(General e-mail)
I have so little desire to write the big letter these days. haha Its like a burden. Cant I just tell yall in 2 weeks?
So we got the paper stuff sorted out with the contreras family and they very well might be baptized this weekend!!!
We also met a cool Venezuelan family this week who have huge potencial. The husband found the BoM in the trash at his work, picked it up, cleaned it off and took it home. Hes very interested to find out more about it, but his wife was even more interested in the Restoration. The both accepted the Baptismal invitation and are set on going to church next week.
Bye! Love you all!
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
1 May 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared his opinion of how Trump is doing as president, since Christian asked--basically that the economy is doing well, stock prices are way up, taxes are coming down, the wall is going up, etc.; mentioned that it'd been a while since we'd seen the sun around these parts; invited Christian to attend the temple with him regularly upon his return; etc.)
Sweet, thats what I wanted to know. Everyone here HATES trump and I just wanted a conservative stand point. Weeks sounds great, conference super awesome. etc. Sun? Whats that? Oh that thing I havent seen in over a week because of our non stop rain? haha yeah....good times.
Weekly temple attendance is actually on my post mish plan. Lets do it.
Love you dad!
(General e-mail)
A weird fruit called Mamon.
Last temple trip! With just my bros!
Sweet, thats what I wanted to know. Everyone here HATES trump and I just wanted a conservative stand point. Weeks sounds great, conference super awesome. etc. Sun? Whats that? Oh that thing I havent seen in over a week because of our non stop rain? haha yeah....good times.
Weekly temple attendance is actually on my post mish plan. Lets do it.
Love you dad!
(General e-mail)
A weird fruit called Mamon.
Last temple trip! With just my bros!
Monday, April 24, 2017
24 April 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared that he taught the Law of Consecration in Sunday School: "I pointed out that in the temple we covenant to live the Law already and that everything is in place for us to voluntarily live the Law today. The only thing stopping us is ourselves. We aren't limited to paying a small fast offering and 10% tithing. We could at anytime we wanted pay anything that we felt was a surplus above and beyond what we need. True, we don't meet with the bishop and consecrated all that we have to the church and then receive back a stewardship but we can each do so much more.")
Hey, i taught the law of consecration too! I really liked that lesson and thought about the same thing. Would I be willing to live it? I think it would take a little bit of prayer, but in the end I know the Lord recompenses us for all our worldly sacrifices.
The week was great! Ill tell you about it in a second. Im still clerk and 2nd councilor, the branch...is definately not growing. We are working super hard and the members love us, but the complete lack of a branch presidency makes for a big stumbling block. Our presidents work schedule makes it so hes not even in town...ever, and our 1st councilor hates everything and anything to do with his calling. He only goes to church cus him wife makes him, and then he doesnt do anything at all. He sleeps during classes and lies to us to avoid going to meetings and activities. Its hard and I can only do so much. The city is fairly large (by dominican standards) and its just my comp and I. The members leave with us...sometimes...depends on the member, and teaching in members homes doesnt exist here. Its like a culture thing? I dunno. But Ive never done it, and tried multiple times.
Love you Dad! Im not discouraged, but I do get a little frustrated sometimes. BYE
(General e-mail)
Well family and friends....
Here we are.
So, what shall we talk about today?
Well this week was pretty swell. We had some great lessons, found some cool people, the norm. Nothing really to stand out. For our thursday activities Ive been teaching the youth how to play Bang. Even though its in english, we get through it all right, and they really enjoy it.
Oh, I do have a spot of good news. The Elders from Los Llanos (neighboring campo) should be going in today to fix the problems for the Contreras family, clearing the way to marriage! Now we just need them to have money! haha We had a great lesson with them about doing their part and not having to be compelled to act (save money, read scriptures, say prayers, etc) They promised to buckled down and really start to study the BoM and save for their marriage. Crismailyn was confirmed on Sunday, and seemed really pleased about it. Crisbel is still on the fence and Cealis was too sick to come to church.
Tomorrow we have a Zone Conference in the capital and it should be great. Also, my suit is almost done! I went in for some final fittings today and it looks pretty snazzy. Mght have photos next week.
In my personal study, Ive started the war chapters in Alma and Im reminded about how much I love Capt. Moroni. Such an amazing example and just generally awesome character. I wanna write him as a side character into some of my books. My comp and I have been talking about Moronis strategy of rallying the people by running through town basically shouting "FREEDOM!!!!" An amusing image.
In other news....um....Im not dead yet...? Is that news? haha Still workin my guts out, contacting, asking for references, trying to animate the members, planning and leading activities and meetings etc. The monte Python man cant yet put me on his cart!
I love you all! Have a great week!
Hey, i taught the law of consecration too! I really liked that lesson and thought about the same thing. Would I be willing to live it? I think it would take a little bit of prayer, but in the end I know the Lord recompenses us for all our worldly sacrifices.
The week was great! Ill tell you about it in a second. Im still clerk and 2nd councilor, the branch...is definately not growing. We are working super hard and the members love us, but the complete lack of a branch presidency makes for a big stumbling block. Our presidents work schedule makes it so hes not even in town...ever, and our 1st councilor hates everything and anything to do with his calling. He only goes to church cus him wife makes him, and then he doesnt do anything at all. He sleeps during classes and lies to us to avoid going to meetings and activities. Its hard and I can only do so much. The city is fairly large (by dominican standards) and its just my comp and I. The members leave with us...sometimes...depends on the member, and teaching in members homes doesnt exist here. Its like a culture thing? I dunno. But Ive never done it, and tried multiple times.
Love you Dad! Im not discouraged, but I do get a little frustrated sometimes. BYE
(General e-mail)
Well family and friends....
Here we are.
So, what shall we talk about today?
Well this week was pretty swell. We had some great lessons, found some cool people, the norm. Nothing really to stand out. For our thursday activities Ive been teaching the youth how to play Bang. Even though its in english, we get through it all right, and they really enjoy it.
Oh, I do have a spot of good news. The Elders from Los Llanos (neighboring campo) should be going in today to fix the problems for the Contreras family, clearing the way to marriage! Now we just need them to have money! haha We had a great lesson with them about doing their part and not having to be compelled to act (save money, read scriptures, say prayers, etc) They promised to buckled down and really start to study the BoM and save for their marriage. Crismailyn was confirmed on Sunday, and seemed really pleased about it. Crisbel is still on the fence and Cealis was too sick to come to church.
Tomorrow we have a Zone Conference in the capital and it should be great. Also, my suit is almost done! I went in for some final fittings today and it looks pretty snazzy. Mght have photos next week.
In my personal study, Ive started the war chapters in Alma and Im reminded about how much I love Capt. Moroni. Such an amazing example and just generally awesome character. I wanna write him as a side character into some of my books. My comp and I have been talking about Moronis strategy of rallying the people by running through town basically shouting "FREEDOM!!!!" An amusing image.
In other news....um....Im not dead yet...? Is that news? haha Still workin my guts out, contacting, asking for references, trying to animate the members, planning and leading activities and meetings etc. The monte Python man cant yet put me on his cart!
I love you all! Have a great week!
Monday, April 17, 2017
17 April 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
I was just sitting here, staring at the computer and realized I hadnt written the big letter yet! AH!
Well...
This week was awesome! This letter will be short, but I will tell the important parts.
So Crisbel from the Contreras family, didnt get baptized. She got scared at the last second and said no. We were there, with the font filled, the chairs set and everything, but spent the next like 2 hours talking with her. We will see what happens tomorrow when we visit them.
We also visited this awesome family that were taught by the first missionaries of Quisqueya, but since then have lost contact with the missionaries. We had a great lesson about the restoration and the husband got really quiet and thinky like. Pensativo. It seemed to impress him alot. I felt very strongly that he needs the BoM as it is a VERY powerful tool for conversion.
I gave a great talk on sunday about conversion and even made one of the members cry. It was really cool and the Lord helped me prepare it in about 2 seconds as I wasnt supposed to speak that day. The Spirit was very strong.
I said this would be short! I love you all and hope you have a great week! BYE!!!
Well...
This week was awesome! This letter will be short, but I will tell the important parts.
So Crisbel from the Contreras family, didnt get baptized. She got scared at the last second and said no. We were there, with the font filled, the chairs set and everything, but spent the next like 2 hours talking with her. We will see what happens tomorrow when we visit them.
We also visited this awesome family that were taught by the first missionaries of Quisqueya, but since then have lost contact with the missionaries. We had a great lesson about the restoration and the husband got really quiet and thinky like. Pensativo. It seemed to impress him alot. I felt very strongly that he needs the BoM as it is a VERY powerful tool for conversion.
I gave a great talk on sunday about conversion and even made one of the members cry. It was really cool and the Lord helped me prepare it in about 2 seconds as I wasnt supposed to speak that day. The Spirit was very strong.
I said this would be short! I love you all and hope you have a great week! BYE!!!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
10 April 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(General e-mail)
Dont let the title of this letter deceive you. Im not trunky. Rather I am...content. I know Ill continue working hard until the end and at the same time prepare myself for college and after mission life. Sometimes I get a little sad when I realize that its all coming to an end and that Ill never be able to work like this again, but I know the Lord is pleased with my efforts and the blessing we're receiving reflects that.
That being said...
LAST TRANSFER! AH! CRAZINESS! Im going to attach some photos of my last agenda. Its tradition to make it as trunky as possible. :)
So, for transfers we're stayin the same. My crazy Brazilian will be killing me and Ill be going down in a blaze of glory. I like to think that he wont "kill" me, but rather, I will be translated. :P
This week was awesome! We saw progress! We dropped a lot more people! We had a baptism!! WOO! I will tell you our swell baptism story.
So the other day we had a swell SWELL lesson with the Contreras family. We started singing the Hymn, How Gentle God's commands (one of my favorites), and then...I totally blanked. I had no idea what to teach and my companion was just staring at me waiting for me to share something. So, last second I looked up the accompanying scripture to the hymn, 1 John 5:3, and shared it. That led into a cool discussion about why the Lord gives us commandments and how they are really blessings and protection in disguise. We also used it to do a BoM, Bible comparison lesson using 1 Cor 10:13 and 1 Nephi 3 showing that God doesnt ask us to do impossible things. It was really, REALLY awesome. And totally on the spot, led by the Spirit. In the end we tied it into baptism and put a date with the 2 daughters that were present for Sunday (yesterday) and they both accepted! We scheduled the interview for friday and went our way clicking our heels and singing praises to the Allmighty the whole way.
Friday, the interview. When we sat down with the family, I felt prompted to speak again of the true meaning of baptism and why its important. Cealis (the younger) had no problems, but Crismaily (the older) had received the mistaken impression that this was just a fun baptism and that she wouldnt be required to continue in the church afterward. Thats what like all the other churches do here. We (4 of us as Elder Rowe and ELder Johnson were already there to do the interview) proceeded to have a discussion about repentance, peace in imperfection, and the true joy that comes from following Christ. Crismaily accepted the invitation (again, now with better understanding) and comitted to make the necessary effort.
But wait! Thats not all!
So sunday. Baptism. The family is super excited. We were supposed to have interviews with Pres. Corbitt that day, making the schedule a bit crazy, but maneagable. He wasnt going to be able to stay for the baptism but promised to drop by the family to share a few words. (they already know and love him). So, in the end, President got here WAY late, just as we were ready to start the baptism. While we were changing he talked with the Contreras and especialy with Crisbel, the last daughter who hadnt accepted a date. As we left the bathroom, President was just standing up to do an on the spot baptismal interview with Crisbel. BOOM. God's work. That story mightve come out kind of jumbled, but Im writing really fast. The spirit was so strong, the baptism was great, and the whole family shared their testimonies.
Love you all!
The final agenda.
End-of-transfer photo! Only one more!! :/
The final agenda.
The Contreras family.
"Trunky" final agenda.
Double baptism yesterday! WOO!!
Dont let the title of this letter deceive you. Im not trunky. Rather I am...content. I know Ill continue working hard until the end and at the same time prepare myself for college and after mission life. Sometimes I get a little sad when I realize that its all coming to an end and that Ill never be able to work like this again, but I know the Lord is pleased with my efforts and the blessing we're receiving reflects that.
That being said...
LAST TRANSFER! AH! CRAZINESS! Im going to attach some photos of my last agenda. Its tradition to make it as trunky as possible. :)
So, for transfers we're stayin the same. My crazy Brazilian will be killing me and Ill be going down in a blaze of glory. I like to think that he wont "kill" me, but rather, I will be translated. :P
This week was awesome! We saw progress! We dropped a lot more people! We had a baptism!! WOO! I will tell you our swell baptism story.
So the other day we had a swell SWELL lesson with the Contreras family. We started singing the Hymn, How Gentle God's commands (one of my favorites), and then...I totally blanked. I had no idea what to teach and my companion was just staring at me waiting for me to share something. So, last second I looked up the accompanying scripture to the hymn, 1 John 5:3, and shared it. That led into a cool discussion about why the Lord gives us commandments and how they are really blessings and protection in disguise. We also used it to do a BoM, Bible comparison lesson using 1 Cor 10:13 and 1 Nephi 3 showing that God doesnt ask us to do impossible things. It was really, REALLY awesome. And totally on the spot, led by the Spirit. In the end we tied it into baptism and put a date with the 2 daughters that were present for Sunday (yesterday) and they both accepted! We scheduled the interview for friday and went our way clicking our heels and singing praises to the Allmighty the whole way.
Friday, the interview. When we sat down with the family, I felt prompted to speak again of the true meaning of baptism and why its important. Cealis (the younger) had no problems, but Crismaily (the older) had received the mistaken impression that this was just a fun baptism and that she wouldnt be required to continue in the church afterward. Thats what like all the other churches do here. We (4 of us as Elder Rowe and ELder Johnson were already there to do the interview) proceeded to have a discussion about repentance, peace in imperfection, and the true joy that comes from following Christ. Crismaily accepted the invitation (again, now with better understanding) and comitted to make the necessary effort.
But wait! Thats not all!
So sunday. Baptism. The family is super excited. We were supposed to have interviews with Pres. Corbitt that day, making the schedule a bit crazy, but maneagable. He wasnt going to be able to stay for the baptism but promised to drop by the family to share a few words. (they already know and love him). So, in the end, President got here WAY late, just as we were ready to start the baptism. While we were changing he talked with the Contreras and especialy with Crisbel, the last daughter who hadnt accepted a date. As we left the bathroom, President was just standing up to do an on the spot baptismal interview with Crisbel. BOOM. God's work. That story mightve come out kind of jumbled, but Im writing really fast. The spirit was so strong, the baptism was great, and the whole family shared their testimonies.
Love you all!
The final agenda.
End-of-transfer photo! Only one more!! :/
The final agenda.
The Contreras family.
"Trunky" final agenda.
Double baptism yesterday! WOO!!
Monday, April 3, 2017
3 April 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he spoke of his adventures in Moab with Ian and Cory and Cory's boys; also getting to watch CONFERENCE!)
That sounds amazing! Ian keeps telling about all the adventures Hes gonna take me on when I get back. Conference was EXCELLENT! I was very saddened to see the subtitles during Pres. Monson´s talk but still loved being able to hear from him. I was struck by multiple points of the conference. First, how much everyone expressed their love for the prophet. I felt it was more than ever which is needed given the rising opposition. Also, the importance of the Holy Ghost and good family gosepl teaching and examples. I felt like those were a big part of conference. Loved it! The bad part i will put in the big email. heh heh. Love you dad! Pray for me to stay focused this last transfer. Im doin pretty ok, but I wouldnt mind the extra help. :)
(General e-mail)
This week was.....
Well kind of pretty cool actually.
No amazing stories to share, but I do have some funny experiences.
So this week we had to drop ALOT of our investigators because....they dont do anything, but we have found some really cool people in our contacting efforts.
One cool experience actually. We have been teaching this guy name Eddy for a long time. He was a 24/7 drunk and although he really enjoyed church, a temple trip, and the Book of MOrmon, hes never been able to kick the rum. We havent visited him for some time, but friday night we swung by to see him. Eddy wasnt home, but we found one of the friends hes always drunk with. The friend was semi lucid so we talked to him for a few minutes and invited him to conference. He told us that we would definitely see him here (he didnt go) and that he would bring Eddy. Then the cool part. He also mentioned that Eddy hasnt been drinking for a while now. He goes, sits with his friends, refuses the offered drinks and just reads the BoM. Were not sure if its actually true as drunks arent the most reliable sources, but it sounds cool to us!
Funny stories!
So saturday I woke up at about 3am with intense stomach pains and nausea. I guess i ate something gross on accident and, as a result, I was down for the count all saturday and most of Sunday. I never vomited though(even though I really wanted to). On top of all that we still had to pass for our investigators to bring them to conference and it was a VERY hot day. Then after the first session, we had to hop on a bus down to San Pedro, the major city, so that my comp could do a baptismal interview and we passed the night there. I fought to stay awake during the sessions but finally gave out at the end of priesthood. It was rather miserable, but I still thoroughly enjoyed conference.
Also, while I was talking with an investigator I was abruptly hugged from behind by this super nasty stalker girl who...well lets just say she has very low moral standards. I clenched up like a clam and we booked it out of there pretty fast while my companion held in his giggles. I was pretty grossed out. Yay mission experiences. hahaha
Love you all! Have a great week!
Trampoline palace! Best Pday ever!! Dodge ball, foam pits, fighting thing, basketball hoops. SUPER cool. I took mostly videos but...here are a few photos.
That sounds amazing! Ian keeps telling about all the adventures Hes gonna take me on when I get back. Conference was EXCELLENT! I was very saddened to see the subtitles during Pres. Monson´s talk but still loved being able to hear from him. I was struck by multiple points of the conference. First, how much everyone expressed their love for the prophet. I felt it was more than ever which is needed given the rising opposition. Also, the importance of the Holy Ghost and good family gosepl teaching and examples. I felt like those were a big part of conference. Loved it! The bad part i will put in the big email. heh heh. Love you dad! Pray for me to stay focused this last transfer. Im doin pretty ok, but I wouldnt mind the extra help. :)
(General e-mail)
This week was.....
Well kind of pretty cool actually.
No amazing stories to share, but I do have some funny experiences.
So this week we had to drop ALOT of our investigators because....they dont do anything, but we have found some really cool people in our contacting efforts.
One cool experience actually. We have been teaching this guy name Eddy for a long time. He was a 24/7 drunk and although he really enjoyed church, a temple trip, and the Book of MOrmon, hes never been able to kick the rum. We havent visited him for some time, but friday night we swung by to see him. Eddy wasnt home, but we found one of the friends hes always drunk with. The friend was semi lucid so we talked to him for a few minutes and invited him to conference. He told us that we would definitely see him here (he didnt go) and that he would bring Eddy. Then the cool part. He also mentioned that Eddy hasnt been drinking for a while now. He goes, sits with his friends, refuses the offered drinks and just reads the BoM. Were not sure if its actually true as drunks arent the most reliable sources, but it sounds cool to us!
Funny stories!
So saturday I woke up at about 3am with intense stomach pains and nausea. I guess i ate something gross on accident and, as a result, I was down for the count all saturday and most of Sunday. I never vomited though(even though I really wanted to). On top of all that we still had to pass for our investigators to bring them to conference and it was a VERY hot day. Then after the first session, we had to hop on a bus down to San Pedro, the major city, so that my comp could do a baptismal interview and we passed the night there. I fought to stay awake during the sessions but finally gave out at the end of priesthood. It was rather miserable, but I still thoroughly enjoyed conference.
Also, while I was talking with an investigator I was abruptly hugged from behind by this super nasty stalker girl who...well lets just say she has very low moral standards. I clenched up like a clam and we booked it out of there pretty fast while my companion held in his giggles. I was pretty grossed out. Yay mission experiences. hahaha
Love you all! Have a great week!
Trampoline palace! Best Pday ever!! Dodge ball, foam pits, fighting thing, basketball hoops. SUPER cool. I took mostly videos but...here are a few photos.
Monday, March 27, 2017
27 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he counsels Christian to stay busy, talks about the crazy spring weather--rain, then snow, then 70 degree sunshine, Ian's budding new photography talent, Jason's upcoming assignment in Nigeria with Jami and the kids coming, and the new Thomson baby expected toward the end of the year, and finally the upcoming Book of Mormon Evidence conference in Orem the week following General Conference.)
Busy is right! Here in the DR the weather...is a bit different. The sun burns REALLY REALLY hot during the whole day, and then rains all night. Its been doing that for about a week now and...wow. HOT.
Funny, I never pictured Ian as a big photographer. Funny to see where life leads our interests.
Yeah, Jason told me about NIgeria and the baby! CRAZY!! And youll have to tell me about the BoM conference. Pumped for conference!!
Busy is right! Here in the DR the weather...is a bit different. The sun burns REALLY REALLY hot during the whole day, and then rains all night. Its been doing that for about a week now and...wow. HOT.
Funny, I never pictured Ian as a big photographer. Funny to see where life leads our interests.
Yeah, Jason told me about NIgeria and the baby! CRAZY!! And youll have to tell me about the BoM conference. Pumped for conference!!
(General e-mail)
Well I dont really know what to say this week. I always say I will write more...but then I run out of things to say. hahaha You all know that I shout in lots of doorways, ask tons of references and eat weird food. Im not really trunky, havin a great time and....yeah...missionary life.
Well in my personal study Ive really begun to develop a deep love for the Book of Mormon. Im moved by the stories and I always wish I had more time to read. Elder Anderson told us that that was one of the signs of a true conversion. Yay personal progress! (not the young womens program. ;))
The contreras family continues the same. They all came to church on sunday and always love our visits. We watched an old cartoon with them that some of you might remember! Living Scriptures, Lehis dream. Its very old, but I still love it and it helps to teach the principles. We are going to put a baptismal date with the daughters of the family for april as we still havent fixed their paperwork situation.
THis week we also started to see just how much help our branch needs. The members fight and bicker, our presidency doesnt/cant do anything and Im just kind of caught in the middle, doing what I can to help. We are praying alot to know how we can bless the branch, but...its hard. hahaha NEVER LOSE HOPE! WOO!
Anyway. Thats...pretty much it...I cant think of anything else woth mention except CONFERENCE THIS WEEKEND!!! The sad part is that our branch doesnt even have money to go to the district center to see it, and we cant really watch it in our chapel...We're workin on it. haha
Love you all!
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
20 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which Dad mentioned some medical seminars he's been to and suggested some alternative plans for college this fall.)
Hey dad! So thats awesome about all the seminars. Im always interested to learn new random things, but I dont think id understand it if you explained it to me. :P haha
As for school...I dont know! I thought I was certain, but now you are giving me new options i hadnt considered and Im confused. Ill give it thought and prayer this week, but we will see.
Also, as for the chat. I dont feel great about it (just to make it known and you dont think im being disobedient), but it is allowed and I only use it to check up on important things like college.
Love you Dad! If you guys as a family could do a little research into what the different schools offer, Id be very grateful (cus I dont ahve time nor permission to do it myself.) :) Love you!!
(General e-mail.)
Let me try and jot down a few notes for the week.
so...
Elder Anderson was AMAZING!! I got to shake his had as wellas those of a whole bunch of other 70s. The choir number was gorgeous and went off almost without a hitch.
Elder Anderson spoke in spanglish with some portoguese mixed in there as well. He also speaks french! Thought the whole thing I just kept feeling that this WAS a chosen apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Super spiritual.
The Contreras family continue being awesome, but we still havent been able to figure out their papers.
Not much news in other parts. All is well, Im out of time and will write more next week. Sorry these letters are so short!
Love you all!
Hey dad! So thats awesome about all the seminars. Im always interested to learn new random things, but I dont think id understand it if you explained it to me. :P haha
As for school...I dont know! I thought I was certain, but now you are giving me new options i hadnt considered and Im confused. Ill give it thought and prayer this week, but we will see.
Also, as for the chat. I dont feel great about it (just to make it known and you dont think im being disobedient), but it is allowed and I only use it to check up on important things like college.
Love you Dad! If you guys as a family could do a little research into what the different schools offer, Id be very grateful (cus I dont ahve time nor permission to do it myself.) :) Love you!!
(General e-mail.)
Let me try and jot down a few notes for the week.
so...
Elder Anderson was AMAZING!! I got to shake his had as wellas those of a whole bunch of other 70s. The choir number was gorgeous and went off almost without a hitch.
Elder Anderson spoke in spanglish with some portoguese mixed in there as well. He also speaks french! Thought the whole thing I just kept feeling that this WAS a chosen apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Super spiritual.
The Contreras family continue being awesome, but we still havent been able to figure out their papers.
Not much news in other parts. All is well, Im out of time and will write more next week. Sorry these letters are so short!
Love you all!
Monday, March 13, 2017
13 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared about some medical conferences he attended and asked whom Christian wants at the airport when he arrives. NOTE: "JJ" refers to "Jami and Jason".)
Lots of cool office things and medical terms I dont fully understand! Cool! Well, right off to answer you question about the Homecoming, Id MUCH rather have JJ there for my arrival. I wasnt very close with...anyone in the ward, so that really doesnt concern me. I pick Door A.
Dont worry Dad, That doesnt even make me trunky. Dave wrote me a really great letter today and Im gonna try alot harder to get focused and chartible in these last few months.
Love you dad! BA!
(General e-mail.)
Elder Anderson tomorrow!!!!! AAAAHHH!!!! EXCITEMENT!!!! Also, I get to sing in the special choir that we´re preparing! Front row seats and...we get to sing!!! For an apostle of the Lord!!!! AH!!!! Pumped.
Anyway, the week.
So it was a pretty normal week. Absolutely cruised by, but thats not abnormal. We´ve been finding ourselves doing an inordinate amount of walking as many appointments fall. Weekends here are a nightmare as everyone leaves our tiny field village and goes off to the big city to do real person things. The Contreras family are still awesome but...there´s a big problem with their marriage. We were trying to take out copies of the Birth Certificates but when we used Molly´s (the wife) ID to try, a man showed up in the system instead of her! Looks like the derpy dominican worker goofed on some numbers. So thats unfortunate. The cool part is that when we talked about it with Billy (the husband) on Sunday, he was pretty chill. He told us that he still wants to get baptized on the 18th and that he knows the Lord will do his work and provide a way to get them married and baptized. It seems he is developing an exceptional faith. :)
So apart from that we found a few new families! Of note we have a new man named Hector. We are teaching his whole family, but he stands out. We left a BoM with him to read, but then couldn´t return for like 2 weeks. We would calll him and talk and he would always tell us that he was reading and had lots of questions and the he REALLY wanted to talk to us about the BoM. When we finally went back yesterday, we finally discussed the book and he LOVED it. He accepted a baptismal date for April and seems very excited about everything we taught.
We also found several people who apparently used to go to church a bunch, but then stopped going for work and lost contact with the missionaries when transfers happened. After speaking with them, they seem very excited to come back to church and learn more! Yay blessings!
For normal life news, Ive decided Im going to apply to UVU for multiple reasons, among them many mission friends are going there, living with my Hermano Dave, and starting afresh in a new area. :)
Love you all!! Remember, God hears you and he loves you VERY much. BYE!
Lots of cool office things and medical terms I dont fully understand! Cool! Well, right off to answer you question about the Homecoming, Id MUCH rather have JJ there for my arrival. I wasnt very close with...anyone in the ward, so that really doesnt concern me. I pick Door A.
Dont worry Dad, That doesnt even make me trunky. Dave wrote me a really great letter today and Im gonna try alot harder to get focused and chartible in these last few months.
Love you dad! BA!
(General e-mail.)
Elder Anderson tomorrow!!!!! AAAAHHH!!!! EXCITEMENT!!!! Also, I get to sing in the special choir that we´re preparing! Front row seats and...we get to sing!!! For an apostle of the Lord!!!! AH!!!! Pumped.
Anyway, the week.
So it was a pretty normal week. Absolutely cruised by, but thats not abnormal. We´ve been finding ourselves doing an inordinate amount of walking as many appointments fall. Weekends here are a nightmare as everyone leaves our tiny field village and goes off to the big city to do real person things. The Contreras family are still awesome but...there´s a big problem with their marriage. We were trying to take out copies of the Birth Certificates but when we used Molly´s (the wife) ID to try, a man showed up in the system instead of her! Looks like the derpy dominican worker goofed on some numbers. So thats unfortunate. The cool part is that when we talked about it with Billy (the husband) on Sunday, he was pretty chill. He told us that he still wants to get baptized on the 18th and that he knows the Lord will do his work and provide a way to get them married and baptized. It seems he is developing an exceptional faith. :)
So apart from that we found a few new families! Of note we have a new man named Hector. We are teaching his whole family, but he stands out. We left a BoM with him to read, but then couldn´t return for like 2 weeks. We would calll him and talk and he would always tell us that he was reading and had lots of questions and the he REALLY wanted to talk to us about the BoM. When we finally went back yesterday, we finally discussed the book and he LOVED it. He accepted a baptismal date for April and seems very excited about everything we taught.
We also found several people who apparently used to go to church a bunch, but then stopped going for work and lost contact with the missionaries when transfers happened. After speaking with them, they seem very excited to come back to church and learn more! Yay blessings!
For normal life news, Ive decided Im going to apply to UVU for multiple reasons, among them many mission friends are going there, living with my Hermano Dave, and starting afresh in a new area. :)
Love you all!! Remember, God hears you and he loves you VERY much. BYE!
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
6 March 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared that he just got back from a seminar and will be heading to another one. Also how excited he is for General Conference next month.)
Another Seminar??? My goodness. Thou art a busy man. haha That sounds super awesome though! I am PUMPED for conference. Itll be my last in the mission which is SUPER weird, but oh well. Time passes.
(Response to brief note sharing that it was snowing here.)
Hey pops! Thats great! I miss snow....
I didnt get in to BYU FYI. THinking of going to UVU. Opinions?
(Response to Dad's e-mail, sharing his opinion that UVU is good, and so is USU, where Christian could be with Ian.)
Yeah, Ialso thought of USU, but at UVU I could still go and live with Dave.
Another Seminar??? My goodness. Thou art a busy man. haha That sounds super awesome though! I am PUMPED for conference. Itll be my last in the mission which is SUPER weird, but oh well. Time passes.
(Response to brief note sharing that it was snowing here.)
Hey pops! Thats great! I miss snow....
I didnt get in to BYU FYI. THinking of going to UVU. Opinions?
(Response to Dad's e-mail, sharing his opinion that UVU is good, and so is USU, where Christian could be with Ian.)
Yeah, Ialso thought of USU, but at UVU I could still go and live with Dave.
Ill take it to the temple on wednesday. Any personal thoughts?
(General e-mail)
Oh the Big letter.
So the week was normal as far as the work goes. I will add a few cool stories, but the majority of these come from study and other stuff.
So, the Contreras family. SUPER awesome. Billy the dad is helping the family alot to realize that this is the right decision. He always shares with them what he learns from the BoM. On wednesday we put a baptismal date with them for the 18 and also put a marriage date for the 11th. They dont have tons of money, but we talked about the faith and all we were in agreement that if God wants them to get married on the 11th, itll happen; as long as we do our part. It was a really awesome and spirit laiden lesson.
So apart from that, personal study experience! One day, I was sitting, wondering what I should study. I leafed through scriptures and liahonas, but nothing felt right. The Lord wanted me to study something else. I felt directed to a specific Liahona, picked it up and started to read. Soon, I found an article about when good plans go wrong, for young adults. It talks about a group of people who all have great, solid plans for the future, but all go awry. As I read it, I felt that the Lord was preparing me for something. Then, today I got a letter from BYU that I wasn´t accepted. I had received a direct answer in the temple that I should attend BYU, but the article helped me to understand that The Lord had other plans. For now. ;) So! We continue with more applications.
I received multiple witnesses this very day that God loves us and know exactly what is happening in our lives.
THis week, we are going to the temple!! My last with the mission. :\ Also, the date of Elder Andersons visit comes ever closer!
I will TRY to write more next week, but time just....grr.
I Dont have alot of time left, but I love you all! and time goes by too fast so enjoy every second!
Monday, February 27, 2017
27 February 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(General e-mail)
From one holiday to another! TOday is INDEPENDANCE DAY! Couple that with Carneval and you get one of the biggest drinking days and baby booms of the year! Also we have to stay in the house today after 6. THPT.
So...this week....
Well.
Umm...
I dunno it went by pretty fast. We didnt have any baptisms this month, so that was kinda sad, but we should have quite a few in march, God willing. We are seeing more and me conflict in our branch which we are trying to resolve with little success. We will see with our branch council tomorrow.
We do have a cool story with the contreras family though! We visited them on Saturday to talk about baptism and the gift of the holy ghost and also to ask if any felt prepared to be baptized the very next day.
They didnt.
The general answer was that they loved church but were just waiting for a little push from God to help them take the decision.
The cool part comes from our follow up visit yesterday. We had an EXCELLENT District conference which they attended (PRes. Corbitt gave a great talk about marriage and sealing and stuff. He invited several recently sealed couples up on the stand with him and they bore their testimonies. Swell.) and then we passed by in the afternoon. Only Billy (the father) was home so we talked with him about what he had been reading in the BoM. We had left Alma 32 that talks about faith and the seed and Billly had started to read it. He said it really marked his heart and he pretty much testified to us that his family was wrong. That they needed to first act on their faith and THEN the would receive the answer. He said that he was going to share it with his fam before our visit today. SUPER awesome.
I dont have alot more time, but transfers also happened. THe only change is that now my comp is District leader.
Woo! Love you all! Bye!
From one holiday to another! TOday is INDEPENDANCE DAY! Couple that with Carneval and you get one of the biggest drinking days and baby booms of the year! Also we have to stay in the house today after 6. THPT.
So...this week....
Well.
Umm...
I dunno it went by pretty fast. We didnt have any baptisms this month, so that was kinda sad, but we should have quite a few in march, God willing. We are seeing more and me conflict in our branch which we are trying to resolve with little success. We will see with our branch council tomorrow.
We do have a cool story with the contreras family though! We visited them on Saturday to talk about baptism and the gift of the holy ghost and also to ask if any felt prepared to be baptized the very next day.
They didnt.
The general answer was that they loved church but were just waiting for a little push from God to help them take the decision.
The cool part comes from our follow up visit yesterday. We had an EXCELLENT District conference which they attended (PRes. Corbitt gave a great talk about marriage and sealing and stuff. He invited several recently sealed couples up on the stand with him and they bore their testimonies. Swell.) and then we passed by in the afternoon. Only Billy (the father) was home so we talked with him about what he had been reading in the BoM. We had left Alma 32 that talks about faith and the seed and Billly had started to read it. He said it really marked his heart and he pretty much testified to us that his family was wrong. That they needed to first act on their faith and THEN the would receive the answer. He said that he was going to share it with his fam before our visit today. SUPER awesome.
I dont have alot more time, but transfers also happened. THe only change is that now my comp is District leader.
Woo! Love you all! Bye!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
20 February 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he mentioned that he and Ian went to a shooting range at Red Dot in Layton.)
Cool! I wanna go to red dot...Im so out of practice. I found my self trying to remember the drills the other day and failing tragically. Well I loved the study that you gave me. Very inspiring. My normal study of the BoM also took me through Msh 15 which explains how Jesus is both the Son and the Father. It was the first time I actually understood it! It also made me think how the process of baptism is how we subject ourselves to the will of our spirit as well as our Father. Super cool. Im super tired and cant concentrate nor remember much, but it was very enlightening.. Love you Dad!
(General e-mail)
Dear gathering of people who read these letters. I am very tired and feeling pretty spacey, so I wont write too much today.
SO! This week was pretty routine except for our totally awesome temple trip on Saturday. We went up with the Contreras family and another guy name Eddy. Eddy is a pretty cool guy with lots of questions and interest, but drinks A TON! He wakes up and starts drinking. Poor soul. They all loved the temple and we had a great experience. President Corbitt met us there and explained the sealing to the family and even to a small demonstration with them. We went down to the capital in a little van and sang hymns almost the whole way. We had invited tons of members and all said that for sure they were going and then....they didnt. haha.
We were also supposed to have the baptism of Javiel and Johnathan that night...but they didnt come. The engineer boss guy of their work showed up and made them work really late. We were freaking out, running everywhere searching for them, calling their phone (out of battery) all to no avail. They also didnt show up to church on Sunday. A little discouraging, but oh well.
Today was a very relaxed Pday. My companion went down to the capital with some other missionaries to play soccer and I stayed in San Pedro with the companions and ate mexican food.
Welll.....if I think of more stuff, I will right it. Love you all!
Our family at the temple!
Dominican Plumbing. We woke up one day with water all over our house and that of our downstairs neighbor. A plumber came over and....just...destroyed everything...trying to find a small leak in one of the pipes.
Cool! I wanna go to red dot...Im so out of practice. I found my self trying to remember the drills the other day and failing tragically. Well I loved the study that you gave me. Very inspiring. My normal study of the BoM also took me through Msh 15 which explains how Jesus is both the Son and the Father. It was the first time I actually understood it! It also made me think how the process of baptism is how we subject ourselves to the will of our spirit as well as our Father. Super cool. Im super tired and cant concentrate nor remember much, but it was very enlightening.. Love you Dad!
(General e-mail)
Dear gathering of people who read these letters. I am very tired and feeling pretty spacey, so I wont write too much today.
SO! This week was pretty routine except for our totally awesome temple trip on Saturday. We went up with the Contreras family and another guy name Eddy. Eddy is a pretty cool guy with lots of questions and interest, but drinks A TON! He wakes up and starts drinking. Poor soul. They all loved the temple and we had a great experience. President Corbitt met us there and explained the sealing to the family and even to a small demonstration with them. We went down to the capital in a little van and sang hymns almost the whole way. We had invited tons of members and all said that for sure they were going and then....they didnt. haha.
We were also supposed to have the baptism of Javiel and Johnathan that night...but they didnt come. The engineer boss guy of their work showed up and made them work really late. We were freaking out, running everywhere searching for them, calling their phone (out of battery) all to no avail. They also didnt show up to church on Sunday. A little discouraging, but oh well.
Today was a very relaxed Pday. My companion went down to the capital with some other missionaries to play soccer and I stayed in San Pedro with the companions and ate mexican food.
Welll.....if I think of more stuff, I will right it. Love you all!
Our family at the temple!
Dominican Plumbing. We woke up one day with water all over our house and that of our downstairs neighbor. A plumber came over and....just...destroyed everything...trying to find a small leak in one of the pipes.
Monday, February 13, 2017
13 February 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared that a neighbor, Gary Quiggly, recently died of a heart attack; that Dad prepared a lesson and recommended Christian read the associated chapters--Moses 6, D&C 93, and 2 Nephi 31--and a talk by President Packer mentioned previously; and that Dad will endure a ballet with Mom for Valentine's Day.)
I dont really remember who Gary Quiggly is, but that´s still sad. Give my condolances to the family.
I will definately take some time to study those chapters! and the talk!
Good luck with the Ballet. ;) Thats one kind of art that never called my attention as much. Take me to an opera or a musical...but a ballet? Ill pass.
THanks for your love and support Dad! The Lord is pouring out many blessings on us. :)
Love you!!
(General e-mail)
Feliz Dia de Amistades todos! Feliz Dia de San Valentino!
Happy Valentines Day!
Happy Singles Awareness Day everybody!
Okey, now that we´ve finished our introductions, here comes the news!!
So this week was pretty swell. It wasn´t too different in regard to the work itself, but still great. We walked A LOT. My fairly newly repaired hush puppy shoes are almost breaking again. haha yeah rural areas!
So a few highlights. This week we were walkin around San Carlos, a very distant part of our area, trying to visit some folks. All of our appointments fell through, so we decided to "knock" some doors! We passed by a very large, beautifully built house and saw an older gentlemen sitting on the front porch. My companion said we had to contact "that old catholic rich guy". So, we contacted the house. The old guy just kind of looked at us weird until his wife came out to the gate. She told us that her husband wasn´t going to want to talk to us, but we were welcome to try. Shrugging we entered. The wife shouted to the man, "These foreigners want to talk to you! Theyre foreigners like you!" As we approached the man kept kind of glaring at us until we sat down and started talking. His name is Antolin. He´s italian and actually turned out to be very nice and friendly, just not a huge fan of Dominicans. His wife was ecstatic that he was willing to share with us and even though Antolin is like 80 and doesnt seem to have alot of potential, we have a return date, more just to do service. Just our company like makes their day, especially when we sing.
Sunday!!
Okay, so we had a record breaking 9 investigators in church this week! Many blessings! Our family came, as well as Javiel and Johnathan (finally). All are excited to be baptized and the family continues telling us how much they like church and the classes. We also were honored with the visit of Eddy Mathews. Eddy is very well known in his piece of quisqueya...as a drunk. He goes to bed drunk and wakes up drunk and keeps drinkin. Hes very intelligent, just very depressed. Every pamphlet we leave, he reads and has questions ready. Even though we teach him drunk, he remembers everything. We talked about the word of wisdom and he said that he doesnt really want to drink, but does to keeps his problems at bay. He has also started reading the BoM and really likes it.
He has huge potential, just has to stop drinkin. He also loved church.
It has been pretty toasty these last few days and today has been raining on and off.
So yeah...that was our week. :) Lots of prayers for the Contreras family! We´re going to the temple with them on Saturday! Super excited!
Love you all! Have a great week!!
My sons...
(I found this jacket in the trash 😁)
A...flower.
And "The Eye of Faith" (see scrip. Reference)
Pday Doodling. I drew Ian. ;P
A FROGley family visit!
Suit material shopping.
Breakfast for lunch.
I dont really remember who Gary Quiggly is, but that´s still sad. Give my condolances to the family.
I will definately take some time to study those chapters! and the talk!
Good luck with the Ballet. ;) Thats one kind of art that never called my attention as much. Take me to an opera or a musical...but a ballet? Ill pass.
THanks for your love and support Dad! The Lord is pouring out many blessings on us. :)
Love you!!
(General e-mail)
Feliz Dia de Amistades todos! Feliz Dia de San Valentino!
Happy Valentines Day!
Happy Singles Awareness Day everybody!
Okey, now that we´ve finished our introductions, here comes the news!!
So this week was pretty swell. It wasn´t too different in regard to the work itself, but still great. We walked A LOT. My fairly newly repaired hush puppy shoes are almost breaking again. haha yeah rural areas!
So a few highlights. This week we were walkin around San Carlos, a very distant part of our area, trying to visit some folks. All of our appointments fell through, so we decided to "knock" some doors! We passed by a very large, beautifully built house and saw an older gentlemen sitting on the front porch. My companion said we had to contact "that old catholic rich guy". So, we contacted the house. The old guy just kind of looked at us weird until his wife came out to the gate. She told us that her husband wasn´t going to want to talk to us, but we were welcome to try. Shrugging we entered. The wife shouted to the man, "These foreigners want to talk to you! Theyre foreigners like you!" As we approached the man kept kind of glaring at us until we sat down and started talking. His name is Antolin. He´s italian and actually turned out to be very nice and friendly, just not a huge fan of Dominicans. His wife was ecstatic that he was willing to share with us and even though Antolin is like 80 and doesnt seem to have alot of potential, we have a return date, more just to do service. Just our company like makes their day, especially when we sing.
Sunday!!
Okay, so we had a record breaking 9 investigators in church this week! Many blessings! Our family came, as well as Javiel and Johnathan (finally). All are excited to be baptized and the family continues telling us how much they like church and the classes. We also were honored with the visit of Eddy Mathews. Eddy is very well known in his piece of quisqueya...as a drunk. He goes to bed drunk and wakes up drunk and keeps drinkin. Hes very intelligent, just very depressed. Every pamphlet we leave, he reads and has questions ready. Even though we teach him drunk, he remembers everything. We talked about the word of wisdom and he said that he doesnt really want to drink, but does to keeps his problems at bay. He has also started reading the BoM and really likes it.
He has huge potential, just has to stop drinkin. He also loved church.
It has been pretty toasty these last few days and today has been raining on and off.
So yeah...that was our week. :) Lots of prayers for the Contreras family! We´re going to the temple with them on Saturday! Super excited!
Love you all! Have a great week!!
My sons...
(I found this jacket in the trash 😁)
A...flower.
And "The Eye of Faith" (see scrip. Reference)
Pday Doodling. I drew Ian. ;P
A FROGley family visit!
Suit material shopping.
Breakfast for lunch.
Monday, February 6, 2017
6 February 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he talked about our trip to Texas for Addi's baptism, a boat ride in the bayou, and geo caching).
Down in the BAYOU! Yall eat sum frad gatuh?
Haha that sounds great dad! I remember when we used to go geocaching with Sammy and his dad.
That sleeping gorilla cracked me up. :P Its so weird that Addi is baptized! She is so huge! Caden and Carson as well! Quite bizarre.
Im doin alright. Im not gonna lie, I get a little trunky sometimes, but it doesnt affect my work. Its not like a longing to go home, but just thoughts of home. Usually Its just on pday or when Im sitting in bed, waiting to fall asleep, cus the rest of the day is much too busy.
All is well though! Love you dad! Have a swell week!
(General e-mail)
So this week...well....it was a week.
Nothing huge to report. A week of trabajo arduo [hard work]! So the highlight of this week is a new family we started teaching. We really started the week before, but this week was much better. They are Molly, Billy, Cresmaili, Crisbel, and Ceolis. A complete family who have a date for the 25th! Our lessons with them have been amazing and they are very prepared. The best part was the the whole family went to church on sunday and they said they really liked it! Molly (the mom) said that she when she receives her answer, she intends on diving in head first and completely immersing herself in the church. It was really cool. They are reading in the BoM as a family (yall dont know just how weird that is) and are understanding it. In our last visit with them, we were going to talk about the plan of salvation, but Molly randomly (not random) asked us a question. She expressed a doubt that one of here coworkers had brought up that the family was not forever and that all ties and relationships ended at death. We explained that an earthly judge only has authority on the earth and so that, following earthly laws, the family is a temporal thing. HOWEVER, we then proceeded to explain the blessings of the temple with priesthood authority and they LOVED it. We are planning a temple trip with them and President Corbitt for next Saturday. PUMPED!
Apart from them, nothing huge. My days are full of laughter (sometimes exasperated) thanks to my comp who is an absolute goof. :)
Also, on sunday I did my 2nd and 3rd confirmations. Its amazing to feel the Spirit truly guiding the blessing we give.
Javiel and Johnathan who were going to be baptized last month, still havent come back to church (curse you Satan!) because of work and family issues. They tell us that they are still on track to be baptized though.
A fun branch presidency story. So on sunday we were entering the tithes and offerings and one of the newer members didnt put in the slips of paper, so we didnt know if it was tithing or a fast offering. Our 2nds councilor told me to just put it in as tithing. I told him no, that we should wait till next week to ask the sister (we dont know where she lives, nor her phone number😁). Councilor number twos response was less than friendly. He obviously doesnt understand the order of the church. Haha woo primative church! Its a very interesting and great learning experience. Loving it! :D Love you all!
Have a great week!
Down in the BAYOU! Yall eat sum frad gatuh?
Haha that sounds great dad! I remember when we used to go geocaching with Sammy and his dad.
That sleeping gorilla cracked me up. :P Its so weird that Addi is baptized! She is so huge! Caden and Carson as well! Quite bizarre.
Im doin alright. Im not gonna lie, I get a little trunky sometimes, but it doesnt affect my work. Its not like a longing to go home, but just thoughts of home. Usually Its just on pday or when Im sitting in bed, waiting to fall asleep, cus the rest of the day is much too busy.
All is well though! Love you dad! Have a swell week!
(General e-mail)
So this week...well....it was a week.
Nothing huge to report. A week of trabajo arduo [hard work]! So the highlight of this week is a new family we started teaching. We really started the week before, but this week was much better. They are Molly, Billy, Cresmaili, Crisbel, and Ceolis. A complete family who have a date for the 25th! Our lessons with them have been amazing and they are very prepared. The best part was the the whole family went to church on sunday and they said they really liked it! Molly (the mom) said that she when she receives her answer, she intends on diving in head first and completely immersing herself in the church. It was really cool. They are reading in the BoM as a family (yall dont know just how weird that is) and are understanding it. In our last visit with them, we were going to talk about the plan of salvation, but Molly randomly (not random) asked us a question. She expressed a doubt that one of here coworkers had brought up that the family was not forever and that all ties and relationships ended at death. We explained that an earthly judge only has authority on the earth and so that, following earthly laws, the family is a temporal thing. HOWEVER, we then proceeded to explain the blessings of the temple with priesthood authority and they LOVED it. We are planning a temple trip with them and President Corbitt for next Saturday. PUMPED!
Apart from them, nothing huge. My days are full of laughter (sometimes exasperated) thanks to my comp who is an absolute goof. :)
Also, on sunday I did my 2nd and 3rd confirmations. Its amazing to feel the Spirit truly guiding the blessing we give.
Javiel and Johnathan who were going to be baptized last month, still havent come back to church (curse you Satan!) because of work and family issues. They tell us that they are still on track to be baptized though.
A fun branch presidency story. So on sunday we were entering the tithes and offerings and one of the newer members didnt put in the slips of paper, so we didnt know if it was tithing or a fast offering. Our 2nds councilor told me to just put it in as tithing. I told him no, that we should wait till next week to ask the sister (we dont know where she lives, nor her phone number😁). Councilor number twos response was less than friendly. He obviously doesnt understand the order of the church. Haha woo primative church! Its a very interesting and great learning experience. Loving it! :D Love you all!
Have a great week!
Monday, January 30, 2017
30 January 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which he shared about teaching Sunday School this past week, including the meaning of the word "Apocolypse" (revelation); also a quote from Boyd K. Packer:
Thats swell dad. I actually knew that about Apocolypse because in the spanish the book of Revelations is called Apocolipsis, so I looked it up in the BD. Super cool.
I can testify SO much of that quote. All of those things are a huge part of the very culture of this country. If you can find a quiet place without really loud music, motors and horns going 24/7, its a miracle. Weve noticed that all these things seem to come even more when we´re trying to share the first vision and during personal study. The enemy definately knows what he´s doing, but God has a greater, higher plan. :) Thanks Dad! Love you! and thank you for your counsel.
Baptismal font in the campo.
Look! I've been doodling!
Our average dinner: fried plantains and pineapple.
)
Inspiration comes more easily in peaceful settings. Such words as quiet, still, peaceable, Comforter abound in the scriptures. …
The world grows increasingly noisy. Clothing and grooming and conduct are looser and sloppier and more disheveled. Raucous music, with obscene lyrics blasted through amplifiers while lights flash psychedelic colors, characterizes the drug culture. Variations of these things are gaining wide acceptance and influence over our youth. …
This trend to more noise, more excitement, more contention, less restraint, less dignity, less formality is not coincidental nor innocent nor harmless.
The first order issued by a commander mounting a military invasion is the jamming of the channels of communication of those he intends to conquer.
Irreverence suits the purposes of the adversary by obstructing the delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 27–28; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 21–22).
Thats swell dad. I actually knew that about Apocolypse because in the spanish the book of Revelations is called Apocolipsis, so I looked it up in the BD. Super cool.
I can testify SO much of that quote. All of those things are a huge part of the very culture of this country. If you can find a quiet place without really loud music, motors and horns going 24/7, its a miracle. Weve noticed that all these things seem to come even more when we´re trying to share the first vision and during personal study. The enemy definately knows what he´s doing, but God has a greater, higher plan. :) Thanks Dad! Love you! and thank you for your counsel.
(General e-mail)
Well...
What to say of this week. To start off...um....
Well we had special missionary transmission on wednesday where we listened to several apostles and 70 in council about missionary work. It was superb and very inspiring. They spoke of the importance of repentence and that we should not move so quickly to baptism without teaching the essential and truly life changing doctrine of repentence. They also announced a change in the world wide missionary schedule! We will now have an extra 30 minutes in the morning and at night for preperation and eating and stuff. Also, Pday officially starts at 8 instead of 10. Anyone who isnt serving or hasnt served a mission might not think that thats a big deal. Trust me, it is. The morning is always a mad dash to try and get things done and shovel some food down before abruptly diving into personal study, and the night is the same way because we dont have time for dinner during proselyting time. We have to squeeze in something small before 10:30.
Apart from that, we saw alot of opposition and miracles this week. We had two baptisms, that of Angel and Julio, both of which were a miracle. Sons of a less active family. To be baptized this month and complete our goal, they had to come to church on sunday. When we got to their house to pick them up, THEY WERENT THERE! Their parents told us that they were in some neighboring campo (field/town) and wouldn´t be back till monday. Apparently they had forgotten the date,them as well as their parents. Upon reminding the mother, she went into a panic, calling the father to go quick on his motorcycle to find them. We then sprinted off to find Javiel and Johnathan who were also preparing to be baptized that day. When we got to their house, they werent there either! We were slightly frantic at this point and Javiel wasnt answering his phone. The night before we´d ahd their interview and everything had gone well, but Javiel told us that his boss had called him to work on sunday. We reviewed the Sabbath day and promised him that if he didnt go, God would recompense his sacrifice. He agreed. (that is SUPER weird here. NOBODY blows off work. Work is their god pretty much.) However, the following morning (sunday), his boss came to his door step to take him off to work and he went.
We were not very happy with him, but encouraged him to prepare to be baptized in February.
We ended the month with 3 baptisms in the area, 32 in the zone (new record) and we will see in the mission. The huge goal and vision has been 300 and we´ve had multiple records broken so far, but we wont know for sure until wednesday.
In a different lesson, we had an investigator practically quote 3 Nephi 11 to us. He loved it, but still hasnt received an answer to his BoM question. (supposedly.😑) haha
Also, today the President sent out what is called "the Dead Man Quiz" or "Farewell Questionaire". It asks a whole bunch of questions about the future and how we´re going to prepare for it. Do I have to...?
Love you family!!....and friends!
Baptism! There was actually another one, but I don't have the pictures on this memory.
Baptismal font in the campo.
Look! I've been doodling!
Our average dinner: fried plantains and pineapple.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
23 January 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail from last week, in which he mentioned a lot, including Ian dating a wonderful young woman who lives in Logan, Mom and Dad's wood-burning stove in the basement of the Layton house and corn-burning stove in the basement of the Bettendorf house, and being excited to hear whether or not Christian is accepted to BYU.)
Lots of info! Thats really cool about Ian, especially his new lady. i haven't heard anything about her, but it sounds like she's the one. If she hasn't fallen all over him than she has my approval. Haha I totally forgot about our stove in the basement. The corn one i remember of course, but the wood one had slipped my mind. Yeah, Ill know about BYU in february. Excited!! Also, Had round 2 with the dentist today. In total with the filling and the new grind guard, it will be about 150 dollars. I already took it out of my account and will pay on thursday. I think it might be a good idea to not put more in my account just so Im not tempted to buy unnecessary things. Speaking of unnecessary things...haha So i know the end of the mission is a little far off still, but I would like to ask permission to get a "Dead Man Suit". You can get a really nice custom suit here for about 80 dollars and its a missionary tradition to get one done before your death. That would pretty much be my only dominican souvenir. I can even get one for you if you want! haha I love you Dad!! Have a great week!
(Response to Dad's e-mail this week, in which he talked about teaching the gospel doctrine lesson regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, including some fascinating details about how Joseph did that, about the baptism of Jami and Jason's daughter Addi, and Ian and Christian's friend Kolten getting engaged.)
Yeah, I already knew that about the translation. I read that in the Liahona almost a year ago. Pretty cool stuff. Addi is getting baptized!!! Oh my lanta!! That is CRAZY! and kolten engaged! Well that wasnt that surprising actually. Haha thanks Dad! Love you!!
(General e-mail)
Well another week has come and gone family and friends! Time flies. So this week was pretty cool! First, I got my new companion, Elder Barbosa. He's from Amazonas, Brazil. He's 26 and has almost 2 years in the church and 8 months in the mission. He loves to talk and joke around. A really great guy. Sometimes he speaks in Portuguese to me, and it sounds SO strange. I can understand most of it though.
In regards to the work, this week we saw opposition and also miracles!! I dont have tons of time ( I had to go to the dentist again...), but I will include what I can. So opposition. We had several really firm baptismal dates that randomly and unforeseeably fell. Two kids that went off to their moms house in the last minute and a young woman whose mom got sick and our investigator, Melody, had to stay at home to take care the mom. BUT we did get baptize Melody's little brother, Alexander on Saturday!! Definately a miracle. One of Alexanders friends went to his baptism and now also wants to get baptized. We even asked his mom for permission on his own. Other miracles...
We were contacting on thursday and felt prompted to go down a street I'd never been down before. We strolled down it and I felt a bit confused because all the doors were closed. Then, a bout halfway down, we saw a young man just leaving his house. We greeted him and contacted him at once. He was very friendly and we put a return date for the next day. On friday, we passed by and had a great lesson with Javiel and Johnathan. They both have attended church before and accepted baptismal dates for the 29th! They both went to church on Sunday and promised to go every week from now on! WOO! There are more details I'd like to share, but I gotta get goin. Love you all! THe Lord does His Work!!
Lots of info! Thats really cool about Ian, especially his new lady. i haven't heard anything about her, but it sounds like she's the one. If she hasn't fallen all over him than she has my approval. Haha I totally forgot about our stove in the basement. The corn one i remember of course, but the wood one had slipped my mind. Yeah, Ill know about BYU in february. Excited!! Also, Had round 2 with the dentist today. In total with the filling and the new grind guard, it will be about 150 dollars. I already took it out of my account and will pay on thursday. I think it might be a good idea to not put more in my account just so Im not tempted to buy unnecessary things. Speaking of unnecessary things...haha So i know the end of the mission is a little far off still, but I would like to ask permission to get a "Dead Man Suit". You can get a really nice custom suit here for about 80 dollars and its a missionary tradition to get one done before your death. That would pretty much be my only dominican souvenir. I can even get one for you if you want! haha I love you Dad!! Have a great week!
(Response to Dad's e-mail this week, in which he talked about teaching the gospel doctrine lesson regarding the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, including some fascinating details about how Joseph did that, about the baptism of Jami and Jason's daughter Addi, and Ian and Christian's friend Kolten getting engaged.)
Yeah, I already knew that about the translation. I read that in the Liahona almost a year ago. Pretty cool stuff. Addi is getting baptized!!! Oh my lanta!! That is CRAZY! and kolten engaged! Well that wasnt that surprising actually. Haha thanks Dad! Love you!!
(General e-mail)
Well another week has come and gone family and friends! Time flies. So this week was pretty cool! First, I got my new companion, Elder Barbosa. He's from Amazonas, Brazil. He's 26 and has almost 2 years in the church and 8 months in the mission. He loves to talk and joke around. A really great guy. Sometimes he speaks in Portuguese to me, and it sounds SO strange. I can understand most of it though.
In regards to the work, this week we saw opposition and also miracles!! I dont have tons of time ( I had to go to the dentist again...), but I will include what I can. So opposition. We had several really firm baptismal dates that randomly and unforeseeably fell. Two kids that went off to their moms house in the last minute and a young woman whose mom got sick and our investigator, Melody, had to stay at home to take care the mom. BUT we did get baptize Melody's little brother, Alexander on Saturday!! Definately a miracle. One of Alexanders friends went to his baptism and now also wants to get baptized. We even asked his mom for permission on his own. Other miracles...
We were contacting on thursday and felt prompted to go down a street I'd never been down before. We strolled down it and I felt a bit confused because all the doors were closed. Then, a bout halfway down, we saw a young man just leaving his house. We greeted him and contacted him at once. He was very friendly and we put a return date for the next day. On friday, we passed by and had a great lesson with Javiel and Johnathan. They both have attended church before and accepted baptismal dates for the 29th! They both went to church on Sunday and promised to go every week from now on! WOO! There are more details I'd like to share, but I gotta get goin. Love you all! THe Lord does His Work!!
Monday, January 16, 2017
16 January 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(General e-mail)
Yep, 6 weeks have already passed so its that time again! Im staying in Quisqueya which is looking to be my grave. My comp is headin home, finishing his mini mission and I am recieving Elder Barbosa from Brazil. Hes strait from the Amazon and looks alot like Johnny Depp. Im being bumped down to junior companion to help my companion progress and learn
So this week was cool. We saw alot of progress in our Investigators and we put a few new dates. The week itself was pretty normal except for Friday when I got called into the office to help organize and give council in transfers. That was pretty cool. While I was gone, my companion worked with some other missionaries in our area and ended up putting a date with a young girl named Melody. The is the sister of one of our people with a Bap. date and daughter of a less active. She just barely got back from vacations so we jumped on the oppurtunity. She didnt go to church on sunday, so we had to move her date, but she will definately be baptized this month.
So on sunday we had a special satelite conference with Elder Anderson which was super cool. He talked about the current Carribean theme which is putting goals using our faith in Chist. Our adult investigator that attended (Radames, who is dropping cigarrettes) loved it as we had already talked about that with him.
Apart from that....It was pretty much the normal week! Oh, shoot almost forgot. This sunday Im going to be called as the 1st councilor in our branch! So...thats fun! Not really sure what to do, but I know the Lord will guide me in what He needs me to do.
Love you all! Dont get trunky Mom! ;)
-Elder Frogley
Hey parents. So...I made a decision and there wasnt time to consult with you guys. I hope its ok, but I pulled out a bit of personal money to help out a member. He was pretty much dying for lack of food and is a painter so had I had him make a small paining as well as painting shirts for my companion and I. It was only about 25 dollars, but it helped him out alot by giving him work.
Basketball (I didnt play. We got there late. :D)
And a small piece of my area. The world just ends and becomes sugar cane.
Yep, 6 weeks have already passed so its that time again! Im staying in Quisqueya which is looking to be my grave. My comp is headin home, finishing his mini mission and I am recieving Elder Barbosa from Brazil. Hes strait from the Amazon and looks alot like Johnny Depp. Im being bumped down to junior companion to help my companion progress and learn
So this week was cool. We saw alot of progress in our Investigators and we put a few new dates. The week itself was pretty normal except for Friday when I got called into the office to help organize and give council in transfers. That was pretty cool. While I was gone, my companion worked with some other missionaries in our area and ended up putting a date with a young girl named Melody. The is the sister of one of our people with a Bap. date and daughter of a less active. She just barely got back from vacations so we jumped on the oppurtunity. She didnt go to church on sunday, so we had to move her date, but she will definately be baptized this month.
So on sunday we had a special satelite conference with Elder Anderson which was super cool. He talked about the current Carribean theme which is putting goals using our faith in Chist. Our adult investigator that attended (Radames, who is dropping cigarrettes) loved it as we had already talked about that with him.
Apart from that....It was pretty much the normal week! Oh, shoot almost forgot. This sunday Im going to be called as the 1st councilor in our branch! So...thats fun! Not really sure what to do, but I know the Lord will guide me in what He needs me to do.
Love you all! Dont get trunky Mom! ;)
-Elder Frogley
Hey parents. So...I made a decision and there wasnt time to consult with you guys. I hope its ok, but I pulled out a bit of personal money to help out a member. He was pretty much dying for lack of food and is a painter so had I had him make a small paining as well as painting shirts for my companion and I. It was only about 25 dollars, but it helped him out alot by giving him work.
Basketball (I didnt play. We got there late. :D)
And a small piece of my area. The world just ends and becomes sugar cane.
Monday, January 9, 2017
9 January 2017 - Quisqueya (San Pedro de Macoris)
(Response to Dad's e-mail, in which Dad shared that he has a new patient--former Elder McGuire, who knew Christian in the Dominican Republic, and who taught Saturday morning English classes with Christian. Also Dad converted all the old DV8 tapes to DVD, so he and Mom have been watching all our old home movies. Also, unfortunately, Christian will not be able to go on the Church History tour the Burkes invited him on, which is sad.)
ELder McGuire! He´s a great guy! Yes, we taught together each saturday. We pretty much got dragged into teaching the class, but it was fun, if a bit stressful. We went every saturday morning and I taught the youth class. THats kind of hard here cus half the class is just there to try and flirt with the american teachers, but apparently there was success. I wrote about the big graduation ceremony we had, and as part of that, I sang a special musical number of Rock of Ages in english and spanish. Everyone was very complimentary.
Thats cool about the DVDs. Im excited to watch them, that sounds like alot of fun! Now we just need to find all those older photos and things from like 2005 and forward. Everything is great! Love you dad! And I totally understand about the Tour thing. Super excited about the family reunion. LOVE YOU!
(General e-mail)
Y aconteció que en el primer mes del terser ano del reino de Elder Frogley, había muchas contenciones entre el pueblo. Sin embargo, los misioneros trabajaban con toda diligencia, exoratando el pueblo de Dios a asistir la SHOOT DERN iglesia. Como resulto de sus esfuerzos, 34 almas volvieron a la casa de oración para ofrecer sus sacramentos ante el Senor.
For those of you who dont speak Spanish like us cool kids (gives Dave and Jason a fist bump)(I know there are spelling errors but my computer is dumb and wont let me go back and fix them without rewriting the whole letter), We finally got our attendance back up in church! After having two weeks of an average of 10 people, we had 34 this week! And four of them were investigators! One, a new, slightly elderly couple named Hector and Josefa, are totally fantastic! We didnt even have to call them to remind them! They said that they loved it and will definately be going next week. We also had a young man named Yoel attend with us. He is a total tig (like a street thug pretty much) but he is very interested in the gospel and is preparing for baptism on the 28th. He also liked church.
So church itself this week was very interesting. My comp, who only has 8 months as a member, had to give a talk and he was SUPER nervous. He did a good job though. After all the speakers had finished, we still had about 15 minutes left of the meeting so our second councilor (hes a total bumb) gets up and announces that "The next and final speaker will be Elder Frogley." I had about 5 seconds to hurriedly think of a topic, search for scriptures and get up there. I talked abou tthe importance of reverence in the meetings, especially before sacrament meeting. (Our branch and the majority of the republic has a HUGE problem with that.) Everyone told me I did a great job though. haha. After that All the teachers rushed me complaining how they hadnt received this years teaching manual and asking me to print out that weeks lesson. After doing so, the first councilor informed me that I would be teaching he Youth Sunday school. THus, I printed out that lesson as well and taught our small group of youth. Then as we entered priesthood meeting (there are about 5 people) our first councilor told us that we would also be teaching the priesthood class with a double lesson, including the first two chapters of the manual.(more printing)
Needless to say, I was slightly hoarse after church.
As for the rest of the week, it was pretty good. My companion has been pretty moody lately, but honestly Im getting used to people like that. (Dont worry mom he doesnt have a knife ;)) We have right now, 10 people with a baptismal date, but alot of them have problems getting to church. Next week they will come though. ;)
Well, I love you all! Thanks for all your support!!
P.S. All the times I said 1st councilor, I actually meant 2nd. There is no first councilor. HA!
ELder McGuire! He´s a great guy! Yes, we taught together each saturday. We pretty much got dragged into teaching the class, but it was fun, if a bit stressful. We went every saturday morning and I taught the youth class. THats kind of hard here cus half the class is just there to try and flirt with the american teachers, but apparently there was success. I wrote about the big graduation ceremony we had, and as part of that, I sang a special musical number of Rock of Ages in english and spanish. Everyone was very complimentary.
Thats cool about the DVDs. Im excited to watch them, that sounds like alot of fun! Now we just need to find all those older photos and things from like 2005 and forward. Everything is great! Love you dad! And I totally understand about the Tour thing. Super excited about the family reunion. LOVE YOU!
(General e-mail)
Y aconteció que en el primer mes del terser ano del reino de Elder Frogley, había muchas contenciones entre el pueblo. Sin embargo, los misioneros trabajaban con toda diligencia, exoratando el pueblo de Dios a asistir la SHOOT DERN iglesia. Como resulto de sus esfuerzos, 34 almas volvieron a la casa de oración para ofrecer sus sacramentos ante el Senor.
For those of you who dont speak Spanish like us cool kids (gives Dave and Jason a fist bump)(I know there are spelling errors but my computer is dumb and wont let me go back and fix them without rewriting the whole letter), We finally got our attendance back up in church! After having two weeks of an average of 10 people, we had 34 this week! And four of them were investigators! One, a new, slightly elderly couple named Hector and Josefa, are totally fantastic! We didnt even have to call them to remind them! They said that they loved it and will definately be going next week. We also had a young man named Yoel attend with us. He is a total tig (like a street thug pretty much) but he is very interested in the gospel and is preparing for baptism on the 28th. He also liked church.
So church itself this week was very interesting. My comp, who only has 8 months as a member, had to give a talk and he was SUPER nervous. He did a good job though. After all the speakers had finished, we still had about 15 minutes left of the meeting so our second councilor (hes a total bumb) gets up and announces that "The next and final speaker will be Elder Frogley." I had about 5 seconds to hurriedly think of a topic, search for scriptures and get up there. I talked abou tthe importance of reverence in the meetings, especially before sacrament meeting. (Our branch and the majority of the republic has a HUGE problem with that.) Everyone told me I did a great job though. haha. After that All the teachers rushed me complaining how they hadnt received this years teaching manual and asking me to print out that weeks lesson. After doing so, the first councilor informed me that I would be teaching he Youth Sunday school. THus, I printed out that lesson as well and taught our small group of youth. Then as we entered priesthood meeting (there are about 5 people) our first councilor told us that we would also be teaching the priesthood class with a double lesson, including the first two chapters of the manual.(more printing)
Needless to say, I was slightly hoarse after church.
As for the rest of the week, it was pretty good. My companion has been pretty moody lately, but honestly Im getting used to people like that. (Dont worry mom he doesnt have a knife ;)) We have right now, 10 people with a baptismal date, but alot of them have problems getting to church. Next week they will come though. ;)
Well, I love you all! Thanks for all your support!!
P.S. All the times I said 1st councilor, I actually meant 2nd. There is no first councilor. HA!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)