Fun in Plymouth with Service and Members

Trunk or Treat

The Hoveys Home

Service Raking Leaves at the Jenny Museum

Clamming with the Hovey Family

Plymouth at Night

Clamming with the Hovey Family

Clams we dug up

Clamming with the Hovey Family

Billy & Debbie Salmons

The Belyeas

Clamming with the Hovey Family

Belyeas Home at Night

Week 54  Oct 29 2019
Brayden Knowlden

     Well as I am writing this I have a head cold and I'm not feeling to hot. Monday was the usual stuff, and we really didn't do much sadly. Around 445 we made our way to a member that lives right outside of the actual ward boundary. We had a really good time. For dinner we had some delicious steak. We then made our way to another members house for Family Home Evening. We shared a message with the Hovey Family and made our way home.
     Tuesday was a pretty good day after studies we made our way to the Jenny Museum and we helped rake the lawn. We then changed and had a lesson with Brother Gould and he has been sick for a while now, and was just happy we came to check in on him, it helped give him peace. When we got back home we did some weekly planning and had a good talk about how we want to improve our area. That night we had an amazing lesson with our Pam. Brother Volpetti changed up his whole schedule to help us out.  It was pretty dang cool for him to be there with us. The lesson was on the Restoration, we honestly had an amazing lesson, she asked a lot of awesome questions, we hope to set a baptismal date with her soon! For the rest of the night we did some street contacting.
     Wednesday morning we got up and made our way to the Food Bank. It sure was a surprise for them to see three of us! There wasn't a lot to do today, so we helped organize most of it. We then came home and did studies for up until it was time to go to Ward Coordination. We got to the Church and we had some time so Elder White was working on "My Plan" all missionaries do it to help transition to go home. We then had a good coordination and then went out to dinner. We ate at "Lobstah Hut" I got a Lobstah mac and cheese.  It was sooo good! To end the night we had a lesson with a Cape Verrdian, (Portuguese speaking) so Elder Leite did most the work. He wants to feel what we feel with prayer, we hope to meet with him again.
     Thursday we had some good studies, and I made it a goal to finish the Bible before I go home and I am really enjoying my studies of it. Though at time I am confused I know it will help me later on! After lunch we had a lesson with our friend Al and watched a short video on the First Vision. He seemed to really like it! We then came home and made a plan to share a message for visits with members. We made a really interactive restoration lesson. We would be doing it tonight at our dinner lesson with the Martins. They live in the furthest part of our area so it took a little bit to get there. We had burgers for dinner, they were pretty great.  We then gave a Gospel message. After that we made a stop on the way home to see the Salmons. We also shared a message with them. Sadly that was the last time we would be seeing them, they are heading south for the winter. They sure are an amazing family.
     Friday morning we had our District Council and it was over video to save miles. Later Elder White worked on his "My Plan", after he finished a section we came home for lunch. Shortly after we drove to the Kingston Library to see if we could hold a English Class there. We filled out an application, we should be getting a message /email soon. While on the way back we did some tracting before we went home for dinner. After dinner we called some friends and made our way to see Pam, sadly she wasn’t awake so we could try another time. To end the night we went to visit Ollie, Larry, Peyton and Myana. We had a lesson on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went really well, then Peyton and Mayana said they want to be baptized, we will be working with them too!
     Saturday was a great day. We got a text from Pam saying sorry we didn’t meet yesterday but said we could come over for a lesson. We had our studies then made our way over to visit Pam. We had an amazing lesson with her on the Plan of Salvation.  It gave her a lot of peace on the message we shared. She is so happy to hear that we truly have a loving God. After our lesson with her we changed at home and rushed to the Hoveys home. They invited us to go clamming with them and a non-member father of sister Hovey. We honestly had a really good time with them and I found about 30-40 clams! After a little bit we came back home to change and go to the Chapel for the Ward Trunk or Treat. When we got there Sherri a friend we are teaching brought us some costumes to use. We had a fun time with them. I was Captain America, Elder White was Batman and Elder Leite was the Hulk. Even our friend Pam came, and she felt so welcomed. We sat and talked to her along with a few other members. While we talked to her, some members walked around with her grand daughter so she could have fun. She truly is getting ready for baptism! To end the night we went to Market Basket to get a couple food items for the weekend.
     Sunday, we had a great time at Church, it was the Primary Program and it was lots of fun! We had three friends come today, they all had a good time. The second hour was Elders Quorum and we talked about prayer with faith. After Church we came home for studies and I took a nap because I was really tired. When I woke up we made our way to the Webers home for dinner. We had black bean soup, it was perfect for the rainy weather. It was fun to get to know them more. We shared the Restoration message with them, and the kids enjoyed it a lot! For the rest of the night we did tracting in North Plymouth and we even found a couple people with interest!

            Proverbs 16:16

     "16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver"

     Some of the greatest treasures of life truly is wisdom and understanding. As we have a greater knowledge on what we believe it can truly benefit us and who we are to become! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

One year mark

 Bundt cake for my 1 year mark

Elder Hodgkinson from Madison

Members back yard Dock

Fun on the Dock

Me on the Dock

President Ballards Car

Zone Conference

Conference in Boston with President Ballard

Conference in Boston with President Ballard

Fun with the Trio

My Companions

The Cool Trio

Week 53   10-21-19
Finally at my year mark!

     Well P-days in a trio are tough when we don’t have a washer and dryer in your actual apartment. Most of the day we just tried to do laundry along with the usual shopping and cleaning. That night we had a lesson, and our friend had to reschedule but we ended up talking to a few other Brazilians with interest. It was super cool and we set up an appointment later that week!
     Tuesday after studies we made a lot if calls to people taught in the past to see if there was still any interest with them. We left a lot of messages because no one picked up. After we finished up studies we went to the Jenny Museum to cut the lawn, it went pretty well. After that we made our way to visit the Calas. While we were there we had lunch and had a lesson with them and Jimmy (Sister Calas brother who isn’t a member) it was really good, and he enjoyed it. We then helped with some service and dug 4 holes for some shrubs. Because we had time, we took pictures on their dock. Elder Leite was having a blast! We kept throwing in rocks and pretending fish were jumping. We then came home changed and made our way to the Chapel for Ward Coordination.  It went really well and we then went to dinner at Rio Churrascaria. While we were there we met 4 Brazilians with interest! We had a good time there. Brother Volpetti took us to a referral who wanted a blessing. We went to the wrong house twice lol but we ended up finding a family to start to teach! We finally made it to the right house and she was so happy to see us. After we got our car back and drove to our next lesson. We officially started teaching 4 more Brazilians this week! To end the night we had a few more stop byes to make contact with and set up times to come back! With Elder Leite not knowing too much English we are helping him learn. He asked us "what does figure it out mean?" It was too easy so we told him to "figure it out" Elder White and I were dying of laughter lol. He also pronounced "doubts as dub its" oh boy we were having a good laugh and teaching him.
     Wednesday was Zone Conference and we got a ride from the Brewster Elders. The ride was a little longer then expected so we were a couple minutes late. When we got there President Mavromaitis was talking about the 10 Commandments and the old movie about the story of Moses. It was pretty cool because in my personal studies I just started to read about Moses in the book of Exodus. After he spoke for a little bit we split into smaller groups and had a training on the importance of daily planning, along with winter driving safety, because the snow is coming soon! Other things we talked about later on in the day were the importance of acting on faith and following the spirit. We then had a long drive home after an uplifting Zone Conference. All we did the rest of the night was a lesson with Al and helped him set up his DVR so he could watch the Restoration Movie. We then walked downtown for the rest of the night.
     Thursday, well today marked my 1 YEAR MARK!!! First thing in the morning was a lesson with Brother Gould to share a message with him. Later that morning we were expecting an extra mattress to use because I've been using the couch the past few nights. It came earlier then expected so that really helped with planning for the day. We finished up our studies then made our way to the Calas for lunch, a lesson and service. Sister Calas Brother Jimmy who lives with them has been asking them questions so we helped them with his first lesson! It went really well, and we hope to come back soon. After the lesson we helped dig 4 holes for some bushes they had. They live right on a lake so we kept throwing on rocks to pretend a fish was jumping, Elder Leite wanted to see it jump lol. After we went on the dock and took some pictures. After we finished up with some yard work we made our way to see Billy Salmons, when we got there the lights were all out, and they had to hit the generator to get them all back on. While we were there I burned a shirt for making it to my year mark! It burned pretty dang quick, but it was honestly an amazing moment for me. After we came home to change and then made our way to a Brazilian couple to share a message, we ended up teaching 2 others as well!! It was so cool, We started to teach 5 people in just one day. We then met up with Brother Volpetti to go to our next appointment. When we got there sadly no one was home, Brother Volpetti then took us our to McDonald's for a quick dinner. We made our way to Walmart to get some cake and came home. Something awesome about today is My little Sister Kaylee was adopted 1 year ago as well, the morning my family was at court for her adoption then shortly after made my way to the MTC. Tonight we share a year mark for an amazing change in our families life and she was also Baptized! I was so lucky to be able to call her and teach the lessons with the missionaries in her area. Both of the talks given at the baptism were given over video call. My Brother  Tyler from Oregon on Baptism and me from Plymouth Massachusetts on the Holy Ghost. It was definitely a memorable Baptism. After it ended I made a cake for my "1st birthday " it was dang good! I also listened to the talk "live right" and it made me ponder about how I can better serve the Lord this next year.
     Friday we didn’t have District Council because we had Zone Conference this week. We had to do some things at the Chapel and we were there for a little bit. While there we made a few calls to our friends to set up times for lessons. That night we had dinner with the Hovey family when we first got there we played some yard football with the boys, we all had a good time and it was Elder Leites first time playing. We had some really good Chicken Casserole, it was a family recipe for them. To end the night we contacted Brazilians up until 8, after that we had an appointment with a Pastor to talk about an English class in his Church, he didn't want it at his Church but he will let his members know when we get it started!
     Saturday morning we had a North East North American Missionary Broadcast. We met up as a District to watch it together. It went really well, we heard Elder Bennett,  Elder Crossing, and President Ballard talk. They had a big focus on, being a hard working missionary, keeping busy and helping and loving others. It's not just about Baptisms, it’s about helping others come closer to Christ. We then were invited to have lunch at the event that was going on at the Chapel. We then helped them clean up. We came home for studies and did some calling around. We tried to call for a lesson with Larry and Ollie and the family but they couldn't do it that day. That night we had a great lesson with Pam and talked about Faith and Repentance. We helped her and invited her to Church to learn more.
     Sunday morning we get a text from Pam asking if we could wait for her by the doors at the Church. She came and had a good time for the most part! We sat with her in Sacrament and helped answer her questions as they came up. Brother Polleys from the Vineyard was there to give a talk! I also saw the whole Polleys crew! It was great to see them all. In second hour it was tough for Pam because she had a hard time understanding. We helped testify on the love that Christ has for us and that through him we can overcome anything! We then got permission to go to the Worcester Center that night to hear the Apostles speak if we got a ride! The Martin's said they could take us, so we came home to eat and have a quick study session. We got to their house by 2 and made the trip to the Worcester Center. On the way there we ended up passing the Larose family from my first area in Madison. I had to wave and they waved back. When we parked I saw the Brown Family from the Vineyard, and at the front doors saw a lot of members from past areas. I had a great time seeing them all, especially the Larose family,  and my companion Elder Hodgkinson!! The actual devotional was so amazing. President Ballard gave his whole talk about the Revolution and Plymouth! It was pretty cool. He also invited us all as a Nation to Pray for our Country. We then came back with the Martin's and had dinner with them and came home for the night. It truly was a great week!

               Jacob 5:41

     "41 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?"

      Sometimes we need to be like the Lord and ask "what could I have done more?" As we go through life we don’t do everything we could, but we should always try to do everything that we CAN DO. As we are presented with an opportunity I invite you to ask the Lord before you finish "what can I do more?" I promise it will bless your life. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

My Third Trio- Portuguese Area

Zone and District Leaders

Sister Conway

Saying Good bye to Elder James

ForeFathers Monument

Eric

Jimmy & Gloria

Having Fun with Elder White & Elder Leite

Brother Volpetti

Brother Gould

Plymouth Rock

Plymouth Rock Monument

Indian Monument

Having Fun with Elder White and Leite

Brother Billy Salmons

Fun Sign

Shopping 

Fun with Elder White

Now in my third Trio
October 14th 2019  week 52


      I hope everyone had a good week, mine sure was! Monday was pretty fun, we both had no clue about who was staying or who was leaving, so we both went around downtown taking it all in. I got a couple of souvenirs for the road and a couple to send back home. While downtown we talked to a couple of Utahn’s! They were both on vacation here. After downtown we went to the forefathers monument and it is tall! We had a short lesson with Sister Conway to say our good byes and read 1st Nephi 1 with her. After Judy we had a great lesson with Pam! We talked about Gods plan for each and everyone of us, and it gave her so much peace. She has a desire to come to church with the rest of her family  "even if just one of them joins the others will know and understand so they can show support" -Pam. That was super cool to hear, we plan on a lesson because week with her.  We are both excited for it.
     Tuesday was a good day, because we still don’t really know who was leaving we said some good byes to friends and members. In the morning we did our regular studies, and Brother Volpetti picked us up for our "Last Supper". He took us out to lunch at T-Bones. It is a really good steak place. After lunch we went over to the Jenny Museum to help cut the lawn because the next day we wouldn't have time to mow it. We then came home and made our way to see Brother Gould and have a lesson with him. We read the Book of Mormon and said our goodbyes. We then went to the Projects to meet with Jimmy and Eric. Jimmy didn’t have to much time so we let him know we would be coming back soon. With Eric we watched the restoration video. He thought it was pretty interesting. We then made our way to see a friend with interest and we just helped testify that God does answer prayers. She has been having a tough few months. To end the night we hung out at the Salmons so we could say our goodbyes to him and his wife. On the way home we got T-texts and I will be staying here in Plymouth. Elder James will be going to Waterbury Connecticut. He then packed for the night.
     Wednesday morning we went and helped at the food pantry. While there we kept busy wiping off squashes covered in dirt. When we got back Elder James did last minute packing and we left for the Weston Chapel. At transfers we saw lots of other missionaries and had a good time. I then met Elder White, my new companion. When we were ready we made our way to the Roger's home (Framingham area) to pick up a name tag I forget there. It was fun to see Sister Roger's and Nevaeh again, sadly Mark Roger's wasn’t there. While on the way home we stopped by a McDonald's to eat dinner then come home. To end the night we stopped by Brother Houlds home, then walked downtown. Oh boy was it windy.
     Thursday was a long day but it was good. After we woke up and got ready we did personal studies, comp studies, language studies (we are opening up a Portuguese area). We took a break to eat lunch and then we had weekly planning.  It was a lot of studies today. After all that we went to the projects to introduce Elder White to a couple of our friends. We went to visit Al, along with Sherri and Dick. We had dinner with them and shared a message about the restoration.  We went to go see Ollie and Peyton. While there we were able to teach the other 3 members that live there! Larry, Yanta, and Myana.  We gave a message on the Plan of Salvation, both Peyton and Myana said they wanted to be baptized!!! It was so cool to hear that, now we are going to continue and hope the rest of the family will have that same desire. To end the night we walked downtown to street contact.
     Friday we left around 9 to drive to the West Bridgewater Chapel for District Leadership Council.  Lots of things were talked about to help continue the work for the Mission. It took about 2 hours to go through it all. We got a call from the AP's (assistant to the president) they informed us we will be becoming a trio, to help the Portuguese area in Plymouth.  We then went out to lunch at Little Dammies and I had some dang good mac and cheese there. After lunch we went back to the Chapel and waited to pick up our new companion Elder Leite from Fortaleza Brazil. This is his 3rd day in the mission field in this mission. He served a 3 month mission in Brazil while waiting for his Visa.  We got to meet him and put his stuff in our car. Then went inside to have District Council. We just let the rest of the District know about what was talked about in DLC. We started to make our way home, then we got a call from the Brockton Portuguese Elders. Elder Leite forgot a bag that he needed, so we had to head back the way we came. We were hungry so we went out to eat at Chick-fil-a. While we were there we ended up getting a free meal because they couldn't find the person who ordered it. We then got the bag from the other Elders and made our way home. Traffic was pretty bad. When we got back, we made a couple stops with Brazilian friends to set up a time to come back.
     Saturday was a long day as well. We got up and ready then we moved furniture around to accommodate the three of us. Luckily we have 3 desks so it all worked out in the end. I honestly like it much better now then what it was. For the time being I will be sleeping on the couch until a new bed comes next week. We had studies, personal and comp studies. After lunch, Elder Leite gave us a Portuguese lesson on the verb to be. I will learn but I still am confused, wish me luck! We had dinner at the apt and then made our way to a lesson with Brother Gould to read from the Book of Mormon.  To end the night we walked downtown.
     Sunday, a lot of the members were surprised that there were three of us. We are hoping to start an English class soon for the Brazilians in our area and we already have members wanting to help out! It was Fast Sunday so I went up to bare my testimony. After Sacrament we talked to Billy Salmons who was in the foyer. He got to know the new missionaries a little more. After Church there was a linger longer, with lots of good food! We had lots of fun, with the members of the ward.  We came home and listened to a couple conference talks then went to visit a member. She has a less active husband and was hoping we would be able to talk with him, sadly he isn’t interested at the moment.  While we were with her we walked on a private beach that her family has access to. It was lots of fun. I took of my shoes and socks and had to walk in the water. When we got back to her house we shared a message on the Sacrament and headed to our next appointment. We had dinner /coordination with Sister Wood and her son Preston. It was lots of fun. She is the new Relief Society President and wants to get stuff done! She is going to be a great help for us. To end the night we stopped by Charlie and Vivian. They were our first lesson on Portuguese. Sadly  just Vivian was home this time so we will teach Charlie soon! It was a whole different experience, I couldn't understand anything but I felt the spirit for sure!

                     2 John 1:3

     "3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love"

    The God head is all loving, Both our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ only want the best for us all.
They are full of both truth and love, I have come to know this by reading the scriptures and praying every day. I promise you, it can be the same way for you if you read and pray to have peace in your lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

 

Week 51 October 7, 2019 General Conference Week

The Bishop Family and Friends Watching General Conference

The District having some fun

A Crab

Our awesome District

Looking at Downtown Plymouth

Just after baking a cake

Turkeys just outside of the Church

Watching General Conference in the Foyer at Church

Elder Despain on Splits

At the Food Pantry sorting

Having some fun with Kyle in his old wheelchair

Getting my Haircut by Elder James

   

Monday was pretty good, after we did all the usual stuff. One thing that happened today was getting a pretty sick haircut from Elder James, it was his first time and he did really well! After we made our way to the Woods home, first thing we did was make a chocolate cake from scratch, it was pretty fun and really good. Later we played a couple board games. First was a game of life, second we attempted to play a game of Risk. We didn’t get too far with that.  We left to see Sherrie and Dick for dinner and a lesson. Right as I was going to bed I was able to give Elder James a blessing of comfort. All I could feel at that time was pure love from Christ, I started to tear up, and it was so spiritually peaceful.
     Tuesday, the usual morning routine and my studies went pretty well. Our morning appointment canceled so we did a little street contacting downtown then made our way to the projects. We met with a couple of lady’s and tried to share a message, at the time they were both busy. So we stopped in on Jimmy and his fiancé, they are both doing well, and Jimmy read from the Book of Mormon!! He enjoyed it and liked what he read, soon we will go back over to read with both of them. After him we visited with our dear friend Eric, this time he gave us an experience I will never forget. He has cerebral palsy and talked to us about how he deals with life. He then let us test out his older electric wheelchair to give us a feel for his daily life. It was definitely different then what I was used to and gave me a new perspective on loving everyone and not judging others for their circumstances they are in. We walked downtown until we had dinner at San Diego’s a Mexican Restaurant downtown. The Belyeas Family took us out and it was a super cool experience with them. Sister Belyeah was a seminary teacher for 15 years and an institute teacher for 5 years. She was full of awesome insights and helped me with my testimony. I knowing this truly is the true Church of Jesus Christ. We did more stop byes and street contacting the rest of the night. When we got home I was able to call in on my little sisters lesson with the missionaries in her area. I am so happy to see how her testimony is growing!
     Wednesday we started with service with the Food Bank. We helped set up a few of group orders the whole time. Later we came home and tried to mow the lawn at the Jenny museum and as we started it began to rain so we had to reschedule.  We then did some of our studies along with weekly planning.  All went well. After our weekly planning we made our way to the chapel to have missionary coordination with Brother Volpetti. For the first little bit he showed us how to set up the TV to watch General Conference. We then talked about our friends and how we can help them progress. After he took us out to dinner at "Mama Mias" on water street. It is a pretty dang good Italian food. I had Calamari and a Chicken Alfredo. After dinner he took us out to visit a couple people close by and then dropped us off at our car. We then did a couple of stop byes then the night was done.
     Thursday was an experience. We did an exchanges and we drove to Brewster to do it. This time I was with Elder Despain and we stayed down in the Brewster Area. As we got there we shortly planned for the day and did studies. I am starting to read more in the Bible and I am currently near the end of Genesis. I am learning a lot from it all.  I am studying more about the commandments. After studies we went to Wendy's for lunch and went to main street to do street contacting.  As we got there we were called about service. And from that time about 1ish until 9 we were helping move a large storage unit into a trailer, then unpacking it all at a house of a members. It took forever and for half of it, it was just me and Elder Despain. It took all day. There is still stuff we need to get but that will be for another day.
     Friday morning Elder Despain and I had personal studies and then made our way up to District Council. It was our last one of the transfer, and we had a game of jeopardy for the transfer and what we've learned.  It was pretty fun. It was 2-3 and us Elders barely won. After we had some snacks and signed each other transfer journals. We then came home after that. We had some daily planning then street contacting and then dinner. While at dinner we watched the new Book of Mormon video’s, it was so good.  After dinner we stopped by Brother Gould and read from 2 Nephi-Chapter 4. To end the night we stopped by to see Ollie, Larry, Peyton and Myana.  We talked a little bit about conference and left them with a prayer.
     Both Saturday and Sunday we watched General Conference and heard many wonderful talks! The first session on Saturday was a fun set up in the Church Foyer. Then Saturday night was with the Woods Family and Sunday Night was with the Young Family. We had lots of fun at both houses and with both families. President might make this area a Zebra Area (both an English and a Portuguese area), if so this next transfer who ever stays will start to teach a lot of awesome people!

 What Lack I Yet?  By Elder Larry R. Lawrence Of the Seventy (October 2015 General Conference )

     "The Spirit can show us our weaknesses, but He is also able to show us our strengths. Sometimes we need to ask what we are doing right so that the Lord can lift and encourage us."

     This is one of my favorite talks by far. It has taught a lot to me about "Enduring to the End" the final point in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have both many strengths and many weaknesses, as we are falling short to be better, we should ask the Lord in prayer what we can do better. It will be known to us by the Power of the Holy Ghost. It will be all out of love and to help us be better! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
  ReplyReply allForward