September Update

Here is a summary of September emails from Shaun:

9/10

Hey Fam.

This week was pretty normal but also had its greatness. We had our interview with the President on Wednesday and went on splits with the assistants on Friday. The president is great... It was a little hard this week with finding new investigators, this week there was 1. and having lessons. I’m still looking for the key to getting the members exited to always have missionary work like the Pharisees had scriptures "on the front of their head. Anyway the greatness of this week was that the Amaro Family is like a sponge, to all the good. They blessed the Sacrament this week and it went great, they also came to the service project where we hauled all the logs and rake the dirt road around the chapel and take care of the dead dogs that people threw out ha-ha what an experience :) oh it’s great. There’s really nothing new so I’m going to have to leave it with that... Love you!

9/17  I’m a Cougar!

Hey so I’m a Cougar! (He’s officially enrolled at BYU) That’s sweet. Hey what religion class would be best? I think it would be fun to master the book of Mormon, but it would also be awesome to have a new or old testament class!

There’s really nothing new here in my Area. We are struggling a lot to find new investigators... We don’t have any baptismal dates at the moment, and it’s been a little difficult lately. I’ll ask that you also keep me in your prayers.

I found out a mission "secret" but I think you already know... they told me that they called all the parents (not us) and let them know. I hear they have plans to send us home the 14th of December (instead of the 19^th)... just wanted to make sure you knew... or had heard something about it.

9/24                       What a Mish

So the news this week is that we went to the offices cause my companion had an interview with the president before he goes home, and immediately after the assistant, being in the offices, gave us our changes. Well it turns out that they decided to change me as well, so we have the homework of leaving the area nice and clean. They are going to enjoy the ward, and sincerely love it... as I have enjoyed it and sincerely loved it. It’s been a super great opportunity to learn what not to do and to learn what to do in a ward and in a calling. There are wonderful people here and it’s going to be a hoot where I’m going. Sounds like it’s another tiny ward, and my companion is going to be Elder Robbins an American. It’s actually really close to where I am at right now. Like five minutes away, so it’s still here in the city...

I’m excited to continue serving others and finding ways to help them strengthen their relationship with our heavenly father. It’s amazing the experiences one has on the mission. It rained crazy hard this week and I got crazy wet. It’s starting rainy season and I’m excited to not have another summer in Monterrey ha-ha, it gets hot.

Elder Rhodes

Clean Sweep

Email from 9/2/12

The Amaro Family is progressing wonderfully. We had a family home evening last night and it went wonderfully. The father and the son received the Aaronic priesthood in the office of priest and then went to a priesthood conference on Sunday Night. Actually the dad received the Priesthood and then ordained his son. It was a special experience and its fun to see their excitement as they learn even more. Asking questions like "and you guys carry your oil with you?" cause that’s what they recommend that all priesthood holders do! And Asking "How soon can I give priesthood blessings to my sons?" Those are like magic candy words flowing out of a converts mouth :) 

My greatest experience of the week was that of re-living my at-home Friday afternoon naptime dejavu. You know... the program you put on TV just to have something in the background to fall asleep to. Anyway sometimes it was golf that I put on because they whisper which makes it just wonderful for someone who really doesn’t want to watch golf but wants to take a nap, but other times I put on the show "Clean Sweep" the show where they go into a nasty pack rats home and throws away all their worthless junk. The show where the overweight single mom is crying cause she already chose twenty items to put into her kitchen and has to part with her mickey mouse salt shaker that her great-grandmother gave her. Anyway... I relived this show because we went on exchanges with an area in our zone. I got to the house and on stepping inside... the smell of rotten grease water and wet curtains came over me. It really like took my breath away. I couldn’t believe that missionaries could live in this place. The companionship was having a few problems and I would think "well of course, who wouldn’t living in such a disgusting house?" anyway we got to the house after a good day of missionary work and I got to work on the kitchen. Didn’t get that cleaned up when it was already ten thirty... so I made plans with the elder to get up early and spend the morning cleaning. From 5:30 till 10:00 we worked to get everything organized and that which wasn’t used thrown away. I was scared of contracting some type of contagious swamp and cockroach disease but after all was finished I took mental before and after pictures. The garbage men passed by and were definitely exited to find little treasures like a grease covered ten year old hot wheels car out of the eight full large black garbage bags. I was extremely tired afterwards but felt very fulfilled. I love service...

Elder Rhodes

Fall is coming

Hi

The week has been a good one. We had District Meeting and talked about how to relax as a missionary. Even in myself, I have noticed that sometimes I get all worked up when things don’t work out or are slow, but the best way to overcome that is to take a few deep breaths, think of a good joke or something and relax. It’s a good skill to learn as a missionary and also in everyday life. Life is in the little moments, and we need to learn to enjoy them.

Turku is a sweet city and this week was "Turku day" which led to a whole bunch of sweet festivities throughout the whole week. They had some dudes skateboarding, some people were spray painting, some were juggling, there was even a band playing. We couldn’t exactly participate in everything, but it was still sweet to walk by and see what they had going on. Turku believes a lot in cultural diversity and so a lot of it was related to that. It was cool.

Vanhin Nilsson and I have been playing a lot of tennis. We wake up and 5:45 and go play. It has been a ton of fun because we are so even. It has been great having a companion who likes sports as much as I do. The only downer is that it is getting darker and colder.... Once again, winter is on its way.

Fall is coming. It is weird to me because it seems like summer had just started. Time seems to be flying faster than usual. But I really love the feeling of fall here in Finland. You can already see the differences in the trees and pretty soon here the ole winter coat will have to come back from retirement. It will be like reuniting with an old friend, an old friend that was always a slight pain but a friend nonetheless.  The Mission President just dropped the hammer on us wearing our suit coats all the time. I am currently wearing my suitcoat. He said that we have to wear them in winter and even the summer. It sounds wimpy to say that it gets hot in Finland when its 75, but when you get used to -25, 75 seems like straight fire.

We had a straight outta Bible belt Bible bash the other day. One of the guys was from Texas and a former Baptist and the other guy was an African 7th Day Adventist. I would be lying to you if I said that I enjoyed it very much. I would also be lying to you if I said that the discussion led any where useful on either side. But I wouldn’t be lying to you if I said that we probably won’t be going back there anytime soon...

It was a good week. I’m thankful for all of you and am happy that you all seem to be doing well. We have a lot of blessings.

Love you all.

Vanhin Merkley

Elders Galore!

Investigators in Oaxaca

This week was a good first week of the change. Elder Hales and I worked together and also I was with Elder Eldridge for a day. He was in my district in the mtc. It was great to spend time with him and talk about the changes we have made and enjoy the work together. He is really a great guy. As for breaking news this week, there isnt much. The work is going well, and there are people who are ready to hear the gospel. If all goes as planned, Patricia will be baptized this Saturday and Nayeli on the 22nd of September. I believe I already told you about them 2. They have both stopped drinking coffee and are really making an effort to prepare for their baptisms. Its really a beautiful thing to be a part of. This week I was again awakened to how young and undeveloped the church is here. There are many simple things that the church has in Utah that are missing here. However, the work continues to go forth, as prophesied. This coming week will be an exciting one. We have a big family home evening planned for tonight, on Wednesday we have a multi zone conference of missionaries, on Friday we have a Noche Mexicana for the whole stake(Mexican Night celebrating the 16th of September, Mexicos Independence Day. Traditional dances, food, etc.), and Saturday Pati will be baptized. Last night it rained a good amount and today we enjoyed the coolness while washing our clothes. I am loving Juchitan and the people here. Really not much to report. Next week Im sure there will be good pictures and stories to send from the busy week. Also this week I will return to Union Hidalgo, land of the beautiful women as they call it here haha. Know that I love you all. The gospel is true. Take care of yourselves.

Looking forward to General Conference

Getting excited for conference? This week was a good first week of the change. Elder Hales and I worked together and also I was with Elder Eldridge for a day. He was in my district in the mtc. It was great to spend time with him and talk about the changes we have made and enjoy the work together. He is really a great guy. As for breaking news this week, there isnt much. The work is going well, and there are people who are ready to hear the gospel. If all goes as planned, Patricia will be baptized this Saturday and Nayeli on the 22nd of September. I believe I already told you about them 2. They have both stopped drinking coffee and are really making an effort to prepare for their baptisms. Its really a beautiful thing to be a part of. This week I was again awakened to how young and undeveloped the church is here. There are many simple things that the church has in Utah that are missing here. However, the work continues to go forth, as prophesied. This coming week will be an exciting one. We have a big family home evening planned for tonight, on Wednesday we have a multi zone conference of missionaries, on Friday we have a Noche Mexicana for the whole stake(Mexican Night celebrating the 16th of September, Mexicos Independence Day. Traditional dances, food, etc.), and Saturday Pati will be baptized. Last night it rained a good amount and today we enjoyed the coolness while washing our clothes. I am loving Juchitan and the people here. Really not much to report. Next week Im sure there will be good pictures and stories to send from the busy week. Also this week I will return to Union Hidalgo, land of the beautiful women as they call it here haha. Know that I love you all. The gospel is true. Take care of yourselves. Love,Elder Millet

Taylor Eating Again...

Taylor Eating Dinner

Union Hidalgo Mexico

When entering Union Hidalgo (a small town outside of Juchitan), the traveler is welcomed in by a large sign that says "la tierra de las mujeres bonitas", which translated means land of beautiful women. This week we were headed to Union Hidalgo in an old bus (or just poorly kept) and a man in a silk dress shirt got on. He opened his Bible and began sharing the story of Noe. The religious culture here is quite diverse and causes much confusion. But this week my companion and I tried, as counseled in the book "Our Search For Happiness", to focus more on the things that unite us than those that divide us. Often a difficult thing to do, but it was helpful this week. This week was really good here in Zapandu. There was lots of work to do and there was a baptism in the area of a guy named Said. He is my same age but hes a monster (which is very rare to see here in Oaxaca, most people are chaparritas-short) He was convinced from the very beginning and is determined to do his best. He also proposed to his girlfriend on Thursday but their date is in 2 years. He hopes that they are both members by that time and can be sealed in the temple. This week is the last of this transfer, and I have been here for 3 transfers (about 4 months). I have never been in an area for longer than 3 transfers, but we will see what happens this time. All is going well. I have been with Elder Hales (from Santaquin Utah) for about 3 months and we get along well. There is lots of work to be done and I hope to know how to manage it all and be able to focus on the most important of it all. A few sisters in the ward have recently expressed concern for their husbands and their inactivity in the church. I have seen this situation too many times to count in my mission. The church here is in need of worthy men who support their wives and family in their efforts to be faithful. The church is growing and this will be part of our focus - families.

Hello to all!

Greetings. We are here in the city, just finishing up a great P-day. We had our Zone Leader Council and it was incredible. President Madariaga always helps us to always leave meetings with him ready to change. He talked a lot on what we need to "become", not just "know and do". It was very special and feel even more dedicated to the work.

We had many investigators attend the baptismal service, one of them being our investigator that is awesome, super intelligent, but had many doubts. In the baptismal service, he said that he felt a strong impression that what was being performed was true. It made us feel so happy that not only he felt an answer from God, but that he regonized it! He still has many doubts, but we are working hard with him.

Elder Colligan and I are having a great time. We are learning to cook a lot better. Elder Colligan made some great sloppy joe things without even using any sloppy joe mix! Unfortunately it made me kind of sick, but hey, the effort was what counted.

This is a really special area. It has a lot of great history. Unfortunately, it also has some not-so-good-history, due to rumors, lies, and every other things Satan tries to put in the way of the Lords work. That has impeded many people from coming to church. We just got a new Branch President who is great and has helped with a lot of reactivation work. It is great to be here. I just wanted to make a quick passing comment on how important it is to support the leaders that the Lord has called in our wards, stakes, all the way up to the First Presidency and Quorom of the 12 Apostles. We must support them not just vocally or with the raise of the right hand, but sincerely in our hearts support them, pray for them, not talk bad about them, even when others are. I am reminded of my favorite lyric from one of my favorite songs. "Who am I to judge another, when I walk imperfectly? When the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye cant see? Who am I to judge another, Lord, I would follow Thee." I always feel so humbled when I read those lyrics...Who are we to judge others, when we ourselves are imperfect as well. Think of how badly we plead for the Lord to forgive us for our mistakes, imperfections, and even more for our sins. Then think of when others are going through that tough process, or better yet, when WE ourselves are going through that process. Does it not feel great to receive a positive call from a loved one, a warm smile from a ward member, and handshake from a leader, saying "Hang in there. We love you. We appreciate your work." Or does it feel better to hear "Hey look at so-and-so, he is not doing his job. He does not keep commandments, he is such a bad example." It hurts me so badly to hear members complain about other members, about leadership, when they are just sitting there doing nothing. If we could all just change the "Look at all the things they are doing wrong attitude" to the "Hey, how can I better help them and show my love and support for them" attitude, the work of the Lord would significantly grow, branches and wards would be more united, nonmembers would look towards us as great examples, and the Lord Himself would look down on the members of His church, proud and pleased. Let us all be more kind, and support our leaders, they surely would appreciate it. I am so thankful for the leaders I have had in my life, such as my bishop, stake president, young men's leaders, mission president, family and friends, dad, grandparents, the list goes on! Thank you for what you do! Keep up the great work.

Love you all! Pray for us.

Elder Babcock

The Standard of Truth

Greetings !

Elder Colligan and I had a great week, full of hard work, laughs, and investigators finally committing to baptism! We are teaching an awesome family, and the dad is a member who has come back to activity with us and his 2 youngest daughters are planning on getting baptized tomorrow! They are super funny and love church. The branch has helped out tons in fellow shipping, and they have really received the teachings well. They help me with Guarani every visit too. They are awesome. Even their older sister who didn't really want to go to church, get baptized, etc went to church for the first time yesterday, and is hopefully going to get baptized in August. It has been a great miracle.

I have been study, practice, and working on my ability to speak Guaraní. It is really hard and confusing, and uses weird noises, but I have already seen a lot of progress. And when I speak in Guaraní instead of Spanish, the people are more interested and receptive to the teachings. I have gotten down the prayer pretty good, also basic contacts of the gospel. The members are helping me a lot as well. Keep praying for me to communicate well the message of the Restoration with my Paraguayan brothers and sisters!

We were literally in the middle of nowhere looking for a former investigator of past Elders, when we came across a lone house/farm, with about 40 bulls standing there. We decided to contact it, so I clapped at the gate. Right when I clapped, it triggered something in the cows, and they started to sprint, about 5 of them right at us. So we also turned and started to hurry away. I thought that for sure, we were not going to make it out alive, but we got lucky and beat them out of the path. It was an adventure.

We had been teaching a really cool guy. He has cooled off a little bit due to false information about the church and its origin. It has been really frustrating to see the eternal effect of rumors, lies, and false stories about the church. Just when he was about to be baptized, and was almost certain that the church was true, it all fell apart. I was reading in Mormon 8, and I decided that Moroni said it best in verses 13-22. He said that the records that he had written, and that his father Mormon had abridged would only come to pass in the latter-days by the power of God, and that the person called to do so (Joseph Smith) would be blessed by the Lord. It also warns all that seek to destroy the work (be it through actions, lies, theories, etc) is in danger to be hewn down and cast into the fire. Then in verse 22, "For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled." It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, by the Prophet Joseph Smith himself, "The Standard of Truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame. But the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and dependent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah will say, `The work is done`". I know that it is true. Nobody but the Lord will ever be able to impede the work in which we have embarked. I love this work and I know it has been able to grow across the whole work only because it is a sacred, divine work of God.

Love you all! Pray for us!

Until next week,

Elder Babcock

Going Fishing

Hi

This week was the first week with Vanhin Nilsson. He is a very cool guy and very easy to get along with. I was thinking and there has not yet been a swede I have met that I have not liked. They are a pretty cool group of people I guess. We have a lot of fun ideas for this next change. For example, we also have the idea to wake up early and play tennis. He is a really athletic guy and so I am excited to get a lot of sport playing in this change. He is super good at sähly, which is just floor hockey and a pretty big deal here. It will be a great change.

This week we went fishing and it was fun. The river, although brown, was really pretty. We didn’t catch anything but it was great to sit and chat. It has been fun having Sisters and a senior couple in our same area.

We also had a meeting with Vanhin Richards this week. It was pretty long, but really good still. Being on a mission really teaches you how to sit through long meetings. Afterwards, I was chatting with his wife who was on the Primary Presidency board and you could tell.  In my journal I wrote "She made me feel like I was back in Primary.... but in a good way." She had that certain Primary Presidency voice that we have all come to love. She was very soft and loving and taught me some good tips about how to study.

I have been trying to work out a little bit and also eat healthier. I have been eating a fruit and vegetable smoothie every morning with all kinds of stuff in there. I could see myself really getting into that kind of stuff when I get back. Not as a profession, but as a hobby. 

We unfortunately had a lot of investigators drop us this week. And by a lot I mean all but 3. I don’t know why it all happened at once, but many of them (including the couple from China) let us know that they were not interested to continue meeting. It has stunk, but we are excited to get out there this change and find some more sweet investigators. It is always hard when people drop us, but that is just how it goes sometimes

We said goodbye to our good Turkish friend. He will be going back and staying there in Turkey. I don’t remember if I have said anything about him, but he is a good friend and really hilarious. We talked about him coming to Utah to ski and so I hope that someday it works out and you can all meet him. Ha he is great.

Ok, that’s about all. Things are going well here and I hope it is the same for all of you. Thanks for all the love and support you all give, it helps a lot.

Love you all,

Vanhin Merkley