Lots of Service

The Chidisters

Rhode Island P-day Fun

Elder Johns and Crum

Elder Plasterex

Elder Plasterex

Some P-day Fun

 


































 Week 73   March 9th 2020
 Monday was pretty fun, when I woke up I called the family. I was able to talk to my big bro Trever and that was pretty great! After I talked to them I officially got ready for the day then we went shopping for the week. When we got back we had lunch then went to the library to work on our emails. After the library we hit downtown and we went shopping. It was pretty fun and such a nice day outside! After shopping we hit the Chapel and balled up (Played Basket Ball). I also called the family again to talk to my sister and my niece, we had lots of fun! To end the night we met with Byron a less active member. It was super cool because he has a desire to come to Church and learn more, so we are going to start meeting with him weekly! After him we tried to visit with Lloyd but he had something come up, so we said a prayer with him before we left!
 Tuesday-After I woke up, I read from the Book of Mormon for a little bit and then worked out. After I got ready, we made our way to the Salvation Army for our service. We got there right after the truck so we were able to help bring everything in. This week there wasn’t too much frozen items so we were able to fit it all into the freezers! We had some fun talking to the other volunteers while eating lunch. After we finished up our service we had to go to UPS to send a package out. It was supposed to go to my parents but my address was put in. It was such a nice day! After that we came home for studies and I continued to read from the Book of Mormon. We then made our way to the library to reach out to a few people with interest.  Later on we came home for dinner and relaxed for a little bit. We then made our way to try to meet with a less active member, and It was pouring outside! We weren't able to meet with him so we made our way to the Chapel for our Book of Mormon class. It was the smallest class yet, but next week should be better. We studied 2 Nephi 31-33 (the Doctrine of Christ) it was super awesome! After the class, we met with Cheryl and talked about temples. We invited her to pray about a date for baptism! After the lesson with her we played some ball with the young men and had lots of fun with them. To end the night we met with Mike and went over all of the commandments (Word of Wisdom, Law of Chastity, and the 10 Commandments) it went pretty well, and we invited him as well to pray about a date for baptism! Newport is on the rise, and I am loving this area!
     Wednesday morning when I woke up I was able to work out and officially get ready for the day. After we both were ready, we made our way to East Greenwich to meet our Zone Leaders to start our exchange. I went with Elder Plaster Up to Central Falls Rhode Island in the Portuguese Program for the day. We went straight to a lesson with a recent covert and we talked about the importance of keeping the Word of Wisdom and the blessings that can come from it! After the lesson we made our way back to the apartment to have some lunch, Elder Plaster made us a Brazilian meal because he is from Rio de Janeiro Brazil. After we had lunch we made our way to the go visit some friends taught in the past and we ended up teaching them about the Restoration. It was pretty cool because he had previously seen the restoration video with Joseph Smith, and he really liked It! After our lesson with him we went and did a few more stop byes Up until dinner, and we went to a Salvadoran Restaurant and a had paloosas, they are pretty good! A few appointments canceled so we end up going to a park to call people and set up appointments for the coming week. After a little bit, we got pretty cold so we made our way to the Chapel. While at the Chapel we talked to some people on the phone and set more appointments for the coming week. For the last hour of the night we made our way and did a few stop byes of people taught in the past and ended up talking to a really cool family. We were not able to have an official lesson with them because there was no male present, but we were able to get to know them better, and build a relationship.  We then made our way back to the apartment for the remainder of the night.
     Thursday morning Elder Plaster and I had a good workout session. They have an apartment that is pretty open, so it was fun and easy to jump rope for a little bit. After I was officially ready for the day I had to finish up packing and then we made our way back to East Greenwich to Exchange back. On the way there we were able to do exchange inventory. Basically exchange inventory is a discussion about what we liked, what we learned, and an invitation to improve. Elder Plaster said that I am a great example of Christ like love to others, that really made me feel happy and gave me confirmation I was doing the right things! After we exchanged back Elder Johnson and I came back to our apartment so I can unpack and get ready for the rest of the day. We then made our way to the Library to meet with Peter Card. We were able to have a lesson with him. While in the entrance of the Library Peter Card was talking to a person and he ended up giving him a Book of Mormon and inviting him to the Church on Sunday for our Sunday Service, it was pretty cool to see this happen! After the message he took us out to lunch at the Blue Plate Diner and we all got Burgers. They were pretty Dang good. After lunch we came home to have studies and I was able to read the Book of Mormon. I am starting to read the new Funeral Handbook of the Church. There are so many great insights in it that will help me to be a better servant of Christ not only on mission but after the mission as well! I ended up passing out on the couch for little bit and when I woke up we made our way to the Library to do some Facebook finding, unfortunately we didn't have much luck. After the Library we made our way over to the Chidester family for dinner. We had a Beef Pot Pie homemade from Sister Chidester. We always have lots of fun over there. Today I ended up racing both Cohen and Cara. During the race with Cara on the way back apparently Cohen was told to stop me, well try to. I thought he was going to get out of the way but I ended up shoving him and he fell down. I truly feel so bad for him! They were all pretty cool about it and was a very fun experience for us all to laugh at. Afterwards we made a couple stop byes to people Missionaries have talked with in the past, but unfortunately they were not there and one had moved. While driving down town we saw our new member John walking down the streets of Newport and we waved as we passed by him while driving. It must a been divine intervention because we were able to have come to our lesson with Dante a 8 o'clock. The lesson with Dante went really well, and it was awesome to have a member present as well. We talked about the 10 commandments, the Law of Chastity along with keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. To end the lesson we were able show both of them the Baptismal Font and what it looks like. After they went their separate ways, we went home for the remainder of the night.
     Friday was pretty stressful for me and it’s was due to a lot of stuff just continuing to build up. Well after both if us were ready, we got a call from President Mavromaitis asking if he could join our District Council today by video call, of course we gladly said yes. We then made our way to pick up the Narragansett Elders and drove to the Warwick Chapel. We then set up and called President so he could join us. We had a great training from Elder Porter on leaving invitations/commitments and then following up with them. President had some great insights that helped us all out. He wants to help us understand that they aren't lessons with members they are Missionary trainings. We want to get members and missionaries to work well together! After District Council we went out to Wendy's for some lunch. We then made our way back and dropped off the Elders then came home to change. We were able to have a lesson with a Bible referral from December! It went somewhat well, there was a language barrier because he is from Haiti. We went over parts of all three lessons, and it was hard because he only wanted evidence from the Bible, but with the scriptures we gave, he didn’t fully agree with. We then bore powerful testimonies of the Book of Mormon and invited him to read it. We hope to hear from him soon. We had to push back dinner until after FHE on the Navy Base but we relaxed for a little until we left to FHE. It was really fun and there were around 140 people there!!! It was so big, it did end earlier then usual and we got it all cleaned up by 8 o'clock. After that we made our way to see Brother Mottrom for dinner. He had made us Meatloaf. It was pretty good and it was pretty big! He sent us home with some leftovers. Anyway, I know I said at the beginning I was stressed, but I won’t say why I was so stressed out because it truly doesn't matter. What I will say it was a build up of a lot of things and it got to me.
     Saturday was much better, I've had the time to ponder, pray and ask for peace in my heart. I was dealing with a lot so I just slept in a little longer than usual but it was much needed. After we woke up, I got ready and then we did personal studies. I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and read about the story on the 2000 stripling warriors. That is always so fun to read. We then had comp studies and then lunch. Afterward we dropped off our laundry at Brother Stabley’s, then hit the Library to do weekly planning. Luckily we got the nice study room so we could be a little louder than a whisper. After we finished up we drove to Tiverton to meet with the Mcormick’s for our monthly message. It went really well and after we followed up with the family mission plan where we watched another video to prepare for Easter Sunday! After the message we went into their backyard and saw three little campsites they are making, it's pretty cool! We then helped them set up a couple if nightstands they had. We then came home and cleaned out the car a little bit and disinfected it as well. We then made our way to give see John, our new member and had dinner with him, he made us spaghetti.  We were able to help push the couch into the room he wanted it in. He took the legs off so that helped it get through the doorway, but it barely squoze through. Afterwards we went to see Noel and Luara, but sadly they weren't home. We listened to a talk but they never came. We then reached out to a few people to remind them about church and daylight savings. All in all it was a good day. Before the night ended we got a mission text letting us know we have to do elbow bumps, everything else is banned.  We gotta stay safe from the Virus going around.
     Sunday went pretty well, despite the time change we still got good rest. After I woke up and got ready for the day, we made our way to the Chapel for Ward Coordination. It went really well, and we had everyone in attendance. Afterwards we greeting everyone with elbow bumps as they came in. The Roneys gave talks today, both were pretty good. One was on the truths of the Book of Mormon while the other was on the Power of the Holy Ghost. We had three friends there today, Mike, Cheryl, and Dante! In Elders quorum we went over the talk "The Second Great Commandment" by President Nelson. Afterward we were able to give one of the Navy guys a blessing of comfort. We then came home for most of the day. When we first got to the apt we had studies and then had to push everything to the middle of the room. This coming week the Landlord will be sanding and painting the whole apt, I sure am excited for it. We then made our way to dinner with the Hancocks, it's always a blast with them. After dinner we made a few calls concerning a friend we are teaching but all is well! To end the night we had a lesson with the Jones family and inviting our friends to come and hear on Easter Sunday!

                   Mosiah 2:17
    "17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God"

     I love this a lot, because as missionaries we are always looking for opportunities to help others out and be of that service. Showing Christ like love and helping others is one of the best ways to be in the service of your God! I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.