"We have been a little discouraged"

We spoke to Eric on Christmas day. He sounded good. He went caroling with his district around the area before Christmas. Then on Christmas day, they went to church and then to eat with two different families. He is a bit discouraged with the new area because it is difficult to get things going when you are starting from scratch. 

 

December 27, 2011

Hi everyone! The library was closed yesterday, so I couldn't e-mail. We had a great week last week. We don't have a lot of investigators that are progressing, but there were a lot of less active members/active members/non-members that didn't know about the new branch: Brother/Sister Landis, Sister Samson, Jessie Pierre, Brother Shoetel, Brother Farfsing, and others. So that was really cool.

We have been focusing a lot on less actives, but not a lot on getting new investigators, so we are going to try to shift our focus. We have been a little discouraged because we have been meeting several people that either aren't very nice or aren't very interested. So we are reevaluating where to go finding, what more we can do to help these potential investigators progress, how to better follow up, etc.

Today will be a great day. Starting a new area is difficult, especially since we contacted several Hispanics and we taught one Hispanic family last night and it was really hard because it has been so long since I have spoken. I have been a little discouraged because my Spanish used to be so much better and it takes a ton of mental effort to bring it back because I didn't maintain it for such a long time. It will work out though. We are going to have success. I know that the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ lives. I am so glad that his atonement works with missionaries, because we definitely need it a lot.

I also have a story from when I was in Miami about someone named James that I wrote in a handwritten letter to president that I want to share:

Elder Terry and I were walking down the street and we felt that we should knock on a door. The people living there were named Kathie and James. They were moping the floor. They just went in ten minutes before to officially move in. They hadn't even moved the furniture in yet. We left the blessing and they loved it, especially James. He said it was the "Miracle of the Year," because the first thing they did before anything else, even before moving everything in was to kneel down and leave a prayer. He was baptized two weeks ago. :) He loves the Book of Mormon. He loves the restored Gospel. He is very awesome, and he is active in the church

From mom- We heard from Elder Terry, who is from our area, that James was baptized this week.

I won't write a ton this week. I am a little worn out. I will write a lot more next week.

Love,

Elder Seamons

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Hi President! Last week was good. We harvested many people. We have many potentials. Our main problem is that we aren't getting a lot of progressing investigators out of it. We realized that we could follow the counsel that you have given us to teach a lesson right after harvesting so that we don't lose contact with these people. We are planning on harvesting at least three hours by knocking door to door. The rest of the day will be doing 4 different member harvests. We were a little discouraged because we haven't been having many investigators come out of it, but we are doing better. I speak Spanish pretty well, but I definitely need some help with it. There are a lot of Hispanics here and we should have a Spanish missionary. We will try to get other Spanish speaking members to help us once we get a return appointment with the person.

We have a great place picked out for harvesting that we feel really good about. We are going to pray, plan, practice, and do so that we can help some people receive the Gospel. I know that if we ask God and do what we are supposed to do, he won't let us down.

The branch will be built up, even if it takes time. Many less actives are starting to come back. We will build up the ward the best we can. We have a lot of great stuff planned. Starting off a branch is difficult, but that means it will be really good by the end.

I love you President! Take care!

Love,

Elder Seamons

Elder Seamons transferred to start a new branch

 Hi everyone! This has been one of the greatest weeks I have ever had on the mission. Some really unexpected things have happened.

Last Sunday, they talked about starting up a new branch on the 18th. The boundaries for the people that lived there who will be in the branch presidency, etc. have all been set up. The big question that we had was if they would have missionaries or not at the branch. President Current, the stake president, said that he had a vision of this branch and that it's soul purpose for creating it was to bring back less actives and to build the kingdom in that particular area. That area was rarely ever visited by missionaries because there wasn't very much success there. Who ever was going to be chosen was going to start from the very bottom.

Elder Koleber and I got a call and the Assistants said that I was being transferred into the new branch with Elder Plowman, an English Elder. The transfer would take place Wednesday night. Elder Larsen, Elder Plowman's companion was sent up to Palm Beach, and Elder Koleber's new companion wouldn't come until the night time. His new companion is named Elder Fitts. He is a Portuguese elder. He had to go home for back surgery and He was reassigned to this mission. He is really nice.

This branch is a multilingual branch. President Current said that he wants people to go down there, despite what language they speak. It is in the transition stage, so he is giving people the choice at first. But we are able to teach any Haitians that we want in the boundaries of the branch. So I am really happy about that. We have a woman named Juslaine that we are teaching that agreed to come to church on Sunday. They already called Sister Pierre as the Creole Sunday school teacher. There are Spanish members who could potentially give translation in Spanish. There is also a Portuguese member named Sister Walker if we need Portuguese translation. We have an awesome new family that used to go to the Lauderhill Spanish ward named the Terron family. They love missionary work and they have given us 4-5 referrals already. Their son Luis is coming out with us on Friday to take us out to these people. Nadia, his sister, is bringing a non-member to the mutual activity on Wednesday. We are very excited. We got

I moved back into the Windward Lakes apartment that I lived in with Elder Rybin and Elder Anderson. But the apartment is different than the one that I was in before when I was there last year. So don't look through my old letters and use that address. It won't be correct. I don't know the new address. It is on McNab road.

I don't even know where to begin. So many things have happened to us this week. Thursday Elder Plowman and I were officially companions, but we were on exchanges for the whole day, because the south area of the ward that Elder Plowman was serving in was being collapsed so that we could be transferred to the branch, so Elder Plowman took Elder Chandler to all of his progressing investigators so that he could meet them all. We didn't want them to fall away after the transition.

Elder Plowman and I officially started working in the new area for the first time on Friday. The nice thing about the whole experience is that I already know many of the members from the Coconut Creek ward. I am still in the exact same area I was in two weeks ago. They just took a chunk of the Coconut Creek ward and made it into a branch. We had 6 people on a list, 4 of which were potential investigators. So we just started from the very bottom.

The church is using a church building that was previously being used by a non-denominational church. It is a super cool building. It looks like an LDS chapel. It doesn't have a baptismal font though. It just had a foyer and one big room, but they put up walls in the big room and took out some of the chairs and put in classrooms. It looks so cool. They also put an official sign on the front that says: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The whole branch is very excited. They already gave out all the callings and they announced them all in sacrament meeting. The building is so perfect and the location is so good that it seems like it was prepared by God for the work of starting and building up the new branch. Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts tried to buy the building and convert it into a restaurant, but the city denied it. It is so cool. There is a permit required parking lot next to it, but on Sundays the City has agreed to allow us to use it without a permit for people to park. I will take some pictures and send them to you.

It was a very spiritual Sunday. All of the leadership is working with us closely to give us referrals and to help out with the missionary work.

I need to go, but I will write a handwritten letter, because there is so much more to tell you all.  I love you all so much! Bye!

Love,

Elder Seamons

Also, I had to text Miami about my sheets that I left there, and Elder Terry told me that James, an investigator who we taught together was going to be baptized. I looked on the Website and he was for sure baptized. I am so happy. Also, Daline Figaro who Elder Rybin and I taught is being baptized on Christmas!

Question: Where is Elder Plowman from, and how long has he been in the mission?

He is from Chicago, Illinois. He has been in the mission field for 4 months. I am his third companion. His second companion was with him for only two weeks because they got together at the beginning of the transfer and then we got put together.

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Hello President! I am so grateful that you placed me in the branch. I have enjoyed this week so much and I have felt the spirit so strong within the last week. Elder Plowman and I are so excited and motivated to do missionary work. The transition into the new branch was smooth on all counts. If I didn't know any better, I would say that the branch had been going on for a long time. Everyone seemed to know where to go and what to do. The leaders and members of this branch are amazing. This is probably the best ward/branch I have ever been in. The branch was such an inspired idea. All of the leaders got up and bore testimony about missionary work and Sister Poor, who is the Relief Society president, is creating a program called the "lost sheep" program intended to get all of the less active sisters in the area back to church. Brother Vega, the new branch mission leader, is amazing. He said that the branch presidency will do exchanges with us every Wednesday. The Youth are doing an activity where they are going to the neighborhood by the chapel and will put chapel invitations on the door knobs with a ribbon and a candy cane. If people answer the door, they will leave their testimony and invite them to the church. I have never been more excited about missionary work! The branch is on fire. We have already met all of the members at church, and we have scheduled a few member blessings. We are really excited.

We went harvesting on Friday and we met a man named Lee, who is in drug and alcoholic rehabilitation and he has been trying to overcome this problem. His mom Veera had her sister die two days ago and will have the funeral soon. Lee had many pass-along cards from the church and he kept them and looked at them often. When we passed by, he had them laying in a row on his couch. These people really needed our help at this time and we were able to be the answer to their prayers.

We have been doing our best to keep the area book updated and we have been following up on all our contacts/referrals. We are really excited!

There were 56 people yesterday at the branch. Our goal is to double that number within the next 6 months. We are doing all we can, and we are working closely with the members.

I know that Jesus Christ is over this church and that he inspires and lifts up this work. Jesus Christ is our Savior and through him, we can obtain all the promised blessings from God, and all the righteous desires of our hearts. He still does miracles and God the Father does know all of his children. I have come to know that very well this week. The fact that I got sent to the branch shows me that he knows who I am.

Thank you President! I love you! Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity.

Love,

Elder Seamons

"I love the diversity of the Coconut Creek ward"

December 12, 2011

Hi everyone! We had a really good week. There were a lot of great things that happened!


Here is most of my letter to President Anderson. It talks about a few awesome people we found this week:

Hello President! We had a great week. We harvested 10 houses this week and we found 25 investigators as a result. We had some amazing miracles as a result:

We were harvesting and we felt inspired to go to the house of a youth counselor for a church named Nadine. She is very familiar with the Bible, but she had a very accepting nature and she told us that she learned a lot and thanked us for coming by. When we told her about Joseph Smith, the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Mormon, she said that she was really interested and she would probably share it with her kids in the youth ministries. She said that if it is from God, she would share it. She has a website too and she had a friend who told her just a week ago, "don't be surprised if two white people come by to help you come closer to God and help you out." When we came and shared the message, she felt that it was from God because her friend is very close to God and we were the fulfillment of what he said. Her attitude toward us when we passed by was untrusting, but we were able to win her heart. She asked us to help her take the new bunk bed upstairs for her and she is so excited for our next appointment.

Another girl named Malene has been very confused about the different translations of the Bibles and why there are so many churches. She wondered why people said that prophets didn't exist anymore. She said that she has been praying for along time about what to do, and as we shared James 1:5 with her, and she told us that was her favorite chapter and she opened to it in her bible and out of all the verses, James 1:5-6 was marked with a highlighter. The spirit was so powerful in the lesson. Elder Koleber said, "you could cut it with a knife." She was also found because of Harvesting. I know that there are many good people that are "only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it." We have found so many awesome people who are just lost and confused. It has helped me fulfill my purpose and I feel like I am doing my job as a missionary.

We are going to get 7 member presents this week, because our member work has been struggling a lot this week. We are also going to give all of these awesome investigators that we found last week baptismal dates. We are going to not go home without one.

(The end of my letter to President)

We have been finding many very prepared investigators. We have been dropping a lot of people because they aren't keeping their commitments, and as a result we picked up a ton of people that were more diligent in doing what we asked them to. There are some awesome things happening in the ward to.

Since I left, they split the Coral Springs ward and some of the ward members came to the Coconut Creek Ward. The Coconut Creek ward is a very missionary work oriented ward and as a result the success in this ward has sky rocketed upward. This ward has had the highest baptism rate in the mission since I left. The elders who came in did a wonderful job. The Coconut Creek ward has now gotten big enough that they announced that in Elder Koleber's and my area there will be a branched formed. South of Copans, East of the I-95 and North of Oakland park Blvd. will be the boundaries. The interesting thing about this new branch is that it is a multi-lingual branch, so Elder Koleber and I will no longer be working in that area. Normally there is a magnet ward where the Haitian members go (which for this area is the Coconut Creek Ward) even if they live outside of the ward boundaries. But for this branch, everyone will go to it, despite language barriers. Sister Heplar, the Creole class teacher (she has been it since the first time I was here) is in the branch boundaries, so she will probably teach it. But that means we will now need a new Creole class teacher.

I love the diversity of the Coconut Creek ward. There is no other place I have been to in the mission that is as diverse. In this ward we have a Portuguese class, many Hispanics, a Creole class, and deaf members who need members to interpret for them. It is very cool.

And also, I don't remember if I said this, but Sister Helplar and her husband who are both converts to the church of about 3-5 years got sealed in the temple on the 3rd of December. I was so excited for them. Brother Heplar is in the branch presidency of the new branch.

We had four investigators come to church: James, his mom, Paula, a woman named Carline, and her son Carl. James' sister, Chelise had a baptismal date, but she hasn't been to church enough, so we will need to push it back. We had an awesome lesson with James where we brought sister Vallini, one of the Portuguese members with us. The spirit was so strong in the lesson. His countenance has changed from that time on every time we have seen him. He was touched deeply by sister Vallini's testimony and we are working on getting the whole family baptized. Chelsie is very interested. Her mom is also doing pretty well. And we had to give chelise another copy of the Book of Mormon because her fiancé took it and started reading it. We are super excited about that. But he has work, so I have never met him. Elder Koleber has seen him once. Chelsie has a cute baby girl named Destiny that is 5 weeks old. That might have been why she didn't come to church yesterday.

So for our apartment situation, We buy for ourselves, but sometimes we will buy as a group (We call it the law of consecration. We used to live entirely by the law of consecration when I was there the first time, but some of the missionaries who got transferred in didn't like that, so they discontinued it.) We had pulled pork and mashed potatoes at it was really good tasting. There is a frisbee golf course that they found after I left, which we went to. It is pretty fun. We also played ultimate frisbee. Elder Shipley threw two of the four frisbees that we had in the water. one was his own personal one. Every morning we go out and we play tennis. There is a court right behind our building. I have been having a hard time serving. They have me do every one so I can get practice. Most of them have been playing for a transfer or more, so they are getting really good. We play with the official rules. Elder Shipley is a really good teacher and has been helping me.

Elder Koleber and I have had a cold for most of the time we have been together. It has been hard, but we are both almost better. We both feel much better now.

We saw Vonette. Unfortunately, she hasn't been reading in the Book of Mormon since May after Elder Gubernick left the area. She talked to her dad in May again about baptism and he got mad at her. She is doesn't want to bring it up again. She also isn't able to come to church on Sundays because she has someone's children who she has been baby sitting every Sunday for a while. She seems less enthusiastic, though she says that he believes that this is Christ's church and that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She has just lost her enthusiasm. We won't be going over there very often, which is sad. But we will see her every three weeks or so. Then when I get home, I can start doing more work with her. I will make sure that I stay her friend for life, even if she never gets baptized while she is still alive.

Elder Koleber is a great missionary. We have had problems teaching in unity, but that is it. We have gotten along great. We have just been talking about how to get our teaching patterns to mix together.

I love missionary work! It is so fulfilling. I know that the church is true. Jesus Christ is his son and I know that he knows how to do missionary work better than anyone else. If you look to him, he can teach you how to become, "fishers of men", and he can help you prepare for the people that have been prepared by him and his angels to hear his message.

Bye! I love you all!

Love,

Elder Seamons

December 4th Back in Coconut Creek

Hi everyone! I am back in Coconut Creek again! I am so excited. I am serving on the east side of the Turnpike, which I was doing when I was with Elder Bolz. The interesting thing is that after Elder Bolz left, the area was combined into one large Creole area that Both I and Elder Anderson and I and Elder Rybin worked in. All of Elder Rybin and my recent converts are on the other side in Coral Springs, North Lauderdale, and Lauderdale Lakes, but that is okay.


It is like a weird Deja Vous moment. I have been thinking that it will be a lot like when the veil of forgetfulness is lifted from our eyes. It is happening little by little. I am starting to have memories coming back from every place I see and go to that I recognize.

We have been on nw 42 ct and nw 3 ave in pompano, which is a street that I worked on a lot with Elder Rybin and Elder Anderson. The first time I went on the street, I passed by a duplex that I recognize and a few seconds later both doors opened one after the other and two older investigators named Katione and Crystal came out. Crystal didn't stick around, but Katione recognized me and told me that she was glad I was back. She said that I haven't changed much in the last year. She is a cool girl. She said that she wants to come to church and sit down with her, but her mom is funny about strangers coming and preaching to her daughter. She also said that her mom doesn't let her go to churches. It is kind of an interesting situation and it is exactly what it was like about a year ago. It was awesome to see her again. Then we went on Ne 7 ave. and Ne 33 st. and we stopped by Vonette Vivian's house. Her Dad drove up and told me that he remembered me and was glad to see me again. He said to stop by another time for Vonette. We came back another day and her Daughter, whose nick name was mama opened the door. Her eyes got wide and she looked super surprised and she came over and kissed me. Then I told her that it was nice to see her again. Then I heard a yell from inside, "Seamons! Seamons!" I peaked around the corner and saw Vonette sitting at the table doing her English Homework. She and I went nuts. It was one of the greatest moments ever. I missed that woman so much. I thought I would never see her again. The reason she didn't get baptized is because her dad wouldn't let her by threat of kicking her out of the house, which is crazy because she is about 40 years old. She is still keeping in strong and she seems about as awesome as before. The missionaries have dropped in every few weeks since last year, so she knows all of the missionaries and loves all of them. That makes me really happy. Thank goodness for the area book and missionaries who pass the baton well. We will see if her Dad has had a change of heart. I hope he has. That woman is so ready for the Gospel. We are going over there Friday at 4:00.

There are other things I have experienced like that, but I will drift away from the old stuff and talk about the latest updates. Elder Koleber is an amazing missionary! He is originally from Australia, but he moved to the United States 4 years ago to live in Texas. His mom is Welch and his dad is American. He loves writing. He is a creative person. Elder Terry and him got along very well because of that. They weren't companions, but they would talk often in the apartment. Elder Koleber is very witty and he is very funny. He is really disciplined and obedient, but he still is enthusiastic and loves missionary work. Elder Koleber He is great! We are working on merging our teaching patterns, because they are different, but we get along very well. He is really helpful in helping me get reacquainted with the area. His last companion was Elder Clark. Elder Clark is an amazing missionary from what everyone tells me. He is really good at Creole, and it has definitely passed down to Elder Koleber. No language problems as far as I can detect. He can communicate just as well as I can.

Some of our new investigators our as follows:


Sabrina, Peterson, and Stanley (all siblings)

Lina

Michou

Meshia

Christelle and Mista

Chelsie

Dieujuste

Burea

Garye and Ketline

Marie and Cindy Luma

Tranfer and Happy 21st Birthday to Elder Seamons

We won't know until next week where Eric is being transferred. 

Hi everyone!

I am getting transferred! That is so crazy. I have been in miami since april/may and it is now the end of november. That is so crazy! I have been the district leader in this area for 5 transfers. I am happy that I was able to do a lot of good in this area. Elder Terry and I had an amazing week! We had 5 people come to church. Elder Terry is really happy about it. Carine and Dupont the recent converts are both doing amazingly. They are some of my favorite people ever. I will miss them a lot.

For thanksgiving on Thursday Carlo invited us as well as Elder Patino and Elder Furner over. He got coupons from his job that allowed him to get free food for thanksgiving. He got a turkey, potatoes, and an apple pie. He made it and it was good. He made it Haitian style, but it was still pretty good. He also made some rice and beans on the side that were kind of spicy. It was a good experience. By the way, I don't remember if I told you this but Carlo was back on Sundays for work. We told him that he should be baptized during the week, but he said no because he didn't want to miss church at all, even though it was just for a month because of the holiday season. They said they would give him work off on Sunday after January 1st. We told him that he should get baptized during the week, but he refused. He would wait until January 15th to do it. We told him that it was not good to put it off, but he still didn't listen. But then Elder Furner promised him that if he had faith God could help him get work off. A few days later Carlo called and said that his boss gave him Sunday off for now on. He came to church this last Sunday, and he will be baptized on the 4th of December! We are so excited that this man is finally getting baptized.

The Millward family, who is one of the young couples who is in the medical field and is studying to become a doctor, invited all four of the missionaries, the Hawkins family (a recent convert family), as well as Carine Sejour (our newest recent convert). It was a great event and everyone enjoyed it a lot. It was amazing to have american food for Thanksgiving. Because as much as I love Haitian food, It just didn't feel like home. But when we went to the millwards and it was pure american food, it was amazing. The Millwards live in an apartment in Aventura which is close to the beach. It is a beautiful city. We talked to Carine for a while. She told us about how everything is like in Haiti. She told us that it is a lot more slow placed country. All of the jobs work from 8-4 and then everything closes down for the day. She said that she had a lot more time to enjoy life. She told us that she was well off and had servants and care takers for a large orchard filled with fruits of every kind. She missed Haiti a lot. I feel bad for all of these good Haitian people who lost everything and came over here and struggle. A lot of them have a cultural shock when they come here. They have to struggle to get by every day. I admire the Hatian people a lot.

We are teaching some amazing people right now:

Elande is a seventh-day advantist that I met when I was first in the area when Elder Furner was my companion. It was not a good lesson and I debated with her. Elder Furner told me that that was bad, and I felt bad about the whole experience. Last Monday we passed by her house again and found her and her sister and we are now teaching them.

James, the Hatian man whose house we blessed a few minutes after he first moved in, is doing amazing. His daughter in Haiti is sick, but he sent money to help her and he is doing a lot better. He loves the restored gospel and the Book of Mormon. He is going to come to church on Sunday.

We felt inspired to talk a woman at the gas station named Cassandra. She said that she is looking for a church to attend and raise her son in. She wants to know why there are so many religions. She has a really sincere desire to come to church and partake of the blessings of the gospel.

I know that the church is true and that God is good all the time. There are so many people in this world, and the people are what make the mission and life worth going through. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and he is guiding and upholding this work. He is the light that lights up all things and he has carried me through so many difficulties and he has brought me to so many opportunities.

I love you all! Pray for me and the investigators in this area.

Carlo Joseph

Georges Verrier

Rosemonde

Robert

Cassandra

Leroni

Nancy

Ricardo

Euchine

Tido

Ernst Sejour

Love,

Elder Seamons

We have been experiencing a lot of Satanic opposition it feels like, but we know that is a good thing because it means we are super close to having great success."

November 21th, 2011

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

This was a really interesting week.

 

We had a really good Zone Conference on inviting people to act with urgency. They did a role play and showed us examples of investigators who had a baptismal date and them wanting to put it off because they feel that they aren't ready. They showed us that if the person has the desire to be baptized, to follow Jesus Christ, and do their best, then they don't need to worry. They need God's help and blessings that they can receive as they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. These people really need the peace that comes from that and they shouldn't try to perfect their lives before they make that promise with God. They are going toward a goal that they don't have the ability to reach. They just need to be living a certain level, and once they meet those qualifications for baptism, they will become perfect through years of study, prayer, church attendence, and partaking of the sacrament after having been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

 

We realized that too often we justify people delaying change and we don't emphasize people excercising their faith enough. So we made a list of all the people that we need to boldy invite to baptism. We realized that half of them could potentially be baptized this week. The people that had reached that level of being almost ready were:

 

Roodschild, George, Carlo, Vanessa, Leroni, Rosemonde, Robert, Nancy.

 

We decided to focus solely on them for the remainder of the week. We experienced so much opposition.

 

The first problem is that we went to Carlo's house and he told us that his boss put him working on Sundays again because he needs extra people for the holiday season. He will be working on Sundays until January 1st, then he will have all Sundays after that off again. Carlo was very upset about that. Elder Terry and I talked about it and we decided that he is more than enough ready and since we know that he has an end to him working on Sundays, we should baptize and confirm him during the week so that he can have the strength that will come from the Gift of the Holy Ghost. The problem is that he heard from several people in the baptist church that Satan doesn't have control over anything, so they said not to worry because God stopped him because he must not have been ready. We were so frustrated because he isn't going to push against it. Carlo told us that Brother Laurent (a Haitian member of the church) told him the same thing, but then we asked Brother Laurent, and he told us that wasn't true. So Carlo was lying to us and saying that a member of this church told him that so he could justify what they told him in the baptist church. We were so upset about that.

 

Then we passed by leroni, Rosemonde, and Robert multiple times a day but they were never home. Also we did the same with Roodschild and luckily we have been able to talk to him, but it has been difficult. Roodschild knows that this church is true. He prayed if he should get baptized in this church and he described it as lightning hitting him in his heart and his head and having a knowledge just come to him. He is 13, so that is really awesome. But then he prayed about whether or not he should be baptized in another church, he was outside and the wind started to pick up and it started him. He heard a voice that told him, "Yes...Yes..." When Roodschild immitated the voice, it sounded very devilish and cunning. It was weird. We realized he was getting false revelation so we had him pray about this church again and he had an awesome experience and afterwards he said, "okay, I am getting baptized in this church." Getting to his house before that experience was really hard. We passed by his house several times earlier in the day and he wasn't there. Then I locked the keys in the car and we were delayed for about 2 hours or so. We have been experiencing a lot of Satanic opposition it feels like, but we know that is a good thing because it means we are super close to having great success

 

We have a lot of good things about to happen in the area. Keep praying for us.

 

Love,

 

Elder Seamons

 

ps.

 

Thank you so much Laurie for the Thanksgiving dinner food. I love you so much! Thank you so much for all of your support!

"We will up our game this week."

Dear Family and Friends,


Elder Terry was made the driver a week ago because Elder Furner was tickling me and I didn't like it so I ran away from him and I hit my hand against the wall super hard. It was hurting with every movement I did with it for at least 5-6 days. I couldn't drive after that because it hurt to turn the wheel, so I have Elder Terry take over. But then we got into an accident on Friday. We rear-ended a car in front of us. Elder Terry still had his driving privileges, which we were both surprised about, but he didn't want to drive anymore because he was very shaken up about the whole experience.

Elder Terry is a really awesome missionary. He is really creative person and he and I talk a lot together. We are getting along well.

I am eating better than I was. I bought some carrots, peaches, and apples and I have been eating them. I have still been eating some really good haitian food. I just need to cut back on candy a little bit.

We have this new investigator named Nancy who is really excited. She gave us sospwa, legim, diri, ak poul. I hope I can learn how to make some Haitian food before I come home. There are actually a lot of Haitians in Utah from what I have heard. Many of the members in the Miami Shores ward and planning on moving to Utah. Anyway, Nancy is looking for the true church and she wants to come. She visited the church with her friend up in Fort Lauderdale, and her friend got baptized this weekend! She has a date for the 4th of December. She is really discouraged about how her life is going right now. I know that our message can make her happier.

Our main investigators are Carlo, Georges, Leroni, Nancy, Carol, Bertony, the Louhidon kids, and Roodschill. Georges went to church last week and he was super excited. We have been showing him Mormon.org videos on the computer lately. The good news is that he is applying for the front desk job at the Marriot Hotel. It is looking really likely that he will get it. Plus, the pay is higher and he would be given every Sunday off because the other person who works there gets Saturday's off because she is a Seventh Day's Adventist. We are really hoping that he will get the position. Georges has worked so hard to get to where he is now and this would change everything for him. He really wants to get baptized so badly and he is exhausted every time he goes home from work.

Carlo was supposed to be baptized this coming Sunday, but he is putting it to the 27th, because a few members of the ward won't be there on the 20th. He wants Brother Richens, the ward mission leader, the Kovacivic's, Sister Monestine, the Victor's, and many other people to come. He is fully integrated into the ward and everyone says hi to him. It is so awesome! He has been having some back problems lately, but he is feeling a lot better. He loves making food for us. He is so nice. He said that he was going to make Mayi Moulen ak sos for us this week. Mayi moulen is like a corn meal substance that is made into a paste, but is then mixed in with a tasty sauce. I didn't like it before, but the way Carlo makes it is so good. We are very happy for him. Plus he agreed to give one of our investigators Leroni, a ride to church next week. Oh, and Leroni came to church yesterday! She had a really good time. She is a really funny Haitian woman that makes jokes and laughs a lot. She is awesome!

Roodschill is a great kid. He is 13 years old. He is the son of one of our former investigators, who said she is still interested in getting baptized. He says that he wants to get his life in order so that he can be "good with Jesus." He prayed about whether or not the Book of Mormon is true and whether or not what we told him is true. He told us that he had this feeling as though lightning went through his body and hit him in his head and in his heart. He told us that he will get baptized. He is a super awesome kid. I have never had any kid get that specific of an answer before since I have been on the mission. That was a great experience. Kiara Louhidon (she is 11) also received her answer. Alisha (she is 8) is a little upset because she has been praying and she hasn't felt anything. We told her that getting a spiritual witness is like seeing light, and we quoted Elder Bednar's talk about how it will either come suddenly like when a light is turned on and the room is illuminated all at once, or it will come gradually like a sunrise and it will come a little bit at a time. That helped her out a lot. They are doing well. Their mom just needs to get on the ball and get active again.

Carine is doing awesome! She got on the bus and came to church on time, even though her ride didn't go to church until sacrament meeting. She has so many member friends, both American and Haitian. We taught her about baptisms for the dead and patriarchal blessings last night and she is getting a temple recommend from Bishop Finlinson this week.

This week wasn't as good number wise, but we still have many great things happening. We will up our game this week. It has been a little interesting in the apartment between Elder Furner, Elder Patino, and Elder Terry, but things are still going well.

I also went to the post office to pick up the package with the toothbrush heads finally. Thank you, Mom. I love you so much. You have been so nice and you have been helping me a lot on the mission. I will never forget that.

Bye everyone! I have to go. I love you!

Love,

Elder Seamons

"I am so greatful for the experiences that we have been having. "

November 7. 2011

Hi Everyone! I am doing well.


One thing that I have been thinking about is the progress I have made on my mission. I sometimes feel like I could have put a better effort. Sometimes I go through the motions and just lose the energy that I had. I am on the tail end of the mission, so I am going to up the efforts.

I realize now that loving people and the relationships that you build is the best part of the mission. We can build people up, show them our love, and be their friends forever.

I want to be the self-less person I know that I am capable of becoming. With all of the responsibilities, emotions, and thoughts that I am trying to balance out, it seems almost impossible. The leadership wants me to follow-up a lot on my district, help them be accountable for the dozens of commitments that the mission has been giving everyone, make sure that there is a "steady, upward trend" in everyone's key indicators, and make sure that everyone is helping enough people be baptized. Baptisms are important because it is a soul who is receiving the necessary ordinances to gain eternal life. It is hard to keep daily contact and make sure that this happens. I will work it out though, with God's help. I know that I can end the mission on a high note.

Tonight we are doing a family home evening activity at Bishop Finlinson's house and Cindy, the Miami Shore Creole area's recent convert, will be there. Elder Furner is worried because she was sick and couldn't come to church to be confirmed. We don't want her to not get confirmed and go less active. I think she will be okay. Sister Finlinson is picking her up at 7:15 pm, and the activity will start at 7:30 pm. Hopefully Carine can come. She was confirmed yesterday! That is so exciting!

I am so greatful for the experiences that we have been having. We have had several people who have told us that we were the answers to their prayers or that they feel that God sent us there for a special reason. I hope that I can continue to bring people unto Christ in that capacity.

I love you all so much! Pray for me that I will be able to gain momentum and end on a high note in the mission. Pray for Carine and Cindy that they can stay active! Pray for Merline, Sister Grove, Stanley, Glindy, Cynithe, Malika, Antonetta that they can be reactivated. They are recent converts that have fallen away that were baptized in this ward not too long ago.

Love,

Elder Seamons

"This week was an amazing week. Carine got baptized!"

Dear family and friends,

This week was an amazing week. We had a lot of great things happen. First off, Carine got baptized! I am so happy. She is an amazing woman! Her and Ernst are still having problems, but we told them both that as long as they tried to become more Christ-like as individuals, read in the scriptures, and pray, then they would get closer together as a couple. We realized that as long as they pass the baptismal interview, it is still okay. Carine is for sure ready. She is keeping all her commitments. Sister Monestine, who does Creole translation for Sacrament meeting, told us that other members said that Carrine had been calling them when they didn't show up to church to see how they were doing. That is so awesome! Plus Duponte has not missed a week of church since the first Sunday he randomly showed up to church in August. He went to Carine's baptism yesterday. So did Carlo. He wanted to see because he loves baptisms and he heard that I was baptizing, so he wanted to see it, because he saw that I had to do it twice for the kid I baptized a month ago, so he said that I didn't have power when I did it. He has been feeding us a lot to make us "stronger" He said I did a good job yesterday. He told Elder Terry when he got in the area that Elder Terry would do his baptism because I was too weak. :) I thought that was funny. I am a little disappointed I might not be doing it because I have been teaching him forever.

Cindy also was baptized! She is the South Elder's investigator. She was an investigator that Elder Furner and Elder Clark lost contact with before I came to the area. We spent a lot of time trying to track her down, but then three weeks ago she gave Elder Shipley and I a call and now Elder Furner and Elder Hartman have baptized her because she is in there area. She is awesome!

By the way, the mission had 74 baptisms this month. That is pretty good.

Also, they enlarged the mission boundaries and more missionaries will be added to the mission from the Orlando mission.  Now we will have 160 missionaries.

Also, Roodschill, Alisha, and Kiara all received distinct answers that this church is true and that the book of Mormon is true! They are all kids. Roodschill said he asked if the Mormons were true and he had a feeling as though electricity went through his whole body and lighted his soul. For a thirteen year old kid, that is super awesome. He has a date for the 13th.

Alisha had the feeling, but she doesn't recognize that this is the true church yet. She asked "is the Mormon church true, or should I go to the seventh day church," and she had a good feeling and she assumed that meant that she should go to the seventh day. But she isn't quite sure yet. But she is positive she had a feeling.

Tido is okay. He is happy and he is excited to come to church some time. He forgave us.

Carine had a dream on Saturday night that if she got baptized without her husband, he wouldn't get baptized. We prayed in a room about what to do, and we decided in the end to have Carine focus on how she felt about the dream. She wasn’t exactly sure what the dream meant or what was going on.

We took brother Kovacavic to Carlo's house and Carlo invited him to his house to eat Haitian food with us on Sunday. Him and his wife came and it was an awesome experience. Carlo invited them both to come on Wednesday again to eat some more food.

Elder Hartman is going home because of some back problems. We are amazing that this is happening. Elder Terry, Elder Furner, and I will be in a threesome until the end of the week.

Bye everyone! I love you!

Love

Elder Seamons

[answer to some questions] I am driving.  Elder Furner is in the apartment with us and his Companion is Elder Hartman from Idaho. I am still the district leader.

Baptism of Corine

Sunrise with Elder Terry and Elder Seamons

"Elder Terry is my new companion! I am so excited about that" plus some mission miracles that will give you goosebumps

 Elder Terry, Eric's new companion, is a young man from Lone Peak High School where Eric went to school. They didn't know each other well at school but were in the MTC together and got to be companions for the last week or so there, since Eric's MTC companion went to Montreal- Haitian speaking. Eric really appreciated Elder Terry's sense of humor and I think it will be good for Eric to spend some time with someone who will lighten him up some. A side note-- Elder Terry's grandparents lived in the church congregation in Paul, Idaho, where Kent grew up and Eric's grandparents lived. We found out after they were both called to work with the Haitians in the Fort Lauderdale mission, that Elder Seamons' grandparents were at Elder Terry's parent's wedding ceremony. It is a small world!

October 24, 2011

Hello Everyone! Elder Terry is my new companion! I am so excited about that. He is a really good missionary and we are having great things going on right now. Elder Shipley and I had many investigators going into this transfer and we have been keeping busy. Ernst and Carrine are being baptized this week! I am so excited about that. Carrine is doing super well! She has been to church on her own, and we haven't had to search for a ride for her for the last 5 times she has come. Sister Monestine told us that several members informed her that Carrine has been calling people that she didn't see at church on Sunday. That made us so excited. She is going to be a great member! Ernst isn't doing quite as well. He wasn't at church for the last two weeks, so we will see what is going to happen, but it might have been because of his work, which is on call and sometimes makes him work on Sunday. We did make a goal in the Book of Mormon for reading, and he says he will accomplish it.

Gulbert feels good about the restoration, Book of Mormon and everything that we have been teaching, and he has been praying about it, but he doesn't feel ready yet and he is afraid of falling away after he gets baptized. It is a common problem with Haitians wanting to be perfect before baptism. Roni, his brother, has been reading every day and he has a desire to be baptized which wasn't there before. I am seeing a change in him. But he wants to do it in his Mom's church. He doesn't fully understand the restoration yet. We will have to go over that again.

This is going to be a really exciting transfer. We have all of the skills we need as a companionship. We still have to develop more, but we are both very experienced, so if we work hard and try our best, we will do pretty well. We have been slacking on Daily contact and member work. Once we get both of those rolling well, we will be able to have much success. The members are such a powerful source in an investigator's conversion.

Spencer and his wife are learning and understanding the restoration really well. Spencer has been telling us that he has been saying specific prayers and asking if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith is a true prophet. We emphasized that a lot in one of our past lessons with them. They just need to come to church more. The family has been once. More dilligence in church attendance will do a lot of good. We just don't want to baptize people who "fullfil the requirements," but are truly converted. I have seen way too many people that have had that happen. Our ward list in the Miami Shores Ward has 600 or so people in it, but only 250 come. In Coconut Creek, there are about 900 people on the ward list and only 300 or so that go. We need to have better retention in the church as a whole. I do feel good about Dupont though. He is doing really great. He takes the bus every week to the church and he has come out with us many times and he understands the Book of Mormon really well. But even more than what the people we teach are doing, looking at the desires of their hearts and their dilligence in what they do is important. There are many people who can come to church, but if they come five times because a member gave them a ride, and then they get baptized, they might not continue to come without people pulling them along. Elder Shipley and I worked a lot on helping people become self-sufficient as they become newly baptized and confirmed members of the church. 

Pray that we can be the best missionaries as possible. We have been blessed with an extremely fruitful area. There are so many people who agree to meet with us and listen to our message. And many of them agree to keep their commitments. We just need to do our part to be there to help them. I have a sad story from this week about how we were not their for an investigator:

There is a Haitian man named Brother Tido who has been in the United States for many years and he married a Jamaican woman. He has serious problems in his feet and when he walks a few feet they begin to swell. He has been in a lot of pain for the last few weeks and we gave him a blessing. The North Miami Beach Spanish elders contacted him, but they still pass by when they are in the area. We had some appointments that fell through with him because we couldn't go over, but we forgot to call him. They passed by and he was telling them about how we had an appointment with him, which he had missed a doctor's appointment for, but we didn't come. Then we came to appoligize and we invited him to church. We said we would try and find a wheel chair for him so he could go. He was really excited and we set another appointment too. We had that fall through because of something (I don't remember what), and we called the elder's quorum president and he said he would get a wheel chair somehow, but we called him later and he never responded. So in the end we missed two appointments with Tido and we didn't get him a wheel chair. He told the other elders that he can't trust two liars who don't keep their word. I felt so horrible when I heard what had happened. I feel like I have completely failed that man. The other elders told me they feel like he is ready to be baptized. I should have been more responsible with him. We have just had so many people to see that I wasn't thinking too much about Tido. However, I am going to make sure that we go over, apologize, tell him that we now have a wheel chair, becaue we got the okay to let him use the one in the church, and we will be better at keeping our appointments with him. We are never going to break his trust again. No one who doesn't be true and faithful in all things can't be a representative of Jesus Christ. Because Christ would not fail a person. I am going to be a better representative this week.

I know that the Atonement is real and that we can be redeemed from our mistakes. It is the most wonderful part of our message. I know that God is preparing people to meet with us, as well as missionaries all over the world.

Several wonderful things are happening over in Coconut Creek that are really exciting. I taught someone named Nika Alexander over a year ago when I was with Elder Bolz, but we lost contact with her. She had many problems in her life back then. Elder Chandler and Elder Terry told me that they looked her up in the area book and they stopped by. I put a big note that future missionaries needed to check up on her. Plus Elder Chandler had taught her for a few weeks as well. Nika apparently was in the shower and she was crying and she told god that she felt totally abandoned and that she needed help to overcome her problems. as soon as she finished the prayer, she heard a knock on the door. She quickly got out, dressed, and she opened the door, and the missionaries were standing there. She was really shocked and she let them in. Then she started sobbing and she told them all of her difficulties and how she was looking for a sign that God still cared about her. She agreed to prepare for baptism! Also, Daline Figaro who Elder Rybin and I were teaching is finally getting baptized this week! I thought the day would never come! I am so happy! That girl is awesome! A long time mystery has been solved though. I wondered why her mom was so against her being baptized, and the other missionaries told me that her mom went to a church where they taught people voudou. I have noticed that most people who are into voudou feel threatened by us and that they don't want their children getting baptized in the church we represent.

Anyway. Coconut Creek is doing well. Miami Shores is doing well. I am so happy now! I love you all! Pray that we may have success. Bye!

Love,

Elder Seamons

Some interesting "Wow" stories from the mission:

“We taught a family the restoration on our next visit and they ate it up as if they were starving for the truth the husband, Alex was asking us during the lesson the same question that Joseph Smith had [James 1:15]. We excitedly taught them and introduced the Book of Mormon to them, and the wife, who had been pretty quiet yet receptive, opened up to us and told us about a dream she had a few nights ago. It was about her neighbor, the one who referred the family, and she had offered her a bible but this one was different. She said she didn't recognize the book until we pulled it out and gave it to her. She quickly said ‘that’s the book!!’

A story from President Anderson:

We received 9 new missionaries this last week (Tuesday) and after interviews and orientation, we sent them out to leave a Book of Mormon (they had written a testimony inside the cover) in a nearby neighborhood. They came back excited about the great experience they had. As we were in between sessions of  Stake Conference in Fort Lauderdale Saturday, a sister came up to us, and the Stake President, and told us of a story she saw on the Miami Network News. The reporters were interviewing people in a neighborhood (about a mile or two from the Mission Home) concerning a tornado that came through and devastated the area on Tuesday night, destroying dozens of homes. One woman they were interviewing was asked how her home sustained no damage yet both homes next to her were almost destroyed. She told the journalist that 10 minutes before the tornado hit, 3 young men in white shirts and ties came to her house and left a sacred book. She then showed the reporter a Book of Mormon and they opened it on camera and read parts of the testimony that was written inside the cover. It talked about the truth of this book and that it will be a source of the Spirit and protection. She praised and thanked Heavenly Father and these Missionaries for leaving this book which she testified on camera protected her home.

To be a missionary and to be like Christ, we have to become as a little child

Dear friends and family,

Hi everyone! I am staying in Miami for my 5th transfer! I am so excited! There are so many people who are preparing for baptism right now. Elder Shipley and I have a goal for 11 baptisms this month. That is very possible because of the number of people who have been to church already, but we haven't been doing our part as much. Our obedience has been slacking a lot, but we are going to do better. We are going to give our all to these people. Elder Shipley is leaving and I am very sad about that. We have been together for 2 1/2 transfers. I love Elder Shipley so much! He is so good at prioritizing, recognizing when he can do better, and changing his actions. I have grown so much since I have been with him. My faith is becoming so much stronger. I am not someone who is very trusting in certain aspects and I have allowed myself to doubt whether everything will be okay. It will be. I am scared to death about these next two weeks. President is expecting me to do some amazing things. God is expecting me to do amazing things. I realize now how weak I am. My own abilities are really nothing. To be a missionary and to be like Christ, we have to become as a little child: humble, trusting, loving, 100% dependant on our Father in Heaven. So many people are counting on my success. I don't want to fail these people at all. I need prayers right now. My new companion and I need prayers right now. I want to help these 11 people get baptized so badly! All of them are capable of making it. All of them are very prepared. They just need the extra help. I love these people.

Down below is my letter to President Anderson for this week. These are all the people that you all need to pray for. If you don't do anything else to help me, please pray for these people. There is going to need to be a miracle to get them baptized and to help them gain the faith to make this large of a step in such a short amount of time.

By the way mom, I got the cookies that Laurie sent to me. I am so happy you sent those cookies to me Aunt Laurie. I love you so much. It is so comforting to know that people are out there to help support me when I have such a large task at hand.

I also had the Thai Peanut noodles from the package. It was really good! Thank you so much! I will have the Pad Thai noodles during the week.

I don't know who my companion will be yet. Elder Edwards also is leaving. That means that Elder Furner and I will be the only two left in the apartment from this transfer. Sister Bloomfield, one of the sisters that came out the same time as I did is leaving from the Miami Beach YSA branch. I don't like change, but God is behind it, so it will be for the best. I will know tomorrow. I think it will be Elder Terry just because of what other missionaries have told me about who is transferring and who is not. The only two Creole missionaries who are leaving are Elder Shipley and Elder Terry. Every other Creole missionary is staying.

I need to go! I love you all! Bye! Pray for those names and pray for me and my companion.

Love,

Elder Seamons

Hello President! I am so excited for October! I am so grateful that Elder Shipley and I have been able to have such great success together as a companionship. I know that God lives and that he truly is a God of miracles. I have lacked the faith to move all of the mountains that I am capable of moving. It is time to move them all.

Here is our baptismal goal for this month: 11

Here are the most likely candidates:

Ernst/Carrine
Robert/Rosemonde
Gulbert/Roni
Spencer/Cleante
Kattia
Carol/Bertony
Georges
Florise
Cheri family
Here is my actions for all of them:

Daily contact (from me and the members)
During this daily contact we will:
follow up on reading/praying
answering questions
reminding them of their baptismal date
help them find a way to get to church if none
testify
read with them if they didn't
Give each of them a goal for number of Chapters to read before baptism.
Make these people first priority and put others who are not ready yet on hold.
Focus on them being "Pricked in their hearts" as the scriptures say (Acts 2:37)
Update the area book every night
Go to bed/get up/get to studies on time
Out the door at 11:45, to first appointment at 12:00

"I know the gospel is true and I will preach it everywhere until I am done."

October 10th, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

We are continuing to have much success in finding people. We are not worried about finding people to teach anymore. The big problem for us is helping these people understand. Some of them don't understand why we go by their house and think that we just go to do a "bible study." We realized that we need to be more clear and bold with people. I have told some people very boldly that this is the true church and that we are here to help them change their life and be baptized. Our lessons with them should be life changing and the most important thing that has ever happened to them in the eternal perspective. If they don't understand that, they aren't prepared. We do it with love by telling them that we care about them and we bear our testimony of the Savior, but we do tell them the simple fact of the matter as well.

We have a huge teaching pool, but some of our investigators are having difficulties with their commitments. Novotna and Barbara are flaking out now. They are 15 and 17 year-old Haitian girls. They are both reading and praying, but they have had difficulty coming to church and they aren't really working towards baptism. We are planning on having a serious talk with them next time we come to see them. We will see them on Tuesday. Ernst and Carrine are having the same marital problems. It is really sad and also frustrating. They don't ever spend time together anymore, sleep in the same bed, or even talk to each other. Ernst feels that Carrine isn't doing her part, so he wants her to start doing counseling and then he will follow after her. Carrine is ready to be baptized, but she doesn't want to be baptized until the marriage problem is resolved. We are not sure if they should still be baptized when they are having marital problems like this. But not all marriages will work out. It may be the spouse's fault or something like that. If they fulfill the requirements in the interview, I guess that is what is most important. That shows that they are doing their part.

We blessed a Haitian family. Jezila, Paul (her cousin), and Marrise ( Paul's wife), and other people live in that house. It is full of Haitians. They all think it is funny that we speak Creole. Jezila is a seventh-day Adventist, but last night in our second visit with her, she told us that she was baptized into the LDS church when she was 18 because she had a whole bunch of friends in it, but then a year and a half ago she got baptized in the Seventh-day church. However, she is interested in reading in the Book of Mormon, praying about it, and coming to the church. She agreed to come to the church and we said we would find her a ride for her first visit back in a long time.

On the fifth Sunday a month ago, the ward called 50 percent of the less actives during a combined meeting and got a status check up on them. It is called the Shepherding List. We have contacted several of them who have agreed to let us bless their homes. One of the families we are visiting is the Louhidan family. Their mom is less active and the kids aren't baptized yet. They are awesome. We gave them the picture book of Mormon and agreed to throw them a pizza party if all three of them read the whole book.

Gulbert came to church for the first time! Plus his brother Roni randomly showed up. We weren't expecting that at all! I hope they had a good time. Carlo came again and was the only one in the Gospel principles class, so Brother Richens, the ward mission leader, answered his questions for the whole time. After church, he fed us and Brother Melkisedeck rice and beans and pork with spices in it. It was amazing!

Well,

I am out of time! I love you all! I know the gospel is true and I will preach it everywhere until I am done. Bye!

Love,

Elder Seamons

"I loved this conference. I feel it was meant for me."

October 3rd, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

We had conference this week! All the sessions were broadcasted in our building. The chapel was for the Spanish translation, the Cultural Hall was for English, and the Nursery was for Creole. But for Creole The TV had a transmitter hooked up to it, so they could sit in the English room while they listened to it in Creole. Salt Lake translates everything and sends it to each meeting house where the broadcasts are being done. The Saturday sessions were very empty because most people watched them at home, but the Priesthood session and the Sunday Sessions were a lot more full. We had four investigators come to the building during both of the days. We had many more who had promised to come and had even found a ride for themselves, but they didn't come, so we were disappointed. But we still had a great weekend. Carlo, Carrine, Ernst, and Novotna came to Conference! Carlo Came to 3 of the sessions and so did Carrine. Ernst was there for one and Novatna came for half of one.

Carlo invited us over for lunch after the first session on Saturday. We had diri kole and Chicken and Sauce. It was so good. Plus Carlo had a really good Salad with it. He has been cooking for us lately because he wants to make sure that we will have enough strength to baptize him without dropping him. He is so funny! He also has been asking us to find a Haitian member of the church to have him marry because he doesn't want to be alone. He wants to go and tell people that he is single and has no woman to take care of him. We told him to do that himself.

I loved this conference. It was so wonderful. It is such a blessing to have prophets and apostles to guide us. They counsel that was given is so applicable to me and my investigators. I feel it was meant for me. I realized that I need to be up-ing my efforts and looking heavenward for answers. I realize that I have let obedience slack and I haven't been magnifying my call as I should. Plus I need to recognize that I can pray for help to specific problems. I don't do that as much as I should. My biggest thing I will do to change is to focus on the most important things and just trust that everything else will work itself out.

Ernst and Carrine are still having marriage problems. We had a sit down with them two weeks ago and told them to do read a verse in the Book of Mormon, pray together, and do Companionship inventory (the 3 questions) every night. It is something that Sister Hale implemented in the mission that everyone still does. We answer the questions, “What did I love about my companion today?” “What did I learn today?” “What can I do better tomorrow?” She majored in marriage counseling, so these questions are very good. We told them to do it as soon as we left and to text us ten minutes later. Carrine jumped on it, but Ernst told her that he was busy looking for his drivers license that he couldn't find. He didn't even take five minutes. It never ended up happening and we weren't happy about it. Their marriage will never improve if they don't do those things, neither will they come closer to Christ if they can't find time to read and pray for five minutes a night. We set a date with Ernst for possible on the 9th, but we will have to put it off because he isn't ready to be baptized. We will tell him if he can't do this inventory with his wife and start making progress, we will have to drop him.

Both Elder Shipley and I had the thought to invite Cemania to come to a session of conference, but I pushed the thought aside because I felt that Cemania would say no. But Elder Shipley told me we should invite her, so we did. She was so excited to see us and she gave us both a hug. She said she would try her best to come. She even told us yesterday the same thing when we called to confirm. But the never did. We left some messages on her phone and texted her. We are wondering if she got scared about coming back to the church, even just for conference and she ran away. She told us that she is going through a lot of hard things right now. She told us that she isn't going to any church anymore just because she is tired of all of the confusion. We told her that we would still love her even if she didn't end up coming back. We just care about her.

Well. Time is up! I have to go! Bye!  I love you!

Love,

Elder Seamons