Love Y'all a Tonzo!

Dear mom

Yesterday we taught a lesson to D. and A., if you remember them. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we were teaching about repentance a story was brought to my remembrance. I was but a wee laddie when, during primary one Sunday, I was being obnoxious in some way or another and got myself planted out in the hallway. I am not sure if you were just walking by, or if someone went and got you, but you showed up to talk to me mom. You sat by me on the floor for a minute and gave me a little rebuking. Then you did something that has affected me greatly, especially in the past few months. You knelt with me and taught me how to repent- how to humble myself and ask for forgiveness. I felt at that moment the burden and embarrassment of the day lift off of me. I will be forever grateful for you mom, and your teaching me how to return Home one day.

We have been working hard this week. We had Zone Conference on Friday, which was great (mostly a review of LTM), and we learned a lot about using pamphlets and the importance of knowing the promised blessings with each commandment. It was great. Augusta Zone, Columbia Zone, and us, W. Columbia Zone, were all there. It was a big crowd, but it was fun to see many of my friends I've made in the past year there.

Thursday we went to the temple. There were 11 companionships, and 2 of those were 3-packs. So there were 21 Elders and 3 Sisters there. The temple had made like an assembly line of clothing for us to walk down and pick up. It was pretty cool. We also used the changing rooms in the baptistery since this temple is so small. It was weird for some of the Elders to change in the girls' dressing room in the baptistery- ha ha But that's what happens when you send a faithful, baptizing zone to the teeniest temple in existence. :p

For your information, we went to the temple Thursday morning. We met at 9:30 at the W. Colob Stake Center on Whippoorwill Dr, in W. Colob to all ride together. It was about an hour drive. We hopped in the 2 mission vans and 1 car to get everyone there.

And as for LTM, Elder Horne came to the meeting too cause he is a trainee. Trainees get to go as well since they are "the future leaders" and it give everyone a chance to at least attend 1 in their mission. Some missionaries are Jr. Companions for their entire missions. They get dropped off for the day, or however long the meeting goes, to work with another missionary or companionship that isn't going. Then they disperse us to nearby apartments. We went to Lexington's apartment.

Everyone loves going to missionary meetings because we get fed by the relief society in the area and by Sister Contini (she works for the church as a cook for Pres and Sis Holm and the missionaries in SCCM. She is awesome and we always leave satisfied and craving more).

So awesome to hear Jenni and Jake and Ms. Scarlett are doing well! I still crack up every time I see a fire detector. Ha ha

Well that's it for this week.

Love y'all a tonzo!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

1st Anniversary – 29th Anniversary

Dear mom,

What a great week! Happy anniversary! 653 years! Way to go!

Well this week was one of the strangest ever. We tracted a lot. We talked to a billion people (144 to be exact, nearly double my average), but the only new investigators were all from members. Bishop Robertson is a great bishop.  He told us, "The two things I'm worried about most as bishop are missionary work and temple work." We spoke with him yesterday after church- he was giving us a huge list of less-actives he wants us to hunt down- and he expounded thus: "If the members do missionary work, what does that do? It fires them up! Then they get excited about going to the temple to feel the Spirit. So, they get there. If all the members are worthy of temple recommends, they have figured out how to work out their problems. And, here's the best part, if they have no problems, I have no problems! And I'm a li'l bit lazy, so I like not having problems." Haha. He is awesome.

Elder Horne is an awesome missionary. We are having a ton of fun and getting a lot done. Our comp studies are amazing, and we are learning a ton together. He is great.

The temple- we are going Thursday, and, so as to stay effective, we are taking 2 hours out of today to work so we can spend the 2 hours at the temple. We will most likely be doing baptisms for the dead (since we don't really get to do that while we're here), and most likely President Holm will be baptizing all of us! How cool is that! I'm way pumped! It's well worth 2 precious hours of P-Day.

So I don't know if you remember this mom, but your anniversary is also the anniversary of my going through the temple. 1 year. Wow! I was thinking about that. Y'know, if you are not worthy for whatever reason to attend the temple it takes on average 1 year of being clean to attend right? Well, think about this. For the last year I have been living my life the best I can. I have only said maybe a handful of swearwords since going to the temple, for example. And I am repenting daily. So. In short, if I died right now, I think I'd be ok to go on to the Celestial glory. That's a pretty cool thought, and a cool feeling. :)

Well that's about the week. Not a lot too special. Well, we did have a LTM meeting Thursday and Friday which was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. By coincidence (or by the divine planning of Heavenly Father) President and Sister Holm's stake president, Pres Topham, from back home (also Elder Gooch's stake president, since they're from the same St. George stake) came Friday. He spoke to us about the Why? How? What?  Basically, as humans we have 2 parts of our brain. The Limbic (or what we call the Spirit :p) and the rational (or the natural man). And most of us in life start with the what when we ask people to do something.

Then the how, then the why. For example, the bishop calls a new primary teacher thus:

I want you to teach the CTR class. You can use these manuals to assist you in your work. The old teacher moved out and we needed a new one, so we chose you.

That's the normal way of doing it. But he, from experience and from science, has found it much more effective to do it the other way, thus:

Because we want the best for our young CTR class, and because we know how much the Savior loves them, we have called the best teachers to help them learn. We have amazing, inspired teaching manuals and the scriptures to assist in teaching them. And because of these things, we would like you to be their new teacher, since we know you will give them your best.

Starting with the Why, then the How, then the What. We started the last 2 days doing that in tracting:

Because of our love for the Savior, and also our fellowmen, we have elected to spend 2 years in SC to serve you. Our message about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ has changed many lives, and can change yours, too, and takes just a few minutes to share. We'd love to come in now and share it with you, or come back at a better time.

Compared to:

Hi, we're missionaries and we have a message from Jesus. Can we share it?

Cool stuff!

That's the week. Oh yeah, Pres Topham is about 3 inches shorter than Pres Holm (who I thought was my height). So when they stood up by each other Pres T said "You just wanna stand by me so you can feel tall!" Pres H concurred and said "It's a rare occasion, indeed. The only other time I get this is when I stand by Elder Seaver." He called me out! Haha. So next interviews I'm going to bring a tape measure and check. :p

Love y'all so much!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

We, the W. Columbia Zone, all get to go to the Temple!!!!

Dear loved ones,

The O.s were baptized this week! It was amazing! They are awesome, and the ward loves them! So cool! That also put Gilbert at 6 baptisms this month, the Lexington district at 7, and the W. Columbia zone at 21. That was our zone goal for this month. That is the first time a zone has hit it's goal since President Holm has been here. That means.... We, the W. Columbia zone, all get to go to the temple!!!! :D

Things are going awesome! We are having a blast! Elder Horne is awesome, and incredibly sincere about everything. I am learning so much from him and from PMG as we study it together. Training quickly helps you notice what you stink at and improve. Haha.

Say yes to both those friend requests.

Sometimes as we tract lately we get shunned away so people can watch the Olympics. It's kinda frustrating, cause they're on solid for what, 2 weeks? The Super bowl and the Daytona, etc., are just for a few hours. But the Olympics are seemingly endless.... But yeah, I would LOVE some updates. It's nice to know, but it's even better to know what's going on in the sports-world (something incredibly important to the South Kakalakites) and be able to relate.

I do not know the Kim Anderson story... Care to explain? Skillz yo!

Awesome about Sean's eagle! We attended a court of honor for a young man here named J. who just got his. It is such a blessing in your life, and no one will ever say the words, "I regret getting my Eagle." It just doesn't happen. It's too awesome! Way to go Sean. We also got to talk to some RLDS people there (I think I told you about them already. They are friends with J.'s family), and P., the wife, showed me her "Priesthood ordination to the office of Priest" certificate from way back when it was the RLDS church, and the new one from the Community of Christ. 

Hurricane season? Haven't heard a word about it. Interesting. We get awesome thunder and lightning storms every night during the summer, and a lot of random 20-minute deluges, but no hurricanes as far as I know. When I was in Aiken a tornado hit the south end of our area, but that's as close as it's ever been :p

So there is a girl in the ward, M. R. (the R.s are awesome) and she gave us her pink guitar yesterday. Haha. Fun fun fun- I love the guitar!

Well, that's the week.

Oh yeah, who is Hecatonchier, and how do you pronounce it?

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Got Tagged by the Heat

Dear Mom,

Wow training is awesome! I am learning so much! I kinda got dammed up with my learning- I was still learning as I studied, just not very much. I felt like I basically knew what I needed to know, but training has humbled me. Elder Horne is so much more prepared for his mission than I was! He has genuine charity and love for the people, and he has a sincere desire to serve the Lord! Contrary to how I felt when I came out (Star Child, awesome, the best- in short, prideful), he is humble, teachable, and prepared to be amazing! We are working so hard and being obedient! The O. family, M., L., C., and A., are all getting baptized this Saturday morning! Pray for 'em please!

So I was pondering this week, and I think I made a discovery. Abraham was promised his seed would be numbered as what? The stars. How many tribes of Israel are there? 12. How many Zodiacs are there? 12. I wonder if the Zodiac constellations were originally signs for the different tribes of Israel? Hmm. Interesting indeed.

So get this, on Wednesday when we were driving from the mission home to the church (Elder Horne and I were in our car, and Sister Lundholm and her trainer Sister Brand were in the van with the assistants. We were following them 'cause we didn't know the way or have my GPS), I was trying to catch up to the van after a light. I was going 43 in a 30 and got tagged by the heat. So, what did I do? Evaded, drove like a maniac, and eluded the law! J/k. I got pulled over. So when he walked up, before he could say anything I used some knowledge I've gained on my mission to win him over to my way of thinking. I said "Officer, I am so sorry. I know I was speeding. You see, we are new to town and we're following that van there. We got separated and I was trying to catch up. But that is no excuse, I was speeding and I deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. Here is my license. I am sorry." He said, "I'm sorry, sir. I'll be right back." He walked back to his car, and glanced at us (I saw in the mirror) with a confused look. I said a silent prayer, he soon returned. "Young man," he said with a softer, kinder tone than before, "I understand how it is being new in town. I'll let you off with this official warning (he hands me a paper), and where is it you were trying to get to?" He then offered me directions and sent us along with a merry smile. 

For those who are nerds like I, you may appreciate this- Elder Horne was praying for us one evening and offered up his thanks to the Lord for this opportunity to be "Padawan and Master" :D

Anyway, that was our week in Gilbert. As per answer, yes I will be in Gilbert for another 3 months- my longest stint so far in an area. Good thing Gilbert is amazing! :D

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

I Love Being a Missionary!

Dear mom,

This week has been nutz.

Monday night we got a phone call from President Holm. A missionary had to go home early for something, so Elder Stanley got emergency transferred to Ridgeway, SC, leaving me alone in Gilbert. I have been a travelling hobo between Lexington, Lake Murray, and Gilbert. So I have had 3 areas and 4 companions this week. It has been way fun! I have been sleeping on their couch the whole week (all of 'em live in the same apartment), leaving our poor trailer empty.. Still, with all this chaos, the Lord blessed the Gilbert ward. The O. Family is going to get baptized this month, and a lady the ward has been working on for ages (W. E., I may have mentioned her before. Her daughter is 13 or so and is a recent convert) actually came to church for once! It was awesome! R. was ordained to the office of priest yesterday, too. I ordained him. So when I get back to the trailer I will have to grab my line of authority and give him his. That is so cool!

To add to the chaos, right before bed Saturday night I was straightening the sheets. What climbs out of the couch? A brown recluse. No big. We killed it-with Raid. And also, yesterday I was with Lexington Elders Cooper and Burchfield and their investigator took us to church with her. Do you remember NewSpring church from Anderson? The one that uses poker chips as tracts, and is totally the great and spacious building-  We went to the Columbia campus. We listened to the band have a little concert, then the preacher was broadcast from Anderson around the 8 campuses. It was full of false doc. Haha. Some of it was accurate though. It was a good message about hope and friendship. Just, the Holy Ghost was missing...

So I was pondering this week and realized I left a card that has all the priesthood blessings on it and some things that hold your tie to your shirt at home. Grandma Seaver gave 'em to me for my birthday before I left, and I totally forgot to pack 'em... Dang.

There is a 11-year-old boy, C.J. D. R., in the Lexington ward (the D. R. take us places on P-days and cut our hair and are just awesome). Can you send me my Pokemon Black version so I can give it to him? It's a DS game.

Lake Murray baptized a 25-year-old guy named C. from Ghana this week. We have the same birthday. In Ghana you are given an English name, and a name for the day of the week you were born on, which the other Ghanans refer to you by. I was born on a Wednesday, so my name is Kwaku. That's what they would call me in Ghana. Cool beans!

I found a great verse to send to people who don't write me back. Alma 60:6 

And now behold, we desire to know the cause of this exceedingly great neglect; yea, we desire to know the cause of your thoughtless state. 

So did I mention I'm training this transfer? I'm going to the mission home tonight in Irmo to meet my trainee. Usually trainers go on Tuesday for a little training, and go out for a day with a random trainee, then get their actual companion Wednesday (I happened to have the same guy both Tues and Wed). But for some reason they are having me drive up and meet my trainee tonight. I'm way excited! In the mission field your trainer is "dad" and you are his "son." So if your trainer trains 6 guys, he has 6 sons, and the sons are all brothers. Ya dig? So, since I'm "giving birth" tonight, I think I'm going to buy a bib and a binky to give to him. Haha. :p And then something actually nice, from the Palmetto Gifts corner in WalMart. I'm so excited right now!

That's it for this week.

Love y'all tremendously!

I Love being a missionary!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Best Week of My Mission to Date

Dear Mom,

This week rocked. Hands down. Best week of my mission to date. T. H. and R. G. both got baptized! President Holm interviewed Rick for baptism on the 4th, so he and Sister Holm came. They were surprised we had 2 baptisms instead of just the 1 haha. It was awesome! They both really love the Lord and the Gospel and are loved by the ward. We also have a family of 4 we are teaching who are looking really solid to be baptized (hopefully this month!).

We have been having a great time this week. We went to good will and I found a suit coat for district meetings (that way I don't have to put on my suit and change out of it after. I can just throw on my slacks and this coat). It's an old commercial airline pilot jacket, with the stripes on the wrists and all :p It's solid black though, so it's not too flashy haha.

I found out that the Marshes (Bro and Sis Marsh hop back and forth between their home in Yuma, AZ, and their son's house here. They are ward missionaries, so we go out with 'em pretty often) served a mission in Zambia South Africa, the same mission Addison Shurtz is in. Pretty cool connection.

To answer your question, we usually email about 10:30 here. So 8:30 AM there. As for transfers- the 18th is the next one. Who knows what will happen. And as for the 4th, we were alseep when the fireworks were happening. Haha. We played ocarina/ukulele combo songs pretty much the entire 4 1/2 hours of lockdown :p

That pretty much wraps up the week for me.

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

HUGE Chunks of Hail

Dear mom,

This week was interesting. We had a large pool of investigators. By Sunday morning we had to drop half of them (not keeping commitments, ditched out on church, etc.). However, we did have 7 people come to church! The Harbors, the neighbors who let us SKYPE y'all from their home, brought a family of 4 with them- the O.'s. They are awesome! They are totally pumped to continue coming to church and be baptized! Sis O was raised Nazarene and had many questions that were answered for her at church. Bro Bryant, our WML, who teaches Sunday school for our class, is so inspired and always hits on things people need to hear! It's awesome! Great week!

I'm supposed to ask y'all how boxing training is going. Bishop Oldham sent me a letter. Elaborate?

Yeah we got the package. AND LOVED IT! Thanks :D

The Ocarina- not at all like a harmonica (P.S. yes I have mine, no music though). It's more like a flute. In fact, I think it's called a "potato flute" or something like that as well. I was wondering, what do nice Ocarinas cost these days? Mine is really poor quality haha. It was way cheap, so it don't play no high notes. :(

We had a crazy weather week this week, too. It was about 113 one day, and yesterday it hit 109, then within an hour dropped to the 70s and hailed HUGE chunks of hail. No worries, we were indoors. It was NUTZ.

So, 4 July. Lockdown will occur. We have to be in by 6 PM and done for the day.

That about wraps up this week. SO AWESOME!

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver