Tuesday, February 21, 2012

February 20, 2012 E-Mail

It was another crazy week.  We stayed really busy, and whenever that happens the time just really flies by.  And we were even able to find a few new investigators.  We tracted into a pretty old guy a little over a week ago and then we took him on a church tour this week.  I don't think he's really interested in what we are teaching, but more interested in the building itself.  But he's a really nice guy.  And then we met a kid named Larry.  Larry seems very prepared for the gospel at this time.  Some other missionaries met him at the library and gave us the referral.  He's only 19 years old and he has a girlfriend and a 1 year old daughter.  But they aren't living together.  I think their may be some arguing going on between them right now.  Well he's pretty much homeless and living in a motel room.  He started on drugs when he was about 13 and just got clean about 3 months ago.  And he also just got out of prison recently.  When he decided to quit doing drugs he pretty much had to turn his back on all of his family members.  Because they all do drugs.  So right now his life pretty much sucks.  We taught him a couple of times this past week and took him on a church tour and he loved it all.  The spirit was very strong.  Yesterday morning he called us so we could get him a ride to church.  We had it all set up and then he called right before and told us he had to go to the hospital because he has some heart problems.  And that's the last we have heard.  Hopefully we will make contact with him today or tomorrow.  The sister missionaries also told us about a lady that just showed up to church yesterday.  It turns out that she lives in our boundaries.  We should start teaching her soon.  We tract quit a bit and it doesn't always work, but I think it shows our faith and then we are always blessed with finding people in different ways.  A few non-members came to the singles ward yesterday with their friends too.  I think we will teach at least one of them this week.  So things are going great.  I'm sorry this is so short but this computer is messed up.  I feel like Nick in Argentina.  I can type a lot faster than it can think.  It has taken me a very long time just to get this much written down.  I know this church is true and I know that we are blessed as we are faithful and diligent.  We can have the guidance of the Holy Ghost just as Nephi had the Liahona.  We just need to apply our faith and do our part.  I love you all!  I hope you have a great week!

Monday, February 13, 2012

February 13, 2012 E-Mail

Things are going well.  My new companion is Elder Jensen from South Jordan.  He's a really cool guy and has been on his mission for about 18 months.  So far we seem to work really well together.  It's always a good sign when the week goes by so fast that you can't remember any of it.  Pretty much I can only remember what happened yesterday.  Ashley got confirmed.  It was really neat.  Her in-laws came, and her father in-law is the one that did the confirmation.  It was fast Sunday for us because the previous Sunday was stake conference.  Later on in the meeting Seth, her husband, got up and bore his testimony.  It was really awesome and the spirit was so strong.  So she is now a member of the church with the goal to be sealed in the temple in a year.
On Saturday we had a lesson with a girl who was baptized right before I got here.  She is young, 19, and faces a lot of the temptations and trials that people our age face. Well it seemed like she was sort of doubting some things.  She had a lot of questions to ask us.  Well the whole time I felt prompted to do a couple of things, number one was to give her a priesthood blessing, and number two was to help her understand what she does believe in.  We had a team teacher with us and he felt some of the same promptings.  So I simply asked her if she believed in God, Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, the Bible, and Joseph Smith.  Her response to all of those questions was yes.  She got a big smile on her face and just said wow that made me so happy.  I told her as long as she believed in those things that everything was alright and the rest would come with time.  I love when the spirit works through us to help our Heavenly Father's children.  I also gave her a blessing at the end and that helped a lot.  Things like that help me realize that God is real and that he can communicate with us.
In that same lesson, the team teacher was talking about his mission and how they would pray that people would just show up to church to be taught.  So I decided I would pray for the same thing.  And yesterday two non-members showed up to church!  One is a 9 year old in a part member family who was being taught previously.  We were able to set up an appointment with their family.  Then the other guy just came with his girlfriend.  She didn't want us to push him yesterday but she said if he comes next week that we could ask him to be taught.  It was a tender mercy from the Lord and an answer to my prayers.  And that is all that I can remember from this week.  I know that this church is true.  I'm so grateful for prayer.  I know that we can establish a relationship with our Heavenly Father through prayer.  He listens.  And he answers.  I hope you all have a great week!
Love Elder Schvaneveldt

February 6, 2012 E-mail

This week was another crazy one and it just flew by.  And I don't have my companion here by my side to remind me of everything that happened.  He left yesterday for the mission home and is probably getting on a plane right now to head to Vegas.  He worked all the way up to the end and was excited to go home.  I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to be his companion.  We worked really well together.  Transfers this time aren't to exciting because I already knew that I was staying.  And my new companions name is Elder Jensen.  I don't know who he is.  I will meet him tomorrow.  He served with Elder Soderberg and he told me that he is really cool.  So I'm excited.
The good news is, we had a baptism!  Ashley got baptized on Saturday and it was awesome.  Everything went well.  Her husband Seth was able to baptize her.  He was really nervous but I could tell that it meant a lot to the both of them.  A lot of ward members came as well as their family members.  Even her family came, her mom isn't a member and her dad is very less-active.  We have been trying to pick up the work in the young single adult ward.  We have found a couple of new investigators recently but they are just all so busy with school and work and things that they struggle to find time to meet with us.  We had a church tour with one this week and with his girlfriend as well.  Ithink they will get baptized.  I'm just not sure when.  Young single adults can be hard to work with because of all the temptations that are out there such as drugs, sex, alcohol, etc.  It's sad how satan can just tear people down.  And his target is either to destroy the family, or make it so that people can't start families.  That's why everyone needs the gospel!  That is for sure something that I've learned on my mission, if you want happiness, then live the gospel.  It won't wipe our problems away, but it will help us deal with them.  I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life and all it has done for me.  I'm grateful for my Savior.  I know that he died for our sins.  Through him we can be cleansed and return to live with our Heavenly Father and our families.  I know that this church is true.  I love you all!  Have a great week.  Thanks for everything.