And Who Shall Say It Was Not A Miracle?

These letters stand for the Hebrew phrase, Nes Gadol Haya Sham– which means “A great miracle happened there.” - http://toriavey.com/

You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.

Paulo Coelho

Monday, June 16, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Do you believe in miracles? There can be miracles if only you believe. 

What a week! There is so much to update. Mom's hair almost looks pink. It is definitely a new hairstyle. I hope Dad enjoyed a wonderful Father's Day. I am glad you enjoyed my note, Dad! I received your letters this week. It was good to read them! I loved the jokes; I thought they were hilarious. 

This week was chalk full of miracles and craziness. Starting with Monday. I want to reiterate the fact that our special investigator was not home for the appointment we had set up for last week. As her family claims, "She got upset and went to a friend's house." We have been praying for her, hoping that she is alright. So, we had a normal P-day (preparation day), playing Chess and Clue. I love Clue, but that is besides the point. We had those board games in the apartment. Miracle #1: A person who is active, but had no job, obtained a job last week. It was perfect for him! Small little miracle. He has been out of work and his situation has been iffy. I am thankful that he got a job. That was a small miracle. 

Tuesday. We enjoyed working at one of the less actives. We cooked lunch with them and had a great time. We do a lot for them in trying to help them stay attached to the gospel. We later went to contact a referral we received from other missionaries. The referral was a woman. She had requested for a blessing through her nephew. This woman has terminal cancer. I was the one that had to give the blessing. It was hard, but I put my faith out there. May God bless her and all those who are going and have gone through cancer. 

Wednesday. We decided to go see our special investigator to see if she is home. Nobody was home. Disappointed, we went home and had an early lunch. Miracle #2: This stretches back to Sunday. Our special investigator came home from church; the member that took her to church gave our special investigator her phone number. Our special investigator kept it. She has been having family issues, where her family has been leeching off of her. They fight a lot and she is tired of it. Well, Sunday after church, her family had another fight. Our special investigator threatened to call the cops. They did not like that, so they took away the phones and, essentially, made her prisoner in her own home. What does our special investigator do? Oh, just wakes up at midnight, sneaks out of her home, goes to the road (which is 0.2 miles from the house), and hitchhikes to a friend's house. Yeah, she ran away from her family at midnight, which explains Monday. Wednesday, she got into phone contact, called the member, and the member called us. We talked to our special investigator and set up an appointment. Prayers were indeed answered and we had nice appointment with her and her friend. 

But, this is not at all. Just you wait. Miracle #3: We have a section of the area that we never go to due to mileage limitations. It would kill us for the month. The ward mission leader, on Sunday, told us that he would like to take us to Amelia, that section that is hardly touched, to find three less actives. I prayed for Wednesday to be a miracle day and that we would see the less actives, all of them. Prayers are indeed answered. Not only did we get to see our special investigator (which was a major surprise), we saw all three less actives and a referral in Amelia. One less active had Parkinson's and was not too interested. Another had some contact with the Church and does not mind us stopping by. The last less active was nuts. Crazy. Proud Southerner and made it obvious that he was a bit racist. He had a wall of death, meaning he had dead animal heads on a wall. He did not mind us coming back to him again. And we talked to the referral a bit. A follow-up contact will be best.

Thursday. My companion had received notice that he would be receiving a package. He is, I say this jokingly, a creeper. So, we were headed home to eat lunch, when he saw the UPS truck and pulled off the road. He wanted to make sure that the truck was coming our way, which he did. If it did not, he would have followed the truck until it stopped. The truck stops somewhere before our house and we just go home. My companion stood outside, while I went in, to watch to make sure we were not missed. Eventually, he went in. To make it even more awkward, when the UPS man did come to our door, he instantly recognized my companion and said, "Oh, I was wondering why you were staring at me." 

Miracle #4: Remember also last week about how I told you of car accidents that have occurred here? Remember the person who was T-boned? Yeah, he is another miracle this week. Two weeks ago now (last week, it was only a week after the crash), he got hit as he was turning out into an intersection by somebody going 60 miles per hour and was helicoptered to the hospital. He had a broken neck and back and a huge cut on his head. The driver of the other car received only cuts and bruises while the passenger received a broken thumb. Well, on Thursday, he was up and moving. He was moving fast, even with a broken neck and back. He still had a neck brace on. Even more, he was cleared to go to work! The doctor, who saw him in the emergency room, was astonished and could not believe what had occurred. The doctor kept on uttering, "There is no way."

Friday. Miracle #5: This day we went out with one of the youth. We had received a referral from the office just that morning. We figure we should go see that person and we did. She was a person who also had terminal cancer. She has, I believe, breast cancer that is stage 4, grade 3, and triple negative. This cancer feeds off of her. This woman was impressed that we showed up so quickly, because she only talked to her friend in Richmond, only that morning. This woman was happy as can be and relies on God. Even more, she is taking no pain medicine nor any antidepressants. If she does, she would die. She could have an adverse reaction to radiation. And she, while in pain, is happy. She was concerned for her husband, because her husband is trying to do everything from work to helping her to taking care of the house. We offered to help. This woman also had a card that she received from a non-member youth during a Relay for Life. It really touched her; our youth knew the person who signed the card. This woman and the connections we could make was a miracle.

Saturday. We had a ward picnic at a lake. It was nice to be with the people. My companion made cookies. I really enjoyed my time. I loved it. People swam in the lake and we just played games. We talked with the people and it was the best time ever. 

As much as this next event did not seem like a miracle, I am still referring to it as a miracle. It is obvious as bad as it is that I was meant to be here. Miracle #6: Friday, we received a call from our special investigator, saying she needed help with moving some stuff. At the picnic, we got some help. Our special investigator needed some things out of her house. We arrive at her house (she and her friend were in the driveway) with the member driving behind us. A policeman comes up and escorts us up the driveway. The police are involved with her situation. We get out of the car and we need to get inside. The front door is locked and the key does not work. Any doors into the main part of the house are locked. We open one of the garage doors (there are two) that was unlocked and I, due to it being a small space, crawl in. I open the main garage door and then we tried another side door. It too is locked. The policeman is watching us and giving us occasional tips. The member ended up taking off one of the storm windows by the front room and opening up the window. The member removed glass items and called me over. Another small space for a small person to crawl through. I crawl into the home and open the doors for them. The police entered, making sure nobody was home. Thankfully, nobody was. The policeman left, seeing as there was nothing left for him to do. Our special investigator's bedroom was locked. Using an old library card of mine, we broke in. (On a side note, perhaps I should learn lock picking skills.) Our special investigator needed some papers for court to be rid of her family. She, by the grace of God, was able to find them.

Still on Saturday. We ate dinner and went to a less active's home. There we got the call. I handed the phone to Elder Clifford, because he felt that he was leaving. He is indeed leaving. Without hanging up, he hands the phone to me. I, too, am being transferred out of Powhatan. Off to a new destination. So, it is a bit of headache, trying to leave a thousand notes about this area. Sunday. We sang Take Time To Be Holy, accompanied by the member who got the perfect job. He is such a wonderful pianist and I felt so privileged to sing that song. It was his first song that he accompanied someone to and that was his mother. We both bore our testimonies. The rest of the day was filled of saying good bye to people. It sucks, because I was starting to get attached to these people and, much more, it is hard saying good bye to people. But, I must move on. And today, we have said good bye to people and had zone P-day. I did not do much, because I incidentally had most of my clothes already packed from the previous transfer and never felt inclined to unpack them.

President Wilson, or rather the Lord, likes patterns. Elder Clifford, Elder Frank, and Elder Longman all have a common thread to them and that is one companion. My chances are that I will receive that companion or a companion of his. Also, I figured I might be gone. There is one missionary that whenever he comes along, I end up leaving. He is my curse, in a sense. Who knows where I will be.

That is the wonderful, miraculous, and crazy week I had. Perhaps I should not have been involved with our special investigator's issues, but she has no one and I was needed.

All is well! 

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Got Eye Drops?

Monday, May 27, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

We just got done with lunch. We had helped with the food bank today which was slow, awfully slow. And this Tuesday P-day made life a bit interesting. We had the food bank and another service project.

With a new person in the house (his parents are renting his bedroom for a while), it will take time to get adjusted. Lots of time; patience will be what will carry you.

It sounds like you have had fun with Sean (his older brother). Reagan (his niece) looks taller. They are all getting older. Thank you for the packages. I was not expecting much, but I got a lot. We nearly got something for one of us each day of the week. It was really nice and I appreciated it.

Thank you for giving my congratulations (to the graduating class of his former high school, Lemoore, Middle College High School). It was quite nice. Keep up the work, Dad. The reason I say that is I know you are doing well.

I have no idea why we do not have tablets or how they will be used, but some day, maybe. I am not too concerned. One companion I had has a case already. I am not overly anxious.

It has yet to storm today. It has been sunny. We had a tornado warning and it was sunny. But in other places, I believe, a tornado did hit. Oh, and an earthquake hit. It was a small one, a 3.2. A very small one, according to this Californian. I did not feel it for I was on exchanges in Midlothian when it occurred. It was my companion's first earthquake and apparently, it shook our whole entire building. 

Monday, it was zone P-day  (preparation day). I tried to get into it, but it just was not the same. Regardless, I did have a bit of a good time. Not much else happened that day other than we had a great dinner with a member.

Tuesday, it was another day at the food bank. It was a bit more than we had today. We stopped by our blind less active and nothing really happened there. We went out with one of the priests and saw a few people. We saw one investigator who we cannot otherwise stop by (single female) and she does not remember much from last time. She just wanted to talk. We had dinner with this one young family. There was something that the wife said that I just wanted to help, but nothing really formulated in the way of an idea until Wednesday. We went to another of our less actives and taught her the scriptures.

Wednesday, we had another district meeting and I went to Midlothian for the day. I was with the district leader and we went out and saw a recent convert. It was hard to stay awake. We went tracting and had fun with this one person who asked us different questions. We tried a few potentials and was able to meet with one. That person stayed silent until the end. I ended up talking a lot, which was odd. I had not realized that until now. I never talk as much as I did. At a member's house for dinner, we talked with them. It just hit me like a load of bricks. I realized what I could do for the member that I talked to on Tuesday. And the rest of the night, I was with the district leader and the ward (congregation) mission leader for Midlothian while they had their ward correlation meeting.

Thursday, we saw our 87 year old investigator. She is a really neat person who has accomplished much. She could open doors when and if she gets baptized. It is a really big, yet tender situation and I am trying to not let it get too big in my head. All I will say is that Thursday, she was ready to drop us. She felt overwhelmed by the Book of Mormon, but while being there, she felt the Spirit. She opened up. She wanted to continue to meet with us. She told us some of her life stories. We really did not say much. The Spirit is really strong around her and is working hard with her. There is no denying that. She was quite grateful that we were patient, gentle, and understanding with her. She was glad we listened. We were there for three hours on her porch. The rest of Thursday, not much else happened. We contacted several people who we had previously had trouble contacting, except for one, our investigator of whom is still smoking (if he would allow them they have a successful program for quiting smoking) and is avoiding us.

Friday, a member couple took us out for lunch. It was a lot of fun. We talked with one of our investigators that day as well. She likes her church community, but she likes us. Not much happened, because she and I were not big friends with Mr. Wasp who kept on flying around us. My companion could care less. We tracted that day and tried to see other people. Not much luck.

Saturday, we helped with somebody's yard. I used a weed eater to cut a big section of their grass. We tracted with the district leader and his companion. We found a lot of potentials. It was good, except everybody was cutting their grass that day. And after dinner, we helped cut somebody's grass, our less active who we teach scriptures. Saturday could also be called allergy day. My right eye itched and I was sneezing. I was glad to have eye drops and after doing it so many times.  (I still hate eye drops, yet I can tolerate them now.)

Sunday, after church, we had a linger longer. It was a lot of fun. We stopped by and talked to the former bishop to give his mother the sacrament. Then, we had dinner.

Monday, we helped with another yard and this for the ward organist who cannot do much unless he wants to get shocked by his heart defibrillator again. And again, we helped the less active who we teach the scriptures. Her sliding glass door shattered. Lots of glass that had to be picked up.

I realized a few things this past week. One is the Bible, I get so fired up reading it. If you actually read it, whether it be in order or not, and actually pay attention, you will pick up on the fact that there needs be an apostasy and that God's church has prophets and apostles. You see that Paul warned that the leaders would be corrupt (in Acts) and that the word of God was corrupted by some (in 2 Corinthians). Reading the Bible and trying to understand it, despite its old, old English, you begin to pick up insights. Using context clues and main ideas, certain things can be picked up on. Take, for example, baptisms for the dead. Paul was not renouncing it, but rather, he was saying that if Jesus was resurrected and we also will be resurrected, then we must do baptisms for the dead. Some things bug me a lot for some reason when I read the Bible. You could say I feel like Wilford Woodruff and Robert Mason studying the Bible and seeing what things consist of God's true church. And maybe this is because I am a Mormon and a missionary, but regardless, it is something that can be picked up on.

I also realized that there are two things I should master. One is fear. I cannot explain that one, other than I feel it should be something I should master. Two, and more importantly, getting upset. I am not as upset as I have been in the past. What is weird, that I have noticed and others have noticed, is that my performance peaks when I am angry or upset. My communication improves, I think a lot more quickly, and I get more passionate. So, I figure I should master righteous anger (if there is such a thing) and control it, rather than let anger control me. I feel right about this. How, I have no idea. I just get the ideas.

All is well! In a great mood, more especially after ranting about the Bible.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Easter, A Time to Remember

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am glad you had a good "Holy Week." (Somebody mentioned that in a talk yesterday and I thought it to be an interesting term.) I did receive both packages, both from the Primary (the younger children of the congregation in Lemoore) and you. Thank you for the package; I really enjoyed getting the package from the family! I will eventually write the Primary. Eventually.
The weather is indeed bipolar here; it was cold one day and the next it was warm. I have been expecting showers. On Saturday, there was this utmost beautiful sunset despite the clouds. I so wished I had my camera. It was a brilliant purple and red, with a hint of pink. As it continued to set, it turned a dark red, which was amazing to see.

My companion is recovering, thankfully. I am doing better. When did I headaches at home? I hardly remember. Why did I get them? Regardless, my companion, albeit recovering, was badly sick  on Tuesday. He needed rest, so three hours went by. And slowly he recovered from there. I just drank lemonade and my throat is a lot better. I just have a mysterious cough that does not bother me until night time and that is pretty much when it does bother me. 

I really focused on the Savior this week. I read all the gospels at the same time and worked with the Bible Dictionary's chronology. My favorite gospel is John. Luke seems to be the opposite of me; I like order and Luke puts part of a sermon of Jesus in one chapter, another part in another chapter, and the last piece in another chapter. But, amazingly everything did work out where I finished on Sunday. It was truly great to do. I read his death on Saturday and then I went to bed. It left a lot of time to reflect and grow my thoughts. I honestly felt the reality of His death and His suffering on the cross and in the garden. It really coupled with what I know about His Resurrection and the message of hope. While there is despair in the world, there is still that hope; the hope of relief, of joy, of second chances, and of so much more.

Easter was fun. We stopped by people who invited us over. I got to watch some of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform Handel's Messiah; in fact, I am currently listening to it. Absolutely beautiful. It was quite enjoyable. I woke up early before the sun rose (about 6:00 and the sun rose later) and read about the Resurrection. It was an overall good day. As much as I was trying to focus on the Savior, I could not help, but wonder, "Now what?" I thought of Peter who went fishing. I realized that this is what we witness or testify of along with the message of the Restoration. So, the answer to my wondering is now I go forth, become who the Savior wants me to be. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I plan on writing you a letter reflecting the thoughts I have.

Oh, I tried lamb this week! It was delicious! I think an awesome Easter tradition I would like to do is to have the Passover meal as my Easter meal. Have lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. It would be perfect to remember the Savior. I think it is an excellent idea. And I experimented this week with food and cooking. So, you know how to make tacos? Well, I used that idea and then I decided to add ingredients and roll the tortilla to hold it in. Do you know what that makes? Eggrolls. I was quite amazed. It just tastes like eggrolls and maybe it is due to the fact I used flour tortillas. I have no idea. Because only one of the ingredients I had (which were cabbage, red bell pepper, onion, cheese, and non-jarred jalapenos) actually is used in eggrolls. Thus, I have created Mexican eggrolls.

I realized this week, because I have been having a bit more trouble with my communication, that I speak at a much higher level than most people. I did not have any stuttering episodes or frozen tongue moments, but I think people still have a hard time understanding me. Then, I made that realization and now, I am figuring out how to make things simple. I can make the gospel simple, but when it comes to casual conversation, I, not realizing, use bigger words. So, I am slowly learning about communication. I thought about praying for the gift of tongues to make myself to speak the language in simple terms.

This week on the 26th, we have booth at a Powhatan Power Show (a coalition of churches raises money to aide community members). It is going to be good. We are doing family history, which is going to be next topic of 

discussion. 

I am really excited for family history and I do recommend doing more of it. The Church has put on a new website of sorts that is connected to Family Search (familysearch.org). It is called Puzilla.org and it is simply neat, phenomenal. The idea is not only finding our ancestors, but also finding our cousins. Well, the site is just neat to look at for us as far as I can tell. But, there is still things we can do. One, adding siblings to the tree is another thing we can do. Adding stories that other people can see about us and our ancestors. The idea of family history is not only the idea of trying to do ordinances for their salvation, but give them history. I term it as I heard about it on a video, the idea of the dash (what has happened in their life). Any information we have we should index and any sources we find should be sourced to the individual (or individuals) to whom it belongs . Have you been on Family Search recently? Again, I recommend it. Why? Well, we may have more clues, more specifically to Mom. Mom, did your father, Emilio, have a brother name Manuel Calderon Galvez (as put in Family Search)? If so, then do we have more family? I never found them or even sourced them, but they have been added for some reason. No sources for them either other than they have been added by Family Search and the Church. Do you know a Julian R. Arana? They have reserved a lot of stuff for that side. They are Mexican and do speak Spanish. Maybe you can find them on Facebook or through Family Search, find their email. Remember Spanish is required.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Also, our less active in the hospital went to a nursing home in another area. We are a bit sad about that. But our investigator is progressing; he just needs to quit smoking.

The Most Historical Week of All History

Monday, April 14, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

This is the week of Easter! I am so excited for this time, except it seems everyone around me is like, "Bah! Humbug!" Everyone seems to be in a depressing mood. I am excited because this week is one of the most historical of all history. This is the week where Jesus performed the Atonement! So, this week I plan on focusing on the Savior and any spare time, any time I do have I am reading the gospels and continuing my study of the New Testament. I am a bit far from the Last Week, but I will be able to get to it, hopefully before Easter Sunday. There was an emergency email that we got from President that I thought was a great idea from the Church. I am usually the one complaining about the limitations we do have (particularly with studies), but I was really, really excited. The Church has put out a video titled 'Because of Him,' which can be found here: mormon.org/BecauseofHim. It is an excellent video and despite not having the technological capacity to share it, I wish I could tell people about it. But, again, everyone is a depressing mood and thinks that this video has come out too late and that there is not enough notice. Sigh. This video is great for sharing and it puts the focus on the meaning of Easter. It can be shared and talked about it. Man, if I had the capacity to use it, I would not only share the video, but also share the site and other "Life of Jesus Christ" videos that correlate with this last week and other discourses that are available via video. Alas, I do not, but hopefully I inspired you to at least remember Easter.

Our knee replacement less active (the one who broke his leg two years ago) went to the hospital again for pain. So, I have not seen him in a while. I made him a birthday card, but that is going to be held onto until he gets out. (We are not able, without permission, to go see him.) 

Tuesday, we had interviews with President. I went on exchanges with the district leader in Manchester. We ran into this one family, which were quite nice. Their kids gave us a tour of the house and showed us their toys. There is something always new that happens. 

Wednesday, I have no recollection of. None, because I was tired. I woke up at 4 in the morning with a migraine. It sucked. I thought by closing my eyes, I could go back to sleep and take care of it in the morning. No. My body wanted to be awake and I should have thought, "Oh yeah, I need to get medicine, because my body specifically woke me up to do that." When I have headache, I do not think, because it hurts. So, I laid there for an hour, because I did not have medicine on me for I was on exchanges and I was the only one to be up at the time. In the midst of agony, I was so kind enough to let people sleep. Finally, I woke up someone to see where they had medicine, especially after my headache migrated from the back of my head to the middle and I was starting to get cold shakes. After taking medicine, I was able to sleep for an hour and a half when I had to get up. I was tired and wiped out the entire day. Not much to say about Wednesday.

Thursday, we mainly planned. We saw one of our investigators who is progressing to baptism. He is slowly quitting smoking, which is good. We answered his questions about the Plan of Salvation. 

Friday was a day of service. From 11 to 8, we helped people. For one person, we helped her clean her koi pond. I saved a fish's life, because it somehow, as rocks were being removed, got on the ground. Later on, I noticed it (it looked dead) and the woman touched it. It wiggled and she tossed it in. She hated to have the fish removed, because she was afraid of hurting them. As we were filling it up and it got to nice level, she briefly went inside. My companion decided to toss the fish back in, because it was the only way and it would not hurt them. She came back out and was so afraid that by tossing the fish, it would hurt them. Eventually, all seven fish were back in the pond. Then, we helped another person who needed some yard work done. We had an excellent dinner with them. 

Saturday, we tried to find people that are less active, which was fruitless, unfortunately. Sunday, we had an excellent dinner with some members. It was fajitas and they gave us sangria. It was a nice meal. Then, we had a nice conversation with another member who needs help. It was a good week.

And now, my companion is sick and I have a sore throat (sort of). I woke up with a very sore throat, but I drank lemonade and my problem is pretty much almost gone. I am just spitting up gunk. Other than that, I am perfectly fine. (Well, I am not perfect, but I am fine.) My companion is just very sick. Other than that, everything is good. The apostle that is coming is David A. Bednar, which is one of my well-liked apostles. With him will be Elder Lynn G. Robins and Bishop Davies. I am excited for that. 

I am glad to hear of the thoughtfulness of the elder's on Dad's birthday. I am glad things are going well.

I am so excited for Easter. Because of Him, my joy is full. I can be clean and live again with my Heavenly Father. I can be with my family forever. Because of His Great Sacrifice, I will follow his example. As he said to those of old, to which also applies to us, "Come, follow me." I solemnly testify that Jesus is the Christ. He lived on this earth and died for each and every one of us. I know that He rose from the dead. He lives! He is Risen! I know these to be true for I know them by the power of the Holy Ghost. I know Jesus Christ. This I do testify, in His name, Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Past, Present, Future in Powhatan, Virginia

 April 7, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I asked my companion and he said sending packages to our apartment should be fine. He never had a problem. I really cannot say much. I do not have problems with the apartment, because you open one door and you are in a hall, then you can get to our apartment from there. (Side note: it smells like an old book.) I have no idea yet about Mother's Day. I just hope to see people. And yes, rent out my room. I mean, I am gone and will be gone for a while. Just leave my boxes wherever they may be or put them somewhere safe. No worries about replacing me. As for my dog, it sounds like she is terribly sad and thus, possessive. (If you really think about my dog, you will remember how many times people or animals have left her.) But, that is just me and my weird personality. As for the name of Powhatan, it is the name of Pocahontas' father.

I get up at 6 in the morning, thirty minutes before schedule to exercise. There were a few days before this that I did not exercise, because I was beat. It generally would be when you have a bit of time trying to get to sleep, then waking up at 5:20, 5:30, or 5:50. Luckily, today I was able to sleep in a bit.

I have heard about "Ordain Women," which I absolutely loved Dallin H. Oaks talk about the priesthood. I want to reread it again. It put everything right and it all made sense. I loved D. Todd Christofferson's talk about our Lord Jesus Christ, who is indeed resurrected. That was an excellent testimony builder. I plan on writing to you about my thoughts and feelings that I have felt. I will say these things. One, the mission will prepare me for my future. Well, thinking about this, yes, it is perhaps a "duh statement." However, in light of me withholding my studies, it made me realize what I need to say and do. I am not ashamed in the things that I have learned from the mission, especially from my studies. I have found my self and I have made improvements. Do I forego the people? Do I forget them? No. As I serve others, I learn more about myself, the more the Spirit teaches me about what I need to do. It is all in preparation for my future and the eternities. I also say that I know I must defend my faith and my beliefs. I have a more solemn witness of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

We told the youth of the ward mission plan. It did bring a lot of pain to myself, feeling regretful for not sharing the gospel in high school. It hurt a bit, because I feel as though I failed. But, I do feel that it will be made up in its own due time and I feel better. My concern about it has passed. For zone meeting on Friday, I was asked to give another spiritual thought on teaching with faith. I hope it went well, because I was prepared and I just followed the Spirit. People did thank me at the end. I just hope I made sense. Oh and I am so happy to be here in this area at this time. Why? On May 3rd and 4th, an apostle is coming here. I do not know which one, but I am excited.

I have been meeting, slowly, our investigators. I am just ready to get out there, but I have to remember that this is a different pace here. Two investigators are progressing. One towards baptism, wherein he has been slowly quitting smoking and has been coming. He watched General Conference with us on Sunday and watched two on Saturday. Another investigator who is really busy, but really wants to meet with us, progressed. He knows the Restoration is true. It is exciting and hopefully, we will be able to meet with him more often. Our less active leg man has been doing fairly well; it is evident that he is depressed. We are working with him a lot to not only help him physically, but also help him spiritually. There is much hope that this gospel can bring.

There is a lot to do in this area. We served and are serving in a coalition of churches food bank. That has been new of recent, though some time before I got here. I think of where I am now, not physically, but spiritually, and how far I have come. I know not where this journey will take me and I cannot see the road ahead, but I am excited for continual progression.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

I Know Thy Works: Behold, I Have Set Before Thee an Open Door- Rev.3:8

Revelations 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.


Monday, March 31, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I should have seen it coming. I really should have. Not so much the area, but who my companion is. So, I am in the south for the first time. I am in Powhatan, a small country town. It certainly is not "Farmville," because that literally belongs to a name of a town (a bit close to Powhatan) and a game on Facebook. But, it is a farming area, sort of. Not much city here. I have come from a very compact area where houses are close together and is a suburb of D.C. to a place where the houses are spread out. To say that I am in a car is true. However, taking note of the houses, tracting has to be done on bike or else it could be several hours before we could finish a street; a single street. 

Anyway, I bet you are now waiting for me to tell you who I have as a companion. His name is Elder Clifford and he came out with me in July. We were never in the same district or zone in the MTC. We never knew each other in the MTC. But, really, I am detecting a pattern with my companions here. So, the only outlier to the pattern is my trainer, Elder Meibos, but that is a different ordeal altogether, so he does not count. Elder Longman had a certain companion who was his MTC companion and also had him out in the field. Elder Frank had that companion as well. Elder Clifford had that companion as well. I have yet to have him, but I would not be surprised if I ever did. Elder Clifford is a very kind person and is soft spoken, but likes to talk.

Update on bike. So, I watched the videos and as far as I can see, everything is good. What I do note is that it needs oil (grease, whatever), but I cannot obtain it. I looked at their website, but I do not see it. I could have sworn that they had oil specifically for the bike. I have no idea, but I do think it needs it. Other than that, washer and other parts are there.

So, it has been nearly a week in Powhatan. They have not had a baptism in about three years. Scared? Uh, no, because it will work out. I plan on getting on my bike and knocking on doors. Of course, there are some signs I have to obey (the POSTED: Trespassing for Any Reason is Forbidden), but still there are many houses that do not have those signs. "There can be miracles if only you believe. Though hope is frail, it is hard to kill. Who knows what miracles you can achieve if only you believe. Somehow you will." 

This is going to be a very service orientated stay. Some less active members need help and other members need help. I do believe that this will help build trust. We have been limited with miles due to a big area, meetings, doctor visits (the person I replaced had to go to the doctor many a time), etc. this past week, so it has been hard to do much. I have met the bishop and got acquainted with him. I have met the ward mission leader and helped his presentation of the ward mission plan yesterday. There are a few others that I have made acquaintance. Some, because we have to visit on a frequent basis. I thought it was wrong to be doing that or that our stays were too long. I feel as though we are doing the right thing and that it will help these people. Slowly, but surely, this area will improve. Like I said, very service orientated.

So, Monday, was a big frustrating day of packing. I had to unpack and repack everything once to fit everything. There are some stuff I accumulated, not bought, that hopefully will be sent home soon. I need to make plans on that now thatas I have a car, I can actually go to the post office. Do not expect anything for a while. I will let you know when that occurs. 

Tuesday, I got transferred. I met one of the members and got to see some of the area. I met a less active who has not been to church for a while, which in part will take time. I will also be frequenting that house a lot. He has been injured in a car accident about a year and a half ago wherein his femur was fractured (which according to Brian Regan is the most painful bone to break, but he's no doctor). So, after several surgeries, his femur is better and his knee just got replaced. His wife is working a lot, so she could not really take care of him. We help him out and try to read scriptures. They are both depressed. Recently, this weekend, he had to go to the hospital for fainting (which luckily somebody was there to save him) and then we came home to help him get into his house. Which, then he almost fainted again. Luckily, that provided much opportunity for us to open the doors with the wife. She is a member, but does not understand the Book of Mormon. Perfect, so while she is off for the week (due to the fainting episode), we can go over the Book of Mormon. That will take time, because she has a lot of questions and is easily distracted. She is sincere about learning and understanding. However, we are currently going back to the Bible to explain, in a nutshell, the background of the Book of Mormon. I am happy that I know the history of Israel. 

Rest of the week, I have met more members and helped them out as well. Before dinner one night, I helped tend some fires, because they were burning wood for a path to grow a garden. Now some service clothes I have smell like I have been sitting in a chimney. Great family. I had green eggs and ham with Santa yesterday. (We have a person who plays Santa at some shop year round). We biked tract on Saturday and it was raining. Pants, rain coat, bike, shirt, beanie, and helmet were covered in mud. I also had mud on my face, but luckily, I am not a big disgrace. 

But, there was definitely mud all over the place. And Sunday, briefly, a lot of people knew me before them. They thought I looked young. I do plan on getting a haircut soon. My hair needs to be cut and I have not been able to do so.

On Wednesdays, there are a couple of non-members who show up to play basketball. Previous missionaries played ball on Wednesdays and gained their trust. They are opening up more. Well, you have me, who has only played basketball for physical education. So, I do not know the rules or understand what to do. Now, before I further explain, like I have said previously, I have found who I am and found a purpose in life. Very confident in self. That was a major goal I had for the mission. I did not really realize until of recent, but, yeah, it was that. Now what? Woodbridge taught me my weaknesses and it was hard to overcome a huge mental block. Literally, I felt a mental block on certain aspects such as talking about certain things or talking in general. With basketball, I quickly felt that block coming on. But, I quickly realized what I need to do now: hone my skills and abilities. So, as far as I have listed: thinking, analytical, observance, learning, listening, memorization, and communication. 

Now, with the game, I did not do much, but I realized that. I walked the entire game, because well, I had no idea of what to do. So, walking allowed me to observe the game and rules of the game. As far as I understand, the black lines that form the rectangular shape are the boundaries. If the ball goes out, then it is out of bounds, in which case the ball goes to the team that did not have the player that touched the ball last before it went out. The point of the game is to get ball in hoop and to prevent the other team for scoring. To prevent, one player is assigned to another player to block and defend that player. To shoot a basket, one must use wrist power, much like a catapult. Jumping can also assist in this application. So, I think I somewhat understand basketball now. Now, the question is of applying.

Other things I learned this week. Last Monday, I was at the library in Woodbridge when I found a book that had English words and put them in Hebrew. I snuck a peek and wrote down an appropriate word: Jesus. I wish I had written more. But, from the Bible, in particular Psalms 119, I also learn the Hebrew Alphabet, which consists of: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, He, Vau, Zain, Cheth, Teth, Jod, Caph, Lamed, Mem, Nun, Samech, Ain, Pe, Tzaddi, Koph, Resh, Schin, and Tau. 22 letters in all. Jesus consists of three: Vau, Schin, and Jod in that order. Now, how it all works I have no clue. But, Vau (Vav) has one dot (perhaps a jot or a tittle) to its left, Schin  (Shin) has a dot by its third arm and Jod (Yod) has two dots underneath it. Somehow, it makes a word and the dots remind me of valium (Vanadium) atoms (or some word that starts with a v and deals with chemistry). Is that fascinating? When you have time waiting for people, you get bored and find things.

Oh, thankfully my companion reminded me. I almost forgot to give you my address here. It is (address withheld), Powhatan, VA 23139. So, that is the essence of my week. There is going to be a lot of fun here. Oh, I must ask, because I am now in the south. Where is Edgar Allen Poe's house? I could have sworn it is in Virginia, somewhere. I hope I made you laugh, because I am feeling really good, besides having a small headache.

Sounds like everything is going good for you two. I know how strange things can be with the Church sometimes. My last companion complained about the boundaries and how sometimes they did not make sense. Congratulations to Denice. I need to email her and some other people when I have time.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd