Forks In The Road

And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks -1 Nephi 14

Monday, March 30, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Happy Easter (#BecauseHeLives)! Happy Passover!

Believe me, I try to not be late to anything. One thing that always stresses me is time. I make sure that we are early to church, seeing as I am the designated driver. The hard thing though is Elder Jensen has a faulty memory and I forget from time to time. We have not forgotten anything too majorly important, but it is something that I try to catch before we forget. Writing things down definitely helps. But, I am not perfect. (Elder Todd's parents work with missionaries in California and recently two sister missionaries were 35 minutes late to a dinner appointment to which they were reminded that they have cell phones for when they know they are late)

Yes, I remember the youth in Tappahannock. (Two young women from the recently created Tappahannock Ward requested to be "friends" on Facebook. His parents monitor his Facebook until he returns home.)

And the elders were not informed? Yeah, that happens. I have heard stories and I have seen it happen. President Wilson reads off some names and one person stands up, his or her companion missing. Then, somebody who knows the person being transferred is like, "Uh, they were not informed that they were being transferred." I pray that I am not one of these people that are not informed. With transfers coming up, it is going to be interesting to see what happens. (Two missionaries found out the day before transfers that they had been on the list but were not informed.)

Does my dog wake you up when she hops in bed with you? Or do you wake up in the morning to her close to one of you? (His parents have four Boxers and his jumps up on their beds in the wee hours of the morning.)

It has been a good week. I do enjoy my companion and I strive to continue my efforts in treating him nicely. He is a really happy, energetic soul. He is eager to do the work.

Monday, after P-day, we had dinner with members who are service missionaries (Service missionaries can be assigned to teach, work with military families, work in prison ministries, hold addiction recovery programs, humanitarian service, etc.). They talked to us all about it and the organization that goes on behind the scenes. It is a lot to recount. Well, we decided to share our thought after we ate, which we did. My companion spoke and I bore testimony. I did not say much, because that chance was gone as soon as I spoke. The husband went off on a random tangent that I have no idea how it connects to our thought about missionary work. He was going on and on about where the Book of Mormon actually is (the actual engravings on metal sheets). According to some people's diligent efforts, they claim the Book of Mormon is here in North America. [For Dad: They talked about how they found Hebrew writing, the Hopewell culture, etc.] It was just an odd tangent, but he was really willing to share. So, we listened. (Probably reminded him of his father who likes to tell stories.)

Tuesday, I finally got permission to go to the baptism for the man in Tappahannock. The bad thing was I did not have a ride; the person that has taken me in the past would not be able to do what he has done. He could take me back. I concluded that there would be no possible way for me to do get a ride, seeing as I had found Sunday and did not have permission until Tuesday. President suggested two names of senior missionaries nearby that might help, one of them being the Sopps. I did not feel like bothering these people and press upon them for my wants and desires. After an internal conflict, I called the Sopps, who more than happily took me there and back. The baptism was great. The man was ever so happy to be baptized. He bore his testimony, which he essentially told everyone to prepare to meet God. The person who baptized him had to do it three to four times to get it done correctly. He kept on saying the prayer wrong and then, the man's hand did not go down all the way. Elder Sopp, when the prayer was not said correctly and he was baptized, said, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." It was great, nonetheless. I am really thankful for the Sopps to be able to take me, especially at last minute. Oh, and there may be one more baptism yet to come.

Also, on Tuesday, we taught a nice lady who is very open-minded, despite the two certificates she has from one of the local Baptist churches. She liked what we said and thought about coming to church. Yet, she did not. We will meet with her soon.

Wednesday, we had district meeting and I was asked to give a training. It was nice. During it, we received a referral. Well, it needed a Urim and Thummim to translate. There were squares and all sorts of symbols. So, we headed to the next best thing, seeing as we did not have a Urim nor a Thummim, which was the computer. We contacted the referral. 

We taught our part member family that "cancelled" on us the previous Sunday. We had members with us and it went well. It was a good lesson the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have a feeling that we need to help the investigator, who is the husband of the family, be more centered on Christ. Plus, we need to go over the lessons again, except the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

We taught our less active recent convert who is trying to figure out which of the two commandments ("keep the Sabbath day holy" and "honor thy father") to obey. He has yet to pray nor has he fasted. We again encouraged to keep on praying. We also told him that if he keeps the Sabbath day hold and progresses in the gospel, his father will be impressed by the changes that he will make. It is interesting that still calls the Church "your [referring to us] church" and his father's church "his [referring to himself] church." Yet, he is conflicted about keeping the Sabbath day holy. Perhaps, there is something deeper here.

Thursday, it was supposed to be thunderstorms and hot. It turned about to be sunny, hot, and 80 degrees. It made Mama happy, because it was her birthday and it was what she prayed for. We helped with Bingo when the fire alarm went off. We stayed there in the room until the sound went off. Once the sound went off, they kept on playing bingo, despite the lights still flashing. Eventually, the alarm died down. 

In other good news of the day, we finally got in contact with the referral from Woodbridge for the recent convert who has moved down here. We finally made contact after nearly two transfers. It has been great progress. 

Friday, it dropped down to the low 40s and even dipped into the high 30s. It was raining and did rain some slush. We taught a Catholic woman, who did not express too much interest, and even expressed during the lesson, "I am not interested in changing religions." My companion still gave the baptismal invite, which in some ways is good. We also taught a man from Iraq along with his friend. The man went off on us in trying to expand our views. He himself was not a strict Muslim. The reason, he said, that most of these people from Iraq come to the United States for is peace. He talked a lot about peace. He talked about culture and other things. He is an excellent man and it was good to hear that.

Saturday, a lot of our plans fell through. We helped out with the ongoing "March Rescue." We helped the woman who wants to be taught as "a Gentile," or one who never has heard what we have taught. It was interesting. We tried to explain things simply and she added all these variables. We used analogies and scriptures, but she added her view in it. As her mother put it, "You took them over the river and through the woods to get to Grandma's house when Grandma's house was across the street!" We only got a fraction through the lesson on the plan of salvation.  Later that night, we also went over to see the other woman who needs help in understanding the Book of Mormon.

Sunday, we helped Mama with understanding her tablet to do family history. The ward should be involved with that soon. We taught the investigator who, when invited to baptism, always says that he already has been baptized twice and will not change. We read the Book of Mormon with him, talked about Christ, talked about priesthood authority, and invited him. He said those things, but he changed a bit by saying that if he came to know, then he would. He has made good progress.

We did teach our ten year old investigator, but little progress has been made.

Definitely, a good week. It should be interesting to see what will happen coming up.


All is well! Tout va bien!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Ya'll Aren't Normal, Ya'll Are Weird!!!

Children will ask and say exactly what's on their minds.




Monday, November 24, 2014

All is well. Email coming in some time. Hopefully.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Okay, that explains the CD I received in the mail. (We, his parents, sent him an early gift with Christmas music on a CD.)  I had no idea why I received it and I decided not to open it. I wanted to see if I was allowed first and I am guessing that I am. (Yes, we intended for him to open it because he likes Christmas music year round.) Thank you! I will definitely keep my eye out for any large packages of unusual size (kind of like rats of unusual size). (Possibly a reference to some rats who would try and chew through our plastic tub of dog food in our garage. We finally killed them with D-Con and they were very large indeed.)

It sounds like the two of you have been busy with the missionaries. That sounds really exciting as to all that has happened. Oh, speaking of President Gelwix, I was talking to one of the daughters of the members upstairs (all their children are grown and are adults, etc.) and I told her that President Gelwix was the mission president of the Fresno California Mission. She thought that was cool, because he was her bishop while she was in Utah. She thought it was right that he would become a mission president. I am also glad to hear that you were able to try some Korean food. 

By the way, HAPPY INTERNATIONAL BIBLE DAY! (https://www.lds.org/church/news/share-love-for-scriptures-on-international-day-of-the-bible?cid=HPTU111814491&lang=eng)

Speaking of family history, on the time that I have available to do family history (e.g. when I am not doing the progress record), I have been trying to look at our cousins and am looking at where our tree spirals. I am looking at siblings and their spouses. It allows me to become familiar with Ancestry and allows me to become more involved. I found all sorts of things, such as polygamists and people with many, many children (like 16, granted not all of them grew to adulthood).

It has been a good week. Monday, it rained hard. We were going to take fall pictures, but it rained. So, I cleaned our apartment. (It has been cold, until today, so we had to use our wood stove for heat. My efforts in cleaning has somewhat failed. We have all sorts of leaves and such on our carpet. At least the bathroom is clean.) We tried to visit some people before family home evening, but it did not work. We made it to family home evening on time. Afterwards, there was child who was asking all sorts of questions about us missionaries.

Child: "Why do you live in the basement? Why don't you just buy your own house?"

Us: "We cannot afford a house. We cannot afford the materials even to build us a shack or hut. Luckily, we have generous people."

Child: "Why don't you have a car?"

Us: "We do have a car. We have limited miles on it, though."

Child: "Why can't you just drive wherever you like?"

Us: "We have limited miles. To go over affects the Church and dips into tithing funds."

By the end of this game of 20 questions, the child screamed with an outraged cry, "Ya'll are not normal. Ya'll are weird." Dear child, yes, we are most definitely unusual.

Tuesday, we had our tire fixed. It was still leaking air, slowly. We called about it to the car missionary and they told us to go to a tire shop, which we did. It did not take much time. The rest of the day was spent trying to see people with little success. The senior missionaries called us for aid in giving a priesthood blessing to an elderly sister. 

Wednesday, we did some extra things around the apartment that we did not get done. We were able to see an elderly gentlemen, who comes to church off and on, and talk to him for a while. We tried some of our investigators, but again, there was little success. Even one of our appointments cancelled that day. 

Thursday, rolls around. We had zone workshops that day. It was all about role playing and teaching. Added to it, during the role playing, our actions were recorded and replayed for our evaluation. I did not like to watch myself. It was odd. I notice a few things about myself and what I do. Also that day, I went on exchanges with the zone leaders and I ended up in Mechanicsville. I was with the zone leader who came to Powhatan that one time to help tract our area. Well, I tracted during the exchange and we found one new person. This adolescent had a sincere desire to learn more. He was very interested in history, but was confused about things. We explained and helped him understand. Later that day, I saw two of their investigators and it went well. 

Friday, I returned to Tappahannock. We planned that day for this week, we had our car washed, and my companion helped rake leaves. We saw a less active and taught her about praying with earnest. We saw an investigator, who I am sure we are going to have to take things slowly. I am not sure if he is mentally all there. Right now, it is a matter of seeing where he is at. 

Saturday, we helped the elderly lady of whom we aided in giving a blessing. I cut her hedges with an electric hedge cutter. The electric cutter was light and my back did not hurt afterwards. However, my arms were gelatin by the end. By the next day, I was not able to lift my arms high. We worked on our progress record and were able to talk to an investigator who had been ditching us (who we had set on date). After dinner, we saw the single mother, who was a forensic psychologist, and tried to teach her. In my opinion, it was not the best it could have been. I do think we need to make her lessons, if not everyone's, a spiritual experience. This single mother has been taught for over a year now; I mean, Elder Meibos, I believe, found her. She knows the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, and believes that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. Her hold up is her promise to a deceased grandfather to remain Catholic. We tell her that she needs to pray, though she is hesitant (because she knows the answer already). Hence, this is where I believe we need to make the lessons spiritual. It is a work in progress.

Sunday, we had church and choir practice. We tried to see an investigator, but it not work out so well. So, we studied. We had, with the members' upstairs, a pre-Thanksgiving dinner. She made a turkey casserole, mashed potatoes, and other things. After dinner, we tried to see the investigator, whom I am not too sure about, but that failed. We checked up on the elderly sister whom we have helped a lot this past week. 

Yesterday, as precursor for the next email, was hectic, which is why I am emailing today. I wrote Monday and Tuesday yesterday, while I wrote the rest today. I hope you have a Happy Dead Bird Day!

Oh, and I received the box today on Tuesday, just before I left to come to the library. Thanks!

All is well!

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.