Proselyting and Cocoa - November 25, 2013

Dear Mom and Dad,

Our home is getting homier and homier every day. I am sure it is looking fantastic. I cannot even believe that we have a new home though. I will definitely be shocked when I see it for real evening though I have seen all the pictures. I am very very excited for all of the activities that Justin has been able to participate in. They all seem like great uses of time and he is really surrounding himself with great people. He seems to stay very busy and enjoys singing. I am very excited to hear is singing voice and see his funky hair Ha Ha! Sunday sounded very busy and it sounds like the talks that all y'all were able to give were excellent. The moving of the shed sounds like it was similar to when we moved our trampoline from Douglass to Jadwin. That was a sight to see. The Forte poster looks great! Did you do that Dad? Also thank you for my topic.  I am very excited for the topic and I have had ideas running around my head since I read it.

This week has been great. We were able to find five more new investigators this week! We are building up our teaching pool and Elder Sheeran and I are very excited for the growth they have made already and the growth that they will continue to make. Here is an experience of one of the five we found this week. A little bit of background- two weeks ago a member of our ward told us he has a friend that is interested in the church. We made efforts to contact the referral "Jake" but were unsuccessful. The next week at a YSA ward function this member brought Jake and we were able to meet him and introduce ourselves. We were unable to schedule a return appointment because of a work schedule. Anyway this week there was another activity called "Meet the Mormons" and Jake was there. The first hour of the activity was a "mix and mingle" with food and was followed by a lesson with Q&A. As we mingled we talked with Jake and set up to meet with him afterwards. The activity was great and the lesson we had was amazing. We are very excited for him and the opportunity we will have to keep teaching him.

Elder Sheeran is doing great. It has been a privileged to serve with him and help him learn his responsibilities as a Zone Leader.  This morning  I thought about how I really enjoy being his companion and am grateful for the Lord allowing me to serve with Elder Sheeran here in Denton. I am doing great. I understand that the time I do have here is not much longer. We are staying busy and I am thankful for the Lords help in remaining focused. This morning in my studies I read about covenants and pondered on the blessing we have as members to make covenants with our Heavenly Father. I know that they are necessary for our spiritual growth and I am very grateful for that strength that comes from our Heavenly Father when we make promises with him.  

This week is going to be great. It may be a little slow as most of those we teach will be home for the holidays. On Tuesday though, we will be hosting a free speech booth, meaning we will be on one of the college campuses with a booth with Hot Cocoa. It basically allows us to proselyte in a designated area on campus. We did this two weeks ago and it was amazing. We have found multiple investigators from it and we get to talk to hundreds of people. It is a very neat experience. We will be having Thanksgiving dinner with our ward mission leader on Thursday and we will have the opportunity to teach Sunday school on Sunday!

This week I read a  conference talk that I wanted to share with y'all  Richard G Scott talks about the armies that fight throughout the book of Alma and how they built up their walls so high that the Lamanites could not cast stones or shoot arrows over the wall. Elder Scott relates this to us and protecting ourselves against temptation and he teaches ways to build our fortifications. Service stood out to me and I am very grateful for the many opportunities we have to serve throughout our lives as members of the church.

Father in Heaven has provided us tools that help to build the fortifications between our vulnerabilities and our faithfulness. Consider the following suggestions:

• • 
   Make covenants and receive ordinances for yourself. Then steadily and consistently work to provide ordinances in the temple for your own ancestors.
• • 
   Share the gospel with nonmember or less-active family members or friends. Sharing these truths can bring a renewed enthusiasm into your life.
• • 
   Serve faithfully in all Church callings, especially home teaching and visiting teaching assignments. Don’t be just a 15-minutes-a-month home or visiting teacher. Rather, reach out to each individual member of the family. Get to know them personally. Be a real friend. Through acts of kindness, show them how very much you care for each of them.
• • 
   Most important, serve the members of your own family. Make the spiritual development of your spouse and children a very high priority. Be attentive to the things you can do to help each one. Give freely of your time and attention.

Thank you Mom and Dad and everyone else for your prayers in my behalf.

Love,

Elder Shoemaker

PS Christmas is in 1 month!

Working in a NewVineyard - November 18, 2013

Dear Mom and Dad,

I bet that Justin's show was amazing. I am not surprised at all that they did very well. I cannot watch the video but I will get to see it eventually. Who else is in Justin's group?

It sounds like the new home is keeping yall busy with different projects. I bet that the new fence will look great and the cats will enjoy being outdoors. You should definitely find a place for the piano.  I know a couple songs now and if it does not fit anywhere I would definitely love to buy it and eventually use it in my home later. Yes, I do know that I do not have too much longer here in Texas, but I am making sure to stay very focused. This area has been a great blessing for me and has really helped me to do that. We have had to give Denton a jump start and have had to learn this area very quickly. As part of labors in the vineyard this week we were able to find 3 new quality investigators. Yesterday, we had a lesson with one of them and it was amazing. We went in with the plan to teach the Plan of Salvation however as we began to follow up on the commitments that we left with him we shifted the lesson to him. We ended up reading in Alma chapter 32 and focused the lesson on Faith. It was so powerful because we took the chapter and help to relate it to his life. He was able to tell us that he felt the spirit and  his plan was to go and meditate on the things we taught right after we left. We continued to discuss the lesson afterwards and Elder Sheeran told me that he was thinking the exact same thing when I shifted the lesson plan. This has happened many times with the missionaries I have served with and it is such an amazing experience to see the Lord's hand in the lessons we teach. Last night we also had another amazing Restoration lesson with another college student. 

Elder Sheeran and I are really starting to gain traction here and we are starting to find more and more people to work with. I really love serving here in this area. There are miracles happening and we are finding the lost sheep. I am so very grateful for the opportunity we have as full time missionaries to be shepherds. I have learned so much as a missionary that will make me the kind of person I will be the rest of my life. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for the prayers you pray for me and the sacrifices you have made for our family.

Oh, and here is a link to a video I saw on lds.org this week. You may have seen it already but if not pause the video when the kid asks the question of "why the Lord told us to go to the right when it was not the right way" and think of how you would answer the question and then watch how it was answered. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2714780496001

Love,

Elder Shoemaker

Denton is AWESOME - November 11, 2013

Dear Mom and Dad,

 

This week has been great! With being white washed we have been very busy. We have definitely had direction from the spirit from the things that we have done here already. We have been able to meet a lot of the people from the ward. There are multiple activities that are put on by the YSA (Young Single Adults) ward so we have been able to go and meet the members there and even someone that we are teaching. His name is Killion and once someone gets introduced into the ysa they are sucked in by all of the wonderful members. It has been really cool to observe all the effort that is put into the rising generation of the chuch. There is even a senior couple missionary that is at the institute building full time and they are so cool. They are the Taylor's and are perfect for the YSA students. Denton is a very different place. we live within 5 minutes of two college campuses. There are a lot of people with their own unique beliefs and personalities. We cannot walk down one street here without seeing someone. We talk to so many people in a day and are doing our best to find people to work with. We have four baptismal dates currently and are working to build our teaching pool. This week it has really started to cool down and I love it. We live in a very nice apartment owned by members and this is an amazing area. There is so much going on and so many people. We are running constantly. I love it. There is so much to do we just need to organize it all.

 

Elder Sheeran is my new companion. He has just become a zone leader this week and was a district leader before. So I get the privilege to help him learn what his responsibilities are as a zone leader. The assignment of a zone leader is a companionship thing so we are both zone leaders. Sorry for the confusion.

Anyways Elder Sheeran is from Saint George Utah he is very excited and has tons of energy. I am very excited to serve the last part of my mission with him. He is a very hard worker and very obedient.

 

That is super exciting what Justin gets to do! Make sure to record him.  I really want to hear that. Vocal point is awesome. That will be such a cool expirience. I knew there was singing talent in the Shoemaker family. I actually have really enjoyed singing and will plan on maybe taking a class of two for it. It sounds like the retreat was great and that is turned out very well. I know new assignments can be overwhelming, but I am very grateful for the trust that the Lord puts in me and also in those that can help uplift the saints.

 

Please ask questions.  I definitely want to help you know what I get to do here.

 

I love y'all very much and I am very grateful for the support I receive from y'all.

 

Love Elder Shoemaker

My Last Six Weeks...

Dear Mom and Dad,

 

This week has been great! With being white washed we have been very busy. We have definitely had direction from the spirit from the things that we have done here already. We have been able to meet a lot of the people from the ward. There are multiple activities that are put on by the ysa ward so we have been able to go and meet the members there and even someone that we are teaching. His name is Killion and once someone gets introduced into the ysa they are sucked in by all of the wonderful members. 

It has been really cool to observe all the effort that is put into the rising generation of the church. There is even a senior couple missionaries that is at the institute building full time and they are so cool. They are the Taylors and are perfect for the YSA students. 

Denton is a very different place. We live withing 5 minutes of two college campuses. There are a lot of people with their own unique beliefs and personalities. We cannot walk down one street here without seeing someone. We talk to so many people in a day and are doing our best to find people to work with. We have four baptismal dates currently and are working to build our teaching pool. 

This week has really started to cool down and I love it. We live in a very nice apartment owned by members and this is an amazing area. There is so much going on and so many people, we are running constantly. I love it. There is so much to do we just need to organize it all.

 

Elder Sheeran is my new companion. He has just become a Zone Leader this week and was a District Leader before.  I get the privilege to help him learn what his responsibilities are as a Zone Leader. The assignment of a Zone Leader is a companionship thing so we are both Zone Leaders. Sorry for the confusion.

Elder Sheeran is from Saint George Utah.  He is very excited and has tons of energy. I am very excited to serve the last part of my mission with him. He is a very hard worker and very obedient.

 

That is super exciting what Justin gets to do! {His A Capella group "Resounding Silence" won the audition to open for the A Capella group - BYU Vocal Point - who's concert is Nov 16 in Coeur d' Alene} Make sure to record him - I really want to hear that. Vocal point is awesome. That will be such a cool experience. I knew there was singing talent in the Shoemaker family. I actually have really enjoyed singing and will plan on maybe taking a class of two for it. 

It sounds like the retreat was great and that is turned out very well. I know new assignments can be overwhelming but I am very grateful for the trust that the Lord puts in me and also in those that can help uplift the saints.

 

Please ask questions I definitely want to help you know what I get to do here.

 

I love y'all very much and I am very grateful for the support I receive from y'all.

 

Love Elder Shoemaker