May 18, 2015

 

We visited a place that sells weird candy and bought this.  None of the other Elders would have more than a sip so I drank all of it.  It wasn't bad.

We found this Santa on a curb and took it home.  We decided it needed to be holding something and the chastity pamphlet was the weirdest thing we had.  We dropped by the zone leaders apartment and hid it in their shower. 

Howdy,

Emily, to answer your question, from what my Korean MTC teacher said the  form you use most depends on the type of person you are.  He said that he used mostly high form.  However, when I got there I felt like using too high of a form for the situation was just as weird as using too low of a form.  I usually used middle form but honorfied everyone.  You should use both but emphasize high form in the MTC.

I think I mentioned that we were working with some friends of J and S.  We haven't been able to teach the whole family because the mother never wanted to talk with us.  She'd let us come over but would never even leave her room while we were there.  This last week we happened to stop by while S was visiting and we were actually able to have a real conversation with her.  She mentioned that her car was broken so we called a member who knew a lot about cars.  He came over and fixed it no problem.  Yesterday she actually came to church!  Unfortunately we had to transfer her to the other ward.  J and S as well since they just moved.  The African family with the deaf grandmother will also go to that ward since they have interpreters.  We gave that ward about 13 people this last week.  We have to start our teaching pool over again but we are actually feeling good about how those people are doing.

I have been struggling for the last transfer on being bolder with people.  I have made a little bit of progress but haven't changed that much.  I sat down recently to reevaluate.  I was reminded of an Elder I served with in Korea.  I went on exchanges with him a couple times.  I hadn't thought of him as bold but he stood out as being kind.  He always saw the good in people and pointed it out to them.  He made me feel better about my abilities as a missionary and helped my confidence.  In my studies I have noticed that boldness is often paired with love.  When we truly love the person we are working with then we are more motivated to be bold when helping them.  We can call them to repentance more naturally and it will be more effective because they trust us.  They have more confidence that they can change if we have positively reinforced the good things that they are already doing (check out the episode in Avatar where Aang learns Earthbending).  So I'm going to work on boldness later and am instead trying to sincerely compliment others as a way to develop my love for others and to get into the habit of showing that love.  Once I've done that I hope that I can be more bold in calling them to repentance.

I'm out of time. Love you,

Elder Stapley

May 11, 2015

Hey family,

I never said it yesterday but Happy Mothers Day, Mom!  Thanks for everything you have done for me ever.  I thought about you all through church.

I'm so glad that you are doing stuff as member missionaries.  Can you keep me posted on how your efforts are going?  I would love to be able to share your experiences.  If you run into any problems or find solutions please share those as well.  I'm sure it will help me as I work with the members.

What is the ward mission plan?  Make sure the ward mission leader is aware of your desire to help out.  Be sure to share any good experiences in testimony meeting and in priesthood and relief society.  Of course, the less confident you are in the missionaries the more they will need help teaching investigators.

If I could share a thought I have been working on; We are supposed to devote our time to the work of salvation right?  Everything else is unimportant.  We as members tend to do fairly well at the work of perfecting the saints but procrastinate the other parts, missionary work and saving our ancestors.  We are commanded to do all three.  We shouldn't only do missionary work while we are young nor should we wait to do family history work til we are retired.  We can do all three at any point in our lives if we put in consistent effort (see 1 Nephi 3:7).  We don't need to dedicate too much time to missionary work.  We can see results if we dedicate just a part of our daily prayers to planning for missionary opportunities and then keep an eye open for those opportunities.  For family history work we can spend just a couple hours a week, every week and we'll start seeing blessings.  We don't need a sudden big change of how we spend our time, the power is in the small, everyday things.

We are still working with a bunch of kids.  Not much of note has changed since last week.

We have been doing a ridiculous amount of service this last week.  Tons of basements had flooded and we have been moving furniture and tearing out carpet.  It has been fun but we didn't do much proselyting or teaching.  I'm glad we have had these opportunities to help out though.

I am grateful for you being willing to work and help others out.  Thanks for telling me that I had taught you some things and am helping you.  You rock!

Love you,
Elder Stapley

May 4, 2015

Hey y'all,

The baptism was great!  There were plenty of good supportive people there and lots of missionaries.  Jeff and Starr brought a friend who we were able to teach as well.  Elder Packer, the missionary before me, flew in from California to be there. The actual baptism went perfectly.  Elder Jones baptized J and Packer baptized S.  They seemed to feel the Spirit as well as the support of the members.  Afterward we went to dinner together.  I got to try pate (two thumbs up) and ate a cornish hen, brick pressed on a bed of bacon and fingerling potatoes.  It was great.

I'm glad the Elders are using you for missionary work and glad that you are doing it.  Nothing is more important in life than bringing others closer to Christ.  We can tell by the way we use our time and talents what our priorities are.  We always have to be checking that our actual priorities are in line with our covenants.  I guess I have been frustrated that those who should know better think that serving in the church is enough and don't build up the Kingdom of God during the rest of the week. J and S understand their responsibility as the Lord's covenant people.  Even though J works nights he comes to church even on as little as an hour of sleep.  He and S are already teaching their friends and asking to come on teamups.

We are working with a lot of kids right now.  J and S sent us to talk to their friend.  She is a single mom with three teenagers. Her two youngest always invite us in. 

We often play basketball with C and his brother and friends.  Afterwards we were talking to some of them and found out that one of them had been baptized.  He wanted to reactivate and his brothers and girlfriend all showed interest as well.  

I got the package with the letters and candy.  

I haven't cooked any Korean food yet.  We are too busy getting fed by people and eating the leftovers!

We can Skype you on Mother's Day.  I'll be sure to call when you are home and not chatting with the family.  I don't have an exact time though.  Looking forward to it.

Love you,
Elder Stapley

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