Jordan: 8/27/2012

From: Jordan Schouten
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 9:14 AM
To: Mike Schouten; schouten.julie;

Subject: my letter 8/27/2012

 

Well, this week was interesting. It was pretty good. We had some problems but we had a lot of good things happen. We have a couple of people that we´ve been teaching for a while and we were sure they were going to get baptized, but it looks like they´re not going to do it now. We going to give them a few more lessons and try to help them out but if they don´t start progressing again, we´re going to have to drop them because they´re not even doing the small things anymore, like reading the BoM, praying and coming to church. We´re kinda bummed out about that, but we´re gonna give them one last chance to try to help them come unto Christ.

We had zone conference this week. A member of the Seventy, Elder Zeballos, came to our mission. It was a really good conference. I really enjoyed it and really learned a lot about why we do missionary work. Usually zone conf. focus on how to do missonary work, but this was more focused on why we do it and what we want to accomplish. Elder Zeballos wife gave a talk as well and she said something that i really liked. She asked us "why do people go inactive in the church?" and we all responded things like "they got offended, they stopped reading the BoM, work problems, etc." she said, "those are all good, common answers, but there are not the reason why people go inactive. They´re excuses for going inactive. the reason why people go inactive is because before the baptism, they didn´t comprehend the responsability, blessings and consequences of the covenants they were making with God when they were baptized."  That really kind of hit me hard. And it´s so true. It we understood perfectly the Atonement or the Plan of Salvation, we wouldn´t even sin, and we´d never go inactive. But, if we don´t understand "the why" of something, it´s a lot harder to continue. It made me think a lot about if i really understand the why of the gospel and my covenants. yeah, i´m active in the church, but, it made me think about why i´m active in the church. Do i do it because i understand the eternal consequences of the gospel, or do i just go to church because it´s what i´ve always done and because i´m a missionary? I thought a lot about that and made the decision that i´m never going to go inactive. That i´m always going to do everything possible to understand the why of the gospel and why i should keep my covenants.

We found a GOLDEN kid this week. He´s 16, named Ariel. We found him wednesday, on Saturday we went back and he´d read the BoM and recieved his testimony. He says he knows it´s true and feels more relaxed when he reads the BoM. He came to church yesterday and he´s got a baptism date for September 15. We´re excited. We also taught his family yesterday night and they´re really awesome. They all accepted a baptism date for September 15 and they committed to read the BoM together and ask the Lord if it´s true. It was really really cool. They have a LOT of potential.

Mom- it sounds like your week was pretty crazy. Don´t you just love college work? it´s the greatest... Not. I never want to end my mission and part of the reason is because i don´t want to go back to college work. It´s hard. The mission is harder, but it´s WAY more rewarding. So, I´m just going to serve a mission for 40 years, then, die. :) Just kidding, but i hope everything goes well with your class and don´t stress. It doesnt help anything. also, i love my comp. He´s one of my favorites. As far as missionary skills, he´s got a lot to learn, but every new missionary is like that. I like him a lot. He´s getting better at showing people his love. He was just acting like a typical american, and americans are way meaner than paraguayans. What´s normal in america is just completely rude and out of line in paraguay. So, he´s just learning.

Dad- How´s work and everything? So, what do you actually do at work? do you still just work with computers, or do you do engeneeering (i butchered the spelling, i know) stuff? People ask me what my dad does and i never know what to say.

John- sounds like your life is boring. Go find someone to baptize.

Austin- so, I hear you´re quite the runner. I hate running. If there´s one thing worse than walking 9 hours a day, it´s running for 5 minutes.

Tasha- when do you start school? are you excited? what grade are you in?

Shaylee- what grade are you going into? who´s your teacher?

I love the gospel. I love this chruch. I know that it´s lead my men that have been called of God. I know Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God. He leads this church today. i know the 12 apostles and the Seventies are inspired of God and are special witnesses of Christ. I know that Jospeh Smith saw The Father and The Son. I know that The priesthood has been restored. I know the Book of Mormon will change the life of anyone that allows it to change their lives. I love the work of the Lord. They is nothing better. I love the mission. I never want it to end.

Love you all,
Elder Jordan Schouten