Jordan- Anti is a whole bunch of garbage. It is basically someone who doesn't like the church sits down and writes a whole bunch of junk to try to keep people from joining and to keep them away from the church. Satan isn't stupid and he makes lots of it sound like legit stuff if you don't know much about the church but if you do then it is bologna. So in a nutshell someone who doesn't like the church writes lies to make other people dislike the church.
Well I don't know how much help I'll be on the whole trying to keep a missionary on a mission. I've never had a companion with that problem but there was a time in Susq. that an elder in our district wanted to go home and was being super disobedient. There wasn't much we could do for him, but in your situation tell him you love him, that you care about him and that you know that this will help him. If he doesn't have a testimony then encourage him to study and pray and to really do as Moroni says in Moroni 10:4-5. Ask with a sincere heart and real intent. (He has to show God that he wants to know and will do something with the knowledge that it's true. God isn't going to give us a gift if we're not going to open it and use it.) Just help him along and love him. Help him see that God wants him there and God loves him. Apart from that and just helping him along I don't know what to tell you. Hope that helps. By the way Morgan Utah is just over the mountains that we live on. If you keep going east you'll run into Morgan Utah. No I don't know anyone with the last name Ure. There was a kid in high school with me whose last name was Urry, Brian Urry. (At least that's how I think you spell his last name. I'm pretty sure it is.)
Well this week was a really good one. Elder Baker and I will be together for another transfer. There should be a lot happening this transfer. Wes and Angela are both still on track for baptism. There was an 8 year old boy who got baptized yesterday (Sunday) and Angela and Wes were both there. It was an awesome baptism.
Wes is doing awesome!!! We've taught him everything we need to teach him and he has met all the requirements. All he needs now is to be interviewed and to just get baptized. There is an awesome spirit at baptisms. I saw that twice yesterday. Once with Wes and once with Angela, I'll talk about that later. Wes felt the spirit really strong. He's really not one to tear up or show tons of emotion about lots of stuff but he got a little emotional after the boy in the ward was confirmed. We went and saw him last night after the baptism and he said that he really enjoyed the baptism. He is super excited about being baptized next week. I think the baptism really solidified his testimony and increased his desire to want to do this. He is so awesome. I've been so blessed to be one of the missionaries to teach him. He practically didn't even need missionaries. He was already so prepared. All we did was go in there and tell him the stuff he needed to know and then he followed it exactly. He is awesome. I'm super excited for his baptism next week.
Now for Angela. She is on fire as well. She went to the baptism and she felt the spirit really strongly as well. After the baptism was over she pulled Elder Baker and I aside and asked Elder Baker to baptize her! She said she really felt the spirit strong and I think the baptism was just the icing on the cake. We still have a little to teach her but her baptism is on the 19th so it is still about 2 weeks away. She is a privilege to teach as well. She accepts commitments with no problem. It just shows that when you know something is true then you are willing to do whatever is necessary to do to obtain it.
James- We don't know what's happened to him. He cancelled our last appointment because he said he couldn't make it. He isn't going to be able to be baptized on the 3rd. We'll see what happens with him but the outlook isn't super awesome at this moment. I hope he still wants to be taught but just has been too busy.
I think I told you about her but just in case, we taught a lady named Renee. We met with her last week but we weren't able to have the lesson we hoped for because some kept interrupting us. So we went back and saw her this week and taught her the Restoration and she ate it all up. She committed to reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. She is super awesome. She has a baptismal date for July 17th.
Elder Baker and I are getting along really well. It's taken us about a whole transfer but now we are teaching a whole lot better. We've gotten used to each other and we now have the spirit in lessons a whole lot stronger. It's amazing how much stronger the spirit is with you when you don't have something bothering you in the back of your mind about your companion.
Oh ya I thought I'd include the weather. This week was, for the most part, really nice. Monday and Tuesday and half of Wednesday were brutally hot and the humidity was disgusting. But after that a little storm rolled through and cooled it down and it's been quite pleasant since then.
Mom- Thanks for the advice. That is awesome you got to go to the temple. That is probably the thing that I'm most jealous of you guys about. You can go to the temple any time you want and as much as time allows. It's crazy how much you miss the temple when you can't go. We've been talking about it a lot lately with a recent convert and with some other people. Talking about it makes me want to go back there. I'm sure it would be completely different now that I've been a missionary for almost a year, considering I'm a completely different person.
Dad- Matt's lawn is really big. It doesn't look that big but if you think about it it really is. Those retaining walls make it seem smaller than it really is. I'm glad to hear that you had good experiences with McGuire's slide show and Tyler's show. Was it weird making a slide show for Ms. McGuire? I think it would've been, but granted I was a student of hers and that would've been weird for me. Probably not for you though. Hard work and obedience do definitely make a difference. I'm even more obedient this transfer and I've been blessed so much already for it.
Austin- Habla espanol? (If you do then translate this) dafl kjeao ifdjfo ajdoajo ijfoda jiofij oiguoba fao magadla osipiopoa aqoubyoa. Good luck.
Natasha- Junior High isn't that hard. If you do your homework you will be just fine. If you tell yourself you're going to get depressed then you will. Just think happy thoughts and you will be fine. Junior High School isn't that hard. It's actually a lot of fun. You're going to run a mile? How many times? Have you been practicing punching? Jordan said that you should keep practicing your punching so Jordan and you can have a match. Is this true? Have you switched from dance to boxing?
Shaylee- Are you excited school is out? Are you doing anything fun in the summer? Are you going to run the mile with Natasha?
Well this pretty much wraps up another letter from Elder Schouten. The church is true and God definitely lives. He loves us and he cares for us more than we can possibly comprehend. He sent his son Jesus Christ for us, to pay for our sins so that we can repent and become better people. I'm so thankful for the many many chances he gives us to improve. God is so patient and he puts up with all the dumb stuff we do and loves us despite it all. Jesus Christ lives. He loves us. He is our Savior. I have had this confirmed to me time and time again on a mission and throughout my whole life, I just might not have noticed it all the time.
I love you all and I've attached a couple pictures. My father, (trainer) Elder Roberts is going home tomorrow and so I got a couple pictures. Two of them are Elder Roberts and three of them are some really pretty flowers that I took pictures of. I figured you women folk would like those and the other is a spaceship house that Elder Baker and I found. Yes someone really lives there and yes we knocked on the door and yes the lady gave me permission to take a picture of the house. Hope you enjoy them.
Love,
Elder Schouten
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