"Don't bite my finger!"

Well... the past week was a bit of an odd week, beginning immediately after P-Day ended. So the four of us Elders headed to dinner with a family in the ward, and lemme tell ya, these guys are pretty interesting. First off, we walked into this house littered with crosses, we basically watched a grown man get commanded by his mother-in-law, and then sat down to a nice dinner. During dinner we talked to like a 50 year old man about anime, and that's about it. Near the end of the meal Elder Clayton filled me an entire bowl of soup; I barely got that thing down. We also watched as their nearly two year old son was playfully putting his moms finger in his mouth. His mom said "don't you bite my finger!" but didn't do anything to get her finger out of the little dudes mouth, so what'd he do? Of course he bit her finger! The four of us were then priviledged to see this young man be unbuckled from his high chair and recieve a couple nice swats. Don't get me wrong, the family was super nice and we had a good time, it just became fairly awkward at quite a few points. I love the members of this ward! 
The following day we were trying to set up an appointment with a kid our age who Elder Roberts thought was less active. About an hour before we found out that he wasn't. We had planned to meet with him somewhere with another returned missionary from the ward, and Elder Roberts' best idea was to go to McDonald's and buy drinks and talk. That plan wasn't gonna work, especially after discovering that he was quite active in the church. It was pretty funny trying to dig ourselves out of that hole, but we ended up going on some really great visits with the four of us. 
That night it absolutely just started dumping snow on us while we were walking about an hour from our apartment. Within half an hour we had about four inches or so. Luckily the Porritts came and picked us up and came with us to another lesson we had that night. Oh side note, Elder Hubbard, if you ever happen to be in a ward up there in good ole Alaska with some older Porritts, it is probably his parents, and Elder Hudson, they have a son who's down in Provo, so look for an Elder Porritt. 
Okay back to business. Wednesday was solid. We knocked for a total of about five and a half hours and got two people who said we could come back. Thursday I did an exchange with Elder Coley from Phoenix (He lives about twenty minutes from GCU). We basically had a similar day full of knocking, but that night we had a lesson with a kid named Jackson that's about my age that was successful. We played catch with a baseball and played a little basketball as well. The following morning we got up early and played basketball with the district before a meeting we had. 
That night was followed with a couple good lessons. We brought a newer convert to the church on a team up with us, his name is Brother Maganga and he and his wife are both from Africa. I asked him about what drew him to the church, and he explained how he was always a seeker for truth, and he just felt the spirit so strongly as he learned especially about the Restoration. Also, knowing the Bible very well, he said that he loved how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church that follows the same organization and church that Christ established during His earthly ministry. You all should meet this man sometime, he has a really powerful spirit and testimony. 
This week I swear I've eaten pizza like four times, I thought I'd just throw that in there. Sunday was really successful. The Zone Leaders had at least five people they were teaching at church! I went with Elder Clayton to help translate a lesson in young mens' for a kid named Omar. He and his family are from Guatemala, and I wrote out the Plan de Salvacion in Spanish while Elder Clayton translated what was being taught. Last night we had dinner with the Throssels. They have four younger kids that we got to know and made good friends with, it was a really great dinner. Again, I really love the members of this ward.

Here are some talks you can check out too that I read and enjoyed this week!

1. Prepare for a Mission - LaVell Edwards

2. Once or Twice in a Thousand Years - Bruce R. McConkie

3. The Mystery of Mormonism - Bruce R. McConkie

4. "Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ" - Neal A. Maxwell

Thank you all for everything you do, I hope I provide at least a little spiritual and physical upliftment each week!

Elder Shepherd

Got this pic from a family that fed the missionaries:
"He ate all of his broccoli!"

Busy Week

Good morning everyone!

It's Cold!

Today has been a super busy week, primarily because I've done two exchanges, had zone conference and had interviews with the president. I had my first exchange of my mission with Elder Bowden last Tuesday. He's the district leader and definitely a great example for me. We had a really busy day planned, but as usual, it didn't quite work out as we'd expected it to. After trying to meet up with a few people those Elders have been teaching, we did a little tracting. First, we ran into an older Spanish lady who I started talking too, but Elder Bowden had to take over. Spanish has been tough, and my opportunities to use it seem to have decreased recently, even though it had only been once a day if I was lucky. Anyways, after that, we knocked into this guy who, by the end of our altercation, we'd named Crazy Jeff. We heard this dude upstairs yelling, but then he came down when we knocked, said to come in, and proceeded to pull out a Book of Mormon as well a Proclamation to the Family. We thought we were in for a miracle, especially after he started to say how much the Proclamation meant to him. Very quickly though, he completely turned and started saying how scripture was of the devil, how people thought he should be a prophet, and that Moses used ancient Egyptian technology from aliens in the form of an obelisk to part the Red Sea. Finally, he closed saying that you didn't need faith and that faith didn't exist. As we tried to get out he asked for our number to stay in contact. He now in Elder Bowden's phone as "Crazy Jeff!" so he knows not to answer. He was a hoot and a half for sure. I was able to teach a lesson with some girls who'd been recently baptized, and we had dinner at a super awesome family for dinner. I really enjoy being able to talk to and teach this simple gospel to little kids. It's incredible what the kids and youth of the church know, and the joy and love that you can see during those quick lessons. We ended the night with some 48 cent ice cream cones. 

Zone Conference was truly insane. Oh and quick side note, the missionaries are singing at the royals game later this year, I think in July, so keep an eye out for that. Back to the point, zone conference. Bishop Ames, a former mission president and current bishop up in a ward up in Liberty, taught about the Doctrine of Christ and did so brilliantly. Our study, which primarily came from the Bible, really enlightened our promises, purpose, potential, and how to get there. It was really powerful, and I'm working on preparing myself better each week to partake of the Sacrament. I can tell you that as I did that this Sunday, my experience was tremendously improved, and I felt the love and cleansing power of Christ's Atonement even more.

We got a car!

Later this week I went on splits with the zone leaders. Elder Roberts stayed with Elder White, and I went out with Elder Clayton. This kid is crazy. He talks to everyone he sees, he'll stop cars to talk, and runs around trying to spread this message to as many people as possible. It made the work so fun and exciting, but also truly shows how important our message is. I was also able to go to a baptism with him. President Love was there, along with many others, but I was able to see and experience that sweet moment for the first time in a while. The spirit was extremely strong then, along with the rest of this week. I've been happy and excited and learning a lot. 

I had an interview with President Love over a video call because it had started snowing so hard and he wasn't able to make it to our apartment. It was pretty quick but he said I had a great smile and spirit about me, and to just keep learning. He also said to tell my mom that shes raised a great son. You catch that mom? He's really great and very serious yet incredibly enthusiastic about the work and I've started to find that joy more and more every day. The hardest thing is as I grow in my faith and desire to serve, I  just want more people to be willing to listen. Everything aside, I just wish that people could see me smiling, recognize the sacrifice we've made to be here, and then just listen for just a few minutes. That'd be really great, but until that day I'll keep walking around in this snowy, cold weather. 

To end I'll just leave you guys a few talks to read

1. The Puryfing Power of Gethsemane

2. Lost Battalions

3. To the Friends and Investigators of the Church

I hope everyone has a great week! I know that as we keep Jesus Christ at the forefront of our thoughts and actions, it'll all turn out all right.

Elder Shepherd

Short and Tall!

We Slid Around Mas

Okay, okay... let me explain the title. Though this week was filled with a lot of let downs and people who fell through, it was all better because everything is, quite literally, frozen. Especially the sidewalks. Entonces, with the proper footwear, you can slide quite well on our hour-long "walks." It made a lot of our travel fun, but also dangerous. I cannot count how many times Elder Roberts and I slipped and/or fell. Oh, I also tried to sled down a hill on a cardboard box - it did not work. Luckily, we get a car tonight! We are just splitting weeks with some other missionaries, but we won't be walking everywhere anymore, and that sure is a blessing!

I realized I failed to talk much about my companion, Elder Roberts. He's from good ole Farmington, Utah. He's come a long way and made a lot of changes in his life to get here, and I always find that so impressive. Once he gets home, in about six months, he's hoping to be a dental hygienist and play rugby. I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty solid combo. His mom was really sweet and sent us a FAT package earlier this week with all kinds of goodies. Elder Roberts is trying to lose some weight while I do the opposite, so he gave me a lot of his candy and makes me eat more at our dinners. Likely I'll put on a few pounds in the upcoming weeks.

We spent a lot of time fellowshipping and just loving a bunch of members and some less-actives. It's really great to bring the spirit of Christ into homes where it hasn't been at times. Last Monday we visited an old, senile lady named Iva Pruett. She was very sweet but was definitely losing it. Luckily we'd brought Brother Lenz from the ward out with us, and they basically talked about her life for two whole hours. She'd talked about things like how her tanning bed in her basement could kill her, how she punched a man in the face once, and how she was once best friends with Martin Luther King Jr.,  so that was neat. I'm fairly certain her stories were all pretty legit, especially because I heard them all about 3 times. We also visited an elderly couple, the Matoses. They both speak Spanish, and so when I came over I taught a full lesson in Spanish while my companion and our member team-up wondered what was going on. She was super sweet and we talked about the importance of the Savior and the Sacrament. We ran into a really cool couple too. The guy's name is Ben, and he's straight out of Tanzania. He's really kind and understanding and is willing to just ask us questions and listen to our beliefs which I'm really grateful for. We get plenty of people who will just come to the door, not open it mind you, and just tell at us to leave, so I really respect and appreciate when I'm able to just openly talk to someone. He's rooming with a girl there named Audrey (or something very close to that) who played basketball for Nebraska and apparently was pretty incredible and is sort of famous down on campus there. I'm pretty sure she's taller than me,  but she's now working on her Ph.D. They are really cool and shared their pizza with us. Were getting fed really well down here by members too for the most part (not as much as the zone leaders in our ward) and they always make yummy food. The ward here is super welcoming, missionary minded, and just full of the spirit, so I'm pretty lucky to have started out here in the Overland Park 2nd Ward.

Lastly, the Zone Leaders have been super helpful because they've been working to help Elder Roberts and I improve our studies and planning, and we also just have a really great time with them when we have lunch together or something. They are super great examples to me, Elder Roberts included, and I'm just super blessed to have their support and to see their hard work. Recently they've begun studying Spanish with me because Elder Roberts doesn't speak which can be hard, but I've been starting to really improve again since working with them. Having the opportunity to share the gospel and speak of Christ in another language is such a blessing and I'm working hard to do it to the best of my ability. I know with the Lord's help all things are possible and that through time and my effort, I'll be fluent. That's exciting!

Lastly, I realized I should include a couple of things I've been studying. On top of working through Jesus the Christ and Saints, I've read a couple talks I really liked. First of all, just go and read all of Tad R. Callister's talks, you won't regret it. Besides those, I also read a talk by Dallin H. Oakes called "Have You Been Saved?" It gave me a lot of great insight and more to study. I also read the two last talks President Monson gave in Spanish, they too are great reminders of simple ways we should live our lives centered around Jesus Christ. While a little less spiritual, I also got my hands on a little book called The Pocket Reference Book for Missionaries: Doctrine and Information, Inspiration, and Religions of the World. In it, there's a little section called Evidences of the Book of Mormon. It highlights physical evidences that people commonly question and provides research, archeological finds, and Native American culture that shed light on the truth. Anyways, I was super excited about that. I'll end with a quote from it.

"The ancient Jaredite transoceanic migration that lasted 344 days (Ether 6:11) ceases to seem so fantastic when that turns out to be exactly the length of time it takes the Pacific current to go from Asia to Mexico."

While science is great and all, ultimately and more importantly, we must continuously strive to spiritually feed and build our strength of testimony in the Savior through studying, pondering, praying, and striving to live our lives as He lived. Then we must do as He's commanded, to have faith in Him and use His Atonement daily. As we do so, I know that the Spirit will witness the truthfulness of His gospel, and we will be "encircled about eternally in the arms if his love" 2 Nephi 1:14

Thanks you all for your support!

In Snow

And ice

Dinner!

Elder Shepherd

Don't worry Elder Hamp, the fifteen pounds are back!

What is up? I am here in Kansas.

Somewhere in Kansas?

This week has been pretty solid. Mostly because I've really started to settle in and rely on God in all things. That alone is really powerful and always helpful during hard times. I work really hard to continually think about the purpose of why I'm here, and that always puts a smile on my face. Smiling is something I'm working on doing at every door, with every person. It just makes me happy too. Anyways, I've run into quite a few really nice people while out tracting, plus two really interesting fellows. One of these kind sirs came to his door and let us know that he was a prophet. Mind you, he was actually pretty genuine and nice with us, but when we talked about having a living prophet on the earth today he asked if President Nelson had seen people levitate and such because apparently, that's what makes you a prophet. Anyways, on to the better of the two. Get this, we knock this door and a nice kid kindly sends us on his way, but as we were walking away, this man comes out with his fingers locked together and say "I know where you guys are from." He knew we were from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints He'd also told us that, on one condition, he would let us come in from the freezing cold. He said to deny our faith and accept Jesus Christ as our savior. I politely told him that I'd rather stay in the cold, and boldly bore my testimony of the Savior. Then we left. Odd fella, huh?

We've been fed really well here so far, and as you maybe noticed, I'm back to the +15 I'd gained in the CCM. Families here and the ward were in is super supportive of our efforts. I've had a couple of lessons, but nothing has worked out how we plan, though we've shared some really great commitments and messages with the members who so kindly feed us. Let me share them with you:

1. Pray specifically for missionary opportunities and for the work in your ward. Simply try to share the pure love of Christ.

2. Take the Family-to-Family Book of Mormon Challenge as presented by Ezra Taft Benson in 1988. As a family, write testimonies in a Book of Mormon and place a family picture in it as well. Share it yourself or you can give it to the missionaries to share. A couple great talks to read about this challenge are Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon, by Ezra Taft Benson,  and God's Compelling Witness: The Book of Mormon, by Tad R. Callister (sorry, I really love this talk... watch the movie about Joseph Smith again too). 

The last few days we've been honked at or stopped by people while we walk. I actually biked for the first time, and of course, Elder Roberts gave me the smaller bike. It was a piece of crap but I worked through it. Anyways, I've been getting to use my Spanish maybe once a day, which is really hard especially when I don't understand what people are saying. My companion doesn't speak at all, so I'm stuck by myself trying to communicate with these people and it can be really embarrassing and frustrating. Luckily, the Zone Leaders are actually in our ward as well, so Elder Clayton and Elder White who both speak come over and help me study Spanish which is super helpful. This Sunday was really great. We had a lady named Amanda come to church with us which was super great, she's got a solid testimony and we're really excited about her newfound growth. I bore my testimony about the Saviors Atonement, and let me tell you, the Spirit in this ward is so strong. I'm really lucky to be in this area. I've been really blessed this week and I've grown over my fears as Ibe trusted in the Lord. I love this scripture in Matthew 16:25 - 

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

I'm really trying to give my life over to the Lord, and trust in Him that I can continue to find and fulfill my purpose. Thank you for your testimonies, love, and prayers!

Elder Shepherd