Hey Family Dearest!
The word is in and I am staying, but, they are splitting our branch for missionary work. I will be with Elder Howard from Spokane in car on the east side, while Elder Faldmo and Elder Kinney will be on the West Side on bike. Finally, I get to stay. Elder Hainsworth says he gets the impression that I will be here for a while. I would not mind that at all. I love this branch, these people, and the city in general. I would not mind being in Phoenix my entire mission. I just feel like there is a lot more service to render here than in Mesa. Sure, it is rougher here, but at the same time, there is always someone to talk to.
Tomorrow my trainer, Elder Hainsworth, goes home! He had over 1/3 of his mission left when I got here. It is crazy to think that much time has really passed me by. It is a little bit of a wake-up call. I need to take this mission minute by minute, cherishing every single moment. We had a really slow week to start, but we got the opportunity to see so many profound miracles. I loved pretty much every minute of it. I was happy even though it was hot out. We will have a baptism in our branch for sure on May 28, dad's birthday! Maria Rubio is being baptized on that day. Last week we gave her the large print Book of Mormon. She has been reading it daily and she is progressing rapidly. Sadly, as Satan sees her distancing herself from him, he is doing all that he can to pull her back in. She is having nightmares with Satan in them and she is getting really awful headaches. We read a bit of Moses 1 with her and I think that really helped. She thought it was only us who could command Satan to leave. We taught her how we all have that right to protect ourselves. We just need to be humble, and pray to God for his Spirit and protection. She loves the gospel. But, she was so sick yesterday that when she was on the way to Church, she had to turn around due to a killer migrane. It seems like progressing investigators are always confronted with so many trials and challenges. Maria is tough and strong though. She will win. I can not wait to see her confirmed and to recieve the Holy Ghost. She is in my prayers every time I pray. To me, she is evidence that God is preparing people everywhere, and it is the members that know them and should try to recognize them.
Interestingly enough, we were speaking about agency in FHE with the Rangel Clan. It is an eternal principle. The sister of Hna. Rangel is not a member, Amparo. Somehow, baptisms for the dead were brought up and Amparo said, "We can not just get baptized for someone. They have to make that choice themselves." Luckily, us elders were there and we got to clarify the fact that it is just offering that person and opportunity and not neccesarily does it signify that they are "saved". I think this resolved her doubt. Amparo said the closing prayer to FHE and the spirit was way strong. I am going to miss being on the West Side. Something like 90% of active members are on the West Side. The east side has boat loads of lost, less-actives. We will find them and help them to come back to church to renew their covenants.
I think Heavenly Father sent us a miracle yesterday to get me ready for all of the miracles that will happen in the East Side. A man named Edgardo from Tegucigulpa, Honduras came to Church for the first time in a year yesterday. Another man named Ignacio ("Nacho") also came back. They both came because they woke up and felt like they should come. Both have been less active for a while, but the brethren of the Branch welcomed them back with smiles, hugs, and even a couple of tears. We have some appointments set up with them for the coming weeks. I am very excited to help these men and their families become united in the Gospel with Elder Howard. Edgardo's children and wife are still in Honduras. He says he has tried to send missionaries to them, but the missionaries have never come. We will just keep praying for that family in Honduras.
A week ago, we had FHE with the Elias Family. Gabriel (Father) was there with his mother at his side. The mother bounces back between going to our Church in our branch and a branch in the Phoenix mission. She lives in one place for a few weeks, and in the other for the next few. It is very tough to be able to teach her consistently. We spoke on the Sacrament at FHE and his mother told us how at first when her son joined the Church, she was apauled. She thought the Chuch of Jesus-Christ of Latter Day Saints was way different that the Catholic Church. She has gone to church almost 10 weeks now, and she told us how she can now see how similar the two are. She said, "of course there are differences, but not too many". Her daughter-in-law, Brenda, gave her a Book of Mormon. She read some, but said she did not understand. We are having FHE again tonight and we hope to be able to teach her more and help her understand the importance & significance of the Book of Mormon. She will read it. She told us that. We just need to help her understand the "why" part of it.
Margarito, our investigator who suffered a stroke, finally read! We were ecstatic upon hearing that. He had never done his reading assignments, but now he is. He says he is a bit confused, but we promised him that we will help him answer his questions through study. Our only concern is that we are not 100% sure if he is all there mentally. We do not know what kind of damage the stroke caused to his brain. Nevertheless, he is reading and I am so happy for him. Elder Faldmo will be the one continuing to teach him after the area splits and I think that is perfect. Elder Faldmo really loves and cares for Margarito. Elder Faldmo will be able to help satisfy the needs of Margarito.
I am really excited to see what the next transfer has in store. Elder Howard and I will work our hardest to find those children that God has prepared to recieve the gospel. I know they are out there. In case of a split, Elder Faldmo suggested we take extra time in the east side to do some findng. We did a lot of walking. A little knocking, and a lot of talking. We foun one family for which I am very excited. Judi and Elsa Luna. The Luna family has a 7 year old daughter who is legally blind. they are super kind, very open, and really seemed grateful for our quick visit. We hope to get an opportunity to teach them this week. Else was not home to setup an appointment, so Judi, Elder Faldmo, and I just got to speak with her at the door.
One challenge in our area is that missionaries who were not here long ago would go into any house of a single woman with or without a thrid male present. Some formers invite us in, but husbands are not there so we can not enter. They tell us, "The last ones always came in and my husband was never here." It kind of puts us in a tough spot. I obviously would love nothing more than to teach them the gospel, but I know that lessings come from obedience with exactness. Any thoughts on this issue? We call members in the ward, but no one is available in the afternoons or early evenings. We will continue to be obedient with the knowledge that promised blessings will indeed come.
I loved last week even though there were challenges. Time went by far too quickly, but I feel like Elder Faldmo and I have been able to accomplish a lot of good as a companionship. He works very hard, loves the people, and is always so upbeat, positive, and also, he is a great listener. I know he and Elder Kinney will see many great miracles in the West Side.
Maddy, congrats on the test! It sounds like you just destroyed that test like pie. I am so happy for you! I prayed a lot and I continue to pray for you. LEt me know the details. Will you be going to PCC instead of Westview? If so, you will be further along in college than I am by the time I get home. I love you sis!
I love all of the rest of you, too. I pray for you and think of you oft as I study the plan of salvation. I love the knowledge that I have of the fact that we will be together forever! Doesn't that just remove a mountain of doubt and stress? I think so.
Well, I hope you all have a great week. I never got an email from Dad or Will, so I expect some good ones next week! Be safe and say your prayers, read the scriptures, and do FHE! Invite friends to FHE Maddy and Will. Make it short, yet spiritual. Fun, yet serious. You know. I know you all are the best! I love you so very much!
con amor,
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Hey again!
Hey There!
Thanks for the pictures of the cars and you all at the beach. In those photos I saw the three things I enjoyed most about Oregon. I saw snowboards. I saw rain. Most importantly, I saw my family. It is really pleasing to know that you are doing well and you all look healthy. It was fantastic speaking with you all. It is odd how it works. After speaking, we just got right back into it and by 9pm it hardly felt like I had actually spoken with you all! We got to teach a good bit though! It was a great evening. We went and gave a blessing to a Recent Convert, Brenda & Gabriel's son, Gabrielito (-ito is the mexican way of saying junior...they end half of their words with -ito...). He has had a bad cough for weeks and the doctors keep saying it is just a virus that will pass. It has only gotten worse. I annointed and Gabriel (father) sealed the annointing. He was way nervous because it was only the second time that he has ever done a blessing. It is cool though, to see a family so young in the gospel that already has the Melquisedek Priesthood in the home.
After that we went to FHE with some members (Familia Rangel) and their non- member family members. We showed up late due to the blessing, but got to sit, chat, and entertain the kids so they were not fighting. I drank some pineapple fanta and elder faldmo did some juggling. Then, it was the end of the night!
The last week was very tranquil and not a lot happened that was too exciting apart from Maria Rubio's amazing testimony that she already has. I pretty much told it to you all!
To Maddy. I was trying to think of some scriptures that have lifted my spirits as a missionary. I want to always have peace and contentment. My FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE chapters in the Book of Mormon are Mosiah chapters 2-4. I just love them. They tell us how we can serve others, and god, and thus be happy. I know that if I would have more diligently studied the scriptures in my youth, I would have been much happier and far more prepared to confront the challenges that I encountered. I always have loved prayer. When you pray, pray in your room, out loud. Don't just think it when you are alone. SAY your prayers. I try to find places and times here on my mission so that I can pray out loud and those prayers are far more spiritually enriching. Also, do not stress too much about your writing exam for PCC. Breath, study a little bit at a time, and pray a lot. Studying for long periods has never helped me. My recipe for success that I came up with at BYU was to study 30 minutes for every class, every day. I would not study more. I would not study less. In the end, I usually ended up studying more for my classes than most other people and did fairly well. You are smarter than me and I know that you will be fine no matter if it is at Westview or PCC. Westview is a good school. PCC is a decent college. Just pray to have Heavenly Father help you understand what you need to do to make your situation work out. Never give up. Just keep going. There is that way cheesy colloquial phrase, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." You have always been a tough one sis. Just have faith and patience. Maybe Heavenly Father is blessing you with opportunities to develop Christlike attributes.
To Will, even though your team might be losing a lot, keep playing hard and doing your part. Don't get selfish and just keep playing like you know you should. You can show your team how to play by doing things right and being unselfish in your game play. As coach Thuerer said, "Don't Hot Dog it out there". That means, you can't do it alone. A hot dog alone is boring and is only good with the right condiments and other things to help it. That is your team. Lead by example. Also, it makes me proud to know you are a smart little kid. I know you have a lot of potential that you can most certainly reach with all of that extra energy that you have!
To Mom and Dad, thanks for all your kind and encouraging words. I certainly could have done much better when at home. But, repentace is forgetting the past and being better every day. I feel as though that is happening whilst I am here on the mission. I am coming to understand my purpose in life more fully and how to show emotion and care for others. I love the plan of salvation and I hope you all study it frequently. It is the greatest source of light and understanding for me out here as a missionary. It makes all of this, life, it's challenges, etc. make sense. Keep being the awesome parents that you are and do not spoil Maddy and Will too much.
I love you all and enjoyed our chat. The next one will come way too soon. Don't misunderstand me, but my time here needs to slow down so I can help more people find the true source of happiness and peace. I love you so much! I pray for you all daily and personally! Keep doing all you can to be examples of Christ to those around you so that they will notice something and perhaps show some interest in why. I liked that quote from conference. "We should always be doing missionary work, and occasionally it will be necessary to talk". That is the truth. Actions speak louder than words.
I love you! Have a great, dry week!
Con gratitud,
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Thanks for the pictures of the cars and you all at the beach. In those photos I saw the three things I enjoyed most about Oregon. I saw snowboards. I saw rain. Most importantly, I saw my family. It is really pleasing to know that you are doing well and you all look healthy. It was fantastic speaking with you all. It is odd how it works. After speaking, we just got right back into it and by 9pm it hardly felt like I had actually spoken with you all! We got to teach a good bit though! It was a great evening. We went and gave a blessing to a Recent Convert, Brenda & Gabriel's son, Gabrielito (-ito is the mexican way of saying junior...they end half of their words with -ito...). He has had a bad cough for weeks and the doctors keep saying it is just a virus that will pass. It has only gotten worse. I annointed and Gabriel (father) sealed the annointing. He was way nervous because it was only the second time that he has ever done a blessing. It is cool though, to see a family so young in the gospel that already has the Melquisedek Priesthood in the home.
After that we went to FHE with some members (Familia Rangel) and their non- member family members. We showed up late due to the blessing, but got to sit, chat, and entertain the kids so they were not fighting. I drank some pineapple fanta and elder faldmo did some juggling. Then, it was the end of the night!
The last week was very tranquil and not a lot happened that was too exciting apart from Maria Rubio's amazing testimony that she already has. I pretty much told it to you all!
To Maddy. I was trying to think of some scriptures that have lifted my spirits as a missionary. I want to always have peace and contentment. My FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE chapters in the Book of Mormon are Mosiah chapters 2-4. I just love them. They tell us how we can serve others, and god, and thus be happy. I know that if I would have more diligently studied the scriptures in my youth, I would have been much happier and far more prepared to confront the challenges that I encountered. I always have loved prayer. When you pray, pray in your room, out loud. Don't just think it when you are alone. SAY your prayers. I try to find places and times here on my mission so that I can pray out loud and those prayers are far more spiritually enriching. Also, do not stress too much about your writing exam for PCC. Breath, study a little bit at a time, and pray a lot. Studying for long periods has never helped me. My recipe for success that I came up with at BYU was to study 30 minutes for every class, every day. I would not study more. I would not study less. In the end, I usually ended up studying more for my classes than most other people and did fairly well. You are smarter than me and I know that you will be fine no matter if it is at Westview or PCC. Westview is a good school. PCC is a decent college. Just pray to have Heavenly Father help you understand what you need to do to make your situation work out. Never give up. Just keep going. There is that way cheesy colloquial phrase, "when the going gets tough, the tough get going." You have always been a tough one sis. Just have faith and patience. Maybe Heavenly Father is blessing you with opportunities to develop Christlike attributes.
To Will, even though your team might be losing a lot, keep playing hard and doing your part. Don't get selfish and just keep playing like you know you should. You can show your team how to play by doing things right and being unselfish in your game play. As coach Thuerer said, "Don't Hot Dog it out there". That means, you can't do it alone. A hot dog alone is boring and is only good with the right condiments and other things to help it. That is your team. Lead by example. Also, it makes me proud to know you are a smart little kid. I know you have a lot of potential that you can most certainly reach with all of that extra energy that you have!
To Mom and Dad, thanks for all your kind and encouraging words. I certainly could have done much better when at home. But, repentace is forgetting the past and being better every day. I feel as though that is happening whilst I am here on the mission. I am coming to understand my purpose in life more fully and how to show emotion and care for others. I love the plan of salvation and I hope you all study it frequently. It is the greatest source of light and understanding for me out here as a missionary. It makes all of this, life, it's challenges, etc. make sense. Keep being the awesome parents that you are and do not spoil Maddy and Will too much.
I love you all and enjoyed our chat. The next one will come way too soon. Don't misunderstand me, but my time here needs to slow down so I can help more people find the true source of happiness and peace. I love you so much! I pray for you all daily and personally! Keep doing all you can to be examples of Christ to those around you so that they will notice something and perhaps show some interest in why. I liked that quote from conference. "We should always be doing missionary work, and occasionally it will be necessary to talk". That is the truth. Actions speak louder than words.
I love you! Have a great, dry week!
Con gratitud,
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Hola desde la rama Catalina
Hey Family!
I am WAYYYY unintelligent and never eventhought of sending you all of my pictures via email! So, today, more than writing about the events of my mission, I will be spending the time uploading all of the photos that I can! I feel was lame for not having realized this, but I figure you all would enjoy the pictures better late than never. These are mostly pictures of me in my area in Mesa. My pictures of me with Elder Scherbel are on another memory card that I may have lost!!!!
This last week was a good one. It was calm, we taught a lot, and found a great new family to teach. I will begin by speaking about them. They are the Rivera Family. The mom, Adriana was recieved as a referral at Christmas time, but the elders could never find her at home or get ahold of her to talk and set an appointment. She has two little boys, Sergio, and Tony. They are pretty adorable and incredibly polite. Adriana has a husband, Sergio, who does not really want to have anything to do with us, but the last time we visited them, we spoke with her about having her speak to her husband to get him involved. She said she wants to have her husband involved a lot and that she is excited. Adriana is so prepared. She wants to learn about the Gospel a lot. Currently, she attends a "Christian" church with her mom, Mercedes, who we are also now teaching. Just like in previous times, it was very difficult to contact her. We had given up on her and everything and had decided to quit passing by. Well, last p-day we had a little time with nothing to do. I sat in the car thinking of where we could possibly go, and Adriana came to mind. I thought it was a bad thought, but I have learned that by doubting my thoughts as a missionary, I am doubting the Spirit. Elder Faldmo and I followed that impression and went and knocked. She answered, invited us in, and listened attentively and smiles for the brief period of time we had to speak. We prayed, and she thanked us a lot for stopping by. We gave her a Restoration pamphlet and asked her to read it. She agreed. We set a return appointment, went on our way, and thanked Heavenly Father for that little miracle. We then passed by for our appointment on thursday and she was gone. Her husband, Sergio answered and was pretty rude, but told us to come back at 7:30. We did such and at first I feared speaking with her Husband again. He really is snappy. But, I asked the Lord for courage and strength. Sergio did indeed answer the door, went to the bedroom, and wouldnt come out. We taught Adriana, her mother, and father, Isidrio. This family is awesome. I am so excited to continue teaching them.
Saturday we had an excellent lesson with an investigator who has a date for June. His name is Margarito and he recently suffered a stroke. He struggles to read and for the longest time, would not pray in front of us. We felt like reading with him would benefit him most at this time so that he could be prepared for baptism. We read and he LOVED it. He was actually kind of tough to get to quiet up so we could continue reading. That is not a bad thing though. We read, and he said he will continue to read and will ask God if it is true. Well, we always end with a prayer, and hesitantly, I once again asked Margarito to offer the prayer. He sat in silence, then said, "Sure, why not?". It was a simple, sweet, honest, and heartfelt prayer. He asked God to tell him if we were telling him the truth. The way he worded everything was just so real. I loved people's first uttered prayers. They are always incredible. This was a big step of progress for Margarito.
Maria Rubio, our most rapidly progressing investigator, was IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of this week. We called daily to no avail. We always seemed to just miss her at her apartment. We never got to teach her, but aparently she spent the entire week with her member fellowshipper, Hna. Batrez. They did not make it to Church, but they both love it a lot, so we will continue to call her, pray for her, and stop by her house so that we can help Maria be prepared for her baptism. We are going to need to reset the date because of missing Church, but we know that she is reading, we just need to check up on her prayers and how she is feeling about the truthfulness of the Gospel.
One night while passing by the visit her, we decided to visit Hna. Batrez's inactive family. The only one home was her oldest daughter who is married and has two little boys. Coincidentally, she had been thinking of calling and asking for a blessing. Her son has been in and out of the hospital and is only 7 months old. He has been real sick. She asked us if we could give her son a blessing because a blessing had healed her last son. We did such and we are stopping by tomorrow to check up on them. The Lord always guides us to places, we just hae to follow the Spirit to find out why. We did not stop by those apartments for Maria Rubio, but rather for that poor little boy, Valentin Miguel Angel.
Saturday evening was our branch Cinco de Mayo party. It was awesome. We had some AWESOME mexican food and the better part was that two investigators and a few less active families came. All enjoyed and the best part of it all was that yesterday, two of the less active families were at Church for all three hours. Also, an excommunicated member we have visited under President Lopez's direction came to sacrament meeting and came and sat by us. He is an RM who took a different path in life after his mission, who was touched by the spirit of general conference who wants to come back so that he can be with his family in the life after this. The Branch activity worked miracles. Though our branch members are so busy, they are great fellowshippers when they have the time. I love this Branch so much.
Amparo, the mother of some recent converts came to Church for the 4th time! She is like Maria Rubio, almost impossible to find because of working so much. Luckily, she is always at FHE with her children and she is alsmot always there on Saturdays. I think she knows the Gospel is true. She has seen the Gospel change the lives of her children. It has helped them through trials (when both son in laws were sent to Eloy) and given them hope. Members speak to her and treat her as the sister that she is. It is great.
Other than that, I got food poisoning from Taco Bell. Never going to eat there again.
It was a good week. No crazy stories. Just a lot of sweet, spiritual moments. I loved most every minute of it.
I got the Easter package on wednesday. I am indeed taking my medicine more regularly. I am today beginning a diet that Elder Faldmo promises will help me lose weight and get sick less. All I have to do is not drink milk, eat bread, or peanut butter. Those things are all expensive purchases every week, so I figure I will give it a try. I will keep you posted.
No one in our branch has long distance, so we are going to kick it old school and call you from the church phone. I am letting him call first at 3pm our time (which is Pacific) and I will be calling you all around 4pm. Worst case scenario, we will find an english member to go to. I promise I will call though. It will be around 4pm your time. I hope I am not interrupting! I love Mom and Maddy too much not to, especially on this holiday. I love you and Will as well, Dad. I often speak of the amazing parents that you are in lessons. I used Dad slurping his cereal and reading his scriptures every morning to help a young Recently Baptized family. The loved the story. I love it, too.
Well, I love you all so much. I will send another couple of emails with batches of pictures!
I love you family dearest. Have a great week! You are in my prayers.
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
I am WAYYYY unintelligent and never eventhought of sending you all of my pictures via email! So, today, more than writing about the events of my mission, I will be spending the time uploading all of the photos that I can! I feel was lame for not having realized this, but I figure you all would enjoy the pictures better late than never. These are mostly pictures of me in my area in Mesa. My pictures of me with Elder Scherbel are on another memory card that I may have lost!!!!
This last week was a good one. It was calm, we taught a lot, and found a great new family to teach. I will begin by speaking about them. They are the Rivera Family. The mom, Adriana was recieved as a referral at Christmas time, but the elders could never find her at home or get ahold of her to talk and set an appointment. She has two little boys, Sergio, and Tony. They are pretty adorable and incredibly polite. Adriana has a husband, Sergio, who does not really want to have anything to do with us, but the last time we visited them, we spoke with her about having her speak to her husband to get him involved. She said she wants to have her husband involved a lot and that she is excited. Adriana is so prepared. She wants to learn about the Gospel a lot. Currently, she attends a "Christian" church with her mom, Mercedes, who we are also now teaching. Just like in previous times, it was very difficult to contact her. We had given up on her and everything and had decided to quit passing by. Well, last p-day we had a little time with nothing to do. I sat in the car thinking of where we could possibly go, and Adriana came to mind. I thought it was a bad thought, but I have learned that by doubting my thoughts as a missionary, I am doubting the Spirit. Elder Faldmo and I followed that impression and went and knocked. She answered, invited us in, and listened attentively and smiles for the brief period of time we had to speak. We prayed, and she thanked us a lot for stopping by. We gave her a Restoration pamphlet and asked her to read it. She agreed. We set a return appointment, went on our way, and thanked Heavenly Father for that little miracle. We then passed by for our appointment on thursday and she was gone. Her husband, Sergio answered and was pretty rude, but told us to come back at 7:30. We did such and at first I feared speaking with her Husband again. He really is snappy. But, I asked the Lord for courage and strength. Sergio did indeed answer the door, went to the bedroom, and wouldnt come out. We taught Adriana, her mother, and father, Isidrio. This family is awesome. I am so excited to continue teaching them.
Saturday we had an excellent lesson with an investigator who has a date for June. His name is Margarito and he recently suffered a stroke. He struggles to read and for the longest time, would not pray in front of us. We felt like reading with him would benefit him most at this time so that he could be prepared for baptism. We read and he LOVED it. He was actually kind of tough to get to quiet up so we could continue reading. That is not a bad thing though. We read, and he said he will continue to read and will ask God if it is true. Well, we always end with a prayer, and hesitantly, I once again asked Margarito to offer the prayer. He sat in silence, then said, "Sure, why not?". It was a simple, sweet, honest, and heartfelt prayer. He asked God to tell him if we were telling him the truth. The way he worded everything was just so real. I loved people's first uttered prayers. They are always incredible. This was a big step of progress for Margarito.
Maria Rubio, our most rapidly progressing investigator, was IMPOSSIBLE to get ahold of this week. We called daily to no avail. We always seemed to just miss her at her apartment. We never got to teach her, but aparently she spent the entire week with her member fellowshipper, Hna. Batrez. They did not make it to Church, but they both love it a lot, so we will continue to call her, pray for her, and stop by her house so that we can help Maria be prepared for her baptism. We are going to need to reset the date because of missing Church, but we know that she is reading, we just need to check up on her prayers and how she is feeling about the truthfulness of the Gospel.
One night while passing by the visit her, we decided to visit Hna. Batrez's inactive family. The only one home was her oldest daughter who is married and has two little boys. Coincidentally, she had been thinking of calling and asking for a blessing. Her son has been in and out of the hospital and is only 7 months old. He has been real sick. She asked us if we could give her son a blessing because a blessing had healed her last son. We did such and we are stopping by tomorrow to check up on them. The Lord always guides us to places, we just hae to follow the Spirit to find out why. We did not stop by those apartments for Maria Rubio, but rather for that poor little boy, Valentin Miguel Angel.
Saturday evening was our branch Cinco de Mayo party. It was awesome. We had some AWESOME mexican food and the better part was that two investigators and a few less active families came. All enjoyed and the best part of it all was that yesterday, two of the less active families were at Church for all three hours. Also, an excommunicated member we have visited under President Lopez's direction came to sacrament meeting and came and sat by us. He is an RM who took a different path in life after his mission, who was touched by the spirit of general conference who wants to come back so that he can be with his family in the life after this. The Branch activity worked miracles. Though our branch members are so busy, they are great fellowshippers when they have the time. I love this Branch so much.
Amparo, the mother of some recent converts came to Church for the 4th time! She is like Maria Rubio, almost impossible to find because of working so much. Luckily, she is always at FHE with her children and she is alsmot always there on Saturdays. I think she knows the Gospel is true. She has seen the Gospel change the lives of her children. It has helped them through trials (when both son in laws were sent to Eloy) and given them hope. Members speak to her and treat her as the sister that she is. It is great.
Other than that, I got food poisoning from Taco Bell. Never going to eat there again.
It was a good week. No crazy stories. Just a lot of sweet, spiritual moments. I loved most every minute of it.
I got the Easter package on wednesday. I am indeed taking my medicine more regularly. I am today beginning a diet that Elder Faldmo promises will help me lose weight and get sick less. All I have to do is not drink milk, eat bread, or peanut butter. Those things are all expensive purchases every week, so I figure I will give it a try. I will keep you posted.
No one in our branch has long distance, so we are going to kick it old school and call you from the church phone. I am letting him call first at 3pm our time (which is Pacific) and I will be calling you all around 4pm. Worst case scenario, we will find an english member to go to. I promise I will call though. It will be around 4pm your time. I hope I am not interrupting! I love Mom and Maddy too much not to, especially on this holiday. I love you and Will as well, Dad. I often speak of the amazing parents that you are in lessons. I used Dad slurping his cereal and reading his scriptures every morning to help a young Recently Baptized family. The loved the story. I love it, too.
Well, I love you all so much. I will send another couple of emails with batches of pictures!
I love you family dearest. Have a great week! You are in my prayers.
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Happy Belated Easter!
Hey Family,
It is a nice, sunny morning in Phoenix. I have been waking up congested every morning, but apparently every missionary suffers from that. It is just that the air is so darn dry and there is so much pollution that our bodies can not handle it while we are asleep I guess. I feel like heck every morning, but I go to the gym, run a mile, and lift weights for a half hour or so. By the end of all that, I am usually all clear of mucus and such. I am doing well though. No sinus issues have come up so mom does not need to worry! I am alive and well.
This last week is FULL of stories. I will go from the beginning.
We began by teaching a young girl named Jaclyn. She is 16 and we have been teaching her little sister, Jessica. I will just begin by saying that Jaclyn already has a testimony of so many gospel truths, she just has so many questions that it is hard to answer them all while teaching her the Gospel. Elder Faldmo and I are trying to think of how we can get her to focus and actually keep her committments. We may be forced to drop them if they do not drop. We just asked her about her goals in life and what she aspries to. We found some gospel truths in things that she said and focused on them while we taught her.
Later that night we taught Elder Hainsworth's convert from the beginning of her mission. She is puerto rican and is married and sealed to a man 20 years younger than her. Sadly, she cheated on her and she has a lot of health problems. Life has treated Karina poorly, so she is really doubting her testimony. She was Relief Society president, but asked to be released. We went and visited, and just let her vent. Our Branch President offended her and she really doesn't feel much happiness in her life. We did not say much, but I did get her your number mom, just incase she wanted to call and have someone to talk to. I figured you could relate because she has never been able to solve her medical complications and has given up hope. I think you would be a great help to her and I think both of your testimonies would grow. But, she is really not into the gospel right now. It was one of the more spiritually draining experiences of my mission. I felt so sad afterwards. She is still in my prayers, and tomorrow I am putting her name on the temple rolls.
Tuesday was a pretty average day. We taught Margarito, Natalia, and Teresa. Nothing special other than the fact that as of recent everyone has been asking, "Where did God come from?". I do not know what to tell them. I do not want to give them too much and make their minds explode.
Wednesday is a crazy day. We had district meeting then went to teach Jose Lopez, a Recent Convert. The lesson was great and simple. On the way out of the trailer park, someone shouted "Hey Mormons!!!!" We ignored him, but then he yelled again. We turned and greeted him. To make a 1.5 hour long story short, he was an apache that had a bit too much to drink. He told us he was a killer and would have killed us if we were not missionaries. He was waving a knife around and smelled awful. He had been through a lot and really has a strong hatrid towards God. Elder Faldmo has taken some self-defense, so he was ready to do something if he tried any funny business with the knife. To sum it up, I am fine, but I was terrfied. I have a greater testimony now that God protects those who serve him and that evil spirits are attracted to the light of Christ. I did not have much of an appetite the rest of the day.
Friday was quite thrilling as well. We went to dinner and all after having planned for the next week. All of our appointments fell through, so we decided to go teach Maria Rubio if she was home. She was home sewing. She knows we can not come in without a thrid male, so we visited with her outside. In the end, she told us that dark spirits were still haunting her. So, we determined we needed to bless the home and use the priesthood to cast out any evil spirits. We entered her home and it just felt dense. Way dense. We sat down to offer the blessing and prayer. As a stated authority, it felt like someone was pushing down on me. I could not think straight and had to fight to speak the words correctly. I could feel something trying to stop me, but I kept going. It wortked.The pressure that was over me was gone and it was relaxing. There was not any more tension. I never believed in evil like that before my mission, but now, from personal experience I KNOW that evil is real. If we invite it, it will come. I never want to watch horror movies again because they are just a conduit for evil. I have never felt worse in my life than in that home. But, I have also never had such a great spiritual experience as after the blessing on that home. The priesthood is real and the power of Christ always overpowers the works of the Adversary. I would not mind if I never had to do this ever agin though. It felt awful.
Saturday was a fantastic day. We kept busy and taught a lot. We ended the day by going to Mesa for the Easter Pageant with an investigator, Heather and her daughters. They loved it, as did I. I am sure everyone there felt the spirit, even the protestors. Their propoganda is hilarious. I was reading it and one of them was showing contradictions in the book of Mormon. They quoted joseph smith saying God had a body of flesh and bones, then they quoted the book of Mormon from Alma 31, where the Zoramites (apostate Nephites) were praying on the tower of Rameumptom (spelling?). If only they read the entire context of the chapter they would understand. Hahahaha. It gave me a good chuckle. A supposed contradiction in fact supported the Book of Mormon and the words of Joseph Smith.
Easter felt like most any other Sunday. I figured out why. I have had so many great spiritual experience recently that I just am always surrounded by the Spirit. I often ponder over the Resurrection and the Atonement, so yesterday was just a day where more people were doing the same. We had more investigators at Church than ever, and Maria Rubio told us she finally felt safe in her home. It was a fantastic day.
It was a good, stressful, dangerous, and a miraculous week. I thank you for your prayers and support. The Easter Package has still not come, but I need to learn to be more patient. I am glad you got to "channel" me by snowboarding fast (Will and Maddy). I do miss the snow, but I just know that winter will always come around again. Please be safe, and please love one another. Do FHE tonight and say family prayers always. I love you so much! I hope you all have an incredible week!
With all my love,
Elder Jonathan Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
It is a nice, sunny morning in Phoenix. I have been waking up congested every morning, but apparently every missionary suffers from that. It is just that the air is so darn dry and there is so much pollution that our bodies can not handle it while we are asleep I guess. I feel like heck every morning, but I go to the gym, run a mile, and lift weights for a half hour or so. By the end of all that, I am usually all clear of mucus and such. I am doing well though. No sinus issues have come up so mom does not need to worry! I am alive and well.
This last week is FULL of stories. I will go from the beginning.
We began by teaching a young girl named Jaclyn. She is 16 and we have been teaching her little sister, Jessica. I will just begin by saying that Jaclyn already has a testimony of so many gospel truths, she just has so many questions that it is hard to answer them all while teaching her the Gospel. Elder Faldmo and I are trying to think of how we can get her to focus and actually keep her committments. We may be forced to drop them if they do not drop. We just asked her about her goals in life and what she aspries to. We found some gospel truths in things that she said and focused on them while we taught her.
Later that night we taught Elder Hainsworth's convert from the beginning of her mission. She is puerto rican and is married and sealed to a man 20 years younger than her. Sadly, she cheated on her and she has a lot of health problems. Life has treated Karina poorly, so she is really doubting her testimony. She was Relief Society president, but asked to be released. We went and visited, and just let her vent. Our Branch President offended her and she really doesn't feel much happiness in her life. We did not say much, but I did get her your number mom, just incase she wanted to call and have someone to talk to. I figured you could relate because she has never been able to solve her medical complications and has given up hope. I think you would be a great help to her and I think both of your testimonies would grow. But, she is really not into the gospel right now. It was one of the more spiritually draining experiences of my mission. I felt so sad afterwards. She is still in my prayers, and tomorrow I am putting her name on the temple rolls.
Tuesday was a pretty average day. We taught Margarito, Natalia, and Teresa. Nothing special other than the fact that as of recent everyone has been asking, "Where did God come from?". I do not know what to tell them. I do not want to give them too much and make their minds explode.
Wednesday is a crazy day. We had district meeting then went to teach Jose Lopez, a Recent Convert. The lesson was great and simple. On the way out of the trailer park, someone shouted "Hey Mormons!!!!" We ignored him, but then he yelled again. We turned and greeted him. To make a 1.5 hour long story short, he was an apache that had a bit too much to drink. He told us he was a killer and would have killed us if we were not missionaries. He was waving a knife around and smelled awful. He had been through a lot and really has a strong hatrid towards God. Elder Faldmo has taken some self-defense, so he was ready to do something if he tried any funny business with the knife. To sum it up, I am fine, but I was terrfied. I have a greater testimony now that God protects those who serve him and that evil spirits are attracted to the light of Christ. I did not have much of an appetite the rest of the day.
Friday was quite thrilling as well. We went to dinner and all after having planned for the next week. All of our appointments fell through, so we decided to go teach Maria Rubio if she was home. She was home sewing. She knows we can not come in without a thrid male, so we visited with her outside. In the end, she told us that dark spirits were still haunting her. So, we determined we needed to bless the home and use the priesthood to cast out any evil spirits. We entered her home and it just felt dense. Way dense. We sat down to offer the blessing and prayer. As a stated authority, it felt like someone was pushing down on me. I could not think straight and had to fight to speak the words correctly. I could feel something trying to stop me, but I kept going. It wortked.The pressure that was over me was gone and it was relaxing. There was not any more tension. I never believed in evil like that before my mission, but now, from personal experience I KNOW that evil is real. If we invite it, it will come. I never want to watch horror movies again because they are just a conduit for evil. I have never felt worse in my life than in that home. But, I have also never had such a great spiritual experience as after the blessing on that home. The priesthood is real and the power of Christ always overpowers the works of the Adversary. I would not mind if I never had to do this ever agin though. It felt awful.
Saturday was a fantastic day. We kept busy and taught a lot. We ended the day by going to Mesa for the Easter Pageant with an investigator, Heather and her daughters. They loved it, as did I. I am sure everyone there felt the spirit, even the protestors. Their propoganda is hilarious. I was reading it and one of them was showing contradictions in the book of Mormon. They quoted joseph smith saying God had a body of flesh and bones, then they quoted the book of Mormon from Alma 31, where the Zoramites (apostate Nephites) were praying on the tower of Rameumptom (spelling?). If only they read the entire context of the chapter they would understand. Hahahaha. It gave me a good chuckle. A supposed contradiction in fact supported the Book of Mormon and the words of Joseph Smith.
Easter felt like most any other Sunday. I figured out why. I have had so many great spiritual experience recently that I just am always surrounded by the Spirit. I often ponder over the Resurrection and the Atonement, so yesterday was just a day where more people were doing the same. We had more investigators at Church than ever, and Maria Rubio told us she finally felt safe in her home. It was a fantastic day.
It was a good, stressful, dangerous, and a miraculous week. I thank you for your prayers and support. The Easter Package has still not come, but I need to learn to be more patient. I am glad you got to "channel" me by snowboarding fast (Will and Maddy). I do miss the snow, but I just know that winter will always come around again. Please be safe, and please love one another. Do FHE tonight and say family prayers always. I love you so much! I hope you all have an incredible week!
With all my love,
Elder Jonathan Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Hey!
Hey Family,
This last week was a tough one, but a great one as well. I would say last week was a week that helped me learn and grow a lot in my testimony of this work. When appointments fell through, we just got out there and worked hard to find new people. A big thing in the mission used to be TTI's, Teach, Testify, Invite. We used to have the expectation and goal of talking to 20 people every day. In December when Elder Evans of the Seventy came, he asked us to do away with it. He said it was not an efficient or inspired tactic. So, we as a mission quit keeping a record. Due to that, the number of people we talk to daily has plummetted. This just kind of chokes up the rest of the line for our key indicators. Well, Elder Faldmo and I decided that we are going to begin keeping track personally, even though we will not be reporting it to anyone. It has been a great blessing to our area. We have found 6 new people to teach, 5 of which I would say will progress quite well.
When I arrived in the area, no one was progressing, coming to church, or had set a goal for baptism. Now, we have two people with a baptismal date and another two that have began to come to church. Though the week was difficult, we were very blessed with many miraculous opportunities to invite our brothers and sisters to do things that will bring them closer to Christ.
Last P-day in the evening, we taught Maria Rubio --- friend of hna. Batrez. She had come to church the previous sunday and loved it. We taught her about the Restoration and just got to know how she feels about God. It went so well and the Spirit was there. Hna. Batrez bore a lot of great testimony and I felt prompted to invite Maria to be baptized on May 14th. She willingly accepted the date and Elder Faldmo helped her know that she must read, pray, and come to Church to be able to meet that goal. I think she really enjoys the fact that she feels so cared about when she is with members. We pay a lot of attention to her and she is slowly opening up. The sad thing is that she was not able to make it to Church yesterday for reasons unknown to us. She is great though. The only scary-ish thing is that she has something haunting her and we said a prayer over the home, but apparently it only worked for a short time. We may just need to use the priesthood in this situation. I am pretty interested to see what happens there.
The other man who is preparing for baptism is named Margarito. He is a veteran of the Vietnam war and recently suffered a stroke. He speaks english as well as spanish and the only issue that because of the stroke, he is not able to read. He too has a date of May 14th for baptism. We may hand him off to the english elders because that may suit his needs a little bit better.
Thursday was an interesting day. Not a whole lot happened until the evening when I went to stay in the Hospital with and Elder who just had surgery on an internal absess. He spent the whole 3 hours I was there on the toilet trying to go to the bathroom for the first time in a week. His name is Elder Thomson and he is my district leader, but he has been in the Hospital for about a week now. Things are looking better, but he is going to have to take it easy for a while. It is apparently a pretty serious surgery that he had.
Yesterday was AWESOME! Milton Valle from Honduras came to Church and if it were not for the members, he would have never made it. He needed a ride because we cannot give rides in the mission car. Our ride for him cancelled, but when Hno. Rangel showed up, we asked him to pick him up and he did! Milton loved Church and even tried to sing the hymns. Let's just put it this way, Hispanics can not sing. But anyways...he loved church and the Guebarra family took him home. I think he felt love and I thin that he felt very welcome. More importantly, I think he felt the Spirit.
Also, we found an AMAZING family. The mother is Alejandra Martinez and she talked to missionaries once 15 years ago in Scottsdale. She found Mormon.org and asked for them to send missionaries over. Wow though, what a family. They are so prepared. We knocked the door, her 17 year old son Ivan answered and she invited us in. We spoke and got to know one another. They are a very well to do family who is 100% legal, travels the world, and loves God. They are very busy, but looking for a Church. I hope so badly that we can help them feel in their hearts that they have found the truth. I am so excited!!!!
As for the Mother's Day phone call, I have no idea how that works. I am pretty sure that we will find out fairly close to that day, and it is still a ways off. I love you and miss you mom, but I have a lot to do here. I am sure our Zone leaders will tell us the details as it gets closer.
On Saturday evening we went to the Easter Paegant. All I can say is that the Easter after my mission, we are all coming back here for it. It was amazing and so beautifully done. It is something that I think everyone in our family would love. The Spirit is there very strongly and it is pretty incredible how well it is accepted. The exciting part was the protestors outside. They were handing out pamphlets and even gave one to me. They quoted the King Follet Sermon and other deep doctrine from Church leaders and tried to prove it wrong. It truly goes to show that so many people base their beliefs on what the bible says alone and not what they feel in their hearts. I felt pretty good as nothing the flier contained shook me at all. It just showed to me that I have been blessed with a much more profound testimony than I had recognized.
It was a great week. I loved it. I am glad to be here in Phoenix. I love you all and pray for you! I know you are all being blessed as well as myself! Keep being the best family ever!
With my love,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
This last week was a tough one, but a great one as well. I would say last week was a week that helped me learn and grow a lot in my testimony of this work. When appointments fell through, we just got out there and worked hard to find new people. A big thing in the mission used to be TTI's, Teach, Testify, Invite. We used to have the expectation and goal of talking to 20 people every day. In December when Elder Evans of the Seventy came, he asked us to do away with it. He said it was not an efficient or inspired tactic. So, we as a mission quit keeping a record. Due to that, the number of people we talk to daily has plummetted. This just kind of chokes up the rest of the line for our key indicators. Well, Elder Faldmo and I decided that we are going to begin keeping track personally, even though we will not be reporting it to anyone. It has been a great blessing to our area. We have found 6 new people to teach, 5 of which I would say will progress quite well.
When I arrived in the area, no one was progressing, coming to church, or had set a goal for baptism. Now, we have two people with a baptismal date and another two that have began to come to church. Though the week was difficult, we were very blessed with many miraculous opportunities to invite our brothers and sisters to do things that will bring them closer to Christ.
Last P-day in the evening, we taught Maria Rubio --- friend of hna. Batrez. She had come to church the previous sunday and loved it. We taught her about the Restoration and just got to know how she feels about God. It went so well and the Spirit was there. Hna. Batrez bore a lot of great testimony and I felt prompted to invite Maria to be baptized on May 14th. She willingly accepted the date and Elder Faldmo helped her know that she must read, pray, and come to Church to be able to meet that goal. I think she really enjoys the fact that she feels so cared about when she is with members. We pay a lot of attention to her and she is slowly opening up. The sad thing is that she was not able to make it to Church yesterday for reasons unknown to us. She is great though. The only scary-ish thing is that she has something haunting her and we said a prayer over the home, but apparently it only worked for a short time. We may just need to use the priesthood in this situation. I am pretty interested to see what happens there.
The other man who is preparing for baptism is named Margarito. He is a veteran of the Vietnam war and recently suffered a stroke. He speaks english as well as spanish and the only issue that because of the stroke, he is not able to read. He too has a date of May 14th for baptism. We may hand him off to the english elders because that may suit his needs a little bit better.
Thursday was an interesting day. Not a whole lot happened until the evening when I went to stay in the Hospital with and Elder who just had surgery on an internal absess. He spent the whole 3 hours I was there on the toilet trying to go to the bathroom for the first time in a week. His name is Elder Thomson and he is my district leader, but he has been in the Hospital for about a week now. Things are looking better, but he is going to have to take it easy for a while. It is apparently a pretty serious surgery that he had.
Yesterday was AWESOME! Milton Valle from Honduras came to Church and if it were not for the members, he would have never made it. He needed a ride because we cannot give rides in the mission car. Our ride for him cancelled, but when Hno. Rangel showed up, we asked him to pick him up and he did! Milton loved Church and even tried to sing the hymns. Let's just put it this way, Hispanics can not sing. But anyways...he loved church and the Guebarra family took him home. I think he felt love and I thin that he felt very welcome. More importantly, I think he felt the Spirit.
Also, we found an AMAZING family. The mother is Alejandra Martinez and she talked to missionaries once 15 years ago in Scottsdale. She found Mormon.org and asked for them to send missionaries over. Wow though, what a family. They are so prepared. We knocked the door, her 17 year old son Ivan answered and she invited us in. We spoke and got to know one another. They are a very well to do family who is 100% legal, travels the world, and loves God. They are very busy, but looking for a Church. I hope so badly that we can help them feel in their hearts that they have found the truth. I am so excited!!!!
As for the Mother's Day phone call, I have no idea how that works. I am pretty sure that we will find out fairly close to that day, and it is still a ways off. I love you and miss you mom, but I have a lot to do here. I am sure our Zone leaders will tell us the details as it gets closer.
On Saturday evening we went to the Easter Paegant. All I can say is that the Easter after my mission, we are all coming back here for it. It was amazing and so beautifully done. It is something that I think everyone in our family would love. The Spirit is there very strongly and it is pretty incredible how well it is accepted. The exciting part was the protestors outside. They were handing out pamphlets and even gave one to me. They quoted the King Follet Sermon and other deep doctrine from Church leaders and tried to prove it wrong. It truly goes to show that so many people base their beliefs on what the bible says alone and not what they feel in their hearts. I felt pretty good as nothing the flier contained shook me at all. It just showed to me that I have been blessed with a much more profound testimony than I had recognized.
It was a great week. I loved it. I am glad to be here in Phoenix. I love you all and pray for you! I know you are all being blessed as well as myself! Keep being the best family ever!
With my love,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Wadup from the Westside
Yeah, terrible subject line, I know. But, it is REALLY ghetto out here. So, I just thought I would capture the attitude of West Phoenix.
So, I am sorry I did not write yesterday. Yesterday we had a Zone Development Meeting/ Interviews with President Ellsworth. This should be the only P-day this transfer that falls on a Tuesday! I am fine, healthy, and happy, so none of you have any reason to worry. I just figured mom would probably be a wee bit worried since I had not yet written you all. But, Phoenix is great and I love this branch already. Elder Faldmo, he is a funny Elder, but I love the kid. He is always so positive and says hi to everyone. I think at the very least he is helping the Church get a lot better image within the community. He was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, but just before going to BYU his family moved to somewhere in Utah. I think Salt Lake. He has a lot of medical issues, so timeliness is tough. I prayed a lot last transfer to be provided with opportunities to learn and grow in patience. I am learning that a lot with Elder Faldmo. He is just to nice and positive to get upset with. I will just always do my best to be sure that I am ready on time and ready to go, then I wait patiently for him.
I left Scottsdale on a good note. My last night there I went out to show Elder Isom the area and to teach a couple of set lessons. We taught Cristina (she is 16) and she told us how she wanted to change and be closer to God. Accordingly, we taught her about baptism and its purpose in our lives and how it serves us. She really liked the idea and we asked her if she would follow the example of Christ and be baptized. She said yes. She then asked how we got baptized and what she had to do in order to be baptized. We read from D&C 20:37 and told her that if she did what we asked of her, she would be prepared. As of right now, I have no idea how well things are moving along with her, but I am thinking pretty well. The next evening Elder Isom called me to tell me that he had just set a date with her brother, Mauricio (14). I am really excited for them and everything that was going on and will go on. I try to still remember them in my prayers.
Wednesday was transfers, and craziness. I got in my little corolla and looked at the mileage record for this month. 6 days into the month and 1/4 of the miles had already been used that were permitted! AHHHH! So, Elder Faldmo and I are going to be going out on bikes for the majority of this week. We need to get our miles down so that we can drive and do all things that are neccesary without having to worry about scrimping by on miles. The last Elder that was here was not very organized as I come to see.
We taugh one woman, Hna. Batrez, who is less active. It was a quick, spiritual lesson that I enjoyed. We invited her to church and she said she would try. Well, considering she had not been to church in a few months, we did not have the highest of hopes. Well, God blessed her heart and humbled mine. She came to Church. Not only did she do that, but she brought a friend along. Her friend stayed all three hours and after having attended, asked us for a blessing of health. We did so and she told us she felt something that she had not felt in years. She felt like she was not alone anymore. Later that evening we had an FHE with a member family and Maria Rubio once again came. It was great. We are going to call Hna. Batrez today to try and set up an appointment at her house this week. I really feel like this woman has been prepared by God to listen to and accept the Gospel. I will keep you all posted.
One struggle in the area is that the Branch President employs pretty much the entire branch. He owns a massive bread factory the distributes worldwide. Most members work for him and he gives them TONS of hours every day. The nice thing is that he gives them Sundays off. He is a great man, President Lopez. He is very well off, but very loving and willing to serve. We at with him on Thursday and I think I made a good impression. I think that a lot of good things are about to happen in our branch.
We are teaching a young girl, Jessica. She is 14 and smokes, and has done so for the last 5 years. I am pretty amazed by that, but every time I visit her I feel the spirit really strong. Just yesterday we taught her a really poweful lesson on the atonement and how we need her to quit abusing substance before we teach her more. I think she really felt it. I was prompted to do something really strange. I handed her a pass along card with the picture of the resurrected Christ. I told her to stare at it, and to think of what he had done for her. At first she said it was awkward because it was quiet. Then, she said the quiet was nice. Then, she started telling us how she felt. I think she was pricked pretty strongly in her heart. I think we should see some progress with her in the near future.
I have saved the best news for last! On Thrusday morning I was studying and the phone rang. I answered and I immidiately recognized the voice on the other line. It was Moises from Mesa! He called to tell me that he and Graciela were getting married and baptized on saturday and that he wanted me to baptize him! It was strange, because it was almost like I knew that call was coming. I was so excited and I got things arranged so that we could go. I got permission from the assistants and we went! It was a glorious day. It was a day I have been waiting for a very long time. I wanted to stay with them all day, but we had to be back to Phoenix by 5pm. I told them I would write and that I wanted another call for when they were going to be sealed!
Overall, everything in my mission feels like it is falling in place. I am less stressed and feel like I have actually made a difference in the lives of others. I feel like I am actually spending my time very wisely by being here on a mission. It is the best, and hardest, thing that I have every done.
I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I pray for you in every prayer! Study, pray, and go to church, and most will go very well!
Con amor,
Elder Pearson
(posted By Maddy)
So, I am sorry I did not write yesterday. Yesterday we had a Zone Development Meeting/ Interviews with President Ellsworth. This should be the only P-day this transfer that falls on a Tuesday! I am fine, healthy, and happy, so none of you have any reason to worry. I just figured mom would probably be a wee bit worried since I had not yet written you all. But, Phoenix is great and I love this branch already. Elder Faldmo, he is a funny Elder, but I love the kid. He is always so positive and says hi to everyone. I think at the very least he is helping the Church get a lot better image within the community. He was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, but just before going to BYU his family moved to somewhere in Utah. I think Salt Lake. He has a lot of medical issues, so timeliness is tough. I prayed a lot last transfer to be provided with opportunities to learn and grow in patience. I am learning that a lot with Elder Faldmo. He is just to nice and positive to get upset with. I will just always do my best to be sure that I am ready on time and ready to go, then I wait patiently for him.
I left Scottsdale on a good note. My last night there I went out to show Elder Isom the area and to teach a couple of set lessons. We taught Cristina (she is 16) and she told us how she wanted to change and be closer to God. Accordingly, we taught her about baptism and its purpose in our lives and how it serves us. She really liked the idea and we asked her if she would follow the example of Christ and be baptized. She said yes. She then asked how we got baptized and what she had to do in order to be baptized. We read from D&C 20:37 and told her that if she did what we asked of her, she would be prepared. As of right now, I have no idea how well things are moving along with her, but I am thinking pretty well. The next evening Elder Isom called me to tell me that he had just set a date with her brother, Mauricio (14). I am really excited for them and everything that was going on and will go on. I try to still remember them in my prayers.
Wednesday was transfers, and craziness. I got in my little corolla and looked at the mileage record for this month. 6 days into the month and 1/4 of the miles had already been used that were permitted! AHHHH! So, Elder Faldmo and I are going to be going out on bikes for the majority of this week. We need to get our miles down so that we can drive and do all things that are neccesary without having to worry about scrimping by on miles. The last Elder that was here was not very organized as I come to see.
We taugh one woman, Hna. Batrez, who is less active. It was a quick, spiritual lesson that I enjoyed. We invited her to church and she said she would try. Well, considering she had not been to church in a few months, we did not have the highest of hopes. Well, God blessed her heart and humbled mine. She came to Church. Not only did she do that, but she brought a friend along. Her friend stayed all three hours and after having attended, asked us for a blessing of health. We did so and she told us she felt something that she had not felt in years. She felt like she was not alone anymore. Later that evening we had an FHE with a member family and Maria Rubio once again came. It was great. We are going to call Hna. Batrez today to try and set up an appointment at her house this week. I really feel like this woman has been prepared by God to listen to and accept the Gospel. I will keep you all posted.
One struggle in the area is that the Branch President employs pretty much the entire branch. He owns a massive bread factory the distributes worldwide. Most members work for him and he gives them TONS of hours every day. The nice thing is that he gives them Sundays off. He is a great man, President Lopez. He is very well off, but very loving and willing to serve. We at with him on Thursday and I think I made a good impression. I think that a lot of good things are about to happen in our branch.
We are teaching a young girl, Jessica. She is 14 and smokes, and has done so for the last 5 years. I am pretty amazed by that, but every time I visit her I feel the spirit really strong. Just yesterday we taught her a really poweful lesson on the atonement and how we need her to quit abusing substance before we teach her more. I think she really felt it. I was prompted to do something really strange. I handed her a pass along card with the picture of the resurrected Christ. I told her to stare at it, and to think of what he had done for her. At first she said it was awkward because it was quiet. Then, she said the quiet was nice. Then, she started telling us how she felt. I think she was pricked pretty strongly in her heart. I think we should see some progress with her in the near future.
I have saved the best news for last! On Thrusday morning I was studying and the phone rang. I answered and I immidiately recognized the voice on the other line. It was Moises from Mesa! He called to tell me that he and Graciela were getting married and baptized on saturday and that he wanted me to baptize him! It was strange, because it was almost like I knew that call was coming. I was so excited and I got things arranged so that we could go. I got permission from the assistants and we went! It was a glorious day. It was a day I have been waiting for a very long time. I wanted to stay with them all day, but we had to be back to Phoenix by 5pm. I told them I would write and that I wanted another call for when they were going to be sealed!
Overall, everything in my mission feels like it is falling in place. I am less stressed and feel like I have actually made a difference in the lives of others. I feel like I am actually spending my time very wisely by being here on a mission. It is the best, and hardest, thing that I have every done.
I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and thoughts. I pray for you in every prayer! Study, pray, and go to church, and most will go very well!
Con amor,
Elder Pearson
(posted By Maddy)
Hey I'm Leaving Scottsdale
Hey Family,
You would not believe it, but once again I am being transferred, and this time it is back to Phoenix. I am getting kind of frustrated with not staying in one area for a long time. Liahona 4th was my longest area, three transfers. The reason that I am leaving is that president Ellsworth decided to rejoin the two areas into one because we are just not having enough success I suppose. It kind of makes me feel like all of my work here these last six weeks has been for naught. We have really improved the area a lot. We have set a lot of dates and made a lot of progress with less active members. The Delgado Family is active again! I guess you could say a lot of what I have been doing is just reactivation? I do not know. I guess that kind of falls under invite people to come unto christ, with a greater focus on the part about enduring to the end.
I am headed to Catalina branch in West Phoenix. It is the mission boundary with the Phoenix mission. It is a pretty rough part of town that I will take lots of pictures in for sure. I am going to be companions with Elder Faldmo from Dallas, TX. He was in my MTC district. I am kind of confused as to why we are companions. Maybe president thinks I am a bad missionary or something?!?! No idea. But, I am having to pur my trust, faith, hope, and confidence in President Ellsworth and the Lord on this one. Elder Scherbel is headed out to Apache Junction. We will both still be in car. I would have enjoyed being companions with him a little longer. He is a little prideful, but he and I really got along, worked hard, and had a good time.
Carlos Jaimes was not able to be baptized. His parents would not let him leave the house to go to the interview. They think he is wicked and needs to be perfect before being baptized. They say he gets angry -- he is mute. I would be fairly angry if I could not express myself. Elder Isom and Lake are going to continue to nurture his testimony by helping him understand the true healing power of the atonement. I think this may tone down his anger to a point where his parents will understand the whole purpose and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was HOT on Friday. 102 degrees was what the car read in the shade. It is in the 80's now, which I have decided is about perfect. I like it 85 and partially cloudy. It is really nice to work in! And, more people are outside.
We taught a lot at the beginning of this week. One set of brother and sister, Mauricio and Cristina, will probably be getting baptismal dates here fairly soon. They both read and pray with us. They both have a great interest in the gospel.
The hardest thing is that so many of these people are at a point in their progress towards baptism that is just so close. I will have to keep them in my prayers and in my thoughts! I am going to miss all of these people even though I was here for just 6 weeks.
Conference was fantastic. I am very excited to read the Ensign next month because a lot of talks really made me do some self reflecting. Some really helped me feel my savior's love, while others helped me make note of a few things that I can change to be a better missionary and a better person. The themes that I noticed were Repentace, Doing our Duty as members by serving others, and the sacredness and eternal power of families.
I love you guys so much. The internet went out today so my time is limited. I apologize for not writing more, but I need to let the other 3 elders use a computer that works! I loved your Israel pictures. I will need to go there some day. It looks incredible. You all looked like you stood out like sore thumbs.
I love you and keep you in my prayers. Please continue to pray for me that I may be guided to those prepared people in Phoenix. Pray for me to have health and strength, and diligence. I love you so much and especially thought of you all when I went to the temple on Friday. It was my favorite temple visit yet here in Mesa. There was a lot more peace for me in the Celestial Room!
With all my love,
Elder Jonathan Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
You would not believe it, but once again I am being transferred, and this time it is back to Phoenix. I am getting kind of frustrated with not staying in one area for a long time. Liahona 4th was my longest area, three transfers. The reason that I am leaving is that president Ellsworth decided to rejoin the two areas into one because we are just not having enough success I suppose. It kind of makes me feel like all of my work here these last six weeks has been for naught. We have really improved the area a lot. We have set a lot of dates and made a lot of progress with less active members. The Delgado Family is active again! I guess you could say a lot of what I have been doing is just reactivation? I do not know. I guess that kind of falls under invite people to come unto christ, with a greater focus on the part about enduring to the end.
I am headed to Catalina branch in West Phoenix. It is the mission boundary with the Phoenix mission. It is a pretty rough part of town that I will take lots of pictures in for sure. I am going to be companions with Elder Faldmo from Dallas, TX. He was in my MTC district. I am kind of confused as to why we are companions. Maybe president thinks I am a bad missionary or something?!?! No idea. But, I am having to pur my trust, faith, hope, and confidence in President Ellsworth and the Lord on this one. Elder Scherbel is headed out to Apache Junction. We will both still be in car. I would have enjoyed being companions with him a little longer. He is a little prideful, but he and I really got along, worked hard, and had a good time.
Carlos Jaimes was not able to be baptized. His parents would not let him leave the house to go to the interview. They think he is wicked and needs to be perfect before being baptized. They say he gets angry -- he is mute. I would be fairly angry if I could not express myself. Elder Isom and Lake are going to continue to nurture his testimony by helping him understand the true healing power of the atonement. I think this may tone down his anger to a point where his parents will understand the whole purpose and power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It was HOT on Friday. 102 degrees was what the car read in the shade. It is in the 80's now, which I have decided is about perfect. I like it 85 and partially cloudy. It is really nice to work in! And, more people are outside.
We taught a lot at the beginning of this week. One set of brother and sister, Mauricio and Cristina, will probably be getting baptismal dates here fairly soon. They both read and pray with us. They both have a great interest in the gospel.
The hardest thing is that so many of these people are at a point in their progress towards baptism that is just so close. I will have to keep them in my prayers and in my thoughts! I am going to miss all of these people even though I was here for just 6 weeks.
Conference was fantastic. I am very excited to read the Ensign next month because a lot of talks really made me do some self reflecting. Some really helped me feel my savior's love, while others helped me make note of a few things that I can change to be a better missionary and a better person. The themes that I noticed were Repentace, Doing our Duty as members by serving others, and the sacredness and eternal power of families.
I love you guys so much. The internet went out today so my time is limited. I apologize for not writing more, but I need to let the other 3 elders use a computer that works! I loved your Israel pictures. I will need to go there some day. It looks incredible. You all looked like you stood out like sore thumbs.
I love you and keep you in my prayers. Please continue to pray for me that I may be guided to those prepared people in Phoenix. Pray for me to have health and strength, and diligence. I love you so much and especially thought of you all when I went to the temple on Friday. It was my favorite temple visit yet here in Mesa. There was a lot more peace for me in the Celestial Room!
With all my love,
Elder Jonathan Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Hey!
Hey Family,
I am so glad you all enjoyed your time in Israel. That is truly a trip to envy. It is the only thing you have done while on my mission that I feel like I would have enjoyed being there a lot, but while you all had an excellent week in Israel, we had an excellent week here in Scottsdale. It was my best week as of yet!
On Monday as I said, we spoke with President Ellsworth. The mission goal is a minimum of one baptism per month. We were not on track with that, but President assured us that we could do it. Elder Scherbel and I spent the entire afternoon pondering over who is the one prepared for March. Then, I realized that the prepared person was there right in front of us -- Carlos Jaimes.
He is the Mute man who is probably one of the best conduits for the Spirit that I have ever met. He loves the Gospel and wants to come to anything Church related that we can get him to. He love it all! He and his wife, Cristina, came to church yesterday. They loved it and Cristina appears to be having more interest in the Gospel. A lot of this is coming from the fact that the Delgado family has been so great in giving them rides to Church, etc. So, we spoke with Carlos and he told us that he wants to be baptized this Thursday. We asked his wife's permission, he said yes. The only thing that could hold him back is that his parents (whom he lives with) are wanting him to wait longer. While we do not need parent permission seeing as he is 28, we love having family support and a presence at his baptism. We have a crazy few days ahead of us in order to get his baptismal service to happen, but we will do it!
Our week started off rather slow. We had one lesson on Monday and one lesson on Tuesday. I am grateful that we got to teach some, but I just like having busy days! Our lesson on Monday was with Victor Carillo, the big man with a deep voice. We passed by because another appointment near by fell through. We knocked his door, but the lights were off. They immidiately turned on and he answered. He told us he was busy, but right as we were walking off, he told us to come back, he had time. We went inside and we could just feel that something was wrong. He sat in silence for a while and then spoke. He told us he originally did not let us in because he was ashamed. He had just been smoking pot to take away the pain in his leg and he is now an addict. He told us to come back because he said he felt like God told him to call after us. We sat down, taught him about the Word of Wisdom and the Atonement, then ended with an oil blessing. It was a very sweet spiritual experience -- something I am sure that I will rememberv my whole mission. The power of the Atonement is incredible, and you all got to walk where it took place.
Tuesday I was on exchanges and was on bike in Phoenix. Phoenix is still the same. There is a lot of poverty, and not too many nice people. We taught a couple lessons on the street, but not a lot panned out. I am always grateful however for the chance to bear testimony. I always want to give the Spirit a chance to work wonders.
Wednesday was a CRAZY day. We taught Victor again. He is doing a lot better, has not smoked and has less pain! We taught him on daily study and fasting and seemed really interested in the idea of the fast with fast offering, he said it seemed very charitable. It was another good lesson. We then taught Veronica, the woman with 7 kids, it was chaos, but I felt the spirit at moments. We then taught Carlos Jaimes, and I already explained what happened there.
Thursday Elder Lake (the biggest Ute fan ever...) came with us for the day because his companion is district leader and went on exchanges. We had what I consider the worst lesson ever. Elder Scherbel described it well. It felt like she sprayed Spirit-Remover all over the apartment -- Liliana that is. She is the sister of Veronica. We walked in and bad stuff was on TV. Then, during the opening prayer she got us and walked out. Then, she answered her phone, etc. IT was awful. We then headed to Tempe and taught two lessons with New investigtors. Cristina (16) and Juan/Maria who live near by. They were kind of pressed for time, so we did not go too in depth on either lesson. We ended by teaching Cinthia and Paola about King Benjamin's Discourse. It is quickly becoming my favorite passage of scripture ever. I want to be everything that King Benjamin teaches. Paola needs to apply some of it, too. That way, her parents will see the change in her and allow her to be baptized. Her and he mother have an AWFUL relationship.
Friday was weekly planning. We began with an apartment inventory. Elder Nuku (Tongan) got tired of us speaking sarcastically. Elder Harper and I are kind of the same person, so it is tough, but we are doing it to help him. Sarcasm is kind of bad. We got most planning done, but not all. It got pushed off until saturday/sunday. We finished it though. We then taught Victor again, the catholic in him really shined as we taught about not bowing down to idols and keeping the Sabbath day holy. It was rough. We then had a good, quick visit with Carlos Jaimes.
Saturday was kind of rough, but good.
We ended the week with a mission fast for spiritual guidance an blessings to find the prepared people and the member relations with missionaries to increase. It was a good sunday, but a hard fast. We had more people at Church than ever, 4! It feels good to be making progress in the area!
It was just a good week overall. I felt happy, excited, and I am having a baptism this week! I am just excited to take part in this and to continue to be here! Next email, I will be telling you if Elder Scherbel is staying or going.
I love you all! I hope to hear from you all soon. Maddy, I love getting your letters. I look forward to the pictures. That chicken Will likes sounded really good. Just be sure to send more details after!
I love you family! You're in my thoughts and prayers. Have a great week!
Con Amor,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
I am so glad you all enjoyed your time in Israel. That is truly a trip to envy. It is the only thing you have done while on my mission that I feel like I would have enjoyed being there a lot, but while you all had an excellent week in Israel, we had an excellent week here in Scottsdale. It was my best week as of yet!
On Monday as I said, we spoke with President Ellsworth. The mission goal is a minimum of one baptism per month. We were not on track with that, but President assured us that we could do it. Elder Scherbel and I spent the entire afternoon pondering over who is the one prepared for March. Then, I realized that the prepared person was there right in front of us -- Carlos Jaimes.
He is the Mute man who is probably one of the best conduits for the Spirit that I have ever met. He loves the Gospel and wants to come to anything Church related that we can get him to. He love it all! He and his wife, Cristina, came to church yesterday. They loved it and Cristina appears to be having more interest in the Gospel. A lot of this is coming from the fact that the Delgado family has been so great in giving them rides to Church, etc. So, we spoke with Carlos and he told us that he wants to be baptized this Thursday. We asked his wife's permission, he said yes. The only thing that could hold him back is that his parents (whom he lives with) are wanting him to wait longer. While we do not need parent permission seeing as he is 28, we love having family support and a presence at his baptism. We have a crazy few days ahead of us in order to get his baptismal service to happen, but we will do it!
Our week started off rather slow. We had one lesson on Monday and one lesson on Tuesday. I am grateful that we got to teach some, but I just like having busy days! Our lesson on Monday was with Victor Carillo, the big man with a deep voice. We passed by because another appointment near by fell through. We knocked his door, but the lights were off. They immidiately turned on and he answered. He told us he was busy, but right as we were walking off, he told us to come back, he had time. We went inside and we could just feel that something was wrong. He sat in silence for a while and then spoke. He told us he originally did not let us in because he was ashamed. He had just been smoking pot to take away the pain in his leg and he is now an addict. He told us to come back because he said he felt like God told him to call after us. We sat down, taught him about the Word of Wisdom and the Atonement, then ended with an oil blessing. It was a very sweet spiritual experience -- something I am sure that I will rememberv my whole mission. The power of the Atonement is incredible, and you all got to walk where it took place.
Tuesday I was on exchanges and was on bike in Phoenix. Phoenix is still the same. There is a lot of poverty, and not too many nice people. We taught a couple lessons on the street, but not a lot panned out. I am always grateful however for the chance to bear testimony. I always want to give the Spirit a chance to work wonders.
Wednesday was a CRAZY day. We taught Victor again. He is doing a lot better, has not smoked and has less pain! We taught him on daily study and fasting and seemed really interested in the idea of the fast with fast offering, he said it seemed very charitable. It was another good lesson. We then taught Veronica, the woman with 7 kids, it was chaos, but I felt the spirit at moments. We then taught Carlos Jaimes, and I already explained what happened there.
Thursday Elder Lake (the biggest Ute fan ever...) came with us for the day because his companion is district leader and went on exchanges. We had what I consider the worst lesson ever. Elder Scherbel described it well. It felt like she sprayed Spirit-Remover all over the apartment -- Liliana that is. She is the sister of Veronica. We walked in and bad stuff was on TV. Then, during the opening prayer she got us and walked out. Then, she answered her phone, etc. IT was awful. We then headed to Tempe and taught two lessons with New investigtors. Cristina (16) and Juan/Maria who live near by. They were kind of pressed for time, so we did not go too in depth on either lesson. We ended by teaching Cinthia and Paola about King Benjamin's Discourse. It is quickly becoming my favorite passage of scripture ever. I want to be everything that King Benjamin teaches. Paola needs to apply some of it, too. That way, her parents will see the change in her and allow her to be baptized. Her and he mother have an AWFUL relationship.
Friday was weekly planning. We began with an apartment inventory. Elder Nuku (Tongan) got tired of us speaking sarcastically. Elder Harper and I are kind of the same person, so it is tough, but we are doing it to help him. Sarcasm is kind of bad. We got most planning done, but not all. It got pushed off until saturday/sunday. We finished it though. We then taught Victor again, the catholic in him really shined as we taught about not bowing down to idols and keeping the Sabbath day holy. It was rough. We then had a good, quick visit with Carlos Jaimes.
Saturday was kind of rough, but good.
We ended the week with a mission fast for spiritual guidance an blessings to find the prepared people and the member relations with missionaries to increase. It was a good sunday, but a hard fast. We had more people at Church than ever, 4! It feels good to be making progress in the area!
It was just a good week overall. I felt happy, excited, and I am having a baptism this week! I am just excited to take part in this and to continue to be here! Next email, I will be telling you if Elder Scherbel is staying or going.
I love you all! I hope to hear from you all soon. Maddy, I love getting your letters. I look forward to the pictures. That chicken Will likes sounded really good. Just be sure to send more details after!
I love you family! You're in my thoughts and prayers. Have a great week!
Con Amor,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Windy & Rainy here in Arizona
By now you are all in Israel!
I hope you know what a marvelous vacation that is going to be. I was talking with Elder Harper the other evening and we were talking about getting a group of missionaries from our mission to go to the middle east after our missions. If I have the means, I would love to do that.
This last week was once again tough, but I am going to keep on working hard. Even though Elder Scherbel and I did not have much successes, we had little victories here and there. Yeah, we did not break any records, but we did teach good lessons when we taught. Especially yesterday. You all know how at times, I am a crier. I cry. Well, it has been a really long time since I have felt the Spirit strong enough to cry here on my mission. But, the two lessons we taught yesterday were so incredibly simple, yet powerful. I did as both of you (mom and dad) said by just testifying of what I know. As I did such, I felt the Savior's love flow. It was just a great experience overall.
Last night, I got the worst night of sleep of my entire mission. We do not have a baptism lined up for this month. I fell back into an old habit that I was so glad to have overcome. However, I prayed last night and asked my Heavenly Father for his guidance. The overwhelming answer that I got was, "Go talk to President Ellsworth". So, this morning at 7:00am I called him and left him a message telling him I wanted to meet with him. He called back shortly and we set an appointment. It was the best thing I could have done on a p-day. Even though things are hard, after having spoken with him and having felt of his love, I think this week is going to be a great one. He helped me to realize that Satan always wants to get us down. As we gain more faith, we gain more trials. Satan is going to jab at me harder because as I get stronger, his tactics have to become more aggressive. It has been that way. However, I read some scriptures with President Ellsworth that really helped me. Christ has already overcome it all. All of it. I just have never realized that. I am starting with a fresh view on things, and I am just so excited. I know the mission is not going to get any easier, but I know that I will cope with it better as a put my burdens on Christ's shoulders. It was a really good morning so far.
As for crazy events, things have remained fairly calm. I have no insane stories to share with you. Those lessons on Sunday were just great. They were the highlight of the week. Damien and Juana were found again. They came to Church. They are willing to keep learning. We are going to pray hard and study hard for them. It is all about the Spirit with them. If they cease to progress, we may need to drop them.
Paola's mom is still really cold. President Ellsworth wants to go meet her to see if he can help. His only concern is his spanish is pretty purely based on doctrine. Shooting the breeze is hard for him. I think if we can find a time to get him there, it will make all of the difference. His main desire for them is that the whole family takes part and becomes involved. The second principle that we teach anyone is that the Gospel blesses families. That is it's purpose. Our purpose is to invite others to realize that. I pray that the Spirit will guide us to say the words that will soften the heart of Susana (Paola's Mom).
I love you all so very much. My only desire of you all while in Israel is that you find me a nice polyester Israeli tie. I am falling victim to the tie obsession that normally plaugues missionaries. Do you think you could get one for me? Just in case I never go to Israel? Thanks! I do not have a whole ton more to write as a whole lot did not go on. Most of my stuff is intrapersonal this past week, so I am sorry I do not have more inspiring stories to share. My solemn request is that while you are on the Mount of Olives, you read your scriptures. If you can go to Sinai for some reason, read the Sermon on the Mount. You are where the Bible took place. You are breathing the same air, coughing because of the same dust, and seeing the same sights that Jesus Christ himself experienced. I can not even imagine!
I love you all and I remember you in my prayers. We are a family that is eternal, we just have to work together to assure that! I will do my best here in Arizona!
With all of my love,
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
I hope you know what a marvelous vacation that is going to be. I was talking with Elder Harper the other evening and we were talking about getting a group of missionaries from our mission to go to the middle east after our missions. If I have the means, I would love to do that.
This last week was once again tough, but I am going to keep on working hard. Even though Elder Scherbel and I did not have much successes, we had little victories here and there. Yeah, we did not break any records, but we did teach good lessons when we taught. Especially yesterday. You all know how at times, I am a crier. I cry. Well, it has been a really long time since I have felt the Spirit strong enough to cry here on my mission. But, the two lessons we taught yesterday were so incredibly simple, yet powerful. I did as both of you (mom and dad) said by just testifying of what I know. As I did such, I felt the Savior's love flow. It was just a great experience overall.
Last night, I got the worst night of sleep of my entire mission. We do not have a baptism lined up for this month. I fell back into an old habit that I was so glad to have overcome. However, I prayed last night and asked my Heavenly Father for his guidance. The overwhelming answer that I got was, "Go talk to President Ellsworth". So, this morning at 7:00am I called him and left him a message telling him I wanted to meet with him. He called back shortly and we set an appointment. It was the best thing I could have done on a p-day. Even though things are hard, after having spoken with him and having felt of his love, I think this week is going to be a great one. He helped me to realize that Satan always wants to get us down. As we gain more faith, we gain more trials. Satan is going to jab at me harder because as I get stronger, his tactics have to become more aggressive. It has been that way. However, I read some scriptures with President Ellsworth that really helped me. Christ has already overcome it all. All of it. I just have never realized that. I am starting with a fresh view on things, and I am just so excited. I know the mission is not going to get any easier, but I know that I will cope with it better as a put my burdens on Christ's shoulders. It was a really good morning so far.
As for crazy events, things have remained fairly calm. I have no insane stories to share with you. Those lessons on Sunday were just great. They were the highlight of the week. Damien and Juana were found again. They came to Church. They are willing to keep learning. We are going to pray hard and study hard for them. It is all about the Spirit with them. If they cease to progress, we may need to drop them.
Paola's mom is still really cold. President Ellsworth wants to go meet her to see if he can help. His only concern is his spanish is pretty purely based on doctrine. Shooting the breeze is hard for him. I think if we can find a time to get him there, it will make all of the difference. His main desire for them is that the whole family takes part and becomes involved. The second principle that we teach anyone is that the Gospel blesses families. That is it's purpose. Our purpose is to invite others to realize that. I pray that the Spirit will guide us to say the words that will soften the heart of Susana (Paola's Mom).
I love you all so very much. My only desire of you all while in Israel is that you find me a nice polyester Israeli tie. I am falling victim to the tie obsession that normally plaugues missionaries. Do you think you could get one for me? Just in case I never go to Israel? Thanks! I do not have a whole ton more to write as a whole lot did not go on. Most of my stuff is intrapersonal this past week, so I am sorry I do not have more inspiring stories to share. My solemn request is that while you are on the Mount of Olives, you read your scriptures. If you can go to Sinai for some reason, read the Sermon on the Mount. You are where the Bible took place. You are breathing the same air, coughing because of the same dust, and seeing the same sights that Jesus Christ himself experienced. I can not even imagine!
I love you all and I remember you in my prayers. We are a family that is eternal, we just have to work together to assure that! I will do my best here in Arizona!
With all of my love,
Elder Jonathan Alma Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
Good Week
Hey Family!
This last week started off pretty rough, but things are improving bit by bit. We started some new things this last weekend in the branch that I think are bound to improve the member-missionary relations. We did a member help sheet which asked basic questions like, "Could you give investigators a ride to church?" and "Would you be willing to host FHE in your home for our investigators?" or "Would you be willing to go out and make visits with the Missionaries? If so, when?" We gave it to the Elder's Quorum and the Relief Society (There are only 4 High Priests in the Branch). So, last night, Elder Scherbel and I took all of the sheets and made a little chart with members, when they are available to go out, and people we need to call who said they had refferals. Considering all families in the Branch except for one live in the other Elders' area, I figure most referrals will be for them, but nonetheless, we have a huge list of members to come out with us every day. I really think that this is going to bless our area more than we can imagine. We usually have 2-4 member present lessons a week here as opposed to 15-20 in Mesa, but I have already taken it into account that I am in Scottsdale -- not Mesa. This week we already have 5 member present lessons set for before Wednesday. I think we are about to see some big changes.
We are really worried about Damien and Juana right now. Last Monday we had an FHE with them, and the ex- Branch President. It started off nice, but in the end we ended up with Hno. Castanon yelling at Damien and telling him he is just a sinner and needs to get married to his wife. Since this event, we have not been able to make and contact with them. I really am praying hard for them and hoping that they decide to listen to us again. They were so close to baptism. You would not even believe it. Hno. Castanon asked us if we had set up another FHE with them for today. I think I was a bit too sharp by saying, "After what happened last week, I do not know if we will ever do another FHE with them." In fact, I know it was too sharp of me. But, I have repented of that. I shouldn't have said it, but it was frustrating to see our investigators being verbally abused and being told to be quiet when I tried to intervene. I really am having my patience tried here in Scottsdale.
We got a refferal from the English Elder's in my area that I am pretty excited to begin teaching tonight. His name is Cesar and he was being taught by them. He just did not speak good enough english to be able to grasp the message, so they handed him over to us. When I called to set up the appointment, he was so excited. He tried to speak english to me, but as soon as he realized I could understand him, he just would not quit talking about how excited he is. I am pretty excited as well to be 100% honest. Elder Scherbel and I really need to start finding these prepared people. They are here, but we just haven't found them yet. Finding is pretty hard! We have a lot of it to do this week.
Victor is like the coolest investigator. I have taught him 4 times since being here and he is just too prepared to believe. He had the dream in which he was told he needs to get baptized in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. He also had a dream when he was nine that he was going to baptized at age 31. He turns 32 on the 8th of April. We set a baptismal date with him for the 2nd of April. The biggest struggle with him is work. He works on Sundays and is not off until 4:30pm. If he does not come to church this next week, we will have to push back his baptismal date. I am really praying that he is able to make it. He is a really busy man. Do either of you have any ideas on what to say, do, or ask? I am really trying to find the magic words to be able to help people keep the Sabbath Day Holy. It is the hardest committment for people to keep for sure.
That breaks my heart about Anthony. I am going to try and write them to see what is happening. I hope Elder Nerveza and Monahan are still keeping tabs on him. I have no idea what is going on in my old area. Anthony was so solid when I left. He was not doing anything bad. I have heard sad stuff about all of my converts. Cindy from Phoenix moved back to Mexico. Elvira got a job that makes her work on Sunday. Anthony is going kind of off of the deep end apparently, and Estrella is going to church pretty off and on since her parents have separated. It kind of makes me feel like all I have done on my mission is for naught. I would love it if you put Anthony on the prayer rolls. I really hope everything changes and gets better.
Funny you talk about Trevor being reassigned. Today out mission is getting 8 visa waiters. We have to go to the mission office after this to set up chairs for them. No one knows who their companions will be for right now, but I am sure we will find out soon enough. Apparently no one in the MTC going to Brazil has VISAs to leave. The MTC sounds pretty packed right about now. IT is ok though, reassignments are temporary unless over 8 months, and they are done by inspiration. I am glad that Kawike got to go to Mexico. I am sure he is loving it.
I am starting to be able to more easily see the blessings in every day. This last week was hard and a lot of bad things happened in our area, but a lot of small miracles happened, too. I just need to learn to recognize these things and get over the genetic Pearson disappointment. I need to see the beauty and brightness of every day. Bit by bit I am learning to do that. It is only my pride interfereing when I compare myself to others. I just have to work my hardest, change myself to be always worthy of the spirit, and put the rest in the Lord's hands. We all have agency, I have just not learned to accept that fact quite yet. I need to though. That is coming to me as I study the scriptures more often and pray more fervently. It is hard at 10:30pm when I am wiped out, but it is just something I need to do every day of my life to stay on the path and to hold to the Iron Rod.
I am glad you are all getting ready for Israel. It will be the experience of a lifetime for sure! I am a little jealous, but at the same time not. Just remember to say your prayers and ask the Lord for his protection. I am sure that you will be fine! I love you all so much! I hope you have the time of your lives together as a family! Enjoy the dead sea, go swim in it! I hear it is fun! The smith twins told me that!
Well, I gotta go, but I do with with all my love. Thanks for writing and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. You are in mine as well!
Con Amor y Gratitud,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
This last week started off pretty rough, but things are improving bit by bit. We started some new things this last weekend in the branch that I think are bound to improve the member-missionary relations. We did a member help sheet which asked basic questions like, "Could you give investigators a ride to church?" and "Would you be willing to host FHE in your home for our investigators?" or "Would you be willing to go out and make visits with the Missionaries? If so, when?" We gave it to the Elder's Quorum and the Relief Society (There are only 4 High Priests in the Branch). So, last night, Elder Scherbel and I took all of the sheets and made a little chart with members, when they are available to go out, and people we need to call who said they had refferals. Considering all families in the Branch except for one live in the other Elders' area, I figure most referrals will be for them, but nonetheless, we have a huge list of members to come out with us every day. I really think that this is going to bless our area more than we can imagine. We usually have 2-4 member present lessons a week here as opposed to 15-20 in Mesa, but I have already taken it into account that I am in Scottsdale -- not Mesa. This week we already have 5 member present lessons set for before Wednesday. I think we are about to see some big changes.
We are really worried about Damien and Juana right now. Last Monday we had an FHE with them, and the ex- Branch President. It started off nice, but in the end we ended up with Hno. Castanon yelling at Damien and telling him he is just a sinner and needs to get married to his wife. Since this event, we have not been able to make and contact with them. I really am praying hard for them and hoping that they decide to listen to us again. They were so close to baptism. You would not even believe it. Hno. Castanon asked us if we had set up another FHE with them for today. I think I was a bit too sharp by saying, "After what happened last week, I do not know if we will ever do another FHE with them." In fact, I know it was too sharp of me. But, I have repented of that. I shouldn't have said it, but it was frustrating to see our investigators being verbally abused and being told to be quiet when I tried to intervene. I really am having my patience tried here in Scottsdale.
We got a refferal from the English Elder's in my area that I am pretty excited to begin teaching tonight. His name is Cesar and he was being taught by them. He just did not speak good enough english to be able to grasp the message, so they handed him over to us. When I called to set up the appointment, he was so excited. He tried to speak english to me, but as soon as he realized I could understand him, he just would not quit talking about how excited he is. I am pretty excited as well to be 100% honest. Elder Scherbel and I really need to start finding these prepared people. They are here, but we just haven't found them yet. Finding is pretty hard! We have a lot of it to do this week.
Victor is like the coolest investigator. I have taught him 4 times since being here and he is just too prepared to believe. He had the dream in which he was told he needs to get baptized in the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. He also had a dream when he was nine that he was going to baptized at age 31. He turns 32 on the 8th of April. We set a baptismal date with him for the 2nd of April. The biggest struggle with him is work. He works on Sundays and is not off until 4:30pm. If he does not come to church this next week, we will have to push back his baptismal date. I am really praying that he is able to make it. He is a really busy man. Do either of you have any ideas on what to say, do, or ask? I am really trying to find the magic words to be able to help people keep the Sabbath Day Holy. It is the hardest committment for people to keep for sure.
That breaks my heart about Anthony. I am going to try and write them to see what is happening. I hope Elder Nerveza and Monahan are still keeping tabs on him. I have no idea what is going on in my old area. Anthony was so solid when I left. He was not doing anything bad. I have heard sad stuff about all of my converts. Cindy from Phoenix moved back to Mexico. Elvira got a job that makes her work on Sunday. Anthony is going kind of off of the deep end apparently, and Estrella is going to church pretty off and on since her parents have separated. It kind of makes me feel like all I have done on my mission is for naught. I would love it if you put Anthony on the prayer rolls. I really hope everything changes and gets better.
Funny you talk about Trevor being reassigned. Today out mission is getting 8 visa waiters. We have to go to the mission office after this to set up chairs for them. No one knows who their companions will be for right now, but I am sure we will find out soon enough. Apparently no one in the MTC going to Brazil has VISAs to leave. The MTC sounds pretty packed right about now. IT is ok though, reassignments are temporary unless over 8 months, and they are done by inspiration. I am glad that Kawike got to go to Mexico. I am sure he is loving it.
I am starting to be able to more easily see the blessings in every day. This last week was hard and a lot of bad things happened in our area, but a lot of small miracles happened, too. I just need to learn to recognize these things and get over the genetic Pearson disappointment. I need to see the beauty and brightness of every day. Bit by bit I am learning to do that. It is only my pride interfereing when I compare myself to others. I just have to work my hardest, change myself to be always worthy of the spirit, and put the rest in the Lord's hands. We all have agency, I have just not learned to accept that fact quite yet. I need to though. That is coming to me as I study the scriptures more often and pray more fervently. It is hard at 10:30pm when I am wiped out, but it is just something I need to do every day of my life to stay on the path and to hold to the Iron Rod.
I am glad you are all getting ready for Israel. It will be the experience of a lifetime for sure! I am a little jealous, but at the same time not. Just remember to say your prayers and ask the Lord for his protection. I am sure that you will be fine! I love you all so much! I hope you have the time of your lives together as a family! Enjoy the dead sea, go swim in it! I hear it is fun! The smith twins told me that!
Well, I gotta go, but I do with with all my love. Thanks for writing and keeping me in your thoughts and prayers. You are in mine as well!
Con Amor y Gratitud,
Elder Pearson
(posted by Maddy)
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