A Slow But a Good Week

Hello Everybody!!

This week was a bit slow because we had so many people cancel on us but we still had some success and it was still fun. 

We had to talk in one of the English wards that we cover about missionary work. They only asked me to bare my testimony about it but I still don't like talking in front of a lot of people. We were able to get a few referrals from talking with the members yesterday. That area is really hard to find new investigators without the members because everyone is so spread out.

We have a baptism coming up this weekend in the Spanish Branch which we are super excited for. He is an awesome guy and is super ready to be baptized. 

A funny experience that we had this week was we visited a family just to set up an appointment for the next week and right as we were about to leave, the grandma asked if we were going to have a lesson. I thought that is was funny and awesome that they wanted to read out of the scriptures with us. It just goes to show you that there is real power in the scriptures and to never take them for granted.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Young

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Re: What an awesome week!!

Also as a reminder everyone! General conference is coming up and its an easy and great way to share the gospel in a non-pushy way. Hope you all get to enjoy watching it.

On Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 11:01 AM, Derek Young <young.derek@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hello everybody!

Thank you to those that have written me! I appreciate hearing from you all!

This week was really good even the first couple of days were filled with meetings and it was hard to get some work in. We went tracting again in the trailer park (thats where most of the hispanics are) and were able to find 2 new investigators and another 2 potentials. I guess that was our blessing for having the faith to go looking and getting a few doors slammed in our faces. I am starting to love tracting. At one door (spanish) my companion introduced us and then just stopped talking and looked at me, prompting me to start talking. Even though it caught me a bit by surprise, it was really good for me to practice even though she wasn't interested at all.

We had some really fun appointments last night that I dont think I will ever be able to forget. Our dinner appointment was with a family that has 5 sons and 2 daughters so naturally it was a bit loud from the beginning but then we went and played dodgeball in their basement. It was fun to get to know them. Later that night we had a lesson with a family that has 3 little boys that each have more energy than 2 adults put together. It was fun to see them bouncing of the walls. I love the people here. It just makes my day to get to know them and see them grow in the gospel.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Young

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What an awesome week!!

Hello everybody!

Thank you to those that have written me! I appreciate hearing from you all!

This week was really good even the first couple of days were filled with meetings and it was hard to get some work in. We went tracting again in the trailer park (thats where most of the hispanics are) and were able to find 2 new investigators and another 2 potentials. I guess that was our blessing for having the faith to go looking and getting a few doors slammed in our faces. I am starting to love tracting. At one door (spanish) my companion introduced us and then just stopped talking and looked at me, prompting me to start talking. Even though it caught me a bit by surprise, it was really good for me to practice even though she wasn't interested at all.

We had some really fun appointments last night that I dont think I will ever be able to forget. Our dinner appointment was with a family that has 5 sons and 2 daughters so naturally it was a bit loud from the beginning but then we went and played dodgeball in their basement. It was fun to get to know them. Later that night we had a lesson with a family that has 3 little boys that each have more energy than 2 adults put together. It was fun to see them bouncing of the walls. I love the people here. It just makes my day to get to know them and see them grow in the gospel.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Young

NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.

Another awesome week in the field

Hello everybody!

Life here in Connell WA has been fun! We went tracting and got the door slammed in our faces a few times. It was a really good experience but we didnt have much success from it although we did get a few try backs.

A miracle that happened this week was that one of our investigators this week asked to move his baptismal date up by a week. He is an awesome guy that has been prepared to be taught. He takes his Book of Mormon to work so that he can read during his breaks. 

My spanish is getting along. I could actually understand sacrament meeting this week. My companion helps me practice in lessons by turning the time over me to teach. I'm getting more comfortable with it but it still takes a bit for  me to try to say something.

Its amazing to see the difference between people that actually want to learn about the gospel and the people that dont really have that desire. Those that have the desire actually read and apply what they read to themselves but when they dont have that desire, it is really apparent when we ask about it.

Thanks everyone for reading and have a great week.

Elder Young

PS they just changed a rule. We can now email friends as well as family. If you would like my address, please ask my parents. I don't want to put out for the world to see.

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First Area and Trainer

Hello Everybody!

So my P-day is now on Monday instead of Thursday.

It's great to be here in the mission field. My first area is Basin City/ Connell and my trainer is Elder Webb. He is an awesome guy and he has helped so much here. We cover 2 english wards and a spanish branch. We also live with some awesome members of the ward that are super nice to us. I'm super excited to be in this area and it has been a ton of fun getting to know the area.

 It has been pretty interesting trying to understand all the lesson in spanish because they all speak way faster than I can really understand. Sacrament meeting and Sunday School was really hard to understand because they all spoke super fast and my spanish right now is horrible. All the people are awesome though and are super patient with me as I try to talk. With time I will be able to understand and speak better. Practice Practice Practice.

The members out here are awesome and super missionary oriented. Its amazing to be able to get to know them. We had a baptism this past saturday because someone had invited his cousin to come to church. They are amazing people.

Hope you all have a great week!

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Another week in the MTC

Hello everybody!

Glad to hear everything is good at home.

Sorry to say not much has really been going on here but a few things have happened in the last 7 days. Sunday I got made the District leader. For the MTC that entails getting the mail twice a day choosing prayers, songs, and extra meetings during the week. I like what I have learned so far about being a good leader.

The language is still coming along. The spanish seems to be better in lessons but in class I feel like my spanish is horrible. The other day we had the chance to talk with some native speakers other  than our teacher Hermano Zuzunaga. They were missionaries from Mexico going to Nevada and they were in our building because they had a lesson in the classroom next to ours. For about an hour we taught them some english words and they taught us the spanish equivalant. Mostly it was just body parts and stuff in everyday life but it was still really fun to experience. Here is what our board looked like when we were done.

These next pictures are a bit old but every sunday we get to walk to the temple and here are a few pictures I have taken.

So there was an elder that washed his 100% wool sweater and this is ME trying it on. We had fun messing with it.

Hope you all enjoyed the pictures. Last week we got our travel plans and I leave on the 26th of February. Luckily we don't have to be the travel office until 8

Sorry I was unable to post last week. When I tried to send this email, it completely kicked me out and I wasn't able to get back on until this week.

 

On Sunday I had the opportuntity to say the opening prayer for the Devotional. After we got down off of the stand, an Elder came up to me and asked if I would find his family while I was in Washington. It really touched me that he was prompted to ask me to help reactivate his sister. I told him I would try my best.

 

Yesterday was a very interesting day for my campanion and I. The first night that new missionaries are here, they have this event called a Missionary Experience. A pair of elders come in and start a discussion with an "investigator" to get it going and then the group takes over and we leave. We had the opportunity of doing that last night. It was awesome to be able to see just how far we have come in the 6 weeks we have been here. I remember our discussions going very similar to how theirs went. It was a testimony builder of the amazing power of the spirit in teaching not only our investigators but ourselves also. I will tell you a little funny story with this. Since we have been practicing spanish for the last 6 weeks, it was actually really hard to do a door aproach in English. When I went to greet the lady I said "Hola Barbara! Uhh I mean Hello Barbara!" It happened a few more times throughout the lesson. I guess I am just supposed to be speaking spanish for my mission.

 

For the people in Prove Me Now efy 2011, I ran into Hermana Richins while I was eating dinner last night. She has only been here a week and is going to Chile. I tried talking to her in spanish a little but she couldn't really understand me but the Mexican elders around me could. Its truely amazing how much the spirit will teach you in such little time.

 

I'm super excited to go to the field but I'm still nervous. I won't say too much about that, I don't want to get too trunky to leave.

 

Thanks for the support everyone and I hope you all have a great week.

P.S. I guess dearelder.com is only for the field. Ask my mom for the address if you want it. Thanks!

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Hello everybody!

 

I don't really know how to start this post off but I will try my best.

 

This week has been a pretty good week I believe. Time still feels completely messed up. GR was right, days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. Its hard to believe I have only been in the MTC for 3 weeks. It feels about like 3 months but I still love the things that I am learning.

 

Almost everyday, we spend at least 6 hours in the class room just studying or listening and interracting with our teachers. Its amazing how much you can learn in a single day of both the doctrines and the language.

 

Yesterday our teacher showed us a clip from general conference that was translated in spanish just to see how much we can really understand. It was definitely a humbling experience. I could only catch a few words here and there. It definitely showed me that I really need to work on the language more.

 

Yesterday we got another new district and then next week we get another district. Its crazy just how many missionaries are here. The spirit here is simply amazing. This past tuesday we got to hear a talk from Elder Don R Clarke about how to teach effectively and then to keep them coming to church. It really helped me understand more of what I need to do as a missionary.

 

Thanks to those that have written me. I love hearing from you guys!

 

Elder Young

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