life. It's always really easy to have faith that others can change, that others can progress, but I believe the trial of my faith has come in believing that the Lord truly can change me and make me adequate for a task. But I testify that He does indeed answer prayers and that the Atonement really can enable us to do things greater than we ever could have done on our own. That has become an even deeper reality for me this week.</pre>BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-89027136017858574462012-07-20T14:49:00.003-06:002012-07-20T14:49:42.362-06:00Sorry it took me so long!<pre wrap="">Hey family, sorry it's taken me so long to write this week, but no worries, President and my companion made sure I'd write! haha just kidding I was going to write no matter what, it's just been an incredibly busy, stressful, and crazy week! So first of all I have to tell you about this family, the Fletchers. They're this awesome family that has 10 kids, and the kids are all just awesome, haha they remind me a bit of our family. They make sure they all read their scriptures, some are into theatre, and they're all slightly crazy, not to mention the fact that one of their daughters is also named Rachel. Haha she's kind of similar to Rachel, but she's nicer to me and only 7 years old <span class="moz-smiley-s3" title=";)"></span> She wrote us these little notes about how she feels the spirit with us and then made us friendship bracelets. Haha it was a pretty cool experience, it just about made Elder Pierucci cry, and myself I guess, but I'd never admit that one. Anyways, the main event of the week was the departures and arrivals. Not to mention the fact that being the Senior Assistant has been one of the most stressful and humbling experiences of my life. Around last Thursday the mantle began to shift when the new assistant came in. His name is Elder Brown and he's from St. George Utah. We were actually in the same ward at BYU and he lived in the apartment right below me. He's a pretty cool guy and we should get along just fine. Still, it was super stressful as Elder Pierucci began to step back and let me take the lead. It's crazy to think of how much stuff we have to do and remember, and just trying to make sure that it all goes smoothly has been quite the task. However, it's definitely strengthened my testimony in the enabling power of the atonement. There should be no way that we can accomplish as many of the things as we do in such a brief amount of time and on so little sleep, but the Lord provides and we've seen at least a part of the fulfillment of the promise in
Doctrine and Covenants 84 of the renewing of our bodies. This Sunday Phil also spoke at a fireside for new members and investigators. It's called a "Why I Believe" fireside where there's a keynote speaker and then several converts share their testimonies. It was incredible to see him share his testimony and story only two weeks after being baptized in front of hundreds of people! He's solid and truly converted to the gospel!
This Tuesday we picked up the new missionaries and they are one solid
group! They're all incredibly solid missionaries and you can see that they'll be
the future leaders of the mission. It's always an interesting experience to see the new missionaries and the dying missionaries just 24 hours apart. It just shows that the work of the Lord continues on no matter where we are or what we're doing His work really will just keep marching forward. A sister missionary mentioned that in her dying testimony, that she realized that the Lord doesn't need her to do the work, but that she has just been priveleged enough to take part in it with Him. It was just awesome to see the love these missionaries have for the Gospel, whether at the beginning or at the end, and to see the growth of some of the missionaries. I use to believe that all missionaries were perfect and that all returned missionaries would return home with incredibly solid testimonies, almost like Demi-Gods. It's been sobering and at the same time inspiring to see the reality of it all. Every missionary begins and ends at different levels, but what matters is the progression in between. There were a few missionaries that departed that maybe weren't those demi-gods but they had progressed a ton and it was incredible to feel the love of the Lord for these missionaries and for their sacrifice and effort. Still, it was an incredibly good group of missionaries and a hard group to see go. I think I mentioned it before but this marks the transfer where every single leader I've ever had in the mission has now returned home. Every DL, ZL, and AP.... It's been extremely humbling to think that all these missionaries now look to us for leadership and to realize that we're supposed to know what we're doing. Still, it's been incredible as it's helped me to turn more and more to the Lord for help. The mission/Gospel truly is incredible.
It shapes and changes us to the disciples of Christ that God would have us be. It can take all of our weaknesses and shortcomings and make us equal to the task. It's just been an incredibly humbling week. Still, things are going well, we just had leadership meeting and everything went smoothly and our training went well as well. It's an interesting and unique opportunity to train the leaders of the mission. It's once again extremely humbling and a blessing to be able to pass on some things we've learned as well as what we feel the Lord would have us say.
</pre>BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7399660596285924277.post-63030690322512367802012-07-16T19:53:00.003-06:002012-07-16T19:54:36.391-06:00Wow!<pre wrap="">Wow, I literally could've sworn that I just wrote you guys... I'm not even entirely sure what happened this week! Well, most of this week has been spent working on transfers! Yep, it's a pretty interesting experience, we have this gigantic board with all of the missionaries on it and we work on moving them around. It's been an interesting lesson on receiving revelation, it's a lot of thought and meditation just like it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, not to mention just kind of feeling things out and listening to what the spirit has to say about our decisions. We've also had a couple of meetings with President due to some policy changes that will be coming throughout the missions in the entire world, so we were working on getting ready to implement some of the changes in the meetings and whatnot.
Haha it sounds really weird to be talking about all this kind of stuff. Sometimes it's weird to realize that I'm still only 20 years old and yet holding "business meetings" with someone who is probably a multi-millionaire and actually feeling relatively trusted and relied on The Lord definitely magnifies our abilities. It would be impossible to do any of the things we do without his help! With transfers it was also a cool experience to do some of them with President. He looked out all our recommendations and then we talked about them and if he felt there was anything to change we worked through it until the whole board felt good. It was a pretty cool experience to see that we really had been receiving revelation as we worked on the transfer board, and that President actually had little to change. We also had an awesome lesson with an excommunicated member where the spirit really spoke through us to him. It was one of those moments where you knew that the words you were speaking weren't yours but were in literal reality the words of the Lord. Hm, other than that it's been a really fast week, lots of transfer stuff, lots of administrative stuff, but with a few opportunities at ministrative work as well. Phil was confirmed and given the Aaronic Priesthood this last week, which was incredible! Not to mention the fact that the ward has finally really begun to trust us and has got more of a feel for missionary work than ever before! Haha it's amazing what seeing one baptism can do. We all seem to be reminded of the eternal perspective in our lives and the lives of those around us. Oh, another random/awkward experience. Last night I gave my first vocal performance ever... Haha it wasn't very good, it was a terrible duet in front of about 100 hispanos... We sang Jesus lover of my soul, and I sang the alto part on the harmony part... Haha man, singing is definitely not my strength but the mission sure has a way of pushing you out of your comfort zone. Let's just say that everyone complemented me on my piano accompanying skills and just kind of didn't mention the whole singing deal.
Haha, I'll have to send you that cd someday, after I listen to it and edit it. It was honestly probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences ever, but I think I did better than expected. Well, that's about it family.
It's been an interesting week, and the pressure is still mounting for this next one, it's going to be crazy crazy busy! Picking up the new missionaries, getting the new assistant, sending the old missionaries home, getting everything set for transfers, it's going to be one crazy week!</pre>BihShyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00352680233435292311noreply@blogger.com0