March 19, 2012
Dear Family and Friends,
Hi everyone! We had a really good week this week. We haven't had much progress with our investigators, but Elder Pearce and I are becoming really united and we are both really happy. We had a huge conversation yesterday about how we can have more success. My way of doing missionary work was getting everyone's information and trying super hard to get into every door, which thus far on my mission has worked pretty well. I learned from him is that sometimes it is better just to move on to the next house. If people don't feel pushed, they will be much more likely to respond positively when they meet the missionaries again, plus we will be able to invite many more souls to come unto Christ. We have been figuring out how to have a unified way of preaching and contacting, and it seems to be working. It is important that we do this because we have had many people missing their appointments, avoiding us, not keeping commitments, etc. We have a plan and we are hoping that it will yield good results. We have been talking and we realized that even if the rest of the time we are together we don't baptize anyone, we are still fulfilling our purpose because our purpose is to "Invite others to come unto Christ." I have felt happiness on the mission from extending this invitation to everyone. As long as we try our best and invite "all men to come unto Christ," then we will have had a good experience together. We decided not to let our happiness depend on whether or not people say yes when we invite them. Even if every person's door we knock on we get yelled at, it will be okay. We are not going to let our happiness depend on the agency of other people.
Elder Pearce has taught me so much. He was into listening to motivational speeches when he was younger and he is really into positive thinking and self-worth. He reminds me a lot of Elder Furner actually. Elder Furner is probably one of my favorite companions. He changed my life. I feel differently than I have ever felt about myself in my entire life. We have had a few conversations on these things and the first one we had this week, I realized that any jealously, comparisons, or pride all come from us feeling unconfident with ourselves. Once we learn to accept who we are as people, all of those will automatically evaporate. God has a place for us in the celestial kingdom. He has a purpose, assignment just for each one of us and how well others fulfill their assignment or their purpose doesn't affect us receiving our reward. Nothing can change our worth. We can just diminish it in our own minds. I have felt different times in my whole life that I was missing something even though I had the gospel. I think I have found it: my realization of my own self-worth and who I am as a child of God. It is one of the greatest things that a person can know. My whole life I have always let other people's opinions compliments, criticisms rule how I thought, felt, and acted. I realize that it is not only okay, but good to openly express how I feel, even when it contradicts someone else's opinions. As long as I do it out of love and sincerity. It is okay if I have something different about me or something that I like that isn't the same as what someone else likes. I am my own unique person. I don't need to be the best at everything. I don't need to be everyone's favorite person. I don't need to do everything. I just need to do my best, and help others to do theirs. Jesus Christ asked me to be a light to the world, not the spotlight. There is a major difference. I feel at peace with myself. I have always been happy with myself and I have always felt a lot of happiness, but I feel like I have made a big change in my life as I came to these realizations. I feel like my self-confidence has increase by leaps and bounds. I have experienced the healing power of the savior as I have gone through this experience.
I have come to realize that in order to help the people overcome the natural man I must first overcome the natural man in myself, (or at least be in the process of doing it while I am helping others. I can't be perfect yet.) Then I will see clearly so that I can help others overcome the natural man.
This week. Elder Pearce cooked a really delicious Jamaican meal. He cooked curried chicken. It was really good. We also went out to two Jamaican restaurants. I think some of this may have happened last week, but I don't remember exactly. We are finally moving out this week! We are both super happy about it. We won't have to bike into our area anymore.
Elder Pearce has been a little nervous lately, because he has been having things stolen and tampered with. Last preparation day we went to Publix the grocery store. After we went back out, the front light on his bike was off, and his chain was off before he got on and it wasn't like that when he locked his bike. He also has been having trouble opening his U-lock and we think it is because someone has been jamming things in it to try and brake it, because it wasn't like that when he first got it, and their are random scratch marks on the u-lock that weren't their but were when we got back. Plus he got a letter in the mail and both sides of the letter were already split open. He is very conscious of his security and privacy. But things have still been going really well for him. He is happy.
I am pretty sure I told you some of this in last week's letter. We had a chapel tour with Marius not last Saturday, but the Saturday before. That way he would know where the church was. He didn't come because of daylight savings time two Sundays ago. He told us he would come yesterday. He was sick, so he didn't come. We were really sad about that. But Jason did come. He is still having a hard time overcoming all of those concerns. On Saturday we took Marius over to the Coconut Creek chapel to show him where we will be holding General conference. He said He would come to the first and second session of General conference and maybe the others if he could. He felt the spirit. He still has his concern about being baptized again, but he is having a large seed planted in his heart for the future. He doesn't want to be baptized because he feels like that would mean that he was never converted and that he has lied to all of those people he converted into his church. At least he knows where two of the church buildings are now.
Tonight we are going to the Schoelzel family's home. Sister Schoelzel is a member of the church. Her husband Thomas is not. He is German. We are going to eat with them and then share a lesson.
I need to go now. My time is up. Thank you so much for all of the support that you have all given me. I couldn't have made it this far without all of the help that I have received from all of you. I am amazed that I have had as good as an experience as I have had on the mission. I will always remember it. I know that the Savior lives.
Bye! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Seamons
Hi President Anderson! I loved the conference with Elder Gonzalez. I learned so much about how to help people become converted. Elder Pearce and I have resolved to focus on finding the elect, and once we have found them, we will apply all of the things that Elder Gonzalez said.
We are just plugging along down here. We really feel like we need some new investigators, so that will be a huge focus of ours this week: to find the elect.
Elder Pearce is still a little concerned about his safety, but he is working on it.
We are doing well president.
The Coconut Creek English Elders are happy. They had three baptisms and they have a lot of enthusiasm. They don't have any investigators left since they baptized most of their progressing ones. So they will be finding this week.
Elder Koleber and the new missionary that he is training are doing well. The work is starting to pick up in their area.
Thanks President! I love you!
Love,
Elder Seamons