A Wonderful Goodbye and My Testimony

The Washington D.C. temple (photograph used with permission), Temples are places where members are taught, make promises and are, in turn, promised blessings.  Ordinances (sacraments) are performed here for time and all eternity for both the living and by proxy for the dead. We believe that those who upon this earth have not received the gospel of Jesus Christ will hear it in the after life and will then have the opportunity to receive it or reject it. In this way all of God's children may know of Christ and his atonement, be judged accordingly and that God wants to save as many of his children as possible. On each temple is written the words "Holiness to the Lord" and "House of the Lord." Psalm 24,
1 Peter chapters 3 and 4

June 29, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I was wondering why I did not receive an email last week. I was not sure what was going on. So, I sent you an email; and then, I thought it odd you sent me things in return. And I went on. Then, I received a call from Sister Sopp, explaining the situation. I checked during our mormon.org time; yeah, I still have yet to receive that email. I do not know why. I will read it when I get home.

It has been fun, this last final week. It has been one of greatness. Our progressing investigator entered into the waters of baptism and is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She has entered into the path of discipleship.

Monday, Elder Day and I enjoyed browsing through Staunton, one last time together. We had a baptismal interview for our progressing investigator. It was a bit delayed, because the heavens opened and the floods came rose up. The district leader was in Harrisonburg and got caught in the storm. Which meant we were delayed to dinner. The dinner was with the young couple who loves us. We warned them enough ahead of time and strove to head there as soon as the interview was done. Our progressing investigator did indeed pass the interview.

Dinner was great. It was very emotional for me, because I realized that it would be a while before I would see them again after I leave Virginia. We headed home afterwards, because it was late. 

At this point, I was not looking forward to the rest of the week, except for the baptism and the temple. I talked to Elder Day about all of these feelings, feeling a bit upset. Thank goodness for prayer. I decided that there was nothing I could worry about going home, that it is inevitable and part of the mission experience. I then talked to God about my decision and the rest of the week has not been emotional at all.

Tuesday, we tried to contact a few people before heading to the lesson for our progressing investigator. We saw the man first who is in pain and is struggling a bit. We gave him some encouragement. We, then, had the lesson with the progressing investigator. We covered a majority of laws and ordinances and encouraged her to go to the temple. The temple is a foreign idea to her, but she is trusting and will understand at some point. From there, we made many phone calls for the coming week. We had dinner and tried to see and contact a few people.

Wednesday, Elder Day needed his foot to be checked on; his wart is nearly gone. From there, we used our mormon.org time; then, we visited people in the hospital. The one man we usually visit is finally out of the hospital; the lady who used to belong in the health center also got moved back to the health center. We had dinner and tried to contact a few people. We headed in a bit early, because it was going to be an early morning.

Thursday, I woke up at 3:50 in the morning. I got ready to go to the temple and at 4:45, our ride took us to the Waynesboro Elders' apartment. Elder Day was subsequently dropped off and had his own day with the Waynesboro Elders'. I headed down to Richmond. From there, I joined the departing missionaries. I rode up with the assistants to the president and the majority of my MTC district. I was also with Elder Clifford and others. I got to hear some updates about Tappahannock, which was fantastic. The mentally disabled convert is now driving; I thought that was a bit impressive. The young kid convert is moving. The man who went to hospital-- that convert-- is doing well, other than a few medical bumps in the road. The family I stayed with is doing well, too. Happy to hear all of that.

From Richmond, we headed to Fredericksburg to pick up other missionaries. From Fredericksburg, we headed up to the Washington D.C. temple. The Washington D.C. temple is huge and beautiful. I really do think that I was able to see what heaven was like, in a unique way. President addressed us, that we needed to stay together, and that certain members from our previous areas might be here, such as the second convert from White Oak that was going to be sealed (Matthew 18:18).

(Used with permission Washington, D.C. temple at night fall.)

 I saw some members from White Oak even before I got into the temple. I went inside and met the bishop and the wife of the elders' quorum president from Appomattox. I loved the things that we did in the temple; I got a lot out of it this time around. It was really beautiful. It is really, really beautiful inside the Washington D.C. temple. We headed out about 1:35 pm. I was afraid that I had missed out on seeing the convert from White Oak. I didn't. I was really, really happy to see them.

We had lunch inside the visitors center, then we headed to the Christus statue. 

When were done at the temple we headed into Washington D.C. Man, the traffic. The traffic there is really scary, but it did not mar the experience I had in the temple. We toured a bit by driving past buildings and finally we were able to exit the car to see the Lincoln Memorial. It was really, really cool. From there, we headed to Fredericksburg, back to Richmond. 

Finally, I with a member headed back up to Staunton and got caught in the middle of a storm. It was pouring and pouring more days after. I enjoyed the rain, especially while I could. Then, we picked up Elder Day and made it home about 10:30 pm.

Friday, we got up and went to a meeting. From being condensed in a car for a period of 12 hours in total, I was sore and not looking forward to going back into the car. (I was extremely exhausted. So, do not be surprised if I am extremely tired when I arrive. For the next couple of days after Thursday, I had shadows underneath my eyes.) We had the meeting, had lunch, and headed to a lesson with our progressing investigator. We talked about the temple; still is learning about the function of temples, because it has never been taught before. I said goodbye to a family. We did some planning. Then we had dinner. Dinner was amazing; I had a salad, a really, really amazing tasting salad. We checked up on the man who was baptized when we got into the area. He is doing great; we are trying to encourage the family to continue to progress. 

Saturday, we got up and headed to the building where our investigator was going to be baptized. We began filling it up and cleaning it. Yeah, there were some creatures in there that did not belong. We bravely fought them off. We did some planning. Then, the baptism.

She was so happy to be there. She was happy to be baptized. She said that never in any of her previous baptisms had she been so emotional. (She had cried in the bathroom after being baptized; she was nervous and excited.) I know that she will stay active because she realizes how much this blesses her life. Understanding will come over time for her. She will continue to progress.

After the baptism, we had a lesson with some grandchildren of a member. We reviewed the baptismal interview questions and received understanding on what to teach. It is a complicated situation, making it hard for us to teach frequently. From that lesson, we headed to dinner, which was half an hour away. We had dinner and checked up on the people in the health center, including Dan the Man. I said good bye one semifinal time. He is still plotting his escape.

Sunday, our newest convert was confirmed. She was really happy. She decided to wear something really, really nice. Church was great. I was happy to be there. The Gospel Principles teacher asked us to teach next week... then she realized that I was not going to be there. From church, we did planning, we checked up on a few people and we headed to dinner. Getting to dinner was a task in itself. We decided to be there early, but we hit every single red light. I was tired of it and decided to go around the stoplights by going in a different route. I went the different route and there was an elderly couple in front of us. We were turning left and they were turning right... until they realized that they needed to go left and decided to cut us off completely. Then, we get stuck behind them, slowly going... Oh Virginian drivers. We made it to dinner unscathed. After dinner, we contacted a few people, but nobody was really available. We finished our weekly planning.

So, it is, my final week. I have done a lot. I am actually quite surprised how much I have done. Time has really gone by.

Believe me, I have not been plotting my return. I have been preparing, but that preparation really came over time. You are right; I will no longer be a full-time missionary. I am always a missionary in every other aspect. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ; and part of that means to stay peculiar. There are things I will not watch nor listen to anymore. I realize how happy I am now and what it will take to stay this happy. It is matter of staying spiritual; keeping the Sabbath Day holy, reading the scriptures, going to church and the temple, etc. I will go forward.

What I have to adjust to is, yes, the world. I feel like I understand the principle of living in the world and not of the world by living the commandments, keeping the standards; by those things, do I keep my self consecrated to the Lord. My future involves this, having a tie to God. What I do for a career; I am not sure at this point. I will discover that on my own.

I am Seth Todd, a disciple of Jesus Christ. I will follow in the footsteps of my Savior. I will listen and obey to His counsels, even the counsels given by the prophets and apostles. This declaration is not a pillar to set myself above others; it is a step to help lift others, to serve the Lord, and to continue to progress.

I know that Jesus is the Christ; he suffered for my pains, afflictions and sins, so that I could have faith and to repent. Through the Atonement, I know we and I can be cleansed. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God; God speaks and He loves us for He is our Heavenly Father. I know that because of this love, He gives us prophets today to guide us, so that we can have peace in the midst of our trials. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God; this book teaches us the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, testifies of the truths that are in the Bible, and witnesses that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I know it is true, because I prayed to know, yearning for the living waters that I may no more thirst. What a blessing it is to be living in these days to rejoice in the abundance of gospel truths.

All is well for he that trusts in God will not be led astray.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

(Mom was overwhelmed with preparing for his homecoming. She survived and glad he made it safely home. The first one to hug him was his sister Bria on a layover in Salt Lake City where she lives. She met him at the airport. She allowed him to use her phone to call his mother which helped tremendously to calm her nerves. Dad is doing well, too.)

Teaching With All Diligence

We see the signs of the times happening, From the passage of time when the apostles were killed all through today where wrong is called right by a Supreme Court. They call it "pride" and scoff at the things of God.
(Meme used with permission of the author.)

June 22, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Well, hello out there. I hope you are doing well, still living and all. I hope your week is going well.

My week went well.

Monday, after our preparation day, we decided to go out and try to contact people. We tried to stop by a few people, tried to go finding with not much success.

Tuesday, we had an appointment early in the morning cancel. We called the youth who was to come out with us that day and asked if he could come out with us earlier. He was happy to and we met up at the church before heading to check up on the returning young couple. We helped them move a table to their basement before sharing a message about temples. We encouraged them to prepare themselves.

After that lesson, we headed to our progressing investigator. We reviewed Sunday's lesson, which was going to be our lesson that day: keeping the Sabbath Day holy. It was a positive lesson; she is still concerned about what is her own hurdle, but she is planning to press on. We, then, dropped off the youth and headed to an urgent care for my companion. He is doing well, just felt a bit sick. After hearing some good news, we headed off to dinner. We did some service later that night.

Wednesday, we headed to the hospital to check up on the person we had blessed last Sunday as well as the person who moved into the hospital. We were able to visit the first person mentioned and had a good visit. I think the wife appreciated it. We were not able to see the other person, because we made the decision to visit during the normal visitation hours. We felt as though we needed to head back into Staunton. We did so and were able to catch a former investigator. It was the elderly man who was referred to us to go and see. We had not been able to see him for a few weeks. It was an excellent visit, because he expressed some questions that he has. In our heads, we thought to ourselves, "Well, this lesson could answer that.... And that lesson could teach that lesson." We know where he is and we hope that we will be able to see him again.

After Wednesday's dinner, we headed for a meeting with the ward mission leader and the bishop. We were able to get a few things out of it. We asked if we could help with mutual, but no help was needed. We ended up checking on the guy who is in pain. We helped to encourage him to keep on going forward.

Thursday, we planned and planned and planned. We also had another lesson with our progressing investigator. We went over the baptismal interview questions and helped her to be prepared. We had dinner with the bishop. Our next appointment cancelled and we ended up helping somebody out.

Friday, we headed off to Charlottesville in time for our zone conference with Elder Perkins of the First Quorum of the Seventy (The term Seventy comes from the Bible, they are leaders in the church who may travel from place to place to teach the gospel and administer as directed in church affairs. Again, they are not paid except for traveling expenses and have regular day jobs.). It was not a meeting; nor should we ever use the term meeting. It was a "revelatory" experience, the more proper term. I gained a lot out of the conference, because I was able to gain personal insight for the area and for myself. After this amazing meeting, we headed home, had dinner with a member family, and checked up on the man who was baptized when we got here. We encouraged him and his family to go to stake conference. (A stake is similar to a Catholic diocese, a defined area that includes congregations in that area.. The conference is held in a large church building and includes speakers both locally and from the general leadership of the church.) 

Saturday, we accomplished the progress record. Then, we headed to Richmond. One of the investigators in the Goochland area decided to commit to God through baptism. She was the one who had difficulties with the Book of Mormon. We got there a bit early. I ended up sitting by Mama and kept on talking with her. It was so great to talk to her again. The baptism was great, though one incident occurred. The font was filled, everybody was ready, the talk on baptism was given, and then the baptism got pushed back. The font nearly emptied. So, they quickly filled it up while the talk on the Holy Ghost was given. By the end of the talk, it was filled up again and she was baptized. Elder Day and I gave the message on the Restoration, which we were not really told that until we got there. By the grace of God, we were able to fulfill that request. From there, we headed back up, a bit late, to stake conference. That was a good stake conference adult session.

Sunday, we got up, had breakfast, studied, and headed to the Waynesboro building. We met with the daughter of the elderly man investigator; she is a member and we got helpful information from her about her father.

Stake conference was great. There was good revelation given. Elder Dudley of the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy spoke about his daughter who held on to church standards. She saw a play on Broadway and decided that is what she wanted to do. She looked through the newspapers and auditioned. She got some parts and sometimes not. She went to BYU. She ended up in Florida and auditioned for Grease; she got the part of, I believe, Sarah Dean. She told the director that she would not smoke, which is what the character does at one part. The director agreed and the next day at rehearsal, they rehearsed that specific scene. She refused and left, because the director told her that she was either going to do it or she would have to leave. She ended up in BYU or back to BYU or something; in other words, back to Utah. The infamous musical, Les Miserables, came to Salt Lake; she auditioned and thought she did not make it. She ended up with the role of Cosette and ended up on Broadway in New York.

I love that story; because, well, it goes to show that God is looking our for us. It is important that we continue to strive to do what is right. While I may not have told it correctly, I still like the story.

With the person who was baptized on Saturday, she committed herself to stay true to the principles and to go forward. She stated that in her own testimony to everybody that she commits herself to God and to them. She has a strong testimony. We need to have a strong testimony and stick with it.

Elder Perkins spoke and quoted from hymn number 26, Joseph Smith's First Prayer, "But undaunted still he trusted in his Heavenly Father's care...." He talked about that we will have challenges in our lives, but we must always trust in Heavenly Father. He even addressed our progressing investigator's specific hurdle; she was touched. Truly, it was a revelatory experience.

Later that day, we went to the hospital to make our visits. We made phone calls to certain people. We checked up on the people in the health center in Staunton. They are doing quite well. We had dinner with a member family and the wife's brother. That was a positive visit, because we encouraged her brother to continue to push ahead in the midst of all challenges. We headed to Verona to check up on certain individuals, but nobody was home.
All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. I need to know my itinerary, because I do not think I will be receiving it. What is it? I kind of want to prepared in the end for that. Also, what do I do about shampoo, shaving cream, body wash, razors, nail clippers?

I am excited to go the temple!

Silence Can Be Deadly

Monday, March 23, 2013

Dear Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

If you could please send out the MTC backpack (the blue one), that would be great. I still have my regular scripture case; that did not break. It has survived. I am slightly tired of carrying my scriptures by hand, though it is not at all a big deal. It still works fine. Though, for your sake and mine, I would love to carry my camera with me. I hate to leave it in the car or carry it in my pockets.

I am glad that Elder Sopp called you. I was so happy to see them, because they are from Hanford. It is like seeing kinsfolk of a land that you have not seen in a very, very long time. Plus, I can actually tell somebody that I am from Lemoore and them asking me, "Where is that?" Yeah, we received a new car this past week that barely has been driven. It has about 5000 miles on it. My companion is absolutely happy that we have a new car, instead of the car we were driving.

I may be going to baptism tomorrow again in Tappahannock for the man who I was unsure whether or not he was ready. One, I need to get a ride and two, I need to get permission. And I found out yesterday of the baptism. I debated whether or not to go, because my companion does want to work. I decided to go. It really is a tough decision, because we got slammed to the ground this past week (figuratively). It has been a difficult week for the both of us, yet we pushed forward.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, we had a great preparation day. We took care of the needs that we needed to and had a wonderful dinner with some awesome members. We saw our less active recent convert-- the one that did not seem ready for baptism and is going to another church at this current point due to his father-- and there was progress. He always talks of his other church, the one that he normally goes to. But, this time, it was different. I am never sure how we got on the topic of his going to church, but we did. He recognized that he needs to come to the Church, but he has difficulty of keeping the sabbath day holy and honoring his father and mother. We discussed this and told him that he should pray and fast on it. We told him that his spiritual progression is being halted by him not keeping the sabbath day holy. He does not yet have the priesthood nor has he gone to the temple. He wants that. We will need to follow up, so that we can help him even further.

Tuesday, we contacted potentials and received referrals. We helped the high priests that night with the "March Rescue" that is occurring here in the stake. I went with one high priest (he was one of the members that took us out to dinner the night previous). We checked up on our elderly member, who we happened upon last week. Unfortunately, he has yet to answer the door nor has anyone else answered the door. We tried a do not contact. I have to admit that she was the most friendliest of do not contacts; she politely talked to us. We have no idea why she is a do not contact. My companion and I will definitely will have to follow up. 

Wednesday, I learned the difference of areas that are okay to tract and the ones that do not want you. We had district meeting and we went on exchanges. I stayed in the area and I was with the district leader. We had some spare time before we needed to do something, so we decided to tract this one apartment complex (that, like many, if not all, complexes, had a do not solicit and do not trespass sign). We went to one building of this complex, which consists of eight doors. We knocked on each door and only one of eight was friendly. If they answered, they would say, "There's no soliciting here," and promptly close the door shut. By the end of our fifteen minutes and as we were heading to the car, the management came out and asked us to leave. We told her that we were not solicting, that we would leave, which she understood. Looks like we will not be coming back to that. On contrast, we went to another complex of duplexes. We were able to find a potential in this complex. But, as we were tracting, we met this woman who asked us if we saw the signs that said, "Do not trespass." She did not ask us to leave, but do not bother anybody else. We told her that we were proselyting, we told her thank you, and we moved on. Nothing was done to ensure our removal. It is something we will have to do or else the work would be hindered. I know that there is a difference between "Get out" and "Do not bother anybody else."

Later that night of Wednesday, we went to Goochland to see if there was Bible Study. There was not. But, we helped the host of Bible Study with some sheet rocking. I got to use a drill for a while. I am still not the best. I was so happy to do some kind of physical labor that will not threaten my back. We talked to the host and was again able to gain information from him about himself. 

Thursday, we got the new car, we exchanged back, and we went about doing all that we can. We helped with the health center and tried to contact referrals. After dinner, we helped the member, whose house is not dark, understand the Book of Mormon. 

Winston Churchill

Friday, we attempted to weekly plan. We still have not accomplished all of it, though we are trying when we can. We tried to find. We helped the less active recent converts, whose house is dim or not lit, to understand the Book of Mormon. One of them, who wanted to be taught as though she never heard of this before, is understanding. We tried more referrals.

Saturday, we had appointments with our ex-Marine and our Bible fundamentalist. Both cancelled. We took care of our progress record. I helped my companion with his family history, somewhat. He was exploring how far his line goes back, which I have to admit is quite interesting. The farther you go back, the harder it is to determine whether or not it is fact. I mean, certainly Jacob and Rachel did not give birth to Zeus. It does not seem rational to me.  After lunch, I felt prompted to help our Bible Study host again. I mean, his house is kind of in shambles and he has guests coming in about a week for his daughter's wedding. Plus, he has to take care of sewing the dresses, making the decorations, and so on and so forth. We helped with more sheet rocking, which was fun. There were a lot of mistakes made, but they were not entirely my fault. We could have done more, but we were running kind of late to get back for an appointment. We had an appointment with a different Muslim family, who is from Sudan. Not sure if it is going to go too far. They are interested in Christianity's similarities to Islam and our differences. (The one major one is Jesus Christ.) We plan to give them information and they plan to give us materials. That will be interesting.

We did teach our ten year old investigator, which, my companion is right, he is paying attention a bit more. That is great news for us. His mother is still wanting to wait until May. We have ideas to help.

Sunday, we prepared and made it to church early. I love it that we come to church early. I have to admit that this particular Sunday; I was exhausted, perhaps due to the physical labor. My back, despite a lot of physical work I had to do with sheet rocking, was not hurting. PROGRESS! Of course, I am being careful. After church and lunch, we tried a few people.

Then, we went to a birthday party for Mama. Her birthday is actually on Thursday, but she had her party on Sunday instead. A lot of people from church and a few from the health center came. It was great to see her happy. We had an appointment with a less active member. We were trying to talk to her about the Atonement, but she made us feel like we were trying to push her to come to church. A lot of her answers to deep thinking questions was about church attendance. We had an appointment scheduled with a part member family, the one who is already an investigator of ours, but had been sick for the past three weeks or so. We, apparently, did not knock loud enough, because nobody came to the door.


Well, despite the flops, it was good week. My back is making progress (I know I will not be stupid), Mama is happy, we helped the host of Bible Study, and we kept on going. This week will be good!

All is well! Tout va bien! Alles wohl!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

#Virginia Richmond Mission

A New Leaf

. . .become even as my friends
 in days when I was with them,
traveling to preach the gospel
in my power . . .
Doctrine and Covenants 84

Monday, March 2nd, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I have received the Valentine's Package a couple of weeks ago. I forgot to mention that. Thank you for the package.

Yeah, the weather has been bi-polar. It seems nice one day, then it is extremely cold. Then, it snowed recently. Then, there was freezing rain. It has been so much fun driving in it.

With Elder Taylor, I am not sure. The day after splits he seemed a lot happier. But, by the end of the night, whatever it was was back. I cannot explain it. Despite this, he did work a bit more and we were able to get some work done. I talked to Elder Henstrom, who had Elder Taylor as a companion, about what he did, which he said the sleeping part at least happened. Elder Henstrom said he did not have much of a work ethic. Well, now that he is in Woodbridge, hopefully that will get him a bit more motivated. Yes, I did talk to Elder Henstrom recently, because I went back to Tappahannock this weekend. That good news is to follow.

Monday, Elder Taylor said good bye to Mama, because I suggested that he should. We helped a family that were in the midst of moving. Our dinner was supposed to help, but they had to cancel on them and, in some ways, us. They did drop off McDonald's to us, so it was not a total cancellation. At least we received food for which I was grateful. Elder Taylor finished packing that night, late at night. 

Tuesday, we headed, with another set of missionaries, to Cafe Rio. I did not get anything, because I knew we were going to have dinner with our Greek lady. A member paid for the other three and gave us a frequent diner card. Cafe Rio is miniature Utah. From there, we headed to transfers. 

My new companion is Elder Tanner Jensen, first name added due to the multitude of Jensens that are in the mission. Elder Jensen was over in Charlottesville in the country with nobody really to proselyte. His companion was going home that transfer, so he was trunky (thinking of home). Elder Jensen has been out for six months, so he is very zealous at this point to get the work done. I asked him, "Do you like to work? Do you plan? Do you tract?" He answered yes!

As we were leaving transfers, we were talking about what we were like. I told him that in high school I did two main things: study and watch television. He asked me what television shows that I watched. It was the perfect opportunity. I could then put him to the ultimate test of whether or not we could be companions. I stated, "Oh, I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender." He got excited and asked, "Have you seen, 'The Legend of Korra?'" I stated that I have only seen the first season, which is the only season he has watched too, though I know what has occurred in the second season and some things in the third season. So, yes, I do think we will get along and work together. We dropped off his luggage, rescued another set of missionaries, and took them home. We talked when we returned home and discussed some ideas. I told him about Goochland and its issues. I told him about our investigators, whom we only had seen one this past week. People are sick or not home. That night, we had dinner with our Greek lady. Her food is not bad; it was reheated, because she cooked it the day before. I enjoyed it, though my companion was more iffy on the food. It is rather unfortunate, really. As I have explored her teaching record (since she is a less active), I have read comments other missionaries have put down. She has been decried as "crazy" and her food "rough on the stomach." It bothers me a bit, probably because I think she is a wonderful lady, despite being less active.

Wednesday, we worked on the area books. I have been trying to combine the two area books. It has been a slight bear of a challenge. Both area books are thick with old names and formers. We have been weeding it. If they say they are not interested on multiple occasion, then chances are they are not interested. We have done this work on multiple occasions. The ward has been focusing on part member families, so we, not having access yet to the ward clerk, drew upon an old list of part member families to try and go see. We did go tracting on this day, which was great, though nobody answered. We are definitely in a finding mode, which happens to be a specialty of mine. I'll get to that subject in a moment. That night, we had dinner with the new elders' quorum president. And after Bible Study, we had correlation over the phone with our ward mission leader. From these two events, I noticed that the ward is painfully aware of what we do and our actions. They know the rules; they know what we are supposed to be doing. It is important for us to do all that we can to do what is right and to build trust. So, our tasks for the transfer is to build trust with the missionaries, find and contact part-member families to teach, and help less actives to be spiritually self-reliant.

Thursday, we worked at the health center. Mama was at Bingo, which is a first for me. It is good to see her out and about. She was happy to see her new son. Elder Jensen went through orientation and then we helped with Bingo. We contacted one part member family that night. The man, who as far as I can tell, is less active and he has attempted to help his wife, who leans more on the side of being "Wicken." He is a nice man, a bit of a hunter. He has ferrets that roam around; one of them tried to take the car keys. He simply told us that his wife is not really interested, though we can try hanging around and try to connect on common ground. It is a potential idea, but I do not think it is the best. 

Friday, we did four hours of weekly planning. It was great to formulate a plan for not only lessons, but what we need to do to help this area. I do believe that the work looks promising; we just need to put in the effort. We have been helping the bishop with his questions that he has as well as the tasks that he gives us. We have one unfulfilled mission that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. Other than that, we have been on top of things. We had dinner that night with our ten year old investigator and his recent convert mom and brother. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him with cups. It is evident that he understands the concepts and it was taught to him before. As his mother says, he needs to make the right decisions. We plan on giving a Book of Mormon reading chart to help him be more accountable. 


Saturday, we went out to Goochland to fulfill one of the bishop's assignments. The lady we talked to is not a member and from her teaching records, she has lost interest. We got what we needed to get from her. She kept on talking about her problems and animals. It was interesting. We left and headed home in order to get ready for the baptism in Tappahannock. The single mother investigator's son was going to be baptized. You might want to message Elder Meibos to tell him for he did find her and talked to the son. Hopefully he remembers. Anywho, it was a great baptism. Another missionary, besides Elder Henstrom, came down to see the baptism. He is in Prince William, my old area. He got a ride from a member who looked familiar. I did not interact too much with this member, because he was away at the time I was there until my last week. He recognized my name and was like, "Oh, hey Elder Todd, you might not know me. I am so and so while you were in Woodbridge. You snow shoveled my driveway while I was gone for my wife and kids. Thank you for that."

The baptism was great. The son was quite happy to be baptized and bore testimony at the end. He stated that he always felt a part of this church and coming here, something clicked for him, though he knows not what. I am so happy for him. The talk on baptism was done by another kid around his age. He asked the son what are some bad things he has, wrote it on a chalkboard, and then showed that by baptism, everything will be wiped away. After baptism, it is a lot harder to erase, to which the kid demonstrated by making marks on a piece of paper with a pen. The son retorted, "Unless you burn it." Or as the kid said back, "That is true, but you can also use white out."

Afterwards, we headed to the members' upstairs. The wife was like, "Oh, it was so good to see my sons." It seems I have also been adopted by her and her family as well. I am adopted. Everybody, but I and her, went downstairs to play pool. I talked to her, just like old times. I will tell you what I told her. I have had a lot of, if I may say, difficult work. Any kind of missionary work can be difficult. One of the things that I have noted is that I find, I help teach, I help people progress, and then I move on to the next area. I never really see the whole progress from point A to point B, though I am a big part of that transition. It has been difficult in that way, because you never know what will happen to the person you are teaching and you would love to see them reach point B. But, I have seen, especially in Tappahannock, a lot of people enter in the waters of baptism. I often am never sure what I really did in Appomattox, because the people that I did find fell away quickly and never progressed that far. I guess the thing that I did help with was the elders' quorum president, especially when he lost his two counselors as quickly as they came. It has been a wonderful work and I am not yet finished. I have four months to go, as sad as that is. Right now, it is a matter of getting back in the saddle and pressing forward. It is tiring, because I am tired. I am satisfied, because I bear testimony of Jesus Christ. I help people be happy, truly happy. I am happy to see others happy. Well, I do not know all that I said, but it goes something along those lines. I have worked miracles by the power and grace of God; and I have seen miracles done, which has been my greatest blessings.

Sunday, we sought out part member families. Not much else happened. Oh, and we were blessed with a dinner appointment when we had none. Which, is another brief humorous note. I have seen the fulfillment. Remember how in the MTC I was prompted to eat fish, because I would be eating fish in the field? In all my areas, I never had as much fish (in fact I hardly ever had fish) as I do here. I am tired of fish, but I grin and bear it.

Tout va bien!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Glad to hear you are well.

Melatonin, A Phone Call, Miracle, Drunk Love

The Strange Life of a Mormon Missionary

Monday, February 9, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I have no idea exactly what is wrong with my companion. I asked why he stays up, which he says, "I cannot fall asleep." Okay... I understand that you cannot fall asleep, but you take Melatonin. "I use it to fall asleep." Okay, I understand that and I asked him then, "Why do you engage in activities [e.g. working out, having lights on] that are contrary to a person trying to fall asleep?" He simply stated, "I tend to start waking up at night, particularly at this time [9:30]. It naturally happens." Naturally? Okay, I understand that. I also understand if you use Melatonin to sleep, then use it to sleep. I wanted to repeat what I said in my letter that I wrote to him. If the Lord has commanded us to go to bed early and then to rise up early, he will help us with that, even if it seems contrary to our "natural" sleep cycles. I know that there is power to change. By the time that I go through this in my entire mind, I realize the commonality of the sleeping problem and the planning problem. Attitude. I believe he has the "Eeyore" attitude, the "whatever" attitude. If this is the case, there is little, if anything, that I can do, other than "love him." 






What I then have to do is to ensure that I do something productive, other than study and lunch, between the hours of ten to two. (I have thought of doing the area book, but I can only go so far. I can plan for people, but I cannot do it everyday.) I cannot accuse him of any attitude problems until I am more sure that this is the case. Yet the more I press, the more he is going to distance himself from me. This is where I am at now, the fourth week of the transfer. I realize that I am between a rock and a hard place.  No I have not contacted Missionary Medical. If he has depression or needs any psychological help, that has to be talked with the mission president.




Monday, we got haircuts from our Greek member, because she had offered and my companion needed it. I got one, to get mine trimmed a bit. She mainly cut the sides, but did not really touch the top of my head, only a touch. She gave us cake; she always offers food when we arrive and we have dinner with her soon. We had zone P-day and I took my usual spot on the stage. Well, there was another person there who could not play sports either. Well, we talked and apparently I have been talked about. He had heard that I liked Les Miserables, which earlier that day, in my email, I quoted to you. We talked for the duration that he was there and it was quite nice. We had dinner with ourselves and from there we tried to contact some people we have not seen. One was a less active man, but on this day we were not able to get in. The other was a recent convert and his returning-to-activity wife and sister-in-law. It was good to finally talk to them, officially meet them, and begin to figure out how to help them progress. They have a desire to go to the temple and with the bishop's challenge (to get one family name to the temple by the next ward temple trip in April), it is a big help.


Tuesday, we were able to contact our Persian family and gave them the Persian Book of Mormon. Yes, Persian is still an existing language, even if the country does not exist (Okay so Dad was a bit wrong but they do have ties to Iran and may prefer people to know them as Persians.). It is also called Farsi. Another member of the family talked to us rather than the mother and son. She stated that she and the family were Muslims, but were open to learn more about our beliefs to gain knowledge. It was an interesting visit, because there was no progress and with that mindset, she made it difficult. Later that night, we went to Goochland to contact a referral, who was not home. This referral is a member and needs a ride to church. We were unable to obtain a ride, but we discussed this in ward council, enabling a movement to get a ride from a Goochland member to take him to the church. 

Wednesday, we again went to Goochland, but for an appointment with a lady in a trailer park. She makes clay dolls and she was sculpting one as we were there. I am not sure she was even paying attention to what we were saying, because occasionally, we had to repeat what we said. She did not understand why we asked about baptism, though we talked about it several times in the lesson.

Thursday, we had zone workshop. We did a lot of role playing. We had a refocus on the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and what was actually restored. I had thought about that, but I was glad to hear it reemphasized. It truly is a restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it helps put Christ in the focus of the lesson and our message. We were recorded like the previous zone workshop. Later that day, we contacted a referral. We had not gone to the computers to see what information was given about this person. We talked with her, though she had no idea why she was referred. We left a bit confused. We are able to return. (As it turns out, there is no information given on the referral, but she referred her self apparently.) 

Friday, we went to one of the houses where we read the Book of Mormon with some of the people there. This is the house where the two people we read the Book of Mormon with are recent converts. From what we read (1 Nephi 11), we had a wonderful discussion on pride and overcoming it. That night, we yet again went to Goochland for a dinner appointment. In the meanwhile, as it was later told to me, there was a birthday party in Richmond where a certain woman attended as well as an elderly man, who is a member of the ward that I am in. Keep that in mind. It is important. Towards the end of the dinner, we received a call from a number that I did not recognize, so I ignored it. As we left the house, I called the person back. Lo and behold, it was the Tappahannock elders. They called, because there was a baptism in Tappahannock for the man who had a lot of medical problems, who was ready to be baptized; however, he was in the hospital when I left and was unable at that time to be baptized. He was getting baptized the next day at seven. Well, it is very, very hard to try to obtain a ride the very next day. I prayed that a way would be provided, because I really, really wanted to go. 


I talked with my companion about who to call. In the meanwhile, at the birthday party, this certain woman approached this elderly man and they proceeded to have a conversation. My companion told me some people to try and at last, we determined to call the elderly man. The elderly man answered his phone and I stated who I was. He could not hear me, so he handed the phone to this certain woman. She apologized that he could not hear and asked who I was. I stated my name and she was like, "Elder Todd? Is this the Elder Todd who served in Tappahannock?" This certain woman was one of the daughters, of the members upstairs from Tappahannock, who has lots of crazy stories to tell. I was quite surprised and stated why I had called. The elderly man could not do it and the woman said she could tonight, but it was impossible to do so. I wrote down her number and sent a text with our number. I did not realize then that this was the way. 


From this conversation, we went to another trailer to talk to this lady. She was drunk and was complimenting me in particular, or in other words, she was hitting on me. She was extremely drunk; she hated my tabs on the scriptures, stated several times that our spirits are going to heaven, and told me that I did not need those tabs or the scriptures. She even prayed that we would understand that there was no point to bury our body. I could have said several things at this point and I was not too happy as well, not because of the tabs, but because of my own love for the scriptures. We immediately left.

We went home. I got permission to go to the baptism. The member from Tappahannock called and she said that she could arrange a ride for me through another member who Elder Henstrom and I helped drag a deer out of the woods with. He was going to pick up Elder Henstrom. He called me and it was arranged. Truly, the Lord knows our circumstances, know us individually, and does indeed answer our prayers.

Saturday, we took care of our progress record and we visited the family who usually takes three hours for dinner. Luckily, we were not there for dinner. We taught her nine year old who does want to be baptized, but does not like Primary nor does he like to sit still. We read out of the Book of Mormon. We had dinner and then we went to Tappahannock. The person who was being baptized was not the only one for there was another man, taught by the sisters, that also was being baptized. Wow, it was really amazing. I was so happy and the man who I was there for was also happy that I came. I was allowed to be one of the witnesses. I told him congratulations and wrote him a note in a small book that I was supposed to sign. A lot of people were there. As the branch president stated, it truly has been a miracle for Tappahannock. In these past three years, a lot of men have been baptized, which means more priesthood holders. The branch is being strengthened and is growing. Truly, the Lord is hastening His work. Tappahannock is a testimony of that. I learned that our single mother investigator's son is going to be baptized in about two weeks. I am going back to Tappahannock again. While we were there, we saw the members upstairs. She had finished Christmas decorating in January after we left. It was really great to see everybody again.

We arrived home late (about 11:00 that night), so Sunday when we had to get up at six for an early morning meeting before Church, it was difficult. We had Church, then we had lunch with the members who sent you that picture. I bore testimony of prayer from the miracle that just occurred. I was really happy about all that occurred. I had a miracle and I had seen somebody enter into the waters of baptism, I wanted to share that happiness. It was a big meal. 

Afterwards, we went to see that less active man, who is a single father going through a rough time. He laughs at his ironic state; his ancestor is Martin Harris and here he is less active. I remembered that there is an excellent talk about single fathers by, I believe, Elder Baxter. I would love to give it to him, but I am not sure how he would take it. After we left him, we had a dinner with the bishop. From there, we tried this less active woman who plans on returning to activity and is making some necessary steps. At this current point, she is not coming to church. She is recovering from an accident that she was in. From talking to her, there were a lot of things reaffirmed in my own mind about things we have previously talked about and things I have stressed.

The future looks positive. Miracles will occur. Ways will be provided.

Alles wohl! Tout va bien!

Love,

Elder S. Todd