10/23/2017: Week 54 Weekly First

Alright people... let me tell you about this weekend. The rest of the week isn't important... just Thursday on. 

So Thursday... no District Training Meeting because we had a giant Zone Conference all day long the next day. But, Friday is weekly planning so guess what happened Thursday. Weekly planning. And, on top of that, we just got a new addition to PMG (Preach My Gospel), a replacement chapter 8 called How Do I Fulfill My Purpose As A Missionary? With a totally new planning process... so that was an adventure. But, I get ahead of myself. First, we dropped off the car at the shop to get some basic maintenance and went to Wingers for endless sticky fingers for the next hour or two, so we ate a lot. Then planning, so it really wasn't too bad. Then it really began. 

Friday, all day long, Zone Conference, 8:30 to 5. It was a long meeting. Learned all about facebook... meaning a lot of people asked the same question over and over again and received the same answer over and over again. It was long to say the least. Basically the answer to almost any question about FB is that you need to focus on the work, if it's not about the work, don't do it. So yes I have fb, but you've all been unfollowed, if you wanna talk to me, send me an email. Anyway, so after that meeting we had some decompression time at dinner. That was really nice. Followed by a lesson and a split to an interview, followed by another lesson. Over the course of that night I gave 3 blessings. We got home at around 10. It was a long day.

The next day... was worse by far. Morning frisbee was gonna be great cuz everyone was gonna play, even Ballard, who have to drive 30 miles to come... then they texted they weren't coming... and the Spanish elders and the sisters got sick... and the Glines elders left their phone in the car all night... it gets worse, just wait. So the Vernal elders and us were the only ones who could come, so we went to the chapel. A little background... we got kicked out of our chapel for our baptisms a couple days ago because of a funeral. So instead we were gonna do it in this building.  We get there at 6:30 and it's also set up for a funeral. So we go to the Glines stake center and we need a key for the font.... we call and call the elders... show up at their house and they had left their phone in the car...

Actually. I can't even care about all that mess right now... I think I will just copy and paste a summary I wrote a couple days ago. 

• In spite of scheduling the buildings for the 4 baptisms that we had, and the 1 that the Vernal Elders had, we first got kicked out of our building a couple days ago for a funeral, then discovered yesterday morning that we were being kicked out of the next building for another funeral...
• We went to use the Glines Stake Center, but the Glines elders left their phone in their car. After 7 calls and numerous texts we had to drive to their house to contact them... only to find out that they didn't have a baptismal key.
• Then we called all the people in their stake who might've had one and couldn't get a response from anyone. Luckily, the Vernal Elders were able to get in eventually.
• That was only an hour and a half or so until our first set of baptisms. We had to leave it running through the whole program for the water to be high enough by the time it was baptism time
• Then, someone requested that I perform a song I never practice, and everyone knows, and I had to play it off my iPad on short notice..
• Then, it got done late so we had a very short lunch and headed to a lesson that was squeezed between our baptism and the Vernal Elders baptism. After the Vernal baptismal interview, the girl, who was very very shy, asked me to give the talk on baptism, and I was playing the piano for that one as well.
• But, then the person we were having a lesson with showed up half an hour late and asked us to help him move... we did one load and then had to run to the baptism... got there just in time.
• Then we headed back to finish the move... and he was half an hour late again, and told us to come to a restaurant to talk to him for another half hour until he was ready to move some more... luckily our other lesson that we had squeezed in was cancelled. So we helped him move and move some more... and finished just in time to make it to our 5 o clock baptism, and then he said he needed one more thing... which should've taken 30 seconds but instead took 10 minutes cuz he couldn't decide how he wanted to do it.
• Then the baptism was fantastic of course
• Then dinner
• Then a lesson
• Then finally cleaning up both buildings from the baptisms
• On Sunday, those 4 confirmations were all at the same time in different wards... and we're the ones confirming 3 of them...
• The thing is... I was late to some stuff and things didn't go as planned, but I have exactly zero regrets for the day. I did all the things the Lord commanded me to do and did them in his time. I'm grateful to be such a tool in his hand... haha even if it makes for an incredibly long weekend ;P I'm happy. Thanks for listening

And I'm done. Halloween is Preparation day so I won't email till then.

Have a great day, have a great week, have a great life.

Love,

Elder DeFord

10/16/2017: Week 53 The Weakliness of my Weekliness ...

Alright, I know… I know… I know… I'm a vile vagabond who refuses to email. Shame on me. But I'm repenting :p a little bit anyway. So what's happened lately. Haha more importantly how long has it been since I wrote? Who knows. Kurds you may miss out on somethings or I may go over things double, I dunno. First off, we're having 4 baptisms this week, a family of 3 who are just super good, and then D who I talked about whenever last time was. That's gonna be a good time! Last week I did an escape room... trailer. It was actually pretty fun, but something rather odd happened. We had planned to go with Luke (best member missionary of all time btw) and there was another trailer in town we were gonna go to. Things fell through and that trailer moved somewhere else so we made plans for this one. Two days before we went we got a text from the Uintah Sisters that they were teaching the family that owned it and they wanted us to go for free... awkward, we were already going. So we did and it was good, we beat it the fastest of anyone so far... 25 minutes or so. But it's a hollow victory (and yes if you're reading this Sister Toftum, this is Elder Whiner coming out and being accountable ;P) we got a hint on the last puzzle. Un-asked for mind you. Haha but she told me I could come back and try to do it blindfolded. I think I may just take her up on that. Somebody will just have to read things and put in codes for me. Of course... now I know all the stuff so who knows. I'm asking now… They say he'll have a new one done next month hopefully, so then I can do that one. 

What else? Well... as many of you likely know at this point, my mission has been authorized for facebook. I've already done some thing's and made a lot of new friends, but we don't really know what it's gonna be like at this point. We're also getting smartphones next month. We're not totally sure what that means either... the current understanding is that they'll be older model iPhones, both missionaries will have one but only one will have a plan. But as for details... hopefully we find out on Friday. We have an all day Zone Conference where we'll get trained and receive info on all this stuff. Not really looking forward to it, that's a whole lot of sitting and not doing Things. But, having some closure will be really nice, and knowing what it is we need to do. 

Alright, thinking of other stuff to say is hard. And I need to plan for some splits tonight so here's a thought for you based on some cool experiences this week.

This week I have had the opportunity to participate in every level of the priesthood I currently have the authority to officiate in. In the Ashley 3rd ward, I was blessed to serve as a deacon, to pass the emblems of the Sacrament to those who seek His forgiveness. The same day just a small time later, I served as a teacher preparing the Sacrament, a priest blessing it, and a deacon passing it for 3 soldiers from the Army National Guard post at the Vernal Armory, and then for a part Member family who has difficulty going to church because of some health issues and a slightly uncooperative father. This week I've given several blessings through the authority of the Melchizedek priesthood that I am so blessed to have been given, to heal, to comfort, and to guide. God’s power and love flows through me to bless the lives of others, what a blessing to me. There is just as much love and power and service in a deacons humble actions as there is in the great pronunciations that, at the direction of the spirit, may "command the sustaining or renewal of life" as Elder Holland said. There is no difference. The power of God is the same. In fact, I might even say that the deacons role, and the teachers, and the priests, is the more important and impactful of the two. The renewal of the covenants we make at baptism and accepting the atonement of a Christ into our lives changes and sanctifies us and prepares us for eternal joy and glory rather than temporal blessings. 

To all you deacons and teachers and priests who think your job isn't that important, think again. You provide salvation through your humble service

Have a great day, have a great week, have a great life.

Love,

Elder DeFord

10/2/2017: Week 51 Alright Conference Week

So follow up on last week. The only two things I got questions about
was the Commandments lesson and Bible videos from another church.
So... here we go. A. was the first new investigator we found
together and she was getting baptized last week. Unfortunately, we
planned poorly and anticipated having more lessons before she got
baptized... then she was sick. So, we're talking crunch time. We had
one meeting left before the interview, and all of the commandments to
teach. The 4^th lesson, the commandments, isn't really meant to be
taught as one lesson. It's meant to be divided up as several lessons,
parts included in other lessons, some points taught all by themselves
for a whole lesson sometimes... and I had half an hour to teach it.
Alone. We were on splits which made us late for the lesson and then
another lesson directly after... so I had to teach all 13 points of
the Commandments, in a way that would make sense, teach doctrine,
commit her to live them all, and have her remember them, for the
interview... it was an adventure. But, I did it. She remembered them
all, is currently living them, and understands them all.

Then the other Bible videos... there is a website, accessible on our
tablets, called bible.com. On said bible.com, they have many videos,
one is called Jesus, and it's based on the Gospel of Mark, I believe.
We've watched parts of them many times, the Spanish elders are
slightly obsessed. They're super entertaining, and very doctrinally
incorrect at times. For example, at the baptism of Jesus by John the
Baptist, all the people just kinda’ walk up to John in the water, and
squat a little, then stand back up. It's entertaining. It also has a
lot of other videos and Jesus movies based on other gospels. It also
has some really interesting analysis on the books of the Bible, most
of which are very educational, but if anyone goes and watches them,
please make sure to take anything they say with a grain of salt. These
are not LDS videos and don't teach our doctrine, especially in the
beginning section of the Bible and the Torah series of videos, lots of
false doctrine. But I have really enjoyed most of them.

In other news... good things happened... and we went to conference,
I drove for a really long time. And I'm done :) bye bye, maybe see ya
next week.

Have a great day, have a great week, have a great life.

Oh yeah.... I forgot, transfers are this week, and nothing's happening to me.

Love,
Elder DeFord

Before General Conference in Salt Lake City

Dinner Appointment

 

No Dinner Appointment, Extra blessings on some kind souls