'Twas the Week Before the Bird Died . . .

November 25, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I got your Thanksgiving card. Thank you for it. I much appreciate it. I did enjoy the humor of today as well as last week. 

We have two to three places to go, which means on Thursday (Thanksgiving) I have three set meals. Lunch, snack, and dinner. I am excited for Thanksgiving, though this week and the upcoming weeks we plan on tracting a lot. I will go into that a bit later. I hope Bria has a safe flight (his sister was flying for the first time with one layover); I know she is scared and I pray for her safety. Have fun on Thanksgiving!

It is frustrating for me that I cannot go to the temple, especially with it so close! But, that would require me to cross two missions (D.C. South and North) to get to the temple. Plus, you have D.C. traffic, which is bumper to bumper even at so many miles away. It is hard especially with the big excitement of the Festival of Lights and performances that go on from December 6th on towards January 1st at the Washington, D.C. temple. We cannot go at all. The mission president made that clear. 

I am glad to hear things go well in Lemoore with missionary work. Keep on working hard.

So, this week was a crazy week. We went out to eat with our district on Tuesday and then, we had a surprise appointment (in which we gave a church tour). The appointment was a surprise, because we had thought we were just calling to set up an appointment. Instead, the investigator told us, "I am on my way." Oh, and we were trying to finish laundry at another missionary's apartment, seeing as we do not have access to one in our basement apartment. So, it was a good appointment; the investigator likes to ask deep, deep questions. 

While we were waiting for him to arrive, we noticed that something was different about our car. Somebody hit the bumper and did not leave a note, so we have a nice dent on our car. Wednesday, we had to fill out a form, figure out where to go, and set up an appointment for an estimate. Thursday, we had the estimate done and then, we mailed it off. It was a fun form to fill out, "What is the driver's information?, What is their VIN number?, etc." We had no idea. 

A progressing investigator of the church dropped us, saying that her doctor said to limit contact with others, us. That was heartbreaking. 

I fell down stairs twice. First time, I was carrying my laundry and it was dark. I thought I come to the bottom of the stairs and took a step. Apparantly, there was another step before the end. So, I fell and landed on my knees and hit my elbow on the railing. My companion asked me if I was okay. I told him that it felt like I had prayed for a long time. Second time, I was holding onto the railing when my hold slipped and I knocked off a post (which was attachable still) and cut my finger.

This week had its good moments. We had some good appointments. I got to watch Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with the man I baptized. We had some great meals with members. It was a good time. Now is the time to refocus our efforts in finding people to teach.

Since you sent some funny things this week and the past, I will tell you some funny things. With the Primary Program, the bishop at the end, talked a bit, and then turned around and said, "Children, I want you to know that you are children of God." Then, a kid piped up, "We already know that bishop!"

There are plenty of historical markers here in Virginia. One of them read "General Hooker's Headquarters." I read it to my companion and he said, not realizing, jokingly, "We should go there for P-day. Haha, just kidding!" I looked at him and said, "It is a historical site." He replied, "Oh." I guess he had thought it was literal. A fascinating fact if I had not shared, the word hooker comes from General Hooker who had women following his army. That is enough of that fact.

There was a time when one of the sister missionaries needed a blessing. I was with my companion and another male member. The sister missionary has an accent, so it can be hard to understand sometimes. She received a blessing before for a cold that she had. Well, it was different this time. My companion was wondering what was wrong, seeing if it was the same problem as before. She replied with cramps, but my companion thought she said Chromes. He thought she had Crohn's disease and wanted her to go to the hospital. Her companion replied, "No, stomach pains." My companion finally understood, but then, the male member said, "Oh, is the Virginian food getting to you?" That left an awkward silence for a while and the male member understood why after it. I always tease my companion, saying, "Crohns." I really do like my companion; he is a good missionary and he can be funny. I can also be stubborn at times, but that is besides the point. He looks after me. I set up a dinner appointment with a member on December 7th (that's Seth's 19th birthday). I had absolute no intentions of saying what day that was, but my companion told the member anyway.

So, I hope you had a good laugh. I hope that you are sending my week to my siblings, because I do have limited time here, especially today. Do you mind sending this to Grandma as well?

I knew I would be getting packages soon. I was kind of hoping, seeing as I was nearing the end of my Book of Mormon studies, to obtain my New Testament Institute manual. I understand if you do not want to send it.

All is well. Have a good week.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. I made sure to wish my mission president, in these exact words, "a Happy Dead Bird Day." May you also have a Happy Dead Bird Day!

A Visit From Elder Sitati

 A Minnionary

Monday, November 18, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Good news is that I am not being transferred. No calls yesterday, so that is a definite sign. (Unless, of course, they forgot to call, but I am optimistic.) So, yes, no transfer for me. Thank you for sending me that laugh. It is good to laugh. This transfer was a lot of personal spiritual growth. I am refocusing my efforts and am working hard. I am glad to hear about my dog and I am glad that she is keeping warm. I am glad to see that missionary work in Lemoore is going well. Congrats on the work!

Oh by the way, I have a secondary medical insurance called Missionary Medical. I do not know if you knew that, but it would be great for you to know and to let our primary insurance know. Just in case I plan to take a visit to the hospital any time soon.

So, I hardly have enough time emailing. I can barely email president.

So, this week. Elder Sitati came on Tuesday and talked to us about our missionary purpose. It was awesome. I received a lot of personal insight and had a lot of personal revelation. We plan on using that to put on a fireside to teach members about missionary work. We did service; a lot of raking leaves. A lot of spiritual insights. This week was great in spiritual insights. I learned a lot. Our investigators are doing good, sort of. Two got injured this past week. One got in a car accident in Arizona and snapped his arm. Another was riding his bike and fell into a ditch. He injured his head, shoulder, and knee. One investigator family is leaving and moving to another area. Others we need to contact again, because they have not talked to us in a while. Still working hard, though.

That sums up my week. I have been praying a lot to know what I need to do. I need to be a shepherd. I am learning a lot about having compassion.

I love you. All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

(Who is Elder Sitati? 

Elder Joseph W. Sitati

First Quorum of the Seventy

Elder Joseph W. Sitati was sustained a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2009, at age 56. At the time of his call, he had been serving as president of the Nigeria Calabar Mission.

Elder Sitati earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nairobi in 1975 and a diploma in accounting and finance from the Association of Certified Accountants. He has also done course work for the MBA degree from the same university in 2000 and worked as an executive for “Reach the Children,” a nongovernmental organization. Prior to that, he worked in several positions with the Total Group, the 4th largest oil and gas company in the world. Among those positions was that of strategy manager at Total Kenya and consultant for the overseas division. More recently he served as the Church’s International Director of Public Affairs in Africa.

Since joining the Church in 1986, Elder Sitati has served in numerous callings, including branch president’s counselor, branch president, district president, mission president’s counselor, stake president, Area Seventy, and mission president.

Joseph Wafula Sitati was born in Bungoma, Kenya, in May 1952. He married Gladys Nangoni in July 1976. They are the parents of five children and currently reside in Accra Ghana, where he serves in the Africa West Area presidency.)
.

Give me Donuts and I'll Sing

Monday, November 11, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am glad to hear everything is going well. I am glad to hear that the work is moving along in Lemoore. It is definitely going to get colder here, though I suffice with my electric blanker. Plus, I sleep next to a portable heater. I did get the jacket during interviews and I like it. It is warm, especially how windy it has been lately. Apparently, we are supposed to get snow soon. I am excited! Who knows how long the snow will last, because it is still sunny here. Still, very cold. And I have been doing a lot of leaf removal. They still keep on falling.

I am glad to hear that you have received the images and the card is safe. I am happy about that. Now, you understand as to why I had to baptize him four times. He was bigger than I was. I try my best with the camera, sometimes I think it looks good, but you never know.

Interviews went well. Now, I have to explain something. So, the bag that I am using to carry my scriptures, I also use to carry around family history (pedigree charts, etc.), pamphlets, and an extra Book of Mormon. I prefer this, because I feel like a mobile library and prepared. So, the mission president looks at my bag and says, "Oh, you know by the next year we will be getting iPads and everything will be electronic. Plus, you might even now mention the fact to people that they can read the Book of Mormon on lds.org and even listen to it on their phones. Pretty soon, there will be little need for that bag." Of course, I roughly paraphrase his words. I thought about it, "I like my physical, hard copies." I understand the use of electronics and such and it is great. I will not give up on the physical, turn the pages scriptures. Especially with all the work, I have put in mine. But, I will definitely tell people that they can listen to the Book of Mormon and read online.  He told me to switch wrists with my watch from the right arm to the left. I told him my goals and he said that they were good goals. I told him at this current point I am working on faith and charity, which he said that I should work on the three: faith, hope, and charity. So, that is what I am working on faith (in self, in Christ), hope (with self), and charity (for others).

What an interesting week. So, Tuesday. That is the day of our district meetings. The sister missionaries that are in my ward come in with donuts and hand them to me. They did this before and it was quite nice. That is until they said, "Oh, by the way, that is payment." I am confused by this point, wondering what payment they are talking about. Then, one of them explained, "The bishop texted us, asking for my companion to sing during sacrament meeting. I figured that I would play the piano and I volunteered you and your companion to sing as well. By accepting the donuts, you have to do it." Needless to say, I sang with my companion and a sister missionary, yesterday in front of the ward. That was nerve wracking. I did practice and my companion and the sisters were teaching me how to sing bass. I sing bass, because when I sing, I sing low. So, I learned a little bit more about singing. It was confusing, because the bottom part of the sheet with the notes and such are the bass parts. So, you are singing without the tune. Luckily, we chose "Because I Have Been Given Much," so I could sing bass to the tune. Plus, I got the chance to start it off. I started the song that we sang in sacrament meeting. People commented on our performance and a few complimented my voice. One person told me, "I did not know that your voice could go that low."

I have been doing a lot of leaf removal. The sister missionaries helped us with this one house. Big yard with a lot of trees, which equals a lot of leaves. But, it was fun. There is still more work to do, because there are many leaves still on trees. 

My companion went on missionary exchanges for a day. He went at the best time, because on Friday, the missionary that was with me had to go to seminary. Me, I love the mornings. I woke up 5:00, got ready in fifteen minutes. If I was alone, I probably would have left by the time I got ready. This missionary does not believe in the mornings and even says that the day should not begin until noon. He did not move until 20 minutes after 5 and then took 20 minutes to get ready. And seminary starts at 5:50 in the morning. So, we were moderately early. I should have said seminary started at 5:30, but oh well. We went to seminary for, not only a free breakfast, but to bear our testimonies on the Book of Mormon. I loved it and I think I was extremely excited as I bore testimony.

Yesterday, it was interesting besides sacrament meeting. We contacted a referral and there were two people outside the house, who were not the referral. They smoked cannabis in front of us. They even offered. I got asked if I was a virgin. They tried to confound us, but they did not have luck. It was a quite interesting visit to say the least. Well, there is always a first for everything.

I also talked to a Jewish woman who is married to a Mormon and who is not searching and not wanting to convert. Even her daughter is leaning towards Judaism. So, I talked to her about her faith and religion. I also talked about the history of Israel with her and she mentioned the Talmud. I would love to read the Talmud and I understand there are volumes upon volumes. The reason why I would love to read it, is because of what the Bible Dictionary says. I also like to understand about my Judaeo-Christian heritage that I have.

I have done a lot of thinking, a lot of praying, a lot of learning. This Tuesday, Elder Sitati is coming to visit the mission and it will be great to hear from him. It will be great.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Transfers are November 21st. I will know on Sunday if I or my companion is moving. Tuesday, of that week I will know which place

Elder Seth Todd's first baptism. Elder Todd is the short guy in white. The man he baptized is the giant of a man in white on the right site. Baptism is done by complete immersion in the water and bringing the person out of the water.

Light Versus the Dark: "We Are Winning the War"

November 4, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Thanks for everything. A lot of this mission thus far seems to be personal struggles, trying to become a better person. 

Essentially, I know I will face the dark continually as a beacon of light, especially here out in the field and with my career choice. I understand that. Every day, I am learning more about trusting God and the Lord, which trust is hard for me to sometimes give. I pray, I should be now, openly, alone to commune aloud with God. 

I do admit that I do have personal struggles. All I know is that day by day it will get better and that fulfilling my mission goals will help with all my problems. I have been praying a lot on all things.  My mission goals seem to be inspired and the reason why I have goals is, because, seeing as interviews are coming up (November 7 with mission president), President Wilson wanted us to make goals.  I know what I need to do. I need to do whatever God wants me to do, so I can be the person he wants me to be. There are things that I need to do on my own; I just need your support in ways that are not advice or help that is specific in certain directions. If you feel inspired at all, go ahead, maybe I will see it that way. Thanks for everything.

There is one thing that I do need to do now. I struggle a lot with identity and so far, I feel as though I have split between a secular identity and gospel identity, that I am trying to merge. Again, do not give me advice on this or anything like that. I have things to figure out with God. But, just keep on reading. So, who am I? I could tell you my name, that I am a child of God (which I will inevitably do), and many other things, but regardless, the question still stands. What answers this question that I pose is what makes me, me. I am a man of study, of scholar. I read, I write, I study. The most fun, the enjoyment I get out of life is studying, is to read. I have a list that I carry with me of all things that I would like to learn. I am spending my life learning; it is one purpose to life. I am a man of psychology. I love the mind. It is a puzzle in itself. I love behavior, in why we do certain things as well as the abnormalities of the mind. I find the mind so fascinating; I find it as evidence of God. I am a man of law. I find the law interesting. I was reading the Book of Mormon and I read about law in Alma and some of the Nephite law and it was so interesting. That is why I want to be a forensic psychologist. I may not understand fully what I am about to do, but, hey, I am willing to do it. I like different cultures. I love the different languages; I do not care about their talent in singing, I just care about the tale behind the song and the beauty of a different language. I find it fascinating to know these things. I find Judaism, fascinating, because of the history of it in the Bible. I love musicals and operas. Music becomes the story. The different pitches, or whatever, help convey the emotion, the personality behind a character. I wish I would have known this earlier; listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and their CD, "Showtime," I am envious in the fact that I have not heard of some musical. I love a good story. I understand if this all seems a bit worldly, but what I just put is part of who I am. Another part is the gospel side. This 2 years is just time for me to be spiritual. This is a life long commitment. I want to dedicate my life in following Christ. I may be quiet, but I am great listener. I can listen with love. I can speak what testimony that I do have. I am a child of God and what hope and happiness that simple phrase brings. Every soul is worth something to God. He loves us. I am a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. I may not understand it at this current time, though I am a bit unsure exactly what I am seeking (that will come in time), but I know it is God's power, it is authority. I have been called to bear the priesthood and do all that it entails. I may not have realized it earlier, but I am starting to do so. I am a disciple of Christ. I will follow Him, for I know that He lives. I am a bearer, a beacon of light. I will not be hid.

So, this week was a good week, despite all our appointments falling through (well, most). A lot of service was performed. Lots of raking. But, fall is definitely here. It it getting a bit chillier. My electric blanket will have to suffice as my source of warmth, seeing as I do not have my dog with me. Oh, which reminds me I was really happy to see a boxer, yesterday. My companion was able to baptize someone that he taught in his previous area. That person was taught for a while, brought a friend along, and then, moved up here to go to school. And the mission split and Fredericksburg became part of the Virginia Richmond mission. My companion got transferred up here, they saw each other, and the person asked him to baptize them. It was great to see that. And the sisters here are getting people on date, which is really good. One of their investigators was sick and they were teaching her when one of the sister missionaries felt prompted to talk about the priesthood and priesthood blessings. We got a call a bit later from the sisters while doing service, because the investigator really wanted a blessing right then and now. My companion performed it and mentioned something that he did not know, but the sisters and the investigator earlier talked about. Plus, after the blessing, the investigator was happy as can be; she had a lot of energy and kept on chatting up a storm. This week was also Halloween and the ward's Trunk-or-Treat. My companion and I were the judges for the chili cook-off. So, after a while, chili starts to taste the same, so you have to remember which ones that stuck out the most. It was great. Plus, at the end, my companion and I brought tupperware, so we were able to snatch a few of the leftovers to last us a while. Plus, when members offer for us to take food home to eat, we gladly take, although I am a bit hesitant with the dessert. We seem to have a lot in the apartment, seeing as Halloween just came by.

All is well.

Love,Elder S. Todd