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A day in the life of a Fort Worth missionary. . . as posted by his parents

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Strong Till the Finish - 8/26/13

Dear Mom and dad,
Sorry for the short letter today. Today has been rather hectic and we have found a little time to email. It is super exciting to see the progress of our new home and it will be wonderful to have Christmas there as a family.  It will be wonderful! I bet that your talks on Sunday were amazing and that there was a lot learned from the expiriences that you were able to share.
Elder Young and I have had a wonderful week. We were able to find many new investigators and others to start teaching. One is the fiancé of a less active member. They both showed up to church on Sunday and we will get to meet her children on Wednesday and begin teaching them too! I have started to crack down on my studies and hope to be finished in the Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel before December. It is starting to get real that December is approaching soon and I do not have time to waste. I love serving here as a missionary and I am very greatful for the protection that the Lord provide for his missionaries.
 There is another car in our zone this week so next Monday we will not have to drive other Elders around and we should have more time to email.
Love,
Elder Nathaniel Shoemaker
PS Elder Andersen of the 12 is coming to address us in September!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Countdown begins...

Hello Everyone,

We just received Elder Shoemaker's flight itinerary.  He gets home in 16 weeks.  I guess they wanted to be sure we had plenty of notice for when he gets home.  We're counting the days.

Yipee!!

Denise

5 member family Baptism!!!

Dear Mom and Dad,
It was an amazing week. The Rongey family was baptized on Saturday! It was so amazing. Bro. Rongey asked if I would perform the baptisms for the whole family. 5 in a row. It was so spiritual to see the family take this step all together. Bro and Sis Rongey were the first to be baptized. The children followed. Bro and Sis Rongey both wept with tears of joy. This was definitely a dream missionary moment. They will be going to the temple in a year to be sealed as a family and I will definitely be there for that!
This week we also had a couple break through lessons with those we are teaching so there will continue to be those who make the step of baptism here in the Arlington 6th ward. Elder Young and I are doing great. I love serving with him. He is very enthusiastic and is enduring to the end. We get along great and it is amazing to watch how the spirit takes part in our teaching together. Like you said dad there are heavenly messengers helping with the work of salvation.
I bet Miki is very impressed with the quality work that has been done to make her house a home. It also sounds like our new home is coming along great. There are a couple neighborhoods in our area that are growing day by day. They remind me of where we will be moving and as I see these homes building the spirit whispers to me how the decision of the building of our new home is right.
I am happy to hear about the many opportunities that y'all have to teach and minister and feel the spirit directing your teaching. It is such an amazing feeling. I love being a missionary and being able to do it each day. The church tour this evening sounds wonderful.  I encourage y'all to think of one or two people you can send the missionaries to whether they are members who are struggling or non-members. You should tell the missionaries to go by the Slocombe's neighbor (to the right) who's lawn I mowed. I believe his name is Randy and he lives on the left side of the duplex. I am sure he can use service as he is a disabled vet and I believe he would be willing to listen. I talked with him about serving a mission and he was very intrigued.
I bet Justin is excited to be driving and I bet his lesson was great! What did he do for his Eagle Scout project?
I love y'all so much. This is one of my favorites lds.org videos not sure if I sent it to y'all before but just in case. http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages#the-will-of-god
Love Elder Nathaniel Shoemaker

Monday, August 12, 2013

August 12, 2013 -

Dear Mom and Dad,
 
It sounds like there are a lot of changes happening at home because of the move. I did not think of all the little things that are happening such as the paper routes and little things like speaker wires. It sound like the house is going up very well and that there are so many choice to customize the home to our liking. 

I did get to see the new video and it was so amazing.  I am grateful for all the things that can be learned in the temple. I am planning to go every week when I get back. I love the temple when it is so close you need to take advantage of it.
 
This last week was so amazing. Bro Rongey called us and asked if he could set a date for their baptism. The whole family is getting baptized this saturday and they are getting interviewed tonight in preparation.
 
Elder Young is my new companion. I will fill you in more next week. the guy on the computer in front of me is watching inappropriate videos and I don't want to be around that.  I know that is what you would want me to do. 

Thank y'all for caring so much for me so much.
 
Love Elder Shoemaker

July, 2013 New Mission President

  • 130711_li_faithb_ames_01-2
    Rodney Allen, and Kimberlee Jensen Ames
    Texas Fort Worth Mission
    Rodney Allen Ames, 45, and Kimberlee Jensen Ames, four children, Liberty 1st Ward, Liberty Missouri Stake.
    Brother Ames is a counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishopric counselor, ward mission leader, and missionary in the California San Diego Mission. Attorney/partner, Withers, Brant, Igoe, & Mullennix, P.C. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to George Allen and Ulla-Maija Halonen Ames.
    Sister Ames is a stake Young Women camp director and former stake Young Women secretary, ward Young Women president, ward Primary president, ward Sunday School teacher, and seminary teacher. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Russell Winslow Jensen and Ida Delores Kennedy Jensen.

    Rodney Ames, a Liberty attorney, has accepted a three-year assignment from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the president of the Texas Fort Worth Mission.
    As mission president, Ames will lead more than 250 missionaries, helping them to build their faith and effectively teach the gospel. He will also help the missionaries to be more involved in community service within the areas where they are assigned.
    Ames’ wife, Kimberlee, and two of their four children, Jessica and Jacob, will accompany him on this assignment. Two older sons, Alex and Isaac, are students at Brigham Young University.
    When asked why he and his family would make such a big sacrifice, both of time and financial resources, Ames said, “Because of my faith in Jesus Christ. If I did not know that it is what God wants us to do, I would not have the strength to make the sacrifice.”
    Ames has been actively involved in many areas of the Liberty community. He is a partner in the local firm of Withers, Brant, Igoe, and Mullenix. He also is a member of the Liberty Ministerial Alliance and Liberty Chamber of Commerce, has helped to organize Liberty Preparedness Fairs, and has been on the Clay County Airport Advisory Committee.
    Ames grew up in the Uintah Basin area of Utah. After graduating from Altamont High School, he was a missionary in the San Diego area for two years. During this time, his parents moved to Missouri, so Ames has lived in the metro area for more than years.
    He received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
    Kimberlee Ames graduated from Kearney High School. She has worked as a volunteer parent in the Liberty school district.
    Both Alex and Isaac Ames, have spent two years on missions. Isaac recently returned from the Chile Concepcion Mission.
    When he was asked what advice he would give his father as mission president, he had three things to say: “First, obedience with exactness brings miracles. Don’t settle for anything less. Second, remember that it is your mission. Use your inspiration. And, third, help your missionaries to grow by having high trust, high expectations, then train and retrain.”

Understand the Purpose - Then you have the Power August 5th, 2013

Dear Dad and Mom,
 
I will be staying here in Arlington probably for another three months. Elder Young is my new companion and only has six weeks left so he will come here for his last transfer with me and I will then get another companion and be here 6 more weeks! (most likely) Elder Russell is going to serve in Killeen as a Zone Leader next to the area he was trained in. This last week we also have a third missionary with us - Elder Beckstrand. I will send a picture of us next week. Elder Beckstrand will be training a new missionary and we are very excited for him. I am sad that Elder Russell will be leaving but I know the Lord is in charge of where we go.
'
Jace, Collin, and Abigail Gormley were baptized and confirmed this last week! It was a wonderful baptismal service. Most of their family are members, so there were plenty of friends there to support and encourage them.
 
Thank you dad for all the house pictures. I really enjoy them and it makes me feel like I am part of the progress. I am astonished at how fast it has gone up and I am excited to see how the inside turns out. You can never send too many pictures. That is really cool that you got out on the mountain [Badger] so much this last month and I bet you were excited when you were able to get back into the water.
 
I am so excited for Jacob.  I cannot picture him anywhere else besides Argentina now. Tell him congratulations for me. He will do a great job and he will be a great spanish speaker.
 
Thank you dad for the scripture. One thing that stood out to me as I read what you said is that we must also enlist our Heavenly Fathers help too, through prayer.
 
We had a meeting with President Ames last week and I wanted to share it. He said "Live the rule till you understand the purpose. When you then understand the purpose you will have power" Some times the Lord requires us to do things we do not understand. If we do them though, we will find out the purpose and are promised power. This definitely applies to missionaries and I have seen the power that comes when we live and understand the rules.
 
Thank you mom and dad for expecting me to live a virtuous life.  It has really prepared me to be the Lord's missionary.
 
Love,
 
Elder Nathaniel Shoemaker

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Workings of the Lord - Amazing!

Dear Mom and Dad,
 
I would say my favorite way to help people to see the workings of the Lord in peoples live is by discerning their concerns and committing them to read chapters in the Book Of Mormon to help address the concerns. It is so powerful when people can learn on their own by the spirit. I love it when we follow up on commitments and see the things the spirit has for them.
 
I do have sunscreen and we are making sure to stay safe with the hot temperatures. We make sure to drink plenty of water too. I did get some new ties and I will have plenty of stories for each tie. Transfers are coming up next Wednesday. I'm not sure on who is going where though. Elder Russell will most likely be going. We will actually have an extra missionary with us this week as his companion is leaving a week early for school. Also I am writing today because we had to change our preparation day to today because we went to the temple. It was such a great experience of receiving revelation and feeling the spirit.
 
I saw Sunday evening as we emailed in reports for the week that there were house pictures, so I was eager to see the progress today. I was shocked when I saw how fast the house went up! It looks huge and beautiful. It sounds like y'all are as excited as me to see the progress. I am glad to heat that y'all got to take a little excursion and relax a little. Ha ha.
 
This past week was exciting. There will be a baptism this Saturday at 7:30!  We are very happy for the step that the Gormley kids will be making. We had a very cool experience with Collin Gormley this week. He has been not very enthusiastic and has been depressed with his parents separation. We went over two nights ago and his countenance has changed significantly. He is excited to be baptized with his brother and sister. I love seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ taking part in his life. Also the Rongey's said they are ready to be baptized! We went over for our lesson on Monday night and Bro. Rongey said they are ready, and are just trying to get family members in town so they can come take part of the special occasion. There are also a couple other investigators that we are working with that are progressing towards baptism too
 
I have restarted in the Book of Mormon and hope to finish it before December. I have decided to study it focusing on things I learn from the people in the BOM on how I can be a better missionary. I will definitely have plenty on insights to share as the weeks go by.
 
I love y'all so much and love hearing from you each week!
 
Love,
Elder Shoemaker