Time is Blowing Past Like Crazy!

Dear Mom,

This week flew by. Time is blowing past like crazy! We had a crazy time going and visiting less-actives all week. We had 1 non-member at church (that's about average for me so far on my mission), but we had 5 less-actives! That's a ton! The way I see it, a baptism is just as good as a reactivation right? So even though it doesn't count as a key indicator, I still feel like Father in Heaven is pretty pleased with our efforts this week.

So I forgot to take pictures of the last baptisms... Good thing I'm not a sentimental person ha-ha..

Elder Kerr made me an awesome belt pouch for my mini- Book of Mormon I got. It is awesome to tract around with it, not having to carry anything! It's just all there on my belt. Only problem is -now I feel like a janitor with all the keys and stuff on my belt ha-ha.

We were tracting around this pond the other day when what did we behold? A crane. The only crane I've ever seen in real life! The animal kind, not the construction kind. It flew to the opposite side of the pond as we passed by it, so we chased it a bit to try and get it to fly again. It didn't. It just trotted happily around and around. It was pretty cool!

I was wondering if I could get the following items sent to me- the lyrics to the song Shenandoah, and a recipe for scones. Random? Maybe. Useful? Definitely.

Well the only other thing of consequence this week is that I found some SWEET pants at TJ Max last Monday. They are tighter than the normal pants (you know how I like my tight pants) and they are grey. They are currently the only proselyting clothing I own that isn't black. Hah.

That's it this week.                 

Love y'all so stinkin much!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

P.S. Yes I got my absentee ballot to vote. I had no idea who anyone was but Romney- Ha-ha. So I just prayed for guidance and picked the people I felt prompted. Whoa look at that alliteration (the repetition of initial consonant sounds).  Picked.  People.  Prompted.  Posture.  Postage.  Pancake.  Puke.

Done.

James - Just remembered this li'l fact. Last night we got permission and had a district sleepover! It was way fun! We still went to bed mostly on time and got up on time, but it was fun. Elder Cooper is going home in a few weeks, so they let us have some fun time before he dies. Anyway. Just a fun fact. :)

Mom - I assume you meant does and not dies

James - Nah, it's mission lingo. You're Born, your trainer is yo’ daddy, you get old, and you die when you go home. I meant dies :)

James - So our district is going over to play pokemon cards with a member today for p day. I don't want to buy a deck for no reason. Do you think it's worth $10 to play 3 times and possibly never again? Let me know what you think before we leave. I want to just for fun, but I don't want to waste money. I have wasted a lot of money on crap I used once in my life..

Mom - Buy and enjoy!  Everyone needs a little splurge now and then.. Have fun and laugh and kick back a little....  I choose you Pikachu

James - Remember that one time nearly last year where we were on the computer at the same time? That made me so trunky. Ha-ha I was like "Shoot dang if I talk to you anymore mom I will cry and go home..." Ha-ha. Now it's like "Eh, it's just 11 1/2 more months." 

A Vision of the South

Dear Family,

So, this weekend W. E., C. F., and T. W. were all baptized and confirmed! Elder Horne and I both also got to do our first confirmations, I on C. and he on T. It was an awesome experience seeing these 2 part-member families be completed. Well... mostly completed. There are still a few more family members to harvest. We're working on it. W. bore her testimony at the end of the baptismal service and it was so powerful! She made all the ladies cry and all the men pretend not to care so they didn't start crying, too. It was awesome! W. has been investigating for over 2 years now. Her daughter C. was baptized last year. W. had had a testimony for quite some time, but she just couldn't quit smoking. So... We gave her a blessing. Just a few days later she got way sick. I don't know what is wrong with her, but basically the doctor said that if she smoked another cigarette she would kick the bucket. So... She quit! Not what we had in mind at all, but she was able to quit and get baptized, so it worked out for the better. How cool is that?! Haha.

Thanks for the birthday package, it rocked! It was a perfect pump-up and I am verrry thankful to all y'all! :D

Jenni- I can't believe that thing you sent me had 8 stamps ha-ha! That's the most I've ever seen :p

Oh man, the Vision of the South by Vaughn J. Featherstone. I hung that up on our wall. It is so cool! Every missionary here has that given to them in a little "orientation handbook" when they first arrive, so it's fun to have a big one up on the wall as a constant reminder!

A Vision of the South

 President Spencer W Kimball stated, "Make no small plans: They have no magic to stir man's souls."  "This is the vision I have for the South. I believe that one day the South will baptize more people into the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together.""There are great hosts of marvelous Baptists, and members of the Church of Christ, Methodists and Catholics who are honorable people, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. As they see the church veering off to the right or to the left of those basic teachings, they will begin to search for the truth. And as pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence, we will see the time when we will baptize hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands. In your day you will see a million members of the church in the South. There will be Temples plural in the South States. What a great call you have to serve with these marvelous people.""These missionaries love the South. We are making great strides and expect to continue."

Talk given by Vaughn J. Featherstone, April 30, 1984

So.. I think I am now going bald, too. I have a little bit of the forehead extensions going on that dad has. Ha-ha... HA.

Time flies.

I love y'all so much!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Happy Birthday Elder Seaver

Dear mom,

First of all, tell Kandy happy birthday for me! 

This week was interesting. We had interviews/another round of the No More Strangers Firesides by President and Sister Holm on Wednesday- it was great! So many people came to the fireside and felt the Spirit as a recent convert of just a week bore fervent testimony of the restoration. It was so awesome to hear her (a 20ish year old who was baptized merely 4 days previous) testify of the Prophet Joseph and the Savior in such a pure way. I love the gospel! It's so true!

Also, time to recruit prayers. Please pray for W., C. and T., and Elder Horne and me this week. Those 3 sisters are all scheduled to be baptized the end of this week, but we are crunched for time and need some real miracles for everything to pull through. So. Pray for us please! :D

So yeah, my year mark and my birthday. I will say just a few lines to appease you mom, but I'm not really happy about how fast time is going. Sister Pratt made me brownies, which are delectable! I also got a cake-thing from Sisters Fastnaught and Brooks which is fantastic! The door of our trailer was decorated by the Da Rosas from the Lexington ward, (I took pictures)! And many others sang and wished me the best. I am no longer a teenager. Weird. And I will say as a final note, no matter what you wish mom, I wish I could stay another year at least out here. It is too amazing! It's hard, don't get me wrong, but it is SO worth it! It's a weird feeling being on the downhill slope, but I try not to think about it....

I'm so glad Sean got his Eagle. He is my best friend and I am so glad he is having success and joy in his life! Sean- you are a stud if there ever was one! Even if you do have a mullet.. Haha.

*Disclaimer- this is all my opinion, not doctrine*

So I was doing some studies this morning, as usual, when I happened across an idea. So when Father Lehi left Jerusalem he traveled East across the continent to the Indian Ocean (not all the way across China, just to the li'l gulf-looking part of the Middle-East) and sailed East to the Pacific Ocean and then to Central America (if they had gone any other way they would have been spotted and killed). Well, with that in mind, I offer the following:

3 Nephi 1:3  Then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people.

 and 

3 Nephi 2:9 And Nephi, who was the father of Nephi, who had the charge of the records, did not return to the land of Zarahemla, and could nowhere be found in all the land.

both state that Nephi (son of Helaman, son of Helaman, son of Alma, son of Alma who was a descendant of Nephi) disappeared just before Christ's birth and was never heard from again. Well. Here we go. Speculation time. What direction did the Wise Men come from that visited Jesus 2ish years after his birth? The East. So, if this said Nephi followed his Fathers' route back to the Holy Land, he would have come from.. the... East. Right? So. What if- WHAT IF- this very Nephi was one of those Wise Men? Yeah. Just some food for thought.

Take pictures of your hikes please? I miss mountains, and maybe it'll keep your mind off the pain? But I am verrrry impressed by you two. I still think how crazy you are for hiking the Grand Canyon. People die there! (Mostly from peeing off the edge, but still...) My dear parents are the bravest, most awesome people anyone could ever wish to have for parents! Hands down. FACT.

I love y'all so much!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Once in a Blue Moon

For those interested readers:  This Friday 7 Sept 12 will be the one year mark for James.  This Sunday 9 Sept 12 will be his 20th birthday.  Though the time has gone by faster than his dad and I thought- it has in no way "flown by" for us, but I sure am glad it has for him.  We love our little missionary and are thankful to all of you who have supported him with your prayers, letters, packages and good thoughts.  

Dear mom,

Wow time has flown............................ I have very little to report today. This week just flew by and went pretty much average. We taught lots, we have a few people preparing for baptism this week. Standard missionary stuff. Haha.

I watched President Monson's birthday celebration which was AWESOME! I love Broadway music as of now. Haha. I will thoroughly enjoy watching all the Broadway stuff I can get my filthy hands on...

Question.. What/where/when/whatever were those car show pictures you sent me? Who was that old guy singing?

I found out what the term "once in a blue moon" means. I guess a blue moon is the 2nd full moon in any given month. That happened last month, and supposedly won't happen again till like 2017. So once in a blue moon is quite the time!

Anyways. Honestly. Least eventful week of my mission to date- That's really it.

Since it's Labor day and the library is closed we have the kind consent of the Da Rosa family to email at their home. After this we will be going around town and eating at a restaurant called Ryan’s. Then for the evening a less-active family invited us over. It will be great!

I am about to be an old man. Holy cow.....

I love being a missionary!!

Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

P.S. To answer your question mom - 1 Corinthians chapter 15 teaches the plan of salvation.

This was a service project we did on Saturday- helping with the Fastnaughts'

(Jack and Diane) do their adopt-a-highway cleanup.

This is the fly-in community I told y'all about.

Another example of what a small but committed group can accomplish!

Holy Moses. Time Flies so Fast...

Dear mom,

Holy Moses. Time flies so fast...

This week was good. We had a sweet miracle with the ward here getting together and providing a car for one of our investigators! How cool is that! They got her a car so she can come to church and bring her daughter (a thirteen-year-old who was baptized a year ago- she's the only member in her family) to mutual, etc. She will be getting baptized soon, and her 7-year-old son is way stinkin’ pumped to get baptized in December- when he's 8. We also had a great lesson with R. L., R. G.'s future stepson, on Sunday about the Plan of Happiness. There are a lot of good things happening. It's just taking time. Everyone is so busy lately, what with school, one of our investigators is getting married, and other things like that. I love being a missionary!

We talked to a guy and he said the most ridiculous things. There is this preacher who has a show called Shepherd's Chapel or something who had the most far-out theories ever. For example, he says: On the 6th day of creation, God created all the different races, on the 7th He rested, and on the 8th He created Adam and Eve- the white people, the best race. Then during the flood with Noah he supposedly actually says that Noah took 2 of every flesh, meaning of course every animal, but also meaning 2 Chinese, 2 Egyptian, 2 Korean, etc. WHAT A JOKE!!!! I can't believe how all these people blatantly blaspheme and make up their own garbage! Adam and Eve were the first people on this earth. And contrary to what this guy believes, they fell and were expelled from the Garden of Eden on violation of a type of the Word of Wisdom, not what people call "original sin." Eve, the blessed mother of our race, did NOT, by any means, transgress the law of chastity- not with Adam, not with "the serpent." How dare anyone insult our first parents? Honor thy Father and thy Mother. Sheesh. I'm getting sick of all the doctrine of the devil out here.

Ok, I'm done venting.

There was this program on Thursday about Mormons I guess. I don't know if it was nation-wide or just local. Did y'all see it? They had one of the Huntsman girls talk all about it. Sheesh, ask a less active what we believe why don't ya! Anyway, we hear it was pretty good except for a few little things here and there. But anyway, because of this we have been getting a few strange questions. For example, we were asked by this nice RLDS couple we've been talking with the following question: "I hope this doesn't sound personal, but are you wearing funny underwear right now that you didn't buy at the store?" This question illuminated my mind to the fact that what sets us apart as a religion is summed up in one word. Covenants. We make covenants with Father in Heaven. No one else seems to do that! Interesting. Anyway, the response, "um..." awkward pause "no. They're not funny. They're just a reminder of covenants we've made. They're an outward expression of an inner commitment to follow Jesus Christ. But it's not something far-out no one does. Jewish men wear Yarmulkes, Catholics wear their robes, we just wear ours underneath.” And that settled that”. Then they asked us all kinds of other questions which led ultimately to them lending us a book about the history of Joseph Smith, Jr. It's less-than-accurate, but interesting nonetheless to read what our counterparts believe about our Prophet.

Well. Anyways. That is really the gist of the week. I do have a question though. What is considered normal for the size of a baby? What is small? What is big? People keep talking about these 8-9 lb babies they're having. Is that big? I dunno.

So anywho. Love y'all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

Congrats Elders and Sisters on making it to the Temple this last month! 

Keep up the hard work! Continue to Love those you teach, your companion and your mission!

Love Y'all,

The Assistants

I'm Not Ready to go Home - I Want to Start Over Again

Dear mom,

 

You are trunkier than I am! I was just thinking "Oh no... Because of going home 3-ish weeks early for school that means I'm about a year from having to go home. I'm not ready to go home. I want to start over again. I love being here, and I don't want it to end.........." and then I read your li'l shpeal at the end saying "oh counting down now instead of up ladedadedatrunkytrunkytrunky." Ha.

 

Speaking of school, while we're on the subject. I have a research project for you. Look up when the semester next fall will be starting and figure out about registration and all that so I can stay out here the maximum time possible. Crazy to think about, but it's time to start those pieces in motion. BARF!

 

This week was pretty strange. We had a less-than-awesome week last week, so we worked way harder this week and doubled and tripled most of our key indicators. The only one we didn't improve on was people at church. But they didn't just ditch out- they told us the previous few days they wouldn't be there this week. So that was nice of them. Except for one investigator who was supposed to be baptized this coming weekend. She ditched. So we will probably be waiting to baptize her till she is more committed. Sad to have to delay blessings for people, but we can't just baptize people who aren't ready for it. What's that scripture say "it's better for you to have never known me than to have known me and turned away" or summin like 'at.

 

Thanks for the updates on my friends. I pray for them a lot and hope the best for 'em. Glad to hear Tyler is on a mission! I can't believe no one told me that... Hmph. Did I ever tell you Alex Jensen wrote me a letter? It was nice, and I sent my first-ever letter across the ocean in reply. He's in England now. CRAZY how time flies!!!!!! I can't believe how long I've been out here. It feels like I just got to Gilbert yesterday. And I feel like I just left Anderson. I don't even feel like I was in Aiken for longer than a drive through anymore. It all mushes together. But the one thing I never forget about any area is the people who followed their Savior and the Spirit I felt with them. That's the stuff that sticks with you. That's the stuff that really matters.

 

This is the beginning of the last week of the transfer. Most likely what will happen is we will both stay here in Gilbert another transfer. Training missionaries is done with "The First 12 Weeks" booklet now. So it's pretty rare and unusual that the trainer and trainee would be separated during that. In fact, it's only happened once in our mission, with Sister Chai and her trainer Sister Johnson. Sis Chai came out with me. They had to move her on to another companion because that girl was struggling and Sister Johnson was needed to train again. Pretty cool. It's weird cause Sis Chai was trained here in Gilbert. So I could be brushing my teeth in the very room she once hairsprayed her hair... Weird thought. Moving on.

 

2 other things that you might like mom:

 

1) I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but I think I found pressure points in dogs that, when pressed, knock the dog flat on their back so you can pet 'em and love 'em and they can't bite or run :p I also think now that I may just be cutting off the circulation to their brain. Vulcan dog grip.

 

2) There are 8 billion bats that fly around us every night. You'd love it! They're everywhere and they're fast. Way cool! Also, Bro Bryant showed us that if you hold a pug upside-down so it's ears point downward their face looks like a bat's face. It's hilarious! Hahaha.

 

Love ya mom! Quit counting the days! You will make it go slower!

That's about it this week. Love y'all a ton!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Seaver

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