28 October 2008

Thank you for your prayers!

Another excerpt from Jeff's weekly letter.

I am feeling a lot better. The blessing really worked and I am so grateful for it. I am really thankful for the Priesthood in my life. Elder Olsen took great care of me and now we are working hard and I have the feeling that we are being prepared for something great here in Guyana. Elder Olsen and I are really tired at the end of each day, because we have so much to do and so many people to see. We are always trying to find new people that are ready to receive the Gospel. And we have found lots of new people that are ready and we are working with them.

This last week there were a lot of changes in the Zone. Changes that affected me as a missionary and the things that I need to do. There was what we call an Emergency Transfer. An Elder that was living in the same apartment as Elder Olsen and I was Transferred back to an area he had previously served in. The area was dying and they needed help in the area, so President decided that he needed to get that Elder back into that area. However, this elder was the District Leader in our District. Now that he is gone he is no longer in the District, so President needed a new District Leader here. Well, I got a call from the Zone Leaders one day before the Elder was going to leave. They told me that they wanted me to be the District Leader in the District. I did not know what to say, when they called. I was never in my wildest dreams expecting something like that to happen. Especially not this soon. I told them that I would accept the responsibility, but that I would need help. They told me not to worry. They said that they had complete confidence in me that I would do well as a District Leader. They also said that they would help me whenever I need help. My responsibilities include talking to the missionaries in my District every night and seeing how they are doing. Asking them about the work in their area and giving them suggestions. I need to call the Zone Leaders every night and report on the District. Every Tuesday I will need to hold District Meeting, in which I will need to provide a lesson on topics in missionary work and help the elders improve their skills in finding people and teaching. It is a lot of work and I have spent much time in prayer, praying for help and guidance and assistance in this assignment.

Anyway, we had a baptism of a man that is amazing. His wife is a member of the Church. He was just never interested in listening to the missionaries. However, he was always very nice to us. He just never came to the lessons. A few weeks ago he lost his job and decided that he needed God in his life. He came to church. We started teaching him and I was able to baptize him on Saturday. He came up after the baptism and thanked Elder Olsen and myself for the efforts we put into him. We both did not do too much. All we did was go by and teach him. He was being prepared before we ever talked to him. When we taught him about the word of wisdom he decided right then that he was not going to drink coffee any more. He gave us his Coffee and we threw it in the gutter outside. He never drank again. He received the Priesthood on Sunday and he was so happy. He will be such strength to the branch and to the District. He will be able to influence the people around him in such a manner that they will also want to change their lives. His family will be able to become strong in the church. His daughter will be able to grow up in the Church. All because of him decided that he needed God in his life.

We did find a girl that is totally prepared. We were walking by a house and I stopped and called into the house and this 20 year old girl came out and talked to us. I asked if we could teach her a lesson and she said yes. We taught her and committed her to baptism after the first lesson. She accepted and accepted all the other commitments we left with her. I think she will get baptized on the 15th of November.

We give people the "Family Prayer & I Love You" challenge. Elder Olsen and I came up with that. We tell people to have family prayer every night and to tell everyone in the family that you love them. We then promise blessings from God. And we tell them that the love in the home will grow. It works!

I hope all is well with all of you. I love you all very much. Thank you for your prayers. I pray for you every day.

Love,

Jeff

26 October 2008

The Sacred Grove

What happened here changed the world
Let it also change your life


I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!

If you are interested to learn more about the message Jeffrey is sharing with the people in Guyana, please visit the following link: Missionary Message

22 October 2008

A little sick....

Hi,

Right now I'm not feeling too well. I am a little sick. I have been to the hospital twice in four days. The Doctor that treated me was an American Doctor, which is why we went to that hospital. I had been feeling weak, having aches in the stomach and head, with some crazy temperatures. I had a temp of 39.7 Degrees Celsius just yesterday.

I have been freezing all the time. The senior couples got worried and took me to the hospital. The doctor said that I have a viral infection that could lead to
pneumonia if I'm unlucky. I have not been able to go out to work for 3 days. He
said that he knew what it was, but that he could not treat the virus here. "If
we were in the US...", he said. All he could do for me was give me some
medication against the symptoms. He told me that my body would need to fight the
virus on its own. He said it would take about 10 - 14 days for a full recovery.

Elder Olsen, my new companion, and Elder Evans, a senior missionary, gave me a
blessing on Friday. Today is the first day that I have felt good enough to go
out for P-Day. The rest of the days I have been sitting at home sleeping all
day. I think we will be able to do some work this week. I really do not like
sitting at home doing nothing.

Besides the Illness I have been doing fine. People were happy to see me at
church on Sunday. The attendance was very very weak on Sunday.

My new companion is a good guy. He's from Spanish fork, Utah. He plays
the piano really well. He is also really caring when his companion is sick. He
has been on his mission for no more than 2 months.

I am excited for Zone Conference on Wednesday. We have a General Authority
coming to speak to us. He is also coming to check
out the application for Guyana top have a stake.

Love, Jeff

17 October 2008

Moving back to Kitty

I am being moved again. President Robison called me and asked if I was tired of all the moving yet. He then told me that I was going back to my first area. I will be finishing the training of a missionary as his second companion. I am a little nervous about that. I have only been out for 3 and a half months and am already involved in training an elder.

President told me that he wants kitty to boom. He said that we would have a great transfer. It will be easy going back because I know the area, but it is hard to leave this great area. The members are so great here in LaGrange. I have had so much success here and we have been able to do so much good. I definitely want to visit that area after my mission. The branch president was not too happy about me leaving the area. My Zone leaders even want me to stay, but the Lord wants me in Kitty.

I just hope that I will be able to do what he expects of me.
This week has been alright. We did not have any baptisms this week. The people we planned for did not come and we don't really know why, but I hope to get to the bottom of things. This next week is going to be a little stressful. I need to pack my bags again, say good bye, and get ready to move back to kitty.

On Sunday (Yesterday) we were asked to sit in on primary. It was a disaster. I could not believe it. The teachers were not prepared and they did not really know what to do with the kids. I took notes and Elder Williams and I gave some suggestions and I handed the notes to the brach president. He was very grateful for that. We always just need to remember that the church is still very new in guyana and that things just dont really work the way we are used to. That includes teaching children out of the Gospel Principles Manual. :D

Anyway, things are fine with me. I love you all very much. Take care.

Love,
Jeff