Hello People,
It's a pleasure to be writing to you today also to hear all your wonderful stories and such stuff. Congrats to dad on being able to hatch 6 chickens. That makes me want to ask you how many there are now? Also I feel you should know that my opinion of eggs has changed and now they are a main course of my life. They make me strong like Gaston. How is your book going dad? And Cally´s movie have they started? Is she going to have to be there watching it like every time they film?
This week was all right. The best part was definitely Erick's baptism. He got there at about 6 with his cousin and his cousin's pregnant wife. It was scary for a bit because we were the only ones there because the whole ward almost was in the stake center at different activities. But once the Dominican hour rolled around (30-45 minutes late) people started to show up and we had a beautiful baptism service. My favorite baptism here named Patrick directed the meeting he is a ward missionary so that was cool. He wants to go on a mission but is a bit worried about forgetting all the school he has taken. He's studying to be a computer programmer.
We're super low on investigators lately and its been kind of wearing on us but we just keep working trying to find news. Maybe you guys could pray for us because we could use some extra help. We found a couple people who seemed interested this week and understood our message a bit but they didn't come to church so that makes it harder. Sometimes it feels like we have worked everywhere in our area but then if we just stop and talk to people we realize there are people everywhere we go that we haven't talked to.
Today we played some basketball early this morning with the two other missionaries in our ward and it was fun. Me and Elder Anderson won. He is from my group and is really cool. We also cut our hair this morning. Our electricity schedule is terrible where we are right now we only have it really in the mornings so anytime we want to to laundry we have to do it during study time which I don't like doing.
I really don't have much to tell you all except happy birthday to Brandon I hope everything is awesome there with him. I love sweating in the hot sun all day and meeting new interesting people everyday. Its even better when they understand the awesomeness of our message. I´m trying to tell people how cool it is that we get to listen to Apostles of the Lord in a couple weeks. I am super excited for conference and have been reading a lot to get ready. I hope we can have some good progressing investigators then so they will instantly know our church is true and want to be baptized when they hear those men speak.
I hope you have one awesome week and I hope everyone is happy. I know this is the church of the Lord.
love you all
love
--
E. Creed Stephens
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Isaac's Mission e-mail
I can hardly believe that my mini-mission is already halfway over. I have just started to get to know people and make friends, and I will have to leave them in only three weeks! :( Oh, well, that's part of mission life too. Anyway, on to the news.
Monday was interesting. Elder Jacobsen had been kept up at night by the sounds of a MOUSE. It had chewed a hole in his corn-filled heat pad and was noisily chewing on the corn under his bed! (I slept right through it, so that is all his account) In the morning he moved his bed away from the wall to discover a big pile of chewed corn in the corner. We set out some traps to try to catch the mouse, did our laundry, complicated but not stopped by a malfunctioning dryer, did our shopping, and went about doing missionary work.
Tuesday was a tracting day. We found a few potential investigators, and did some of our laundry as the dryer had been fixed. We visited Bro. Jones, who is making gradual but consistent progress with his leg, and then tracted some more. We also visited with Bro. Randall, who has a few concerns but is making rapid progress.
Wednesday was a good day. We tracted some, then went to do our service at the Humane Society, which you know of pretty well by now. After that, we went to the ward priesthood dinner. They had good food, and we got to know the priesthood better. Bro. Randall was there too, and it was a good experience for him. After that, we went to talk to Shelby and Shane. Shane left for his deployment in Afghanistan on Thursday, so this was the last chance to speak to the two of them together. In an interesting story, Shane gave Elder Jacobsen his WWI replica trench knife, as a way of thanking him for all he has done to help them. It's a pretty neat weapon, but Elder Jacobsen is going to send it home, as it is WAY too dangerous for missionaries to have lying around. We later found out that Shelby and Shane got engaged right after we left! He had it planned all along!
Thursday, we started out with tracting. after lunch, we went to teach Bro. Randall, which ran over schedule quite a bit, as Bro. Randall had a lot of good questions. He's a golden investigator, not without problems, but with a genuine desire to become a better person. Then we went to Hutsonville, and taught Sis. Skaer, who is coming back to activity. Our appointment with Sis. Bray fell through, but because it did we actually found out that her mother, Sis. Shimko, lived barely a minute away, so we went and taught her. Sis. Shimko is inactive, but would like to return to activity. She just needs a ride to church. So everything turned out well, even if not according to plan.
Friday was also a good day. We helped the Kunzelman's move a very large, very fragile window, part of their preparations to move out in a little while. Then we did our weekly planning. After that, we went to Ste. Marie, did some tracting there, and finally tracked down Mary Lybarger's house. We tracted into her last week where she was visiting her grandma, and it took us this long to find her house. The problem is that it is right on the border between three cities, so it has the address from one, zip code from anouther, and phone number from the third. This had severly complicated the process of finding it. After that, we went to our dinner appointment with the Valberts, and I got to try out lamb for the first time. It tasted pretty good, different from other meats but yet similar. You know how hard it can be to describe tastes.
Saturday, we started out with our district tele-conference. We then went tracting, and checked on a couple potential investigators. Then we headed out to teach Bro Randall. We continue to work with him to overcome problems. Then we went back to the apartment to have our coorelation meeting and apartment inspection. Then we went out to see Shelby, who is always fun to visit because of her personality. After that, our day was done.
Sunday was good. Bro. Randall came to church, and so did Bro. Weber, someone we had never even met before, who knows some of the members. We plan to track him down and follow up soon. Then we did some tracting, and came across Sis. Norton, who accepted a Book of Mormon! She has a hard time reading, but we plan to visit again in the near future. Then we went and taught Shelby, as well as Joey. We had dinner, then went to teach Bro. Randall. We have had to set his babtismal date back a week to Apr. 9, but we are confident that he can make it. He is still a golden investigator.
And Today has barely started!
Monday was interesting. Elder Jacobsen had been kept up at night by the sounds of a MOUSE. It had chewed a hole in his corn-filled heat pad and was noisily chewing on the corn under his bed! (I slept right through it, so that is all his account) In the morning he moved his bed away from the wall to discover a big pile of chewed corn in the corner. We set out some traps to try to catch the mouse, did our laundry, complicated but not stopped by a malfunctioning dryer, did our shopping, and went about doing missionary work.
Tuesday was a tracting day. We found a few potential investigators, and did some of our laundry as the dryer had been fixed. We visited Bro. Jones, who is making gradual but consistent progress with his leg, and then tracted some more. We also visited with Bro. Randall, who has a few concerns but is making rapid progress.
Wednesday was a good day. We tracted some, then went to do our service at the Humane Society, which you know of pretty well by now. After that, we went to the ward priesthood dinner. They had good food, and we got to know the priesthood better. Bro. Randall was there too, and it was a good experience for him. After that, we went to talk to Shelby and Shane. Shane left for his deployment in Afghanistan on Thursday, so this was the last chance to speak to the two of them together. In an interesting story, Shane gave Elder Jacobsen his WWI replica trench knife, as a way of thanking him for all he has done to help them. It's a pretty neat weapon, but Elder Jacobsen is going to send it home, as it is WAY too dangerous for missionaries to have lying around. We later found out that Shelby and Shane got engaged right after we left! He had it planned all along!
Thursday, we started out with tracting. after lunch, we went to teach Bro. Randall, which ran over schedule quite a bit, as Bro. Randall had a lot of good questions. He's a golden investigator, not without problems, but with a genuine desire to become a better person. Then we went to Hutsonville, and taught Sis. Skaer, who is coming back to activity. Our appointment with Sis. Bray fell through, but because it did we actually found out that her mother, Sis. Shimko, lived barely a minute away, so we went and taught her. Sis. Shimko is inactive, but would like to return to activity. She just needs a ride to church. So everything turned out well, even if not according to plan.
Friday was also a good day. We helped the Kunzelman's move a very large, very fragile window, part of their preparations to move out in a little while. Then we did our weekly planning. After that, we went to Ste. Marie, did some tracting there, and finally tracked down Mary Lybarger's house. We tracted into her last week where she was visiting her grandma, and it took us this long to find her house. The problem is that it is right on the border between three cities, so it has the address from one, zip code from anouther, and phone number from the third. This had severly complicated the process of finding it. After that, we went to our dinner appointment with the Valberts, and I got to try out lamb for the first time. It tasted pretty good, different from other meats but yet similar. You know how hard it can be to describe tastes.
Saturday, we started out with our district tele-conference. We then went tracting, and checked on a couple potential investigators. Then we headed out to teach Bro Randall. We continue to work with him to overcome problems. Then we went back to the apartment to have our coorelation meeting and apartment inspection. Then we went out to see Shelby, who is always fun to visit because of her personality. After that, our day was done.
Sunday was good. Bro. Randall came to church, and so did Bro. Weber, someone we had never even met before, who knows some of the members. We plan to track him down and follow up soon. Then we did some tracting, and came across Sis. Norton, who accepted a Book of Mormon! She has a hard time reading, but we plan to visit again in the near future. Then we went and taught Shelby, as well as Joey. We had dinner, then went to teach Bro. Randall. We have had to set his babtismal date back a week to Apr. 9, but we are confident that he can make it. He is still a golden investigator.
And Today has barely started!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
NOT a Tsunami
This is not quite like what they are experiencing in Japan, but it has been very rainy for the past couple of weeks and the Ohio river is above flood stage. The sidewalk where Mariana is standing is usually about 15 feet above the level of the river, and there are several rows of benches totally submerged below the one you can see.
I'm glad we don't have to deliver a paper to this restaurant!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Isaac's Mission e-mail
Dear family,
Well, this is the first e-mail I have ever sent to home. So forgive me if the format is a little clumsy.
The package you sent me hasn't yet arrived, so I am still nametag-less. Robinson is a lot like Madison, except maybe a little smaller. Robinson Branch is pretty small, it looked like about 20-30 people were there this time.
So, on Monday I was in the mission home. I didn't sleep very well because of all the other people snoring.
On Tuesday I met my companion, Elder Jacobsen. He's a good missionary, and is training me in how to be a missionary. He has a back problem that makes it so he can't ride a bike, and the Robinson area has a car, so my bike is actually just stored in a shed back in Louisville. We travelled to Robinson, which is 2-3 hours from Louisville, by getting a ride with the Weese's, a nice member family here. I put my stuff down, got ready, and then we set out for a couple appointments. We visited a couple members and an investigator.
Wednesday, we went to do service at the local Humane Society. We helped with cleaning up, filling food dishes, and taking dogs out for exercise. I had to get used to having cats and dogs all over, variously meowing, barking, and sniffing. We went back to the apartment, got cleaned up, and went out to see some potential investigators. We had dinner with the Valberts, a member family, and then went back to the apartment to do training, plan, and sleep.
Thursday, we went tracting. We found a couple of potential investigators, but our other plans fell through, so we ended up going back ot the apartment early.
Friday, we did a litttle tracting, and some training. Bro. Brock, a member who is leaving soon, took us out for lunch. We did our weekly planning, had dinner, and went to some appointments. We got a couple new investigators, and checked up on a couple of investigators who are planning to be baptised. One was Bro. Jones, a nice older man with one leg. He is currently learning how to use a prosthetic leg, and wants to be able to walk before he gets baptised. The other was Shelby, a young woman who wants to join the church, but her parents won't let her. She plans to be baptised once she turns 18, and is engaged to Shane, a member who is in the military.
Saturday, we had a district meeting, actually via tele-conference. We went to help Bro. Ellison, a member, move, only to discover that he wasn't ready to move quite yet. We ended up having lunch, then going out to visit some less-actives and potential investigators. We also visited the Scotts, a member family, and discovered that one of them was my EFY roomate two years ago!
Sunday, we fasted, and went to church. I met all the members I hadn't already met, but can't remember who is who yet. We tried to visit some potential investigators, with little sucess. We visited some of the members, then went to a CES fireside. Only two others showed up, but it sounds like that is fairly typical here. Robinson Branch is pretty small.
And today has hardly gotten started yet. It is my companion's birthday, and he got a new backpack and a new copy of Preach My Gospel. We also have a cake that one of the members gave us yesterday.
Mariana:
Keep practicing! I want to see you hit a bullseye when I get home!
Sam:
I now understand why your e-mails were so short.
Mom:
I am still getting used to being called Elder, but am adjusting quickly.
That's all I have time for!
Isaac Stephens
Well, this is the first e-mail I have ever sent to home. So forgive me if the format is a little clumsy.
The package you sent me hasn't yet arrived, so I am still nametag-less. Robinson is a lot like Madison, except maybe a little smaller. Robinson Branch is pretty small, it looked like about 20-30 people were there this time.
So, on Monday I was in the mission home. I didn't sleep very well because of all the other people snoring.
On Tuesday I met my companion, Elder Jacobsen. He's a good missionary, and is training me in how to be a missionary. He has a back problem that makes it so he can't ride a bike, and the Robinson area has a car, so my bike is actually just stored in a shed back in Louisville. We travelled to Robinson, which is 2-3 hours from Louisville, by getting a ride with the Weese's, a nice member family here. I put my stuff down, got ready, and then we set out for a couple appointments. We visited a couple members and an investigator.
Wednesday, we went to do service at the local Humane Society. We helped with cleaning up, filling food dishes, and taking dogs out for exercise. I had to get used to having cats and dogs all over, variously meowing, barking, and sniffing. We went back to the apartment, got cleaned up, and went out to see some potential investigators. We had dinner with the Valberts, a member family, and then went back to the apartment to do training, plan, and sleep.
Thursday, we went tracting. We found a couple of potential investigators, but our other plans fell through, so we ended up going back ot the apartment early.
Friday, we did a litttle tracting, and some training. Bro. Brock, a member who is leaving soon, took us out for lunch. We did our weekly planning, had dinner, and went to some appointments. We got a couple new investigators, and checked up on a couple of investigators who are planning to be baptised. One was Bro. Jones, a nice older man with one leg. He is currently learning how to use a prosthetic leg, and wants to be able to walk before he gets baptised. The other was Shelby, a young woman who wants to join the church, but her parents won't let her. She plans to be baptised once she turns 18, and is engaged to Shane, a member who is in the military.
Saturday, we had a district meeting, actually via tele-conference. We went to help Bro. Ellison, a member, move, only to discover that he wasn't ready to move quite yet. We ended up having lunch, then going out to visit some less-actives and potential investigators. We also visited the Scotts, a member family, and discovered that one of them was my EFY roomate two years ago!
Sunday, we fasted, and went to church. I met all the members I hadn't already met, but can't remember who is who yet. We tried to visit some potential investigators, with little sucess. We visited some of the members, then went to a CES fireside. Only two others showed up, but it sounds like that is fairly typical here. Robinson Branch is pretty small.
And today has hardly gotten started yet. It is my companion's birthday, and he got a new backpack and a new copy of Preach My Gospel. We also have a cake that one of the members gave us yesterday.
Mariana:
Keep practicing! I want to see you hit a bullseye when I get home!
Sam:
I now understand why your e-mails were so short.
Mom:
I am still getting used to being called Elder, but am adjusting quickly.
That's all I have time for!
Isaac Stephens
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Isaac's Mini-mission
We dropped Isaac off at the mission home on Monday so he could start a mini-mission. He will be serving in Robinson, Illinois for one transfer (6 weeks). His address is:
Elder Isaac Stephens
Kentucky Louisville Mission
1325 Eastern Parkway
Louisville, KY 40204-1509
Friday, February 25, 2011
Home from Las Vegas
We’re back from Vegas after having a wonderful weekend with Brandon, Jenine and Laila. The only bad part was that Laila had a pretty nasty cold while we were there. She was still happy and sweet, though. When we left Monday it sounded like Jenine was starting to come down with a cold, too.
Laila loves her grandma. She would run to her with a big smile and her arms outstretched to be picked up. It made Anette very happy—except when it came time to leave. It was hard for Anette to tear herself away for the drive home.
While we were there we drove to see some red rock mountains outside of Vegas. They were very scenic and they had a fresh coating of snow. It was windy and pretty cold most of the time we were there. I was hoping for 70s and sunshine. But at least the roads were clear in both directions for the drive.
We came home to wet, cold weather. Today (Friday) we are getting pounded by snow. We had about eight inches when I left for work and it snowed hard for a couple hours after that. I am ready for spring. I have too much outside work to get done.
Creed is doing well. Here is an excerpt from his last letter:
I will start with an list of things from awesomest to a little less awesome. First we got to listen to E. Nelson on saturday, definately super awesome. It's always just so cool to be able to shake an apostle's hand and be in his presence. A lot of elders gave a lot of really good talks. E. Coleman from the area presidency is way cool and I always enjoy his talks. We also heard Elder Snow from the seventy I think. I think all of them went over different parts of the bible story of Gideon which is an awesome story. Its about the captain who has a big army going against a gaint one and the Lord commands him to make it smaller and smaller until there only 300 vs like 100,000 super cool. Of course they win. They just went over obedience and how the Lord doesnt need many he just needs obediance and worthyness. It was way cool.
Also as you can see we are emailing Wednesday instead of Monday. That's because we just got back from the temple, super cool. I love the temple it's like the only place in this country where there is hot water from a foucet and you can drink water out of a fountain. Plus the bonus of the spirituality thing is pretty good too.
So here is a funny story combined with a spiritual one. So we visited this member a while ago that we hadnt visited before and it was really good because she has a lot of family that lives close and lots are inactive members she also gave us the refrence of her brother and his family. They have recieved the lessons before but didn't get baptized. We started teaching them again and it was going pretty good.
This week we were teaching some of the family in-out of the member's store house thing (colmado) and we had just opened the scriptures and were about to share when some crazy lady approached. She is tall and skinny and looks like she was wearing 10-year old clothes, her hair was in some ridiculous little girl style that I dont know how to explain.
I was in the colmado kind of in the corner but my comp was sitting outside so he got most of the attack of this crazy lady. She just started franticly yelling to herself and pointing at our scriptures and paceing around yelling and talking in some form of jibrish mixed with spanish and directing most of this hilarous act at my companion. She was doing it for like 10 minutes, the member got so embarassed. They ended up having to threaten her with the belt to get her out. I thought it was funny but my comp was scared.
The spiritual part of that story is that the brother's family of the member has a daughter that got really sick mentally lately and last Sunday he came to church with her and got a blessing from the bishop. After that day the father of the family has been a lot more receptive to us and even is thinking about baptism now. That would be a great family, I think they are even married. The sick daughter is an inactive member. so it was a pretty good week all in all.
I know this is the true gospel of Christ and He has restored his power. I'm greatfull to be in an eternal family and I am blessed to be an American and I'm proud of it too.
love
E. Creed Stephens
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