Brethren, Adieu

Wow, its official, my last P-day, which means, my last email!

I have definitely learned a lot since September of 2015 and it's weird to look back and see how far I have come in my conversion to the Lord. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was getting out of the car, giving my family a hug, and walking away thinking "Well, here I go..", and now it's 2017 and I am getting ready to hug my family once again. I would say more than anything, I have learned that God knows each of us by name and has a perfect plan for all of His children. There have been so many experience where there is no way that all the events that led to meeting a special person and sharing the gospel with them was just a coincidence, or that the people that have built me up, and encouraged me to be better and come closer to Christ (whether they knew it or not) was an accident. God knows exactly what he is doing! He places specific people in our paths for a very specific purpose.

I also know that part of his plan is for us to go through trials. Trials does not mean that God has forgotten us, in fact the scriptures say "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." The mission has been the hardest thing I have ever done; there were days when I got yelled at, mocked/laughed at, or when no one would talk to us, or tell us we aren't Christians and are going to hell, or when people that knew the church was true chose to deny the gifts of the gospel, and these experiences made me feel soooo small!! It has been physically, mentally, and emotionally draining/challenging, but because of all that, I have learned how to cope with trials in life, and how to rely on the Savior for His help, comfort, and guidance. I also learned that being upset, sad, or mad is choice, and that I can choose happiness! Even though there were incredibly hard days, shoot, hard weeks and sometimes months, all the good and positive experiences that I have had completely outweigh all of the those bad times. Looking back on the past 2 years, I can honestly say that this has been the happiest I have ever been, and I know, without a doubt, that it is because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and always seeking to help those in need. I've learned that Service is the key to happiness, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

I never knew how hard it would be to leave the mission and go back to my family and friends, I have looked forward to embracing those that I love most in the airport, but I now understand that the people that I have met here have become family and friends! The culture of Florida and Alabama, and the people that I have met hold a special piece of my heart.  I know that I was sent to this mission for a very specific reason, and that there were so many people that were not only prepared for me to teach, but also for me to learn from (people in the ward, people I served around, companions, and people that I taught),  I love them all so much! 

I have been excited and nervous about going home, and trying to figure out how to fit the new Skip into the old world, but all those fears and concerns were washed away as I sat and listened to the inspired messages given at General Conference; I swear that all the talks were specifically for me! This church truly is lead by Jesus Christ and I am so thankful that God loves us enough to keep speaking to us today, and that we do have a living prophet and apostles on the earth today. 

More than anything, I have learned the importance of families. I've seen many families out here who are torn apart, and have so many hardships in them, and it made me so sad, and yet thankful for my family. I have also seen amazing families who are so close together and are filled with light and happiness, and that gave me great hope for my future! Being away from my family for 2 years has been so incredibly hard, but it helped me realize that I have such a wonderful family, that I took for granted at some points, but they have never stopped loving me. I've learned that this gospel really is for families. This gospel not only helps families find joy and peace and love here on earth, but it allows us to have something much greater, because of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we can be joined together with our families for all time and eternity, and in my eyes that is worth more than all the money in the world!

Well, I've waited my whole life to give the Lord two years of service, and I have done my best to give the Lord all my time, talents, and energy, and now its over, and is time to turn in the physical name badge for one that will be written on my heart forever. It's is so weird to think that it is over and that I will be heading home this week, but I am so excited for the next chapter in my life, and more opportunities to grow and come closer to the Lord.  I am so thankful for the last two years that I have spent here in the south, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I love y'all so much, and am so thankful for all that you do and say, and all that you say you do!

I will see y'all soon!(:

Elder Schipaanboord

P.S.

If y'all want to hear my testimony of the restored gospel, and the Savior Jesus Christ, make sure to be at my homecoming on October the 15th (1187 East Draper Parkway @ 1:00)

"I'll tell you all about it when I see you again"

 

 

Signed Testimony

This week has been absolutely amazing!! The hard work that Elder Blamires, Elder Carlson, and I have been putting in has finally started to pay off! It's really crazy though, because it isn't us, but it is all from the Lord, he has just be throwing things into our lap, it's wild, this truly is his work! So get this, we got a call from our bishop telling us that a part member is ready to be baptized, we went to talk with her for a little. Super long story short, she is getting baptized today! Literally, we did nothing, I have taught her once and it was just a spiritual video (forever ago). We went through the interview questions with her and she is super solid and is so ready!

We also have been able to find a ton of new people to teach! We went tracting and found this guy, named John, who was so nice to us! He has a step daughter serving in Puerto Rico, so he totally wants to learn more! We then played some wiffle ball with him and his kids and he really like that we weren't just there to preach at him but we care about him and his family. He then said "Ya know, I really want to visit y'all at church." The ward is also getting really involved in missionary work and there are tons of youth that are sharing the gospel with their friends, so now they want to come to mutual, church, and even seminary! One of the friends came to mutual and loved it, he told the member that he hates the churches around here and just wants to find a good church that lives what they teach. He also said that he really likes what he saw at church and wants to learn and come to church. Also, we were able to get back in contact with Kelly Rose ( a less active we were working with a few months ago), and she is doing so good!! She has seen how the gospel has blessed her life and wants to keep changing. We taught her about the Sabbath Day, so she came to church and loved it!! gahh!! There are so many good things that have been happening, it is absolutely amazing! It has been such a blessing, because it is helping me stay focused and remember what my purpose is and truly love this work!

Last transfer I talked about how I felt like I needed to stay on my mission for the full 2 years, rather than go home early for school, I feel like I have found the reason why. There have been so many people that we have been able to come in contact with that are prepared to receive the gospel, it's crazy! As excited as I am to be home, I am so thankful that I decided to stay out until October 5th, because if not, we may never have met John, Leslie, and Bill (from an exchange in Dothan), and we may not have been able to help Kelly come back to church. I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to teach the gospel every day, it strengthens my testimony of God's love for all of his children and His perfect plan for each of us. I wouldn't trade this for the world!

This Sunday was my last Sunday at church. It was such a good one! It was the primary program and boy did they do a good job! There was one part that I really loved, in the ward here there is a girl that has some severe handicaps but is just a ball of light everywhere she goes, she can hardly talk, but when it was her part in the program her and her mom got up there and stole the show! Her mom talked, while she signed, and together they said "Jesus shows us how to pray,"  The spirit came so strongly into the room, it was amazing! This helped me realize how this gospel is for everyone!! It doesn't matter who you are, God loves you and has a perfect plan for you! I love this gospel and I am so thankful for how much it has changed my life and allowed me to have true and lasting joy!

I love y'all so much, thank you for everything!

Elder Schipaanboord

Irma and Leslie

Well, Irma rolled through.... and it did absolutely nothing to us.  I was literally so mad, I have always wanted to be a part of helping hands, so I was super hyped with this storm coming, but my hopes and dreams were crushed when only a few branches and leaves fell to the ground.  Thank goodness for no devastation though.  We did get to spend the night at a members home, during the storm, and we even got permission to watch "G" rated Disney moves.  We spent the whole day watching movies and playing board games with the coolest family in the ward, it was so much fun!!

This week brought a couple of "lasts." I had my last interview with President Smith, which was pretty sad. Rather than a normal 10 minute interview, an exit interviews last 30 minutes and we basically just talked about what I have thought about my mission and how I feel that it went. We then talked about goals that I have for being back home and how I am going to stay active and have the Spirit with me at all times. At the end of the interview he simply said "Sprint to the finish and stay focused."  It gave me so much motivation!

I also gave my last talk in sacrament meeting as a full time missionary and I was asked to speak on my mission experience. I basically gave a homecoming talk. It was surreal, also really cool because as I prepared for it, I was able to see how much the Lord has blessed me in these past two years and I remember some incredible spiritual experiences that have helped me realize how true this church really is! I honestly don't feel like I should be coming home, being out here has just become life, so I want to make sure that I end this in the right way. These next 2 1/2 weeks are going to be so awesome, I can't wait to finish strong!! Bottom of the 9th, here I come!

Cool story for the week. Elder carlson and I have been finding soo much but have had no success, so we decided that we were going to say a prayer to find someone prepared to find the gospel just by walking around and hoping the person would talk to us first. So we got out the car and walked for a good 45 minutes; nothing! No one was even outside! I thought that it was a bust but on our way back to our car, this lady was raking her leaves, and said "hi." So we went and talked with her (Leslie) and introduced the Book of Mormon to her. She was soooo excited!! She told us that we were God sent, and an answer to her prayer! Turns out she wanted to learn more about Christ's miracles but didn't know how. She then said "What do I have to do to get one of those books?"  We just handed her one and said "It's yours." She treated it like it was the most prized possession that she owned. This experience made me realize how amazing The Book of Mormon really is and that I take for granted that I have it in my life. There are people that want to come closer to Christ but don't know how to find it. Also, "ask and ye shall receive" is sooo true! Gosh, I love this work!

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

Elder Schipaanboord

Emergency P-Day

As most of you know, there is a massive hurricane (Irma) that is heading directly towards Florida, and is projected to be absolutely devastating to many people. As of right now, the path of the storm is heading for our mission, so our mission president has been giving us updates on what to do and how to prepare. As for us in Enterprise, we are in the path, but it shouldn't be too strong when it hits us, so as of now (Saturday) we will be staying here but will receive more direction as time goes on. So, because the storm will be here on Monday/Tuesday we have today as P-day so that we can be prepared for the hurricane and to let y'all know whats going on.

This week, I definitely almost died a couple times... I was on an exchange with Elder Child in Geneva and we were doing service for a non-member by helping him move. The thing is, he only had an open trailer and no straps, so every time we put stuff in the trailer to be moved, I had to stand on the trailer to make sure that nothing fell over. During one of the trips, there was a massive dresser that was being blown my the wind (we were driving 45mph). I had to use all of my strength to make sure to that it didn't blow out into the road, there were a few times where the wind picked up and almost took the dresser, and me with it!

Also, on this exchange, Elder Child and I were trying to find people for to teach, so we went to talk to this guy in his yard, after 2 minutes a this pitbull came running out of nowhere and jumped up and bit me right in the ribs!!! Then he proceeded to attack my leg! Crazy thing about this though is that God seriously protected me so much! I don't know how to explain it but the bite to the ribs hardly did anything and when he attacked my leg, he was only able to tear up my pants! After the dog reached the end of the chain, Elder Child still taught the guy and ended up giving out a Book of Mormon hahaha! But long story short, the dog is now in quarantine to see if it has rabies and I am on some antibiotics to make sure that i don't get any infection from the dog.

Anywho, I am alive and well, for now... hahahaha! Thanks for everything guys, I love you lots!

Elder Schipaanboord

PS:

GO UTES! #7InARow​

Tender Mercies

The stresses of going home are so real but God knows each of his children and their trials, so I was able to see sooo many tender mercies this week, it was so humbling and amazing!

On p-day we were shopping at Walmart and this younger guy came up to us and started asking a bunch of questions and just talking all about Christ, it was so cool! He was sharing a lot of really awesome truths with us, we kept trying to offer more but he wasn't interested because he is "going to ministerial school." But it was awesome how he had absolutely no fear in coming to talk with us. One thing that he said really stood out to me, "We are working FOR Christ, we are working WITH Christ."  Then he asked, "Do y'all actually know Christ, or just believe in him? Because he is very real!" It was so cool! Christ is real and his promises our sure, and if you just trust him, you will find out how real he is. As we were wrapping up the conversation I asked how old he was, he said he was 18! It blew me away!  He had so much knowledge for an 18 year old, then I thought "Wow, I wonder if that's what people think of us?" When I first started this amazing ride, I was 18 (now I'm 20, so not much of a difference). It was amazing how much of a light he was and I hope that I live my life so that I can do the same for those around me!

As we were out tracting, we were having no success and didn't really want to be out in the hot humid weather having people either not answer the door, or tell us to go away. Then this guy answered the door who changed everything! This guy is a pastor for his church but he loves the work that Mormon's do, so he gave us a lot of praise. He told us that it is really hard and there are not a lot of people that will listen but we have to realize that we are planting and sowing seeds along the way. We may not ever be able to see all of the fruit from our labors but we can know that God will allow the seeds that we planted to grow until they become an amazing testimony. What a tender mercy!! We aren't having the most numerical success right now but we are working,and as long as we do that, the Lord is going to support us. One day we will stand before God and see all of the wonderful things that happened just because we talked with someone or shared our simple testimony. To me that is worth it.

Do y'all remember Jonita from Chipley? With this new transfer, an elder just joined our district who was serving in Chipley, and he was telling me all about what is going on now and he had nothing but good things to say about Jonita! He told me that she is doing so much missionary work and is giving the missionaries a ton of referrals. He then told me she has been doing family history work and has been able to go to the temple two times to do baptisms for the dead for her ancestors!! He went on to tell me that she also just went through the temple for the first time to get her endowments!!!!!!! I cannot even express the joy that I felt hearing him talk about Jonita! D&C 18:15 is so true!! "If it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people and bring, save it be one should unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" 

Man, this week we had zone conference.. my last one.. it was bitter sweet but it was such an amazing spiritual upliftment! As missionaries, zone conference and district meetings are the way that we can be spiritually recharged and given the extra motivation that we need to "be in the world, but not of the world." I think they correlate with the the temple and church attendance. We go through a lot in life and if we aren't careful, we will end up falling further and further away from God, but if we make going to church and the temple a regular occurrence, then we are promised that our faith and testimony will always be strengthened. 

Again, my companion is so cool! It is pretty hard to adjust to training a new missionary after being used to having zone leader companions all the time but he is teaching me so much! Just a little bit about Elder Carlson, his junior year in high school, he broke his back and it has been messed up ever since. This week his back was hurting super bad and I kept trying to help and make things better but he kept saying "I cant do anything about it and its going to hurt anyways, so may as well do something good." What a profound truth!! There are many times in our life that we can curl over and do nothing, or we can say "well it's going to hurt no matter what I do, so may as well go out and do something good." I think that is what the Lord meant when he told the Prophet Joseph Smith, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt the on high."

I love y'all so much and thank y'all for all that you do and say, and all that y'all say y'all do.

Elder Schipaanboord

ESCC

man, not too much happened this week. elder carlson and i are really trying our best to get out and find people that we can teach, but we arent having too much numerical success, which is pretty disappointing, but thats okay, cause our success should be measured by our commitment to invite, because that puts all the responsibility and agency upon ourselves. this week we went out and tried to find as much service opportunities as we could in the community, and also with members at their friends houses, because we have found that service is the best and fastest way to soften the hearts of the children of men, so we should be having lots of service opportunities coming up pretty soon!

weird story about enterprise, the reason that this place even exists is because of the farming community. but way back when, this bug known as the boll weevil came through and ate all of the cotton that people were growing, so everyone was freaking out with nothing to sell, and so this guy decided to start growing peanuts, and the community basically thrived off of peanuts and now is like the best place in america for growing peanuts. the reason i bring this up is because the people here made a freaking monument to this bug!! hahahaha it is the only monument in the world dedicated to an insect! hahahahaa its the craziest thing! but we went to go and see this thing, and its in the middle of mainstreet! there are so many pictures of this stupid bug, because it "shows how to overcome hard times" gosh i love the south!!

since president smith was baptized while he was in his youth, he has really been pushing working with, youth and young single adults, so this week we went to Enterprise State Community College and filled out some paperwork which allows us to proselyte on the campus (and yes their mascot is the boll weevil #fearnoweevil). even though it is a tiny campus, and we are only allowed on a certain part of it, we are pretty pumped about it! we go every monday and thursday, and it has already yielded some pretty promising potentials! its crazy how nice people are, and just how open young people are, they really have so many questions about life and religion, but they "are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it". i am so glad I had the gospel in my life during high school, life was hard enough, so i dont know what i would've done without it.

Elder Carlson is such an incredible missionary! He absolutely amazes me every single day! He has so much desire to improve and become what his Heavenly Father wants him to be. He is constantly reading his scriptures or watching faith building videos, and his testimony has definitely increased a ton since being out, it has been a joy to watch! I really do believe that he and I were meant to be companions; he helps me to keep working and endure to the end (joyfully of course), and I have been able to help him to understand the scriptures and the doctrine of the gospel, it's awesome! 

 

Something really cool that he did this past week was write off his girlfriend! He felt like he needed to focus more on his call to serve and his personal growth and testimony. Having a girlfriend was distracting him from his goal. Alma 13:13 talks about bringing forth fruit meet for repentance (or just evidence of repentance), and I think that is brought for when people sacrifice personal wants and desires for gods will by reading the scriptures, or praying, or standing up for what is right, or going to church each week, whatever it may be, if it brings you closer to God, it is a form of repentance, so make sure to go to church, study, and pray(;

The church has come out with this program called "my plan" for missionaries to go through their last 6 weeks to help them reflect on their mission , set goals for things they want to do when they get home, and also who they want to become. I started my plan this week, what a wonderful opportunity! It has been so amazing to look back over these past 2 years and actually see what the Lord has been able to do with me. Every day I realize more and more how weak I am (ye are less than the dust of the earth), but how great I can be with the Lord on my side. One of my buddies said "I bet I can do more with $9 than you can with $10 and accomplish more in 6 days than you can in 7 days because I am endorsed  by the Lord", how true that is! If you make the Lord central to your life, and go to Him when making decisions and need help, He will always support you and give you all that you need.

I love you all so much, thank you for all that you do and say, and all that you say you do!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

Trunky But Not

Tis week we had interview with President Smith and during the interview we were talking a little about me going home. He looked at me and said "You're a great missionary Elder Schipaanboord, I'm going to miss you when you leave." It totally broke my heart! To top it off, when I got home, we went to checked the mail, and my trunky papers (flight plans) came. It's so weird! I feel like I have been out forever but it is also surreal that this is happening. I sure am going to miss this so much but I am definitely excited! Wow, the start of my last transfer is here, I can't believe it! With the way that transfers have worked out, President would've allowed me to go home this transfer (August 24th) so that I could make it back home in time for school but I had thought about it and prayed about it and I realized that a Prophet of God called me to serve in the Florida Tallahassee mission for a period of 24 months, not 22 and a half. It's wild to think that I could be going home in just 3 days but I do believe that there is a reason that my release date is October 5th and not August 24th. It's super difficult knowing that the end is so close (even though it feels so far), but I need to find the reason why I feel that I needed to stay out here and I am going to work as hard as I can to find that reason! It's going to be hard but it's going to be so worth it, just like anything in life.

We have gotten super close with this family, their son is on the New Brockton football team (high school in our area), so they invited us to go to the scrimmage game this Friday, boy was it a blast! We were there helping this member hand out t-shirts that they had made for the families, so we had the opportunity to talk to a lot of cool people and just get our name and presence out there. It was super funny because all the cheerleaders are friends with the daughter, so all of them came to sat next to her, the mom leaned over to us and told us they were there for us hahahahaha! Come to find out, they all thought that we were super cute and wanted to come and talk with us... too bad they were all 15! But we actually had some really good conversations with them about us a missionaries and they ended up talking with the daughter about us and asking questions about the Book of Mormon, it was so cool! It's crazy how just being out and about and spending time with people and talking with them as normal people break down so many walls.

On Saturday, the member asked if we would be willing to come to service at the stadium. While there, lots of questions were asked again, it was so awesome! While doing service, we cleaned out the deep fryers and got nasty chicken grease all over us and we smelled sooo bad! When we got home, we went right to the shower (for the 2nd time in the day) and as I was cleaning off the nasty smell and chicken chunks, I thought "Man, it's kinda weird that we shower every day, sometimes multiple times a day just to clean our body, what a waist of water." Then I thought "Gosh, if we wash our body so often, why don't we wash our spirit that much too?"  Then I thought "And we also wash hands right when we get stuff on them, so why don't we wash our spirits right when we get stuff on it?" The Atonement of Jesus Christ is so amazing, it really does have the power to cleanse our very soul and bring us so much light and happiness into our lives. Think about how nice it feels getting out of the shower, all fresh and clean. It's pretty nice right? Well getting your spirit cleaned is pretty similar, only it feels soooooo much better, it is indescribable

I love y'all so much, and hope that you have an amazing week!!

Thanks for everything!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

Craziness

This week was a pretty weird one to say the least. We helped this lady, who lives above us, move out of her place because she is getting shipped off to South Korea for the military. After we helped, we realized that she still had a couple days left before she leaves but her bed was packed away in Uhaul, so we realized that we have 3 mattresses, we could offer her one of them to use in her apartment while she waits to leave. We saw her later that night and asked her if she had a place to sleep and she said she had a motel, so we said "Oh, okay, because we have an extra bed that you can use if you need it." Then Elder Carlson and I went inside not thinking anything of it but then the both of us, at the same time, realized that she totally thought that we were inviting her to spend the night at our place...... WOW... we are such good representatives of the Savior and His church.....

 

We were at a members house, eating dinner with them, and the oldest daughter (15) had some friends pick her up to go to a movie, so the member thought "What a perfect opportunity to introduce them to the missionaries!" She invited the girls in to "meet the family" and then we were just awkwardly sitting there and were not part of the conversation.... but right when the girls left, they told the daughter "They were soooooo cute, we HAVE to come back!" The member came back and said "SEEEEE?! We just got you THREE new investigators!!!"  I love the members here so much! The ward is honestly so awesome and they are really becoming like family!

We were out knocking on doors in the hood and found these thugs out on their porch, so we went over to talk with them. We found out that one of their names is "Church" and he was all tatted up, just got out of prison, and was definitely packin a 9 mil on his side. He had a Book of Mormon and told us he was in 1 Nephi 17 and is really liking it. We got super pumped!! Then the kids inside were going crazy so he went inside, and Elder Carlson said that he heard "smack smack smack" followed by screams..... this homie went inside and beat his kids..... I wish so badly that I would've heard it, so we could've called him out and done something about it, but I was too focused on teaching the other guy that was there that I didn't even hear it.... it makes me so sad that people treat their kids like that. Being out here has definitely taught be what I do and don't want to do when raising kids and beating them is definitely a NO GO!! When Church came back out, he pulled out a little green nugget, tore it apart, and then started rolling a joint right in front of us! Then proceeded to smoke it right there!!  It was so crazy!! 

On Saturday and Sunday, Elder Carlson and I were super sick, and didn't do anything, it sucked so bad!!! We were going stir crazy from being inside with nothing to do because our mission doctor told us not to go out, we didn't even go to church... it was weird! The young men brought over the sacrament and I definitely felt like an 80 year old grandpa in a nursing home that can't care for himself. It was so strange but also really cool! It made me a lot more thankful for the priesthood and how many ways there are to serve in this church! The young men didn't realize it but them coming over was such a light to us, they literally brought the Savior and His sacrifice with them, it was truly amazing!!

On the bright side, we got 4 new investigators this week and the work is starting to progress! Elder Carlson is dope, and we are getting along really well!

I love y'all so much and appreciate all that you do for me and those around you!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

 

How Great Thou Art

man, this week has been sooo crazy!! Elder carlson and i have been doing soo much finding, and it has started to pay off! we went tracting, and got 7 return appointments, all of which i swear are with single ladies with 3 kids, its crazy!! we also were able to get 4 new investigators (dont know how much progression will happen, but its sooooo nice to be teaching again!). then, we were at a members for dinner, and someone knocked on the door, turns out it was a vivant salesman who was a RM; after we left the appointment we walked out to our car only to find a note on the windshield with him telling us to give him a call so he can give us some "leads", hahahah this guy knocked all the doors in the neighborhood and told us which ones to go and see, it was pretty dope! and he told his "team members" about us, and so we keep getting tons of houses to go and try, its pretty sick! all of this has happened though because we have been showing god that we are willing to work hard. time and time again i have seen that when i just do what god asks, he always pulls through with blessings from heaven, but i am so carnal and weak and forget too easily. i wish that i could just "always remember him", life would be a lot easier and smoother if we could master that one simple line.

On saturday we went to Opp to help elders move out of the house there. They had a massive pool table that we needed to take back to a members house. The thing probably weighed 1000 pounds!!!! We couldnt get the door to open to take it out so a nonmember helped us take the door handle apart so we could open it. Which consisted of him taking a crowbar and smashing things till they fell off. The table was so heavy!!! it was so hard to lift even with 6 elders there, and im pretty sure i threw out my back, so that was fun! But it was so much fun to go and hang out with them, being with other missionaries is the best!!!

We had a Stake Priesthood meeting on Sunday. The Stake President said something so profound, he explained how when we are baptized it is a great spiritual moment because we have prepared to be there, and treat it as a special event. He also went on to say that it is the same with the other ordinances in the gospel like getting the priesthood, going through the temple, and being sealed to your family. Then, he said, so why don't we treat the sacrament the same way? It is the only ordinance that we do for ourselves more than once and yet we don't come to church prepared and ready to be spiritually fed. I can promise that if we come prepared, and treat sacrament meeting like the spiritual feast that it really is, you will be filled with the Spirit, and understand how you can improve in your life and come closer to your family and to our Savior.

Definitely the highlight of the week, we went over to this members house and got into this crazy deep conversation about the gospel. Then it turned into talking about the last days and how some of the signs are coming true, not going to lie, I was pretty pumped! It's definitely going to be pretty scary and crazy but also such a wonderful and glorious day! I am really excited! As we talked, I had to stop and ask myself if I was ready, I think that is a question that we will never be able to answer with "yes" by ourselves because we can always do better, and get closer to God, but because of the grace of Christ, He will make our shortcomings made whole and our Heavenly Father will extend His infinite mercy towards us. How grateful I am for our Savior!!!! He has helped me in so many ways and will help me to become more. Because of Him, we are able to overcome sin and death, and return to live with our Father in Heaven, the greatest gift ever!! So how will you show your appreciation for this?

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

Elder Schipaanboord

All About Christ

This week was pretty cool, I had tons of epiphanies!

First cool thing of this week, a member took us tracting! Yeah, I know, super crazy!! We were out knocking doors having a good time and he was teaching us a whole lot about missionary work without even knowing it! No matter who we talked to he made sure to tell them that the things that we share are true, that it has changed his life and that it can and will change theirs as well. He was also really good at relating to people and just simply breaking down walls as he gets to know them. I really want to start applying those things into my work!! While we were out knocking doors, some lady let us right in, it was crazy! We were sitting down talking with her and her daughter about The Book of Mormon and they actually have a pretty big interest in it and want to learn more! So we are super excited about that!

On Saturday, we went over to Dothan for our zone conference, we learned soo much! It was all about finding. There was one training that I really liked, the STL's taught about the fears that we have in contacting and said that all of these fears can be conquered with faith in Jesus Christ. They then said "If you can't develop the faith to find, develop faith in Christ." I got thinking about it and I'm sure this can be applied to everything that we struggle with. If you cant develop the faith to pay tithing, develop faith in Christ. If you cant develop the faith to serve or accept a calling, develop faith in Christ. If you can't develop the faith to go another day through your trials, develop faith in Christ. He is literally the center of everything! He can give us the strength to do anything. He can wipe away our fears and doubts and replace then with confidence and peace, I experienced this throughout this week, and it is absolutely amazing!!! 

On Sunday, Elder Carlson and I were asked to teach in the 5th Sunday combined 3rd hour, and it went so well! We taught about missionary work, and how we knew people before this life and promised them that we would find them here on earth and share the gospel with them. It was pretty rad! We have been creating great relationships with the ward members here! The bishopric spoke as well. While they spoke, I had an epiphany, not because of anything he said, but what the Spirit said to me. I asked myself the question "Am I teaching people the doctrines of the gospel so they can accept the blessings, or just because that is what I am supposed to do?" Then I got thinking about the commandments and how much they can really truly bless our lives, but I have always treated it as just a road block to baptism, now I see that I should be teaching them so that each person can have the same blessings that I do. I know it's something super simple and basic, but it changed my entire life, and the way that I will talk to people and teach the gospel.

I am so incredibly thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. My testimony of His atoning sacrifice grew so much this week and I was filled with His love and comfort! I love this gospel because it is only through this gospel (and the priesthood authority) that we are able to receive all of the blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ, that makes me want to share it with everyone!! I've learned that if I love the people, work hard, and am obedient, then I will always abound in the Savior's love and will know that I am a successful missionary, even if I don't have numerical success, because the worth of a mission isn't in the success, but rather in the work. 

I love y'all so much! Thank y'all for everything!!

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

 

 

#jamesthemormon

elder carlson and i helped a less active member of the ward with some yard work, and spent 5 hours over at his house! we helped him rip up half an acre of grass, and then lay 8 pallets of sod, it was so crazy!! even though it was incredibly hard work (i almost threw up and passed out), and i am still sore from it, i am so glad that we went, cause it was just us and him for like 3 hours, no one else from church showed up until we were almost done, he would've been out there for soooo long! but i feel like we created a great relationship of trust with him, so it was a success!

so highlight of the week, we definitely used rap music to teach the gospel! hahaha we were at a members home for dinner, and they had a bunch of young military guys over, and so we were trying to figure out how to share a message, and so we just said "do y'all like rap?" and they said yeah, so we showed them "the restoration" by james the mormon, and then basically taught the entire restoration afterwards, and gave out 2 copies of the book of mormon, it was so sick!! not only were we able to teach, but it opened the door to the member to have so many more conversations with these guys, and teach them even more!

 

then, we were on exchanges in dothan with the zone leaders, and we were walking around the hood, and found these guys outside bumpin to some music, so we looked at each other and said "james" and proceeded to go and share a song by james the mormon, and it went so well! we ended up teaching like 12 people right there, and gave  out a ton of copies of the book of mormon, and created such a good relationship with them. they said "man, we don't even have black people come visit us, but here we have white folk coming to teach us in the black part of town" hahaha it was so sick! we ended up inviting them to church, and they said ill go if you go, so we went to their bible study as well, it was lit!! they have a blind preacher!!!!! this guy straight up has the bible memorized!! it was so crazy! he was throwing out verses and chapters like it was nothin! 

as for people we are teaching, we are really focusing on 2 inactive members, who have such a desire to change. it is really cool to see how they will make sacrifices to meet with us, and are so willing to do whatever it takes to find the happiness that they once felt.  they have been through some crazy things in their lives and have come to a fork in the road, and they are trying to rid themselves of the bad in their life. it really is a pleasure to be able to hear them open up to us and allow us to help them to allow the savior to help them through the hardships that this life has to offer. i truly love to teach about this gospel! my favorite thing ever is being able to sit down and talk to someone about life, and being out here i have that opportunity soo much, i love it!! i am definitely going to miss it!

thanks for everything guys, i love y'all lots!

remember, the book is blue, and the church is true

elder schipaanborod

 

 

Elder Carlson

This week has been pretty crazy! On Wednesday, I went to Tallahassee to pick up my new companion, and he is sooo sick!! Elder Carlson is from Broomfield, Colorado (just north of Denver), and we are getting along so well! He honestly reminds me so much of myself when I first came out to the mission. It's crazy but also really cool because I am able to be on the flip side and know how to help him. While in Tally, I had to say goodbye to some of my favorite missionaries/people because they were going home this transfer; it was a bitter sweet moment.... they have helped me so much in my life, and have truly become some of my best friends!

 

The ward here is starting to work really well with us; we have soo many members coming out with us this up coming week, it's going to be so great! They are being super supportive and are really helping us out, I love it! This is a really good ward for Elder Carlson to start out in, I hope he learns a lot and will be able to apply it into the rest of his mission.

Elder Carlson has been having a fun time with the humidity down here and has been sweating like crazy. We were out tracting, and his knee caps and butt were sweating through his pants, it was so funny! Then we got a phone call from Bishop who asked us to go and help with a move but we didn't have time to change, so we just went all dressed up. This move was a crazy move with sooo much heavy lifting, so we were both sweating through our white shirts and everything, it was crazy!

We have had some pretty cool experiences this week with teaching and finding new people. First off, we went to teach Sister Rose again (Elder Carlson's first lesson), and it went so well! We taught about the restoration, and the importance of the Book of Mormon and why we need to read it every day. As we were teaching and testifying, she was in tears and told us that she wants to be able to live with her dad after this life, she knows that she wouldn't be able to right now ): Hearing this was super sad, but also really cool, because the Spirit taught her, and she recognized where she could improve and why she needs to. We are really excited for her and already have so much love for her and want whats best for her.

I set a goal to do at least one thing by the Spirit (something that scares me) each day, and on the first day it paid off! We were trying to see a less active member but somehow ended up at a different less active members home, so we tried them, but they weren't home, so we got back in the car to drive away. I saw a guy sitting on his porch and I felt very prompted to go talk to him and remembered the goal that I had set, so I turned off the car and went over and talked with him. As we talked, we told him about how we believe that there is a prophet on the earth today, and that The Book of Mormon is evidence of the first prophet, and he really really liked the idea and said "I can roll with that" and then he had questions about life after death, and we taught him about the spirit world and the degrees of glory, and he loved it and asked for our number and wants us to come back over and visit with him again, and also said he wants to come to church. this experience really built my testimony of promptings of the Spirit. Elder Rasband said "We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings—and we all have—we are dismissing the Spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten"

The last crazy thing that happened was we got a phone call from Isaiah Allen (recent convert from Crestview that I was always around). Long story, he has been trying to figure things out in his life, but has been running from the church and everyone in it. But he started going to Troy Universtity, and he kept finding the church and people from the church and missionaries every where he went, so he finally quit running from it and is now trying to apply the gospel into his life to be more happy. He drove down from Troy and we were able to teach him, it was so cool! I didn't feel like I was actually teaching him, but just talking about life (while bringing the gospel into things), and I realized that is how it really should be in all teaching situations! If I want to teach people and not lessons, I truly need to love and care for the people, then I will be filled with the Spirit and understand their needs and concerns. 

I am so thankful for this gospel. It has truly changed my life so much and I am forever thankful for that!

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

Elder Schipaanboord

Training

Hey people! This week has been a good one! There were some ups and downs but all for our growth and benefit! Plus some interesting moments. Now that I have served in the south for quite some time, I'm pretty used to people bashing with us and not agreeing with what we teach but this week was the first time that I have ever been bashed by a MEMBER! We went to visit a less active member and he told us he was Mormon for 29 years, then got remarried and went to the baptist church with his wife. Now he doesn't agree with a lot of our teachings. We tried to talk about the BOM but he completely shut us down over the stupidest things and kept arguing everything that we said. It was really frustrating trying to teach him but ultimately all that we could do was bear testimony. Even though he didn't accept our testimonies or anything we had to say, it was pretty cool to feel the Spirit confirm the truth of the things we said; I have found that the more I bear my testimony the stronger it gets, I love it!

I have started to study the gospel topic by topic, by using the bible dictionary and topical guide, it has changed my whole life, it's amazing!! This week I studied about charity and learned two really cool things. The first of which was that "pure religion.. is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions.." (James1:27), I love that!! If you think about what the Savior came and did, he went out serving those all around Him and helping them to have a better life; the Savior said "for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do." So why then don't we reach out and help our fellow man more? This is going to be a new focus for me, loving those around me and doing all that I can for them. The next thing that I learned is that "charity edifieth"(1Cor8:1). As I thought about this I thought of D&C50:22 that says "wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together." If I want to understand those that I teach and their individual circumstances and want them to understand me and what I teach, then I must have charity for them so that we can be edified together and have one goal, to help lift them up and have a better life.

I was able to go on exchanges with the zone leaders this week, and had such a good time! I miss being a zone leader and being able to go on exchanges so often and being able to get to know so many different missionaries, but it's awesome just being able to go out and work in my area every single day with 100% focus. This exchange we worked so hard, and had so much fun! I have realized that the worth of a mission isn't in the success, but its in the work. As we were out, we went to try this less active, and found that she lived IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HOOD! Like the hood, hood. She was the only white person in this entire apartment complex and neighborhood! hahahaha! We had never been there before! As we were talking with some of her neighbors she came out and was so happy to see us and welcomed us right into her home! Her dad used to be a Branch President in the Geneva branch but she hasn't been to church in quite sometime, so it was neat being able to sit down with her and talk about the basics of the gospel with her. After our lesson we talked about coming over at least once a week and she got super excited! This made me realize that no matter where you are, there are people that are ready to hear the message, even in the darkest areas.

The work here in Enterprise is really starting to pick up. We had 3 investigators at church this week and a bunch of member keep suggesting people to go and see. Even though we don't have a crazy amount of people to teach, we are on the edge of something great happening, I can just feel it! I really see a lot of potential for the next couple of transfers, I am excited! We got transfer calls yesterday, and I found out that I will be training a new missionary here in enterprise for my last 2 transfers! I am really excited!!! With the end of my mission not too far off, I have learned a lot by trial and error, and have also seen a lot of incredible missionaries and how they work, so I will be able to teach this new missionary all about being the most effective and powerful missionary possible, how to teach effectively, the importance of the Spirit, how and what to study, how to work with ward members, and what it means to be converted and a true disciple of Jesus Christ.  Honestly, the best thing about training a new missionary is that I will be getting trained by him in so many different ways. New missionaries are so humble and sincere, stick to the basics of missionary work, and rely so much on our Father in Heaven, I am really excited to learn all that I can from him!

thank yall for all that you do and say, i love yall!

keep on keepin on!

elder schipaanboord

 

 

Working

This week has been pretty good! The work here in Enterprise has really been struggling lately, so what we are really trying to do is work more with the ward so that we can help them with their missionary work, so they can help us too. We sat down with bishop and went through the ward roster and basically just told him what our vision is. We told  him that we have a goal of meeting every single member that is on the roster, and then reporting back to the ward council on each of them. We feel that this will help the members to see that we are willing to work hard and help them with anything that they need.  Ever since my year mark, back in September, I have been telling people that I have been out "just over a year" so they wouldn't say "Ohhh so you are going home soon, are you trunky?" But I have decided that I am going to start telling people that I only have 2 transfers left and I am wanting to work my butt off for the time that I am still here. I don't want to have any regrets, so I am doing all that I can to help this ward out! As we have been working with the ward, and showing them that we are willing to work, we have seen that they are a lot more open to helping and supporting us, it's really cool! When I first got here, i didn't really like the ward but now I am starting to love it! It's really interesting how the when you work hard and do all that you can for someone or something, you grow to love it so much.

Sorry, not a whole lot going on, just out here grinding and working super hard to find teach and baptize.

Anywho, love y'all big! Gave a great 4th of July!

Elder Schipaanboord

Crestview 2 Daphne

Man, this week has been such a good one! I just feel like I have been being spiritually fed soooo much recently from my studies and just being out and about, it is so amazing!! So this week I spent most of it down in Geneva on 2 exchanges with the district leader and his companion.  We had some pretty cool things happen! We were able to find someone that they had taught ages ago but he ended up going to jail in Panama City; he just got back. Super long story short, our appointments fell through, so we decided to walk down the street and found him walking out of his house. We got talking with him, and he really really wants to get back into church and creating a relationship with God and he wants to get baptized, it was so crazy!!!! Sometimes people need a little humbling so that they can experience God's love and light more fully into their lives.

Elder Blamires got sick on Friday, so I basically just sat around, slept,watched spiritual videos, studied the scriptures and wrote in my journal, it was pretty cool. Recently I have absolutely 100% loved reading the scriptures, they are soooo amazing! Every time I pick them up, I feel as if they are speaking right to me and helping me understand the gospel and the Savior even more. I have also been doing the Doctrine and Covenants challenge, where I read a section every night before I go to bed so that I can finish it by the end of my mission, I wish I would've done it sooner!!! The Doctrine and Covenants is a PERFECT tool for missionaries to understand their purpose and how God loves all of his children and desires them to have the blessings of the gospel as well, I have an increased desire to serve and share every time I read, I love it!

 The highlight of the week was that Elder Delamare and I were able to get permission to go to Bobby's baptism over in Daphne. On Saturday, Elder Blamires and I drove over to Crestview to pick up the other elders so we could carpool over. While in Crestview, we were able to go to my favorite restaurant, Pounders, with one of my favorite families from the mission (the Corbins), it was so awesome!!! We then drove over to Daphne for the actual baptism, and it was incredible! Bobby has been taught for 4 years but couldn't get baptized cause he wasn't 18 and didn't have permission from him parents. Last week was his 18th birthday. We got there and there were a bunch of missionaries that had taught him, and soooo many members too; literally the entire chapel was filled because so many people love Bobby and wanted to support him. What a wonderful experience it was to be there for Bobby, he really has embraced the gospel so well, and I know that he is going to do great things in his life, what a pleasure it was to be a part of teaching him!

Thanks for everything y'all!! 

Elder Schipaanboord

 

 

 

 

Scriputer Study

so first off, do y'all remember jack from daphne? well get this, i was chatting with elder abbott and he told me that jack got baptized on saturday! even though i wasn't able to be there it is still really cool to know that he made the next step in his spiritual progression, and receive a remission of his sins! i love that man so much!

this week was a pretty spiritually packed one. i have started to really focus on my scripture study so that i can learn as much as i can about this wonderful gospel so that i can testify with more power and conviction. so in my studies this week i was watching one of the bible videos, the one of the savior healing the blind man, and just before he does he says something that struck me, he said "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." it was an epiphany for me. it made me realize that my  mission isnt going to last forever, but while i am here i need to do all that i can and serve as many people as i can, but it also made me realize that i don't just have to be a missionary here in the south, but its a lifetime calling, something that i should always be doing no matter where i am at. 

i also have been reading out of the doctrine and covenants and something that i saw in sections 11,12&14 god says the same thing to 3 separate people, he says "Behold, I am God; give heed to my word, which is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of both joints and marrow; therefore give heed unto my word" he then goes on to explain what his word is, and it is all about missionary work and that the field is white and already to harvest. there are those all around us that are ready to learn about this gospel, and it is something that they need, but they are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it, so we must reach out and share it with all those around us! there are so many return missionaries that are magnifying their callings and doing everything that they are supposed to, but still feel like they don't have the spirit as strongly as they did on their mission, well i was reading "the power of everyday missionaries" and the author says the reason is because they aren't reaching out and sharing the gospel anymore. the reason we feel the spirit so much as a missionary is because we are doing our best to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man", gods purpose, therefore he blesses us with strength and power beyond our own.

so as for teaching this week, we got a referral from salt lake and started teaching this family (mainly just the dad) and by our second visit (2 days apart) he had read all the way to helaman!! it was so crazy!! he has LOTS of questions, most of which go back to the old testament, but he has a desire to learn, its awesome! something elder blamires said after the lesson is that its so cool how in 2 years or less we have been able to learn the gospel and teachings of Christ so well that we can go "one on one" with preachers and people who have been studying 10x as long as we have, and help them come even closer to Christ. since being out here i have realized how weak i am, but also how with god how strong i can be. he really does, if we come to him, make weak things become strong.

we also started teaching a members grandkids who are living with them for a little bit, and they have come to love us so much, its awesome! the member told us that one of the kids says that he feels so good around us and he always wants us around, but doesn't know why, so she explained the spirit to him, it was so cool! i love how people can recognize the spirit even when they are so young! it is really sad though that they haven't been raised in the church and don't know a whole lot (their mom is less active), and it made me so thankful to have had parents who taught be about the restoration of the gospel and how i can learn of it myself. this gospel has changed my life, and i just want others to have the same experience as well! "freely ye have receive, freely ye shall give"

i love you all, thank you for everything and always remember you've got to be odd to be #1