She Was Going to Do "What" to Me??????

Monday, April 7, 2014
Powhatan, Virginia
Virginia Richmond Mission

It has been a good week. (Keep reading.)

On Tuesday, we had dinner with some members, who surprised us. Thankfully, it was not anything we ate. Rather, they surprised us by inviting people, members and non-members, to come over and join with us. It was such a good time, listening to the people. I absolutely loved it, something that I would love to do in the future. I would also love to teach my children at a young age to say such things as "expulsion of malodorous effluvium" (do not know how to spell the last word, but it is a try). It was an excellent time. (No that wasn't the good part. Keep reading)

Wednesday, we went shopping at Wal-Mart. I have been buying granola bars for breakfast and I needed some. I went into the aisle and was met with this old black woman. It was an experience. One, she was quite loud (she hooted and hollered) and two, she babbled. She said she spoke in tongues and proceeded to babble. We explained about prophets and conference and helped her understand us. Our conversation ended and I went to politely shake her hand. She latched on like an octopus. She began to say something about Jesus and other things in her babble. My companion eventually pulled me away after about thirty seconds of this. I merely thought she was praying for me, not being selfish here, but for the mere fact that she was a religious person. As we walked away from this woman and aisle, I said, "Oh, we forgot to grab the granola." My companion simply replied, "We will turn around and get it when she is gone." I later was told that she was casting devils out of me. Well, okay, I guess I feel better now the devils are cast out of me. I asked my companion, "Does this happen often in Powhatan?" He told me, "Welcome to Powhatan."

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Past, Present, Future in Powhatan, Virginia

 April 7, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

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

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

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

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

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

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

All is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

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

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


Monday, March 31, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Endure: Some Doors Need to Close, While Others Will Open

Monday, March 24, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Well, I do plan on watching the videos today on fixing my bike after emailing. It is something that I plan on doing. So, until then, my bike is okay. The member did a temporary fix, but now I am going to try a permanent solution. Other than that, my bike is the middle of my worries.

So, the member ended up not getting things scheduled in time. Either way, I will not be going any time soon to the Washington, D.C. temple. Unfortunate, yes, but there will be a time when I can.

Yes, transfer calls did come. I am leaving, which I feel that it is time. I learned what I needed to here. I learned how to endure and what that means. Day in and day out, I had to endure. But, it is good. I enjoyed it here. While I did not get to know the members quite well, I feel I accomplished something here. Not sure if I will be able to rest, to regain strength, in the coming area, but we will see. This area could use some new energy. We have nearly tracted the north of our area, the middle of our area, and pretty soon, we would have started the south parts of our area. I am glad to give some ideas that I hope will provide fruit for this area. It will take time. And no, I have no idea where I am going.

This week was fair enough. We really worked hard. Tuesday, one of the missionaries that also cover the ward that I am in was called to Richmond for a meeting. So, I was in a trio for Tuesday night and most of Wednesday. We did more tracting Tuesday. There was this one street that we knocked pretty quickly. Not many people interested until this one door. He talked to us quite a bit. Nothing much to note about him, but rather what did happen. He asked us if we knocked on the lady across the street from him. We did, but we could not remember if any answered. He told us to be careful, because she will call the police. She even called the police on him for crawling into his own house through a window, because he locked himself out. And sure enough, a police car did pull into that neighborhood, but we avoided the police by talking to the man.

Wednesday was a pretty good day. We had some great lessons that day with two investigators. Another appointment fell through that day, but we were able to go ahead and talk to two less active members. It was good. A lot of things were able to move forward. Also, my companion locked ourselves into our bedroom that night. He was messing with the door mechanism until it broke and could not be pushed in (karma). What does he do then? Closes the door, thus taking 40 minutes of us trying to get us free. I had to climb out the window, onto the roof to get a screwdriver as well as brush my teeth and get ready for bed. (Our current apartment is a house with a second floor and a basement. It belongs to a member.)

We had zone meeting this past Friday. I was asked to give a spiritual thought on our purpose and its meaning to me and how it motivates me. What turned to be a thought turned into a testimony that went well. It was good to do that. I was surprised also on Sunday to give a talk, because I was leaving. I had a minute to prepare, because they announced it before I gave a talk. I bore testimony of enduring, which was good.

One less active person we have been working wanted me to thank you two for raising me well. I made her cry in a good way. She and her family have been going through a lot and we invited her to have family prayers at night. I bore testimony, which really helped her to be on board.

I love testimonies. I find them to be really powerful. What keeps me doing what I am doing? My testimony. I have learned a lot of things so far. I am exhausted, tired, but despite that, I am going to keep on working hard and keep on doing what needs to be done. I hate good-byes and I hate to leave, but it is time. There are others to be found and others to be rescued. 

Yes, I did get my package and no, I do not know those elders (his mother sent him names of some other missionaries whose mothers share a Facebook page). 

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

How Brisk Must a Brisk Wind Be to Be Brisk

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

It snowed, yet again, so thus a late email. 

When I read about Carly (Seth's Boxer dog) escaping, my heart nearly stopped. I am quite grateful that she is still home. Thank you. Funny, how smart she is about escaping. Perhaps her plan for jumping on the fence is to slowly knock it down. I am telling you the dog is smart.  I was wondering about my dog and that new dog as well. Glad to know how she is doing. How does Coda handle the new dog? Isn't Coda, like, old?

It has been a week. And I mean that in the sense of, this has been a week where everything goes haywire. While yes, there are good things that do happen, there is a lot that has been going on. My bike is yet again in need of fixing. I am debating at this point to go to a bike shop or have the member take care of it, except this time refer to the videos (the site where his bike was purchase "Dynamic Bicycles" has two videos, one on the removal of the rear wheel and another on adjusting the gears. Someone removed the rear wheel when he was transfered last and messed up his bike.), seeing as I know of them. I called the mission office, who called the company, who said that I should try fixing it on my own first with the videos. 

There was a lot of wind one day. Our weather report said it was a brisk breeze. Yes, I can totally see how brisk the breeze was. Gutters falling down, signs and mailboxes blown over, and I have an inability to bike down hill. Yeah, totally brisk. 

My companion was not too happy with me as well, but that has been taken care of. Nothing that I did to him. Another investigator dropped us, in the excuse of needing to investigate their own church. At this point, I had a choice. Break down, which I honestly have done before, or be bold. So, at that point of the day, we went out after making our final plea via phone to the investigator. I was not too happy, but, hey, I worked. It taught me that I needed to be bold, to be upfront. I have realized that I want to share my testimony. And that day we went tracting, I bore my testimony of Jesus Christ once somebody opened the door. Did it work? Well, we got in and all we got was water. But, it was still a lesson that I learned. While, yes, there is a time for being nice and such, there is time to be bold. I am learning to balance the two. (I was saying that, "We are witnessing that Jesus is the Christ." My companion told me that I made us sound like Jehovah's Witnesses. I really do not see it.)

My companion has also been given a lot of responsibility lately, which I am working with him. It is no problem.  This week I also took a member tracting. Such an awkward experience, because I have never done it before. I hope I do not have to do it again, but who knows, the member was totally willing. One less active that we have been working with is planning to go to the temple for his own endowments on the 27th. That allows my companion and I to go to the temple. And we have permission to go, but that also means I have to sacrifice a preparation day. And there is no guarantee I will be able to go. For that week is transfers, so theoretically I could go. I would not expect an email next week, but do. (Which totally is awful, because you will not know where I will be or whether or not, I got transferred.) The date is not set in stone and the member has to be interviewed by the stake president. So close.

We had stake conference this past weekend. There is a big push for the hastening of the work. The adult session was focused on that, but it was not too good. It hopefully helped the members. The missionaries were asked to sing as a choir for that session. We sang Called to Serve and the EFY Medley. The first musical number, we did not do that well, because we did not know when to begin. The last number was a lot better. The Sunday morning session was a broadcast, much like our multi-stake conferences back at home (when we had them). There was a lot about hard times ahead and having self-discipline. I do not think our future is too sunny. With this upcoming General Conference, I think there is going to be a great mention of "hastening of the work" and "enduring to the end."

I do not have much else to add. I have been reading Jesus the Christ and also the New Testament. (I gain historical background from Jesus the Christ. And it is a great book.) I am glad that I am reading it now, because I am gaining a better understanding of Jesus. Already, I see so much. There are certain points that I feel as I though I missed out on. On my off hours, I started reading the Book of Mormon and breaking it down where I can understand much more. I feel as though I know a lot about the Old Testament, have a firm ground on the New Testament, have a soft ground on the Book of Mormon, and I do not know too much on the Doctrine and Covenants. I am working on it, so it makes me excited to continue to read and study. I am glad to have 16 months left (not 14). 

Oh! I had a fun experience with shopping at Wal-Mart. So, a member usually takes us and we got a member who is really hilarious. We get to Wal-Mart and there is a flock of seagulls near this car. My companion says, "Scatter them!" What does the member then do? Speeds up to scatter the seagulls and slows down as he drives to the entrance. As he and another missionary looks back, there are people in the car. The member, quickly exclaims, "Oh my goodness! There were people in the car, feeding the seagulls! Oh man, they probably crapped their pants, thinking I was going to hit them! Oh man, a seagull might have flown into their car. When you guys get out, do not let them see you!" It was hilarious. On the way back, we were talking about it and wondered what if there was a child in the car.

 It was such a hilarious moment in life.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Muddy Waters, Fatty Pink, Red Light, Oh! No!

Lisa Lim on Google+

March 10, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

This has been a slow week. Not much happened at all. We found two new investigators and are hoping all goes well there. Other than that, not much. Week summarized. Well, sort of. Other things of note, besides the meeting we had to attend, was the ordeal Saturday and the Sunday meal. 

So, Saturday. Yeah, it is warming up and everything is melting again. When things melt, it creates water, which creates mud and bogs. Saturday, we went up and down this one road filled with all of the water and mud. White shirt plus mud equals a dirty missionary. Luckily, not much happened that day. Also, on Saturday was the ward talent show. It was nice, lots of piano pieces.

The Sunday meal, I had corned beef, which I guess comes from brisket, whatever the brisket is. But, the meat was pink and tasted like ham. Which triggered two things in my head. One, I rediscovered why I do not like ham. It is the taste that sets in. It is horrid. But, I do bite my tongue on what is given. Two, the pink meat. Now, I remember a general conference long ago. It was not so much what the speakers said, but what we had for dinner. It was some pink meat stuff that I thought was not cooked and was full of fat. I remember there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth over eating this "uncooked" meat. Needless to say, we never had that meat ever again. Eating this corned beef, it being pink and fatty, reminded me of such event. Still do not like it at all. 

It was a long meeting; sometimes, I could not seem to focus. There are things that I got out of it that I feel like I can apply with the people here. Other than that, I was not having too much fun. I realized how much mental stimulation it takes to keep me focused. Other than that, it was not a bad meeting. And yes, we were pushed to read the material. I did so anyways before hand and now, I need results to figure out what works and does not. Slowly, it will be worked out and I

Lisa Lim on Google+

will be able to use the material in it. 

My speech this week is fine, thankfully. I have not had much problems other than some people not understanding me. That is life as usual. It will get better in this life or the resurrection. The resurrection is a guarantee.

I plan on mailing you two a letter soon. I will write a little sticky note about why I basically wrote this out. So, expect a letter some time. I guess it correlates with your quote. Maybe.

I am definitely trying to be safe out here. The night before the zone conference, there was an accident with the transfer van. In the van, was a district leader, Elder Medsker (the housing coordinator), and one of the zone leaders. They were exchanging back and Elder Medsker came up for the meeting. Well, the district leader's apartment was across the street from the zone leader's apartment. There is also a hill where the intersection is. Well, somebody was going up the hill and the light turned red on them. The van goes forward for the green light and it gets T-boned by the car that ran the red light. Luckily, everyone is okay, if not bruised or in major pain. The district leader did not have his seatbelt, only because he could not find it and he got thrashed a bit. The zone leader only hit his ribs, but he seems to be okay. Elder Medsker is in a lot of pain, did go to the hospital, but as far as I know, he is just in a lot of pain. Accidents happen. 

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Befuddled Brain: A Missionary's Dilemma

I am on the far left. Looks like food did the trick of putting a smile on my face. The elder in the center may have blinked or with that apple in his hand he is looking down just wanting to sit in his chair and finish.

We know that light is faster than sound, but what happens when thought is faster than speech?  Let's see:

Slow speech plus + fast thought = embarrassment.

Monday,  March 3, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Well, it is good to know that I am about to lose one hour of sleep. My clothes are holding up. I was reading through the email, but I feel as though I was missing something. I know Mom goes to chiropractor, but she takes Chloe with her? (Chloe is a 10 year old Boxer dog and is receiving treatment from the chiropractor.) That is awesome, seeing as Chloe is the only one of the three dogs who could settle herself. 

It sounds like you are having fun with the missionaries and that the work is going along. Also, happy to hear you had Chinese food. Why? I had some too.

It has been one of those weeks. I have been a bit stressed, because this week has slightly been nightmarish. After nearly 8 months of no noticeable problems, my speech problems are back in full force. As you may remember, it was hard for others to understand me, plus towards the end of senior year, I noticed that I started to stutter a bit. In the Missionary Training Center, I had trouble with words as well until I discovered that I knew the material. I knew I what I was saying; I had a testimony. Well, now it is back and it is a bit of a trial. Slowly this past month, I noticed that people did not understand me as much and that I had to repeat myself. Then, this week comes along and I am tripping over my words. Even worse, my brain cannot seem to connect the words that I am about to say, so I cannot speak. It was bad to have during a lesson one of those moments where you know the material, you know what to say, but you cannot speak. Or even worse, when you are about to talk to someone to please pass this item of food to me and you are about to ask by gesturing, and you freeze, because your brain cannot seem to form the words. It has been one of those weeks. Plus, it brings up all those feelings that I am socially awkward and how dense I am at social rules. (What he doesn't know his dad had times of stuttering or stammering as well as his brother. Sometimes the brain works faster than our mouths. Seth had more teeth than mouth. He had teeth pulled and wore braces. He still needs to enunciate words where his lips need to completely close.)

Interestingly enough, this is a week where I was reading about grace. After all that I can do, then grace can help. My favorite scripture in Doctrine and Covenants, even starts with, "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you...." Despite all of these nightmare problems, I am doing all that I can to teach and to speak. I can pray for help. I can practice my speech. I am doing everything that I can. (And I hope no more embarrassing moments happen again.) So, yes, it is back, but daily I will do my best. Trials and tribulations happen for only a moment.

On top of that, I felt that sense of pressure that there is not a lot of time for things. President Wilson is giving us material that he encourages us to read, but, of course and thankfully, it is not too mandatory as far as I reconcile and understand. But, still, it is heavily encouraged. One of these things were case studies about how to teach investigators and how to keep a commitment. This is in preparation for a zone conference that was moved from today to Friday. I just did not feel I had time for all of this, but, after some encouragement and resolve, I studied the material.

This week was filled with a lot of tracting. We had to drop some more investigators or at least give some investigators time (Some people have a lot of questions and want to study things out more which is okay.). It is coming more apparent that we may soon have to go south of our area to the Faraway regions. We are literally tracting a lot every day and the only places that will soon be left is the region far, far away.

I went on companion exchanges this week to the other area. I met a minister who was thrilled to meet us. He had not seen missionaries in three years. I am a slow thinker and when people talk incredibly fast and include sound effects, it becomes a bit difficult to follow. I did my best to address his points. Not sure he was listening. He was very excited to talk. That evolved into an interesting day for Thursday. 

Friday, we had a zone conference wherein we got the case study material. It went a bit long. 

I'd rather be knocking on doors. I can't feel my bottom anymore. I am on the far right.

We had a lesson with two of our investigators (husband and wife) who understand it quite well and was wondering about our standards. We told him to read the Book of Mormon. Then, I read the case study material for preparation for zone conference. In it, some missionaries gave their investigator a homework assignment to address his questions and how that was applied with other commitments and types of investigators. With that idea, we thought that it would not apply to these investigators who are busy, do not have much time, and go to bed early. But, we tried it with the investigators that we saw on Friday. We stopped by Sunday, because they went away for a day. We asked about how his reading was and he admitted that he tried, but could not get into it. Gave him a homework assignment. Hopefully, it will work for them. I am excited, because I believe it will work.

And yesterday, it snowed. Most of the day until 3. Then, we went out and helped people shovel. Not as deep as last time. And not as much to do. We were able to help out a few people and talk to them. 

Thanks for the picture of the back stretches. (he's complained of backaches which are probably due to riding a bike. Hopefully, they will work out. 

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Look Out Below, Here Comes a Couch!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Yes, I went back to that place without gloves and without a mask (see previous posts). Luckily, that house is definitely closed and it is in the hands of the bank as far as I know and care. 

I have yet to receive any letters (snail mail), so I guess I can expect some letters some time soon. That really does sound great. It sounds like missionary work is going well back in Lemoore. I am glad to hear that the missionaries are having fun with Dad. I am sure that brings up a lot of the old days back with Scouting. And oh yeah, there is a Facebook page for the Virginia Richmond Mission. I got an email about that a while back on a Friday and it totally spaced my mind. Elder Medsker is the housing coordinator here. He does an excellent job and is hilarious.

So, the way things went last week is that I emailed on Tuesday. Not much happened on Tuesday that is of note. We tracted some more and found a 14 year old kid. He had a great understanding and had an excellent prayer. We stopped by later on in the week and his family is moving. His family is okay with him meeting the missionaries as well. They are open. My companion was not too happy about the news of them moving, but we are so happy for those missionaries who will get to teach him.

On Wednesday, more tracting in the early morning, but then we helped somebody move. I did not to get to know the member that well for the six weeks I have been here. He is a really nice person. We had trouble with a couch, because of how they built the townhouse that he lived in. So, what ended up happening is that we got the couch outside onto the balcony, hung the couch over the balcony, and had the other two missionaries catch the couch to set it down. Miraculously, it worked. Also, that night, we ended up going early to an investigator's house, the chemo investigator. Good thing, because he likes to talk. He tries to apply it to himself and make it understandable. I followed what he was saying and it was good to see how much he does understand. But, it took us an hour and a half to discuss the Holy Ghost. Next step, prayer. Then, after him, we saw another investigator who we found through snow shoveling. It was great, mostly, because we quickly went over the Restoration. The bad part was that we could not discuss the Book of Mormon, prayer, and the Holy Ghost. Plus, due to a lack of time, we could not invite. We had a return missionary, who we are glad that came out with us, but we could not control. Luckily, we have another appointment to help straighten it all out and the people seemed interested in it all.

Thursday, we did some more tracting. We saw a less active who has been returning to church on his own. He has made several goals to return to church and go to the temple. Well, he has been returning to church and he went to the temple for baptisms. He plans on going for his endowment hopefully in March, but he has to take the temple preparation course. There is some help for him and we are helping him along the way. We saw another less active that day, but I do not remember much about it. Friday, we planned and had our correlation meeting. 

Saturday, we dropped by some less active members, especially one that we had been hoping to be working with some more. That one, she has been extremely busy and extremely tired. So we did more tracting and found another investigator. He seemed somewhat interested and we again briefly went over the Restoration (the last three main parts). And we invited. My companion made sure of it. Then, we had another investigator to go see. Well, I failed to mention last week that we technically got a new investigator, because we met with him twice before and then finally he set a return appointment. This time it did not work out, because he did not answer the door. His wife, who is a bit slower in mental capacity, asked us to come back next Saturday, so she could go to Wal-Mart. Rather than push the issue, I felt we should go try a less active. We did, we got food out of it, plus she said that she was coming back to church tomorrow. I was so happy, because we had no idea what to do for her. However, she did not attend yesterday. Back to square one. Later on that night, my companion popped his tire and we were far from home. Luckily, the Russian family took us home and we came home to realize that his tube had two big holes and lots of tiny holes. I am glad that it was not my bike since he hates to have to walk when my bike has had to be repaired.

Speaking of bikes, my bike is doing okay. It works and I am fine. Although, we tried to see some potentials and I missed my turn. So, I decided to do a U-Turn as I had done many times, even on sand and even on downward sloping hills. Not that day. Nope. Bike was not having it at all. It slipped right from under me and I think I slid, maybe a centimeter. Knee was a bit scraped. Nothing new. You think pants would survive such a careless slip. No. I have a small hole that is beyond my expertise to fix. I saw that.  I was like, "Oh no, it would have a hole!" And speaking of clothes, the new shirt fits. That is fine. I figure I should mention it so that you do not have to worry about whether it was the right size.

Sunday, not much happened besides church and eating and oh, meetings. While I and one of the other elders were in the meeting for ward council, the other biked in our area and tracted. My companion used one of their bikes and managed to get a flat tire. Luckily, that elder had a spare tube. We tracted from 7:45 at night to 8:45. Not too many people were happy with us, and his dad will suggest some other things to do instead) but at least we stayed productive. We really did not have anything else to do.

Doing some more work in other areas of life. Hate to be a bother, but I was wondering if it be possible if you could please find some back stretches for me. My back muscles have been tight, which murders my back. Other than that, I am totally healthy and happy and need not worry. I just need to stretch it out and it will be fine. I am really not in much pain. Happy and healthy. Not just saying cause 10 to 1, you will call the mission office, but it is true. 

Well, I am doing well. Sounds like life is good.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Bend the Slurry, Woman!

Do A Good Turn Daily: Chocolate and Snow

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I am not struggling at all. In fact, I am the happiest I have ever been. I am feeling more confident, I am starting to care about my appearance. I am feeling good. I feel as though I am expected to make changes to my interests and likes. I honestly have yet to see that. Rather, I feel as though I am making a change in personality. Like I said, I am feeling more confident and more happy. My interests have actually expanded. I am far more interested in doing my duties (family history, etc.) now. Yet at the same time, I still have my interests in criminals, history, writing, and other things. The point of it all, I am changing my personality and I have been hoping it is realized.

Well, I forgot my other planner, because this now past transfer has officially ended. Back to the highlights of what I can remember. So, last Monday (2/10), we worked very hard to get a ride to the library. Sometimes, member rides do not work out as well as we hope. We also found out, that the second set of elders were both set for a transfer. Tuesday and Wednesday were a blur; so I do not remember much. 

Thursday, it snowed during the night. We were expecting a dusting, but it dumped. We got up in the morning at 6 to go shovel some people's driveways. At first, we started with the snow shovel we did have (we only have one) and a broom. The broom was originally to sweep off the dusting, but it turned out  to be used to excavate cars. There was a foot of snow (or less) and it was not that hard to get it shoveled. Though for a time, with one shovel, I felt pretty useless. But, I could help to tell my companion, who knows exactly where this comes from, "Bend the slurry, woman!" (The Last Airbender) We worked from 6 to 10 in the morning, found two potential people, able to borrow a snow shovel, and get paid in hot chocolate. 

It took a while before the giant snow plows came to individual streets. I made my first snowman and snowwoman. (Today, they are currently headless and slowly melting.) One of the elders slipped and fell on the stairs. Apparently due to the accident, he actually cut his bum. 

Friday, it snowed a bit, not much. It stayed warm. My bike is currently in repairs, but luckily a member was getting rid of a bike, so I have some form of travel. (My companion hates to walk.) There were some trails in the woods we were using for a time, which was a lot of fun. 

Saturday turned to be the day of transfers, because of the snow. We got the two new people, which are Elder Malone and Elder Hathcock. I worked with Elder Malone; he was in my district back in Fredericksburg. I got to hear a transfer's worth of updates about what is going on in Fredericksburg. Yesterday, we relaxed, because somebody volunteered themselves to go take us around (for shopping, etc.). If we ever want to go anywhere, (a) a member has to take us and (b) we have to ask for permission. I am stuck in the house. And, I was so happy on Monday. Why? I saw a train... of deer in our backyard. It was amazing. So many pictures of deer. 

Monday night, was interesting. So, you know the house of hoarders? Well, we went back. We thought we were done and the house was locked up with the people gone. No, they still had more stuff they wanted and, due to our failure to warn the elders (due to the false celebration), we ended up helping them. This time without masks, because, well, it was put on us. We could have chosen not to help, but, hey, we are good people. That house has so many cobwebs, so much stuff. I mean, last time, it actually looked cleaner, but more stuff seemed to come. We took off our jackets, bags, watches and left outside. I know, stupid, but I would not want to have anything lost in the house and I would not want to have anything that has been in that house. We helped their son who is pagan. It was a good lesson of loving everyone and getting out of your comfort zone. (I still had to take shower, apply soap twice, and wash my clothes.)

Not much in the way of investigators. More tracting. Some new potentials to teach. 

All is well.

Love,
Elder S. Todd

P.S. I totally forgot. Thank you for the Valentines Day stuff. I hope you had a good St. Valentines Day. Still think about Al Capone when I hear St. Valentines Day. I am glad to have loving parents of whom I am so well blessed. Also, good CD choice, I heard it many times by my previous companion. I now have that, plus the two Mormon Tabernacle Choir CDs and the Essential Missionary Collection (Elder Longman gave it to me on Christmas). Also, when was the Roman Emperor Caesar assassinated? I was filling in my new planner and I could not remember if it was the 14th or 15th that he got assassinated. (March 14th) Because, I totally want to say to people, "Beware the Ides of March."

Further note on my bike. So, the person who is fixing it said that the wheel was loose, thus the gears were not engaging. I cannot take it off road, so no more trails. Hopefully, it is fixed. And the person who fixed it is a member who loves bikes, knows what to do, and it is free. He also put oil in it. So, we will see what else will go on.

Post Script: Wearing a Mask: A Lesson Learned

 Post Script: Wearing a Mask: A Lesson Learned

Tuesday, February 10, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Well, I am not being transferred. The other two in this ward are, but that is that. I am honestly not at all concerned about what I am planning after my mission or what career. All of that stuff will be taken care of later. I can see how my studies relate to my career, honestly I do, but the focus I am trying to make is what the mission is doing. The focus is not on the studies, but the spiritual aspects that it brings out into the open. Rather than looking at the negative, I like to look at the spiritual. I have been trying to focus on the spiritual things that do go on as a child of my Heavenly Father. I will do my best to talk about the things that are going on....

More investigators are dropping us and it has been hard contacting others. One investigator is going through chemotherapy, so he has been sick at times. He has a great understanding of what we have taught him. The only difficulty is contacting him, which is hard. Other than that, we have knocked on doors; a lot of doors. 

We find a few more potentials, but it turns into a no show. We have some less actives we are working to help. One is, rather, reactivating himself. Another is going through a lot of hard times and it is hard for her to keep appointments. We are still working hard, helping to support my companion and the ward (congregation).
I have been working hard and I know things will turn out for the better, just like the rain in California. Not much else is going on. Oh, and I fixed my bike. I just need to find out what oil it needs and order it. The gears are getting a bit dry.
I hope you have a good week.
All is well.
Love,
Elder S. Todd


P.S. I did some service this week. We were sitting in our room, because we had half an hour until lunch. As we were wondering what to do, the phone rang, thus giving us and the other two someone to help move. That was nice, right? Well, uh, the house had a lot of stuff and I mean in the sense of hoarding stuff. We had to wear masks and gloves. It was a bad, bad house. We helped move a piano, which fell apart on its way out the door. I had to take a shower after stepping inside that house. So, please do not forget to clean the house. And it is okay to throw things away. Lessons learned.