Week 30: My First Earthquake

Group 2/27/17

Another super fast week here on the mission! The truth it felt like yesterday I talked with home! We had a pretty good week. 

Tuesday we had splits again but I went to my area with Elder Nelson. We saw a lot of people but none of the appointments where outstanding. We taught this new family we found last week that are really cool. Their neighbors sat down to listen too. 

Wednesday was pretty laid back. I got a lot of personal study in. We visited a couple recent converts in the first part of the day. We usually try to pass by them once a week and read a chapter in the Book of Mormon with them or share a message. After that we went to another new family. They didn´t read but we told her how much this message could help her family. After her we went to a lady’s house. She wants to go to church and learn more and stuff but she is really lazy. She doesn't want to keep a lot of the commitments we leave with her. After that we helped a lady move. We just moved her bed and box frame. There is this dog that lives next to her that is so big and looks like it could kill some one in under a second! Super cool dog! It was almost jumping this 6 foot fence!

Thursday was good and we got out in the morning and visited one of our strongest investigators. She has a baptism date for the 8th of April. She is progressing really well and is learning about the Plan of Salvation right now. We went back home for lunch. Once we headed back out again we met with another one of our investigators. She is super nice but doesn´t quite get the point of our teachings and is probably not quite ready for the Gospel. We had a member leave with us and we went to the other part of our area to see a couple people. We saw members and less actives then came back around to see another awesome member family. After them we went to the reference they gave us and met a couple new people and shared them a message. We finished the night at another reference from the Bishop. They are pretty cool and read the pamphlet this time. The only bad thing was that we didn´t have water all day. 

Friday was fun. We first started the day off with a nice run. I went with Elder Solis from Mexico and we have done this run twice now. It is on this dirt road in the country part of our area and is about 5-6 kilometers. Super fun and really gets that heart going haha! After that we got washed up with a bucket again because we don't have water then we went to our district meeting. This is when all the missionaries in a certain area meet together to talk about how we can do better and what we need to do. After that was lunch and we just went and ate some crap. We then saw one of our pregnant investigators. She doesn´t feel to great but wants to learn. The plan is to teach her all the lessons in this time while she is always at the house then once she can walk to church we will see if she would like to take the step of baptism. After her we went and saw an old investigator we dropped about two weeks ago. They are good and want us to pass by again haha. We then went to another new investigators house and he knows a lot about the Bible but doesn´t go to a church. He was very open and liked what we taught and I think he will progress. We then went to one of our awesome family investigators, then another family near by that have family in the church but don't want to convert quite yet but we always keep in contact. After that we went to the church to teach our class. Not many people came this week. Pretty fun day in general though!

Saturday we went and played soccer and basketball at the church. That is always super fun and a couple members came. After that we went to the house to study and eat! The rest of the day was fun and I went with Elder Nelson again. We went to a less active then to a investigator family. Both are doing alright but not the best. We taught a really good lesson together that really grabbed their attention. They were asked question and realized a lot of things that weren´t quite the same in their lives. After that we had two of our appointments fall through and so we contacted for about 2 hours and found no one good. We then heard word about a baptism at our chapel so we got as many of my investigators and we took them to the chapel to see. I got six to come! After that we watched the restoration video with one of our investigators. Super cool day and got some serious work done! Super fun to see the light of these people change when they start to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives. 

We got the call today of who goes where and stuff. Elder Pinto my companion is going to be district leader in Las Caobas Buenas Aires. He will be in the same Zone as Elder Pearson. I will be receiving another Honduran who is from the same group as Elder Pinto. We don't know much about him but he does play basketball! It was fun being with Elder Pinto and interested what the future holds for me.

Sunday we went to church and that was fun. We then came home and took a cat nap then headed out to say bye to all the people for Elder Pinto. Its kind of fun because we see our favorite people. We played a little dominos and also got fed a dinner at our Bishop’s house. When we where eating we felt an earthquake. It was the first one I have ever felt and it was pretty strong! It rocked my chair quite a bit! You experience a lot of things on the mission! 

That was my fast week! Work is progressing bit by bit and I am learning more every day! I will never be the same person I was before the mission. The mission makes you who God wanted us to be! 

Elder Wolfe

Jeff cooks most of the meals for all 4 Elders.

 An investigator family

 More investigators, they're tiny!

A member family

Week 29: Bucket showers, no water for 5 days, & taxi drivers with machetes.

Group Message 2-20-17

Another really fast week here on the mission! We are heading into week 6 in this transfer already! It was a pretty good week in general too. We started it off great with an awesome P'DAY.

Tuesday was awesome because we got our money. We went and bought our food. We shop at a big groceries store like Fred Meyers. It is some french store that is pretty cool with good prices. I always buy the cereal that mom never buys us kids.  Lets just say that my breakfasts have been pretty good these past 6 months. After that we had house splits. I went with Elder Nelson, another American. We had a pretty good time and we had a member with us so we didn’t get to speak much English sadly. It was cool to see his area. A little more country then mine.

Wednesday started off rough because we had to go back to immigration. I went about 8 weeks ago but they couldn´t find my papers so they sent me home empty handed. I went again today and finally I got my card. Apparently I’m legal now. That took forever! We got home way late. We ate a bit then took off for the streets. We found a new family that is really cool. They are referrals from a member. We also found another even cooler family! They are a entire family of 6! All age of baptism and they seem very interested. The dad really wants to learn more! The only sucky thing is that we ran out of water so we go to the room and take other peoples water.

Thursday was a good day. In the morning we got to go visit one of our more progressing investigators. She is doing great and we got to talk with her mom too. We had a couple appointments fall through so we saw a couple less actives. We then took off to the stake center to have interviews with the president of my mission. That was nice and I received  some good advice. After we found another new investigator and then went to a recent converts that is going to teach me how to cook something new. We came home to no water still so we have been taking bucket showers.

Fridays are always pretty good. We started the day off with a good district meeting. I got to share a message on the importance of members. After we went home and made some lunch. Got a little more studying in too. Our first two appointments fell through so we got some real nice contacting time in and found a couple new investigators. We also set a baptism date with one of our investigators! She knows the church is true now but it will be hard getting her to church because of her job. We will keep praying though! We then went to the church to teach our class (how members can be missionaries). It went well and we brought little candies for the members to participate. Worked real nice. After that we had a meeting with the leadership. We came home to no water still so another bucket shower!

Saturdays are also always awesome. We play a little ball in the morning with some of the members. We went to the stake center and our taxi drive had some problems with his boss and they tracked us down and stopped him and he, my taxi driver, was super mad and pulled a machete on the guy and was about to go ham (crazy) haha! Pretty funny! He was so mad and was driving like idiot haha! After that we went home and went to someone’s house to do service. We scraped their walls so they could repaint. Pretty dirty after that.  We came home to our house with out water for the 4th day. We had to go to the first floor with a little bucket and grab water because all the tanks on the roof ran out of water. Makes you take unlimited tap water for granted. Let alone tap water you can drink! (Referring to the states.) All the appointments where going great that day too! We set another baptism date with one of our investigators! Seeing some good progress here!

Sunday was awesome! We went to an investigators house and picked up a whole family and went to church! We had a lot of investigators in church today! The topics where pretty good too! Solid time at church and after we even had someone feed us lunch!  We went and visited one of the awesome families that we met this week! They read a bit of what we left with them and taught another really good lesson! They are very accepting and we are going to finish the restoration next lesson already! Talked with another family we found today that are pretty cool but let see what happens with them! We have found about 4 really good families lately! Super fun and we ended the night at another full family we found the week before! They fed us too! Super fun day! We came home to water finally! Very needed!

This week was awesome in general aside from the water problem! The work is progressing and I home we can help even more people this next week!

Elder Wolfe

Week 28: Opposition in all things!

Group 2-13-17

Well another week down here on the mission! It was pretty fast to be honest but not the fastest.

Monday was fun because we went and played soccer with the zone. I love soccer so much I forgot how much fun it was. We played that for like 4 hours then we went and ate Chinese food. We went home and emailed you guys.

Tuesday was really special because we got to have a zone conference with another zone. It was mainly about the schedule change. I like it a lot and it is going to be a lot less stressful. They also taught us a couple things like always but that was the heart of it. After we just went to see a couple because the conference took pretty much all day.

Wednesday was a really good day. We got some serious work done. We saw a couple people then we met up with two members. We got to do divisions and I went with our ward mission leader. The first appointment I had with him sucked big time. There where these two people that all they wanted to do was content. The were very dumb people and their reasoning was so stupid. We would teach something so clearly and they would just not understand.  It wasn´t my Spanish either. I was getting really fired up because they where just super rude and so not open to learn. They think that their church was the first church and we explain how it couldn´t be because the church of Jesus Christ was not established the way theirs was. I tried my best and kept my cool as much as I could. After that we went to a investigator that doesn´t know a whole lot about religion and wants to so that made me feel good again. Finished the night with a nice meal!

Thursday started off pretty frustrating. We had a appointment with one of our investigators that was progressing pretty well. She said she always felt good when she was around us and likes what we teach. She wants to keep learning but she is scared of the people in her church and changing would not be good in that sense. We talked to her the other night and we told her she has her agency and if you feel good about something you should pursue it then set another appointment. Her friend from her church was at this appointment. She just starts going off about how she doesn´t need another church and how our church is wrong because we have Prophets and Apostles. We tell her that is the way Jesus Christ made his church and told her that God and Christ don´t change but she still didn´t understand. In the end the investigator still liked us and our teachings and was going to continue praying to know the truth. We gave her our number to call when she gets the answer but it was just annoying that her friend was there and started talking in her behalf. The rest of the day was alright. We had some good appointments but nothing crazy.

Friday was alright. We didn´t have district meeting so we where supposed to leave. Someone didn´t want to so I got about 3 hours of personal study in that day. I really like it, not going to lie. I am reading Jesus the Christ. Very good book! Also I am reading the teachings of Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley. I am also reading all of the general conference talks! So awesome that we can have all these word from Prophets and Apostles today! The work was pretty good! We saw a couple people and then we are teaching a bunch of members how to be missionaries. After we had a meeting so we only got to work about half of the day. Wasn´t too bad in the end though.

Saturday was pretty good because we played some hard core ball in the morning! You guys can´t believe how much I sweat! When it is really humid and 80 degrees I just get soaked in my own sweat! It is good in the since that I am burning all the fat off! After that we had a appointment in the morning with a lady we contacted a couple days earlier. She is actually really cool and we taught her and she was really open to it and even did some of the additional study in the pamphlet! At the end she asked how can she know what we do and see the way we run thing. Super cool when people ask that and we told her that attending church is a good first step haha! It was a awesome start to our day. We then went and saw some less actives to remind them about the church on Sunday. We had another appointment with a recent contact and we asked to talk to her dad and he is a hard core member of another church and just gave us a huge lecture of stuff we already new and I was so sick of listening to people like him. This week we have met with about 5 people like that and I just get so fired up and it takes a lot for me to keep my cool but I did it. We saw a couple other people and then called it a day!

Sunday was alright. It was pretty chill and we had a couple investigators in church at least. After church we just met with a couple people. Sundays are usually pretty hard to teach here for some reason. People are usually with their family and eating.

Today was great so far! We went and played basketball and soccer with another zone. A lot of fun and I got to play some fun basketball with Elder Pearson. I am super tired now! We also got all of our hairs cut (not just “a” hair cut) then made a pathetic lunch because I am to lazy right now to make a nice healthy one. 

Overall it was a fun week! Pretty fast and things are slowly improving! My testimony is growing everyday and I am loving the mission! Yea there a lot of things that I miss about home but they can´t bring the same happiness this can!

Elder Wolfe

Week 27: 6 Month Mark!

Group 2'6'2017

Well another week down here on the mission and also another month! I have now completed 6 months of my mission! It is going by so fast I cant believe it! I didn´t even remember until I was reading during personal study then checked the time and saw the date. It was quite the surprise haha! It is so weird to think that it has already been half a year. I have already seen a big change in myself and I can´t imagine what I will be in another year and a half!

This week was super fast again and was pretty good in general! We got a lot of things done in the house here and we started up a new activity at the church. We also found some really good new investigators!

To start off let’s talk about last P-Day. We we woke up at 5:15a in the morning listening to a church right next to our house singing with massive 3 foot tall speakers. It was not the way I wanted to start my P-Day but oh well. None of us could go back to sleep so we just got up and went to play basketball. We played until about 9a then went to go pull out our money for the next two weeks. That was very needed haha! We then went to the groceries store and bought our food. After that we came back to the house and we all took a fat nap. Elder Nelson from Wyoming and I fixed some of the light switches and got some bulbs. We also fixed the hose under the sink that has been broken for over six months apparently. The other thing we fixed, the best we could, was the washing machine thing. It wasn´t holding water because the shut off valve was full of food but the rubber seal is broken too. At least know we can fill it all the way.  We just always have to keep putting water in it. After, we went and emailed home. It sucked because a little over half way through the power went out and the back up batteries were broken. Pretty productive P-Day though.

Tuesday was pretty good because we had some really good first appointments. We have an older lady that is progressing a lot. We also have two younger girls that are keeping there commitments and are also progressing very well. We will probably put baptism dates with them this week. Our ward mission leader left with us after a bit & I left with another member. If we have two worthy priesthood holder we can do divisions so that’s what we did for the night. All of my appointments fell through but we got to talk to a couple people. I sat in on his seminary class for about 10 minuets waiting for him to finish. That was fun! It was a pretty good day in general!

Wednesday was a normal day of missionary work. The best part was that we found this very cool investigator and she has three kids. She wants to change and it is going to take a lot but if she is willing to, like she says, she is going to be an awesome covert.

Thursday wasn´t to good. We started the day off in a house of two very hardcore Pentecostal who´s knowledge of the church is from someone who wrote a description of every church and it is not accurate. They just wanted to contend and I just didn´t feel good after that lesson because they are so hard of heart and so mistaken. All of our appointments fell through after that. Just part of the mission though.

(It's a mission traditional in many missions to burn a tie at your 6 month mark.  There is another Elder in his house that came out with Jeff, so they both burned a tie. They wrote 6 months or "meses" on the tie.)

Friday was amazing. Mainly because I hit six months! The lessons we did have where really good and we got to do splits again with some of the members. We met up at the church because we started a new activity to train the members how to be better missionaries in the Lord’s work. It is a 8 week course and it is to help them not be as scared and how to be effective. That night we burned ties and partied hard with our Coca'Cola.

Saturday was also good! In the morning we played basketball with some members! That of course was a blast! We had a member leave with us all day and we visited a lot of people! We found one new guy that was really cool and he doesn´t have much of a relation with God but wants too. He didn´t know how to pray so we taught him. He is 40 years old and as far as we know this guys has never talked to God. Moments like this are really cool because when they do the prayer in front of you, it is just so cool to see and feel one of Gods sons or daughters talk with Him for the first time!

Sunday was great because we had an entire less active family to church. The parents haven´t been to church since 2004 and they are finally coming back! They walked in with all 4 of their kids! We also got to leave with Bishop and the his first counselor.  We had some solid new references and it was a solid day in general!

The mission is flying by and I am loving it! I am learning so much and there isn´t anything better to do with our time then serve the Lord. We are here because of him so we might as well show our thanks and do our part haha!

Elder Wolfe

Week 26: World Wide Mission Conference & Dominican Baseball League Finals

Group 30'1'2017

This week was really fast for some reason. I think I am just getting used to this area so now it feels like normal again. It was a pretty good week too. 

On Monday, we went to the stake building and played basketball and soccer. It is the only chapel on this island that has an indoor court. It was real nice.

Tuesday was pretty good because we had a lot of appointments. We found a new family that is pretty promising. It is always cool to find families! Our ward mission leader left with too so that was nice.

Wednesday was special because we had a world wide missionary conference through television. It was with Elder Oaks, Elder Bednar, Elder Anderson, from the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, and 4 other general authorities. They talked about how we can be better missionaries and what we should be doing. It was very very helpful! They also changed two major things. What numbers we report to church office and also the daily schedule! It is going to be really helpful! After that we just visited a couple people because the conference took a while.

Thursday started pretty rough. We had a member show up an hour plus late to a meeting spot to show us some references. That was annoying. The references aren´t to bad. After that we went to a Pentecostal lady´s house and talked with her. She is very firm is her church and she was sharing us a scripture she didn´t understand completely in the bible and we shared with her what it meant and led it to the Book Of Mormon and her head was spinning when we left haha! Elder Pinto was feeling pretty sick so we ended a little early that day.

Friday we had a district meeting in the morning.  We then taught a couple good lessons. We taught the family we found on Thursday but the husband wasn´t there. We found a catholic lady the other week and she is progressing really well. She is keeping her commitments and praying! We will probably put a baptism date this week if she progresses more. We ended the night at a less actives house and he is a lot better. He has come 3 times to church in a row now which is great!

Saturday was pretty normal but good. We had two good appointments in the morning. We have a family that is progressing very well. We picked up a member that left with us for the rest of the day. We had some really good lessons with her. The only bad part was at the end of the day we visited a recent convert that relapsed on his alcohol addiction. He was hammered when we got there but we talked to him and got him to his house again. There was the biggest baseball game of the year today and you can just say that there was a lot of beer involved. It was the end of the Dominican big league. There were people celebrating until 1 in the morning from the win. I woke up several times from motorcycles revving there motors to the moon and back firing! There was also cars dragging washing machines and caskets with the looser picture burning on it. It was crazy! 

Sunday was good to go to church and it was sad because we didn´t have many investigators show up to church because of the game but oh well. We had a meeting then we left with a member for a while. We got to go see two more people who are progressing very well before the end of the night.

It was a pretty good week. We had a great world wide conference and the biggest game of the year this week. Like always, all the lessons where good. I haven´t had many bad ones. We can usually salvage a lesson every time. We found some new people this week but hope to work twice as hard next week!

Elder Wolfe