December 10, 2018

Last district council feat. Zone leaders (left to right Elders Magalei, Tilley, Sheffield, Clark, Wilkins, Berry, Me, Cloward, Wiseman)

Fam, 

My last week and last letter. This time next Monday I will be on the transfer bus headed to Lansing. Tuesday will be interviews and a temple trip, Wednesday will be a flight at some unknown time home (probably in the morning). I will have served as a full time missionary for 714 days. 335 of those days in the Spanish 1 Area, 338 in the Spanish 2 area, and don't forget some time in the CCE. It's been pretty great. 714 days is only 97.8% of a two year mission but we can round up a little. 

Thursday was the highlight of the week. It was my Trade-off with Elder Magalei. It ended with a meeting we set up with the President of the Relief Society and the Elders Quorum. We proposed some ideas for a branch mission plan that will continue to help the branch grow in the following year. Things look very positive for the coming year. 

The same day we had a meal with a member. We brought their ministering family with us and on the way to the home they told us that Grand Rapids did not have a salt budget for icy roads this year. I'm not sure it's true but I would believe it. We normally exit out of our apartment through a near by suburb and you could easily mistake the roads for an ice rink. Road conditions are pretty poor and while there is a plethora of private plows, for business and homes, roads are left almost entirely untouched. 

I spoke in church this last Sunday. Keila Mendez spoke before me and did really well. The sacrament portion of the meeting went pretty quickly and then Keila spoke. Though I did listen my attention was more on how my talk was going to go. As I was deep in thought to my surprise I heard words of testimony. That grabbed my attention quickly realizing that the sacrament portion of the meeting was unusually quick, that she hadn't been talking for that long, and that when someone starts sharing their testimony it normally means the end of their talk. I checked the clock and she had spoken for a little under 10 minutes and was leaving the last 40 minutes for me and the final hymn. It might not seem like that big of a deal but I wouldn't classify myself as a very talented public speaker and my written talk was about 17 minutes long. I think it went well. No one ever complains about ending early haha. 


-eric 

December 6, 2018

Comp twin ties (one of Eric's birthday requests)

Light the world!

750 calories of the best chocolate milk ever + beach

Beach

Beach

Francisca's birthday

Fam, 


Unfortunately my phone has been struggling recently and didn't save my letter. I'll rewrite some. 

We drove out to Holland this morning and spent a few hours on the beach. Despite the low temperatures and the high winds, it was pleasant. We sat on our beach chairs that some older missionaries must have bought and I wrote my letter that has since been deleted. Clouds blanketed the horizon and we watched storm clouds head our way. Across the horizon we could see three different zones of the incoming front with rain falling a few miles off shore. 

We had another lesson with Tomas(ito) . He is the Puerto Rican whose vernacular is so different we struggle to understand him. We taught a pretty great lesson on the Plan of Salvation with him this week. Recently he had his entire arm amputated. We don't know why but we know it nearly killed him. People who have physical ailments are fun to teach the Plan of Salvation to because the atonement of Jesus provides us with a few important gifts. One I'll mention is an unconditional salvation from Physical Death which is the promised Resurrection to a perfected and immortal physical body. Alma 11 is such an awesome chapter and contains the clearest presentation of the doctrine of Resurrection in scripture. We read verses 42-45. They are pretty powerful verses.

We are also teaching a part member family. Cassie has recently been able to get her non-member husband to start coming to church and he has been progressing really well. The only problem is Sunday is his only day off work so it's hard to meet with him but Cassie really has been a huge help for us. 

-eric

November 26, 2018

Fam, 

Nothing but good these past few days. We had planned to drive out to Holland today but with near white out conditions and the typical unplowed roads we opted out of it. Hopefully the snow will abate this Monday or next. There aren't too many of them left.... (Mondays in the mission, that is).

We've had two lessons with a new family we were able to pick up. I think I wrote about them last week. Apparently they are recent converts of another church but we've continued to have good lessons with them. During the first lesson this week we watched the restoration video and that was surprisingly spiritually powerful. What stood out to me was how powerful an influence media can have on the individual. The video, though simple, taught in the only way we really can learn, which is through the influence of the spirit and did so powerfully. The other lesson was on trade-offs. Elder Wiseman and Elder Magalei were there and were able to have a good lesson which resulted in the family understanding authority and realizing its necessity in baptism.

Tuesday we had the first Trade-off of the week. I went with Elder Sheffield and was impressed. He knows why he is out here and is ready to work so I anticipate good things from him. 

On Wednesday I went on trade-offs with Elder Tilley. We taught a lesson to Elvis and his family. They are a super awesome family but for some reason don't want to do what is necessary to progress. We taught an object lesson where you interconnect three knives over three cups to be able to suspend a small object in the air. The knives all work together to stay in place but if one is taken out they can't support themselves. In the same way the knives work together, daily prayer, daily scripture study, and church attendance help us grow and maintain a testimony. If one ingredient is missing it's a clear indicator of a problem. If there are problems with one is missing, what happens when all are missing?

Thursday was great. We ate Thanksgiving at President Reed's home. We shared a lesson and were able to start teaching Cassie's husband Edgar (a part member family). 

Friday we spent with the zone leaders and ended the trade-off at our weekly Friday event. This week we played a mixture of sports, had some snacks, and others danced. The Spanish branch really is the best area in the mission in every measurable way. 

November 19, 2018

Fam, 

In the very beginning of my mission I taught a lesson with Elder Guerrero with a drunk guy who turned out to be speaking the equivalent of spanglish only with Mam (A Mayan dialect pronounced mum) and Spanish. I remember not understanding anything and thinking I had a long way to go before I would be self-sufficient until I was told that he hardly was speaking Spanish. Something similar happened this week. One of the people we are teaching referred us someone from Puerto Rico. We had a decent visit but I was glad the people we already were teaching came because the referral spoke in so much slang that it was difficult to follow what he was saying. I felt like a brand new missionary all over again but this time Elder Wiseman was in my place and noted how he could hardly understand our new friend. It was good our investigators came. First because it's hard to teach when you don't understand what the other person is even saying and second it allowed them to teach what they knew and we could see their level of understanding. It was also fun to watch them share their feelings about the Restoration. 

Fridays we have our weekly volleyball night. It is SO FUN. I won't say it's competitive but it is super lively. After a few weeks the members have gotten significantly more capable. We have yet to go a week without someone getting nailed in the face but sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. The activity has brought certain people who never come to church out of the woodwork and into an activity that really is a blast. One of those people even came to church. 

Sunday we had the primary program which was a surprisingly great success. The big theme was, "I am a child of God." Later that afternoon we had a lesson with an active member and taught the Plan of Salvation. Reflecting on those two events I thought of the power of two short statements. The first is, "I am a child of God." The second comes from Moses 1:39 when the Eternal Father says to Moses, "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Greater understanding of these eternal truths brings direction to life that is not found anywhere else. (see also Romans 8:16-17 and Philippians 2:6) 

We taught seminary on Wednesday. We arrived on time! Surprisingly it's super easy to arrive (even early) if you go to sleep on time. For some reason that never clicked in High-school. 

November 12, 2018

Fam, 

Saturday we had a great baptismal service for two people Elder Magalei and Elder Tilley have been working with. The service was nice and simple. The highlight easily was at the end when Brother Montigny, the second counselor in the branch presidency, stood up and in front of everyone and addressed the non-member husband. I'll quote as best as I can from memory. He said at the end of his testimony, "We're really grateful for the wonderful service of the baptism of your two children. We now challenge you to do the same (insert a long pause). Take these missionaries seriously and be baptized. The invitation doesn't stop there. Be baptized and prepare, as the plan of salvation teaches us we must, to enter into the holy temple in one year to receive your endowments and then be sealed to your wife for time and eternity." It was pretty bold. He didn't seem offended but it definitely surprised me that the Presidency called him out like that in front of everyone. Bold is good sometimes. On another note we woke up to four inches of snow!

We have a cool family we are working with. We met with them this last Thursday and taught a fairly good lesson on the Plan of Salvation. It went well and we had our Branch Mission Leader with us and his wife. It's really nice to have capable native speakers with us. I still am a very imperfect teacher but team work helps a lot. The restoration of truth that began with Joseph Smith really has allowed us much greater understanding of the truth. Greater peace and direction is found as we find the answers of where did we come from, why are we here and where are we going. Those truths are able to be felt by anyone which is why it's so fun to teach. As an example, yesterday we taught a lesson with a 7th day Adventist who wasn't understanding authority. We invited him to be baptized but said he already had after we had explained authority extensively. We explained why the Book of Mormon is important and he said he already knew it was true because it's the word of God, something he did not actually know for himself. We responded explaining the importance of the spirit and that if he knew the Book of Mormon was true he would first know that its message is true: that being the divinity of Jesus Christ. He would also know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet called by God, that we had authority to baptize him, and that he would then desire to be baptized. I think it caught him off guard slightly because he asked if we meant be baptized at that moment but the end result was that the doctrines we had shared finally clicked into place. The Spirit was able to at least say something that caught his attention and made him more serious about what we were proposing. There is no need to fear in this gospel because it is resoundingly true. I used to be worried when people would say, "oh well I've been baptized before," but all I know is that true doctrine carries power. 

-eric

November 6, 2018 Last "Transfer"

(For those of you who have been reading this blog, you'll catch the irony of this being his "last transfer".  Eric has had the unique mission experience of serving in the same branch during his entire mission. He completes his mission in December)


Fam, 

It's weird to know that this is my last transfer. The last transfer went by incredibly fast. We were busy and Elder Wiseman is pretty awesome so it was all a blast.

Saturday we translated for a women's conference. They fed us and sent us home with cookies. So worth it. 

Friday we received our transfer calls, but it's never a surprise. There was some chance I would get moved out of the Branch for my last transfer but after counseling with the President over the phone about the needs of the district a few times, I luckily got to stay. Down below is a picture of the new Elder, named Elder Sheffield. Elder Wilkins and Elder Berry are going to trio train the new missionary. 










Thursday we met with someone who professed to understand the scriptures but unfortunately did not. It was the classic Revelations 22:18-19 misinterpretation. He wasn't listening and kept insisting we were wrong. I'm really grateful for the words of modern prophets and I asked if we could watch a short video. I opened up "My Words Never Cease" by Jeffery R. Holland. In the talk, Elder Holland outlines an important truth: our scriptural supported claim of an open canon. The topic is extensive and not terribly important, but in my own New Testament reading (which coincidentally just finished reading the Revelation of John) I found something interesting. 


Revelation 1:3
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand

Revelation 22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Looking beyond the chronological order of the Bible, this demonstrates to me the continuity and self-contained nature of the Book of Revelation. Clearly this statement cannot be extended to validate a complete cessation of God's revealed word.

October 29, 2018

Section 111 in the Doctrine and Covenants is a pretty obscure section but this week we had an interesting experience that highlighted a principle found recorded there. 

Verse 8 of the revelation states, 

"8 And the place where it is my will that you should tarry, for the main, shall be signaled unto you by the peace and power of my Spirit, that shall flow unto you"

In the dark of Monday night at around 8:30 we were driving to an appointment and took a turn onto a side street on our way. As we drove down I felt a resounding impression from the Holy Ghost that prompted me to stop the car. We didn't have very much time at that moment but we felt prompted to knock the only house with a light on. We talked for a few minutes with the guy there an left a copy of the Book of Mormon. We planned to come back and knock the street, a finding technique I haven't really used since before Christmas last year, the next day. We were busy but had a few minutes at 7pm the next day to do some knocking. We taught the first door we knocked on for a few minutes and set a return appointment. Our second door we meet Delfino and had an awesome lesson. We knocked his door and he invited us in. As we taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ you could just see the gears turning in his mind. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would have to talk to his wife, who wasn't present at the time. We asked him if he knew anyone who might be interested in learning more and he said his whole family lives next door and that he would invite them over next week! 

Referrals are fun. I've recently learned you just have to be terribly persistent. We meet with William and Carolina and the last four or five visits we've asked for referrals and have always got the, "we don't know anyone." Our last visit they said that they had asked a few people but they all said no. Persistence brings actions, eventually action brings results.