Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been pretty
good. We don't have any investigators that are seriously progressing at this
point, but we did meet some amazing people though. We met one person named
Alex, on the 20th, who lives in government housing for a program and he was kicked
out of his parent's home and he has had a rough time. He said that the blessing
we left with him left him hopeful. He wants to be baptized. We hope he ends up
getting to that point. We took Brother Manzur, who is 21-22 and is married
and has a child and another one on the way, over to his house yesterday
and he helped Alex open up a ton. He was a great fellowship for him. Our
exchange yesterday went really well. There was also a woman named Wisline who
was Haitian that we came across. We were about to leave the area we were
working in, then I saw a woman at the top of the stairs leading up to the
apartment complex. I felt that we should talk to her. She walked away before we
could, but we went up to the complex and started knocking doors. We didn't find
her, but we found Wisline and she has accepted a return appointment for
Tuesday. You never know what will happen if you don't try.
We also had another cool
experience. We were out on bike on Friday and Elder Pearce saw a man and we
passed him, but he was thinking about giving a card to him. Later on, Elder
Pearce's bike was going flat again and we had to stop multiple times to pump it
up. Then we passed the same man that Elder Pearce saw earlier and we talked to
him. If we hadn't had all of those problems, along with several other things
that happened, we wouldn't have seen him. Elder Pearce recognized his shirt.
Right as we passed the second time, He was digging in the trash and drinking
something he found in it. Elder Pearce thinks he is probably homeless. His name
is Kevin Olmar. He also told us that he is Hypo-Glycimic, which means he has a
low sugar count. Elder Pearce gave him some granola bars for him to eat and we
gave him our phone number. We were happy that we could be their right when he
needed us, even if he doesn't end up calling. He will have the card and
remember how he felt and how we were there, even years down the road.
Marius has been unsure about
baptism lately. He used to understand that he needed to be baptized to receive
the Holy Ghost (Act 19), but now he is starting to second guess it. Fernand has
been impeding his progress. We gave him a scare when in the last lesson we told
him that he had heard our message and that it was time for him to accept it or
reject it. He asked if we said that because he wasn't being baptized a second
time. Both him and Fernand begged us to have patience with them and he said
that eventually, he may come to the decision. They both testified of how much
of a difference we made in their lives and Fernand started crying. She said
that we were there for her when her sister died and she said that it would hurt
really bad when I left and I would no longer be their to translate anymore. I
promised them that I would stay in contact with them after the mission. They
know I am almost done. Marius assured us that are efforts were not in vain. We
gave him a whole bunch of copies of the Book of Mormon and he has agreed to
share them with his pastor friends in Haiti, as well as with his sunday school
class. They are a great family. We hope that us telling him these things has
motivated him a little more to act.
I have been worried about my
teaching ability lately. I feel a lot less confident than usual. Sometimes I
notice that if I have a companion that is a lot more assertive, then I stand
back and they move forward, then I feel more nervous about teaching. We have
been learning about teaching to the desires of the investigators verses just
teaching a lesson. We teach the why so that their desires to act will increase.
It has been challenging to find a why for each individual and knowing how to
ask the right questions to get to the root interests and wants of the
investigators. But it will come. I realize that I just need to love the people
and keep teaching them and getting to know them and God will bless me with my
desires. I will just let God direct me. Sometimes I have noticed that thinking
about something too much inhibits my abilities. I need to keep it in my mind,
but continue to move forward while I do. Then God will give me the ability to
improve.
Well, I need to go. I love
you all! Pray for me that I will be able to have a fantastic end to the mission
and that our investigators, Especially Alex, will continue to progress and feel
the power of our message!
Bye!
I love you all!
Love,
Elder Seamons
P.S.
Just a few quick notes:
Elizabeth and Jamie are both active and doing well. And at the service activity
where the family from Fort Lauderdale moved in, Peterson was there (the boy
whose mom wouldn't let him get baptized and was giving him a hard time). He is
baptized, confirmed, and he has made friends with the boys his age. He has
changed a lot and he is doing so well. It made me so happy to see him.
Hi President! We are doing
well! We don't have people that are progressing super well, but we have found a
lot of amazing people that have potential. We realize that in order to sift
through these people and find the elect, we need to hit standards so that we
can teach and effect as many people as possible. We have seen wonders and the
work has picked up since we have been obedient to your counsel. It has been
great. We are a little worried about what will happen to this area in the next
few transfers. There are so many Spanish and Creole speakers that we are
teaching, that if there were only two English missionaries in this area, it
would be very hard for the work to be progressing the way it has. We feel their
needs to be at least one language missionary, preferably two (one English and
one Creole). But we are doing our best to refine our skills in teaching and to
improve the area. We love you President!
Love,
Elder Seamons
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