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!
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| In Snow |
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| And ice |
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| Dinner! |
Elder Shepherd
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