Again??

This week was pretty rad! We went on exchanges with the assistance and I learned so much!  Elder Beutler is such a stud of a missionary, he literally talks with everyone that he sees, has complete faith in God and that God will answer prayers of knowing whether or not the BOM is true, he asks very inspired questions, and has a love for the work and the people.  Looking at Elder Beutler, he is the type of missionary that I one day hope to become!

Thanksgiving was this week, and you know what that means? TURKEY BOWL!!  Man, there were so many people at the turkey bowl, it was crazy!  We had so much fun but paid for it the next day.... we could hardly even walk, it was bad.... but Thanksgiving was great, we ate at the church with a bunch of different members, and then went to the Cornelious' to play some games and help out with their horses, it was so fun!

Now for the teaching side of things, not much happened.  Most of the people we are teaching were out of town, so we didn't get to go and visit with them, but are hoping to see them at least 2 times this week.

The highlight of this week was also the lowlight.... on Saturday night we went out to eat at this place called Po Folks, which was super good, but later in the night, my stomach was killing me.  I went to bed and slept just fine.  Then Sunday morning we were getting ready for ward council and I couldn't hold it back any more, and up chucked!  Then up chucked again, and again, and again.... remember that time I was with Elder Renslow and we got food poisoning?  Well it happened again.... and I had the same symptoms all over again, so I am sitting here with a sore neck from throwing up so much, and doing my best to hold of throwing up some more.

Anyways, work is slow right now, but all is well!  The sky is blue and the church is true!  Keep on keepin on!!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

Love For The People

This week we went on exchanges with the Chipley Elders, in Chipley, so I got to see a lot of the people that I grew to love so much again!  While there, I had a realization of how important love is in the work; because I loved the people there and hadn't seen them in a while, I WANTED to go and see them and I WANTED to help them receive the blessings of the gospel.  I really hope that I will be able to take that same attitude, love, and diligence with me the rest of the mission, because it made teaching so much easier and much more powerful!  It's crazy how much I love the people here in the south!  Everyone always says that the greatest thing about the mission is the people and I never understood that until I actually got out here; I leave a piece of my heart everywhere I go and with every person I talk with.

We had a zone training this week, so that was fun!  It was 4 hours of us being in charge of teaching 24 missionaries, it was very humbling, but also very fun!  We did some preparing, but honestly, we just went mostly by the Spirit, it was pretty sick!  Even though it is stressful being one that everyone looks to, I enjoy it because I get to know the other missionaries so much better and I learn more than I ever would have!  I always say this, but it's true, without the hard times we wouldn't grow.

Other than that, not much happened.  Basically everyone we are teaching is being prepared by having loved ones pass away, so it's been hard being able to get up with them.  Travis Bynog's father in law is having really bad health problems but loves The Book of Mormon and is already in the Book of Jacob (as of last Thursday)!!  Lisa's dad passed away and is wanting to learn even more!  That one member family that just moved back has like 3 more people she wants us to teach!

The work is great, the sky is blue and the church is true!

Love you guys!!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

 

NINE HOURS

This week has been the most stressful week of my entire life!  On Tuesday, we had district meeting and planning for teaching in zone conference that took up the whole day.  Wednesday, we went to Crestview for MLC (missionary leadership council) and that took up the whole day.  Thursday, we had zone conference.  Friday, we had interviews, and found out we are to have a zone training each transfer as well as zone conference, we also had to deal with a broken car in the zone, so now we are in a car share with the other elders.... anyways, it has just been a very very stress filled week!! 

Even though we only had 9 proselyting hours this week, we taught a total of 9 lessons and set 4 baptismal dates!!  Last week I talked about how a member wanted us to teach her friend and we taught her the plan of salvation, well this week we taught her the restoration, and she asked "what makes your church different from the rest" and so we brought up the priesthood authority and committed her to be baptized and she accepted!  Then her son said "What's baptism?" and she taught him about it and  he wants to be baptized as well! AND this member has more people for us to teach, they are amazing!!  They have been moved in for 2 weeks now and have gotten us so many people to teach, I hope to be like them when I get home!

THEN we went to taught another guy, Travis Bynog (not the guy that came to church), and his wife, with their friends, who are members, and taught the plan of salvation.  We talked about the celestial kingdom and ways that we get there (church pray baptism, read, service) and then asked them what they would be willing to do to get there and they said "anything!"so we committed them to be baptized, and they want us to teach their two kids as well!

I have recently learned that I am a very very VERY small part in this work.  All I do is show up and teach, but the Lord is preparing so many people to receive the gospel!  All the people that I have had the opportunity to help get to baptism have just been incredibly prepared, and this is no different for these 2 families!  The Lord is doing the preparing and all I have to do is be diligent and be patient.  I think that's how it is with anything, if we are diligent in doing our best, then the Lord will take care of the rest!  He has a perfect plan and wants to bless us, we just have to show him that we are willing to receive the blessings.

Even though this week was super stressful, it was amazing!  The Lord is working wonders in the Panama City area and I am so thankful that I am able to be a part of it!

I love y'all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

Progression

This new transfer has already been so much better than the last, and it's only been 5 days!  Elder Abrams and I are working super hard and we feel like there is so much in store for us this transfer as long as we serve with all of our heart, might, mind and strength, and we have seen it already!  A few weeks ago we talked with this guy named Travis, on the side of the street, and when we got talking to him, he wasn't interested because he thought we were Jehovah's Witnesses.  He was really nice and shared some cool stories with us and then we gave him a card and he looked at it and said "Wait y'all are Mormon's...?" with like no emotion whatsoever, so we were super scared that he was going to go off on us but we said "Yes sir, we are."  He proceeded to tell us that he actually likes our food storage and being prepared beliefs and has actually been wanting to learn more!  So on Friday we texted him and asked if there was a time that we could visit with him and he said "Sure, when does church start?  We can do it after"!  So he came to church this week, participated in the lessons and really liked it.  We then shared the Restoration of the Gospel and talked about The Book of Mormon and he was really interested and wants to find out for himself and he said that there is a very good chance of him coming back!

Then, we had a dinner appointment with a member and they told us that they invited a friend and her son that wants to learn about the gospel, cause her mom just died, and her dad is nearing the end of his life as well. This member asked if that was okay..... OF COURSE THAT'S OKAY!!! IT'S EVERY MISSIONARY'S DREAM TO HEAR THOSE WORDS COME FROM A MEMBERS MOUTH!  So w taught her the Plan of Salvation and she loved it!  She didn't know about a lot of the stuff but said it all made sense and she wants to learn more.  We found out today that she is so excited for her next lesson!

Yesterday was daylight savings, and let me tell ya, it's the worst!!!!  So here in the south, once it gets dark, everyone goes to sleep, and doesn't want to visit, so there isn't much we can do in the night time hours.  Before daylight savings, it got dark at 6:00 then we would have dinner, and then we would work from 7:00 to the end of the night without much success.  Well now it gets dark at 5:00, so our whole evening is pretty much shot now.  We are trying to set appointments at night, so we don't feel useless, but until then all we can really do at night is be diligently ineffective (walking the streets trying to talk with people) for 3 hours..... 

Even though last transfer absolutely sucked, I know it was for my own good and I know that the Lord really is preparing people for us to teach, we just had to pass his test, and I sure am glad that we did!  There are great things that are going to be happening this transfer, we are so excited!

shout out to my Uncle Shon who sent me this awesome quote, hope y'all like it!!

"The longer I live the more I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It's more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than success, than what other people think or say or do. It's more important than appearance giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the string we have and that is our attitude. I'm convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you we are in charge of our attitudes."

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Elder Schipaanboord