The Power of the Spirit

My new companion, Elder Simmonds

Thanks for all your emails!  It is so fun to hear from you all.

It has been another awesome week.

Tuesday we went our day working hard, then came home to have the Ghiz's call us (Senior Couple with Military Relations on Fort Drum).  They have been working with a lady named Lateasa who Elder Stanton and Elder Daniels-Brown (just went back home to Moses Lake) found through tracting.  She was wanting to be baptized but had to work through some family issues.  They, and the bishop, set her with a date to be baptized (Nov 26th).  Things seem to be going well for it to go through, just a few small details, then she will be ready.

Wednesday I picked up my new companion.  His name is Elder Simmonds.  He is from Bountiful, UT.  Graduated high school 2011.  He is a good guy, wanting to be obedient, hard working, good spirited (kind-of quirky) guy.  It is strange to think that he graduated the same year with Katie.

They have revised the MTC training program.  So instead of focusing so much on the actual doctrines and lessons, they have the eight fundamentals of teaching (Role of HG, BOM, Prayer in conversion - How to begin teaching, etc).  They have a whole 12-week program we follow for companion study and we have an extra hour of companion study 5 times a week.  It is awesome!
It is fun to see where Elder Simmonds is at, making me realized how much I have learned and experienced 17 months out.

Luke is doing good.  We hope he will be ready for baptism in December.  The parents want to make sure he is ready as well (maybe a little too ready?? :).

Timothy is doing awesome.  Loves what he is learning and is on track to be baptized on December 10th.

We went to a baptism Saturday night in Watertown with Timothy and Michelle (jumping in the back of their minivan with their two kids).  It was a good experience.  Timothy liked it, but the little kids hit the wall and we darted out of there after it was over.  He later made a joke about how there are no secret hand shakes or nothing :)  by the way: their kids are so well behaved.  I have no idea how they did it, but they are both under the age of 2 and when they are told it is time for bed, they go to bed all by themselves.  They run up the stairs and jump in bed.  I don't see that too often in New York.
Larina has been out of town and we have not seen her since last Sunday, but we should be seeing her this week!
Luetta came to church on Sunday.  She stayed for all three hours and a linger-longer.  What a champ for being in her 80's!
Weather is crazy.  Had a little snow flurry, but nothing stayed.  Today is so warm, we went running in shorts, and walking with no coats today.  But, I have a feeling when you have a warm day, it means the cold is on its way.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to serve a mission.  Something that I have been noticing more and more, is the spirit and the converting and changing effects it has in those we come in contact with.  I am also become more aware on how it is changing me.  I believe it was Elder Bednar that spoke about personal revelation and gave it three comparisons to the turning on a light vs the rising of the sun vs the rising of the sun on a cloudy day.  The spirit is there, and we must strive to be in tune.

I love you all.  Have a great week!

Busy Week!

No snow yet!

Monday we went to a park and hit some golf balls.  It felt so good to be able to do that.  Then we grabbed some Subway sandwiches and went in for the night because President wanted us to stay in for Halloween.  It was a good day.

Tuesday, after district meeting I was on exchange with Elder Spencer.  We had an amazing day.  We picked up two investigators.  One we have been meeting with a few times with a less active member.  Her name is Luetta.  Had a good meeting with her and she understood a good deal, especially about Joseph Smith.  Then when we went to dinner, we had a member call us and told us his neighbor's son wanted to be baptized (he has come to church for about 2 months). So after dinner we went to the member's home and taught Luke ( who turns 11 on Thursday).  He is so excited!  We did not set up a date, because we wanted to talk to the parents as well (though the parents already gave permission).  As we are leaving we get a text from Larina, who just got back from vacation saying she had a cool experience and had something to tell us.  We setup an appointment for that Thursday.

Wednesday, we saw Timothy again.  He is so exciting to teach.  He asks lots of questions, and is really open to answers, and then goes and finds more to support what we are saying.  We talked about the plan of salvation.  I was able to use scriptures and answer questions that no one else has asked before with an open heart.  It is such a great experience!  The first meeting we talked about the Godhead  and how they are separate beings.  When we came back he said it is amazing how the bible actually teaches that!  It is so cool to see him grow.

We taught Luke the restoration Wednesday night, and setup a time for the bishop and his parents could meet with us.

Thursday, we went to Watertown so elder Stanton could do a baptismal interview.  Then we went to Larina's.  She told us she went to Palmyra in her travels.  She spent 3 hours there and had an amazing spiritual experience.  She said she believed that this is the right choice for her.  We extended a date in December.  We are so excited for her!

Friday, we saw Luetta again.  She mentioned she asked her son (she is an older lady) what he would think if she changed churches.  She loves what we are talking about, and loves the Book of Mormon.  She is a sweet lady.  We also met with Luke that night with the bishop and parents.  Parents are good with it, and he has good support to help him.  So we are shooting for the beginning of December for baptism.

Friday night President called and asked me to train and be the district leader this upcoming transfer.  It is going to be fun training again!

Saturday, we stayed around Carthage.  We had a funny experience where we went to a members home, and one of the kids opened the door rushing us in because one of her sisters started swinging on the chandelier.  The other kids were on the table trying to old it up with the wires, because mom is on bed rest and dad was not home yet.  The little girl's arms were shaking as she thanked us for getting there and helping to put it back up.

That night Elder Stanton found out he is going to Gloversville to work with my other 'son', Elder Hall.  He is getting a little scared/excited because he has been in Carthage for 8 months.

Sunday, we had three people at church: Timothy, Lorina, and Luke.  We had another amazing lesson with Timothy and set him with a date for December as well.  We asked what he thought about Joseph Smith, and he said it 'just make sense!'  We are excited for both him and his wife.

We also taught Luke, and had a good lesson with him as well. He is a bright kid, and very self-reflective.

We also had a lesson and dinner with Larina at a member's home.  Great and rare experience!  (OFFER THE MISSIONARIES LESSONS AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES IN YOUR HOME!)

Today we went to Luke with Jared (a recent convert) and his wife to lunch and had a good time with them.  They got married in March and are expecting in May.  Fun couple!

So all in all, a great week!  (10 member-present lessons!, 3 with a baptismal date, etc...)  Haven't had it like this since Syracuse!

Well love you all, and have a great week!

Elder Shurtz

We love questions!

It has been a fun week.

I am just getting used to the apartment with its crooked floors, and clicking in the walls during the night from the heater.  It is funny because your are leaning against the wall as you sit on the toilet, the floor is so uneven. :)

Last Monday we went to hit golf balls after emailing, but it was raining, then the power went out for about 30  minutes.  But, after it came back on we watched Legacy.

We had an exchange with the zone leaders on Tuesday.  It was great!  I was with Elder Farrens in Carthage. (Just found out today that he was called as the new AP, as one left today after extending his mission for 30 days).  Elder Farrens reminds me of Danny LeDosque.  I told him that, and he said I looked and acted like one of his friends as well. We taught Laurena, and read from the Book of Mormon.  We hope to be extending her a baptismal date this coming week.

Last week in church we had 205 people in sacrament meeting!  That is awesome!  We have about 518 on our roll.  Carthage ward is so big!  A lot of people are coming back to Fort Drum.  Yesterday, after church, a couple came and introduced themselves to use.  The wife is a convert of a few years, but the husband is a non-member.  He said he would want to learn about joining the church.  They asked who do they need to talk to to start that process?  After a second or two of amazement, we smiled and setup an appointment for that same evening. 

They live on Fort Drum.  Timothy (the husband) is a son of a baptist minister.  He recognized that he has question that were not answered, but remembers living in Arizona and seeing the strong family relationships in the LDS church and wants that for their family (they have 3 kids).  He listened to the missionaries one or twice being 'closed-minded' he describes, but was not interested enough to truly give it a shot.  Now he is wanting to check it out, despite the disapproval of his family.  We are so excited to teach him.  He has questions. And we love questions.

As we were tracting the other day, a older lady came to the door and started kind of yelling at us that her husband is a minister and that we don't believe in the same Jesus Christ.  She would not let us share with her anything.  It was sad.  I do not understand how that can truly be believed.  What else is the main purpose of the Book of Mormon?

I know that it is through the Book of Mormon and the inspiration of the spirit that we can gain a deeper enriched understanding and appreciation for the Son of God who laid His life on the cross, and that through him, and only him, can we be brought back into the presence of our God.

I love you all.  Thanks for your love, and letters, and support.  It is amazing the work the Lord allows us to assist in.

Elder Shurtz

Family History is Key!

Another fast week!  Weather is still cold.

Tuesday in district meeting we talked about Family History in our finding efforts.  Apparently 60% of patrons that use the church resources for family history are not members.  The spirit of Elijah is a strong influence, and everyone can relate to the family.  Saturday we were talking to a guy who claims to be a descendant of Joseph Smith.

Things are going along.  Cassandra is still excited.  Though the family did not come to church yesterday :(

Also taught McKenzie and her family.  But they did not come to church either :(

We were going to meet with Laurena yesterday, but we rescheduled for Tuesday.

Many of the members are awesome.  We are getting fed almost every night.  Many times it is like a thanksgiving feast!

I love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Shurtz

It is not Reasonable, It is not Rational, It is Revelation, and It is Right!

What a great week!

Last Monday after the email we went to the church and hit some golf balls.  That felt SOOOOO good.  I haven't hit a golf ball all mission.  We had some clubs and balls in the apartment.

Wednesday, we had a lesson with Cassandra, one of the nine year-old girls we are teaching.  It was great because she asked 'when can I get baptized?'  She has a desire and wants to do it, which is a great blessing.  We hope to help the whole family come back to full activity, so we are not rushing things.

Friday, at Zone Conference was amazing!  Elder Piper went to the chalkboard and asked what questions we had.  He explained that the humble have questions where the prideful do not.  One of the twelve apostles said he thought he would know a lot, but soon realized he had more questions as time went by.  We then spent the next 3 hours receiving council.  He reiterated what President Bulloch said Elder Bednar did at the Priesthood Leadership meeting on Saturday: Teach basic doctrines and principles.
Most of our questions were of the 'how' sort.  Elder Piper explained that the 'how' is explained on the top of the pyramid (application), where we are called to teach the other two parts, the 'why' and the 'what' (doctrine and principles).  One of my questions was 'how do we help the less-active families who want their 9 year-old children baptized?' So we brain-stormed what doctrine and principles surrounded that question receiving insight and greater understanding what we must do.

After Conference we went on exchange.  Elder Rymer came with me to Carthage.  This is his first transfer out.  It reminded me how much I had to learn at the beginning of the mission.  Helped me to think more now on what I have learned and hope to continue to learn.  We met with the other 9 year-old girl, Cathrine, and it went well.  We hope that her parents will teach her between our visits.

Sunday we went to Rome with a less-active brother, Brother DeSivla.  It was amazing.   Before the meeting Elder Bednar was just exiting the bathroom as we were heading in.  I was 5 feet away!  Elder Stanton and I both later commented 'he was shorter than I thought he would be!'  He was an awesome speaker.  The new stake president looks young.  Here are some highlights of what he talked about.  He said he wanted us to have a 'glance behind the curtain':

• They don't come and choose the new stake president.  They come and find the new president.
• When finding a stake president, it is always the same, but always different.  He went on to talk about how he has done it hundreds of times, but it is be revelation.  How companies spends millions of dollars to that a smooth succession and continual grow, yet many times they fail!
• Shared his first experience with Elder Scott finding a new stake president and how he had to rely on the spirit.
• He called it a miracle. The first councilor was the Stake president's scout master.  That is not how the world works.  Yet it is how the Lord works.  He said: 'It is not reasonable.  It is not rational.  But, It is Revelation. And it is Right'
• To those who aspire for callings: 'Forgive me, but you are a nut job!'
• He also talked about how conference talks come from above.  Shared a story of him changing a talk at the last moment, to find it wove heavenly with the other speakers.
• He talked about the calling of missionaries and stories of him receiving the revelation.
• How they are CALLED to be full-time missionaries, then they are ASSIGNED TO LABOR in their respective fields.  You are not called to an area.  Thus, a new assignment should not cause doubt.
• How they are always fasting when calling and assigning missionaries
• How the prophet reviews the suggested calling and assignment
• Then he posed the question to those who doubt modern-day revelation - that it ended in the biblical days.  He asks: 'where does it say that in the bible?  It doesn't!'

The spirit was so strong.  You know he is a prophet of God.  An Apostle of the Lord.

I love you all, I hope all its well.  What a great time to be alive!

Love,
Elder Shurtz

'It is not Reasonable.
It is not Rational.
It is Revelation.
It is Right.'

Spirityual Feast is Coming!

Cold in the morning, warm in the evenings, cold at night.

My head is still trying to remember every one's name.  We have about 120 people at church yesterday.  Majority of them are primary kids!  I haven't seen so many kids in forever!  The majority of the families are young and in the army.  It was fun to see all the different license plates in the parking lot (like Utah and Texas).

This week we started teaching two 9 year-old children in the ward who are not yet baptized.  We also had Lorianna come to church!  Carthage is definitely small, and we find ourselves out in the country a lot.  Saturday though, we tracted into a guy who's family just moved in (army) and said 'great! we are looking for a church!'  We hope to stop by again and teach his family.

Wednesday we were making rice-crispy treats and the marshmallows exploded all over the microwave.  It was a pain to clean up.  But the treats were so good. 

Also, that night when we were walking home, we saw a dead cat in the grass that was there that morning.  It looked liked it froze to death.  But after looking at it a little closer, we found that we have been fooled in the dark, and that it was a toy cat. 

We also started teaching this awesome lady named Cristal.  She is so fun and good spirited.  She also has a little girl who is 2 or 3 and loves to talk.  We have an appointment to see her again this week. 

This coming week is Zone Conference!  It is going to be a bigger one because Elder Paul B Pieper from the 70 is coming.  It will be great!  Also, this Sunday the Utica Stake (the one I am in right now) is getting the Stake Presidency reorganized and we have Elder Bednar and President Eyring's son coming.  We will hopefully be going to Rome where they will be holding it at the Rome High School which can fit about 1000 people.  So lots of spiritual uplift this week!

I hope you all have a great week!

Carthage

Well hello!

It is so cold here (30's-50's)!  We are going to get a lot of snow this winter. Weeks go by so fast. Especially when your head keeps turning, trying to get your compass straight in 'another land.'  Carthage is SO small.  We focus mainly on the army base, Fort Drumb, but we can't even tract or anything on it!  We have to first call and setup an appointment, then every time we enter they have to scan our driver licenses.  Got to walk on our tip-toes!  We have about 160 active members in our ward, but it is very transient.  We are still only in a phase II building because we don't meet some of the other requirements to expand.

My new companion, Elder Stanton, is a great missionary.  It will be an exciting transfer.  He has been here for about 8 months, so this most likely be his last transfer here (which means I need to learn a lot of names and stuff real fast!).  He has about 6 months left.  He can have a great conversation with anyone, and I find myself needing to cut in to even get a few words in!

They just had 3 baptisms this last transfer, and now we have only a few people we are teaching.  We hope to get a stronger connection with ward council and work with them more.  I also got to learn all this army lingo!  We has a great lesson with an investigator, Natalie.  We is an awesome lady, with a little past understanding about religion.  We just started teaching her.

Conference was amazing!  Natalie did not come though ;-(  I loved listening to the prophetic council, but especially the spiritual promptings that came.  The Lord answered questions that I never knew I had or knew how to form in words. It seems like some common themes in conference (that I picked up at least): power in scripture study and relevance in our lives, prayer, avoiding immorality, 'opening our mouth' and missionary work, managing our time better, and most especially, the seeking after the guidance of the spirit.

Last night we had dinner with a lady named Lorianna.  She is dating a member of the church in the army.  Awesome lady.  Had a good brief meeting about the plan of salvation.  We get fed almost every night here, so I have to get use to that again (also, I have to get use to a car again)

I now have been out for 2/3rds of my mission.  I look back and I hope I have changed!  I feel like I am still myself, but I have grown in my conviction of my Savior and His church on the Earth.  I love the scriptures and the relevance they have in our daily lives.  I am more earnestly seeking the Lord through my prayers.  My desire to follow the Savior continues to increase, and my desire to not follow him weakens.

I love you all!  Hope you have a great week.

Love,
Elder Shurtz