Cool word this week huh :-)
For those who do not know what amelioration means, since I didn't until I was told, it means to grow or accelerate. The area still has not grown very much but because of some events that have transpired this week I have personally grown about as much as I have any other week of my mission, if not more. It is amazing how trials and tribulations can be such a wonderful thing, and I am beginning to be thankful for them (not that I want too much more or anything). I will go ahead and give a quick run down of last week and then hopefully explain what I mean a little better.
As most of you who read this know, my second transfer with my trainer was spent inside for a large majority of the time because of his ankle injury which resulted in extensive surgery after his return home a couple weeks after. That transfer was not the most productive in the normal missionary sense, however I was blessed to grow in patience and gospel knowledge during this time, and then the following transfer the area exploded and we were blessed with many people who accepted the covenant of baptism. It looks like that may be the case for some of this transfer as well.
On Tuesday of last week my companion was injured. There is no cool story to explain how it happened though, he was just getting ready for the day and hit the ball of his foot on some weights as he was trying to step over them. When I came out a few minutes later he was sitting reclined in a chair and it looked like a golf ball was glued to the bottom of his foot because the swelling had already gotten so bad. He got up to go get a mirror to see it better and as soon as he put pressure on that foot he tumbled and cringed, so he got back on the chair and elevated his foot while he tried to deal with the constant pain. We were sure it was broken so we called some other missionaries over to help with a blessing, and they were positive it was broken as well. The worst part about a broken foot for him is that since he is so close to going home anyway, 21 months, they will just send him home early to have it taken care of and he wouldn't be able to come back.
We gathered around him to perform the blessing and were amazed to be part of a modern day miracle. I performed the blessing and in the middle of it I felt prompted to tell him that he would not be going home because there are still people in this mission who need him. I didn't want to say it though because I knew it was broken and was afraid it was my own mind trying to tell him he would stay and not the spirit, so I continued the blessing trying to get around it. The spirit gave me the same prompting several times though so finally I spoke the words I knew were needed and ended the blessing in the name of Jesus Christ. I didn't know what it meant but we all knew he would not be going home early. When we finally got him to the emergency room both doctors told him it was pretty bad and most likely broken so we were not sure how the blessing was going to come into affect. Then the x-ray came in and it turns out there are no visible breaks or fractures and that he will just need to be in a wheel chair or crutches for 10 days to 3 weeks. Later when we were discussing it we came to the firm belief that his foot had been broken but was healed through the power of the priesthood.
So he is not going home :-) But, our work is still very limited because of his injury since even with me pushing him in a wheelchair there is only so much he can do before the throbbing pain causes him to need a break at our apartment. After a couple days of very little work and being stuck in doors for so long I began to get a little down. Thoughts of 'why' began creeping into my mind. Why do my companions get hurt so often to the point of not being able to work? Why am I usually put with missionaries who are at the end of their mission and enjoy talking about their home plans so much? Why am I stuck in a completely dead area where there have been minimal baptisms since it opened 10 years ago? Why is my family having financial struggles while I am serving as a missionary? Why, why, why so many times over.
Then I was blessed to read exactly what I needed. In my personal study I randomly decided to open up in the bible dictionary and read about King David. There was a small part that told how all his trials in his youth, which dwarf my own trials, prepared him for the throne later in life. When I read this all of the scriptures and talks I have read about trials came flooding into my mind and my heart was changed through this experience. Each of us are preparing for a throne in the Celestial Kingdom which should be our top goal in life, and that is not possible without trials. Joseph Smith said that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things will never build the faith needed to reach exaltation, and he also counselled to be thankful for any trials we are "blessed with". What I am going through now is not only preparing me for the rest of my mission but also for everything after. How can I expect to be a righteous husband, father, and friend when I get back if I do not accept every trial out here with thanks and vigor? According to Bruce R. McConkie we cannot receive exaltation if we are not able to abide by the laws of consecration and sacrifice, so if I shurk any callings I have right now and do not devote myself completely, despite anything else, how can I honestly say I am willing to live those two laws? Realizing all of this and understanding it had a huge impact on me and I feel very grateful that my Father in Heaven has trusted me enough to give me these trials right now, because he will never give me anything I cannot handle. Greater trials means that I am growing and am prepared for greater blessings as well.
Of course there is so much more I want to say but my time is running short and this entry is already really long . Before I get off there is just one quick story I wanted to tell you about the converting power of the Book of Mormon. Our elders quorum president, Brother Hawkins, told this to us yesterday. He said that someone he is working with had some questions about the church so he decided to give him a Book of Mormon to answer those questions (such an incredible member missionary). His friend has been reading it every morning with breakfast for some time now, and has continued to come to him with questions. A couple weeks ago he came up to Brother Hawkins and told him that the Book of Mormon is 'ruining his life, or at least changing it'. He said that since he has been of age he has had a subscription to Playboy, but when it came time to renew it he just couldn't do it and now has a closet full of those magazines he needs to get trash. He also said that he loves going to baseball games and every time he does he grabs a score card and a beer, but this last time he couldn't force himself to buy the beer. He is not a member of the church, and is not even meeting with the missionaries, but the Book of Mormon is changing his life because he continues to study it and pray about it. That can and will happen to anyone who is willing to read from its powerful pages, and I promise it will bring joy to anyone that takes that sacred challenge.
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Short
Hola,
I do not have much time to email in my new area because our schedule revolves around the bus, so as long as I am in Eldorado my emails will most likely be much shorter. This has been an interesting first week however, so I hope I can still fit in enough to show what my new area is like.
- My new companion and I are getting along pretty well, just not as well as prior companions and I. When we are not out working, times like lunch and at the end of the day, we get along great. We have already had a lot of really fun conversations and met a couple families in the ward who seem pretty cool, but then for some reason we tend to get a little heated when we are actually out working. I feel he is a little pessimistic much of the time, but he keeps saying that I am overly optimistic and unrealistic because I firmly believe this area can pick up and be very successful while he thinks it has a chance of being shut down soon. But I am learning a lot of patience and also am developing far greater humility since I am having to learn to not argue and just let things slide off my back. I think this is going to be a great transfer, or couple of transfers, and am excited to see how I learn and grow as well as how the area changes. He is going home in 4.5 months so there is a possibility I will end up being with him until that time so I need to just push my pride out of the way and enjoy it.
- The rumors I heard about the area being dead are very true. For a long time now the average amount of lessons per week, mostly to less actives, are 4-5 and as of right now we do not have a single investigator. It is also a very small area full of wealthy people so tracting is even less effective then I am used to, and the ward doesn't even have the ward mission plan up and running yet, which is one of the reasons this area might be closed eventually. However I know we are here for a reason, I am just unsure of the reason right now. We have already begun trying to get the ward more excited though, and we are beginning the program we used in Ventana to get the ward excited about missionary work. I am confident this area will improve, but we could still use all the prayers you would like to give us.
- I am happy to report that being in a biking area is actually pretty fun. To my surprise I am still able to out bike my companion, largely due to me having a much better bike, and it feels great to get so much exercise each day. I am told the excitement of biking wears off, but I love it right now.
Well I am already about out of time so I have to go ahead and sign off. I hope all of you are doing great though and I am still sending many prayers your way.
Love,
Elder Inman
I do not have much time to email in my new area because our schedule revolves around the bus, so as long as I am in Eldorado my emails will most likely be much shorter. This has been an interesting first week however, so I hope I can still fit in enough to show what my new area is like.
- My new companion and I are getting along pretty well, just not as well as prior companions and I. When we are not out working, times like lunch and at the end of the day, we get along great. We have already had a lot of really fun conversations and met a couple families in the ward who seem pretty cool, but then for some reason we tend to get a little heated when we are actually out working. I feel he is a little pessimistic much of the time, but he keeps saying that I am overly optimistic and unrealistic because I firmly believe this area can pick up and be very successful while he thinks it has a chance of being shut down soon. But I am learning a lot of patience and also am developing far greater humility since I am having to learn to not argue and just let things slide off my back. I think this is going to be a great transfer, or couple of transfers, and am excited to see how I learn and grow as well as how the area changes. He is going home in 4.5 months so there is a possibility I will end up being with him until that time so I need to just push my pride out of the way and enjoy it.
- The rumors I heard about the area being dead are very true. For a long time now the average amount of lessons per week, mostly to less actives, are 4-5 and as of right now we do not have a single investigator. It is also a very small area full of wealthy people so tracting is even less effective then I am used to, and the ward doesn't even have the ward mission plan up and running yet, which is one of the reasons this area might be closed eventually. However I know we are here for a reason, I am just unsure of the reason right now. We have already begun trying to get the ward more excited though, and we are beginning the program we used in Ventana to get the ward excited about missionary work. I am confident this area will improve, but we could still use all the prayers you would like to give us.
- I am happy to report that being in a biking area is actually pretty fun. To my surprise I am still able to out bike my companion, largely due to me having a much better bike, and it feels great to get so much exercise each day. I am told the excitement of biking wears off, but I love it right now.
Well I am already about out of time so I have to go ahead and sign off. I hope all of you are doing great though and I am still sending many prayers your way.
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, August 2, 2010
Transpose
Sam, Elder Inman and Elder Thatcher
The really big group is the surprise going away dinner for me and of Course my comp is in there.
The Reitz and me, one of my fave fams
Group pic is my district this last trans(....I'm really wondering about some of the style choices...)
The Haughts and me, another fave fam
- I am being transferred... We got transfer news on Saturday night, and as we were walking to our apartment my companion jokingly said that I will be sent to Eldorado, which is north east Albuquerque.
So finally we got the call about our transfer news and I am being sent to Eldorado, a biking area, with my new companion Elder McCarroll. I was crushed and decided to splurge with some ice-cream and then went strait to bed after praying for the strength to go into the companionship with excitement and an open mind. The next day, of course, was the Sabbath and during testimony meeting the spirit filled me and it was confirmed that the assignment I had received really is inspired and it will help me grow into a better missionary and there are people who need our companionship to grow closer to Christ. It is so much easier to say I have faith when everything is going great, but my faith has grown so much more through a trial as small as this. I am beginning to understand what Joseph Smith Jr meant when he said to be thankful for trials.
- During testimonies Jeremy and his friends who brought him into the church, Brendan, stood up and bore beautiful testimonies. Jeremy testified of the truthfulness of the gospel and about the trials he has gone through because of the severe opposition coming from his family. Last week his Uncle came up to him and handed him some papers for him to sign saying that he will be re baptized Catholic because of his mistake being baptized LDS. Jeremy took the papers and threw them away in front of his uncle and walked away. He said that he felt fine at the time but then later broke down crying because of the pressure he has been receiving. Please say a prayer for him. I know he will be just fine because of his incredible faith, but of course he could still use some prayers.
- Yesterday was my last day with the Ventana Ranch ward as a whole, and it was incredible. It was announced at the pulpit that I was leaving so right after sacrament meeting I was flooded with people saying goodbye and telling me how much they have loved having me in the ward. I felt so much love it surprised me, and it was extremely difficult so say goodbye to everyone, especially as people were crying and kids were running after our car yelling for me to stay. I love this ward so much! The Chavez family invited us over for dinner so we went over at about 5pm last night, and were surprised because decorations were up all over the place, and several tables were set up. They have a lot of kids but not near as many as the chairs that were set up, so we were a little confused. Then about five minutes later people started pouring in and I realized they had set it all up as a going away dinner for me. I had to hold in the tears as I left there realizing I wont be able to see these people I care about so much for at least a couple years.
- And just a real fast side note. This last week I was on an exchange with a brand new missionary, Elder Kamhout. We had a great day of tracting and visiting people on bikes and then right before dinner we had to drive over to an appointment. Since it was his area he drove but he was pretty nervous because he didn't get his license until just 4 months before his mission and he was a pretty bad driver. He glanced into his mirror to change lanes and didn't see the car coming up because it was in his blind stop, then pulled very quickly right into the car. The other person's car was pretty beat up, and ours didn't look great either, but we were blessed because no one was injured. It was a pretty interesting day, and a sad way to break him into the mission life. He is still doing great though.
Well I have to get going so I can say bye to more people and get my packing finished. Its amazing how much STUFF I can accumulate with 6 months in an area. Even though my new area is pretty sad sounding right now I am looking forward to seeing the changes that will take place in it and am already hoping for another 6 month area, at least. I love my mission so much!
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, July 26, 2010
Vicissitude
(These pictures came with Elder Inman's email last week, I just forgot to post them)
Hey everyone, fun word for this week huh?
This will be a short letter this week because I have a lot to get done today and am sore and not wanting to do much typing anyway. I'll give a fast re-cap on my week and then explain why I used vicissitude as my weekly title.
- The baptism of C.H. was held this Saturday and it was beautiful! Her father, just recently baptized, was the one doing the actual baptism and I think his excitement matched his daughters. Two days before the baptism was held we got a call from him letting us know that he dislocated his left shoulder at work, but still wanted to do the baptism if at all possible. So, he still did the baptism, with the help of his father in law with getting her back up out of the water. They are becoming an eternal family and it is one of the greatest things I have ever been part of. Seeing this incredible family taking steps towards eternity makes me think more and more about how blessed I am to be a part of a family sealed for eternity, knowing that the people I love most will be with me for eternity. I can't imagine being without the joy that comes from the knowledge that my life with my family is perpetuated beyond the grave.
- J.P. came out with Elder Thatcher and I again on Sunday to go door to door and work as a missionary. We took him tracting for about an hour and we all had a lot of fun. The first door we knocked on ended up being a member, which we had a good laugh about, and then from there it was tracting as usual, which of course isn't a bad thing. He helped us teach a couple lessons and did a great job at inviting the spirits into their homes.
- On Sunday we were able to meet A.S. at church. He said that it has been 15 years since he has attended any church, that he grew up catholic, and he is wanting the peace that come from growing closer to God. We stayed with him through all of church explaining everything as we went along and he really seemed to enjoy it. Lots of other members came up and introduced themselves and welcomed him to church, and our dinner on Wednesday even invited him over to dinner with us. I am so excited to get to know him better and help bring the joy of the restored gospel into his life. Its incredible to see that God really is preparing people to receive this message and that as long as we are obedient and in tune with the spirit we will be brought in contact with one another somehow.
- Our program that we have started in this ward with teaching families and building member trust is already starting to bring forth wonderful fruits! We already had quite a bit of member trust in this ward before, but it is being strengthened and the ward is growing even more excited about missionary work. Members are coming up randomly telling us they are trying to talk to neighbors and friends, or telling us stories about their efforts so far. In separate church meetings our efforts are being brought up, and the ward is starting to encourage each other without our promptings. Families are hearing about the family mission plan and thinking ahead of what they will do for it before we even go to their home to present it. Just last week we met with a family to go over it and they told us that they have talked to their neighbor already and they are wanting to meet with the missionaries. We are meeting with them for the first lesson tonight! Its so exciting to see everyone's excitement and enthusiasm for the work, and I know this area will be richly blessed for it, and that many more will be able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel. Soon we may even have to split the ward :-)
- I got some really fun letter from Harrison, Eve, and Aurora up in Alaska! I loved reading them and am so proud of how they are growing up. It helps to have incredible parents, but I like to think I helped a little too, lol.
This is longer then I had anticipated, but as soon as I begin writing I get excited and just keep wanting to say more. So Ill give a quick explanation for the title and then get going. vicissitude means change, and this mission is in the middle of a lot of that because of the mission President change. Lately there have been some major changes that can be a little difficult for us as missionaries to institute, and many missionaries have begun murmuring because of it. When I first heard about the changes I wanted to murmur as well, but decided instead to pray for the strength to follow. Since then I have had several times when I want to complain or question, but because of my decision to follow based on faith I have been very blessed. I look forward to seeing what changes follow, and even more what blessings will come as a result. I am constantly being humbled by the realization that I don't know as much as I like to think I do, and am learning better how to rely on God. My mission continues to become a greater and greater blessing.
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, July 19, 2010
Debilitated
Good morning everyone,
The title very much matches how I felt much of this week... I had a great birthday but near the end of the day I started feeling a little more tired then usual, and my throat was starting to ache a little. I think it is because I have been eating much healthier lately and then I felt to bad turning down all the cake for my birthday so it shocked my body, yuck. I ended up getting a really bad cold and was not able to go more then 15 minutes at a time without having to blow my nose, so I was bed ridden for a couple days. I still forced myself to get up and look excited for our appointments but was unable to do much more then that for a while. When we did have appointments I was blessed with greater strength, but then as soon as we were done my body would basically shut down. Not to much fun huh. But even with all that gross sickness plaguing me this week ended up being another incredible week as a missionary and I love looking back on it. So here is how it went:
(I was told to not put full names because of privacy, but I'm sure the message will still get across)
- I want to start off talking about Jeremy because I am so excited about his progression and excitement with the gospel. Oops, he will now be J, lol(great start to this whole privacy thing). First off, earlier this week when we were meeting with him he informed me that he found me on Facebook, which led to him looking at my blog and reading all about himself, so it feels weird writing this and knowing that he will probably read it soon. As always the appointment with him went great and the spirit was very strong with him asking great questions and bearing testimony. Then on Saturday he called and asked us if he could go out with us on Sunday and see what its like to be a missionary, and that it would make his day if he could. Of course we readily excepted and let our dinner appointment know that we would have him with us, which they were also excited about. He stayed with us all day as we went to appointments, met up with missed appointments, tried potentials, and talked with random people on the sidewalks. We had some tracting scheduled in as well but more people let us in then expected so we ended up running late to dinner as it was. He will still get to try it though since he wants to come out with us next Sunday as well, and he is also coming along with certain appointments this week.
The day ended perfectly with our last appointments, which was with the Healy's ( Now the HLY's?). We went in and just talked with them for a little while and Jeremy got to know them a little better. They HLY's are already asking about senior missions! Then a little while into it we started the lesson with a prayer and I turned to J and, without prior warning, asked him to teach us about charity and gave his the chapter in PMG to work from. I thought he would do well because of how strong his faith is, but to my surprise he did an incredible job. We all opened up to chapter 7 of Moroni and he read the verse about charity for the first time and then taught by the spirit what it is and how to gain it as a spiritual gift. It was such an uplifting and exciting experience. Not only did J teach like a well prepared missionary, but the HLY's in return bore strong testimony and taught in return. They also conversed about their conversion process, since both are new to the church, and talked about the trial both have of family being very against the church. J with all of his family basically and the HLY's with his mom. Being able to see people come into the gospel and begin teaching with power shortly after, with the expectation of serving missions, is such an incredible blessing!
- There is a new family that moved into the ward, and we had a great lesson with them a couple days ago. The only reason I'm writing about them is because they have kids, 4 and 6, who already have 14 scriptures memorized! I just thought that was incredible...
- I also got some great presents for my birthday this week :-) Getting more Gold Toe socks was great, thank family! Thank you as well for everything else, I am very much enjoying the treats, and sleep even better on my new silk pillow case, but I may like all the pictures the best. Also, Brenna sent me a really fun gift that many missionaries out here have enjoyed so far! Thank you so much to everyone that sent me letters as well! I got great letters from Mom, Danni, Ashley, Grandma Angel, Grandparents all the way up in Alaska, and the Radfords, and lots of fun emails.
There is so much more to say, and this is a pretty sad looking letter, but with all the b-day emails I dont have enough time to write more. Have a great week, and find someone to share a piece of the gospel with!
Love,
Elder Inman
The title very much matches how I felt much of this week... I had a great birthday but near the end of the day I started feeling a little more tired then usual, and my throat was starting to ache a little. I think it is because I have been eating much healthier lately and then I felt to bad turning down all the cake for my birthday so it shocked my body, yuck. I ended up getting a really bad cold and was not able to go more then 15 minutes at a time without having to blow my nose, so I was bed ridden for a couple days. I still forced myself to get up and look excited for our appointments but was unable to do much more then that for a while. When we did have appointments I was blessed with greater strength, but then as soon as we were done my body would basically shut down. Not to much fun huh. But even with all that gross sickness plaguing me this week ended up being another incredible week as a missionary and I love looking back on it. So here is how it went:
(I was told to not put full names because of privacy, but I'm sure the message will still get across)
- I want to start off talking about Jeremy because I am so excited about his progression and excitement with the gospel. Oops, he will now be J, lol(great start to this whole privacy thing). First off, earlier this week when we were meeting with him he informed me that he found me on Facebook, which led to him looking at my blog and reading all about himself, so it feels weird writing this and knowing that he will probably read it soon. As always the appointment with him went great and the spirit was very strong with him asking great questions and bearing testimony. Then on Saturday he called and asked us if he could go out with us on Sunday and see what its like to be a missionary, and that it would make his day if he could. Of course we readily excepted and let our dinner appointment know that we would have him with us, which they were also excited about. He stayed with us all day as we went to appointments, met up with missed appointments, tried potentials, and talked with random people on the sidewalks. We had some tracting scheduled in as well but more people let us in then expected so we ended up running late to dinner as it was. He will still get to try it though since he wants to come out with us next Sunday as well, and he is also coming along with certain appointments this week.
The day ended perfectly with our last appointments, which was with the Healy's ( Now the HLY's?). We went in and just talked with them for a little while and Jeremy got to know them a little better. They HLY's are already asking about senior missions! Then a little while into it we started the lesson with a prayer and I turned to J and, without prior warning, asked him to teach us about charity and gave his the chapter in PMG to work from. I thought he would do well because of how strong his faith is, but to my surprise he did an incredible job. We all opened up to chapter 7 of Moroni and he read the verse about charity for the first time and then taught by the spirit what it is and how to gain it as a spiritual gift. It was such an uplifting and exciting experience. Not only did J teach like a well prepared missionary, but the HLY's in return bore strong testimony and taught in return. They also conversed about their conversion process, since both are new to the church, and talked about the trial both have of family being very against the church. J with all of his family basically and the HLY's with his mom. Being able to see people come into the gospel and begin teaching with power shortly after, with the expectation of serving missions, is such an incredible blessing!
- There is a new family that moved into the ward, and we had a great lesson with them a couple days ago. The only reason I'm writing about them is because they have kids, 4 and 6, who already have 14 scriptures memorized! I just thought that was incredible...
- I also got some great presents for my birthday this week :-) Getting more Gold Toe socks was great, thank family! Thank you as well for everything else, I am very much enjoying the treats, and sleep even better on my new silk pillow case, but I may like all the pictures the best. Also, Brenna sent me a really fun gift that many missionaries out here have enjoyed so far! Thank you so much to everyone that sent me letters as well! I got great letters from Mom, Danni, Ashley, Grandma Angel, Grandparents all the way up in Alaska, and the Radfords, and lots of fun emails.
There is so much more to say, and this is a pretty sad looking letter, but with all the b-day emails I dont have enough time to write more. Have a great week, and find someone to share a piece of the gospel with!
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, July 12, 2010
Feliz Cumpleaños
Hola everyone,
The title this week is a little self centered but I happen to enjoy my birthdays so I feel just fine having that there. This week has been so great and I have become even more thankful that I am able to be out here on my mission. Here it goes:
- I am told that holidays on the mission are a little bit of a bummer because we always have to be in early and we cant really afford to buy anything special to celebrate with, and that is partially right looking back at the 4th. But, even though I wasn't able to celebrate the normal way I loved sitting on my porch reading the Book of Mormon and hearing fireworks in the distance. It really was a beautiful night and I'm glad I was here for it. I'm pretty sure I am going to love birthdays out here though, especially with how long I have been in this ward and how well everyone knows and likes me. Me and my comp are constantly being taken out for lunch and dinner and there are so many families who are making me cake to celebrate with. I am going to have to work out extra hard this coming week just to make sure I don't blow up like a balloon, but I have felt so much love from the ward. Just the other night I had a dream that I spent all two years of my mission here, and I didn't want to leave. I woke up depressed because I felt like my mission is already going by to quickly and I wanted it to slow down a little.
- Even better news then my birthday is how well the baptism of Jeremy Pescetti went on Saturday! He is such a strong young man and he continually impresses me with his faith and determination to do what is right, considering none of his family supported him and not a single member of his family came to the baptism. Elder Thatcher and I arrived a little over an hour early to set everything up and fill the font and even at that time I felt the spirit strongly so I knew that the baptism was going to be one to remember. By the time the baptism actually started we had to set up more chairs and there was barely walking room because so many people came to support him, including a very large amount of youth his age from other wards that came. The whole baptism was a beautiful experience with Brendan, Jeremy's friend, doing the baptism and other friends from church giving very heart felt talks and testimony. Right after the baptism Brendan's family took the family, Jeremy, and us out to eat at Outback Steakhouse. They handed out at least 10 of our cards for the Book of Mormon and then Jeremy was given free desert because the owner is a member and wanted to congratulate him. That spirit carried over when yesterday both he and brother Healy were confirmed members of the church and given the Holy Ghost.
- The work here is doing great. We are having a little trouble keeping a good teaching pool right now because so much of our time is now spent teaching new member lessons, but I guess that is a good problem to have. We are working very hard on following the spirit and working more effectively so we have tried to limit tracting to no more then an hour a day if we can help it. As we were studying we came across a section that talked about having an open house so we have taken that idea and are on a full run ahead now. It is schedule for Aug 29th and we are hoping and praying that we have a good turn out of members with their friends so that we can start getting more member referrals since that is one of the most effective ways of bringing others into the Gospel. We are now starting member lessons where we go into every families home in our ward and give a lesson about missionary work and we help them make a family mission plan, including inviting someone to the open house. We are already seeing good results from this. In fact, after Jeremy's baptism the Stake Presidency took me and my companion into a separate room and asked us why the work is going so well in our area because they want others to catch the fire. He quizzed us for information on how to find and teach more effectively for about 10 minutes and then let us go back to mingle with everyone who was still around after the baptism. I know I am not the reason so many people are coming into the waters of baptism, but I am so thankful that I am worthy to be worked through by a loving Heavenly Father, because being a part of this work has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.
(There is a lot to write about this week)
- A few days ago I got a call from one of the members in my ward letting me know that they had my scripture case and my camera. I was so excited that we drove over there right after our appointment to pick it up, and I thought it was a joke they were playing on me when they handed me it because my scriptures weren't in the case. They said that a friend of theirs found it as they were jogging on day and found it that it was a missionaries because of the pictures, so they gave it to this family because she knew she was a Mormon from work. The weird thing is that the scripture case only had my camera and not the scriptures which is way different then I thought it would turn out. Who takes scriptures and leaves a nice camera? This is still a great blessing to have my camera back, but just a little confusing.
- Our new Mission President has already been making changes in the mission and I am excited to see the effects. One of those changes is that each missionary has to prepare a 10 minute talk weekly with a memorized scripture so that if they ward ever needs to call on us to speak we are ready. Along with this we also have to bear our testimony in front of the ward every fast and testimony meeting, the first being two weeks ago. I felt the spirit strongly during the meeting but didn't think anything special had happened until we were at a members family for dinner, the Williamsons. They are a great family and very strong in the church. She actually didn't join until a couple years after marriage but is now very active. Bro. Williamson has tried to convince her to go on a couples mission once all their kids move out for the past couple years with no success, but she said that as she was listening to my testimony the spirit took over and told her that she needs to go on a mission. She doesn't remember anything I said, but testimony allowed the spirit to speak to her heart and both of them are now excited for their mission, years down the road. Isn't it great to see the spirit work?
Just as a last thing, I had a great experience during personal study this week. Early on I was reading and came across a scripture talking about the sons of Mosiah and the power they had in teaching because they had the spirit of Revelation and Prophesy. It hit me for the first time that I don't really know the difference between those two, besides just a very superficial understanding. I spent the rest of my study time trying to figure it out with no success. For the next couple days I asked everyone I could think of and spent my spare timing studying and praying about it, and it seemed like it just kept getting more confusing to me. Then two days ago I was studying it and came across Alma chapters 8-12 and got sidetracked reading about this incredible missionary and trying to figure out why he was so successful. I began learning so much about him, and then as I was reading the answer came to me regarding revelation and prophesy. Suddenly it seemed so simple, and now as I study and come across those words my understanding of the scripture is so much stronger. Its was a very powerful experience and one that strengthened my testimony in revelation quite a bit. I'm so thankful that I have been raised to recognize the prompting of the spirit and have lived worthy of those miraculous promptings. I am praying for you all and hope that you are doing the same because I am always in need of it.
Love,
Elder Inman
The title this week is a little self centered but I happen to enjoy my birthdays so I feel just fine having that there. This week has been so great and I have become even more thankful that I am able to be out here on my mission. Here it goes:
- I am told that holidays on the mission are a little bit of a bummer because we always have to be in early and we cant really afford to buy anything special to celebrate with, and that is partially right looking back at the 4th. But, even though I wasn't able to celebrate the normal way I loved sitting on my porch reading the Book of Mormon and hearing fireworks in the distance. It really was a beautiful night and I'm glad I was here for it. I'm pretty sure I am going to love birthdays out here though, especially with how long I have been in this ward and how well everyone knows and likes me. Me and my comp are constantly being taken out for lunch and dinner and there are so many families who are making me cake to celebrate with. I am going to have to work out extra hard this coming week just to make sure I don't blow up like a balloon, but I have felt so much love from the ward. Just the other night I had a dream that I spent all two years of my mission here, and I didn't want to leave. I woke up depressed because I felt like my mission is already going by to quickly and I wanted it to slow down a little.
- Even better news then my birthday is how well the baptism of Jeremy Pescetti went on Saturday! He is such a strong young man and he continually impresses me with his faith and determination to do what is right, considering none of his family supported him and not a single member of his family came to the baptism. Elder Thatcher and I arrived a little over an hour early to set everything up and fill the font and even at that time I felt the spirit strongly so I knew that the baptism was going to be one to remember. By the time the baptism actually started we had to set up more chairs and there was barely walking room because so many people came to support him, including a very large amount of youth his age from other wards that came. The whole baptism was a beautiful experience with Brendan, Jeremy's friend, doing the baptism and other friends from church giving very heart felt talks and testimony. Right after the baptism Brendan's family took the family, Jeremy, and us out to eat at Outback Steakhouse. They handed out at least 10 of our cards for the Book of Mormon and then Jeremy was given free desert because the owner is a member and wanted to congratulate him. That spirit carried over when yesterday both he and brother Healy were confirmed members of the church and given the Holy Ghost.
- The work here is doing great. We are having a little trouble keeping a good teaching pool right now because so much of our time is now spent teaching new member lessons, but I guess that is a good problem to have. We are working very hard on following the spirit and working more effectively so we have tried to limit tracting to no more then an hour a day if we can help it. As we were studying we came across a section that talked about having an open house so we have taken that idea and are on a full run ahead now. It is schedule for Aug 29th and we are hoping and praying that we have a good turn out of members with their friends so that we can start getting more member referrals since that is one of the most effective ways of bringing others into the Gospel. We are now starting member lessons where we go into every families home in our ward and give a lesson about missionary work and we help them make a family mission plan, including inviting someone to the open house. We are already seeing good results from this. In fact, after Jeremy's baptism the Stake Presidency took me and my companion into a separate room and asked us why the work is going so well in our area because they want others to catch the fire. He quizzed us for information on how to find and teach more effectively for about 10 minutes and then let us go back to mingle with everyone who was still around after the baptism. I know I am not the reason so many people are coming into the waters of baptism, but I am so thankful that I am worthy to be worked through by a loving Heavenly Father, because being a part of this work has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.
(There is a lot to write about this week)
- A few days ago I got a call from one of the members in my ward letting me know that they had my scripture case and my camera. I was so excited that we drove over there right after our appointment to pick it up, and I thought it was a joke they were playing on me when they handed me it because my scriptures weren't in the case. They said that a friend of theirs found it as they were jogging on day and found it that it was a missionaries because of the pictures, so they gave it to this family because she knew she was a Mormon from work. The weird thing is that the scripture case only had my camera and not the scriptures which is way different then I thought it would turn out. Who takes scriptures and leaves a nice camera? This is still a great blessing to have my camera back, but just a little confusing.
- Our new Mission President has already been making changes in the mission and I am excited to see the effects. One of those changes is that each missionary has to prepare a 10 minute talk weekly with a memorized scripture so that if they ward ever needs to call on us to speak we are ready. Along with this we also have to bear our testimony in front of the ward every fast and testimony meeting, the first being two weeks ago. I felt the spirit strongly during the meeting but didn't think anything special had happened until we were at a members family for dinner, the Williamsons. They are a great family and very strong in the church. She actually didn't join until a couple years after marriage but is now very active. Bro. Williamson has tried to convince her to go on a couples mission once all their kids move out for the past couple years with no success, but she said that as she was listening to my testimony the spirit took over and told her that she needs to go on a mission. She doesn't remember anything I said, but testimony allowed the spirit to speak to her heart and both of them are now excited for their mission, years down the road. Isn't it great to see the spirit work?
Just as a last thing, I had a great experience during personal study this week. Early on I was reading and came across a scripture talking about the sons of Mosiah and the power they had in teaching because they had the spirit of Revelation and Prophesy. It hit me for the first time that I don't really know the difference between those two, besides just a very superficial understanding. I spent the rest of my study time trying to figure it out with no success. For the next couple days I asked everyone I could think of and spent my spare timing studying and praying about it, and it seemed like it just kept getting more confusing to me. Then two days ago I was studying it and came across Alma chapters 8-12 and got sidetracked reading about this incredible missionary and trying to figure out why he was so successful. I began learning so much about him, and then as I was reading the answer came to me regarding revelation and prophesy. Suddenly it seemed so simple, and now as I study and come across those words my understanding of the scripture is so much stronger. Its was a very powerful experience and one that strengthened my testimony in revelation quite a bit. I'm so thankful that I have been raised to recognize the prompting of the spirit and have lived worthy of those miraculous promptings. I am praying for you all and hope that you are doing the same because I am always in need of it.
Love,
Elder Inman
Monday, July 5, 2010
Evanescence
Happy 4th Everyone!
Hope you like my title for the week :-) I used it because I just heard it in conversation and love the sound of it as well as the definition, and it happens to fit my mood right now. Yesterday I had an incredible Sabbath day and the spirit was strong throughout it, and then this morning I had a great personal study of the gospel which has helped my worries and hardships fade away from my mind, evanescence. Alright, now on to my week, but it will probably be a short one today because I am running short on time:
- We held a beautiful baptism Saturday night for Carmen Chavez. One of the most exciting parts of the baptism was that her dad was able to perform the baptism, and he was by far more nervous then she was. We worked with him for a while before the baptism on the words and he had them down perfect, the hardest part being her name. Her full name is Carmen Monet Paeseva Chavez, which is a part Tongan name because of her mom. They both smiles as they walked into the font and he started the blessing, completely forgetting to say her name at first, so I quickly corrected him and he started over. This time he forgot to say "having been" so I had him start over again. This time he forgot to say her last name, so we had him start one more time. This time he got all the wording right and dipped her down into the water, but she came out without her elbow being submerged so I let him know we need to do it again. He misunderstood that we needed to do the whole thing again and instead just dipped her into the water again without saying the blessing. After several more attempts he completed the baptism, and the entire time Carmen was smiling and letting him know that everything was OK. It was so wonderful to see, and the spirit entered with force as she was baptised. The next day he stood up and bore his testimony of the power of baptism and said that the many attempts that were made before he got it right helped him feel the spirit and realize even more that this was a baptism done with the power of God. It was so beautiful to see everything come together like it did.
- Last night we had to come in at 7pm because of it being the 4th of July. It was a little disappointing because so many members were inviting us over to watch fireworks and enjoy a cookout, but I enjoyed the holiday anyway. We had an assignment to study the Holy Ghost from 7 to 9, and I ended up being very uplifted through that study. Then we went out on our porch and watched fireworks in the distance as they exploded all over Albuquerque. Its hard to compete with actually being close to them, but it was still a beautiful view and a great experience. During all of this my mind kept wondering to times with my family playing with fireworks or watching shows, and I started to miss them a little more then usual, which led to me talking about them even more. As my companion laid to go to sleep I started talking about my family and how blessed I have been and he would give occasional comments until after about 40 minutes I noticed that he was actually crying. As we continued to talk I found that he has grown up in a very different family situation. He said that he loves them very much, and they grew up active in the church, but they are not close at all and some of his older siblings wont even talk to his parents. He talked about how badly he wants his family to be more like mine and we started to discuss why ours are so different if we both grew up active, which led to us discovering the difference between being active and being dedicated. He said that they almost never had FHE, they never did family scripture study, and they had very little time spent as a whole family. Its incredible to see the difference those small things make, and how they really are not that small. I never realized how rare my family is with how close we are and am so thankful that my parents were diligent my whole life with making sure we did what the prophet counselled. Being out here and seeing so many broken families has showed me just how blessed I have been, and given me a greater appreciation for my parents closeness to the spirit and a greater resolve to try to be like them.
I am out of time, but I love you all and pray that you grow closer and closer to the spirit. Being a missionary has helped me realize to a much greater extent the joy and protection that comes from following the commandments as well as the misery that follows disobedience.
Love,
Elder Inman
Hope you like my title for the week :-) I used it because I just heard it in conversation and love the sound of it as well as the definition, and it happens to fit my mood right now. Yesterday I had an incredible Sabbath day and the spirit was strong throughout it, and then this morning I had a great personal study of the gospel which has helped my worries and hardships fade away from my mind, evanescence. Alright, now on to my week, but it will probably be a short one today because I am running short on time:
- We held a beautiful baptism Saturday night for Carmen Chavez. One of the most exciting parts of the baptism was that her dad was able to perform the baptism, and he was by far more nervous then she was. We worked with him for a while before the baptism on the words and he had them down perfect, the hardest part being her name. Her full name is Carmen Monet Paeseva Chavez, which is a part Tongan name because of her mom. They both smiles as they walked into the font and he started the blessing, completely forgetting to say her name at first, so I quickly corrected him and he started over. This time he forgot to say "having been" so I had him start over again. This time he forgot to say her last name, so we had him start one more time. This time he got all the wording right and dipped her down into the water, but she came out without her elbow being submerged so I let him know we need to do it again. He misunderstood that we needed to do the whole thing again and instead just dipped her into the water again without saying the blessing. After several more attempts he completed the baptism, and the entire time Carmen was smiling and letting him know that everything was OK. It was so wonderful to see, and the spirit entered with force as she was baptised. The next day he stood up and bore his testimony of the power of baptism and said that the many attempts that were made before he got it right helped him feel the spirit and realize even more that this was a baptism done with the power of God. It was so beautiful to see everything come together like it did.
- Last night we had to come in at 7pm because of it being the 4th of July. It was a little disappointing because so many members were inviting us over to watch fireworks and enjoy a cookout, but I enjoyed the holiday anyway. We had an assignment to study the Holy Ghost from 7 to 9, and I ended up being very uplifted through that study. Then we went out on our porch and watched fireworks in the distance as they exploded all over Albuquerque. Its hard to compete with actually being close to them, but it was still a beautiful view and a great experience. During all of this my mind kept wondering to times with my family playing with fireworks or watching shows, and I started to miss them a little more then usual, which led to me talking about them even more. As my companion laid to go to sleep I started talking about my family and how blessed I have been and he would give occasional comments until after about 40 minutes I noticed that he was actually crying. As we continued to talk I found that he has grown up in a very different family situation. He said that he loves them very much, and they grew up active in the church, but they are not close at all and some of his older siblings wont even talk to his parents. He talked about how badly he wants his family to be more like mine and we started to discuss why ours are so different if we both grew up active, which led to us discovering the difference between being active and being dedicated. He said that they almost never had FHE, they never did family scripture study, and they had very little time spent as a whole family. Its incredible to see the difference those small things make, and how they really are not that small. I never realized how rare my family is with how close we are and am so thankful that my parents were diligent my whole life with making sure we did what the prophet counselled. Being out here and seeing so many broken families has showed me just how blessed I have been, and given me a greater appreciation for my parents closeness to the spirit and a greater resolve to try to be like them.
I am out of time, but I love you all and pray that you grow closer and closer to the spirit. Being a missionary has helped me realize to a much greater extent the joy and protection that comes from following the commandments as well as the misery that follows disobedience.
Love,
Elder Inman
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