email dated 9/8/08
So I woke up talking like Forrest Gump today and I couldn’t help it. Enjoy the title and remember the black panther meeting. I think that is an American Classic. Good movie.
So, holy cow!! Shalynn Decker is engaged to Biege Hansen!! Congratulations Shalynn! I think you read the blog page, but if not you wont read me saying "congrats", my mom will have to tell you as she makes your wedding dress. Either way, I am so happy for you. That is so crazy!
It is so weird to think of how fast things are changing. My little brother and older brother are both going to MY university in Logan, and Christian is in high school! I am almost a year old in my mission! Dad is 53!! (Which is still young enough to be in my band by the way.) People I know are getting married! I don’t know if Hannah Merkely is already married, but I was SOO happy when I found out she was marrying Ryan Woolsey. Both of which are such great friends to me. Life is so weird and time just keeps on flying by.
So all is well here in Uruguay. The weather is warmer, although we had a really rainy weekend that put a damper on things. Not a lot of people down here go to church when it is raining. It isn’t like the US where we all have cars. But the important 3 still came, that is the 3 investigators that have baptismal dates for this month.
Maria Rosa, is a 50 year old woman who has gone from smoking 3 packs a day to 6 cigarettes. She has a few more weeks and she wants to be completely stopped so that she can be baptized.
Julieta, 40-ish, quit smoking cold turkey. From half a pack a day to nothing. I am proud of her. It has been a full week and she says every time she feels like smoking she reads the Book of Mormon.
And Federico, our 14 year old boy, has decided that he doesn’t care what anyone thinks. His mom is a member from youth but hasn’t been going to church for 20 years because of her husband. Federico’s brothers and sisters and his dad all said that he shouldn’t go through with it. But he told me yesterday that he wants me to baptize him and he doesn’t care if nobody comes in his whole family because he feels it is what is right for him. He had decided on telling us not to come back anymore, but felt sick about saying that, and then prayed and decided he wanted to continue with us and felt good about it. Very simple prayer answering like we taught him. I am proud of him. We need to soften his dad’s heart. The dad wont prohibit him from being baptized, but he openly says he doesn’t like it.
So those are the 3 we have going on right now. We found a bunch of investigators this last week, my very best finding week in the whole mission. Anyway, the work is progressing. I don’t want to talk about my numbers anymore because I know how not-fun they are to read for you all. Another Elder writes me and always just writes about the numbers and the baptisms, and I know I don’t enjoy that kind of mail so I bet you all don’t enjoy it.
Elder Ballard and I have been playing guitars in our spare time after planning at night, and this morning for P-day, and I have decided that music is saving my life. I don’t remember ever being happier in the whole mission. Playing makes me feel soo good. It makes me want to start a band when I get back to Logan. I think I will. I am already discussing a band name with Ballard. We are writing some fun music, and don’t worry, it is mission appropriate music. We aren’t truchos.
So, I hope everyone is doing just peachy. I am healthier than I was in Tacuarembo and so I feel really good. And my companion is a stud and I love our house of 4. We have a good time together. And we are working hard. The mission has never been better. I think I am finally getting the hang of this whole mission thing.
Take care! I love y'all!!
Andy
Monday, September 15, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Myldsmail and the Atheist
Wow, so myldsmail must hate me. I was doing my email 4 hours ago and it kicked me out and had some problems...after I had already written a good long email. It was less than ideal. So now I am back and it is working. We went to go and see an Elder off, who had to go home because a cement wall fell on him last month and broke his pelvis in 4 places. He was a good Elder. It was really sad seeing him. He was SO skinny and sickly looking. We sang him God Be With You and he was gone. And now I am back at the email thing.
So I wrote about how happy our hero was again this week. I think he is still living off of his birthday high. I still got some more birthday mail this week and a package from Ashley. For the second time in my mission she has tried sending me a recorder and for the second time it was robbed. It is indeed tragic. The recorder, as we will all remember from my MTC triumph with Elder Bodily, is an amazing instrument. Our "If You Could Hie To Kolob" Piano and Recorder duo was epic. But I have a feeling now that the birthday has come to an end and I am now just a regular 20 year old boy...man.
So I have a story that I fear will be a novel. We will see how it comes out. It is another Andy Shepherd experience.
This week I have been placing a huge emphasis on my faith and really going for an absolute "knowledge" of the existence of God. Don’t ask me why, I usually am not on that theme but this week I was. In my personal studies I was searching out scriptures on the theme, for example Alma 30 where Alma talks about how everything denotes there is a God. Etc... And I have daily been listening to a Jessie Clark Funk song called "Everything Speaks His Name". (Jessie Clark Funk is my guilty pleasure music in the mission. She is an EFY singer more or less and as such is approved. She has a style that reminds me of Carrie Underwood and so it is fun...I like it. Don’t make fun of me.) Anyway, and the song talks about that theme. I have had it stuck in my head. I have been praying every night for an experience that will strengthen my faith and understanding of why I am here. Not doubting, just asking for more faith. Still with me. Good. The point up 'til now is that I made a real emphasis in my studies and prayers on just the existence of God.
Elder Stevenson and I were in a ward blitz in another area in the city last Saturday morning. We were knocking, because that is what you do in blitzes because you don’t know anyone or anything. We came across a 25 year old man walking with a 1 year old baby, rather teaching his kid to walk on the sidewalk. I saw him and thought "FAMILY", which is a missionary target, and we went in. He told us he was atheist and that he didn’t really have interest in talking to us. I said "well, we just want to chat, we go around getting to know people and talking about what we do and believe, can we come by some other time?" And he said "just come by now." That was weird, so we followed him home down the street and went in and talked to him.
Before I continue, I have never had this kind of a connection before with ANY investigator or person in the Guay (Gwy as we say it). He told me about his life story and the reason he is atheist. He was born in the ghetto of ghettos here in Uruguay, was mixed up in drugs and gangs and stealing during his teenage years, and somehow overcame all that "without God" and now he has a house, a beautiful wife and a baby boy and steady work. He has it all. I was so impressed with him. He was SOO nice and very sincere, very open. He reminded me of me because he just opened up and started rambling on like I always do to other people. We were instantly friends. The difference being our philosophies on life.
He proceeded to tell me the very common atheist theme, "if God existed there wouldn’t be so much suffering in the world." Now here is where this story gets me, I had been studying and preparing myself all week for this visit without knowing it. I realize now that all that studying was for me, it wasn’t even for him. I didn’t share one scripture with him that I had read, or anything of that kind. But I felt a sympathy and an empathy that I normally wouldn’t have had for him. I related to him. It was interesting. Anyway, moving on. So he tells us his way of thinking and I told him mine. We talked for an hour. The spirit spoke to me in a way that is rare for me and I responded to my feelings. I told him a story that I don’t know if I have told many of you before, but the spirit prompted me to share a story about 10 year old Andy Shepherd. I originally thought "he wont care about a story from my childhood, he needs something more recent more substantial..." but I couldn’t deny how I felt. So I told him this.
When I was in the 4th or 5th grade I had decided, for a time, that God didn’t exist. I had learned about dinosaurs in school, and my logical mind had decided that they didn’t work well with the story of Genesis I learned in primary. I said to myself, even at that age (believe me or not but that is the kind of sweet cute boy I was), "God doesn’t exist. Science has proven that." I told myself I have to keep going to church because I don’t want to hurt my parents feelings, but when I grow up I will stop going to church. I really told myself this stuff!! I was a logical little boy. I then told him also about how I decided to start praying because there was a song called A Child's Prayer that made me cry and I didn’t know why. At that age I offered my first personal prayer that I can remember all by myself in my room on the bottom bunk. The prayer went something like this "God, if you exist then you hear me. If you don’t I am just talking to myself and so this doesn’t really mean anything." I prayed like this for a while. It became a daily thing praying. I don’t know at what moment I began taking out the phrase "if you exist" and I don’t know when I started believing. I only know that I began to feel and know that God existed.
Now, as I told that story it answered my prayers. I hadn’t thought of that story in a while, but it is one of the early foundations of my faith. We talked about the plan, and how we cant say that God doesn’t exist because of suffering. I said we need to understand our purpose for being here. Etc.. You all know all of this so we will move on. He responded to it a little bit. He even started coming to the conclusion that my beliefs were beautiful because I believed in an eternal life, and a just god. He was obsessed with the theme justice. He said if there was a God He would be just. As we explained the plan he saw that we believed in justice. And that in our beliefs those that suffer at least have something going for them, whereas in his beliefs they suffered, died, and that sucked. He saw how beautiful a hope and faith in God can be. And he invited us back. And promised me he would start praying the same way little boy Andy Shepherd prayed. And he wants us to play football with him. I really wish he was in my area. We had to turn him over to the other Elders. Anyway, I have never seen a receptive Atheist, especially one that has been through what he went through. The experience wasn’t only for him. I felt something completely new to me.
I knew that I needed to be there in that area on Saturday morning. As I looked my new friend in the eyes I felt that I knew him for some reason. I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. A sensation I never felt before came over me. I am typically not a person to say the whole "there are no coincidences" phrase, because I usually think God lets things roll off our agency, but Saturday morning was not a coincidence. I cannot deny what I felt with that man. I had a connection with him that I have never felt before with any other human being. I was supposed to be here in Uruguay, in this ward, and on those divisions, to talk to him on Saturday morning. I cant describe it. Mock my feelings if you will, but I felt something miraculous that has strengthened my faith. My faith is strengthened, and an atheist is talking to God, even if he does feel "stupid doing it".
I know that God exists. I know that Jesus Christ lives. And I know that God is fair and loving and that we can all be with Him again someday. I love you all and I have to go. Take care of yourselves!!
Andy
So I wrote about how happy our hero was again this week. I think he is still living off of his birthday high. I still got some more birthday mail this week and a package from Ashley. For the second time in my mission she has tried sending me a recorder and for the second time it was robbed. It is indeed tragic. The recorder, as we will all remember from my MTC triumph with Elder Bodily, is an amazing instrument. Our "If You Could Hie To Kolob" Piano and Recorder duo was epic. But I have a feeling now that the birthday has come to an end and I am now just a regular 20 year old boy...man.
So I have a story that I fear will be a novel. We will see how it comes out. It is another Andy Shepherd experience.
This week I have been placing a huge emphasis on my faith and really going for an absolute "knowledge" of the existence of God. Don’t ask me why, I usually am not on that theme but this week I was. In my personal studies I was searching out scriptures on the theme, for example Alma 30 where Alma talks about how everything denotes there is a God. Etc... And I have daily been listening to a Jessie Clark Funk song called "Everything Speaks His Name". (Jessie Clark Funk is my guilty pleasure music in the mission. She is an EFY singer more or less and as such is approved. She has a style that reminds me of Carrie Underwood and so it is fun...I like it. Don’t make fun of me.) Anyway, and the song talks about that theme. I have had it stuck in my head. I have been praying every night for an experience that will strengthen my faith and understanding of why I am here. Not doubting, just asking for more faith. Still with me. Good. The point up 'til now is that I made a real emphasis in my studies and prayers on just the existence of God.
Elder Stevenson and I were in a ward blitz in another area in the city last Saturday morning. We were knocking, because that is what you do in blitzes because you don’t know anyone or anything. We came across a 25 year old man walking with a 1 year old baby, rather teaching his kid to walk on the sidewalk. I saw him and thought "FAMILY", which is a missionary target, and we went in. He told us he was atheist and that he didn’t really have interest in talking to us. I said "well, we just want to chat, we go around getting to know people and talking about what we do and believe, can we come by some other time?" And he said "just come by now." That was weird, so we followed him home down the street and went in and talked to him.
Before I continue, I have never had this kind of a connection before with ANY investigator or person in the Guay (Gwy as we say it). He told me about his life story and the reason he is atheist. He was born in the ghetto of ghettos here in Uruguay, was mixed up in drugs and gangs and stealing during his teenage years, and somehow overcame all that "without God" and now he has a house, a beautiful wife and a baby boy and steady work. He has it all. I was so impressed with him. He was SOO nice and very sincere, very open. He reminded me of me because he just opened up and started rambling on like I always do to other people. We were instantly friends. The difference being our philosophies on life.
He proceeded to tell me the very common atheist theme, "if God existed there wouldn’t be so much suffering in the world." Now here is where this story gets me, I had been studying and preparing myself all week for this visit without knowing it. I realize now that all that studying was for me, it wasn’t even for him. I didn’t share one scripture with him that I had read, or anything of that kind. But I felt a sympathy and an empathy that I normally wouldn’t have had for him. I related to him. It was interesting. Anyway, moving on. So he tells us his way of thinking and I told him mine. We talked for an hour. The spirit spoke to me in a way that is rare for me and I responded to my feelings. I told him a story that I don’t know if I have told many of you before, but the spirit prompted me to share a story about 10 year old Andy Shepherd. I originally thought "he wont care about a story from my childhood, he needs something more recent more substantial..." but I couldn’t deny how I felt. So I told him this.
When I was in the 4th or 5th grade I had decided, for a time, that God didn’t exist. I had learned about dinosaurs in school, and my logical mind had decided that they didn’t work well with the story of Genesis I learned in primary. I said to myself, even at that age (believe me or not but that is the kind of sweet cute boy I was), "God doesn’t exist. Science has proven that." I told myself I have to keep going to church because I don’t want to hurt my parents feelings, but when I grow up I will stop going to church. I really told myself this stuff!! I was a logical little boy. I then told him also about how I decided to start praying because there was a song called A Child's Prayer that made me cry and I didn’t know why. At that age I offered my first personal prayer that I can remember all by myself in my room on the bottom bunk. The prayer went something like this "God, if you exist then you hear me. If you don’t I am just talking to myself and so this doesn’t really mean anything." I prayed like this for a while. It became a daily thing praying. I don’t know at what moment I began taking out the phrase "if you exist" and I don’t know when I started believing. I only know that I began to feel and know that God existed.
Now, as I told that story it answered my prayers. I hadn’t thought of that story in a while, but it is one of the early foundations of my faith. We talked about the plan, and how we cant say that God doesn’t exist because of suffering. I said we need to understand our purpose for being here. Etc.. You all know all of this so we will move on. He responded to it a little bit. He even started coming to the conclusion that my beliefs were beautiful because I believed in an eternal life, and a just god. He was obsessed with the theme justice. He said if there was a God He would be just. As we explained the plan he saw that we believed in justice. And that in our beliefs those that suffer at least have something going for them, whereas in his beliefs they suffered, died, and that sucked. He saw how beautiful a hope and faith in God can be. And he invited us back. And promised me he would start praying the same way little boy Andy Shepherd prayed. And he wants us to play football with him. I really wish he was in my area. We had to turn him over to the other Elders. Anyway, I have never seen a receptive Atheist, especially one that has been through what he went through. The experience wasn’t only for him. I felt something completely new to me.
I knew that I needed to be there in that area on Saturday morning. As I looked my new friend in the eyes I felt that I knew him for some reason. I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be. A sensation I never felt before came over me. I am typically not a person to say the whole "there are no coincidences" phrase, because I usually think God lets things roll off our agency, but Saturday morning was not a coincidence. I cannot deny what I felt with that man. I had a connection with him that I have never felt before with any other human being. I was supposed to be here in Uruguay, in this ward, and on those divisions, to talk to him on Saturday morning. I cant describe it. Mock my feelings if you will, but I felt something miraculous that has strengthened my faith. My faith is strengthened, and an atheist is talking to God, even if he does feel "stupid doing it".
I know that God exists. I know that Jesus Christ lives. And I know that God is fair and loving and that we can all be with Him again someday. I love you all and I have to go. Take care of yourselves!!
Andy
One Happy Elder
I think I could be the happiest I remember ever being in my whole mission. I just feel really good today. There are many factors, I believe. Allow me to share.
I had a SWEET birthday. On Thursday I got 2 packages, just in time for me to open the next day on my birthday. I was very happy for the new CDs, the blankets, the letters, the pics of nieces and nephews, Teddy’s adorable letter, CANNED CHEESE and RITZ!!!, a scarf, a really AWESOME P-day jacket, etc... It was a happy birthday indeed. And I gotta hand it to Shalynn Decker, she is smart at wrapping a package. I imagine she didn’t want it to get robbed and so it was wrapped by tin foil, wrapping paper, followed by a black garbage bag. Any thief would have given up by the time he reached the tin foil. My companion Elder Stevenson bought 5 meters of pizza for the 4 of us in the house to share and Elder Ballard and Elder Holloway bought me a cake. It was a happy birthday.
So the birthday was good, but I am also very excited about the new house and companions. We all get along just swimmingly and we will have a good time together. But I must say the house just makes all the difference now! We have a piano in the house!!!!!! The lady we rent it from just left the piano in there. And Elder Ballard is a really good guitar player and so we jammed for a few hours this morning, wrote a few songs, etc... It felt SO good to play music. That definitely is a factor for how good I feel. Music is a very wholesome P-day activity.
I got really good emails today from family, and it is SO cool to hear that Logan has some Shepherds there again. It makes me so happy to hear that everyone is doing well.
The weather is warming up. 'Nuf said.
I am happy.
The new area is pretty different. It is BIG and the people are very different. I am going to have to refine my street approach because you only have 3 seconds before they are done with you. We don’t have a lot of investigators, but we will change that soon, and I am excited about our ward. It is a really good ward. In church yesterday there were good classes, Sacrament Meeting was very edifying, and the ward is already in love with me because I played my very awesome arrangement of Joseph Smith’s First Prayer. Many lunch invitations followed. This seems to be a strong ward. I am excited to work with them.
We did a lot of knocking and street contacting this week, because we don’t have a lot going on, and we found a few people. We will see how they progress.
Life is good. I am the happiest I have ever been on the mission. I am feeling into the groove of things, I feel decently fluent in the language, it is fun feeling cool this week because I am senior companion (even though that doesn’t really mean anything), and I love all of you for all your prayers and all you do for me! I have to go. Out of time. Love you all!!
Andy
I had a SWEET birthday. On Thursday I got 2 packages, just in time for me to open the next day on my birthday. I was very happy for the new CDs, the blankets, the letters, the pics of nieces and nephews, Teddy’s adorable letter, CANNED CHEESE and RITZ!!!, a scarf, a really AWESOME P-day jacket, etc... It was a happy birthday indeed. And I gotta hand it to Shalynn Decker, she is smart at wrapping a package. I imagine she didn’t want it to get robbed and so it was wrapped by tin foil, wrapping paper, followed by a black garbage bag. Any thief would have given up by the time he reached the tin foil. My companion Elder Stevenson bought 5 meters of pizza for the 4 of us in the house to share and Elder Ballard and Elder Holloway bought me a cake. It was a happy birthday.
So the birthday was good, but I am also very excited about the new house and companions. We all get along just swimmingly and we will have a good time together. But I must say the house just makes all the difference now! We have a piano in the house!!!!!! The lady we rent it from just left the piano in there. And Elder Ballard is a really good guitar player and so we jammed for a few hours this morning, wrote a few songs, etc... It felt SO good to play music. That definitely is a factor for how good I feel. Music is a very wholesome P-day activity.
I got really good emails today from family, and it is SO cool to hear that Logan has some Shepherds there again. It makes me so happy to hear that everyone is doing well.
The weather is warming up. 'Nuf said.
I am happy.
The new area is pretty different. It is BIG and the people are very different. I am going to have to refine my street approach because you only have 3 seconds before they are done with you. We don’t have a lot of investigators, but we will change that soon, and I am excited about our ward. It is a really good ward. In church yesterday there were good classes, Sacrament Meeting was very edifying, and the ward is already in love with me because I played my very awesome arrangement of Joseph Smith’s First Prayer. Many lunch invitations followed. This seems to be a strong ward. I am excited to work with them.
We did a lot of knocking and street contacting this week, because we don’t have a lot going on, and we found a few people. We will see how they progress.
Life is good. I am the happiest I have ever been on the mission. I am feeling into the groove of things, I feel decently fluent in the language, it is fun feeling cool this week because I am senior companion (even though that doesn’t really mean anything), and I love all of you for all your prayers and all you do for me! I have to go. Out of time. Love you all!!
Andy
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Cerro
Transfers are in...and my companion and I are both leaving. He is going to the offices and I am going to a place called Cerro, which is down in Montevideo more or less. I don’t really know much about it. It is hard that we are both leaving; this is the second time that has happened to me, but I know the missionary who is coming in. He is a guy named Elder Hansen and there aren’t better missionaries in the world. He is one of the most sincere, obedient, and hard working guys I have ever met. It won’t surprise me when he is in the Quorum of the 12 someday. He is training in my area. I feel good leaving him our investigators. It is sad to leave when it felt like we were getting things together, but I did want to go so I am not complaining. He and his greenie are spoiled. We left them some of the best investigators I have seen my whole mission, including a family we found last week that is AMAZING. The 14 year old and 10 year old boy even participate in the lessons!! It is truly a whole family with mom and dad and brothers and sister. They are so nice! The mom cried when we said we were leaving, but also promised to keep reading and praying and of course to go to church this Sunday.
On the flipside of things, in Cerro I will be with one Elder Stevenson. He has been out a few months less than I have and they say he is really strong. He supposedly can bench 300 pounds or something like that, so I will be safe even though I am in the city. I am also excited for the opportunity to lose a few pounds, I hope. The missionaries don’t eat with members every day down there. Furthermore, I am excited because I hear I am going to be in a house of 4 missionaries. I have never done that before, but I think I will like it. A lot of missionaries say it sucks to be in a house with 4, sharing the bathroom and all that, but I think I won’t mind. I am kind of excited. You get to meet and get to know more people that way. It is a new adventure.
I feel content. I honestly feel I can tell myself that I gave Tacuarembo the best I could. I feel like with Elder Surtees and Elder Oliphant that we made a difference here. We did leave it better than we found it.
There isn’t much great to tell. I don’t have any funny stories today, nor any political rants, nor any funny jokes. I am tired. I packed this morning, and I HATE packing, and I still have to run around and say a few more goodbyes today.
Pray for me. I know God will hear you. He always hears me. But pray and remember that it makes a difference. Just because God knows everything already does not take the responsibility off of us nor the necessity to speak to Him with full purpose of heart. He knows our heart. It says in the scriptures more times than I know, "ask and ye shall receive." Understand and know that when you pray for me I feel it. I feel it when you don’t. There are some blessings God is waiting to give us if we remember to ask. "This is life eternal" to know God the Eternal Father, and His son whom He sent (John 17:3). If we want to get to know Him we have to be on frequent communication. I am praying for you and, as often as memory permits, by name. There are a lot of people to remember, but I do my best. I never really understood what MJ, my cuñado, was saying about falling asleep on your knees and being so tired, but now that I am out here as a missionary I get it. I have lost count of the times I have fallen asleep on my knees. I finally made a deal with God, because my knees hurt, that I would end the official prayer and get into bed and then keep talking to Him until I fell asleep. It is working out fine. He is always listening and it isn’t a joke. You need to converse with Him and He will give you rest.
I wish you all the best. I love you!
Andy
On the flipside of things, in Cerro I will be with one Elder Stevenson. He has been out a few months less than I have and they say he is really strong. He supposedly can bench 300 pounds or something like that, so I will be safe even though I am in the city. I am also excited for the opportunity to lose a few pounds, I hope. The missionaries don’t eat with members every day down there. Furthermore, I am excited because I hear I am going to be in a house of 4 missionaries. I have never done that before, but I think I will like it. A lot of missionaries say it sucks to be in a house with 4, sharing the bathroom and all that, but I think I won’t mind. I am kind of excited. You get to meet and get to know more people that way. It is a new adventure.
I feel content. I honestly feel I can tell myself that I gave Tacuarembo the best I could. I feel like with Elder Surtees and Elder Oliphant that we made a difference here. We did leave it better than we found it.
There isn’t much great to tell. I don’t have any funny stories today, nor any political rants, nor any funny jokes. I am tired. I packed this morning, and I HATE packing, and I still have to run around and say a few more goodbyes today.
Pray for me. I know God will hear you. He always hears me. But pray and remember that it makes a difference. Just because God knows everything already does not take the responsibility off of us nor the necessity to speak to Him with full purpose of heart. He knows our heart. It says in the scriptures more times than I know, "ask and ye shall receive." Understand and know that when you pray for me I feel it. I feel it when you don’t. There are some blessings God is waiting to give us if we remember to ask. "This is life eternal" to know God the Eternal Father, and His son whom He sent (John 17:3). If we want to get to know Him we have to be on frequent communication. I am praying for you and, as often as memory permits, by name. There are a lot of people to remember, but I do my best. I never really understood what MJ, my cuñado, was saying about falling asleep on your knees and being so tired, but now that I am out here as a missionary I get it. I have lost count of the times I have fallen asleep on my knees. I finally made a deal with God, because my knees hurt, that I would end the official prayer and get into bed and then keep talking to Him until I fell asleep. It is working out fine. He is always listening and it isn’t a joke. You need to converse with Him and He will give you rest.
I wish you all the best. I love you!
Andy
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Really Clever Title
So I am running out of ideas for really clever titles. At least today I can't think of anything and I don’t want to waste 2 minutes thinking about it.
Our hero continues preaching the gospel and suffering from Gastritis. He needs a transfer because this ward feeds him too much and doesn’t understand that he doesn’t want a Thanksgiving Feast with dessert every day for lunch, rather he just needs to strengthen and nourish his body. But our hero cannot offend anyone. It is a rule in Latin America that if you refuse a second plate it is because you hated the first and missionaries can’t afford to send that message to anyone. This is the first time in my mission I have openly stated a preference of what I want to happen with transfers. I need out of here. And for only one reason: my health. I feel sick! Everyday I dread eating. What makes it harder is that we have to return to the house after lunch for our studies. Here in Uruguay there is Siesta and so what would be morning studies in a normal mission are in the afternoon here. The problem is after eating lunch I want to die and studying is an impossibility as my intestines are turned upside down. And then I still have to work the rest of the afternoon. I am convinced that if I am transferred somewhere where I can choose what and when I eat I will be a lot better off. My studies are slacking and my health is slipping. One more week in Tacuarembo! Let us cross our fingers.
Having said that, I do love this area. The members are great and a missionary with a stronger stomach would do well here. I am still doing well despite the health. We are still finding and teaching, and we have a few people with baptismal dates, etc... The work continues. I try to avoid writing too many details about all the people because if I did my emails would be pretty dull for y'all. We currently do have some really nice investigators. If you want to hear about them, ask me in 2 years and we will read my handwritten journal which has a more full account of the people we are teaching.
Lately I have been really recognizing the importance of the family in society. It is no joke. The Proclamation to the World that the First Presidency sent out in 1995 is a very powerful document that I am coming to appreciate. They warn us that if we do not protect the family institution that all the calamities and disasters foretold by the prophets will come upon us. I believe that. Let me explain.
Uruguay is not the strongest country in the world, economically or politically. My heart aches for a people who I see in desperate need. This last week, there was a night we were walking home and we saw a guy crash on his bike. His 5-7 year old son was following on a smaller bike. We ran up to help and discovered the man to be the definition of inebriated, absolutely plastered, drunk! We helped him to his feet and he started spouting off some stuff about "Good Old Joseph Smith" and stumbling all around. The cute little boy went and put the chain on his dad’s bike back on track and said, "I put the chain on for you. Let’s go home." And then the little kid eagerly remounted his own little bicycle and awaited his father. The man was still spouting off random stuff about Joe Smith and the Gold Bible and I really wanted to take that kid and adopt him that minute. The drunk fell back down because he couldn’t even stand up straight! I couldn’t help but cry a little. My companion whispered some encouraging words to the kid while I told the drunk he needed to get his act together and helped him to his bike. I think that was the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life: That poor little kid following his stumbling father in the dark.
The tragedy of a story like that, and many other experiences I have had here, is that it is not just one time. But as literally as that little boy was falling his "stumbling father in the dark" it is as spiritually applicable. I tire of seeing the kids here follow the examples of their parents. But it is a psychological reality. Children very often become like their parents. We studied it in psychology and it is more than a good correlation. Take me for example. What do I want to do? I want to get my doctorate someday and teach in the meanwhile until I can someday be a professor. Who is my father? A teacher who got his doctorate who currently does work as a professor. Look at my brothers! There isn’t a single one that doesn’t talk about the possibility of wanting to be a teacher! College grads raise kids who want to be college grads. We learn from our parents. We often follow their example, because it is something with which we are familiar. Ahora, let’s try to count how many families I know in this ward and my last that have both mother and father. I can count them on 2 hands!!! Now let’s count how many pregnant 14-20 year old girls with no boy in sight I know of EVEN inside the church. In just 2 mission areas the number is in the 20´s.
One thing that breaks my heart about this country is seeing the youth not live up to its potential. In a country with education completely free, including university studies, how many students even graduate from their high school education? The last statistic I heard was around 1 in 5!! And I see it too. I am with these people every day. And then these drop outs live off of their socialist government welfare and pass the tradition on to their children, who in most cases are following in a pattern of a low standard of living, dropping out of school as well because everyone else is doing it and their parents are no example, and the cycle goes on and on. What is the remedy? What is the only solution? And now we arrive at the point of all of this, including the reason I am here as a missionary. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer.
People that live the gospel, understand the principles, do what the church teaches us to do, are the people that will finish their studies, that try to have a good job so that they can provide for a family, a family with father and mother who serve as equal partners in raising children that will hopefully set similar goals for their futures. Of course it isn’t easy or perfect. And I am not so naive as to think that everybody who keeps the commandments and tries living the gospel has an enchanted life with a perfect family. I know that it isn’t easy or perfect, that there are casualties on all sides, even in families that are trying to be centered in the gospel, but I would guess that those that are living gospel standards are seeing better results. I am beginning to recognize the importance of having a family based on Gospel Principles. Or at least even a family based on any principles.
I love the people here SO much!!! I want so badly for them to make their lives better. Whenever I teach a young person the lessons, I always apply it to their young lives and tell them they need to graduate from school. Sometimes I care as much that they graduate from school as I care if they get baptized. I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. That the Gospel is the answer. If a society neglects the importance of the family, the economy is worsened, the education is worsened, the politics get dirty and full of empty promises, and the people suffer. I have always heard these things my whole life, but never experienced them for myself because I lived a sheltered life in West Jordan Utah and these problems didn’t exist to me. Now that I see them every day I understand. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer for our spiritual salvation, but, even on a temporal level, we need to live gospel standards or our societies will struggle. I am not suggesting forcing people to do anything--on a political level I state no opinion right now--but as a missionary I say very boldly that I will teach this message until I die if it means I can help some families change their lives and find, if only in their own homes, heaven.
I love you all. Sorry about preaching to you all. You know I am opinionated and a man of many words. I hope you take special notice of the word "man," because this month I turn 20 and I have decided I am officially a man. Someone needs to watch the Man From Snowy River for me and tell me all the requirements of manhood so that I can ensure I have arrived. Take care! I love you!!
Andy
Our hero continues preaching the gospel and suffering from Gastritis. He needs a transfer because this ward feeds him too much and doesn’t understand that he doesn’t want a Thanksgiving Feast with dessert every day for lunch, rather he just needs to strengthen and nourish his body. But our hero cannot offend anyone. It is a rule in Latin America that if you refuse a second plate it is because you hated the first and missionaries can’t afford to send that message to anyone. This is the first time in my mission I have openly stated a preference of what I want to happen with transfers. I need out of here. And for only one reason: my health. I feel sick! Everyday I dread eating. What makes it harder is that we have to return to the house after lunch for our studies. Here in Uruguay there is Siesta and so what would be morning studies in a normal mission are in the afternoon here. The problem is after eating lunch I want to die and studying is an impossibility as my intestines are turned upside down. And then I still have to work the rest of the afternoon. I am convinced that if I am transferred somewhere where I can choose what and when I eat I will be a lot better off. My studies are slacking and my health is slipping. One more week in Tacuarembo! Let us cross our fingers.
Having said that, I do love this area. The members are great and a missionary with a stronger stomach would do well here. I am still doing well despite the health. We are still finding and teaching, and we have a few people with baptismal dates, etc... The work continues. I try to avoid writing too many details about all the people because if I did my emails would be pretty dull for y'all. We currently do have some really nice investigators. If you want to hear about them, ask me in 2 years and we will read my handwritten journal which has a more full account of the people we are teaching.
Lately I have been really recognizing the importance of the family in society. It is no joke. The Proclamation to the World that the First Presidency sent out in 1995 is a very powerful document that I am coming to appreciate. They warn us that if we do not protect the family institution that all the calamities and disasters foretold by the prophets will come upon us. I believe that. Let me explain.
Uruguay is not the strongest country in the world, economically or politically. My heart aches for a people who I see in desperate need. This last week, there was a night we were walking home and we saw a guy crash on his bike. His 5-7 year old son was following on a smaller bike. We ran up to help and discovered the man to be the definition of inebriated, absolutely plastered, drunk! We helped him to his feet and he started spouting off some stuff about "Good Old Joseph Smith" and stumbling all around. The cute little boy went and put the chain on his dad’s bike back on track and said, "I put the chain on for you. Let’s go home." And then the little kid eagerly remounted his own little bicycle and awaited his father. The man was still spouting off random stuff about Joe Smith and the Gold Bible and I really wanted to take that kid and adopt him that minute. The drunk fell back down because he couldn’t even stand up straight! I couldn’t help but cry a little. My companion whispered some encouraging words to the kid while I told the drunk he needed to get his act together and helped him to his bike. I think that was the saddest thing I have ever seen in my life: That poor little kid following his stumbling father in the dark.
The tragedy of a story like that, and many other experiences I have had here, is that it is not just one time. But as literally as that little boy was falling his "stumbling father in the dark" it is as spiritually applicable. I tire of seeing the kids here follow the examples of their parents. But it is a psychological reality. Children very often become like their parents. We studied it in psychology and it is more than a good correlation. Take me for example. What do I want to do? I want to get my doctorate someday and teach in the meanwhile until I can someday be a professor. Who is my father? A teacher who got his doctorate who currently does work as a professor. Look at my brothers! There isn’t a single one that doesn’t talk about the possibility of wanting to be a teacher! College grads raise kids who want to be college grads. We learn from our parents. We often follow their example, because it is something with which we are familiar. Ahora, let’s try to count how many families I know in this ward and my last that have both mother and father. I can count them on 2 hands!!! Now let’s count how many pregnant 14-20 year old girls with no boy in sight I know of EVEN inside the church. In just 2 mission areas the number is in the 20´s.
One thing that breaks my heart about this country is seeing the youth not live up to its potential. In a country with education completely free, including university studies, how many students even graduate from their high school education? The last statistic I heard was around 1 in 5!! And I see it too. I am with these people every day. And then these drop outs live off of their socialist government welfare and pass the tradition on to their children, who in most cases are following in a pattern of a low standard of living, dropping out of school as well because everyone else is doing it and their parents are no example, and the cycle goes on and on. What is the remedy? What is the only solution? And now we arrive at the point of all of this, including the reason I am here as a missionary. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer.
People that live the gospel, understand the principles, do what the church teaches us to do, are the people that will finish their studies, that try to have a good job so that they can provide for a family, a family with father and mother who serve as equal partners in raising children that will hopefully set similar goals for their futures. Of course it isn’t easy or perfect. And I am not so naive as to think that everybody who keeps the commandments and tries living the gospel has an enchanted life with a perfect family. I know that it isn’t easy or perfect, that there are casualties on all sides, even in families that are trying to be centered in the gospel, but I would guess that those that are living gospel standards are seeing better results. I am beginning to recognize the importance of having a family based on Gospel Principles. Or at least even a family based on any principles.
I love the people here SO much!!! I want so badly for them to make their lives better. Whenever I teach a young person the lessons, I always apply it to their young lives and tell them they need to graduate from school. Sometimes I care as much that they graduate from school as I care if they get baptized. I testify that the gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families. That the Gospel is the answer. If a society neglects the importance of the family, the economy is worsened, the education is worsened, the politics get dirty and full of empty promises, and the people suffer. I have always heard these things my whole life, but never experienced them for myself because I lived a sheltered life in West Jordan Utah and these problems didn’t exist to me. Now that I see them every day I understand. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer for our spiritual salvation, but, even on a temporal level, we need to live gospel standards or our societies will struggle. I am not suggesting forcing people to do anything--on a political level I state no opinion right now--but as a missionary I say very boldly that I will teach this message until I die if it means I can help some families change their lives and find, if only in their own homes, heaven.
I love you all. Sorry about preaching to you all. You know I am opinionated and a man of many words. I hope you take special notice of the word "man," because this month I turn 20 and I have decided I am officially a man. Someone needs to watch the Man From Snowy River for me and tell me all the requirements of manhood so that I can ensure I have arrived. Take care! I love you!!
Andy
Monday, August 4, 2008
There was a time I loved dogs
All the movies always depict the pound as this scary evil place that snatches up the dogs. I am very grateful to be from the United States where we have a pound. I have been trying to count how many dogs more or less "live" on my street. I have counted up past 40 and I am done counting. There are more. This dog lover is starting to lose his patience. Last night at 3 in the morning they decided to have a concert. I tried counting the different barks there were. There were over 15. But counting dog barks is not like counting sheep; it does not help you sleep at all. I found myself fantasizing that if I only had a gun... I am sure a good few weeks in the states and I will love dogs again, but I am kind of sick of them to be honest.
There isn’t much to tell. We gave a 14 year old girl that has been going to church with her friend for 5 months a baptismal date. We are dropping the investigators that failed to go to church 3 weeks in a row. We are on the hunt.
One thing that makes me sad is that SO many missionaries, upon being rejected, take the attitude: "well, I gave them their chance. Too bad for them. My hands are clean of their blood." And I understand that thought process; I am not free of it at times. Paul in the New Testament was that way when he taught the Jews. "My hands are clean of your blood! I am going now to the gentiles!" My only problem with it is it sometimes seems very uncharitable. I want nothing to do with any type of thought process that doesn’t show love for my fellow men. It is hard when you teach someone, and you know they feel it, and you know they believe it, but they are just too lazy to change their lives. It hurts because we want SOO bad that they can make their lives better through the church and through faith in Jesus Christ. In my interviews with the president I mentioned, "I am fine, it makes me sad sometimes when people hate us before we even talk to them..." And what he said to me was, "The Savior said ‘They Hated Me before they hated you’." I was thinking about that, and that advice does me no good. I don’t want them to hate Him, my Savior. That actually makes me sadder than them hating me. I am really placing an emphasis this week on remembering charity. I found myself as we dropped some investigators thinking, "they will regret that someday." I didn’t like it. That isn’t me. So I have taken to reading Corinthians 13 every morning.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. I gotta go. Take care and remember to love them that hate you and do good to them that despitefully use you, etc... I love you all!!
Andy
There isn’t much to tell. We gave a 14 year old girl that has been going to church with her friend for 5 months a baptismal date. We are dropping the investigators that failed to go to church 3 weeks in a row. We are on the hunt.
One thing that makes me sad is that SO many missionaries, upon being rejected, take the attitude: "well, I gave them their chance. Too bad for them. My hands are clean of their blood." And I understand that thought process; I am not free of it at times. Paul in the New Testament was that way when he taught the Jews. "My hands are clean of your blood! I am going now to the gentiles!" My only problem with it is it sometimes seems very uncharitable. I want nothing to do with any type of thought process that doesn’t show love for my fellow men. It is hard when you teach someone, and you know they feel it, and you know they believe it, but they are just too lazy to change their lives. It hurts because we want SOO bad that they can make their lives better through the church and through faith in Jesus Christ. In my interviews with the president I mentioned, "I am fine, it makes me sad sometimes when people hate us before we even talk to them..." And what he said to me was, "The Savior said ‘They Hated Me before they hated you’." I was thinking about that, and that advice does me no good. I don’t want them to hate Him, my Savior. That actually makes me sadder than them hating me. I am really placing an emphasis this week on remembering charity. I found myself as we dropped some investigators thinking, "they will regret that someday." I didn’t like it. That isn’t me. So I have taken to reading Corinthians 13 every morning.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing well. I gotta go. Take care and remember to love them that hate you and do good to them that despitefully use you, etc... I love you all!!
Andy
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Can Soap Be Dirty?
So I was taking my shower the other day—and one quick fun fact about Uruguay is that the bathrooms are horrible and I will show you all pictures someday. So the toilet and the shower are basically in the same spot in our bathroom. Most bathrooms here are only 3 feet by 3 feet, so the toilet and the TP always get soaked every time one showers. Anyway, so the inevitable finally happened. My whole mission I have known at some point I would accidentally drop my soap in the toilet. It happened. I stood there in the slow drips of my shower, (we shower in drips because we only have 3 minutes of hot water, but if you do it in slower drips you can have 6 minutes of hot drips), and I just stood there looking at my wonderful strawberry scented soap bar sitting in the toilet bowl. It was a very tough moment for me. I thought about it: Can soap be dirty? If I reach in and pull it out I can still use it right? Soap is pure cleanliness. I could scrape off a layer I guess and still use it, but it is pretty small already... And, after a minute of thinking about it, I decided I didn’t need to be cheap or super desperate and I just opened a new bar of soap. But I still ask the question, can soap be dirty?
So we had a baptism on Saturday of one Noelia Melina Nuñez Benitez, a 10 year old girl who is smarter than I was when I was 16. We have been working with the family and activating the family for a few months. I didn’t want to push it. And finally they asked us if she could be baptized. It is always good when they ask, and she asked for herself. We didn’t even have to challenge her. I really like doing it that way sometimes. Anyway, she is SO amazing. I love this family so much. They are such a good family. The dad has always been going, but the mom no. The mom is coming back and the dad comes every week with his daughter. They are SO cool. The dad Freddy is a super stud and served a mission back in the 90s here in Uruguay. Anyway, it was the best baptismal service I have been a part of here in Uruguay. The whole extended family came, and there were musical numbers; there were a lot of people that came to support her. Anyway, I was gonna say why she is so smart. She asks really profound questions that most at that age would never think of. "Why did Jesus have to suffer so much if so many were still going to reject him in the end?", "How does God answer a prayer no? I have prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true and I felt the good feelings of the spirit so I know that it is true and was answered yes, but how does God say no?" etc... She is very sensitive to the spirit. When we started teaching her it was because she had said "Today in church I felt something really good inside. I just didn’t want to leave." After she said that her dad explained the Holy Ghost and the teaching began and 2 weeks later she was baptized.
I normally am not too excited for teaching little kids, but I daresay she was one of the best investigators I have had my whole mission. And I really think she will stay faithful in the church. She has been working on her mom. She is 10!! But she has been saying "mom, I want you to say prayers with us as a family every night", because she had recognized her mom would never actually say the prayer she would only listen. She will stay faithful. She already has friends asking her at school why she was going to the Mormon church and she just simply told them she believed and invited them to come to her baptism and some actually came. She is an amazing little girl.
We have some other possible baptisms coming up, and some really good investigators. The theme is getting them to go to church. It isn’t part of the Uruguay culture to get up on Sunday and do anything for 3 hours, unless that 3 hour activity is sitting home and drinking Mate. It is really hard to find people that are willing to go to church. I tend to give investigators 2 weeks of teaching without going to church as a maximum, and if they don’t go after that I just want to drop them. It is rare that I want to visit someone into a third week if they haven’t gone to church yet. We are looking for the elect and the elect will be willing to walk a few blocks to church on Sunday mornings.
So one last story para terminar: we clapped a door the other day (because clapping is what you do here, you rarely knock on someone’s door). It was a door already open and I saw the lady sitting at a table in her chair. We made eye contact. I don’t know who she thought she was kidding. She all the sudden drops to the floor under the table. We can still see her. She begins crawling across the floor to the other room and we watch her push aside the curtain of a door that separated that front room from the other room. She crawled out of sight and the curtain closed. ... ... I just can’t believe we are that pesado to some people that they can’t even come say "no thanks." It was comical.
I hope everyone is well and that you are all behaving and keeping the commandments. Take care!! Love you all!!
Andy
So we had a baptism on Saturday of one Noelia Melina Nuñez Benitez, a 10 year old girl who is smarter than I was when I was 16. We have been working with the family and activating the family for a few months. I didn’t want to push it. And finally they asked us if she could be baptized. It is always good when they ask, and she asked for herself. We didn’t even have to challenge her. I really like doing it that way sometimes. Anyway, she is SO amazing. I love this family so much. They are such a good family. The dad has always been going, but the mom no. The mom is coming back and the dad comes every week with his daughter. They are SO cool. The dad Freddy is a super stud and served a mission back in the 90s here in Uruguay. Anyway, it was the best baptismal service I have been a part of here in Uruguay. The whole extended family came, and there were musical numbers; there were a lot of people that came to support her. Anyway, I was gonna say why she is so smart. She asks really profound questions that most at that age would never think of. "Why did Jesus have to suffer so much if so many were still going to reject him in the end?", "How does God answer a prayer no? I have prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true and I felt the good feelings of the spirit so I know that it is true and was answered yes, but how does God say no?" etc... She is very sensitive to the spirit. When we started teaching her it was because she had said "Today in church I felt something really good inside. I just didn’t want to leave." After she said that her dad explained the Holy Ghost and the teaching began and 2 weeks later she was baptized.
I normally am not too excited for teaching little kids, but I daresay she was one of the best investigators I have had my whole mission. And I really think she will stay faithful in the church. She has been working on her mom. She is 10!! But she has been saying "mom, I want you to say prayers with us as a family every night", because she had recognized her mom would never actually say the prayer she would only listen. She will stay faithful. She already has friends asking her at school why she was going to the Mormon church and she just simply told them she believed and invited them to come to her baptism and some actually came. She is an amazing little girl.
We have some other possible baptisms coming up, and some really good investigators. The theme is getting them to go to church. It isn’t part of the Uruguay culture to get up on Sunday and do anything for 3 hours, unless that 3 hour activity is sitting home and drinking Mate. It is really hard to find people that are willing to go to church. I tend to give investigators 2 weeks of teaching without going to church as a maximum, and if they don’t go after that I just want to drop them. It is rare that I want to visit someone into a third week if they haven’t gone to church yet. We are looking for the elect and the elect will be willing to walk a few blocks to church on Sunday mornings.
So one last story para terminar: we clapped a door the other day (because clapping is what you do here, you rarely knock on someone’s door). It was a door already open and I saw the lady sitting at a table in her chair. We made eye contact. I don’t know who she thought she was kidding. She all the sudden drops to the floor under the table. We can still see her. She begins crawling across the floor to the other room and we watch her push aside the curtain of a door that separated that front room from the other room. She crawled out of sight and the curtain closed. ... ... I just can’t believe we are that pesado to some people that they can’t even come say "no thanks." It was comical.
I hope everyone is well and that you are all behaving and keeping the commandments. Take care!! Love you all!!
Andy
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