Dear Family,
Two days ago I woke up and looked out the window and saw and world coverd with just a very tiny bit of frost. Frost on our cars, and the leaves. Just about the most you would ever get in the pheonix valley. The weather now is about the weather of Mesa at its coldest average, and it is only going to get colder. It is GREAT!
In out apartment our heating system are these big coil things inside of a cage. When you turn it on it glows red, like a stove top, and it smells funky, like a curling iron. I am scared of them...
Anyway. Wow. None of the people I talked about last week are progressing now. We might still be working with them but not really as much.
We are teaching 2 new families. FAMILIES! This hast to be the first time I have had the opportunity to teach an entire investigator family. I has taught part-member families and less active families but never investigator families. It is really cool. I have to admit, when I read the parts is PMG were it says "strive to find and teach families" I always thought, "ya but the only people who we can find and teach are individuals." Now I am actually teaching an entire family.
The First family is a small one. A Husband and Wife and their little 3 year old. They are really friendly and fun. Our main concern with them is that they look at us as learning and not as searching. The wife asked us if she COULD get re-baptized (not that she SHOULD or NEEDED TO) and thats how they are looking at it right now, option for more learning.
The other family is a little bigger. There's the Parents, and their two daughters, ages 16 and 12. They are awesome. They have invited us over to thanksgiving dinner (that is our 3rd invite). They have been looking for a solution to their family drama and they feel like getting into a church will do it. We plan on extending a baptismal invitation tomorrow when we meet with them.
Apart from that life is good. Hope all is great in AZ. I learned this week the Mormon population statistics of the states. TN is .70%, that is 1 in 145 people. AZ is 5.6% or 1 in 17. Idaho is 27%. And Utah is 67% or 1 in 1.47. Wow. AZ vs. TN, that is a huge difference. Utah to AZ that is even more insain! TN to Utah is like nothing! Yesterday I saw 1 tenth of all the active mambers of the entire state of TN at stake comference. That is a huge chunk! In AZ at an average stake comference it would have been 1/88th of the active mombers of the entire state. Different worlds. But still the same. It felt like any other stake comference I had ever been too, the only difference is the size of the area.
-elder von sowards
Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Oct 17th news & views
Dear Family,
thank you so much for the packages. I got them all on my birthday its self. They were much apprieciated. Thank you for the GPS. It is just what I needed. They are so nice to have as a missionary. When finding addresses, finding out miles and if they are worth it of not, finding gas stations and restraunts. They are just really nice. Thank you so much!
Elder Adams had the flu last week and was resting on thursday and friday. He was the only person I saw on my birthday. It was quiet.
Transfers are this wednesday and Elder Adams will be leaving South Pitsburge. I will get a new companion.
love all,
von
thank you so much for the packages. I got them all on my birthday its self. They were much apprieciated. Thank you for the GPS. It is just what I needed. They are so nice to have as a missionary. When finding addresses, finding out miles and if they are worth it of not, finding gas stations and restraunts. They are just really nice. Thank you so much!
Elder Adams had the flu last week and was resting on thursday and friday. He was the only person I saw on my birthday. It was quiet.
Transfers are this wednesday and Elder Adams will be leaving South Pitsburge. I will get a new companion.
love all,
von
Monday, August 9, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Aug Fool's Day
The baptism on Saturday went well. we end up not getting picture. He was having transportation issues. but it all worked out in the end.
So elder platt(apuss) has left Rogersville to serve with Elder Smith in Oak Ridger as a Zone leader. My new companion is Elder Roisum of Seattle Washington. Elder roisum has been on his mission for 14 months. He is a jazzy guy. tall slender, blow-away hair. He loves basketball, football, piano (plays by hear and can't sight read), acting, musicals, and cooking. He's a cool cat. He has been to the Seattle museum of Music and Science Fiction, the one we went to. He also has had the Crab Shack expirience many time that we got to have. Who would have thought?
so ya. That is what's happening!
-elder sowards
So elder platt(apuss) has left Rogersville to serve with Elder Smith in Oak Ridger as a Zone leader. My new companion is Elder Roisum of Seattle Washington. Elder roisum has been on his mission for 14 months. He is a jazzy guy. tall slender, blow-away hair. He loves basketball, football, piano (plays by hear and can't sight read), acting, musicals, and cooking. He's a cool cat. He has been to the Seattle museum of Music and Science Fiction, the one we went to. He also has had the Crab Shack expirience many time that we got to have. Who would have thought?
so ya. That is what's happening!
-elder sowards
Thursday, July 29, 2010
July 25
Dear persons,
This week was this week. For some reason it feels like last week was busy but we had low numbers and I can't really think of the high lights. hmm. I hope I didn't waste a week.
Well Elder Platt is leaving Rogersville tomorrow. I will obviously be getting a new companion.
This coming Saturday there will be a baptism. It is for the Husband of a less active member. He is excited.
We are also teaching a girl who wants to get baptized but works every week end. She only works weekends usually gets about 35 hours. We are praying that she can get a new work schedule.
We are also teaching another girl. Last week we had one of those dinner apointments that were way out on the outskirts of our area, so usually when we have one of those we look for things to do while we are out there to make the trip a little more worth the miles. So before the dinner we had planned to go to a certain road. We get to the road and drive down till we get to a house. We drove and drove. By the time we found the house we only had time to knock it and then leave for the apointment and show up late. After the dinner we had planned to find on a different road. We had the feeling that that road might be the same story. We we randomly found some houses. there we found her. She said the some Elders had come into her socialagy class and gave a presentation. We set up a return apointment but a series of events lead to us being late, not having her phone number and her even having the wrong phone number. We didn't talk to her then. It was all my fault. That night we asked for forgiveness and for a second chance. We called her and left a message and couldn't get a hold of her. Finally She called us yesterday and I have gotten a second chance. Hopefully I don't blow it again.
-elder von sowards
This week was this week. For some reason it feels like last week was busy but we had low numbers and I can't really think of the high lights. hmm. I hope I didn't waste a week.
Well Elder Platt is leaving Rogersville tomorrow. I will obviously be getting a new companion.
This coming Saturday there will be a baptism. It is for the Husband of a less active member. He is excited.
We are also teaching a girl who wants to get baptized but works every week end. She only works weekends usually gets about 35 hours. We are praying that she can get a new work schedule.
We are also teaching another girl. Last week we had one of those dinner apointments that were way out on the outskirts of our area, so usually when we have one of those we look for things to do while we are out there to make the trip a little more worth the miles. So before the dinner we had planned to go to a certain road. We get to the road and drive down till we get to a house. We drove and drove. By the time we found the house we only had time to knock it and then leave for the apointment and show up late. After the dinner we had planned to find on a different road. We had the feeling that that road might be the same story. We we randomly found some houses. there we found her. She said the some Elders had come into her socialagy class and gave a presentation. We set up a return apointment but a series of events lead to us being late, not having her phone number and her even having the wrong phone number. We didn't talk to her then. It was all my fault. That night we asked for forgiveness and for a second chance. We called her and left a message and couldn't get a hold of her. Finally She called us yesterday and I have gotten a second chance. Hopefully I don't blow it again.
-elder von sowards
Monday, July 19, 2010
July 18 & 112F (again)
Dear all,
Life goes on. That family I talked about is now in florida. She get custidy of the kids. Was threatened to had to leave the next night.
The 3 guys who got baptized last week got comfermed this week. They ended up getting off work at 6:30 sunday morning. We had to drag them out of bed to get them to church. If it had been any other week I wouldn't have blamed them for not coming, but due to them needing to be comfirmed they needed to be there.
Well that is all.
-elder sowards
Life goes on. That family I talked about is now in florida. She get custidy of the kids. Was threatened to had to leave the next night.
The 3 guys who got baptized last week got comfermed this week. They ended up getting off work at 6:30 sunday morning. We had to drag them out of bed to get them to church. If it had been any other week I wouldn't have blamed them for not coming, but due to them needing to be comfirmed they needed to be there.
Well that is all.
-elder sowards
Monday, July 12, 2010
July 11th
Dear Family,
Last week was great. We had 4 baptisms. There is a part member family in the branch That was compiled of a bunch of different families like so:
The mom and her 2 daughters (13 and 9)
The dad
The dad's nephew (15) and 2 nieces (15 and 9)
and the mom's 2 nephews (2 and 3)
9 altogether. 2 parents, 3 boys, 4 girls. 1 chaotic family.
Thier story: The mom grew up in the church down in Florida. She had two girls. She was wanting to get away from the church and go hide because of some extreme event that happened in Florida that involved the church. She found that Rogersville TN did not have a LDS church building so deemed it a good place to "hide" herself and her 2 young girls. Low and behold that the construction site she drove by every day was the, now, Rogersville Branch Building. Eventually she cought on and figured she could just lie low. She got married. A couple years ago her husband's sister's family was in trouble. The sister and the husband were both heavy alcoholics. She and her husband decided that they would fauster the alcaholic's 3 children. But a few months after that her cousin, with her 2 boys under 3, decided she wanted to be an alcoholic too. So this family ended up with those 2 boys as well.
Now this family of 9 were all together, with the dad strugling to make ends-meat. As you can imagine this caused alot of stress for the family. They decided they needed church. She was still trying to avoid the trueth that she knew, so they went to a baptist church. That lasted a few months. She didn't like/agreen with the things there. She says that the spirit was working on her but she was still as stubern as ever. So, the Lord had to work a different way. A month after they stopped going to the baptist church, Elder Smith and Major show up at her drive. She comes running out from the side of the house screeming "No! You weren't suppose to find me! go away!" She was mad, so they left. Elder Smith wasn't going to give up that easy. He found an old pocket hymn book and went back and gave it to her. Little did they know she loved the hymns and missed them most. Shortly after she started coming back. One of her daughters and her neices decided to get baptized. Shortly before I came the other niece was baptized. This left her other daughter, her nephew, and her husband who still needed to make the covenent of baptism and recieve the Holy Ghost (the 2 boys being too young). The three of them were not open when I first get here. Some how the nephew started asking more questions. Them her husband. We started teaching them again, they all came to church. Things were great. Espicially for the nephew.
Then last week a terrible thing happened. The dad was arrested and she was fililing for a devorce. This left the her with her 2 nieces and nephew and they were not her's by blood. There was a possibility that the courts would not allow her to keep the 3 of them. This left the nephew to some sierious thinking. He aproched us and said "If I'm going to get baptized I'm going to need it now more then ever." So he decieded to get baptized on saturday. The court hearing will be this thursday. Please pray for this family.
The baptism yesterday went very well too. The 3 guys were super excited and so was the ward. President Griffen even came to the baptism.
-von
Last week was great. We had 4 baptisms. There is a part member family in the branch That was compiled of a bunch of different families like so:
The mom and her 2 daughters (13 and 9)
The dad
The dad's nephew (15) and 2 nieces (15 and 9)
and the mom's 2 nephews (2 and 3)
9 altogether. 2 parents, 3 boys, 4 girls. 1 chaotic family.
Thier story: The mom grew up in the church down in Florida. She had two girls. She was wanting to get away from the church and go hide because of some extreme event that happened in Florida that involved the church. She found that Rogersville TN did not have a LDS church building so deemed it a good place to "hide" herself and her 2 young girls. Low and behold that the construction site she drove by every day was the, now, Rogersville Branch Building. Eventually she cought on and figured she could just lie low. She got married. A couple years ago her husband's sister's family was in trouble. The sister and the husband were both heavy alcoholics. She and her husband decided that they would fauster the alcaholic's 3 children. But a few months after that her cousin, with her 2 boys under 3, decided she wanted to be an alcoholic too. So this family ended up with those 2 boys as well.
Now this family of 9 were all together, with the dad strugling to make ends-meat. As you can imagine this caused alot of stress for the family. They decided they needed church. She was still trying to avoid the trueth that she knew, so they went to a baptist church. That lasted a few months. She didn't like/agreen with the things there. She says that the spirit was working on her but she was still as stubern as ever. So, the Lord had to work a different way. A month after they stopped going to the baptist church, Elder Smith and Major show up at her drive. She comes running out from the side of the house screeming "No! You weren't suppose to find me! go away!" She was mad, so they left. Elder Smith wasn't going to give up that easy. He found an old pocket hymn book and went back and gave it to her. Little did they know she loved the hymns and missed them most. Shortly after she started coming back. One of her daughters and her neices decided to get baptized. Shortly before I came the other niece was baptized. This left her other daughter, her nephew, and her husband who still needed to make the covenent of baptism and recieve the Holy Ghost (the 2 boys being too young). The three of them were not open when I first get here. Some how the nephew started asking more questions. Them her husband. We started teaching them again, they all came to church. Things were great. Espicially for the nephew.
Then last week a terrible thing happened. The dad was arrested and she was fililing for a devorce. This left the her with her 2 nieces and nephew and they were not her's by blood. There was a possibility that the courts would not allow her to keep the 3 of them. This left the nephew to some sierious thinking. He aproched us and said "If I'm going to get baptized I'm going to need it now more then ever." So he decieded to get baptized on saturday. The court hearing will be this thursday. Please pray for this family.
The baptism yesterday went very well too. The 3 guys were super excited and so was the ward. President Griffen even came to the baptism.
-von
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