Discover the Up's and Down's, the Hopes and Dreams, the Joy and Sorrow

Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.-2 Nephi 2:6

June 1, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I will be working with the bike today and ship it next week. I need to take the pedals off and work on the handlebars; by that, it will be possible for me to work on the bike. However, I will have to get tools to do that. Included with that will be a tape measure device, so I can measure the box that I have to send it. It is a process in a half. By next week, I will send it. (I obtained a box last preparation day to get things ready. It was free; hooray for bike shops. Also, it had packaging materials in it to put on the bike. Thank goodness.)

I got my "going home" papers from President Wilson this past week. It merely contained some instructions. I need a doctor's appointment set up, so that I can get a TB test. Not looking forward to a doctor's appointment. But, I learned what is going to occur in the coming days. On Thursday, June 25th, I will have to get up early and head over to the mission office (I have to be there at seven in the morning). I get to go to the temple that day and I am excited. Reason number one: I get to go to the temple! Reason number two: Even though I will not be with Tim, who is getting his endowments that day (Tim is the man who got baptized in White Oak, that I did not get to see baptized), I will hopefully see him. This is what I was hoping and expecting would. Exciting! Now I can officially tell him that I will not be with him, but I will be at the temple. I hope to see him there.

Then, at the end of transfer meeting, I will be headed to the mission home.

The student that did not make it to church had conflicts with her family.

She had waited a month to tell her parents (now I had withheld that from you). So, she has not exactly told her entire family.

There is a lot of corrections to be made with our family history; it is a matter of inputting information and synchronizing information also with Ancestry. Still working on inputting data from FamilySearch to Ancestry and Ancestry to FamilySearch, on top of finding information based off of hints. It is a work on progress that I cannot fully do at this time.

I have a lot of letters to write; I need to write to all the converts that I can (such as Tim), the people I lived with in Tappahannock, the Fuseliers, the Lemoore Ward Primary (with this, Zachary Conwell, who I believe was baptized; he wrote a personalized note with the Pictures; I need somebody's address for the Primary), the Ward Family, the Obersts, Veronica, the Scholarship people, the lady who has sent these packages (I want to say the address was quite familiar, I want to say it was Trevor's mom, whom I cannot remember names or addresses and that address is closely linked with the Ward Family), and President Wilson. A lot to write to. Working on one letter at a time, but I need addresses for those of whom I do not have access to (the ones from home; like the Obersts or Veronica).

Looking at that list brings back to what a busy week it was and how much occurred in one day. It is a good week.

Tuesday, our preparation day due to holiday. We visited a book store that usually is closed on Mondays. Some good books in there; some I noted. We rested and prepared. We had dinner with the Gospel Principles teachers and we discussed some of our investigators that we had. And I began my goal of taking pictures of everybody we have dinner with. (With the Spanish elders no longer around, we have been having many dinners and many dinners to come this month). They referred us to somebody and we checked up on that person. That person said they would give us a call. We arrived home, not knowing what to do when we received a phone call from Buena Vista to go give a blessing to somebody in the hospital near us. We arrived and they said the person did not exist. Odd... 

So, Wednesday, after contacting another referral (who was less than enthused to see us), we checked up on the person again that we were supposed to see. They still did not exist. We called the people who originally called us, who were surprised. They called the person and as it turned out, he was released before we ever even got there. We checked up on the people who were from Alabama (who are returning to church); we helped them to set goals to progress to the temple. We called the lady who does not live in the area, but works here. We need to update the missionaries that are where she lives and inform them of what is going on. Well, she again ranted and chatted and we were there for a while. It helps her to do that and we are able to know how to help her. She has been hurt in some ways from the Church, not necessarily by the Church. She is trying to make a few steps forward. We had dinner, then we checked up on the people at the health center. We then checked up on the man who reminds me of my brother, he was not too readily available to talk with us.

Thursday, we planned; it took a while, appointments cancelled, we moved and trekked forward. Other than planning and appointments cancelling, we had a lesson with our new investigator and his family (who needs to center their lives on the gospel). We realize he has a hard time relaying information, so we are figuring out ways to help him. I talked to the parents and encouraged to move forward. We will have to follow up with them.

Friday was the day of meetings. We had an especially long meeting with Elder Zwick of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Elder Hemmingway, the Director of Proselyting. Before I dive into the meeting, let me explain a rather awkward situation I kind of had. Elder Day needed water, so we got up to get water. We ended up talking to some missionaries that I had not seen in a while. Well, President Wilson and Elder Zwick came down the hall and shook our hands. Then, he continued his walk down the hall. Well, we got seated. After debating on moving, we stayed in our seats. Elder Zwick comes by and shakes our hands and realizes who we were. "Oh, I remember you two." If that was not enough, the entire mission was asked to stand up and shake his hand. What we were supposed to do? Rather than look disobedient, we got in line and shook his hand, yet a third time. He commented to us, "Third times a charm." Yeah, it was rather odd for me.

The meeting was about personally purifying ourselves and being worthy. Elder Zwick mainly talked about this. He mentioned how he served, I believe, in Argentina had one of the apostles (then not an apostle, so one of the ones we have today) as his mission president. He was asked (with his new companion who was cowboy) to board a train, buy some horses, ride those horses through a river into Bolivia, convert the people in the nearby village, and build a chapel. He talked about when building the chapel, he took many donkeys up a mountain to take the lumber needed down, and how one of the donkeys misstepped and fell to its death (which easily could have been him). Elder Hemmingway talked of how the gospel was originally spread (from individual to family to friends to family to friends to family to individuals to families etc.) and how he was asked to start online proselyting as a mission president (something that was hard for him, because he was against Facebook). There are some filters on the iPads, the mission president will know what we will be doing, and we will be going under extensive training.

Elder Day and Elder Todd - Elder Day excited about iPads,
Elder Todd prefers his paper scriptures.

Each weekly planning session there will be an auditing portion where the companions exchange iPads and look at each others posts, etc. The best filter we have is our personal testimony and the Holy Ghost. We have little booklets (that are drafts) that teach us some principles and safeguards.

They will be owned by the Church, though a fee is to be paid to use it. (Because I am leaving in so many weeks, I will be using a loaner device.) Later, they can buy it (or something to that effect). There is an app that will be used for the planner and area book (which the mission president has access to); it will produce a consistent, updated progress record for stake and ward leaders to view.

I believe it is well worth the money, even if the risk seems so high to one's own salvation. I do believe it will help prepare the next generation and make them better than the one previous. It will help sift the wheat from the tares. It will cause young men and young women to rise above. It is matter of personal training at the home; something that I look forward to when I have a family. It is a matter of the family preparing their children now to be personally worthy and to use technology wisely. It is a matter of having that missionary mindset and having a personal testimony. The time to prepare is now; prepare your children, prepare your grandchildren. Be an example daily; live the gospel. And watch how much will change. It is going to be worth it and the work of the Lord will progress more than ever.

Friday, after the meeting, we visited a less active who had poisoned his testimony with anti, which destroyed him. (He needs to be referred to fairmormon.org) It is quite sad to see. We had a meeting with the ward mission leader and the bishop. Things look like they are beginning to move forward. Saturday, we did the progress record and we checked up on the man who has pain. He was really happy, which was a contrast to Monday. It was great to see him. We had a lesson with our investigator whose son was blessed and has been coming to church. We again emphasized the Book of Mormon and we set her on date. I pray that she will continue to be encouraged. After dinner, we checked up on the people in the health center.

Sunday; the day of insanity. And the Sabbath day, the day to rest. Morning and beyond church: we studied briefly and went to go wake up the man who is in pain. Well, he was awake and ready to go. We went to church with him, because we had a meeting. He read the Book of Mormon meanwhile. We had our meeting and then we learned there is a potluck. After the meeting, we had to put some of the potluck food in the refrigerator. We had to get some information from the district leader, which in turn we had to talk to the bishop. We were able to get that squared away. We learned that Elder L. Tom Perry passed away, which was sad. People started to come. Our investigator on date came to church, we introduced the bishop to her. People said hello to her. Get a series of texts during sacrament meeting; after sacrament meeting, we have to run to the outside to get materials to deliver to bishop. Deliver materials. Go to class; it was very spiritual and our investigator has good support in the class. We head into the chapel for third hour; Dan wants to sit with us (he had been wanting us all day). Unfortunately for Daniel and us and fortunately for us, we had to meet with the youth and get to know them. After that, we set up tables for the potluck. Dan wants us to sit by him. Elder Day needs a drink of water, we get involved in delivering paperwork, then stuck in a line for food. Poor Dan was done with his food by the time we arrived. Talked to people; lots of good things occurred in that potluck. Friends were made. Potluck is over; put down tables and chairs. Go outside, try some honeysuckle; honeysuckle is non-existent. Take man who is pain home, go home to change, and rest for a moment. Church was exhausting. I will have to make sure to sit by Dan the next church meetings.

We checked up on a series of people, including this country girl (who is a less active) and her non-member boyfriend. We had not seen them in forever. He was happy to see us again. Definitely coming back to her place to help them both.

Busy week. Busy Sabbath. Oh, and I learned in the Gayton Ward (congregation)

, the ten year old investigator got baptized. And another investigator, who found the Book of Mormon dark, is getting baptized. I thought she would be a long time, but the Spirit works miracles. 

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

#VirginiaRichmondMission

Teach Me As If I Were New

Monday, March 9, 2015

Dear Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am so happy to hear that Tappahannock is now a ward and that things are progressing for them. It has been something they have been looking forward to for a while. Thank goodness for the missionaries that have served there, particularly Elder and Sister Van Orden. They are an amazing senior couple who went above and beyond. They tracted together, which is something you do not usually see with senior couples. 

Speaking of senior couples, we have a new senior couple that now takes care of the cars and housing. They are Elder and Sister Sopp. When I got the newest newsletter of the mission, they stated where they are from: Hanford, California. I looked at the ward directories for the Hanford Wards and they are from the Hanford 2nd Ward, same ward as the Obersts. Small world. I cannot wait to meet them.

I "sandboxed" the recent (our own family genealogy) discoveries and tried to put things together. Well, I found a possible birth year, possible parents, and when he (Seth's Great Grandfather) entered the military, which explains why a man from Michigan is down in Texas. From that miltary entry date, it puts a small window of time of marriage and when Joyce and Russell Jr. is born. If I accept the city directory information, I know that Russell is part of the military, because the city directory states that he is an employee of Fort Sam. Other than that, for the time being, I am at a dead end for now. I have reasons for hope. (And so do we his parents.)

Yes, I know, I need a haircut. I have plans on doing it today. Neither my companion nor I are the district leader. Somebody else is doing that.

Yeah, I did what I could in Appomattox. It was difficult, but I did the things I needed to do. I am more focused on what is going on here. We have some obstacles to climb.

Monday, after the P-day activities, after dinner, we visited one investigator who is still sick and his family is now getting sick. We had an appointment that night with our ten year old investigator and his family as a family home evening. It turned into more of us, the investigator, and his member brother. We went on with the plans and encouraged them by inviting them to read the Book of Mormon. We gave them a small chart to check their progress.

Now, let me summarize a big chunk of the week that we have done and one major obstacle we have to the work. We have tracted apartments and townhouses, attempting to find. We have received some

potentials and some people that are not at all interested. Then, we met our obstacles: the presidents of homeowner associations or people that have been on the board for these homeowner associations. A lot of the apartments have no trespassing and no soliciting signs. None of those apply to us until somebody tells us that we are trespassing. By continuing, we are trespassing (if I am understanding things correctly). Now, soliciting I understand usually applies to those that are selling items or trying to get gain, none of which we are doing. But, we have been accused of soliciting our word and no matter what we explain, no matter if we tell that we have ministerial certificates, they tell us to stop. Well, we have been asked to leave and much as I want to stick it to their face and keep on tracting, we thank them for informing us and leave. Granted, we had tracted a big portion of the apartments in some cases, but it is a hindrance. We plan on finding ways to overcome this.

We have also been trying to contact part member families, but not many are home when we go by. We also contact potentials, former investigators, and investigators that we have. Some people have not progressed beyond the first lesson, which we are trying to improve that to help them progress. A lot of people do not answer their doors or are not home.

Despite these setbacks, I know that as we steadily accumulate potentials and they will become investigators. My goal and vision for the area is to set up a steady foundation for future missionaries wherein growth will increase. I believe that if we have at least five progressing investigators, or a substantially bigger pool of investigators, the work will progress; member exchanges can more fully be utilized and thus, increase member presence. It is not about numbers, but helping these people progress towards baptism and eventually the temple. I have been trying to organize our efforts so that we can be more useful. We have agreed upon places. Also, expedient to our work is a balance. If we spend a lot of time tracting, we will burn ourselves out and become frustrated. If we spend a lot of time visiting less actives, then we cannot help the work progress, which is our main focus. It is a balance of the two, which is fundamental for us. In other words, if we are diligent, the Lord will bless us.

Thursday, it snowed. Well, first it rained ice and we headed to the health center to perform service for that. Then, we drove home in the snow. Seeing as I had no visibility (for I was the driver), I drove carefully, slowly, and made it home safely. My companion, who is from Draper, Utah, was like, "Oh, it is not that bad." As I reminded him, "Well, the roads are slick and oh yeah, I am a Californian who has never driven in snow." For the rest of the night, we walked. 

Friday, we had zone meeting, where I obtained the vision for the area. We agreed upon what we were going to do. We went out to find people that day. We visited with the "dark lit house" where we help the two members there understand the Book of Mormon. They are a mother and daughter (both are adults); they are recent converts. The mother understands, but the daughter is having a hard time. The daughter told us to teach as if she was new to it all. We began with the Restoration and plan on helping her to progress. We went to Goochland that night for dinner and contacted a family there. The family that we had dinner with told us that they are trying to help those in Goochland invite us over. Hopefully, that will help.

Saturday, we completed our progress record. We contacted some potentials and our Bible loving investigator, who scheduled a time for us to come by that night. We contacted some part member families, with some success, but not much interest. Well, we saw our investigator who loves the Bible and holds to the Bible. I felt prompted to read 3 Nephi 11 with the investigator, which I am not sure why. He has a problem with Jesus appearing to the people in America. He believes that when Jesus ascended to heaven, He is there ministering in a heavenly sanctuary. That he gets from the epistle to the Hebrews, but the references to Jesus and a heavenly sanctuary are there to show to the Hebrews that Jesus is the High Priest who atoned for us. Secondly, he feels as though the apostles went to all the world spreading the gospel that when they died, they passed on the commission to others, reaching down to those like Martin Luther and such until it reached the whole world. I re-explained the apostasy and we all explained the need of faith and prayer. He would not have it and stated for us to try to prove from the Bible that Jesus came to America. There is no help there. What if we were even to prove it? What does that substantiate? It does not encourage faith, which is the point of the gospel of Jesus Christ and so many things of the Bible. Well, we have another appointment with him, so we will see how that goes. (This whole argument is fascinating to his father and perhaps some reading this could shed some light. We feel our son is right in his conclusions; however, there may be some different approaches.)

Sunday, we woke up early for ward council, only to find that it was cancelled. After church and lunch, we helped some members give the sacrament to "Mama."

We talked with Mama afterwards.

After dinner, we had a lesson with our ten year old investigator. His mom, a recent convert, is considering baptism for him around April or May. She is hoping that he understands repentance and making the right decisions. We talked to our ten year old investigator and tried to help him to listen. He has not yet read on his own.

Well, things are going forward!

Tout va bien!

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.

Can You Overcome Your Fears?

(This post is from a letter written home and is presented here in an edited form by Elder Todd's father in hopes that this will offer some degree of comfort to others.)

In the middle of my own troubling circumstances, I write to you in full manner of happiness, expressing my own comfort from the Lord.

. . . I often wrote, I believe, about my past which has been a great sorrow to me. I often felt as if I had failed in my past (as a teenager). I did not share the gospel of Jesus Christ as I should have. I did not speak kind words. I did many gospel duties halfheartedly. I was not as valiant as I could have been. Often those thoughts filled my head . . . I too often remembered the bad times rather than the good.

I know that the Lord has forgiven me of my grievances. I have felt His mercy and I enjoy His presence once more. As a flower grows with sunlight, my soul has grown in His presence. I recognize now that I, in the end of my adolescence, had both a testimony - which has been strengthened - and a knowledge of the scriptures - which has grown. . . God has shown me what I did not see.

I recognize now two incidents in my life that would place great importance in turning my life around. Remember in, I believe 6th grade, when I read a scary story that stated I was going to die, causing me to fear greatly? I cried myself to sleep twice that night, Bria (his sister) shared a scripture that influenced me: Alma 37:37. I learned to turn to God in prayer and to seek the scriptures. It would later form a testimony. I pray that she remembers that night.

The other is the youth activity where we caroled at an elderly home. When we ended the caroling, the leaders encouraged us to talk to the elderly. I didn't want to talk to anybody, so I joined another youth, listening to their conversation. A leader pulled me a way to an elderly woman, who nobody presently was talking with her. Though I have forgotten her name, she was a member of the church and she bore her testimony. I remember, because it still lingers with these words: "I know. I know. I know." I learned the power of testimony.

I am grateful . . . My past is not as dark as I see it and my future is bright. By the grace of God I have mastered the past and future. The present is to prepare; to build upon the talents, attributes and the testimony that I have. . . I am a son of God . . . I will go forward in the service of the Lord, magnifying my callings.

Love, 
Elder Todd

Elder Todd with his Sister prior to leaving for Virginia.

Yep, Just Like a Box of Chocolates!

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I definitely miss Tappahannock. I am in the Gayton Ward, the west end of Richmond. It is a bit like Woodbridge; the many shops, the many suburbs, the many apartments. We do have the country, but it is an odd addition to the Gayton Ward. It takes time and miles to get there. Sisters used to cover that area, but they no longer do and that change is recent. That area definitely needs missionary attention and there needs to be a balance to both sides of the area. 

We are doing a Book of Mormon class here, though today will be the first day for me. Of course, I can envision a lot of things to do for this class (PowerPoint, activities, etc.), but I do not have those resources available and have yet to see what is being done in the class. 

My new companion is Elder Taylor, who is from Modesto, California. (Seth's Great Grandfather Boyd Henry Todd and his family were some of the first members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Modesto, California.) To say that things are going well between us is a false statement. It took me until Sunday to figure what is his problem. I have yet to find motive as to why is he such. I am extremely upset, not at the Lord, but at him. He does not believe in planning; no, not even weekly planning. In fact, I overheard him say that instead of planning for the next day, he just goes by the Spirit. That infuriated me with a fiery indignation that I just wanted to come out of the bathroom, crying out, "Oh, you sloth! Repent of your wicked ways!" I wanted to go to each and every scripture about slothfulness and rebuke him.

The thought came to my mind, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of." So, I stayed in the bathroom, trying to calm down. I have been trying to make decisions, which at one time, I made the wrong decision, thinking it to be good.

I am however persisting in asking what we are doing and he did ask me what we should do tomorrow. Well, it is rather difficult when I do not know our investigators, the area, and such. I am slowly learning the area; then again, so is he. He has only been here for a transfer. I looked at our area book, which does not give me much information. 

I sent you a letter that I wrote on Wednesday that I sent later. I was angry when I wrote it. I do have a library card, but, whether it is temporary or not, I am not exactly sure. I am sending you a letter soon, concluding some matters of discussion and inviting you to family home evening. I definitely need support, or encouragement. I have been trying to love my companion. I wrote little notes telling him to have an excellent day and told him the things he does well. Nothing much of yet has happened. I do plan on seeking advice from the mission president and when I go on exchanges with the zone leaders (because my companion is the district leader), I plan on seeking a blessing to help me for the coming weeks. During planning tonight, I do think I should talk to him and I pray that I will be calm.

Thanks for the quotes. It really does fit into this past week. I push forward.

Monday. Elder Henstrom and I had to do many, many chores. Laundry, packing, cleaning, etc. I received a haircut that day from one of the daughters of the members upstairs; she did a military haircut, something she wanted to do when she first cut my hair. She was surprised about how quickly my hair grew and how thick it was. After the haircut, I was not so sure what to think. It did remind me of the haircut I had received in Woodbridge. I am quite happy with my haircut. We said goodbye to our single mother investigator and headed to the branch president's house. We had dinner and we had a really good time. I enjoyed it and that is when I received the shirt of which you saw. I love it; I do believe there is a proper balance to hunting and saving the environment.

I quickly packed that night. Everything was stuffed full, because of my quick planning. I had to figure out how to put my bare necessities (toothbrush, etc.). 

Tuesday, we said a few more goodbyes and then we headed to transfers. I was put with where I am now and who I am with. We received another car, because our previous car had reached the mile limitation for missionaries. We inherited somebody's car, which is close to its expiration. According to my companion, we did not receive any information about our allotment, so we do not have an allotment. Right, we will go with that. We had dinner with a member who has a wife who speaks Portuguese (and she is a member). They are nice people and I knew that I would love this area. We saw a recent convert, whose son has a desire to be baptized. I was merely introduced to them.

Wednesday through Saturday, I began to realize what my companion is doing and I have yet, like I have said, to understand why. I learned that he loves deep doctrine, which, okay, I had another companion that also liked deep doctrine (and I loved that companion), but it seems off-putting for some reason. I am probably a bit frustrated. I mainly decided to put my head down and endure (go week by week). I have been trying to figure out how to love my companion. There has been too much wasted time, spots that I disliked, because I know how quickly time passes. We received many referrals. Some interested, others not. I am grateful for these referrals, because they give us something to do. We were able to get new investigators, one of whom is a single mother with one kid. She is not able to go to her church often, because it is on the other side of Richmond.

My companions is excellent at asking questions, which is great and that is what we needed. I used scriptures, which she needed. I know that if we couple this together, we would get work done. 

I had dinner with the bishop and I have met the ward mission leader.

We went with one set of the Spanish elders to take them to the country, so that they can try to find those that are Hispanic and speak Spanish. It was during this time that I learned that the country area needs our attention. We were talking to a member who has Spanish names (but does not speak Spanish) who thought the area would never see missionaries again. We are working with a less active in this area who is a retired photographer. He is a nice guy, but slightly depressed. I liked his dog, which is a Shiba Inu. 

We have run into many Arabs, who are Muslims. I have met people of other cultures. I absolutely love it. We have a new investigator who speaks Persian (or Farsi). We had an Arabic Book of Mormon, which we were able to give away. I ate at a Mongolian themed grill (members took us out to it), which was quite amazing. I saw, as we passed the mall on Short Pump, a world store, whatever that means. I am excited, because of the different cultures that I see here. 

Oh, and I have been adopted. There is another recent convert here, who absolutely loves the missionaries. Funny thing is, she was found in Powhatan, but later had moved into a different adult home in Gayton and was baptized. I had talked to her on the phone before in Powhatan for she was looking for a missionary (the second Appomattox companion that I had). So, it was great to finally meet her. When new missionaries meet her, they become adopted into her "family." Thus, I have been adopted. She recently had her arm amputated, but she keeps on going.

Sunday, church was great. We taught gospel principles and will teach it next week as well. I am excited for that. We contacted another referral who is an adolescent. I was so happy to meet him and give him a Book of Mormon. I noticed on his shirt there was the seven candlesticks (the menorah), typically seen in Hanukkah. Yes, he is Jewish. We were not able to schedule another appointment with him at the time, but I hope he calls. Have I ever told you it is a goal of mine to have a Jewish friend? Yes, I was happy to meet this fellow for two reasons as evident above. We were able to find another new investigator when we sought two other people in an apartment. We were called over and asked the typical questions, "Are you Mormon? Is beer a sin? How many wives are you allowed to have?" Slowly, this person who had called us over wanted to know more.

Monday, well, Sunday we found out the P-day was changed to Tuesday. My companion felt sick (whether he was or not, I am not going to judge), so we did not get out much. We received some new referrals that day as well. They are great potentials. We visited the recent convert who has a son who wants to be baptized. He is a crazy kid (granted, he is nine) and was all over the place. I really do think we need visual aids and luckily, they have a tablet. I suggested that to my companion, who, honestly, did not seem all that enthused, but we will try it.

I am going to push through it and fight through persistence and calm negotiations. I think of the people of Limhi who "like dragons did they fight" for their own lives and family. I am going to push hard to make sure that this area stays alive and thriving. I will love my companion.

How do you say all is well in French? I only know all is well in German, Alles wohl. Is it tout est bien?

Tout est bien! (Tout va bien!) Alles wohl! All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

She Was Curious! But He Had Been In Prison!

Virginia Richmond Mission: Tappahannock, Virginia

"The words of the Lord are found in the scriptures and the teachings of the apostles and prophets. They provide us counsel and direction that, when followed, will act like a spiritual life jacket and will help us know how to hold on with both hands."—M. Russell Ballard, "Stay in the Boat and Hold On!"

Monday, November 3, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am glad to hear that California got some rain. We got rain, too. It has been getting cold. Our basement gets cold as well. I plugged in my electric blanket and I have been keeping toasty. We should be getting wood soon to help keep the place heated, somewhat. I can already tell that the blanket will be the best of my friends. But I continue to hope that California gets the much needed rain.

Yes, I plan on sending Grandma a card. A new month means new MSF.

Speaking of birthdays and other related topics here, I do need those second pair of shoes, I guess. On the outside of my shoes, everything is fine. On the inside, the padding (sole?), I would say (I have no idea what to call it or what it is called), is falling apart after 16 months. Unless I should get Dr. Scholls to replace it. I honestly need one (uno) long sleeve white shirt. Apparently, dirt cannot come out of white shirts, despite multiple washes, including a wash with bleach. (Although, I have done it before.) As for CDs, to answer your question, no, not really. Anything else, I really do not know. Sorry, if I am not helpful, which chances are, I am not. I will think about it....( His 20th birthday is next month, plus Christmas is coming as well.)

Monday, we did the usual things. E-mail, sleep, shop, eat (not necessarily in that order). We tried to see someone after dinner, but it fell through. We went back to the apartment early and joined the members upstairs and their extended family for Family Home Evening (A special time set apart for families or groups of singles to gather, have a lesson, have fun and usually have some dessert.). We played a lot of different Halloween games. It was particularly fun. Second time I have done FHE during the mission and I love it. 

Tuesday, we feared we had to fix the car. Some of the warning lights had turned on, but turned off and has not turned on again since. We called the missionary over the cars and talked to him about it. It was, I guess, nothing to worry about and might have been a fluke. So, we tried to see some people with some success. We went over to see an investigator who has a two year old the size of a five year old. She was curious about Joseph Smith and his life (she had heard that he went to jail), so we watched the full-length movie about his life. She seemed to have a better understanding about him. We answered any other question that she had about him. We had dinner, then we tried to talk to another investigator. He was home and we were let in. But, he was sick and did not come out to meet us. I was able to meet the family; their adult daughter was home and was asking all sorts of questions. This lasted for a while before we left and tried to see more people.

Wednesday, we cleaned out our car to make it ready for inspection. We had lunch and then we went out to talk to some more of our investigators. We went to one investigator, who was watching a soap opera. She muted the television. We taught the Restoration. Part of me does wonder how much she remembers and what she had heard. Other than that, it was a pretty good lesson. We went over to the trailer parks to see another investigator, but she was not home at the time. Another investigator fell through. And a less active fell through, because he was watching baseball. After dinner, we finished our car preparations. We went over to the church, talked to people, and had our car inspected briefly. We passed. 

Thursday, we did our weekly planning and to conserve on miles, we went over to the church to do some family history. Nothing new as of yet. After that, we tried our investigator who lives in the trailer parks. We read with her from the Book of Mormon and explained the importance of scripture study and prayer. I hope she takes into heart what we were saying. We tried seeing a potential, which we were able to see and talk about the gospel. She was explaining her situation to us and how she is trying to move. From there, we saw an investigator, an elderly lady who does not mind us coming by. She seems interested. Due to her time constraints, we taught her about the premortal life.

Friday, we had zone meeting, which took a lot of our time. We saw an elderly, medically challenged less active. She learned of someone passing in her family and was reasonably upset. After that, we tried again to see the investigator who was sick previously when we went by. He was not home. We tried one more person and were able to talk to her. Then, we headed inside to organize our supplies. We were not to be out unless we had an appointment. (Halloween)

Saturday, we made our progress record. We saw the less active who was previously watching baseball. We had a nice little visit, just talking to him and sharing a small message. We decided to check up on some members in the ward and we were able to talk to them. After having dinner, we stopped by an investigator, who we usually have appointments with on Saturdays. Her two children, who are normally all over the place, actually stayed in one place. Then, we talked with her. I do not know how we got on the subject, but it got brought to psychology. She has a bachelor's in psychology and was at one time a forensic psychologist. She got out of it due to lack of money (she said that even a master's did not get paid enough). My companion knew some psychology from his year in college. I talked about what drew me to the field, which was the same thing that brought her into it. She said that I am very analytical. We talked about extroverts versus introverts. It was a very academic discussion, which I have not had in a very long time. It was refreshing. She brought up a question that allowed us to change the subject and to talk about the gospel.

Sunday, we had church. We tried to see a few people. One of them was a man who has been in prison a lot. He is a very smart man and has made some changes in his life. Not much else happened on Sunday.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd