I didn't write yesterday because we had a meeting at the Nauvoo Stake Center where our zone, along with Peoria, Davenport, Iowa City, and Cedar Rapids Zones where W. Craig Zwick of the Seventy talked to us. He actually, surprisingly enough, is Sister Jergensen's brother. So that was cool. It was an amazing meeting and the Spirit was so strong. It was probably the most powerful meeting I've been to in a long time. And he handled himself in such a way we KNEW it was a general authority speaking to us and conveying these things to us. It was wonderful. He gave great insight on how to improve ourselves, and what he said, along with the Spirit, burned into my heart and made me want to improve myself. Not that I've ever been a terrible missionary or person, but I now know I've felt the "cleansing by fire" effect the Spirit has. I mean, I've repented plenty of times, but this was different. I don't know if I'm explaining myself right, but that's how it felt. It was a change of heart, and one that was not so gradual, but immediate. Make sense? Oh well, I can just say you're not in tune with the Spirit enough if you don't. Just kidding....
This week has been interesting, too. Elder Bischoff has been having health problems for awhile now, and over the last few days it's been getting worse. He's going to see the doctor again tomorrow after a month-long wait between appointments, and hopefully they will be able to determine what's wrong. It's been getting in the way of the work somewhat, and it's been hurting him, since he has such a strong desire to do well. I really feel sorry for him.
We also picked up an interesting new investigator. We've been teaching a Part-Member family that has had some interesting stuff holding them back from marriage, but it sounds like that's being resolved and so, once we get them through the Stop Smoking Workshop, they should be set to be baptized! It's such an interesting thing, that not only do we get to teach spiritual lessons, but we also get to teach people how to quit an addictive substance that I've never even tried nor been tempted by (I'm pretty sure I'd die if I tried it. Asthma comes in handy.). Anyway, well, the husband and member there introduced us to his friend up the street to whom we taught a lesson by answering his questions. It was a really spiritually led discussion and both my companion and I felt incredible afterwards. I hadn't felt that good after a lesson for a long time. He wants to continue meeting with us, so I hope that he, too, will be baptized.
Oh, you wanted to know about my bike and "digs" (do you mean apartment?). My bike is incredible. It is so handy for this hilly town, and it's so lightweight and made for roads and not offroad. I never ride offroad anyway, so I'm set. I've been cruising along while poor Elder Bischoff, with his borrowed mountain bike (no joke, the name of the bike is a Hooger-Booger) that can't get out of Low Gear. I still need to follow him all over this labyrinthian town, but every hill I have to pass him, both up and down, to make sure I don't lose momentum and have to struggle on through. I also tried out my cup holder (stock), but got a cup that was too big and it accidentally bounced out at one point and fell right into the drain. Whoops. As for my apartment, it's alright. It's better than my last one, for sure, but still feels a little cramped, mostly because some missionaries decided awhile back there was enough room to bring in a ping pong table and I'm taking my time moving in.
Well, I gotta get going. I hope you all have a more enjoyable week this next week!
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
PS. They really DO say Missourah. I thought Rachel was joking about that.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
A Whole New World Here in Hannibal, Missouri
Well, as I told you I would be last week, I am now in Hannibal, Missouri. It is a very different town than what I am used to. There are hills, and steep hills at that, everywhere. most roads meander like it aint nobody's business, and the straight ones meander in the vertical directions. It still seems like a gigantic town, when in reality it's only 1700. But everything is so spread out due to random cliffs and woods. There are a lot more trees here. I feel like I'm back in washington in some ways, but our hills are bigger and less...rollercoastery. Yep, It's a word. I feel like I'm stuck in some sort of Labyrinth, and I'm just waiting for David Bowie to appear.
Don't get me wrong, I like Hannibal alright, but it's definitely a change. There are far less cornfields here in Missouri, and I miss them. But there are still plenty of churches, just about half of them are all baptist churches. It's interesting, for sure. And the town is most definitely a tourist town. It focuses heavily on their Mark Twain heritage, sporting the caves from Tom Sawyer, a Mark Twain Lighthouse, statues of both the author and Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and everything in the town being named after one of the three people, if not having most of the streets having random names from his books. It is cool to see sidewheel riverboats cruising along the river though.
Hannibal is a branch in a very small ward's building. They used to be a ward, but have had to be bumped down to branch status. They have just a little less members on the roles and far fewer attending than my last area, and I thought THEY had a lot of Less actives. Hannibal is a big area, though, smaller than my last area but still big.
We've been doing a lot of prep work over the last few days, and some good member work. I've been trying to meet a lot of the members so I can start off on a good foot with them. That's been good, mostly, until a slight accident during an activity at the branch president's house ended with one of his sons hitting his head and bleeding quite a bit. Luckily they're a way cool family and were able to just joke around through it (all besides the son) and even more luckily it was my companion's idea not mine. Poor Elder Bischoff felt so horrible. Poor kid.
Oh, Elder Bischoff is my new companion. He's cool and has a strong desire to do some good work, so I'm happy about that. He's been having some health problems as of late, so hopefully he can get those resolved soon. He still works hard, though, so that's good.
Seeing Cari and James and Mattie was awesome. James seems great, I'm happy he's my brother-in-law. Mattie does too, she's one of the few dogs I like a lot. But I'm sticking with me thinking she looks like one of the dogs off of Ghostbusters. Ooh, even better, she's kind of a mix between the stay puft marshmallow man and the dogs. It all works out in the end.
Oh, I also have an amazing bike. It was an awesome deal and I really want to ride it everywhere. It's a Felt Cafe 7. Look up the pictures. It weighs less than my boots and is sooo nice. Way good deal, too.
Well, that's it! Love you all!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Don't get me wrong, I like Hannibal alright, but it's definitely a change. There are far less cornfields here in Missouri, and I miss them. But there are still plenty of churches, just about half of them are all baptist churches. It's interesting, for sure. And the town is most definitely a tourist town. It focuses heavily on their Mark Twain heritage, sporting the caves from Tom Sawyer, a Mark Twain Lighthouse, statues of both the author and Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, and everything in the town being named after one of the three people, if not having most of the streets having random names from his books. It is cool to see sidewheel riverboats cruising along the river though.
Hannibal is a branch in a very small ward's building. They used to be a ward, but have had to be bumped down to branch status. They have just a little less members on the roles and far fewer attending than my last area, and I thought THEY had a lot of Less actives. Hannibal is a big area, though, smaller than my last area but still big.
We've been doing a lot of prep work over the last few days, and some good member work. I've been trying to meet a lot of the members so I can start off on a good foot with them. That's been good, mostly, until a slight accident during an activity at the branch president's house ended with one of his sons hitting his head and bleeding quite a bit. Luckily they're a way cool family and were able to just joke around through it (all besides the son) and even more luckily it was my companion's idea not mine. Poor Elder Bischoff felt so horrible. Poor kid.
Oh, Elder Bischoff is my new companion. He's cool and has a strong desire to do some good work, so I'm happy about that. He's been having some health problems as of late, so hopefully he can get those resolved soon. He still works hard, though, so that's good.
Seeing Cari and James and Mattie was awesome. James seems great, I'm happy he's my brother-in-law. Mattie does too, she's one of the few dogs I like a lot. But I'm sticking with me thinking she looks like one of the dogs off of Ghostbusters. Ooh, even better, she's kind of a mix between the stay puft marshmallow man and the dogs. It all works out in the end.
Oh, I also have an amazing bike. It was an awesome deal and I really want to ride it everywhere. It's a Felt Cafe 7. Look up the pictures. It weighs less than my boots and is sooo nice. Way good deal, too.
Well, that's it! Love you all!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
From Meredith Willson to Samuel Clemens
Hello Everybody,
Yep, I found out where I'm going: Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. It's in the Nauvoo Stake and is on the exact polar opposite end of the mission. God seems to like to keep me livin on the edge. It'll be nice being south as it transitions from summer to fall to winter, though.
It's really weird finding out where you will be transferred to the saturday before transfers. It allowed us to be able to find a ride on sunday, but it still makes it weird for the rest of the week. Having never known I would be transferred when I was for all of my other tranfers, my main goal for the last few days was visiting members and saying goodbye, an opportunity I have never enjoyed in the past, besides for maybe one person or so. So yeah, it's been interesting. Luckily, or unluckily, I have one less thing to pack: a bike. In our apartment complex, there are garages, which are usually a blessing. The garage is one long building separate from the main tower. Inbetween each garage is a wall consisting of wire stapled to boards. Our new next door neighbor decided to leave their door open one day, and a day or so later we realized that not only had somebody cut through the wire wall, but had also stolen my bike and pulled it through while the door had been left open. So, I'm bikeless now. I filed a police report and all of that jazz, but it's likely it will never be found. Poor Dorcas, she was so nice with her fenders that I had found in our garage and lights and gel seat and front shocks. Really, Elder Shelman's bike looks so much more nice, it's surprising that mine was the one stolen. But stolen it is. So, yeah, the assistants have offered to sell me a missionary's old bike. I don't know yet. I'm not too worried for some reason. Maybe Heavenly Father is just trying to make sure I don't go on a homicidal rampage with all the junk going on. But no worries, God takes care of his missionaries.
I can't wait to see Cari. She was supposed to be here yesterday morning, then it moved to last night, then to this morning, now for tonight. I'm used to investigators rescheduling, just hopefully Cari won't drop us as it seems all of our investigators have done. We're pretty much investigatorless at this point, since most have seemed to disappear or turn uninterested or both. We did a lot more Less Active and Part Member work, though, to make up for it. Since reactivated less actives seem to bring lots of member referrals, we're trying that out. We'll see how the new missionary does things here. I can prep for the transfer all I want and set things up how I would like them, but it really doesn't matter if he comes in and completely changes it.
Yes, I did get all of the stuff you sent out mom, thank you! I bought a cheap frame and framed the picture you sent of grandpa. I loved reading over all of the stuff. You were right mom, he really was the real deal. I've always looked up to him, and it's nice to see, written down by his children, all of the traits he had that I admired.
I don't have much else to say. Going by a few members' homes has been nice, and it's good to know that while nothing really has happened or come about in the way of investigators being baptized or even coming to church while I've been here, I still seem to have made a postive influence on some members. I can actually leave and not feel like a total waste. That's probably not fair to say, but people's agency getting in the way of their salvation just gets sad after awhile. Anyway, that's about all. I get to leave tomorrow morning at 6 so sleep is going to be less than I would like.
Love you all!
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Yep, I found out where I'm going: Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. It's in the Nauvoo Stake and is on the exact polar opposite end of the mission. God seems to like to keep me livin on the edge. It'll be nice being south as it transitions from summer to fall to winter, though.
It's really weird finding out where you will be transferred to the saturday before transfers. It allowed us to be able to find a ride on sunday, but it still makes it weird for the rest of the week. Having never known I would be transferred when I was for all of my other tranfers, my main goal for the last few days was visiting members and saying goodbye, an opportunity I have never enjoyed in the past, besides for maybe one person or so. So yeah, it's been interesting. Luckily, or unluckily, I have one less thing to pack: a bike. In our apartment complex, there are garages, which are usually a blessing. The garage is one long building separate from the main tower. Inbetween each garage is a wall consisting of wire stapled to boards. Our new next door neighbor decided to leave their door open one day, and a day or so later we realized that not only had somebody cut through the wire wall, but had also stolen my bike and pulled it through while the door had been left open. So, I'm bikeless now. I filed a police report and all of that jazz, but it's likely it will never be found. Poor Dorcas, she was so nice with her fenders that I had found in our garage and lights and gel seat and front shocks. Really, Elder Shelman's bike looks so much more nice, it's surprising that mine was the one stolen. But stolen it is. So, yeah, the assistants have offered to sell me a missionary's old bike. I don't know yet. I'm not too worried for some reason. Maybe Heavenly Father is just trying to make sure I don't go on a homicidal rampage with all the junk going on. But no worries, God takes care of his missionaries.
I can't wait to see Cari. She was supposed to be here yesterday morning, then it moved to last night, then to this morning, now for tonight. I'm used to investigators rescheduling, just hopefully Cari won't drop us as it seems all of our investigators have done. We're pretty much investigatorless at this point, since most have seemed to disappear or turn uninterested or both. We did a lot more Less Active and Part Member work, though, to make up for it. Since reactivated less actives seem to bring lots of member referrals, we're trying that out. We'll see how the new missionary does things here. I can prep for the transfer all I want and set things up how I would like them, but it really doesn't matter if he comes in and completely changes it.
Yes, I did get all of the stuff you sent out mom, thank you! I bought a cheap frame and framed the picture you sent of grandpa. I loved reading over all of the stuff. You were right mom, he really was the real deal. I've always looked up to him, and it's nice to see, written down by his children, all of the traits he had that I admired.
I don't have much else to say. Going by a few members' homes has been nice, and it's good to know that while nothing really has happened or come about in the way of investigators being baptized or even coming to church while I've been here, I still seem to have made a postive influence on some members. I can actually leave and not feel like a total waste. That's probably not fair to say, but people's agency getting in the way of their salvation just gets sad after awhile. Anyway, that's about all. I get to leave tomorrow morning at 6 so sleep is going to be less than I would like.
Love you all!
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Monday, August 30, 2010
"I Believe In Christ, So Come What May. With Him [We'll] Stand In That Great Day"
As you mentioned in your email, I did handle the news pretty well, considering. I loved being able to talk with all of you. I love you, mom and dad, for your ability to keep up your senses of humor. That helped me, knowing you two were handling it well. I did a lot of praying and really received help from my Heavenly Father through His Son's eternal sacrifice. The next day, at ten, I busted out of the doors and marched my companion up the street at breakneck speed, tracting. I had, the last night and that morning, recieved an assurance that I would see my grandfather again and that my family is eternal. I knew that this message did not only have the possibility of improving someone else's life, but that it would, beyond a shadow of a doubt, change everyone's life for the better. Everyone can benefit from the blessings of the temple and the truths of this gospel, and I was obligated to share it with my fellowman. I read 1 Nephi 8:10-12, and I realized that that was me. I had partaken of that tree of life and I now desired to share that absolutely incredible fruit with others. And so up I went, with poor Elder Shelman in my wake, boldly proclaiming these truths with everyone I saw. We went up the length of the street and then headed to a potential's home and taught them, obtaining 3 new investigators, and sharing with them why I knew this message was so important. They had lost their father in the previous year, and I let them know of the recent loss i had had and how much comfort this message brought me. In a week, in the mission, the typical goal for contacts or amount of nonmembers we took a gospel conversation as far as we could is 80, and that day we got 41. I continued on in my fire the next few days, ecstatic about the gospel, but it began to wain as the week went on. Saturday, I crashed, literally and emotionally. I went to head out the door, and my heart felt heavy. It didn't relent after visiting with our ward mission leader. I informed my companion of my feelings, and let him know that I needed to take it easy that day. So we filled our time trying to meet up with investigators and keep appointments, but otherwise visited with a less-active member, Earl, who I appreciate the humor of. I probably should have pushed through, but I figured if I took one day of taking it easy, but still not sitting around the apartment, it would be better than letting things consume me. I had realized throughout the week how little i was being affected, and wondered how that could be with how much I love Grandpa. But it hit that day.
But let me get this straight. I'm fine. I'm actually happy I'm on my mission...to a point. I wish I could have been there for everything, but out here I've been allowed to come to know even more fully of the truth of the gospel and I've really received so many more blessings from being out here. Things could be so much worse, and I'm so glad that Grandpa is in a better place, and i know he's doing great work over there. I love him dearly and I'm so happy that he is no longer physically limited from serving his Father.I can't wait to someday have an experience like I have had twice in the temple, of rejoicing in the celestial room with my family, just being able to see even more people I love there.
Yesterday, with the news that transfers are next thursday, more people signed up for feeding us. I was told by one mother how her young daughter had chosen her favorite missionary a few years ago and that her son couldn't decide on his favorite missionary. Over a few years he searched for his favorite. Finally he's found one, and it's me. Others, too, have expressed some sadness at the possibility of me leaving, and when i added that to the calendar, our next two weeks all but filled up.
Work's going great. I love you all so very much and wish I was there, but know it's better for me to be out here, sharing the knowledge that has blessed us all with others. I could not have asked for a better family. I'm starting to wonder if it really was you looking at me in the Adoption Showroom or if I was picking you out of the list of Adoptive Parent Resumes. Either way, God made the right choice. He always does.
Take care and I look forward to the stuff from Grandpa's Funeral.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
But let me get this straight. I'm fine. I'm actually happy I'm on my mission...to a point. I wish I could have been there for everything, but out here I've been allowed to come to know even more fully of the truth of the gospel and I've really received so many more blessings from being out here. Things could be so much worse, and I'm so glad that Grandpa is in a better place, and i know he's doing great work over there. I love him dearly and I'm so happy that he is no longer physically limited from serving his Father.I can't wait to someday have an experience like I have had twice in the temple, of rejoicing in the celestial room with my family, just being able to see even more people I love there.
Yesterday, with the news that transfers are next thursday, more people signed up for feeding us. I was told by one mother how her young daughter had chosen her favorite missionary a few years ago and that her son couldn't decide on his favorite missionary. Over a few years he searched for his favorite. Finally he's found one, and it's me. Others, too, have expressed some sadness at the possibility of me leaving, and when i added that to the calendar, our next two weeks all but filled up.
Work's going great. I love you all so very much and wish I was there, but know it's better for me to be out here, sharing the knowledge that has blessed us all with others. I could not have asked for a better family. I'm starting to wonder if it really was you looking at me in the Adoption Showroom or if I was picking you out of the list of Adoptive Parent Resumes. Either way, God made the right choice. He always does.
Take care and I look forward to the stuff from Grandpa's Funeral.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Monday, August 23, 2010
Apparently the Ring of a Telephone is Not Always a Harbinger of Horrible Events
This week was an interesting one. I've been praying for the faith to expect miracles, because I read that somewhere in a New Era that I should expect miracles as a missionary, and I've been praying to see them. I guess it's paid off, but not in the way I expected. Can't complain, miracles are miracles. ("wonders of wonders, miracles of miracles...."-Fiddler on the Roof)
Tuesday is when I really started to recognize the things happening. We went to service at the community kitchen, and a lady that always works there, but isn't a member, said, "You see that boy over there? I know him. He has troubles. You should go talk to him. Come." Being the 4 foot something mexican lady she is, she shuffled on over to a 20-something young man and began talking to him. Immediately some lady sitting on the table beside the one he was at turned around and told him to not answer any of her questions. Poor Jenny looked confused at the intrusion in her conversation and informed the lady that she knew Jeremy and that she was just trying to help him by referring him to us because she felt we could help him. The lady turned to me and told me she didn't feel religion should be brought to someone's doorstep. I just told her that we do just what the Apostles did of old, trying to share the gospel with everyone. She couldn't argue with that, and nobody can. She said, though, that we talk to people about things different than what they grew up believing, which, if I had had a chance to respond to, I would have informed her there's no point going around sharing something people already know. But she eventually left and I left a card with our number on it with Jeremy. Later we went to the church to get a copy made real quick and on the way in told Elder Shelman to call Aaron Anderson since he lived in the town he and Elder Johnson, the elder he was going on exchanges with the next day, were going to visit. The problem is that there are two Aaron Andersons in the ward, the second one being a 20-something year old kid that has Down's Syndrome and lives on his own, alternating between considering himself no longer a member and considering himself less active. Lately it had been no longer a member. Anyway, Elder Shelman called the latter one and pretended like it was on purpose and asked if there was a time we could see him. I didn't know what to expect at that as last we knew he was avoiding missionaries. But he agreed to see us that night. While we were at the church, we ran into a member there and were talking with him. As we were doing so, the phone rang, and after a short conversation, he turned to us and said into the phone "Well, in fact, there are some Mormon Missionaries right here!" We went outside and met with a lady from hospice who had had to look all over the place for the number for the church and was lucky enough to find us there. She had been told it would be nearly impossible to find us, and yet there we were, "by accident." She informed us that there was a lady who had been given only a few months to live and had asked to meet with mormon missionaries. She gave the name, and I knew it to be a less active member that missionaries used to meet with a lot in the past but had moved and we had lost track of. We met with her yesterday and that was tough. Trying to share comforting words with a lady who is on her deathbed who hasn't been active in forever and hadn't even been to the temple or anything.... But she's ready for death, she just wanted the "inner peace" missionaries always brought with them. I really relied on the spirit there. We'll be meeting with her once a week from here on out. I also got a call on friday during weekly planning. With the creepy, "Psycho" style (EE EE, EE EE, EE EE)ringtone, I knew it was President Jergensen.
"Hello Elder Gates," he said after the usual pleasantries associated with a phone call from the president, "I just got off the phone with your sister." That's never good. I immediately wondered who had died. "She says she's coming out this way just after labor day weekend and was wondering if she could have lunch with you. I have no problem with it, just make sure it's an hour and a half, 2 hours MAX, and that it is during lunch, not dinnertime." I was dumbfounded. I was barely able to slip out a few heartfelt thank yous and a bye and that was it. He called all of my leaders above me and let them knew, and I soon got a call from my district leader expressing his envy. Needless to say, I'm stoked!!
Thursday we also turned our three main investigators, Carol, Cheryl and Cayla over to Hampton, since they're closer and girls too and all that kind of stuff. That was tough, but we turned around and are finding more people in Mason City itself, so that's good.
We also got let in twice during a tracting session by people who saw how sweaty we were and just wanted to offer us cold water. Finally, my plan is working!
Well, I should go, Elder Shelman got bumped off early by a jerk of a librarian. I won't call her out on it, though, I'll leave it to God to smite her.
Love you all!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
PS Finally got my year-mark shirt burned yesterday. Some members were kind enough to do it for me when I hesitated. I'd heard horror stories recently of a missionary here awhile back that had had to do a bunch of community service for burning without a permit and stuff. At least if members do it, it's not my fault. I didn't even ask them to, they just took the old shirt for me and did the work. It was one of the shirts that was too small for me just after coming out and I'm sure would be EXTREMELY small on me now if I tried. If I do go on and burn anything else, I'll do it at members homes in the country.
Tuesday is when I really started to recognize the things happening. We went to service at the community kitchen, and a lady that always works there, but isn't a member, said, "You see that boy over there? I know him. He has troubles. You should go talk to him. Come." Being the 4 foot something mexican lady she is, she shuffled on over to a 20-something young man and began talking to him. Immediately some lady sitting on the table beside the one he was at turned around and told him to not answer any of her questions. Poor Jenny looked confused at the intrusion in her conversation and informed the lady that she knew Jeremy and that she was just trying to help him by referring him to us because she felt we could help him. The lady turned to me and told me she didn't feel religion should be brought to someone's doorstep. I just told her that we do just what the Apostles did of old, trying to share the gospel with everyone. She couldn't argue with that, and nobody can. She said, though, that we talk to people about things different than what they grew up believing, which, if I had had a chance to respond to, I would have informed her there's no point going around sharing something people already know. But she eventually left and I left a card with our number on it with Jeremy. Later we went to the church to get a copy made real quick and on the way in told Elder Shelman to call Aaron Anderson since he lived in the town he and Elder Johnson, the elder he was going on exchanges with the next day, were going to visit. The problem is that there are two Aaron Andersons in the ward, the second one being a 20-something year old kid that has Down's Syndrome and lives on his own, alternating between considering himself no longer a member and considering himself less active. Lately it had been no longer a member. Anyway, Elder Shelman called the latter one and pretended like it was on purpose and asked if there was a time we could see him. I didn't know what to expect at that as last we knew he was avoiding missionaries. But he agreed to see us that night. While we were at the church, we ran into a member there and were talking with him. As we were doing so, the phone rang, and after a short conversation, he turned to us and said into the phone "Well, in fact, there are some Mormon Missionaries right here!" We went outside and met with a lady from hospice who had had to look all over the place for the number for the church and was lucky enough to find us there. She had been told it would be nearly impossible to find us, and yet there we were, "by accident." She informed us that there was a lady who had been given only a few months to live and had asked to meet with mormon missionaries. She gave the name, and I knew it to be a less active member that missionaries used to meet with a lot in the past but had moved and we had lost track of. We met with her yesterday and that was tough. Trying to share comforting words with a lady who is on her deathbed who hasn't been active in forever and hadn't even been to the temple or anything.... But she's ready for death, she just wanted the "inner peace" missionaries always brought with them. I really relied on the spirit there. We'll be meeting with her once a week from here on out. I also got a call on friday during weekly planning. With the creepy, "Psycho" style (EE EE, EE EE, EE EE)ringtone, I knew it was President Jergensen.
"Hello Elder Gates," he said after the usual pleasantries associated with a phone call from the president, "I just got off the phone with your sister." That's never good. I immediately wondered who had died. "She says she's coming out this way just after labor day weekend and was wondering if she could have lunch with you. I have no problem with it, just make sure it's an hour and a half, 2 hours MAX, and that it is during lunch, not dinnertime." I was dumbfounded. I was barely able to slip out a few heartfelt thank yous and a bye and that was it. He called all of my leaders above me and let them knew, and I soon got a call from my district leader expressing his envy. Needless to say, I'm stoked!!
Thursday we also turned our three main investigators, Carol, Cheryl and Cayla over to Hampton, since they're closer and girls too and all that kind of stuff. That was tough, but we turned around and are finding more people in Mason City itself, so that's good.
We also got let in twice during a tracting session by people who saw how sweaty we were and just wanted to offer us cold water. Finally, my plan is working!
Well, I should go, Elder Shelman got bumped off early by a jerk of a librarian. I won't call her out on it, though, I'll leave it to God to smite her.
Love you all!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
PS Finally got my year-mark shirt burned yesterday. Some members were kind enough to do it for me when I hesitated. I'd heard horror stories recently of a missionary here awhile back that had had to do a bunch of community service for burning without a permit and stuff. At least if members do it, it's not my fault. I didn't even ask them to, they just took the old shirt for me and did the work. It was one of the shirts that was too small for me just after coming out and I'm sure would be EXTREMELY small on me now if I tried. If I do go on and burn anything else, I'll do it at members homes in the country.
Monday, August 16, 2010
"Might As Well Be Walking on the Sun"
So, yeah, this week was hot. And we spent nearly the entire week tracting. Wednesday was especially long for tracting. My companion carries around a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his face. I don't, and don't even wipe the sweat off. Why? Because I figure that it has one of two benefits:
1) It might keep me cool.
2) It will work even more guilt (or possibly Godly Sorrow) into the spirit of those who reject us, for they will ever remember the servant of God who came to them, sweating profusely, and they turned him away. (This only works if they have a soul.)
Yesterday, however, I looked at myself in the mirror after a long bike ride, and realized just how gross I look, so maybe people didn't let us in because they were afraid of me sweating all over their furniture. Can't blame them there. I still hope they feel guilt.
Tuesday we took a trip out to a town called Charles City, a place I haven't been yet, and saw the perfect shot I've been waiting for: A picture of a gate next to the sign for Charles City. So finally I've found a picture of my name, Charles Gates. It's a nice little town, but it also has the curse of a trailer park: it causes tornadoes. It's been nearly wiped out a couple times. So be happy that that area is closed and that I'm not there. It's led to some cool stories by some people, though, like the one where a guy dove into the basement just as the tornado wiped out the building above. People say that a tornado has never hit Mason City. I just inform them that I've been one to break, or witness the breaking of, records, good or bad, since I've arrived in Iowa.
Speaking of Iowa being the hot spot for crazy weather: there was a ton of flooding down in Ames, Iowa. Nearly the whole city was underwater. It was all far away from me, and even if it wasn't, I sure hope it never effects us in our third story apartment.
Yep, I bought a backpack! I looked for one that seemed sturdy but lightweight and had all the stuff I'd need. So, I got myself a Converse backpack. Yep, now's the time to be jealous.
That's a good idea to get recipes from people. People have listed off the recipes before to some things, but I didn't write them down and I also probably spaced out for a second each time they do it, so next time I'll act differently.
We had district meeting in Fort Dodge. I made the mistake of looking at the map and realizing just how far that is. Luckily, though, we got to ride with the Hermanas, and I won the rock, paper, scissors for who would drive. It was nice not having to drive it myself. They're good Hermanas, so I'm thinking of turning our investigators down in Bristow over to them, since they're closer, and it might be easier for them to connect and help the mom and two daughters we're teaching there. I hate giving them up, but having investigators an hour away is tough, especially when the Hermanas cover the same area.
We did find some people to teach in our finding efforts...kind of. We tracted into these two girls in their twenties who invited us back. We came back, and they let us in, and luckily there were two other guys there with them. We taught them the first lesson, and addressed one of their concerns pertaining to why bad things happen to us. I used D&C 121 & 122 to do that, which is different since I usually shy away from D&C with investigators, but it helped her, so that's good. The girl who had her question answered seemed kind of interested, but she left early for work. Her brother, who took her to work, seemed completely disinterested. The other guy started off not being interested but then seemed much more so at the end. The other girl seemed interested at first and then not as much by the end. When I asked when was a good time we could come back, she said she'd call us. But she was interested in us coming to the party they were having later. When she asked if we partied, I said, "Probably not in the way you're thinking." She was kind of disappointed.
That's basically it! All's well!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
1) It might keep me cool.
2) It will work even more guilt (or possibly Godly Sorrow) into the spirit of those who reject us, for they will ever remember the servant of God who came to them, sweating profusely, and they turned him away. (This only works if they have a soul.)
Yesterday, however, I looked at myself in the mirror after a long bike ride, and realized just how gross I look, so maybe people didn't let us in because they were afraid of me sweating all over their furniture. Can't blame them there. I still hope they feel guilt.
Tuesday we took a trip out to a town called Charles City, a place I haven't been yet, and saw the perfect shot I've been waiting for: A picture of a gate next to the sign for Charles City. So finally I've found a picture of my name, Charles Gates. It's a nice little town, but it also has the curse of a trailer park: it causes tornadoes. It's been nearly wiped out a couple times. So be happy that that area is closed and that I'm not there. It's led to some cool stories by some people, though, like the one where a guy dove into the basement just as the tornado wiped out the building above. People say that a tornado has never hit Mason City. I just inform them that I've been one to break, or witness the breaking of, records, good or bad, since I've arrived in Iowa.
Speaking of Iowa being the hot spot for crazy weather: there was a ton of flooding down in Ames, Iowa. Nearly the whole city was underwater. It was all far away from me, and even if it wasn't, I sure hope it never effects us in our third story apartment.
Yep, I bought a backpack! I looked for one that seemed sturdy but lightweight and had all the stuff I'd need. So, I got myself a Converse backpack. Yep, now's the time to be jealous.
That's a good idea to get recipes from people. People have listed off the recipes before to some things, but I didn't write them down and I also probably spaced out for a second each time they do it, so next time I'll act differently.
We had district meeting in Fort Dodge. I made the mistake of looking at the map and realizing just how far that is. Luckily, though, we got to ride with the Hermanas, and I won the rock, paper, scissors for who would drive. It was nice not having to drive it myself. They're good Hermanas, so I'm thinking of turning our investigators down in Bristow over to them, since they're closer, and it might be easier for them to connect and help the mom and two daughters we're teaching there. I hate giving them up, but having investigators an hour away is tough, especially when the Hermanas cover the same area.
We did find some people to teach in our finding efforts...kind of. We tracted into these two girls in their twenties who invited us back. We came back, and they let us in, and luckily there were two other guys there with them. We taught them the first lesson, and addressed one of their concerns pertaining to why bad things happen to us. I used D&C 121 & 122 to do that, which is different since I usually shy away from D&C with investigators, but it helped her, so that's good. The girl who had her question answered seemed kind of interested, but she left early for work. Her brother, who took her to work, seemed completely disinterested. The other guy started off not being interested but then seemed much more so at the end. The other girl seemed interested at first and then not as much by the end. When I asked when was a good time we could come back, she said she'd call us. But she was interested in us coming to the party they were having later. When she asked if we partied, I said, "Probably not in the way you're thinking." She was kind of disappointed.
That's basically it! All's well!
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Elder Gates: Missionary or Hobo?
Before you think that my Subject is proclaiming my pile-ness (Pile is a term in the mission for a lazy missionary. While this sounds like an insult, realize that most piles revel in their pile-ness. Kind of like apostates. There aren't many piles, so don't think that missionaries are lazy bums. Just hobos.), let me explain. On our way back from all of our meetings this week, we drove through Britt, Iowa, hometown of the Annual National Hobo Convention. We stopped briefly at the Hobo Museum and Gift Shop and got a couple free brochures and a cheap magnet. While some misguided teachers in school stressed the offensiveness of the term hobo, know that hobo is a compliment in the homeless society. As a chart in the Museum said, a hobo is someone who travels to work; a tramp is someone who travels but refuses to work; and a bum is someone who neither travels or works. Hobos travel the countryside looking for work on farms, or at least that's what they traditionally do. Hobo is short for Hoe Boy. And my companion quickly made a few correlations, and came to the conclusion that we're basically high-end hobos. And that's definitely what I felt like this week.
We traveled down to Fort Dodge tuesday night and Elder Bisschop and I headed out the next morning to Des Moines. We then got the privilege of three days of meetings. The meetings were really good, so there's no sarcasm in that last sentence, but it was everything outside of the meetings that was crazy. After the first one, we broke for the evening and I discovered I was traveling to another companionship's area in Des Moines to do work with them. I was assigned to that with three other missionaries, not including the missionaries assigned to that area. Six of us, altogether, in a one-room apartment, traveling in a five-person Mazda 3. Yeah. So we squeezed into the Mazda and went off to work, all splitting up to do and visit different people. I went with the senior companion, who's also a trainer and district leader, to visit some people with a member. One was a potential who is catholic, but only because her husband and children are such. So when we read off the Articles of Faith with her, she loved them, especially the Godhead vs. the Trinity and how we don't believe in original sin, and wanted to discuss them more. So that was good. Also visited another investigator. The next day, in the evening, my companion-for-the-day, the same as the day before, took me out to eat at Jimmy John's, a place neither of us had been before, to celebrate my year mark. I ahd also been able to see nearly all of the elders from my MTC district I had come to Iowa with and got a picture with them. One of them, though, Elder Vidrine, went to the Omaha mission, so he wasn't there for the picture. We then went and taught a group of four investigators and committed them all to a baptismal date. They're all from Africa and way cool, but afterwards they fed us. I scooped up my amount of spicy beans and chicken and poured it on my rice to discover two chicken feet looking up at me. My heart sunk. My stomach too. As I sat down by my companion-for-the-day, I looked over at him, horrified, and down at my food. He laughed and offered to eat it for me. I quickly, yet secretively, obliged. All you foreign-sent missionaries, just know, there's a good reason I went stateside. I only would have eaten those things if I could have gotten a picture of me doing it. As far as I can see, there's absolutely no reason to eat feet, there's nothing besides gristle there. Otherwise it was a really good meal. The next day we started traveling home, but it took forever to get everything done that we needed to, such as supplies and that, so we just barely had time to head back to Fort Dodge to spend the night, setting another baptismal date along the way with an 8 year old. It's always great to hear from the grandmother of a child that you're trying to teach "I usually take her off of her pills in the summer." I really wish she could have made an exception for us. We headed home the next day, Saturday.
So, besides that, the work here has not really progressed much while we've been gone. Our investigators, Carol, Cheryl and Cayla, didn't come to church, but last I spoke with them they were reading the Book of Mormon and Praying as a family. A member brought somebody to church that now wants to be taught, so that's awesome! We've had a bunch of member referrals lately, which is how I like it. Keep them rolling in!
Some changes we found out with this conference:
Zone Conferences will now be quarterly, along with interviews and Zone Leader Council.
Leadership Training Meetings, like the one I just went to, will be every other month and about the same length until the first of the year.
The only thing continuing on the transfer schedule are transfers themselves. So pretty crazy stuff.
The rest of the time was on some really good training that will improve missionary work a ton. They're not changing Preach My Gospel, as that is going to be the thing they plan on using, and believe we'll be using, forever. All that they've taught us is just from Preach My Gospel, just focusing on different points than before.
But that's about it. Almost exactly one year left! Not excited about that as much as I used to be, now it's kind of depressing. I can barely remember my first name, let alone what normal life is like.... But It'll be good when it happens. Good thing it's not for a long time.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
We traveled down to Fort Dodge tuesday night and Elder Bisschop and I headed out the next morning to Des Moines. We then got the privilege of three days of meetings. The meetings were really good, so there's no sarcasm in that last sentence, but it was everything outside of the meetings that was crazy. After the first one, we broke for the evening and I discovered I was traveling to another companionship's area in Des Moines to do work with them. I was assigned to that with three other missionaries, not including the missionaries assigned to that area. Six of us, altogether, in a one-room apartment, traveling in a five-person Mazda 3. Yeah. So we squeezed into the Mazda and went off to work, all splitting up to do and visit different people. I went with the senior companion, who's also a trainer and district leader, to visit some people with a member. One was a potential who is catholic, but only because her husband and children are such. So when we read off the Articles of Faith with her, she loved them, especially the Godhead vs. the Trinity and how we don't believe in original sin, and wanted to discuss them more. So that was good. Also visited another investigator. The next day, in the evening, my companion-for-the-day, the same as the day before, took me out to eat at Jimmy John's, a place neither of us had been before, to celebrate my year mark. I ahd also been able to see nearly all of the elders from my MTC district I had come to Iowa with and got a picture with them. One of them, though, Elder Vidrine, went to the Omaha mission, so he wasn't there for the picture. We then went and taught a group of four investigators and committed them all to a baptismal date. They're all from Africa and way cool, but afterwards they fed us. I scooped up my amount of spicy beans and chicken and poured it on my rice to discover two chicken feet looking up at me. My heart sunk. My stomach too. As I sat down by my companion-for-the-day, I looked over at him, horrified, and down at my food. He laughed and offered to eat it for me. I quickly, yet secretively, obliged. All you foreign-sent missionaries, just know, there's a good reason I went stateside. I only would have eaten those things if I could have gotten a picture of me doing it. As far as I can see, there's absolutely no reason to eat feet, there's nothing besides gristle there. Otherwise it was a really good meal. The next day we started traveling home, but it took forever to get everything done that we needed to, such as supplies and that, so we just barely had time to head back to Fort Dodge to spend the night, setting another baptismal date along the way with an 8 year old. It's always great to hear from the grandmother of a child that you're trying to teach "I usually take her off of her pills in the summer." I really wish she could have made an exception for us. We headed home the next day, Saturday.
So, besides that, the work here has not really progressed much while we've been gone. Our investigators, Carol, Cheryl and Cayla, didn't come to church, but last I spoke with them they were reading the Book of Mormon and Praying as a family. A member brought somebody to church that now wants to be taught, so that's awesome! We've had a bunch of member referrals lately, which is how I like it. Keep them rolling in!
Some changes we found out with this conference:
Zone Conferences will now be quarterly, along with interviews and Zone Leader Council.
Leadership Training Meetings, like the one I just went to, will be every other month and about the same length until the first of the year.
The only thing continuing on the transfer schedule are transfers themselves. So pretty crazy stuff.
The rest of the time was on some really good training that will improve missionary work a ton. They're not changing Preach My Gospel, as that is going to be the thing they plan on using, and believe we'll be using, forever. All that they've taught us is just from Preach My Gospel, just focusing on different points than before.
But that's about it. Almost exactly one year left! Not excited about that as much as I used to be, now it's kind of depressing. I can barely remember my first name, let alone what normal life is like.... But It'll be good when it happens. Good thing it's not for a long time.
--
"But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in." D&C 127:2
Elder Charlie Gates
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