Week 2

 I am having a spectacular time here!  I love my comp, the other two elders, and the members and investigators. Last week, the Lord finally answered our prayers and led us to a new investigator who was humbled by her loss of a job and was prompted to call us.  

We called this guy named Liyu Bin.  He had been contacted by the missionaries in the past but they never really kept visiting him.  So we called him and said, "Hello.  We're the missionaries."  He said, "Machinery?"  "No, we're the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."  Then he hung up.  Ten minutes later, he called back.  He asked, "Are you from Verizon?"  We told him, "No, we're from the Church."  "The Church?"  "Yes, the Church."  Then he hung up again.  Good times.

So, yeah, New Jersey has been great. I also have a TON of emails to reply to so my next emails will have to be short.  I haven't forgotten you guys, promise. 

I miss signing so much!  There's just not a lot of Deaf people here, I guess.  There are a lot of Peruanos, so I have been able to use my Spanish with that regard.

I love you all in all the sincerity that I can muster through this keyboard.  Wish you the best.

Love,

Elder deJesus

Hello from New Joysey!!!

Dear John,

I loved the MTC and will miss my district so much.  In fact, I miss them so much right now that I could puke on the keyboard.  Nostalgia.  I miss having actual food and not fake Cap'n Crunch every day without having to clean up afterward...

But it's been great in the field.  We haven't had many investigators but we've made a ton of friends...and also blisters.  It's been a ton of work with not much results, but I'm sure that it will pick up.  Maybe God is just trying to teach us patience.

My new comp and I are exact opposites.  It's ridiculous.  But I love him.  He's a good elder.

New Joysey isn't at all different from the Philippines.  I mean, there's English signs on every store, so it's pretty similar.  Plus, it's hot, green, humid, and full of Catholics who were born Catholic and will die Catholic.

Anyway, love you all!  I'm excited to tell you my first baptism story, which should be soon.  Hopefully.

Love,

Elder deJesus

Yo, yo, yo

July 17, 2013

It's been a week and it's our P-day.  We just finished putting our laundry in and we have an hour to write emails and use the comptuers.  By the dubs, these comptuers are disgusting.  The keyboards are like covered in some type of soda mucus and the keys keep sticking to my fingers so I can't spell comptuer right.

So far, learning in the MTC has been a blessing.  Everywhere we go, the Spirit awaits for us to receive Him.  I've learned so much about myself and my Savior that I didn't even imagine I would ever learn about.  One of my favorite things to learn about my Savior is from Elder Bednar.  He shared a story about a mom who was informed that three girls had recently been involved in an accident.  One of those girls had died and the other two seriously injured.  She immediately called Elder Bednar, who was showering at the time.  His wife picked up the phone and handed the phone to Elder Bednar.  The mom told Elder Bednar what had just happened, and asked him to go to the hospital and help identify the girls, to make sure that her daughter was still alive, and to administer blessings if needed.  He, of course, agreed.  As the conversation went on, he realized that the mom had been speaking in two phones, one over each ear.  On one phone was Elder Bednar, and on the other was a nurse from the emergency room where the girls were being brought.  At one point, Elder Bednar overheard the nurse say that the hospital had received positive ID.  The dead girl was the mom's daughter.  What was interesting was that the mom, whose daughter had died and took the effort to call an apostle from the shower, fell silent.  Then, against all expectations, she asked Elder Bednar to call the parents of the two other girls and let them know what had happened to their daughters.  Even more bizzare, at the funeral, a woman from the mom's Relief Society stormed into the viewing demanding the soup that the mom had promised her because her own son was suffering from a cold at home.  The mom fulfilled her promise and gave the woman's son the soup.

That story, to me, illustrates perfectly the attitude of the Savior in times of His greatest anguish.  He turned outward instead of inward when the devil tried to test His divinity when He fasted for forty days.  He healed a man's ear instead of healing Himself right after the painful, physically demanding act of love that He performed in Gethsemane with the knowledge that one of His followers had betrayed Him.  That is the type of person that I want to be and am working on becoming.

By the way, my comp, Elder Vanwagoner, and I have our first baptism.  Her name is Shirley and her son, Owen, is her entire world.  When we told her this story, she immediately asked, "What can I do to 'follow Jesus Christ' like it says in 2 Nephi?"  So we invited her to be baptized and the presence of the Spirit was prominent in the room.  My eyes got tired and they started sweating.  In contrast, one of our investigators has never allowed us into his house and the last time we were there, we ended up Bible-bashing.  Don't do that!!!  Learn to love your investigators!  They are on your side!  Satan is the real enemy!!!

Oh!  Last Sunday, my comp and I were called to be the new zone leaders.  It's cuz we just have that experience, ya know?  3 days of experience.

For people who plan on going on missions, "plan" by reading and praying about the truth of the Book of Mormon every day.  "Plan" by receiving a testimony of this Church.  It is a good church.  Also, read Preach My Gospel and the Missionary Handbook.  Memorize the purpose of a missionary (Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end), the First Vision in Joseph Smith-History, and the baptismal invitation.

Pictures will come later.  I have to go check my laundry.

Arielle, have people write and email me!  Send me their emails from Facebook.  And also write me.  You're like related to me.

Anyway, I'll tell you all about the other elders and sisters in my district.  They're hilarious.

Love you all!

Elder deJesus

Here is my district, along with the DL, ZLs, and sisters

Officially in the MTC! (July 10, 2013)

Mission Farewell

Dear,

My, oh, my!  This is the first Blogger post that I've ever written and is prolly the same post that has been written by hundreds of other people as their first post in Blogger.

Well, I just finished catching up with friends and family after I gave my talk about repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  That was the first talk in years where I didn't feel like I prepared enough to open my mouth.  As weird as it might seem, I was even excited to give the talk when Bishop Anderson gave me the topic weeks before.  Little did I know that it's actually not as exciting when you find yourself sweating profusely in front of a couple hundred people with your voice shaking like you're yodeling at the pulpit.  Anyway, I said a little prayer right before, during sacrament, that I would be prepared to declare repentance to the congregation without being preachy or overbearing, and, with a little of my faith, He comforted me.  My speech impediment didn't disappear, but I felt the Holy Spirit manifest unto and with me that the words that I had carefully researched but hastily assembled the night before are true, and so I felt peace.

Heavenly Father really loves His children unimaginably, infinitely.  I mean, He loves this imperfect 19-year-old boy enough to give him words to utter for people much more experienced that he is.  Heavenly Father gave him awesome friends and family, in the first place.  Then His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, paid fully for his sins and only asks for a little spare change...of his heart.  What a gospel, or good news, that perfection is possible!  Heavenly Father's plan is perfect.

I definitely felt that love from God through all of you.  The Young Women's special musical number magnified that.

Speaking of the youth, I've seen what you've been doing.  I heard that they have been inviting everyone to come to activities, and one young woman even told me that all but one young woman in the ward went to Girls Camp and had personal spiritual experiences.  Keep it up!  You are far more effective missionaries than us full-time missionaries or ward missionaries!

I hope you are all having a fantastic Sunday!  Make every day count!  Live a happy life because that's all there is to live for.  Remember to brush your teeth, and other counsels that are good for your soul.

Keep in touch!  I'll hand over the reins of my Facebook account to my family, and they will post my new addresses as I transfer from Missionary Training Center to mission field to mission field.  If you didn't know already, this Blogger post will not do my sincerity any justice in saying that I appreciate you and love you all.  Thank you for coming to my farewell today, or expressing that you wanted to.  It's been a pleasure to know/acquaint with you (:  See you in two and a week.


Sincerely and with much love,
Elder deJesus