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

Hot Chocolate in the Rain?

Monday, December 29, 2014

Hanukkah Menorah

Shalom Aleichem, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

If Hanukkah starts on December 7th next year, then I feel more so inclined to celebrate Hanukkah. I am excited. (December 7th is his birthday.) 

I honestly did not eat the Ho's Ho's.

 (A family tradition is for Santa to put Hostess Ho Ho's in Christmas stockings. This year some of them had a foul chemical taste. So we warned our son and his companion about this. Needless to say it is a tradition that has ended.) My companion, on the other hand, ate them, even if they did smell. I could smell it and I was not up to eating them. The unfortunate thought of it is even if they did not smell, they might still have that chemical in them. And who knows what is that chemical. So, my companion did not care whether or not it had it. He ate all of them. I even gave him mine. (I hate to waste and seeing that he was willing....)

I, unfortunately, understand what you mean by the immaturity of the missionaries. ( Many missionaries are still teens when they go out. Having a little fun is fine. Some pranks maybe. But we have been tired of goofy shots of missionaries.) Believe me, I understand. Some are not bad, but others are bad. I have been the victim of immaturity once or so, but I understand to act my age and when something I do is enough. Humor for me is a very hard thing to tackle. I do not understand humor and it takes very fine humor to make me laugh. Yet, for whatever reason, some people call me funny. I do not understand. (And you are not the only one that despises the text speak of which insults the finer language of English, or what used to be the finer language of English. This was a reference to missionaries writing home as if they were texting friends with their text shorthand. Most don't but some do.)

Thanks for the tip about children. I will use them for the single mother investigator's child who wants to be baptized. 

You will not believe what I discovered this past weekend. On Saturday, after accomplishing the task of our progress record, I decided to do my usual task of inputting information on Ancestry. I have been looking at all the hints I have for each person, which is a bear of a task. But, through this task I discovered something really, really cool. Let me take you back into our history. As you know, widowed Ellen Jackson Carter, mother of John Carter, after traveling across the plains, had married William Stewart Seely. Now, I had discovered this through William Stewart Seely's mother, Mehittabil Bennett, of whom I was inputting information. William's brother, Justus Wellington Seely, had a son, whose name was Orange Seely. If you go down his descendants, you will reach (and it took a while to figure this out) Elder Dallin H. Oaks. Now, mind you, I am not claiming we are related at all, but I am just noting this fact of interest. (I discovered this through a PDF file that is a document on Mehittabil Bennet, Justus Wellington Seely, and Orange Seely.) (Elder Dallin H. Oaks is an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Apostles direct the affairs of the church as a quorum, under the direction of the First Presidency and by assignment. Elder Oaks has represented the church in defending religious liberty including the controversial birth control under "Obamacare." He is a former Supreme Court Justice in Utah.) 

Elder Dallin H. Oaks (center) (C) Intellectual Reserve 2013

By now, you are probably wondering about my week. Monday, we had the usual P-day activities. I happily cleaned the bathroom; it needed it really bad. We saw our investigator of whom we are still unsure of what he is understanding. We taught him twice this week and he still has made no indications of what he understands. I remember we even asked a question about the Restoration and he stared at us with a smile. It is hard to say what will happen. We have plans on teaching him, but what to do is the hard question. I cannot say what he is interested in, because his walls are blank and empty. He has cassette tapes, but I cannot tell you what the music is. But, perhaps, it will be something that can draw conversation.

Tuesday, we had the all-day mission conference. There was many, many musical numbers and many good talks (or training sessions). One that has really stuck with me is one about hope. When we say, "I hope..." it conveys uncertainty; when we want to say we hope for something, we should rather say, "I know...." This conveys more faith and hope. It shows that we hope as a surety. I tried it out and I believe it gives more power to willpower. There was a member-- a recent convert in the lower county of the area-- who had a fever of 100 degrees. On Saturday, he text us that and told us he might not be coming to church. In reply, I almost put "I hope," but catching myself, I put, "I know you will obtain better health." Sunday, he came to church with normal temperature (may be a little sick, but he had better health).

I was able to see some old companions that have not gone home. I met the sisters who are in White Oak and obtained information on the area. After this conference, we went home. Our appointment with our "on date" person cancelled; we have not been able to see him this week and his baptism has been pushed back. Also, on Tuesday, the festivities of opening presents started. The members upstairs' son and his wife were going to Arizona for Christmas. Thus, the opening of presents began.

Wednesday, the heavens opened their floodgates and it rained hard. As much as I love rain, the rain threatened our plans for the day. We had planned, with the sisters, to do the hot chocolate stand that day. The rain could easily destroy and wipe away our plans. I prayed and felt that we were still able to do the hot chocolate. My companion, on the other hand, still had some doubt. We needed to pray. We set a time when we would make a final decision. 

In the meanwhile, we boiled water and filled up the cooler. We finally prayed as a companionship about the rain. I continually prayed. By the time we had to make a decision, it was still raining. Going on faith at this point, I said that the hot chocolate stand will go on. As it neared about noon, the rain stopped. It halted. It was more of a sign for us that God had our back and that the hot chocolate stand must go on. 

It would later rain while we did the stand. It was a successful event, full of good memories. In the beginning, I held the sign to allow people to know what we were offering and at no cost. It was during this time, I earned my dollar, because somebody felt bad for me. I later held an umbrella over the hot chocolate as it rained. I smiled and waved until my left hand, which was holding the umbrella, cramped up. That was extremely painful. I received a lot of honks, waves, crazy people, and smiles from people. It was successful in passing out the He is the Gift cards. Who knows what will come from it.

Later that night, we had dinner with the choir director of the ward. I had salmon, crab dip, and other food. My stomach was hurting a bit afterwards. There was more opening of presents. That was when I received the new suit, which is pinstripe (and I do not mind). It fits me quite well, just needs to be tailored a tad. I really like it.

Thursday, I got up at midnight. I put up our stockings and organized our presents. Then after a while, I went to bed and some time after, I fell asleep. In the morning, we opened our presents and spent time in the morning with the members upstairs. We went over to the elders' quorum president where I Skyped you. It was good to see you, Bria, and Carly. It was good to hear from my sister, Bria. And did I look surprised when Joy unveiled her big news?( She announced she was pregnant with her third.)

From there, we went to the members' upstairs family gathering. There was a "Chinese Auction" and it was a lot of fun. The festivities continued at their home, later that night.

Friday became a point of contrast. I usually recover from lack of sleep, or my own waking up, or some kind of disturbance of sleep. Last year, I felt great even after waking up at midnight on Christmas. On Friday morning, I woke up more exhausted than I have ever been before. Friday became the pinnacle of exhaustion. I did my usual routine, but during studies, I needed rest. That morning, we had to help a member floor the bathroom of our WWE fanatic's trailer for his parents. At this point, I became extremely grateful for my herniated disc and my now inability due to restriction to lift heavy objects. If the floor of their trailer and their trailer in itself was any indication that something was wrong, we rightly picked up on that hint. The toilet and the floor was bad. Now, I can only imagine, because I even seen a bad toilet myself arriving in a new area. Seeing as I was not able to do much, I stood outside, guarding the member's tools, as he so directed me to do. 

After flooring the bathroom, the member received a call from his father, who needed help dragging a deer out of the woods. So, off we went to his father and into the woods. We took a four wheeler and found his father and the dead deer. It was a rather solemn moment, if solemn is the right word. My companion and the member dragged the deer from its spot, up a hill, and to the four wheeler. Then, we headed back to the road, wherein the father took over. The deer was skinny and the hooves were falling off. The deer was diseased and its quickened death turned to be a mercy. From there, we, after cleaning ourselves, ate at a new Mexican restaurant to try it out. I have to say that I was not too impressed with the place and the Mexican rap that was blaring did not help.

That night, the senior couple had a few more candidates for baptism that needed to be interviewed by my companion. It was a tricky situation, but I did agree with my companion's decision. I felt the sustaining witness of the Spirit. Two of the three passed. This caused an upset for all three, wherein they were not baptized. This we learned on Saturday.

Saturday, we saw our single mother investigator after we cleaned our apartment and completed our progress record. We talked of revelation and told her that she needs to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. It went well and it got what we needed to say out. She asked questions and we answered. Meanwhile, her two kids were wrestling each other and going crazy. The single mom told us to ignore them; she had told them where they needed to be. One of the kids ended up crying, because she got hurt. The single mom explained to them what they did wrong, what they should have been doing, and now, we are owed apology letters. 

Sunday, we had our meetings in the morning, we had church, and we watched an Eagle Scout of Honor. We helped the wife of the members upstairs finish decorating for Christmas and we had the Christmas Eve dinner that night. Yes, Christmas was on schedule, but everything else was a bit behind.

Thank you for the pajamas and items of fun. It was a nice, simple Christmas.

Alles wohl!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

I Want To Be A Catholic; I Want to Be A Mormon

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten  Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.-John 3:16

(To understand the title you need to read to the bottom of the post. Arguably it is not easy to be a single parent. However, sometimes parents must ask: who is the parent, me or the child.)

December 15, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am happy to report to you that we are allowed to Skype with its usual prerequisites of time. I plan on Skyping, so there will be no worries there. It is a matter of finding the people and the place. It will not be with the members upstairs for they do not have internet (much less a computer or tablet). This has not been on my mind as of recent; I have been thinking of other matters. Once it is all situated, I will have a member text you, or call, so that you are informed. I currently have no idea on time. I know this is not as helpful as needed, but it has been brought up to my attention and now I will work on it.

I may have a chance to buy my companion dinner, so I will be able to use some of the money that I attained over this holiday.

I do not know if this letter will be impressive as others, but those words will come if so needed.

I am happy to hear that California is receiving rain and that there is a potential for it to rain even more. I hope for California's sake that it does rain.

Last Monday, there was little excitement. We did our normal tasks on P-day and tried to see people with little success. 

Tuesday came along. We were able to see an investigator who had been babysitting elsewhere, causing her
to cancel her appointments. We retaught the Plan of Salvation. The reason we had to reteach is because the previous time we taught the lesson the television was on. Granted, it was mute and not so distracting. However, it was a murder mystery movie with people dying. The Spirit was not present at that lesson. Reteaching the lesson enabled us to review it for her and to help confirm understanding.

Later that day, we went up to Montross; a member had fed us dinner. She had made me self-conscious of the way I eat food. I am a person who, when there are different kinds of food on a plate, eats one specific thing at a time and saves what is considered the main course last. She noted that and asked if I did not like meat, which was the main course. I had to pause, consciously think of the way I was eating, and attempt to explain it. It is easy to explain what I do rather than why I do it. 

Following our meal, we went to see our investigator, who I am unsure about mentally. My companion is slightly "weird-ed out" by him, but I believe what he does (he watches us while we pray before we go into his apartment) is due to his mental state (of which I am still unsure of). I am confident on that. We taught him about prayer and scripture study. He seems to have a fair amount of understanding.

Wednesday, we updated our area book with the proper information that we needed to put in it. We tried different people that day with little success. Even our evening was full of cancellations. Plus, with the Christmas initiative, the sisters talked to us about different ideas they had, some of which they have implemented.

Thursday, we not only had district meeting, but we also had exchanges. I stayed in the area with the new zone leader, Elder Graff. I led the area for that day, something I was reluctant to do for once. The day turned out more successful than other days. We saw a medical less active (the one whom I cut her hedges for). We started off with small talk. I began it by asking the standard how are you question. With a brief answer and nothing to go on, it led to a brief awkward silence for me to think of what to say and then I sheepishly admitted that I am not the most conversationalist person. However, if you start the discussion or ask me to teach, I can talk happily for the amount of time specified (if not more). I shared the things of stake conference with her for she was unable to go. After a few other people, with no success, I felt prompted to try a potential. We traveled to the place, only to find that the potential was not home. However, the family was interested in hearing our message. This family is Baptist, but has little knowledge of the Bible, much less understanding the contents. We were able to teach the Restoration and help them understand.

We tried another potential that night, that is somewhat an investigator. I decided we were going to test the waters. This person on their teaching record had the statement that they were not interested. However, it was quite contrary in my call with him several weeks ago, when he said he was interested. I briefly went over the Restoration. I could tell the man and his oldest grandson are interested. However, his wife, who is more

of a strict Christian, is not. She firmly stated that no man has seen God and lived. However, as we pointed out to her with her Bible read by her own grandson, Moses saw and talked to God face to face (Exodus 33:11). Jacob, better known as Israel, even saw God face to face (Genesis 32:30). I know there is a scripture even in the Gospel of John that talks about such cases, but I cannot think of it at this current point. When we brought up these points, she said she had to think about; she then added that Elijah must have seen God. But, she stated that these men were extraordinary people. She said it in such a way that these people were exempt from the rule that whoso sees God will die. To which, I pointed out that while these were extraordinary people, they were still men, just like her and I. The scriptures show their faults. With this conversation, I can tell the man really trusts his wife, even saying she knows the Bible really well (which she does). Because of that trust, he wavers on his interest, seeing as she can be, in some sense, a portable church. Our next attempt to talk to them is not to break their trust, but to help her understand in order to bridge what she knows and what we can add. By this, I believe we can help the man grow in interest and act on that interest to learn more.

We saw our investigator who is on date for baptism. He has denied his other church, who, in his own
opinion, did not answer his questions about life after death. We brought a baptismal calendar, so that he knows what he needs to do in order to continue progressing to baptism. He is greatly excited and it is evident that he has a testimony that is in the heart. There may be bumps in the road, but things should be resolved. I am excited for him.

Friday, we exchanged back and weekly planned. The only thing that occurred of significant importance is we taught our investigator who watches us as we pray. We talked to him about the Sabbath day. He came to church. And come to find out, he is a cousin of a member in the branch. She was happy to see him. I would never have known. 

Saturday, we completed our progress record. Then, we went to the Tappahannock parade. This was not a relaxing parade; there was work to do. The sister missionaries came up with the idea to pass out candy canes with some quotes from President Thomas S. Monson and a link to Christmas.mormon.org during the parade. We had two hundred candy canes; with the sisters and the senior missionary couple, we passed them out. They went fast, because there were a lot of people. It was funny, because I was holding our bag open to give some to a few people, when a lady in the parade approached me. She put candy in my bag for whatever reason. Also, the senior couple as we were passing out candy canes asked us to go on the other side to pass them out for they had finished one side of the street. Now, this request came in the middle of the parade. My companion found an opening to dart across while the parade was proceeding. I was lucky to find one and get across. So, I ran in the middle of the parade. Not something I ever thought I would do, nor would have liked to have done.

Intellectual Reserve (C)

Then, we saw our single mother investigator. Seeing as last Sunday for us was stake conference, she was not able to attend. After all, she is trying to preserve gas in her car, so she could not come all the way down to Mechanicsville. Upon request of her youngest and second child, who is 5, they went to the Catholic church. Her oldest and first child, who is 11, was not happy. As she told us, the two, on the way home, were arguing (as per usual). Her youngest stated that she wanted to be Catholic; oh, and it is obvious why. As the youngest said, "They give us treats," and on Sunday, "The Catholic church gave me a candy cane." The oldest wants to be a Mormon, even wanting to be a missionary. (Which allowed us to teach about missionary work.) He likes the Church. Our single mother investigator has decided to do double church. Go to sacrament meeting, leave her oldest at Primary, go to the Catholic church for her daughter, return to the Church to pick up her son, and go home. She wants to support both their decisions. Now, the kids are arguing over what their mother is going to be: Catholic or Mormon. They have decided that she needs to be a hybrid, both Catholic and Mormon. She herself has yet to decide. (I do wonder how she feels the Spirit. She was a missionary for the Catholics and she obviously has felt the Spirit.)

Intellectual Reserve (C)

The single mother wants to wait for her son to be baptized. He is a somewhat normal kid; he has ADHD and has lower age maturity. She wants to wait for him to grow a bit (allowing him to more fully make the decision) and have him learn what he needs to learn. She plans on having only herself and her son to be taught while she has her daughter be at a friend's house. I note that the son has a great amount of potential mentally. He has a desire to learn and somewhat memorized some scriptures, particularly Psalm 23. I believe that he can memorize scriptures, which will aid him mentally and demonstrate his maturity. It is great that the Church has the seminary program with a set of scriptures to memorize. I believe that he can memorize those scriptures. In fact, I plan on giving him a list of ten scriptures from that list. I believe that she will see that this Church will help her children. This may become a motivator for her to seek a testimony.

Sunday came by. We went over to a son of the members upstairs' house to help eat some leftovers. It was his birthday this past week, which was celebrated three times, this being the third. Monday, his actual birthday, he had a small surprise birthday party to throw him off for an even bigger surprise party on Friday. We were invited for Friday, but it was best that we did not go. Partially, it was that we had a lesson, but the stake presidency was there and so were the sisters. For that reason alone, we were lucky to not to go. Sunday was a good day.

Alles wohl!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. I believe Hannukah is this week. Happy Hanukkah! (Yes Hanukkah began the day after this letter was sent.) 

Tappahannock on the Rappahannock

The Rappahannock River runs approximately 195 miles.

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

Albert Einstein

Monday, November 17. 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

There is no Bank of America nearby me for cashing checks. Yes, I have a car, for which I am grateful . Yes, I have plans for Thanksgiving with our landlady and their family and extended family. I have no idea what my size is in the waist.  Also, thank you for sending healthful items to me in the Halloween package (pumpkin seeds?). I did enjoy it.

It sounds like things are growing in Lemoore. Is it? ( We're a Navy town, so attendance can vary on deployment, vacations, etc.) Last Sunday (not yesterday) we had a stake member come and take a picture of the congregation (which that week was totally full) to show how much the Tappahannock Branch has grown. (This week, though, a lot of people were at home, because of sickness.) Tell Sister Saari that I say hi. I definitely understand back pain and I am taking it easy. I have been trying to work on my core strength as I have probably already said. Odd question: How is the gas prices in Lemoore? Here it is $2.55 per gallon. (Sorry if I make you jealous.) And yes, the weather is definitely getting colder. We have been trying to stay warm inside and outside.

This week seems to have a handful of car troubles. Be careful out there. First our landlady's mail car (which got fixed), then Bria's accident, and finally us (more details coming).

Monday night. We had an appointment with the people we set on date for baptism last week. Well, it fell through. And subsequent visits proved fruitless, because they ditched out on us. Until we finally caught one at home, who was sick. We gave her a blessing and we hope that everything will be okay with her. ( Notice the sentiment was not that she be made well and be converted but simply that things will be okay with her.) We arrived late to family home evening, but it was a good lesson. 

Tuesday, we had a successful day of appointments. We saw one of our investigators who has many medical issues. She seems to focus in our lessons; although, we are going to ask her to turn the telly off, rather than mute it. I learned a couple of lessons myself about the Spirit in that lesson. Then, we saw an elderly lady whom we are trying to teach, but I am wondering if things are sinking in. She understands and always has the same tangents, although she has the mental competency and is physically well and able for her age. Hopefully, things do stick with her and that she understands the importance of what we say. We also saw a less active whom I had not seen since I arrived. He requested that we do not prepare a lesson, but open the scriptures to some chapter. It is a great idea, but with tabs, it makes very hard to open it to a random page (or I might open to the topical guide). Finally, we taught a recent convert of a couple months the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tuesday was a successful week after a hard week.

Well, Wednesday rolled around. We had district meeting that day. Our zone leaders and sister training leaders showed up. I trained on the companionship and our relationship with our companions. I think it went well; I used a lot of scriptures and a lot of scriptural companions (even if it was not an actual missionary companionship). After that and doing our usual things, we headed off to see a few people. As we went by the library (which has construction nearby), we instantly heard a lot of clanging from our car, specifically the left rear tire. We immediately went into the parking lot of an elementary school. Lo and behold, there was a metal rod, with a screw end, sticking out of the tire (the screw end was in our tire). My companion immediately pulled it out and our tire, in a matter of minutes, deflated. We had a spare, but we thought we had no tools. (We later found the jack and we found the necessary tool, which was hidden.) We called somebody who came and helped. Now, we had a donut and had to limit ourselves. As per expected with a donut, it was half the size of all the tires.

So on Thursday, we had it patched with help from our landlord. It took two plugs. And as we sadly realized, it is leaking air, albeit slowly. We have to fill it with air everyday. But, with a fixed tire, we headed off to see people. We saw an elderly couple, one of whom has specifically dementia. We read the scriptures and helped the man with the dementia understand what we read. His wife helped out. Then, we saw an investigator, who lives with a member. We had a good lesson, though the member goes off in non-important tangents and talks and talks. No matter what we do to stop him, he keeps on talking. So, it is a matter of relating the tangent to the topic.


Friday, we visited our investigator with her giant two year old. In teaching the Ten Commandments, we asked questions and she asked questions. It was good, albeit a few tangents that somewhat deviated from the lesson that we also used to try to bring it back. We tried a few more people that day with no success, especially that night. We helped our members upstairs decorate their Christmas tree; it is decorated in red and white.

Saturday, we helped at the tail end of a Farmer's Market. There was not much going on when we arrived and people were leaving. We stayed there for a while before packing up everything and leaving. We did our best that day as well. We had a good lesson with our investigator that is a single mother and two children. While the children were all over the place, we tried hard to focus the lesson on the main point. 

Sunday was the normal best day, it being the Sabbath. Not much happened on Sunday.

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Pin by Jackie Helwig.