Jordan- First off the U.S. does too have tortillas. That's what you wrap a taco in. But I'm excited for when you get home so then you can make them for me. I've also heard empinadas, or however you spell it, I don't want to look it up, are really good. I'll be excited for the feast when you get home. Mmm Mmm I love food. Also with brother Wells writing you are you planning on snail mailing him a letter? Just wondering. Also how much is it to mail letter to Paraguay? Also, do you know if Tyler Brown is in your mission? I know he went to Paraguay but I think there is more than one mission down there. Also I've read that article in the last ensign by Elder Hales. It's pretty cool. I figure marriage is pretty far away so we will see where it all ends up when I'm home which isn't for another 10 months so I've still got a while. Also wasn't Rachel Garn your age and didn't you take her to a dance or something like that? Or was she in Madrigals with you or something like that?
Well this week has been... different. We had some bad days where not much happened and then some good days that at first didn't seem so good. Let me explain. First off tuesday was kind of a bummer. We went out to Milford, about 8-9 miles away, in the morning and didn't have miles to go back to our apartment for 1/2 time (aka lunch). So we spent that time up in Milford. The first half of the day went pretty quickly but after we took lunch and all that it was pretty slow. We didn't have any appointments and we were kind of struggling with our desire. We had a whole night of no appointments and it was looking like we were just going to be tracting for hours on end. So we made all the calls we needed to and things like that and we helped a member with some yard work and then we just had a long night. It wasn't very effective and it was just one of those nights where you come in knowing that you could've and should have done better. Wednesday evening was kind of the same but it wasn't all our fault. We had some plans to go out to milford the second half of the night but we didn't end up having miles to so we had to stay in harrington. (We work tons more in harrington so there is less to do) But we ended up turning it into a decent night. We didn't come in feeling like we had failed. Thursday was a lot better. We had some really good appointments and things like that. Friday was an interesting day. We came in feeling a little down but we just didn't have the right mindset. A little background info our zone is doing a thing called finding friday. It's where we really focus on finding people to teach. There are a few guidelines that should always be followed in missionary work but aren't always. The first is asking EVERYONE for referrals. We don't always do that and the second is no lessons over 45 minutes, and we set a goal of how many new invs. we want to find and then work our hardest to find them. So Elder Arnett and I set a goal and we worked really hard. We talked to pretty much everyone we saw and asked everyone but like two or three for referrals and our lessons were really close to 45 minutes. It was our best Finding Friday at following the rules. We worked really hard and really tried to find new people. We tracted a lot and we followed the guidelines as closely as we could but in the end we didn't find any new investigators. To tell the truth I was quite put out. I was kind of disappointed and was wondering why we didn't find any. So when I called the zone leaders, to report how finding Friday went for the district, I told him how ours went and he told me to open to page 10 in PMG. It talked about what makes a successful missionary. I then realized that I was basing how our day went by our outward results. I wasn't looking at our effort. I was wanting something like Ammon and the sons of mosiah had with baptizing lots of lamanites but it turns out that we probably had a Abinadi day. I didn't see anything come of it but things still happened. So Friday was a good day even though I didn't see it that way at the beginning.
Then last night in a nutshell we had an investigator bring up some really big concern and she's been thinking about stopping learning. So all in all it's been a roller coaster week but overall a real good learning experience and a good week.
Investigators:
Dela and Clarence: They are still struggling with the Law of Chastity. Dela doesn't want to get married very much and Clarence is really old and can't remember much so it's pretty much up to Dela. They've been reading and praying together and they came to church yesterday so that was good too.
Renee- She is the one that has a big concern. She really misunderstands the whole baptisms for the dead thing. Her grandmother was from New Orleans and she apparently did a little of the black magic type of thing and she thinks that when you're dead, you're dead and you know about God then and they wouldn't need us doing anything for them. I think she also misunderstood baptisms for the dead for some weird, creepy, satanic ritual. We're going to see her tonight. Any prayers would be very much appreciated. We need all we can get because we don't quite understand her whole concern and we're definitely going to be needing the spirit more than ever tonight when we see her. Hopefully we can help her.
Janice- She committed to come to church on Friday! That was the first time she's done that. We were excited. It ended up that she didn't feel well so she couldn't make it to church but she still made some sign of progression which is what we've been looking for lately.
Jason and Tierenny (I'm not sure how to spell it but it's said like tyranny (teer-aah-knee))- Their parents are less actives and Jason was a media referral. He goes to scouts at the church and wanted to learn more about the church. Both of, Jason and his sister, tierenny, are really sharp. They know a lot and are very nice kids.
Germania and Barclay- We had a pretty cool experience with them. We saw them a few weeks ago and we got Barclay to pray at the end of the lesson. He prayed for God to show him the way and to show him a sign. Then a few hours later an earthquake happened and then later that week Hurricane Irene rolled through. Then to top it off he read in 2 Nephi 27:2 about there shall be earthquakes and tempests and things like that. The neat thing about him reading that chapter is that that wasn't the chapter we left with them. We left Moroni 10 and the bookmark was there and Clay, barclay, said when he opened it it was in 2 Ne 27:2. I don't think that was coincidence. Also to top it off the last fast Sunday Elder Arnett said that he fasted that Clay would recognize his answer. I think that was pretty cool. They are doing well and they have been progressing so that's awesome.
Also when I heard the score of the BYU game last night from a member I was very thankful that I am serving my mission right now. Now I don't have to endure the incessant teasing that will come from Utah fans and by the time I get home it will probably have been forgotten and then if they lose I'll be up at BYU-I so I wont have to really endure the teasing. I feel sorry for you all. I hope BYU pulls it together for your sakes.
Mom- Thank you for the letters. I got the newsletter this last week. Thank you for sending it. Some time I'll remember to send the picture CD's that I had made at Wal-Mart and then you can have all of my pictures.
Dad- Well I'm sorry that you had to endure that BYU game. Good luck at work and building that set for Rodgers. (I call it Rodgers because I don't know it as anything else. That will probably change when I get home but for now it's still Rodgers.
Austin- So I hear you're glad to have a break. Still, enjoy mowing lawns. you'll probably miss it when it's gone. By the way how is reading PMG going? Also how is dating going? I can't wait to hear about all the dates you've been on.
Natasha- I'm glad you had a good week. I can speak Spanish just as good as you can. If that's all you can say in Spanish. Who is Rebekah? Rebekah cutler? Have fun in school.
Shaylee- How is your mouth? Has it fallen off yet? I hear that those things that you have in your mouth make your teeth fall out and then your tongue shrinks and you can't speak. Ha ha just kidding. How is school? Have you ever mowed a lawn? Just wondering.
I love you all. God loves us. His son Jesus Christ loves us. They both love us more than we can imagine. Everything they do is for our benefit. If there has been anything I have learned out here it is how much peace and joy the gospel brings to my life. How much peace comes from knowing where we go when we die and why we're here and why bad things happen. There is no way that I could've learned this any other way in the 2 years if I hadn't gone out here on a mission teaching people about it. The church is true and we shouldn't take it for granted. The Book of Mormon is the evidence that God loves us and has called a prophet again in these last days. (I'm super excited for General Conference) Joseph Smith was a prophet. He restored God's church again on the earth. President Monson leads the church today.
Again I love you all and miss you. See ya when I see ya.
Love,
Elder John Schouten
Oh ya they had the groundbreaking for the Philadelphia temple saturday morning. That was really cool. The picture of the Philadeldphia temple is really pretty. It is going to be a beautiful temple. It was great.
Well this week has been... different. We had some bad days where not much happened and then some good days that at first didn't seem so good. Let me explain. First off tuesday was kind of a bummer. We went out to Milford, about 8-9 miles away, in the morning and didn't have miles to go back to our apartment for 1/2 time (aka lunch). So we spent that time up in Milford. The first half of the day went pretty quickly but after we took lunch and all that it was pretty slow. We didn't have any appointments and we were kind of struggling with our desire. We had a whole night of no appointments and it was looking like we were just going to be tracting for hours on end. So we made all the calls we needed to and things like that and we helped a member with some yard work and then we just had a long night. It wasn't very effective and it was just one of those nights where you come in knowing that you could've and should have done better. Wednesday evening was kind of the same but it wasn't all our fault. We had some plans to go out to milford the second half of the night but we didn't end up having miles to so we had to stay in harrington. (We work tons more in harrington so there is less to do) But we ended up turning it into a decent night. We didn't come in feeling like we had failed. Thursday was a lot better. We had some really good appointments and things like that. Friday was an interesting day. We came in feeling a little down but we just didn't have the right mindset. A little background info our zone is doing a thing called finding friday. It's where we really focus on finding people to teach. There are a few guidelines that should always be followed in missionary work but aren't always. The first is asking EVERYONE for referrals. We don't always do that and the second is no lessons over 45 minutes, and we set a goal of how many new invs. we want to find and then work our hardest to find them. So Elder Arnett and I set a goal and we worked really hard. We talked to pretty much everyone we saw and asked everyone but like two or three for referrals and our lessons were really close to 45 minutes. It was our best Finding Friday at following the rules. We worked really hard and really tried to find new people. We tracted a lot and we followed the guidelines as closely as we could but in the end we didn't find any new investigators. To tell the truth I was quite put out. I was kind of disappointed and was wondering why we didn't find any. So when I called the zone leaders, to report how finding Friday went for the district, I told him how ours went and he told me to open to page 10 in PMG. It talked about what makes a successful missionary. I then realized that I was basing how our day went by our outward results. I wasn't looking at our effort. I was wanting something like Ammon and the sons of mosiah had with baptizing lots of lamanites but it turns out that we probably had a Abinadi day. I didn't see anything come of it but things still happened. So Friday was a good day even though I didn't see it that way at the beginning.
Then last night in a nutshell we had an investigator bring up some really big concern and she's been thinking about stopping learning. So all in all it's been a roller coaster week but overall a real good learning experience and a good week.
Investigators:
Dela and Clarence: They are still struggling with the Law of Chastity. Dela doesn't want to get married very much and Clarence is really old and can't remember much so it's pretty much up to Dela. They've been reading and praying together and they came to church yesterday so that was good too.
Renee- She is the one that has a big concern. She really misunderstands the whole baptisms for the dead thing. Her grandmother was from New Orleans and she apparently did a little of the black magic type of thing and she thinks that when you're dead, you're dead and you know about God then and they wouldn't need us doing anything for them. I think she also misunderstood baptisms for the dead for some weird, creepy, satanic ritual. We're going to see her tonight. Any prayers would be very much appreciated. We need all we can get because we don't quite understand her whole concern and we're definitely going to be needing the spirit more than ever tonight when we see her. Hopefully we can help her.
Janice- She committed to come to church on Friday! That was the first time she's done that. We were excited. It ended up that she didn't feel well so she couldn't make it to church but she still made some sign of progression which is what we've been looking for lately.
Jason and Tierenny (I'm not sure how to spell it but it's said like tyranny (teer-aah-knee))- Their parents are less actives and Jason was a media referral. He goes to scouts at the church and wanted to learn more about the church. Both of, Jason and his sister, tierenny, are really sharp. They know a lot and are very nice kids.
Germania and Barclay- We had a pretty cool experience with them. We saw them a few weeks ago and we got Barclay to pray at the end of the lesson. He prayed for God to show him the way and to show him a sign. Then a few hours later an earthquake happened and then later that week Hurricane Irene rolled through. Then to top it off he read in 2 Nephi 27:2 about there shall be earthquakes and tempests and things like that. The neat thing about him reading that chapter is that that wasn't the chapter we left with them. We left Moroni 10 and the bookmark was there and Clay, barclay, said when he opened it it was in 2 Ne 27:2. I don't think that was coincidence. Also to top it off the last fast Sunday Elder Arnett said that he fasted that Clay would recognize his answer. I think that was pretty cool. They are doing well and they have been progressing so that's awesome.
Also when I heard the score of the BYU game last night from a member I was very thankful that I am serving my mission right now. Now I don't have to endure the incessant teasing that will come from Utah fans and by the time I get home it will probably have been forgotten and then if they lose I'll be up at BYU-I so I wont have to really endure the teasing. I feel sorry for you all. I hope BYU pulls it together for your sakes.
Mom- Thank you for the letters. I got the newsletter this last week. Thank you for sending it. Some time I'll remember to send the picture CD's that I had made at Wal-Mart and then you can have all of my pictures.
Dad- Well I'm sorry that you had to endure that BYU game. Good luck at work and building that set for Rodgers. (I call it Rodgers because I don't know it as anything else. That will probably change when I get home but for now it's still Rodgers.
Austin- So I hear you're glad to have a break. Still, enjoy mowing lawns. you'll probably miss it when it's gone. By the way how is reading PMG going? Also how is dating going? I can't wait to hear about all the dates you've been on.
Natasha- I'm glad you had a good week. I can speak Spanish just as good as you can. If that's all you can say in Spanish. Who is Rebekah? Rebekah cutler? Have fun in school.
Shaylee- How is your mouth? Has it fallen off yet? I hear that those things that you have in your mouth make your teeth fall out and then your tongue shrinks and you can't speak. Ha ha just kidding. How is school? Have you ever mowed a lawn? Just wondering.
I love you all. God loves us. His son Jesus Christ loves us. They both love us more than we can imagine. Everything they do is for our benefit. If there has been anything I have learned out here it is how much peace and joy the gospel brings to my life. How much peace comes from knowing where we go when we die and why we're here and why bad things happen. There is no way that I could've learned this any other way in the 2 years if I hadn't gone out here on a mission teaching people about it. The church is true and we shouldn't take it for granted. The Book of Mormon is the evidence that God loves us and has called a prophet again in these last days. (I'm super excited for General Conference) Joseph Smith was a prophet. He restored God's church again on the earth. President Monson leads the church today.
Again I love you all and miss you. See ya when I see ya.
Love,
Elder John Schouten
Oh ya they had the groundbreaking for the Philadelphia temple saturday morning. That was really cool. The picture of the Philadeldphia temple is really pretty. It is going to be a beautiful temple. It was great.
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