Hi everyone! This week is transfers week and crazy things are happening. I am very excited about this transfer.
I have gotten the packages from Laurie and Grandma. Thank you so much Laurie and Grandma! The packages were really nice, and I love the candy a lot. I also got the gratitude Journal [from home] as well as the bible references and noodles. Thank you so much Mom. You are awesome!
I am staying in Coconut Creek for another Transfer! I am so happy about that. I am staying in the same apartment as I was this last transfer. So continue to give me mail as usual. However, a lot of changes are happening in the ward. The ward mission leader, brother Acevedo is moving to the Fort Lauderdale ward down South. Elder Bolz and Elder Turnblom are both getting transferred. Elder Chandler is getting transferred as well. The worst part is that the Creole area, which had four elders, is being combined back to the two elders again. Elder Anderson and I are new companions. We are both very excited about this! I don't know how packages work. The mission takes care of it all.
We are very busy and I made sure that I had all of our referrals in my planner before he leaves.
Elder Bolz is a great missionary! I have learned so much from him. He is a very good leader and he is always trying to help people out. He recognizes how to be a successful missionary, and he is a very positive guy. I am sad that I am not serving with him anymore, but perhaps we will be companions again before he has to go home. I am very excited to be with Elder Anderson though.
[This is in response to us asking him about what to send as a present]
For the past two transfers, we have been relying heavily on Elder Bolz's GPS and now he is taking it with him! We will get lost a lot if we do not have it. And in all honesty, it will make the work go slower. That is the one of things that I really want. That, many letters, and a ton of support back home. That is all I ask for. I know a GPS is a lot, but that is something that will help the work. We have a big area and we don't know many parts. So we need the GPS a ton!
[This is in response to us asking if he was really tired]
I am not too tired. I am feeling pretty good most of the time. We really don't have time to take naps due to how busy our schedule is. We are running around trying to get to appointments like crazy. I am doing really well. I am staying in this ward.
Tonight we have the Daily Dose English class. We had 10 people there last week. We are hoping to get 15 for today. The people in the stake who are in charge of it come once a month to teach the class. It will be a lot of fun. At 12:00, we are going to golden coral as a unit, (all the missionaries in the ward). Patrick, the assistant ward mission leader, who is a recent convert, is coming, as well as Oswald, the Haitian recent convert who lives just a mile up the street from our apartment. He helps us so much!
This week has been a lot of fun. We had six people come to church.
Sarilia, who is the mom of one of our investigators with a baptismal date, Martine, came to church. She loved it! She especially loved the Creole class.
Martine is a sixteen year old girl who really needs the gospel in her life. She lives in an extremely ghetto area and she doesn't like it at all. Her Mom doesn't let her have friends with the people who live in the area because there are many questionable people. That street has to be one of the worst places I have ever seen. It is sad. Her mom says her Cell phone is her friend, and the TV is her friend. For the most part, she has her spot on the floor where she curls up and texts people that she knows from school and she puts the TV on.
We went there last night and she was telling us about how she didn't like her life at all and how she didn't see the point. She asked me why God would take good friends away from you if he gave them to you to help you. She asked why God would do that if they were meant to be with you forever. She wondered a lot of the same things I wondered all of the time.
She did watch the finding faith in Christ DVD and loved it. We gave her the restoration DVD as well.
This week we had the primary program in the ward. It was very good. The children have such a special spirit about them when they talk, testify, and sing.
Pray for Martine and that she will fully understand her divine worth and understand why God lets bad things happen to good people. Bless her to be touched, and to be happy.
[Kent was on the computer at the same time as Eric and was able to talk to him a little by e-mailing back and forth. This is in response to asking how the driving is going]
I am able to drive without a problem or the most part anyway. I have had a few times when it could have turned out bad, but I have been fine. On Sunday, I merged into a lane without checking my blind spot (I always check it, but I didn't this time, for some reason.). The person honked at me, and it happened to be Brother Hillsamer from the ward. He has given investigators rides home before. Everyone in the car laughed about that. I called and apologized and Brother Hillsamer just laughed about it and said that it was okay.
I have to go. Bye! I love you so much Dad!
Pray for
Naphtary
Jener
Patrick (he has been going through a rough time)
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
"Still having some challenges" but "feeling a lot better"
Elder Seamons sounds like he is hanging in there pretty well. Thanks again for all of the extra letters of support!! He has a birthday on Nov. 30th if anyone wants to write him for that.
I would send things to the mission home. They forward them from there.
Elder Seamons
Florida, Ft Lauderdale Mission
7951 SW 6th St Ste 110
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33324-3211
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been good with the work. Jaleel was confirmed this week. I already said this, I think, but next week we will be having a baptism of a nine-year-old named Claudia. He parents are both members who were baptized nine years ago. We are going to go over there several times this week.
We had something really cool happen. One of our former investigators, Theresa, texted us randomly without us even starting up the conversation. She asked how we were doing. We told her that we missed teaching her and hoped that everything was going well. She asked if we wanted to teach a lesson to her that night. So we went and taught her a lesson. It was cool how we have built trust with her. That will help her to continue working, and eventually be taught by the missionaries again.
We went over to Sister Samson's house. She has been going through a rough time. She was in an accident and she has been having a whole number of problems. She hasn't been going to church for several weeks because she was so discouraged. We went over there and not discussing beforehand what we would teach her, we did a lesson on gratitude and recognizing the hand of God in all things. Normally we do talk about it beforehand, but it slipped our minds. However, we knew what to teach her. The spirit helped us out. We told her to have faith that everything would get better, because it always does if you rely on God. We told her to come back to church and promised her that God would bless her for her faith. We sang the hymn, "Count Your Many Blessings," and she prayed. She cried during the prayer and also said that she felt more encouraged and hopeful. She was good to her word and came to church yesterday! We are going to call her today and invite her to come to English class. She told us she hasn't been visited by a home teacher in forever, so we are going to take Oswald over there, (who is her home teacher), and help them get to know each other. The home teaching in the ward is a mess, and Oswald is a new convert and doesn't understand everything, so it is not his fault. We are going to ask Sister Julien to call her and say hi. I think she isn't feeling as loved as she should be. We went over to Sister Julien's house yesterday. She makes extra food for us every Sunday and we take it home in containers to eat. She has done that for the missionaries almost every Sunday for the last 23 years. Everyone calls her Mama Julien because she is so nice and always takes care of the missionaries.
I have only been tracting three times since I have been out in the mission field. We find many more people out in the streets. Haitians like taking walks down the streets. At night time, no one will answer their door. There was one time where we knocked on thirty doors and only one person even answered. Many Haitians don't even open there door if they hear you. Some of them will just talk at you through the door.
I love the members of the ward! They are awesome! The ward isn't very missionary oriented, but we have quite a few things that they do for us. Oswald came on exchanges with us yesterday. He loved it. We went to his house at the very end of the exchange, and his cousin is staying with him, so we could eat dinner with him. We can't eat dinner with members after 5:00 p.m. unless there is a non-member present. Oswald cooked Haitian food beforehand. Diri (rice), Sospa (beans and other stuff), and Chickin ak sos (chicken legs with a really good sauce). Oswald is so funny. He loves having fun, and he is always making drama. He is writing a book about his life. He was retelling an experience he had in the ward. Several months ago, Elder Bolz noticed that Oswald had welfare food from Deseret Industries. We were wondering about that because he seems perfectly fine. a month ago, Oswald confessed that he was curious about how welfare worked and went in to get an interview from the bishop to tell him he needed food. Well, two days later he got it. No inspection of his circumstances or anything. That is weird, since all of the other people who have gotten welfare food have had their situation checked out. I guess oswald fell through the cracks or something. He felt so guilty about it afterwards and he hasn't even touched the food to this day. He gave some of it to others who needed stuff. He told Brother Poor about it (he is one of the people who is in charge of welfare.) They are good friends. Brother Poor asked him why he did it and told him that God would forgive him for doing it. He didn't tell the bishop about it. Oswald needs a temple recommend, but doesn't want to talk to the Bishop because of this situation. He will eventually.
I am still having some challenges, but I am feeling a lot better. I realized that the only way to keep a strong testimony and to not let those telling me I am wrong to get to me is to base my testimony on the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is found in the Book of Mormon. It is a powerful book. President Benson said that that book is the only way that we can withstand the intellectualism and attacks of today’s world.
I could say so much more, but I have to go and write president before I run out of time. I love you all! I am learning a lot. Bye!
Love,
Elder Seamons
I would send things to the mission home. They forward them from there.
Elder Seamons
Florida, Ft Lauderdale Mission
7951 SW 6th St Ste 110
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33324-3211
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been good with the work. Jaleel was confirmed this week. I already said this, I think, but next week we will be having a baptism of a nine-year-old named Claudia. He parents are both members who were baptized nine years ago. We are going to go over there several times this week.
We had something really cool happen. One of our former investigators, Theresa, texted us randomly without us even starting up the conversation. She asked how we were doing. We told her that we missed teaching her and hoped that everything was going well. She asked if we wanted to teach a lesson to her that night. So we went and taught her a lesson. It was cool how we have built trust with her. That will help her to continue working, and eventually be taught by the missionaries again.
We went over to Sister Samson's house. She has been going through a rough time. She was in an accident and she has been having a whole number of problems. She hasn't been going to church for several weeks because she was so discouraged. We went over there and not discussing beforehand what we would teach her, we did a lesson on gratitude and recognizing the hand of God in all things. Normally we do talk about it beforehand, but it slipped our minds. However, we knew what to teach her. The spirit helped us out. We told her to have faith that everything would get better, because it always does if you rely on God. We told her to come back to church and promised her that God would bless her for her faith. We sang the hymn, "Count Your Many Blessings," and she prayed. She cried during the prayer and also said that she felt more encouraged and hopeful. She was good to her word and came to church yesterday! We are going to call her today and invite her to come to English class. She told us she hasn't been visited by a home teacher in forever, so we are going to take Oswald over there, (who is her home teacher), and help them get to know each other. The home teaching in the ward is a mess, and Oswald is a new convert and doesn't understand everything, so it is not his fault. We are going to ask Sister Julien to call her and say hi. I think she isn't feeling as loved as she should be. We went over to Sister Julien's house yesterday. She makes extra food for us every Sunday and we take it home in containers to eat. She has done that for the missionaries almost every Sunday for the last 23 years. Everyone calls her Mama Julien because she is so nice and always takes care of the missionaries.
I have only been tracting three times since I have been out in the mission field. We find many more people out in the streets. Haitians like taking walks down the streets. At night time, no one will answer their door. There was one time where we knocked on thirty doors and only one person even answered. Many Haitians don't even open there door if they hear you. Some of them will just talk at you through the door.
I love the members of the ward! They are awesome! The ward isn't very missionary oriented, but we have quite a few things that they do for us. Oswald came on exchanges with us yesterday. He loved it. We went to his house at the very end of the exchange, and his cousin is staying with him, so we could eat dinner with him. We can't eat dinner with members after 5:00 p.m. unless there is a non-member present. Oswald cooked Haitian food beforehand. Diri (rice), Sospa (beans and other stuff), and Chickin ak sos (chicken legs with a really good sauce). Oswald is so funny. He loves having fun, and he is always making drama. He is writing a book about his life. He was retelling an experience he had in the ward. Several months ago, Elder Bolz noticed that Oswald had welfare food from Deseret Industries. We were wondering about that because he seems perfectly fine. a month ago, Oswald confessed that he was curious about how welfare worked and went in to get an interview from the bishop to tell him he needed food. Well, two days later he got it. No inspection of his circumstances or anything. That is weird, since all of the other people who have gotten welfare food have had their situation checked out. I guess oswald fell through the cracks or something. He felt so guilty about it afterwards and he hasn't even touched the food to this day. He gave some of it to others who needed stuff. He told Brother Poor about it (he is one of the people who is in charge of welfare.) They are good friends. Brother Poor asked him why he did it and told him that God would forgive him for doing it. He didn't tell the bishop about it. Oswald needs a temple recommend, but doesn't want to talk to the Bishop because of this situation. He will eventually.
I am still having some challenges, but I am feeling a lot better. I realized that the only way to keep a strong testimony and to not let those telling me I am wrong to get to me is to base my testimony on the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is found in the Book of Mormon. It is a powerful book. President Benson said that that book is the only way that we can withstand the intellectualism and attacks of today’s world.
I could say so much more, but I have to go and write president before I run out of time. I love you all! I am learning a lot. Bye!
Love,
Elder Seamons
Baptism of Jaleel
Monday, November 1, 2010
"I am Fine Now" and Going to a health Fair for Haitians in Miami
Note from Mom- We are extremely relieved to hear that Elder Seamons is doing better. I am sure it is partly due to all of the friends and family who wrote supportive and encouraging letters to him. I am sure he will still have ups and downs, so I plan to be better at writing more snail mail. I hope all of you will try to find time to write him as well. I know it means a lot to him.
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I have been feeling a lot better. I have been able to focus on the work much more this week. I feel about at a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. I just feel like my confidence in teaching was shaken a little bit after that whole spell. Often, I don't feel like I know what to say. I realize that in order to have the spirit guide your thoughts, your first have to jump in and get your feet wet. President Hale said that the Israelites had to get their feet wet before the Red Sea parted. I realize that I will have to do the same. Once I just jump in, then the spirit will give me the direction that I need to go. Fear is the thing that stops me the most. I was reading the talk by President Ezra Taft Benson entitled, "Beware of Pride." At that moment, I came to realize that being ashamed or caring what other people think is in essence pride. I also realized that every sin is connected to pride in some way. President Benson said that Pride is being in opposition with someone or God. I realized that once pride in removed from one's heart, then He or She is truly pure in heart. President Benson said that Pride is a "damning sin" or one that will impede progression in this life.
I have been getting letters from family and friends. I am so grateful for all of the support I have been getting. Thank you very much everyone! I love you all very much!
We have good things going on for next month!
There is a new family that moved in the ward: the Dimanche family. They are members and they have a nine-year-old daughter named Claudia who they want to get baptized. Claudia is very excited about that too. We also have an investigator named Jener who came to the English class the same day we contacted him, and he came to church last Sunday. He is excited about us coming over, and he would like to prepare to get baptized. We have several baptismal dates for this coming month, which is exciting. The only problem is getting them to work hard to prepare for the date.
We went to a health fair in Miami, Liberty City. It is part of an area called Little Haiti. It is in Elder Chandler's old area. He was excited to go back there. The Health Fair was put on by the Nova school. It is a medical school. It was just for Haitians. People could go there and get check-ups, blood pressure taken, blood tests, pap smears, eye check-ups Female/male checkups, and mental health counseling for free. The line for it was insane. For Haitians, this is a big deal, since most of them don't have insurance. We went around with folders and asked people for their name and information to put in the folder, and we helped them fill out a survey. We had to do this because we were some of the translators. Then based on the answers they gave, they would go to certain stations to get a check-up on certain things. Diabetes and high blood pressure is a huge problem amongst Haitians. There was a gated area where people who were let in would wait in line to get registered. There was a group outside the gate where other people waited. It was chaotic. There were a few points when I was nervous. This Haitian girl who was helping out told me that Haitians have no patience. I could see that, because they were so mad that they had to wait for so long. Elder Gubernick had to push a few of them down to keep them from entering through the gate. We weren't the only translators there and they felt that they were good on that, so there was a certain time when a few of us were doing crowd control for part of the time. They had the police there too to make sure that it didn't get ugly. We asked people to move the line off the sidewalk and to stand away from the gate, but some of them didn't want to move. Later, Elder Steele and I had to tell them to get in the back of the line since they didn't want to move the first time. They were so angry. They didn't let everyone in. There were many people who were out waiting for up to 6 to 7 hours and never ended up getting in. There was one woman who started to cry at one point. Many Haitian people are in such bad health and are going through so many rough things. It is extremely sad to see. Elder Bolz was translating in the waiting room for the women's check-ups for part of the time. He told me that one woman got so excited when she was called up next. The doctor in there told him that it was as though they had won the lottery, even though it was just to do a pap smear. There were a lot of interesting things that went on, but it was still fun to translate for. Part of the time Elder Chandler and I were in the room where they were doing the male check-ups. Later I was in the room where they would tell the person if they were over-weight, if they had high blood pressure, etc. Then I told people which room to go to next.
We got several referrals from people waiting in line to sign up, and we got to know several people. The people running the fair have a very good opinion about the missionaries, and it is a wonderful way of serving and getting people to know who we are.
The ward set up an exchange calendar. Everyone in the Elder's quorum/high priest's quorum was assigned a day to come out with us, but if it didn't work, they had to switch with someone else. That way everyone will get a chance to help us out, which will increase ward involvement in the missionary effort dramatically.
Elder Bolz and I had a goal for last month to have two baptisms, which we met. We are going to up the goal to three for this next month, and one of them is a 100% sure thing.
I am loving the work! I am fine now.
Love,
Elder Seamons
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I have been feeling a lot better. I have been able to focus on the work much more this week. I feel about at a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. I just feel like my confidence in teaching was shaken a little bit after that whole spell. Often, I don't feel like I know what to say. I realize that in order to have the spirit guide your thoughts, your first have to jump in and get your feet wet. President Hale said that the Israelites had to get their feet wet before the Red Sea parted. I realize that I will have to do the same. Once I just jump in, then the spirit will give me the direction that I need to go. Fear is the thing that stops me the most. I was reading the talk by President Ezra Taft Benson entitled, "Beware of Pride." At that moment, I came to realize that being ashamed or caring what other people think is in essence pride. I also realized that every sin is connected to pride in some way. President Benson said that Pride is being in opposition with someone or God. I realized that once pride in removed from one's heart, then He or She is truly pure in heart. President Benson said that Pride is a "damning sin" or one that will impede progression in this life.
I have been getting letters from family and friends. I am so grateful for all of the support I have been getting. Thank you very much everyone! I love you all very much!
We have good things going on for next month!
There is a new family that moved in the ward: the Dimanche family. They are members and they have a nine-year-old daughter named Claudia who they want to get baptized. Claudia is very excited about that too. We also have an investigator named Jener who came to the English class the same day we contacted him, and he came to church last Sunday. He is excited about us coming over, and he would like to prepare to get baptized. We have several baptismal dates for this coming month, which is exciting. The only problem is getting them to work hard to prepare for the date.
We went to a health fair in Miami, Liberty City. It is part of an area called Little Haiti. It is in Elder Chandler's old area. He was excited to go back there. The Health Fair was put on by the Nova school. It is a medical school. It was just for Haitians. People could go there and get check-ups, blood pressure taken, blood tests, pap smears, eye check-ups Female/male checkups, and mental health counseling for free. The line for it was insane. For Haitians, this is a big deal, since most of them don't have insurance. We went around with folders and asked people for their name and information to put in the folder, and we helped them fill out a survey. We had to do this because we were some of the translators. Then based on the answers they gave, they would go to certain stations to get a check-up on certain things. Diabetes and high blood pressure is a huge problem amongst Haitians. There was a gated area where people who were let in would wait in line to get registered. There was a group outside the gate where other people waited. It was chaotic. There were a few points when I was nervous. This Haitian girl who was helping out told me that Haitians have no patience. I could see that, because they were so mad that they had to wait for so long. Elder Gubernick had to push a few of them down to keep them from entering through the gate. We weren't the only translators there and they felt that they were good on that, so there was a certain time when a few of us were doing crowd control for part of the time. They had the police there too to make sure that it didn't get ugly. We asked people to move the line off the sidewalk and to stand away from the gate, but some of them didn't want to move. Later, Elder Steele and I had to tell them to get in the back of the line since they didn't want to move the first time. They were so angry. They didn't let everyone in. There were many people who were out waiting for up to 6 to 7 hours and never ended up getting in. There was one woman who started to cry at one point. Many Haitian people are in such bad health and are going through so many rough things. It is extremely sad to see. Elder Bolz was translating in the waiting room for the women's check-ups for part of the time. He told me that one woman got so excited when she was called up next. The doctor in there told him that it was as though they had won the lottery, even though it was just to do a pap smear. There were a lot of interesting things that went on, but it was still fun to translate for. Part of the time Elder Chandler and I were in the room where they were doing the male check-ups. Later I was in the room where they would tell the person if they were over-weight, if they had high blood pressure, etc. Then I told people which room to go to next.
We got several referrals from people waiting in line to sign up, and we got to know several people. The people running the fair have a very good opinion about the missionaries, and it is a wonderful way of serving and getting people to know who we are.
The ward set up an exchange calendar. Everyone in the Elder's quorum/high priest's quorum was assigned a day to come out with us, but if it didn't work, they had to switch with someone else. That way everyone will get a chance to help us out, which will increase ward involvement in the missionary effort dramatically.
Elder Bolz and I had a goal for last month to have two baptisms, which we met. We are going to up the goal to three for this next month, and one of them is a 100% sure thing.
I am loving the work! I am fine now.
Love,
Elder Seamons
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Still struggling- Please write him
Eric is still struggling. If you get time, please write him with some encouragement.
This is his apartment address, at least for 3 weeks:
Elder Eric Seamons 4045 SW 15th Street APT G306 Pompano Beach, FL 33069-4954
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I have still been having a hard time. I feel about at a two or three (out of 10) as of lately. I have felt so discouraged. I keep on having doubts and questions running through my mind that I can't seem to resolve.
You are right about me overthinking things. But these things feel so real in my mind. I have been able to get temporary relief through missionaries, being around certain people, etc. I just have certain things that have been overwhelming my thoughts. Things that I can't answer.I will tell you some of the things that have been going on.There is a boy named Galeel, who is the Grandson of one of the ward members who is named Sister Baptiste. Galeel is 9 years old. His mom is in the Bahamas. The Bishop of the Coconut Creek Ward is going to get permission for Galeel to be baptized in this ward from the other Bishop in the Bahamas, who is supposed to talk to his mom. Galeel is excited about being baptized.We found a person who was a security guard for an apartment complex, and his name is Charnel (his nickname is Sean). He has several kids, is not married, and wants to change his life. He has had several health issues. He wants God to be more in his life.There is an activity at the church called Trunk or Treat. It is where many people bring their cars and open the back of their trunks and decorate them. They will have candy to give people in the back of their cars. We have been handing out fliers and it will be very fun.We go to Popeyes every P-day. A member of the church owns it and we get everything free. Elder Bolz and I went to Chick-fil-a, where a member of the church works, and we get free food too. It was really good It is nice when members have things like that, because a lot of them like to give the missionaries food.We did something called sunrising today, where we got up to watch the sun rise at the beach. After that, we sat on the benches and studied. We went to Ihop for breakfast, and then we came here to do e-mailing.I am still trying to hang in here. I have had a lot of things on my mind. We are still doing appointments and stuff, but I don't say as much during them as I used to. I need to resolve this before I can function at a completely normal levelThe hardest thing for me is to not care what other people think about me. I don't like it when people tell me I am wrong. I need to rely more on God and what feelings He has given me through the Holy Ghost and less on what other people tell me.I need to go. Keep on praying for me. Please write me! Thank you! I love you all very much!Love,Elder Seamons
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Elder Seamons- Needs your support
Elder Seamons is going through a rough spot right now. We are actually surprised that he hasn't had issues sooner. It is normal for missionaries to go through highs and lows, but Eric is especially hard on himself.
When you get time, please write him a letter of encouragement, especially reminding him that he doesn't have to be perfect and that he will have many people who will reject what he has to say. It is not his responsibility to make everyone listen.
Please write him at the following address and it will be forwarded:
Elder Eric Seamons
Florida, Ft Lauderdale Mission
7951 SW 6th St Ste 110
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33324-3211
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Hi everyone! This is the letter that I just wrote to President Hale. I have not been doing too well the last three days. Mom, you asked me how well I am feeling on a scale from 1-10 and I am at a 3 right now. Maybe even a 2. I don't feel so well. You will read about it bellow.
* * *
Hi President! This has been a rough week for me so far. I have been feeling depression coming on. You probably saw that in my mission papers (that I had depression), but I am having a really bad spell right now. I asked Elder Bolz and the other elders to give me a blessing. I have had several things that have been stressing me out.
There are so many people who disagree with the message that we give, and there are those who seem nice, but just uninterested. Worrying about it has caused me serious stress and it has triggered my depression. I have been still going out and doing the work, but it is hard.
I have felt the spirit so many times, but fear is settling in. The biggest fear I have is fear of people rejecting the message, thinking we are weird because of it, and mocking us. I think that sometimes I become ashamed and I don't feel that I have the courage necessary to do this. I was good all of last transfer, but the past few days I have had depression seriously settling in. I need your counsel and comfort right now to help me through this. Because I know I have overcome depression before, and I can do it again. I don't ever want to give up and go home, even though sometimes, it is almost more than I can bear.
This is going to be rough, but I hope to make it through with your help and with the Lord's help.
Other than that, we have three baptismal dates:
Nicholson Ulysse
Naphtary _______ (not sure)
and Justin (J.)
We taught Naphtary last night, and we met J. and he sat down with us. He said he wanted to change, but wasn't sure if God even existed. I told him about how you can know through the power of the Holy Ghost. He listened very intently, which suprised me. Last night we implimented the things Brother Watson told us about inspired questions and evaluating the lesson afterwards. The lesson was different than usual. It went better. Then we taught Theresa, who had a baptismal date, but is confused about which church to get baptized into and why baptism is even important. We asked her to take a night to herself to pray and to gain that knowledge for herself.
* * *
I need continual support from the outside. It will help me overcome this problem. It makes it hard for me to focus on others, but I have to. I need to not give up and trust in God to carry me through this. I am so glad Elder Bolz is here to help me. I don't know what I would do without him to talk to. He is awesome!
Mom, I have received letters from Laurie every week.
Pray for me. I know you do, but continue. I am so glad I have all the support that I do. Many people do not have that same blessing. I love you all so much. I thank God that I have you. I can't wait until we reunite again, and I am brought back home, successful, with Jesus Christ's help. He is my hero and my Savior. He amazes me. I would have failed miserably without Him.
Love,
Elder Seamons
When you get time, please write him a letter of encouragement, especially reminding him that he doesn't have to be perfect and that he will have many people who will reject what he has to say. It is not his responsibility to make everyone listen.
Please write him at the following address and it will be forwarded:
Elder Eric Seamons
Florida, Ft Lauderdale Mission
7951 SW 6th St Ste 110
Ft Lauderdale, FL 33324-3211
*******************************************************************************
Hi everyone! This is the letter that I just wrote to President Hale. I have not been doing too well the last three days. Mom, you asked me how well I am feeling on a scale from 1-10 and I am at a 3 right now. Maybe even a 2. I don't feel so well. You will read about it bellow.
* * *
Hi President! This has been a rough week for me so far. I have been feeling depression coming on. You probably saw that in my mission papers (that I had depression), but I am having a really bad spell right now. I asked Elder Bolz and the other elders to give me a blessing. I have had several things that have been stressing me out.
There are so many people who disagree with the message that we give, and there are those who seem nice, but just uninterested. Worrying about it has caused me serious stress and it has triggered my depression. I have been still going out and doing the work, but it is hard.
I have felt the spirit so many times, but fear is settling in. The biggest fear I have is fear of people rejecting the message, thinking we are weird because of it, and mocking us. I think that sometimes I become ashamed and I don't feel that I have the courage necessary to do this. I was good all of last transfer, but the past few days I have had depression seriously settling in. I need your counsel and comfort right now to help me through this. Because I know I have overcome depression before, and I can do it again. I don't ever want to give up and go home, even though sometimes, it is almost more than I can bear.
This is going to be rough, but I hope to make it through with your help and with the Lord's help.
Other than that, we have three baptismal dates:
Nicholson Ulysse
Naphtary _______ (not sure)
and Justin (J.)
We taught Naphtary last night, and we met J. and he sat down with us. He said he wanted to change, but wasn't sure if God even existed. I told him about how you can know through the power of the Holy Ghost. He listened very intently, which suprised me. Last night we implimented the things Brother Watson told us about inspired questions and evaluating the lesson afterwards. The lesson was different than usual. It went better. Then we taught Theresa, who had a baptismal date, but is confused about which church to get baptized into and why baptism is even important. We asked her to take a night to herself to pray and to gain that knowledge for herself.
* * *
I need continual support from the outside. It will help me overcome this problem. It makes it hard for me to focus on others, but I have to. I need to not give up and trust in God to carry me through this. I am so glad Elder Bolz is here to help me. I don't know what I would do without him to talk to. He is awesome!
Mom, I have received letters from Laurie every week.
Pray for me. I know you do, but continue. I am so glad I have all the support that I do. Many people do not have that same blessing. I love you all so much. I thank God that I have you. I can't wait until we reunite again, and I am brought back home, successful, with Jesus Christ's help. He is my hero and my Savior. He amazes me. I would have failed miserably without Him.
Love,
Elder Seamons
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The only way to do missionary work is with God's help
Hi everyone! A lot has happened to me this week. I have had a lot on my mind too. This first part is my letter to president that I wrote to him:
I am doing well right now. We had three baptisms in our ward this last Sunday. One of them was our investigator: Vely Cherelus. I was able to baptize him. It was a very good experience. We have gotten several new investigators this week, which is good. The hardest part I have noticed about teaching new people is helping them understand the importance of the restoration. Most people don't even understand what it is when we tell them about it. It is so frustrating. I feel like we do everything we can, but I don't feel many of our investigators understand what we do. Many people tell us that they know Jesus Christ already and that we don't need to help them. Some people tell us that talking about Joseph Smith and prophets takes away from the message about Jesus Christ. They don't seem to get that the message of the restoration is that Jesus Christ gives us his words through his appointed servants and that we can get closer to Him through the words they speak. It is crazy. I have been thinking and praying about what I can say to help these people.
We are getting better at doing daily contact. I think we could do so much better at that though. There are just so many people to talk to at one day. It is hard to keep in contact, especially when many of these people don't answer their phones or ever call us back.
I have come to realize that the only way to do missionary work is with God's help. We could do everything possible and it would do us no good if we didn't exercise faith in him. I have realized that it is impossible to do it all alone. I have also realized that an important part of this mission that I have been called to fulfill is to better myself and be refined so that I can be a better instrument in the Lord's hands. The biggest thing that hinders my progression is fear. I am afraid of being rejected and of what people will say to me. That is why faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the Gospel. Because without it, you cannot progress or overcome any difficulties that are placed before you. I should just remember that God has everything planned out perfectly and that I need to just rush forward with the work and let him do the rest. Because, after all, that is all I can really do: just trust in Him.
The assistant ward mission leader, who is only a little bit older than I am, is a recent convert named Patrick. He works at Panda and brings us food all of the time. For free too! He is so nice! He is taking a Chinese class, and he wants my Book of Mormon that I have in traditional characters, Pinyin, and English. It is a triple section book with all three in it. I might have another that is just characters, so just be careful to send the right one. I told him that he could use it. Just send it to me in a package.
We were locked down in our apartment last week for a day, because of Tropical Storm Nicole. It was supposed to hit the mission, but it switched directions and completely missed the mission.
Yesterday, one of the people (Theresa) who we had that was going to get baptized in 13 days said that she wanted to take more time because she wasn't sure what she should do. Her Mom wants her to get baptized, but she is in another church. Theresa said her mom would be disappointed if she got baptized in another church instead. Also, she doesn't really understand why she needs to be baptized. She is thinking about whether she should do it at all. That was hard to hear. Please pray for her. We just need to help her with her testimony, and we told her to talk to her mom about it.
Wow, the mission is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have needed so much patience with certain people as we have been moving along. It isn't fun to be rejected, or to have people to you that you are wrong. I need to rely on Jesus Christ so much, so that I can keep my testimony and not give up when everything starts to get hard. Continue to pray for me, and that I can become a better teacher and continue to build on my testimony.
Well, I need to go because my time is about out. We are hoping to get more people with Baptismal dates. Bye! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Seamons
I am doing well right now. We had three baptisms in our ward this last Sunday. One of them was our investigator: Vely Cherelus. I was able to baptize him. It was a very good experience. We have gotten several new investigators this week, which is good. The hardest part I have noticed about teaching new people is helping them understand the importance of the restoration. Most people don't even understand what it is when we tell them about it. It is so frustrating. I feel like we do everything we can, but I don't feel many of our investigators understand what we do. Many people tell us that they know Jesus Christ already and that we don't need to help them. Some people tell us that talking about Joseph Smith and prophets takes away from the message about Jesus Christ. They don't seem to get that the message of the restoration is that Jesus Christ gives us his words through his appointed servants and that we can get closer to Him through the words they speak. It is crazy. I have been thinking and praying about what I can say to help these people.
We are getting better at doing daily contact. I think we could do so much better at that though. There are just so many people to talk to at one day. It is hard to keep in contact, especially when many of these people don't answer their phones or ever call us back.
I have come to realize that the only way to do missionary work is with God's help. We could do everything possible and it would do us no good if we didn't exercise faith in him. I have realized that it is impossible to do it all alone. I have also realized that an important part of this mission that I have been called to fulfill is to better myself and be refined so that I can be a better instrument in the Lord's hands. The biggest thing that hinders my progression is fear. I am afraid of being rejected and of what people will say to me. That is why faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the Gospel. Because without it, you cannot progress or overcome any difficulties that are placed before you. I should just remember that God has everything planned out perfectly and that I need to just rush forward with the work and let him do the rest. Because, after all, that is all I can really do: just trust in Him.
The assistant ward mission leader, who is only a little bit older than I am, is a recent convert named Patrick. He works at Panda and brings us food all of the time. For free too! He is so nice! He is taking a Chinese class, and he wants my Book of Mormon that I have in traditional characters, Pinyin, and English. It is a triple section book with all three in it. I might have another that is just characters, so just be careful to send the right one. I told him that he could use it. Just send it to me in a package.
We were locked down in our apartment last week for a day, because of Tropical Storm Nicole. It was supposed to hit the mission, but it switched directions and completely missed the mission.
Yesterday, one of the people (Theresa) who we had that was going to get baptized in 13 days said that she wanted to take more time because she wasn't sure what she should do. Her Mom wants her to get baptized, but she is in another church. Theresa said her mom would be disappointed if she got baptized in another church instead. Also, she doesn't really understand why she needs to be baptized. She is thinking about whether she should do it at all. That was hard to hear. Please pray for her. We just need to help her with her testimony, and we told her to talk to her mom about it.
Wow, the mission is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I have needed so much patience with certain people as we have been moving along. It isn't fun to be rejected, or to have people to you that you are wrong. I need to rely on Jesus Christ so much, so that I can keep my testimony and not give up when everything starts to get hard. Continue to pray for me, and that I can become a better teacher and continue to build on my testimony.
Well, I need to go because my time is about out. We are hoping to get more people with Baptismal dates. Bye! I love you all!
Love,
Elder Seamons
Elder Seamons with Vely Cherelus
who he baptized
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
This is not a suggestion. This is a plea.
Note from Mom- The bold and underlining in this letter is from Eric. Also, when Eric talks about home teaching, it is a program where the men are assigned to families to visit them once a month and help them with anything they need help with. It is a way to keep track of every family at church. The women are assgned to visit women alone as well to help take care of their individual needs.
Hi everyone! I am doing well now. We have our transfer information now, and it is P-day. On Transfer weeks, we proselyte on Monday and have P-day on Tuesday, the day before the transfer meeting.
The assistants called on either Sunday or Monday and said that we were switching apartments with the Coconut Creek West elders. How it works is that The Coconut Creek ward has four sets of elders: North, South, East, and West. North and South are Creole, while East and West are the English elders. All the Creole elders lived together this transfer, but now we are living with East, who is an English companionship. We are moving down into an apartment that is right next to Oswald's apartment complex. Oswald is a Haitian who is a recent convert. He is so crazy! He was excited when he found out that we were moving down there. All four Creole Elders are staying in the ward! Only one of the English elders is moving out (Elder Farr). He is being switched with an incoming missionary. He will be trained by Elder Turmblom, who we are staying with.
In between Creole North and Creole South, we cover all of the Haitian people for the entire zone. We have so much to do! President leaves dividing up the area up to us. We decided to give the other elders the rest of Coral Springs, which is separated from everywhere else we are going. We would always have to drive far to get there. I am sad we are doing this, because we have several baptismal dates in that area, such as Nica, who is awesome, and Beradine, Duline, Michelle, and Mirrey (they are all family). But now we can concentrate more time on Pompano and we won't be constantly driving in between Pompano and Coral Springs and using up all of our allotted miles for the month.
We have a baptism coming up this Sunday. His name is Verli Cherelus. He is the Fiancé of Sandra, who is a recent convert. They have a baby, and they are planning on getting married in January. He is awesome! He reads with her in the scriptures everyday! He came to General Conference too! After the second session, we had a lesson, and we had Pizza and Oreos afterwards.
Conference was so good this time! I loved it! There weren't very many people in the church, because most people watched it at home. They have translation equipment in the buildings, which transmits Creole and Spanish translation from Salt Lake, where the translators are speaking. However, in the Coconut Creek chapel, the equipment was broken, so people had to go up to Coral Springs to get that.
Nica came for fifteen minutes, along with her siblings Ashcarla and Jeffrey. Her cousin Samuel, who is from Orlando, came too! Jeffson, a new investigator, came for the fourth session!
Verli and Sandra came for the 2nd Session! It wasn't a super large number, but it was good.
The biggest challenge in missionary work is not that people reject us or disagree with us, but that people get so caught up in their lives that they don't make time to hear the restored gospel. We are rarely rejected. Haitians are almost always willing to listen. The problem is that they don't answer their phones, they are gone when there is an appointment, or they don't understand their part as an investigator. They think we are there just to do a bible study once a week. That is all good, but we are there to help them change, repent, and be baptized. People don't make the two or three appointments a week that we need with them to bring about the great change they need in their lives. Pray that people will:
1. Be filled with a greater desire to act and make time for this message
2. Answer their phones so that we can help them
3. Recognize the need to change and see the gap that can be filled in their lives
4. Understand the message with greater clarity, so that they can progress
In turn, please pray that we will be able to:
1. Show more love as we teach
2. Apply the gospel to those we come in contact with
3. Teach with clarity and simplicity
4. Rely on the spirit
This is not a suggestion. This is a plea. The temple of God is on its way, and we need to find the Elect of God now! You can assist in this work. There is none greater. Do everything you can in the missionary effort. Please! Go to the temple. Pray mightily! Go on exchanges with the elders. Give referrals to your friends so that they can receive the Gospel!!!!!! This is the most important work you could do. If you think you can’t move God's kingdom forward, you are dead wrong!!!!!!!!!! Think again! I didn't realize how serious this was until I came out here. I could have done so much more before my mission to bring the gospel to people. Even to the members. I could have done my home teaching so much better. Instead, I was too caught up in classes and homework to do what I had to in the ward. I will never make that mistake again. Home Teaching is a sacred responsibility. It is not just a monthly show your face thing. It is a friendship, fellowship, guide, protect, comfort, build Zion deal. It is so much more than most members of the church make it. I didn't catch the vision of true home teaching until I came into the mission field. Then it hit me. Please do everything that you can to make the missionary work happen. Pray hard for it. Prepare to be a missionary, wherever you are. Fellowship each other.
The only service we do on a regular basis is English class. There are not nearly as many people there as there should be. We have between 3-5 on average. We have a program that the Church does called Daily Dose, which has a drawing, with the words in English pointing to the parts in the picture. We don't even speak anything other than English.
We met an 18 year-old kid named Jeffson. We met him at a person’s house we had just stopped by. He was a friend of someone. We had a lesson on the spot. He told us that his goal is to get baptized by the end of the year. He has made a lot of changes. He writes music, but now he only writes clean music. He stopped swearing too. He says he has been praying for Mentors to help him prepare for this goal. I was amazed that we found him. He has a baptismal date for the 30th of October.
I have to go. I love you all! Bye!
Love,
Elder Seamons
Hi everyone! I am doing well now. We have our transfer information now, and it is P-day. On Transfer weeks, we proselyte on Monday and have P-day on Tuesday, the day before the transfer meeting.
The assistants called on either Sunday or Monday and said that we were switching apartments with the Coconut Creek West elders. How it works is that The Coconut Creek ward has four sets of elders: North, South, East, and West. North and South are Creole, while East and West are the English elders. All the Creole elders lived together this transfer, but now we are living with East, who is an English companionship. We are moving down into an apartment that is right next to Oswald's apartment complex. Oswald is a Haitian who is a recent convert. He is so crazy! He was excited when he found out that we were moving down there. All four Creole Elders are staying in the ward! Only one of the English elders is moving out (Elder Farr). He is being switched with an incoming missionary. He will be trained by Elder Turmblom, who we are staying with.
In between Creole North and Creole South, we cover all of the Haitian people for the entire zone. We have so much to do! President leaves dividing up the area up to us. We decided to give the other elders the rest of Coral Springs, which is separated from everywhere else we are going. We would always have to drive far to get there. I am sad we are doing this, because we have several baptismal dates in that area, such as Nica, who is awesome, and Beradine, Duline, Michelle, and Mirrey (they are all family). But now we can concentrate more time on Pompano and we won't be constantly driving in between Pompano and Coral Springs and using up all of our allotted miles for the month.
We have a baptism coming up this Sunday. His name is Verli Cherelus. He is the Fiancé of Sandra, who is a recent convert. They have a baby, and they are planning on getting married in January. He is awesome! He reads with her in the scriptures everyday! He came to General Conference too! After the second session, we had a lesson, and we had Pizza and Oreos afterwards.
Conference was so good this time! I loved it! There weren't very many people in the church, because most people watched it at home. They have translation equipment in the buildings, which transmits Creole and Spanish translation from Salt Lake, where the translators are speaking. However, in the Coconut Creek chapel, the equipment was broken, so people had to go up to Coral Springs to get that.
Nica came for fifteen minutes, along with her siblings Ashcarla and Jeffrey. Her cousin Samuel, who is from Orlando, came too! Jeffson, a new investigator, came for the fourth session!
Verli and Sandra came for the 2nd Session! It wasn't a super large number, but it was good.
The biggest challenge in missionary work is not that people reject us or disagree with us, but that people get so caught up in their lives that they don't make time to hear the restored gospel. We are rarely rejected. Haitians are almost always willing to listen. The problem is that they don't answer their phones, they are gone when there is an appointment, or they don't understand their part as an investigator. They think we are there just to do a bible study once a week. That is all good, but we are there to help them change, repent, and be baptized. People don't make the two or three appointments a week that we need with them to bring about the great change they need in their lives. Pray that people will:
1. Be filled with a greater desire to act and make time for this message
2. Answer their phones so that we can help them
3. Recognize the need to change and see the gap that can be filled in their lives
4. Understand the message with greater clarity, so that they can progress
In turn, please pray that we will be able to:
1. Show more love as we teach
2. Apply the gospel to those we come in contact with
3. Teach with clarity and simplicity
4. Rely on the spirit
This is not a suggestion. This is a plea. The temple of God is on its way, and we need to find the Elect of God now! You can assist in this work. There is none greater. Do everything you can in the missionary effort. Please! Go to the temple. Pray mightily! Go on exchanges with the elders. Give referrals to your friends so that they can receive the Gospel!!!!!! This is the most important work you could do. If you think you can’t move God's kingdom forward, you are dead wrong!!!!!!!!!! Think again! I didn't realize how serious this was until I came out here. I could have done so much more before my mission to bring the gospel to people. Even to the members. I could have done my home teaching so much better. Instead, I was too caught up in classes and homework to do what I had to in the ward. I will never make that mistake again. Home Teaching is a sacred responsibility. It is not just a monthly show your face thing. It is a friendship, fellowship, guide, protect, comfort, build Zion deal. It is so much more than most members of the church make it. I didn't catch the vision of true home teaching until I came into the mission field. Then it hit me. Please do everything that you can to make the missionary work happen. Pray hard for it. Prepare to be a missionary, wherever you are. Fellowship each other.
The only service we do on a regular basis is English class. There are not nearly as many people there as there should be. We have between 3-5 on average. We have a program that the Church does called Daily Dose, which has a drawing, with the words in English pointing to the parts in the picture. We don't even speak anything other than English.
We met an 18 year-old kid named Jeffson. We met him at a person’s house we had just stopped by. He was a friend of someone. We had a lesson on the spot. He told us that his goal is to get baptized by the end of the year. He has made a lot of changes. He writes music, but now he only writes clean music. He stopped swearing too. He says he has been praying for Mentors to help him prepare for this goal. I was amazed that we found him. He has a baptismal date for the 30th of October.
I have to go. I love you all! Bye!
Love,
Elder Seamons
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