Tornado Warning

Dearest mother of mine!

 

The work this week is as follows:

We had some good lessons from our Zone Leaders, Elder Law and Elder Israelsen. We were kinda rebuked across the mission a bit for being... slack. So we repented and got on the ball. We had a fantastic week afterward! We hit all of our goals, so you know what that means..... The work has gone forth boldly, nobley, and independant once again! We have a lady named D., who has been mentioned before, who is really going along well. I have high hopes for her to be baptized in March. Z. and his parents are slowly coming to the final baptismal decision. Z. wants his mom and step-dad to be there, though... I believe they live in Texas, so that might be a problem. But, in good news, we are teaching 4 other people, all of whom are progressing (though we may have to drop them since they won't come to church!!!!!). :/

 

So anywho, I have been having so much fun here in Aiken. I love it to death. The BRP is really helping though. It has at least got sharing the gospel on the minds of the members, and some of them are really excited to participate in shepherding their friends like the Lord has asked. I think it's funny that people blatently disregard commandments from God to share the gospel and "warn [their] neighbor" as instructed in Doctrine and Covenants. If only they knew what they were doing. If only they knew they'd be standing accountable before the Lord for who they did and didn't bring into the fold of God.

 

I love the story by Elder Ballard he tells in "Our Search for Happiness" about faith. I will summarize as best I can:

Elder Ballard was a mission president in Toronto. Some of his missionaries set up a meeting with many leaders from other denominations in the area and invited then President Ballard to speak to them. After some Q&A and a brief explination of our beliefs, the topic of discussion turned to the Book of Mormon. President Ballard explained where they came from, and the story of the translation of the Plates. One of the men spoke up at this point and said "Mr. Ballard, if you would only just show us these plates, then we would know what you were saying was true." President Ballard looked at the men in the room for a moment (I'm sure listening to the Spirit and discerning what the concern these men had), and responded, "If I set the Plates on the table in front of you right now it would in no way cause you to believe my message is true." He then expounded on the point of doctrine related to faith- that faith is something hoped for and not seen. We can have all the angels appear to us as we want, and that will not change a thing. That is a fact. It is only by faith that we may know the truth of all things- only by sincere prayer, study, and real intent to act on the impressions we receive that we will grow and learn.

 

Oh yeah I totally forgot! We had a crazy random 15 minute typhoon-like storm here on Friday! Rain so think you couldn't see 10 feet in front of you, and hail the size of dimes. It was nuts! We got a message about a tornado warning with the disclamer "don't worry, its just going through Wagener, so no big deal" except for the fact that Wagener is in OUR AREA!  Haha.. As far as I know nothing got hit, but we're not exactly in the loop either. It was just some fun weather that day. And as far as weather goes, we've had days this week in the 80's and in the 30's, so... Yeah.

 

BTW another funny story. I just accidentally deleted the whole email I was typing. Luckily we have the fancy "undo" command to save my skin from everlasting shame.......

Keep the faith.

I love you guys so stinkin much!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

 

P.S. I'm so glad for Leslie!

P.P.S. Why is everyone dying all of a sudden?! Sheesh...

P.P.P.S. Give Chumlee a big ol' smooch for me :)

 

Therefore..., let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

Better Late Than Never

So Last Monday was President's Day and in the past Elder Seaver was unable to send/receive mail on a holiday.  I was planning on emailing him later in the day when I realized with a start that he no longer goes to the library to get his mail, but to a church building.  It would NOT be closed on a holiday.  I hurried to the computer and started frantically writing him.  Before I was quite finished I received this email-

So here I am, lonely and cold, broken-hearted from lack of email. Mourning my losses, I bundle up on the floor and rock myself to sleep, wondering - what is love? Did anyone ever really love me? Did I ever really love anyone? What is love? With this deep, mind-blistering quandary rolling through my mind, I tumble into a fitful sleep, never to awaken; lost and alone, with no one here to comfort me, I pass into a world of torment, agony, and gnashing of teeth. If only I had really been loved. If only I had received an email...

Smart aleck!!!  I quickly sent my email and he then sent the following: 

So. Decided to email eh? Hahahaha. Better late than never, I suppose. Unless we're talking about diarrhea, in which case it's better never than late. Speaking of which, Elder Kerr is pretty sick today. He is having a rough time with a flu bug rollin' around the mission. We got  a text about it even, so it's affecting that many missionaries. But we drugged him up and he is doing much better. Except for now - he is relieving some pressure right now by way of expulsion of previously eaten food and stomach acid through his esophagus and mouth. Yuck.

So........... There is a lot of random little things going on here. I don't really remember right now all the things investigator-wise currently, but they're all in my journal. I'll send home all my journals when this one gets full and y'all can catch up. Boy I wish I had a pensive. So we'll just say: this week the work of the Lord has been going forth boldly, nobly, and independent.

We have 6 investigators we're working with, and we have a good chance of baptizing them all. They are all solid (even though half of them have parental issues...).

C. M., a long-time investigator who was on date for this weekend, can't get baptized because her dad won't let her. But just this past Saturday her aunt passed away. I feel bad for thinking this, but maybe that was the answer to our prayers. Maybe their hearts will be softened and we will be able to help them. That is my dream, prayer, and goal, but we'll see how it goes. The funeral is today at 11, but it's in Columbia so we won't be going.. 

Man why is everyone dying?! It seems like the thing to do now-a-day. Like some fad for old people and rich people. Hopefully it'll pass... away. OOOOO bad pun!

So, question. Anyone wanna tell me how an automatic transmission works? I have no idea. I can't figure out why it doesn't just die when you come to a stop? Does it go into like a mini-neutral or something? HOW?!

Also, Jenni, can I please borrow New York Doll? If not, I totally understand. We just watch a movie every Friday night with people and I thought that'd be a good one.

That's about it. I'd like to end with a short quote:

"They say a man never really knows himself until his freedom has been taken away. I wonder, do you know yourself?"

-Arcturus Mengsk

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Greetings from Aitken, SC!

Elmo hangs out outside the Golden Corral.

'Nuff said.

This Week Has Been Super Freaking Fantastic!

MOTHER,

Answer. Yes I got Lori's package, also the letter from the Hintons and a letter from the Holmans. Very nice :) I don't really remember what was in what box, but I do know that over the last few weeks I have enjoyed Subway with Elder Kerr, courtesy of a gift card, some peanut butter M &Ms (some meaning a huge heaping bag of awesomeness!), and some Wal-Mart goodies from a gift card there. Please thank Lori for all she is doing. She rocks!

Ok, you say your week was boring?! PFFFT! It sounds awesome! I can't believe all that is going on in the world and how much of it we miss out here... But, I do have to say this - there is nothing that compares to being here on a mission! Well, marriage is probably better, cause you can't really do certain things with your companion here that you CAN do with a wife...... Like going to the movies.

So this week has been super freaking fantastic! We have been working with C. M. and Z. A. mostly, which are both going well. We've also been working a bit with the V-family. They are neighbors to the B- family in our ward, who are awesome saints! We have been there once, and the B- family came with us. The dad, M., asked us a ton of deep doc questions. The first half of the lesson it was just M., the B- family, and us, and M. was looking confused the whole time. But then his son A. showed up and started asking questions. Right then M. started to get it. Ok, we were like teaching him all randomly and answering questions right? Well then all of a sudden he said, "So from what you've said, basically we all go to different 'degrees' of heaven when we die depending on how we lived in this life and the life to come?" We hadn't got that far quite yet, and when he threw out the word "degrees" like that it was just *BOOM* revelation! He totally understood it all and started answering his son's questions and it was amazing. :D

Back to Z. and C. So they, and this other girl we met on Sunday named A., are all in the same boat - kinda. Z. has been taught mostly everything, believes it, and is ready for baptism. It all now rests on his parents giving him permission. It's a complicated situation at home, but all-in-all we're confident they will say yes. His dad believes and is willing to get baptized, and his mom is active. But they aren't married. It's complicated. Anyway. Yeah. So Z. is in, it's just a matter of WHEN. 

C. is 19, so she can get baptized whenever, but she still lives at home. She believes everything and is set on date for the 26 of this month. Her dad does not support her (don't know about her mom), and she wants to honor his decision since she still lives at home. So we have plans for this week to go visit him and ask what's up! Bishop Johnson, from this ward, offered to go with us and visit him which I think will be fantastic! There are just some things an inspired adult can say and do that puny mortals like Elder Kerr and myself can't. And A. is similar - she is 16, has read the B of M, believes, and wants to get baptized. A girl in the ward has been working with her for a year (they are best friends). A.'s parents are strict Southern Baptists, she's not allowed to even be friends with Mormons, but her parents don't know her best friend K. is a member, so she goes there and sleeps over Saturday and comes to church Sunday. :D  K. is moving to PG, Utah next week though, so that's going to end. We're pretty worried about A.. So we will work with her some more and see what we can do.

I'd like to ask y'all to please remember Z., C., and A. in your prayers.

Speaking of Z., mom will you look through my room (probably in that little black shelf thingy with the small drawers and the top hatch deal) and find Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Fire Red and send them to me? I'm going to give them to Z.

Well that's about all I got for this week. Have a fantastic Valentine's Day. But not too good. You are my parents and that is gross. You know what I mean. Ew. No. You're too old for that. You should not be going to the movies, even if Star Wars is now in 3D. NO!

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Four New Posts

I've been a bit of a slacker and was behind on posting James's letters-
so if you are a faithful follower you will notice that there are four new post.


-Thanks for reading, Karry

Dad, You Remind Me a lot of Helaman

Sheesh dad, you travel a lot. I really have empathy for you now. Livin’ out of a suitcase blows.

Work is hard. Barf.... Haha. At least now we have our own washer and drier so laundry is free.

I've been meaning to tell you dad, you remind me a lot of Helaman.  A lot of the lessons you taught me are repeated by Helaman to his 2060 "sons of war." I'm glad I never had to be commanded by you in battle, but I would gladly dive on a grenade in a foxhole for you. Well, let me rephrase, not GLADLY, but I'd do it without hesitating. For sure.

Love you dad. I appreciate all you do for me, and I love your letters. I haven't read your other email yet about the super bowl, so that's next; Just 1 more super bowl away from each other. Then we'll see the Colts and the Broncos duke it out in 2014. YES!

Always yours, no matter if I like it or not (but I do like it. I love it! Go temple power!),

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

The Times They are a Changin'

Mother,

Are you Aiken yup yup yup, for some bacon yup yup yup, he's a big pig yup yup, you could be a big pig too OY!

I am in Aiken, South Carolina! We're part of the Augusta Zone, though. Who is my companion you ask? 

Drum roll please ....................................................None other than........... Elder Kerr! From the MTC! Remember him? Yeah we're companions! How cool is that?! We're having a great time! We're both in the IMOS (missionary system thingy) as "senior companion." We are like Zone Leaders in that we both are liable for the area, and we just swap who drives whenever we feel like it. It's way fun! 

We live in Aiken with Elder North and Elder Harper (Elder Harper is our district leader), 2 of the other 4 Elders in our district. The other Elders are:
Elder Taetakua (Elder T for short) and Elder Wilcock (my dear old Zone Leader from Greenville Zone). This is the best place ever! I love it here! The ward is GREAT and everything about it is awesome! There are a billion people in the ward and the area from out west who came to work on the SRS (Savannah River Site), a big government nuclear plant. When someone asks where I'm from I have to give 'em my whole address instead of just "Orem, Utah" since basically 1/4 of the ward is from Utah. Haha. It's fun.

We're teachin’ this kid named Z. A., who is 12 or 13, every week in Deacon's Quorum. His dad is not a member, but is supportive. They live with his dad's girlfriend and her kids. They're all members. She is not very active, but her son B is. He is a priest and he is awesome! Really great in helpin’ Z accept the gospel :D  I'm really excited for Z, and yesterday when we taught him the Plan of Happiness he really lit up. He is sooooo getting baptized this month!

Yesterday was the super bowl, obviously. As we knocked that night most people answered and said "We're busy." So I would respond "What's the score?!" We got updates all the way 'till 9, but I don't know how it ended... We're going over to a home tonight, the Kelly family, and they promised to let us know how it went. 

So we had been strugglin’ with studyin’ and planning when we were all in the same room, so our Zone Leaders, Elder Law and Elder Israelson, decided (after Zone Leader Council, their special monthly meeting with President and all the 14 Zone Leaders) that we should do a megabedroom and 2 study rooms instead. So... we did. And it is so much fun being all together! Haha. 


Last night, as a matter of fact, something awesome happened! I woke up to a sudden BOOM- Thump sound. Elder Harper had moved his mattress while asleep and it fell off the side of his bed. He bumped his head on Elder North's bed, and his mattress flipped up sideways. All I saw was a mattress stickin’ up in the air. I was trying so hard not to laugh cause it hurt! It was so hilarious! AH YEAH! So good....

So we now email all at the same time in the family history centre of our church building. It's much nicer not havin’ a 45 minute timer on me :p

Well here's somethin’ interesting. We are in a car-share area right now. That means that we're supposed to switch off between biking and using the car every other day. Now, I can't bike. Do you see a problem here? I did, and so did President and Elder Ray and Elder Fonnesbeck (the assistants). So.... They executed the simplest plan they could. We stole the Myrtle Beach Elders' car! We have 2 cars now. :D 


We're drivin’ a 2011 Corolla, and the other Elders are drivin’ a Malibu. Basically, after a buncha logistics and whatnot, the other Elders are limited to 600 miles (since they can bike. And also since this Malibu is over 50K miles and is soon to be replaced, and as such needs her miles kept down), and we get 1K.

Ok last couple things. Tuesday I spent the day in Simpsonville in a bike area with 2 other Elders (all our companions had to be in Irmo on Tuesday since they were training). We walked 13.5 miles between 10 and 5. It was 39K miles, and my average daily is 6K. That was an adventure. We stopped in at Barnes and Noble whilst walkin' by and I got the newest Celtic Woman CD, Believe. It's awesome! They sing Bridge Over Troubled Water, and, needless to say, it rocks. Also, Elder Stephens (who looks like Stephen Serrano, as a coincidence) got some "Magic, the Gathering" cards and taught me how to play. It's super complicated, but it's pretty fun. Good way to spend P day. But an even better way to spend P day is playin Brother Taylor's guitar he lent us! Yeah! :D It's so great gettin the Led out. Mmmmm. Brother Taylor is in our ward, is awesome, and made us dinner yesterday. Nice! 

This transfer is going to be the best to date! I can't wait! That rhymed.

I love y'all so much and I pray for you each and every day. Stay strong, keep the faith. So many people have been asking, "What do you want me to send you? What do you need?"  (By the way, thank you to everyone who has sent me stuff. I try to get letters out to y'all, but if I haven't - know that I appreciate it and pray for you all). So in response, all I want is your prayers. Read your Book of Mormon, ponder in your hearts what the Lord wants you to learn from that passage that day, and pray for the strength to do His will, His way. Pray for missionary experiences, and pray for us missionaries. We need it, and we can feel the Lord raise us up when you do. Pray for your families- they need it more than anyone in these latter days. Pray for our beloved Prophet and the other leaders of the church. In the words of Bob Dylan "The times they are a changin," but I testify that the Lord is not. He is absolute. He is real. He loves us. That we may all know this, through scripture study and prayer, both alone and as a family, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver