Lakeshore Week 2

Howdy Y'all!

 

Texas is going great! We are all staying busy with what we can do around here. Elder Yates has been transferred and we have a new companion in the trio! His name is Elder Turley and he's great. He's such a positive guy and already is super tight with us. I'm really pumped to be teaching with him. Anyway, onto my week.

 

Tuesday- Not much happened on Tuesday, but we met a lady near our apartment named C and she stopped us and asked if we would teach her kids about the gospel. Her mom was a member but passed away some time ago. We haven't been able to find a good time to visit with her and her family, but I'm sure we'll get the chance soon.

 

Wednesday- We got to go to the church and talk to the 9-year olds about missionary work, so that was lots of fun. We had dinner with the Cawleys and they were super cool and fun to talk to.

 

Thursday- We got to teach H the gospel of Jesus Christ in depth and she really understood it. She's making a ton of progress and her boys were participating a lot in that lesson which was super encouraging.

 

Friday- Crazy story... We were starting our district training over zoom and Elder Memmott noticed a woman outside trying to hold down her dog. We called out and asked if she needed help and she said she really needed us to come help her. We ran down and she asked for a leash so I ran up and grabbed some paracord for her. She told me to just toss it to her since the dog was really aggressive and would attack me. She got the dog under control and it turned and we saw that it was covered in blood. It apparently had just bitten someone really badly. We still don't know what happened, but it was a ton of blood. 

 

On Friday, we also taught H and our ward mission leader came along. She's been struggling with a few things and we wanted to help her out. We got her set on a date for baptism which is super exciting. She is planning on getting baptized on December 12th, and hopefully we can help her boys get there too. She's a great woman and is really trying her hardest to get her life back in shape.

Saturday- We couldn't do a ton since it was Halloween, and we had to be locked in after 6:30 pm. But we got some pizza delivered by Dontrale. He's a wacky guy that just loves hanging out with missionaries. And we played a couple games of Bang dressed in our cowboy outfits, but I lost every time to Elder Memmott. It was lots of fun though.

 

Sunday- We got to sleep in because of daylight savings, which felt great. We went to church and unfortunately Hilda had to work and missed it, but it was still a good fast Sunday.

 

Monday- Semi-transfer day!! (Transfers were postponed because some elders were exposed to COVID and had to quarantine for 2 weeks.) We went to Cavenders in the morning and I got a new belt buckle to complete my cowboy setup. I luckily didn’t get transferred, but Elder Yates did, and we got Elder Turley. Like I said, he's super cool and I'm psyched to work with him and Elder Memmott for at least the next four weeks. He's the district leader so we will have a few extra things to do, but that will be great. We went shopping, chatted with family, and just got back from the Bishop’s house. The bishop's family is super cool and they're kids are crazy smart (they guessed our message based on the scripture we mentioned).

 

It’s been a great week. One thing I learned this week that really hit me hard spiritually was the true importance of member missionaries. They do so much to help the full-time missionary effort, and especially in times like these it is great to have member support. It has been a powerful lesson to me of how to do your part in a ward calling because it really has an impact on the difficult task of gathering Israel. 

 

Hope everyone is doing alright out there. Love you all!

 

-Elder James

 

1- Excellent sunset the other day.

2- Our Halloween candy outside the apartment.

3- Us playing bang for Halloween.

4- Last picture with Elder Yates before transfers.

 

Don't have a picture with Elder Turley yet, but we'll get one for next week.

Lakeshore Week 1

My new Texas outfit
 

Hey everyone,

 

This week was a great first week in the field! My companions Elder Memmott and Elder Yates are great trainers. Elder Memmott was originally assigned to Houston East and has been here about 9 months speaking English. Elder Yates was in Paraguay for about 14 months, got sent home because of COVID, and has been reassigned to Houston. He speaks Spanish, but isn't in a Spanish area right now.

 

It’s been pretty busy around here despite not being able to knock on doors. We've recently been teaching a woman, H, and her two sons. She's been making a lot of progress even in the last week. Her sons are a lot less interested but are still coming to church with her most Sundays, which is great.

 

I have discovered that Texas really doesn't care too much about COVID, which is pretty wild compared to northern Virginia right now. Church here is pretty normal; we still have to wear masks and sit in every other row, but everything else is the same. We had about 200 people attend last Sunday. We also can visit members and investigators in their homes if we are invited, so it's pretty much back to normal.

 

Monday and Tuesday - I pretty much covered in my last email, but it mostly consisted of flying here, sleeping at the mission home, talking about the rules and directions for the mission, and meeting our companions.

Service Project

 

Service project - Elder Memmott is in yellow and Elder Yates is in black

Wednesday - All the missionaries in the stake got together to do a food drive at the Summerwood Stake Center, which was a lot of fun. I got to meet some other Elders and Sisters in the area and it was a great day. We had dinner with some members at their home, which is almost an everyday thing here.

 

Thursday - It was a pretty average day, not a ton happened outside of our regular personal study, companionship study, and language study. I'm still trying my best to study Portuguese, but it's a little tougher now without real practice with anyone.

 

Trunk or treat

The lakeshore bishop, dressed as the Mandelorian, 

freezing me in Carbonite at the trunk or treat

Friday - Another pretty normal day, but we had a lesson with H and her boys that went really well. She's been reading the Book of Mormon a lot recently which we think has really been helping with her testimony. Friday night the ward had a chili contest and trunk or treat with the whole ward and a lot of non-members. Nobody was wearing masks, which was a little scary, but it was nice to feel normal for once and meet some people in the ward. We were the judges for the chili (even though Elder Memmott hates chili), but we determined that chili #4 was the best.

 

Saturday - Another average day, but we had a really great lesson with H and the spirit was really strong. She is really starting to understand the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. I had my first experience following the spirit in a lesson multiple times with her that night, and I think the things I said to her really strengthened her testimony. It gave me a lot of joy to see her begin to comprehend the whole picture and her immediate concern for her boys to understand as well, but unfortunately, they were out of the house that night.

 

Sunday - We went to church at 9 am for ward council and the member missionary meeting until 11:30 am. It was quite a challenge to stay awake during all of it, but I got through it with my eyes half open. Church was at 1 pm and H and her boys came, and it was nice to see them there. Elder Memmott and I had to introduce ourselves to the ward, which was a little nerve-wracking, but we were fine.

Kolaches, a Texas breakfast things served 

at most donut shops

 

Monday (today) - We woke up on time and started our laundry for the day. I wanted to go to Cavenders (a very Texas boot and hat store), so we went and I ended up buying a hat, boots, belt, and a bolo tie. It was a little impulsive, but now I have my souvenirs already purchased from my Texas detour. We went grocery shopping for the week and got all the food we will need, as well as some study supplies. We aren't allowed to hang out with other Elders right now for p-day because there was a COVID breakout in a couple of districts, but not ours.

 

I'm doing well and I hope everyone back home is doing ok without me. Sorry for such a long email. I'll email again next week, but until then thanks for everyone's love and support for the missionaries.

 

-Elder James

My study table while I'm here.

Elder Memmott and I couldn’t find much food 

around for lunch, so we made beans and smoothies

Lakeshore Week .5

All the new trainees that arrived in the Texas Houston East Mission this week

Hey everyone,

 

Mondays are going to be my regular p-day, but today is this week's p-day for me. I decided to write a little bit today, even though it's only been a few days since the last one. My flight was alright, despite this kind of crazy lady yelling at me for 2 hours and pulling out an antelope horn on the plane for "spiritual warfare.” Other than that, it was fairly uneventful and an easy trip.

 

All is well in Houston. I arrived yesterday at around 4:30 pm and President Larkin and his companion picked all 31 of us Elders and Sisters up from the airport. We went straight to the stake center in Kingwood. They fed us some great barbecue; best I've had had in a long time. I was with the 17 Elders that were sent to the mission home to spent the night there. We messed around a lot and didn't get much sleep.

 

Today the mission president's wife, Sister Larkin, made us a really good breakfast and then we went back to the church. They talked to us for a long time about mission rules and all that fun stuff for a couple of hours, then we finally got to meet our trainers. I'm in a trio with Elder Memmott and Elder Yates. They are super nice and we are all getting along great. The apartment is really nice (apparently one of the nicest in the area). It is pretty spacious, has a washer, dryer, dishwasher, and great air-conditioning. We are planning on teaching someone later today in-person, which is really exciting. Also, apparently everyone gets a cowboy hat here so I might just have to. 

 

I'll probably write more next Monday, but I'm doing great so far and having fun. Love you all and I'll email next Monday.

 

-Elder James

 

{Sunday, Elder James shared his testimony with our ward congregation via email, since we were not able to meet in-person. I thought you may enjoy reading that as well.}

 

My whole life I have relied on the testimony of others, but throughout my strange and unique experience with COVID MTC, I have finally gained a strong testimony of my own. I can truly testify that this church is the restored church of Jesus Christ, and that the Book or Mormon along with the Bible testifies of the Messiah. I know that I am meant to serve a mission in this crazy and tumultuous time in the world, and that everything will be ok if we just keep our faith in God and His son Jesus Christ. I am going on a mission despite the challenges that it will inevitably bring to my life because I know that the lord provides for his children, and he gives no commandment that we cannot accomplish. I will end with my favorite Book of Mormon scripture from the MTC. "And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith." -2 Nephi 26:13.

Our BBQ at the church when we arrived

Mission Home living (pretty much a sleepover)

Online MTC - Week 6

 

Olá Everyone!

 

Well, Online MTC is finally over and I had a great experience. I am impressed with the amount of Portuguese I learned in such a short time over a computer. While I am still very far from being fluent, I can understand a lot of what people say and I’m able to come up with a simple response like 20% of the time. It was a great six weeks with my district and we grew really close. My companion and I are great friends now. He is temporarily assigned to the Washington Everett Mission, but originally called to Recife, so I hope that I get to serve with him again when we both eventually go there. The rest of the district was great and I can't wait to reunite with them one day after the mission. 

 

The last week was mostly like the weeks before with the same constant routine. The last day was Friday and it was sad to say goodbye to our second set of MTC instructors, but we are all very excited to get out and start our missionary work in the various places around the country. I'm flying out to the Texas Houston East mission on Monday at 1:00 pm, and I'm so excited to go. It will be sad to say goodbye to everyone, but it's been a blessing to spend a couple of extra weeks with family and friends.

 

On Saturday for p-day I got to go through the temple for the first time which was great! It was so nice to feel so close to the Lord in His house and receive my endowments with my family. We got to go to the temple in Philadelphia because the DC temple is still not open, so it was a long drive but well worth it. Harrison and Andrew flew in to visit and say goodbye before I leave which was super nice of them. Greg and Tiffany Kitchen came with us to the temple along with Bishop Borrowman, Taya, and Anna. I'm so grateful for their support and willingness to make the long trip for me. We all went to dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse after the Temple and Margaret came and gave me a nice tie in the Brazilian flag colors, which was very kind. It was a fantastic experience and I felt the spirit with me in the temple and throughout the rest of the day.

 

I'm so thankful for this opportunity to serve a mission in such an interesting time. I am well aware of the challenges that are ahead of me for the next two years, and the additional challenges that COVID-19 may cause. Nevertheless, I am optimistic and excited for the experiences I will have. Like I have said before, I am meant to serve in this unique time of what seems to be chaos and unrest because the Lord has commanded me to do so. I am unsure about my future, but I have complete faith that whatever happens, the Lord will provide for me and all of his children. I am extremely blessed to serve a COVID mission. People out there need help both temporally and spiritually now more than ever, and it doesn't matter where I go in the world because everywhere I go will have people that need my help; God puts people in our lives for a reason. This scripture has been a good reminder to me this week of part of my purpose as a missionary: "And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith." - 2 Nephi 26:13. 

 

As always, thank you all for the support for me and other missionaries. I'll email from Houston next week!

 

-Elder James

Online MTC - Week 5

Hello everyone,

 

For the most part this week was pretty similar to the past couple of weeks with my schedule. I’m starting to get pretty excited to start my mission in Houston. I finally got my flight information on Wednesday. On Monday, October 19^th, I’m flying to Atlanta for a layover then over to Houston. I take off from DC at 1:05 pm and I’ll be arriving in Houston at about 5:00 pm. It’s been a lot easier to focus now that it feels more real if that makes sense. I’m excited to finally start my official service in the field during such an interesting time.

 

This P-day my parents and I bought a suit (since I will now need one for Houston), went and visited the dog we babysat for a week before my mission (Nala), and got a pumpkin for me to carve later tonight. I won’t be around for Halloween which is my second favorite holiday behind Christmas, and I wanted to experience it a little bit before I leave in 8-1/2 days.

 

Last week’s our church had general conference, and it was great! It was the first time I was actually very focused and interested in what was being said. I think during such a crazy time it’s important to take a step back and remember what really matters. The big message I got overall was that even though this whole year has kind of been a train-wreck and none of us were really prepared for all this to happen, God saw this coming and was not taken by surprise like we were. It’s all part of His plan, and through adversity we will grow stronger than ever. “Through it all, our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, love us! They care for us! They and Their holy angels are watching over us. I know that is true.” -President Nelson, in his talk “Moving Forward.”

 

Love,

 

-Elder James

Online MTC - Week 4

Hello Everyone,

This is a prewritten email since my parents and I are driving up to Palmyra, New York this weekend for conference, and visiting the Sacred Grove. I didn’t want to have to write emails while we’re driving and listening to conference, so my mom will update this with how my p-day went and pictures when she sends the letter out.

This week was pretty good. It’s been challenging with all Portuguese instructors, and as I expected I didn’t understand a lot of what they said. Nevertheless, it’s been a successful week and I still learned lots of both Portuguese and the gospel. Elder Loveless and I are getting along really well, often times we get so distracted just talking and messing around that companion study becomes a little shorter. The district is great too, Elder Lembree, Elder Lambourne, Elder Loveless, and I are becoming pretty good friends which may be good or bad depending on how you look at it.

I’m doing great and can’t wait for the weeks to come with my crazy weird COVID mission. Hope all of you are doing well, and as always thanks for all the support. Love you guys!

-Elder James

 

Update from Nathan’s Mom:

 

We were able to drive up through the Catskill Mountains all day Saturday and we really had a wonderful time listening to General Conference, where we got to hear inspirational messages from our church leaders, apostles, and our beloved prophet. The fall leaves were spectacular and we really loved seeing nature at its finest. 

 

Sunday was spent in Palmyra, New York. We visited the Sacred Grove, where Joseph Smith went as a young boy (200 years-ago this year) and had an important vision, where God the Father & His Son Jesus Christ visited him. We walked around his family farm and enjoyed the peaceful morning. We also went up to the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph Smith was given the gold plates, which were later translated as the Book of Mormon we have today. Afterwards we drove through gorgeous upstate New York farms. We passed many Amish horse-drawn buggies with cute families. The fall leaves were a beautiful backdrop to the inspirational General Conference messages we listened to.

 

Online MTC - Week 3

Our Brazilian MTC Teacher Brother Zamforlin

Hello again Everyone!

 

Yet another week has gone by and I am nearly halfway through my Online MTC experience. It's pretty crazy to think how fast time has been going by already. This week was pretty similar to last week with lots and lots of Portuguese training and practice missionary lessons. I have been making good progress with the language, but I think it's safe to say that I'm much better at teaching in English at this point. This was our last week with our English-speaking instructors, so it was sad to say goodbye to them. We start our three weeks of all Portuguese training on Monday which is pretty scary for all of us, but we are also excited for the adventure of nonsense in another language for the rest of MTC.

Our Brazilian MTC Teacher Sister Nascimento 

I've been trying my best to keep my routine even through a brutal cold on Tuesday and Wednesday. I've had to skip exercise a couple of days this week both because of the cold and, if I'm being honest, laziness. Nevertheless, I am still doing great with my daily routine and having a fantastic time with my district. Being a district of all Elders, we've become pretty rambunctious at times and I'm sure we tested the patience of our instructors often (I wasn't innocent). We mess around a lot, but still have very spiritual moments and learn well.

 

It's been interesting going through the MTC from home and online during this crazy time. I would be lying if I said it isn't a unique and challenging time to be a missionary, but I have been trying really hard to stay positive about all of it. I have complete faith that the Lord will provide for all of us. I am here, on my mission, at this time, for a reason, and I know better and better each and every day that this is my due time. The Lord chose me and every other Elder and Sister serving right now because he knows who we are, knows that we can accomplish this difficult task, and has reserved all of us to serve during this time and in this place. I am meant to be here, so I will waste no time complaining about my situation because "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7)

 

As always thank you for all of your support and love for me and all the missionaries out there.

 

-Elder James

Anna Borrowman from the Vienna ward has been helping Elder Zimmerman
and I learn Portuguese on Sundays. Anna & Eden Walker came
by and brought us these great cheat sheets with Portuguese slang.

We had Brazilian food for dinner -
their cheese bread (pão de queijo) is the best! 

For P-Day this week, we visited the Eisenhower
Memorial in Washington, DC.