Well hello everyone this is Elder Schouten here. I am going to be writing my weekly email now so here it comes. Prepare. (Actually you probably don't really need to prepare. There probably wont be anything that is super crazy spectacular. Unless a truck comes blazing through the library wall it's probably going to be a normal email. But you never know. Well enough gibberish I'll get to the letter now.)
Well I'll see if I can answer all your questions. I think a 10am (my time) phone call would work. I'll plan on calling you at about 10 here and 8am there. Plan on that. If something happens I'll let you know but for now plan on that. Oh ya about last week being a poor week it wasn't my companions fault. It was both of our faults. We both weren't as diligent as we should've been.
Well I have a lot to write but not a lot of time to write it. So this weeks letter will probably be shorter. Well this week was better than last week. Our numbers improved. Not by much. Our numbers were about the same except for that we had about 10-15 more contacts. But we were also out of our area all day Thursday and Friday. Tuesday we went out with a member, Bro. Cox, we went to see a new investigator but they didn't answer their door so well have to stop by sometime later. It was kind of a bummer that she didn't answer her door. Then we had our Book of Mormon story later on that day. On Wednesday we went over to Chris Knapp's house. We taught about the word of wisdom again. We've basically focused on that for the last couple of times. He has dyslexia and he did some work with chemicals that mucked up his brain a little bit so he doesn't learn very fast. It is kind of difficult to teach him too because he talks more than ANYONE, and I mean ANYONE, that I have EVER met. He just talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks.
Well I think you get the message. Basically he talks a lot and you can't really interrupt him. But he isn't quite converted yet. He doesn't see the Word of Wisdom (WoW for future reference) as a commandment from God. He sees it as a nice idea that as long as it doesn't inconvenience him he'll do it. He also has a lot of concerns about the world ending and 2012 and all that world ending, doomsday type stuff. So we're, instead of rehashing the WoW, going to teach him the Plan of Salvation again so that maybe he'll get it and take comfort that God has everything in control and that whatever happens is supposed to happen for a reason. Thursday we had Zone Training in Scranton. It was a really good meeting. We learned about how we need to "abide in Christ" the zone leaders talked about how we need to follow Christ and do what he would do at all times. They also showed us a movie clip about, I believe his name was John Tanner, I know his last name was Tanner. He had a horribly infected leg and he was going to die from it. Basically long story short he started talking to the missionaries and they healed him and he was baptized and then he felt later on that the Lord needed him in Kirkland Ohio. The saints were going to lose the temple and they prayed. So He showed up and payed the mortgage payment the day before they were going to repossess the temple land. So he gave the church a lot of money. It was a great example of a giving heart. That is something I want to work on. I want to be a giving person. That isn't something I come by naturally. That was a really great meeting. That day we stayed in Peckville, it's right next to Scranton. Then the next day Elder Erb had a leadership training down in Broomall so I stayed in Honesdale for the day. It took Elder Erb A LOT longer than they thought to get back so we weren't able to work in Susq. on Friday either. Saturday we had a baptism in the river. We didn't teach the guy. He's from Philly. It's kind of ironic he lived in Utah (he's about my age) and his mother sent him to Pennsylvania to get away from "that Mormon influence" and the missionaries found him and he got baptized. He's a really cool kid. It river was super cold. There were chunks of ice floating down the river. I'll send some pictures. It was super pretty. I saw Elder Roberts again. He is now part of the ward that the guy who got baptized goes to so he came up here again. That was fun to talk to him again. Then we taught Chris Knapp again. We reiterated the WoW again. Yesterday (Sunday) the church meetings at the Susq. building were canceled because the roads were literally ice rinks. So we went to the Montrose branch. It was a lot of fun. The members are so cool. (I'm not dissing on anyone in Susq. they're great too.) But the members in Montrose don't have missionaries there so every time we go there they all mention how great it is to have missionaries there for once.
It sounds like you have a lot of cool musical stuff coming up. I'm kind of jealous. That's one thing I miss is all the Christmas concerts. I love music, especially Christmas music. No mom I haven't had the chance to play and sing at members houses. We don't really have anytime to do that. Kelli Case is already home from her mission? Wow it seemed like she didn't leave all that long ago.
You know the fellowship of the unashamed quote you sent me? I already have that. Believe it or not. They gave it to us out here. It is an awesome quote. I really like it too. I don't read it everyday but I read it every once and a while.
Well I could be getting transferred this week. I'll find our either Wednesday or Thursday. The transfer meeting is on Friday. I could be in a completely new area come this time next week. We'll see. Only time will tell. So if anyone is planning on sending stuff to my apartment I wouldn't advise that. Please send it to the mission home. That way I'll be sure to get it. Oh ya that might cause a problem with Christmas phone calls. I'll tell you for sure next week.
Dad- I'm glad to hear you liked a Christmas Carol. It sounds like quite a project that you've taken on. Putting on a new roof for the plastic shed by Austin's room. Are you doing the walls too? You guys are lucky that you get to watch Jimmer's last year. I would love to watch it too but what I'm doing is more important. There will be other great basketball players that I'll get to watch after my mission.
Mom- I like the lesson you taught to the YW. It sounded really good. I've never thought about it that way. Christmas truly is a wonderful time. It might not be the real time that Christ was born but it still reminds us of when he was born and that all he's done for us. I'm truly thankful for Christ and all he's done for me. You get two weeks off work? Lucky. That sounds like a lot of fun. The Mo tab David Archuleta concert sounds like it would be awesome! That would definitely would be a concert that I would love to go to. Oh well too bad I'm 2000 miles away so that wouldn't really work.
Jordan- the usual
Austin- Are you angry at me or something?
Natasha- You woke up at 7:30 every morning? Oh man that's horrible. Did you die? Count your blessings. I get to get up at 6:30 EVERY SINGLE morning for the next year and a half. What songs are you playing in the recital? Do you have them memorized? That tangled show sounds pretty funny. Yes Emma's poem is pretty good.
Shaylee- Are you playing in the piano recital? If so what songs are you playing? Are you singing in the reading choir concert? Are you excited for Christmas?
Merry Christmas all. Have a fun time. Remember what this time of year is really for. It's about Christ. Not all the presents and getting things. It's about giving and remembering all that Christ has done for us. I know that Christ is the Savior and that through the Atonement that we can repent and return to live with Him again. The church is true as well as the Book of Mormon. There is no way that it can't be true. It is just nonsensical to think so.
Love,
Elder Schouten
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