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