Elder Shoemaker's Mission News: Proselyting and Cocoa

Monday, November 25, 2013

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:

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Make covenants and receive ordinances for yourself. Then steadily and consistently work to provide ordinances in the temple for your own ancestors.
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Share the gospel with nonmember or less-active family members or friends. Sharing these truths can bring a renewed enthusiasm into your life.
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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.
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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.