Transfers! 2-1-16

Friends and Family,

Well once again 6 weeks have passed and we enter into the transfer week. It's funny to think but it has been 6 weeks since the Christmas call! I realized that today as we start this week. Time is just movin along! 

Anyway, This week I dont have a ton of news... We went and visited that Less active sister this week. She has wanted to come back to the church but her husband is kind of a problem for her. He doesn't like church in general so that makes it hard for to take her kids to church. He has genuine respect for the Elders and admires their work but other then that he doesnt really want to have anything to do with church. We are gonna talk to him this week and see if we cant help him out a bit. 

Other then that we had a few baptismal interviews this week and I got to do them in the Bishops office this time; I felt super professional! It was awesome to listen to them and and their stories as well. Apparently, on the way to the interview their car burst into flame and the man driving pulled to the side of the road and walked the rest of the way ro the chapel which was about a mile away! I was impressed by his resolve and they were baptized on Saturday.

Well as I said this week is transfers and so I'll have news about that next week. I'm almost certain that at least something in our house will change. Knowing President he'll take several of us out and put everyone else in new. But we'll see.

Well I love you all and i hope that you all ahve a great groundhog day! I hope you enjoy yourselves and Happy Birthday Cammy! And happy early Birthday Dad! I'll say it again next week!

Love you guys,

Elder George

 

 

7 Months to go! 1-25-16

Friends and Family,

Well with the news that I shared last week I now have the fixed date of when I'll be home! Isn't that quite the news after so long! 

But I guess I'll get to the things that everyone is interested in. This week we had our mission conference from Salt Lake and it wasn't actually as good as I thought it would be. The messages were fairly generic and it was hard because of the fact that everyone had just eaten and the worst case a drowsiness had hit everyone... That was a bummer. But it was okay in the long run. It was funny seeing the trainings of real missionaries on the screen. All of them had IPADs and I thought to myself..."Their scriptures must look just like new" I felt good that I didn't have IPad. I like the paper a lot more. More emotion to it.

We have two baptismal interviews this week. I was asked how those interviews were and I can tell you one thing. It is probably how a Bishop feels interviewing a teenager - They don't know too much but what they do know, they KNOW. It is interesting for me to see how the people are toward me during the interview. They are usually nervous because it is probably the first time they've been interviewed ever! So I have been gentle with them. Luckily enough, I have never had to refuse anyone from being baptized. That is a good thing.

I have heard very little about the people that I have taught in my other areas. They mainly move away or they just aren't interested anymore in receiving the Elders... Unfortunately... But I try and ask the missionaries who serve close as often as I can.

Transfer call doesn't come this week but next week and I am really hoping to get out of here. It is just too hot for my taste and I could use another change. The area is good and the members are nice but I wanna have two more areas at least here. So I hope that I get a new assignment.

This week we found a sister who is a member of the church already, but hasn't been attending. She is very interested in getting back active and so we are trying to help her with that. I'll let you know because we are going to visit her on Wednesday. I felt that she was longing for something in her life and I shared Doctrine and Covenants 18:10* about the worth of souls and she seemed to remember what life is like with the Gospel. I hope she felt the Spirit like we did and she'll have a desire to return to church.

Well that about sums it up this week family! I love you all and I hope that you all have a fantastic week!

Elder George

*Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 reads, "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;"

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/18?lang=eng

Paradise! ---January 18, 2016

Companions at the Beach 

Friends and Family,

How is everyone today!? Is it cold wherever you are? Do you enjoy it? YOU SHOULD! Because this week it was HOT all week long. So enjoy the cold while you have it. It won't be around for very much longer!

 

This week we had our leadership conference and it was fantastic! We had several trainings on how to help people progress and grow. After lunch we had a training with President Silva and he gave us some time to ask questions about doctrine. So we spent a little while asking questions about things that would never be taught to investigators. That was a blast! He really does know the scriptures.

We also got to take a bunch of pictures and chat for a while. I finally found Sister George! That was funny. Apparently a lot of people said good things about me to her and she was super excited to meet me! That was nice for a change. Usually when people spread things around the mission they aren't very good things. Most of the time its not the truth either. But this time was different thankfully. I saw Elder Stahn and that was amazing. We had a blast catching up about life and messing around a bit.

Sister G

 

Buddies!

 

I also got a few letters and a package!!! I didn't actually get to look at the package until we were on the bus. So I got it out and looked at the front to try and guess what was in it and the note said "Neckties..... 11!!! I thought to myself could mom have really bought 11 ties??? I opened it and there was another note. It talked about my righteous Priesthood holder examples and I thought," Oh no... There is a tie from every example in my life...." I started looking through and reading the notes and it was almost a very emotional deal. I was honored to have the support of so many men who are so important in my life, many who have served just as I am. It was funny because there were some ties that had a smell to them still. One that was the strongest smell was Jereme's. I thought to myself when I caught the scent," Only seven more months until I'll see him..."

 

So I guess that leads me to the next topic! We got a calendar for everything that'll happen in the mission this year and it has all the dates for the transfers. President talked about all the dates and told the Americans that we weren't allowed to stay one day past our date to leave. I looked at the transfer closest to that day and it is AFTER OCTOBER 1st!!! I looked at the transfer before and it's AUGUST 28th!!!! I'LL GET HOME IN AUGUST!!!!!! That was an absolutely awesome thing to find out. So next week I'll only have 7 months left to go!!!!!!!!!!   CRAZY!!!

 

Anyway, I sent some beach pics and that was actually in a different area. We had to go do a baptismal interview and it just so happened to be close to the beach so we went and took pictures. It was fantastic. I could like beach life in the summer. BUT in the winter there has to be snow because if not.... :(

 

 

The zone is doing well. We have a meeting on Wednesday where the general missionary board will train us via satellite! That should be cool. We are in charge of setting up the projector and that'll be good to learn how to do that. The obedience is doing better then when I got here, thankfully, because I have been cracking down on some poor souls. They just don't care about rules and so I went on a rampage and that was that. It's better now.

 

But as far as the week that was it really. I love you all and remember that ALL prayers are answered and we were never sent here to fail but to succeed GLORIOUSLY.

 

Com amor e carinho,

Elder George

 

 

 

January 11, 2016

 

Mom asked me a couple of questions this week:

What is my favorite scripture?

If I could share something with our ward congregation back home, what would that be?

 

So it seems like when I finally get my head wrapped around something it changes on me. Why does that happen? I got my head wrapped around which scripture is my favorite and now I have no idea... There are just so many. Probably it would be D&C 6: 22-23*.  It really helps me in times of doubt/discouragement and reassures me during hard times.

I would tell the congregation that being on a mission is WAY different then they think. Missionaries aren't all perfect on missions; There are quite a few that don't obey. Quite a few that don't work. Quite a few that don't care about anything that they are supposed to do. That is why missionary work is judged by a person's individual desire, work, and effort. Absolutely you are supposed to obey and work and all that. But your success isn't measured by numbers of baptisms or lessons. God himself will let you know how you're doing. You will feel how you are doing from Him. That is something that I would tell them. They shouldn't have the vision that missionaries are perfect because they're not. They're just like normal people. WE ALL HAVE TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL.

 

So we called S. but he is traveling still. So we will see if we can't get over this week. I hope so! He does let us share Gospel messages with him when we visit, even though he wants to remain Catholic right now. He respects us quite a lot and he is chill. 

Last  week we finally found someone who is interested in learning about the Gospel and we are teaching him. We'll go back this week hopefully. He is rather lost when religion is concerned. So we'll see what happens. Teaching is gonna start picking up more now since there are more missionaries in our area. And referrals and contacts are gonna pour in this week and next week. We have found a few people that will influence quite a few people. Those two things should be good; we have taught very little in this area as of yet but we are getting going for sure.

This ward is good; a little less involved with us than my last area. They help with meals but other than that they haven't given too many referrals yet. But that should get more up to speed when they trust us some more.

Last week was one of those weeks where literally nothing is different from the week before. This coming week we have our leadership council from President and next week we'll have a worldwide broadcast for missionaries from Salt Lake with a few Seventies and things. But this next week we'll have some great pictures and stories from leadership council. So until then!

Elder George

 

*"Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" Doctrine and Covenants 6:22-23

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/6?lang=eng

 

LAST OF THE YEAR! 12-28-15

 

Friends and Family!

This week marks the last week of 2015 and that means... well..... it's the last week? But anyway... Hello! And how are all of you after Christmas week!? I am pleased to have heard from so many this time of year and I am grateful for the donations and gifts that have been made for me this special time of life. I know that you will all be blessed because of this sacrifice.

 

This week was finally another Skype call home and it was fantastic. I enjoyed so thoroughly talking with the family and joking around once more. It was great to see the family and well of course PERCY!! And another dog that I haven't even meet yet... But that was good too I guess. Anyway something interesting happens when I hang up with the family. I'm sad obviously but I feel like it kinda re-energizes a bit. It'll get me to Mother's day for sure!

 

Anyway, someone asked me about a big storm that happened a few weeks ago. I had described as a land hurricane but that wasn't EXACTLY what it was. It was 70 mile an hour winds more or less and LOTS of rain. One of our windows broke and part of the ceiling came off and parts of roofs came off of other buildings so that was something. But it wasn't really a hurricane. No one was hurt and nothing was very damaged. It was just a bit scary.

During this week, for Christmas, we received various boxes of chocolates and cookies and things which was nice of the members. Kinda like how it happens at home. People give random sweet things and that's that!

We got the transfer call last Tuesday and my companion and I are staying here in Joinville and continuing as the zone leaders. We currently have 4 elders in our apartment, but next week we will be getting 2 more. That will make 6 in our apartment. One of the new guys is my last companion so that will be pretty good.

Elder George and his companion

After our baptism, our teaching pool has shrunken down and that's worrisome. But this transfer, now that there are two sets of missionaries for our area, we can plan a lot better on what happens. So we will be able to be more efficient at finding people. We still have 2 people that we are teaching, and they are in early learning about the church. They are interested but they are gone for the holidays so that is a bummer but we'll see what else we can find!

The family we just baptized, were taught for about 6 months before they were baptized. Because the had to get married and stuff it took longer then it should have but it turned out great. After baptism, we teach them all of the lessons again so we will spend some more time with them helping them settle in.

Christmas here is observed like new years basically with a few gifts thrown in. Around town, people just throw fireworks and eat lots of food and open a  few gifts. At home, I always remembered listening to soft Christmas music in the living room at night as one of the best Christmas memories and here they don't really care about the music. Sad day.

Well everyone I encourage you all to take a look at your priorities and see if there isn't something you could do to fit in some study time throughout your days. Often times there is something we can move around to fit some spiritual time in. I would recommend finding something that you think you need to improve spiritually and trying to find things that relate to that. I KNOW that you will be blessed for that sacrifice of time for learning.

Well Everyone I love you all and I hope you all have a great new years and I'll see you in 2016!

Elder George

That Special Time of the Year 12-21-15

Elder George and his companion

Hello once again and may I say that this year has FLOWN by and we are at the best time of year once again! I was thinking about it yesterday and I realized I havent talked to the family in like 7 months... So that's gonna be great to see them again! It's also weird to think that this time next year I'll be with all of you once again enjoying all the sweet things and great memories of time passed away. This year went by fast. A lot of things happened on this end too. I finished my training, trained a missionary, I was district leader, zone leader, finally baptized a family, and had some of the best memeroies ever and met some amazing people.  

But what happened this week...? On to the events.

This week was the Christmas Conference with President and it was okay. So everything was the same as last year. There were games and a good lunch and we got our letters/packages from the mission office. I got BOTH of my packages from home and that was exciting! Thank you all so much!.

 

On Saturday, L, E, O, G, B, and B were baptized!! That was amazing!! They all did great and I got to baptize the two sisters. One of them let her foot come out. So, to be sure it wouldn't happen the next time, I told her to put her feet together so she would be completely immersed. Right when I put her under the water, I stood on her feet and made her bend her knees. It went fine after that. They were quite emotional at the end of the meeting and happy that they had made this decision to be baptized.  Since there were 6 baptisms there has to be 6 registers. So,That was a little tricky. But the Spirit was so strong and they all have in mind the goal to go to the temple in a year to be sealed as a family. So we are happy with their commitment. They are doing so well!

 

This week being Christmas will be great. But we will also probably recieve the transfer call on Christmas Eve. So I will be able to tell my family if I'm leaving or staying in person on Christmas! That'll be weird. But I don't know if I'm leaving yet. We'll see I guess.
But this week that was all the notable things... Sorry this one was so short. BUt IT's time for us to go on to the next thing. I love you all and I hope you all have a great Christmas! Love you all!

Elder George

 

 

Christmas is Here Again-12-14-15

Friends and Family!

Hello again and I am soooo happy! So many good things are happening! YAY HOLIDAYS!

So this last week our family got married and they are on schedule! They are getting baptized on Saturday and we are all excited! They are doing great! I will send pictures of the baptism next week! But please... if everyone could pray for them that they will be able to make this commitment and feel confident! THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

We also this week will have our Christmas Conference. There will be three different zones there partying like none other. There should be a lot of activities and snacks and soda! There will be a secret White elephant exchange and that should be a blast. I dont even know what I'm gonna do... I'll see about that today. But for this week that's what'll happen basically. THis past week it was on and off with the temperature... Looks like this week it should be hot and at the same time rainy.. Which isnt too good for us missionaries. That means it'll be humid and NOTHING will dry like it's supposed to. But patience you know? Actually, last week was the same.... It was humid and hot and rained some of the time... basically tormenting us. But regardless of the annoying weather I am just happy today! Life is GOOD!

I have been reading in the Book of Mormon this week and I cam across Alma's conversion story again and may I say, how powerful can one man be? I love the verse in Mosiah 28 (verse 4) that says that he was among the vilest of sinners and he converted. He became one of the most influential prophets of the Book of Mormon. I love the process of repentence and the oppurtunity that it gives us to be better people. Let us remember the reason why we can repent especially at this time of year. The birth of our Savior should remind all of us of His purpose on the earth. "My Father hath sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross. That even as I am lifted up so might man be lifted up to me." (3 Nephi 27:14) This time of year we celebrate the birth of Him who claimed victory over death and saved us all. Let us all rejoice and help one another this time of year. And in doing so let us also forgive a friend and forget his wrong doings of the past. Surely if they have gained forgiveness from God, we can also forgive them and forget the wrong that was done. Let us all remember this and "if my friends can help me" (if I can help others) I would start that action today. 

I love you all and I'll see you all soon with a baptismal picture! 

Elder George