Hey everybody!
First off, there are some awesome things going around back home. JARED BUTLER and ALEX NEWEY have received their mission calls (I have yet to hear where Alex is going), and LEVI STANNARD has his papers in! Levi, I'm so happy for you! I remember a year ago, you were still preparing, and now you're here! For all you guys, and other potential missionaries, just know that no matter where you're called, God has someone prepared for you. I've already met a couple people who have been prepared for me. Not only that, but your first convert is going to be yourself.
The weather is heating up. Uncomfortably. We have not hit spring yet. It's straight into summer. And it'll only be worse. Luckily, we get the car this week. WITH FULL MILES.
On Tuesday, we helped the Walnut Grove missionaries move a part-member family from New Jersey into their new home. As we got closer to the back of the truck, I started picking up comic books that had fallen out of boxes. The back of the truck was pretty messy from the long trip they had made. There were a lot of comic books. We started to stack boxes of comic books in the garage, and the stack kept getting bigger and bigger. In the end, we probably unloaded over 100 boxes of Spiderman, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Batman and other comic series. It was a huge collection, and he even had boxes that he hadn't read yet. He has a long time of organizing ahead of him. The two hired unloaders would not have been able to do the job very fast themselves if it wasn't for us four missionaries. It was fun!
On Saturday, we helped an elderly woman in the ward with some yard work, which was also an enjoyable time. I realized that it was way fun to do service for other people, but doing chores around your own house is pretty much the opposite. I felt like I had to say that so my parents couldn't say, "Hey, you enjoy chores now! Do ours!" Nope. Others' chores. But I'll try to work out of that mentality, anyway. Chores are better when you've got friends, which is what has made chores out here fun, I think.
Easter was awesome. There were many fantastic talks given. The church was full in both wards, mostly because of the out-of-town visitors that were coming to visit families. Lemme paraphrase something I wrote in my journal: "We celebrate the day Jesus was resurrected so that all of us can live past death. Because of Him, we get to have our bodies forever, and we can live to see Heavenly Father again if we repent, obey the commandments, and receive saving ordinances. The word 'gospel' means 'good news'. I love the good news Jesus Christ has given us. It really is good news! It makes me happy, and gives me an undying hope in the future, as long as I can remember how much the gospel has blessed my life. It's the news that we can live forever. It's the news that we can be happy forever. It's the news that God loves us, and wants us to be happy." Another cool thing I heard this past Sunday was this story: A girl asked her mom once why our church doesn't have crosses. The mother replied, "Because we remember His resurrection, not his death." I learned from that small experience.
Hope you guys had a good Easter! This week, we get to take an investigator to Institute for her first time. We're very excited for her! I love you guys! Thanks for your letters and prayers!
-Elder Staib
Monday, April 9, 2012
Monday, April 2, 2012
Great Conference Weekend
Hey everyone.
Conference was incredible. I received so much personal revelation, and there were many great messages! I wrote as much as I could in my journal about what I learned on the priesthood and families. Particularly, Elder Eyring's talk from the Priesthood session really hit me. He said something to the effect of "Every step we take in the gospel leads to eternal families." It really made me think of what a blessing it is to be born into this church, and to have a righteous family that attends church and prays every night.
It also made me so excited to have my own family; to bring to Earth God's children and raise them in the gospel. It's such a big blessing, straight from the get-go. I learned from a member one of the first weeks I came to Collierville that this is one of the largest blessings we can receive in this Earth life -- being born in the gospel. I'm eternally grateful for this gift, and I can't wait to share it with my progeny.
This last week was very frustrating. The Walnut Grove Elders had spent all of our car miles, and by the time we got back home from district meeting on Tuesday, we were 4 miles over our monthly limit. We basically hit another bike week. We're gonna have to talk to them about that. Also, the weather decided to skip spring, punch it in the face as it passed, and move on to summer. The weather has been consistently in the 80s. It hit 90 yesterday! I'm not ready for this heat!
A couple ups and downs: Earlier this week I called a lady we had been teaching and asked when we could see her again. Something said to her husband by the member that we brought with us to visit them offended her greatly, and she doesn't want us to call for another few weeks. I was really distraught to hear this. She was smoothly going along, and then...poof. Gone. I hope the time can help heal wounds, and that the member will be willing to apologize to her. On the flip side, though, I received a text during the Saturday morning conference from the daughter of the family we taught that had moved from out of state. I was so excited to finally hear from her, and she was able to come to the Sunday morning session of conference! The reason we can't meet with her family often is because of HER work schedule, so we're going to be able to coordinate that a lot smoother now. That sure lit up my week.
Well, keep safe, everyone! Enjoy the spring weather, and I'll try to keep hydrated here. Sorry, not too many pictures this week. I momentarily lost my SD card. This keychain, though, came from a less-active member that said just "gets stuff". It reads, "Shelby County, Memphis, Tennessee" and has the county crest. Great memory for my first (and only) area, huh? : ) Also, read that street sign closely. First person who can pronounce it gets a dollar.
-Elder Staib
Conference was incredible. I received so much personal revelation, and there were many great messages! I wrote as much as I could in my journal about what I learned on the priesthood and families. Particularly, Elder Eyring's talk from the Priesthood session really hit me. He said something to the effect of "Every step we take in the gospel leads to eternal families." It really made me think of what a blessing it is to be born into this church, and to have a righteous family that attends church and prays every night.
It also made me so excited to have my own family; to bring to Earth God's children and raise them in the gospel. It's such a big blessing, straight from the get-go. I learned from a member one of the first weeks I came to Collierville that this is one of the largest blessings we can receive in this Earth life -- being born in the gospel. I'm eternally grateful for this gift, and I can't wait to share it with my progeny.
This last week was very frustrating. The Walnut Grove Elders had spent all of our car miles, and by the time we got back home from district meeting on Tuesday, we were 4 miles over our monthly limit. We basically hit another bike week. We're gonna have to talk to them about that. Also, the weather decided to skip spring, punch it in the face as it passed, and move on to summer. The weather has been consistently in the 80s. It hit 90 yesterday! I'm not ready for this heat!
A couple ups and downs: Earlier this week I called a lady we had been teaching and asked when we could see her again. Something said to her husband by the member that we brought with us to visit them offended her greatly, and she doesn't want us to call for another few weeks. I was really distraught to hear this. She was smoothly going along, and then...poof. Gone. I hope the time can help heal wounds, and that the member will be willing to apologize to her. On the flip side, though, I received a text during the Saturday morning conference from the daughter of the family we taught that had moved from out of state. I was so excited to finally hear from her, and she was able to come to the Sunday morning session of conference! The reason we can't meet with her family often is because of HER work schedule, so we're going to be able to coordinate that a lot smoother now. That sure lit up my week.
Well, keep safe, everyone! Enjoy the spring weather, and I'll try to keep hydrated here. Sorry, not too many pictures this week. I momentarily lost my SD card. This keychain, though, came from a less-active member that said just "gets stuff". It reads, "Shelby County, Memphis, Tennessee" and has the county crest. Great memory for my first (and only) area, huh? : ) Also, read that street sign closely. First person who can pronounce it gets a dollar.
-Elder Staib
Monday, March 26, 2012
Excited for General Conference Next Weekend!
Hello, hello!
FIRST OFF BEFORE I FORGET. Shout out to Alex Newey from a couple weeks ago for mailing me, and thanks, Alex Staib, for the awesome package. I almost forgive you for leaving 4/10 octopi. Amazing necktie, though. For the record, neckties are basically the only things we missionaries have to express ourselves in any way. So awesome neckties are very coveted among us Elders.
On another note, I'm looking forward to Jared Butler's mission call to get to me, as well as Alex Newey's, which will hopefully come soon! Thanks so much for the letters you guys send. They always make me happy to read.
I'm very excited for General Conference! I don't know if it's a missionary thing to say that, but I really am! New temples, scripture, all that. Also, a bunch of the Elder's quorum is getting together to have dinner before the Priesthood session and then ice cream afterwards. We know how to do it right in Collierville. B-) (emoticon shades, if you're wondering.) This is like... a biannual, right? And we get to show investigators and recent converts just how awesome the church is! Good times.
This time of year also reminded me of the couple of church videos I've been filmed in. So I did a bit of searching on LDS.org (missionaries have the freedom to do so) and I totally found them. : )
Teacher's Quorum Presidency Meeting with Tyler Haws, Chase McCain, Spencer Richards and me.
Ministering and Fellowshipping with Jordan Bingham (aka Brandon), Jon Atwood, and the 4 mentioned above (and they told me to take off my glasses for some reason. I think I had Transitions lenses at that time?).
So these were really fun to look back on and watch!
We have the car this week. We're so happy... Our area is big. I know I keep saying it, but it's so hard to stay busy on bikes. The warmer weather feels great, though. Summer will bring about a lot more people, but until then, people are staying in school and grocery stores and offices and then book it home. Geez...from a nature-lover's standpoint, I wanna be outside all the time in this lovely spring sunshine! All these fresh leaves are coming out, the ponds are a bit more lively (there are ponds EVERYWHERE) and the air smells of blooming flowers all over. We've got a porch on the back of our apartment we like to sit on in the mornings as we read. Blisssssss.
This past Sunday, I felt like... something clicked. I finally got it. I was running around, talking to people in church, making appointments and making things happen. I felt like I was finally performing my role as a missionary within the ward. It felt so great...not in a selfish sort of way, but more like a "Yeah, this is what I NEED to be doing on a mission" sort of way. Service. Service is selfless. It's fulfilling.
We helped a lady move a bed to her house this morning. It was great. We helped a member stack wood into a trailer at his non-member parents' house, and then enjoyed an hour of relaxing fishing. When it comes to peaceful outdoor activities, the South has it all.
Oh, continuing on the story of loading wood: One guy picked up a piece and kinda jumped back. He said, "There's a big copperhead in there." Copperheads are one of the most dangerous snakes in the South, he told me. We were 4 adventurous young men. How did we handle the snake problem? WE PINNED IT DOWN BY THE NECK AND STABBED ITS HEAD. The guy that found the snake is a taxidermist, so he's gonna make some cool decoration out of the snake skin. The snake was a good 4 and a half feet long.
I didn't catch anything during the fishing that happened soon after, but we got to talk to the non-member parents. The mother particularly appreciated what we had done for her son, helping him load the wood. I tried to get her interested in the church, and she politely refused, but she loved -- and I mean LOVED -- our willingness to serve. That's all we'll have to do for now, I guess.
Finally, it feels like Elder Arnold and Elder Fry's mantles have properly passed to me. What I mean is, the members here no longer linger on the dream that Arnold and Fry were still the only important missionaries around. Not that that's a bad thing... but it certainly feels nice to have the responsibility of the ward shifted to me. Well, Elder Faleao and me. Elder Faleao's a quiet guy, but he's never contentious. He's very light-hearted and likes to have a good time, like me. We're just a couple of happy missionaries walking around, and when I'm happy, I can do my best work. No matter how stressed I can be, if I'm happy, it all works out. Elder Faleao helps to support that. What's the use of contention in the mission field? There's no possible way it can exist in a companionship, otherwise the work will only weaken.
I was writing a letter to a friend this week, and I wrote something that is extremely important to who you are as a missionary. THIS IS FOR ALL FUTURE MISSIONARIES RIGHT HERE, so pay attention! I learned this from a member that I've created a wonderful friendship with. There are already several friends I've made out here... Life-changing and very positive role models. Anyway, onto the thing. Here's the THING, as quoted from my letter to my friend (with a bit of editing to protect the person's ordeals):
"This idea, before coming out, would have had me terrified, and probably even angry. I don't want to lose all that I had, or lose what I once was. But that's not it at all. A mission is a chance to come out here and show the world what you WANT to be, and to become that person through the loving gospel of Jesus Christ. His gospel will change you in ways you won't even imagine. That's how it's worked for me. Christ didn't bleed in Gethsemane just so we could mope around about things we've done, even after repentance. Christ believes in us to move on. Grow through His sacrifice and love. Grow through Him to change your heart."
The key word to overcome is shame. That's what I've been cursed with in my recent past. A shame for mistakes I've made. Christ didn't perform the Atonement for us to be shameful of ourselves. He did it so that we could leave those mistakes behind and never look back.
I heard a Zen Buddhist story in sacrament meeting yesterday. I'll paraphrase it for you guys:
FIRST OFF BEFORE I FORGET. Shout out to Alex Newey from a couple weeks ago for mailing me, and thanks, Alex Staib, for the awesome package. I almost forgive you for leaving 4/10 octopi. Amazing necktie, though. For the record, neckties are basically the only things we missionaries have to express ourselves in any way. So awesome neckties are very coveted among us Elders.
On another note, I'm looking forward to Jared Butler's mission call to get to me, as well as Alex Newey's, which will hopefully come soon! Thanks so much for the letters you guys send. They always make me happy to read.
I'm very excited for General Conference! I don't know if it's a missionary thing to say that, but I really am! New temples, scripture, all that. Also, a bunch of the Elder's quorum is getting together to have dinner before the Priesthood session and then ice cream afterwards. We know how to do it right in Collierville. B-) (emoticon shades, if you're wondering.) This is like... a biannual, right? And we get to show investigators and recent converts just how awesome the church is! Good times.
This time of year also reminded me of the couple of church videos I've been filmed in. So I did a bit of searching on LDS.org (missionaries have the freedom to do so) and I totally found them. : )
Teacher's Quorum Presidency Meeting with Tyler Haws, Chase McCain, Spencer Richards and me.
Ministering and Fellowshipping with Jordan Bingham (aka Brandon), Jon Atwood, and the 4 mentioned above (and they told me to take off my glasses for some reason. I think I had Transitions lenses at that time?).
So these were really fun to look back on and watch!
We have the car this week. We're so happy... Our area is big. I know I keep saying it, but it's so hard to stay busy on bikes. The warmer weather feels great, though. Summer will bring about a lot more people, but until then, people are staying in school and grocery stores and offices and then book it home. Geez...from a nature-lover's standpoint, I wanna be outside all the time in this lovely spring sunshine! All these fresh leaves are coming out, the ponds are a bit more lively (there are ponds EVERYWHERE) and the air smells of blooming flowers all over. We've got a porch on the back of our apartment we like to sit on in the mornings as we read. Blisssssss.
This past Sunday, I felt like... something clicked. I finally got it. I was running around, talking to people in church, making appointments and making things happen. I felt like I was finally performing my role as a missionary within the ward. It felt so great...not in a selfish sort of way, but more like a "Yeah, this is what I NEED to be doing on a mission" sort of way. Service. Service is selfless. It's fulfilling.
We helped a lady move a bed to her house this morning. It was great. We helped a member stack wood into a trailer at his non-member parents' house, and then enjoyed an hour of relaxing fishing. When it comes to peaceful outdoor activities, the South has it all.
Oh, continuing on the story of loading wood: One guy picked up a piece and kinda jumped back. He said, "There's a big copperhead in there." Copperheads are one of the most dangerous snakes in the South, he told me. We were 4 adventurous young men. How did we handle the snake problem? WE PINNED IT DOWN BY THE NECK AND STABBED ITS HEAD. The guy that found the snake is a taxidermist, so he's gonna make some cool decoration out of the snake skin. The snake was a good 4 and a half feet long.
I didn't catch anything during the fishing that happened soon after, but we got to talk to the non-member parents. The mother particularly appreciated what we had done for her son, helping him load the wood. I tried to get her interested in the church, and she politely refused, but she loved -- and I mean LOVED -- our willingness to serve. That's all we'll have to do for now, I guess.
Finally, it feels like Elder Arnold and Elder Fry's mantles have properly passed to me. What I mean is, the members here no longer linger on the dream that Arnold and Fry were still the only important missionaries around. Not that that's a bad thing... but it certainly feels nice to have the responsibility of the ward shifted to me. Well, Elder Faleao and me. Elder Faleao's a quiet guy, but he's never contentious. He's very light-hearted and likes to have a good time, like me. We're just a couple of happy missionaries walking around, and when I'm happy, I can do my best work. No matter how stressed I can be, if I'm happy, it all works out. Elder Faleao helps to support that. What's the use of contention in the mission field? There's no possible way it can exist in a companionship, otherwise the work will only weaken.
I was writing a letter to a friend this week, and I wrote something that is extremely important to who you are as a missionary. THIS IS FOR ALL FUTURE MISSIONARIES RIGHT HERE, so pay attention! I learned this from a member that I've created a wonderful friendship with. There are already several friends I've made out here... Life-changing and very positive role models. Anyway, onto the thing. Here's the THING, as quoted from my letter to my friend (with a bit of editing to protect the person's ordeals):
"Never ever forget this, [person]. This is one of the most important things I've learned out here: TO HECK WITH WHO YOU WERE BEFORE YOU CAME OUT. Cast him off, kick him out the door. You're not out here to be that person. You're out here to be an Elder. You're on a mission to change lives and to bless those around you with your wonderful personality, knowledge, talents and testimony. People on your mission don't care who (insert full name here) is. They care who Elder (insert surname here) is.
"This idea, before coming out, would have had me terrified, and probably even angry. I don't want to lose all that I had, or lose what I once was. But that's not it at all. A mission is a chance to come out here and show the world what you WANT to be, and to become that person through the loving gospel of Jesus Christ. His gospel will change you in ways you won't even imagine. That's how it's worked for me. Christ didn't bleed in Gethsemane just so we could mope around about things we've done, even after repentance. Christ believes in us to move on. Grow through His sacrifice and love. Grow through Him to change your heart."
The key word to overcome is shame. That's what I've been cursed with in my recent past. A shame for mistakes I've made. Christ didn't perform the Atonement for us to be shameful of ourselves. He did it so that we could leave those mistakes behind and never look back.
I heard a Zen Buddhist story in sacrament meeting yesterday. I'll paraphrase it for you guys:
A Buddhist monk and his followers were walking through a forest. They came upon a woman with unclean morals attempting to cross a river. The monk went to the woman, aided her across the river, and continued walking with his followers. His followers looked at him in amazement and said, "Why would you help that woman when she is so impure?" The monk replied to his students, "I helped the girl across the river and left her there. Why are you still carrying her?"
That story rocks! BUT OTHER THAN THAT it reminds us that we can't hold onto things. Not only does this apply to shame and guilt, but I would think it can apply to things we boast about, as well.
Heh, gee... I was just enlightened myself about how wonderful the statement I just made was. Like...it's all about putting the world behind us, huh? Interesting. Eat on that for a bit. Gosh I wish I could still blog about this stuff.... I miss my blog...
Heh, gee... I was just enlightened myself about how wonderful the statement I just made was. Like...it's all about putting the world behind us, huh? Interesting. Eat on that for a bit. Gosh I wish I could still blog about this stuff.... I miss my blog...
Anyway! Enjoy the rest of your week, guys! And the pictures!
-Elder Staib
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