This last week was all abuzz with us trying to get the baptisms all ready to go and the apartment ready to go as well I'll start with the baptisms so that way you have something worthwhile to read first and then if you don't feel like being depressed you can just stop there.
So, as I said, we spent the week getting Mary and Justina ready for their baptisms, and their baptisms ready for them. Justina didn't take much work to prepare her for it, as she is golden and had had all of the lessons taught to her already. She even has been reading the Book of Mormon in Marshallese and English side by side and can now read Marshallese and has improved her English tremendously. Really, if she could get any more phenomenal, she'd explode. Mary still had some lessons to be taught, so we were finishing getting her ready. Friday, the day before the baptism, however, we found out that Mary had gone into labor and given birth to three beautiful girls. They were fairly quickly taken off to Iowa City to be taken care of there, as they were fairly premature and had some trouble breathing. So Mary was not baptized on Saturday, as she was in the hospital. Fairly legitimate reason to not be baptized. She and her fiance are in Iowa City as well as of right now. She'll be baptized when the babies are out of the hospital and that's over with, so probably later in July. Justina was married and baptized on Saturday, however, and it was an incredible service. The marriage was just a small ceremony in the bishop's office that was very sweet, and then so many people showed up to the baptism that it had to be held in the chapel. The Spirit was so strong. It also ended up being a wonderful missionary opportunity. Earlier in the week, we set two more baptismal dates with two young men, Branton and Dino, two Marshallese youth. Branton came to the baptismal service, informing us that his parents were cool with him being baptized and that he was excited for it. Dino, however, did not come to the baptism, but his nonmember parents did. We asked them if they were ok with us baptizing their son, and his father offered some qualms with the situation as Dino had been baptized as a child in their church. After Elder Unsicker briefly explained authority, however, Dino's father responded to a second time of asking for permission by saying that it "would be a great opportunity for Dino." Both Dino and Branton are on track for baptism on July 2nd now. Also, we taught two more Marshallese people for the first time yesterday and set two more baptismal dates with them for July 2nd. Six baptismal dates altogether. Sunday also was the day Justina received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and I was privileged to be the one to give that to to her. It really was a great experience.
Alright. The apartment.
Well, we finally met up with the gas guy after another attempt at getting him there on Friday. So, after a week of sleeping at the Holts' house, we were finally home. The nice cave-like coolness also leads to not-so-nice cave-like dampness. I've never had my sheets get dryer as I slept in them. The next morning we also were blessed to be present as police showed up to visit our new neighbors upstairs. While this was a fairly pleasant neighborhood we'd moved into, the neighbors upstairs who moved in only a couple days before aren't too fond of it being pleasant. So, in order to mix things up a bit, they decided to steal the grill from across the street. The man across the street apparently enjoys pleasantness and wasn't too keen on his grill being stolen. So he went looking for his grill just to find it on the back porch of the people above us. Well, he got the police involved, who searched upstairs looking for the grill, and finally found it hidden in a closet in the vacant apartment on the third floor. This, along with the fact that they have no clue how to handle their children accept by screaming obscenities at them and their children retaliate by running in circles for hours on end has not made a great impression on us. Saturday also led to us discovering that the hot water wouldn't shut off in the shower so we had water constantly dribbling out of the faucet, which couldn't be fixed till this morning, so we either showered with cold water or under a little dribble of warm water, and it all didn't help with that moisture problem. All in all, if it wasn't for the Marshallese, I'd be begging to be transferred. I know missionaries will hate me forever for choosing this apartment. It used to be a good idea. Anybody have a dehumidifier?
Congrats to Tyler for being home taller, fatter and older!
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Homeless with Three Homes
Have you ever had one of those weeks? One of those ones where you just think that you have got to be doing something right or Satan would not be trying you this hard. Welcome to the past seven days!
Tuesday we decided on an apartment. We prayed about it and it felt right. Or, at least, that it wasn't wrong. That day the utilities were called about. Keep that in mind as I continue.
Wednesday we got the keys and everything was settled and then we found out that we had another month on the old apartment. Apparently there was a misunderstanding. Whatever, that's just another month to clean our apartment. Hopefully they don't try sticking us personally with the apparent knife throwing contests and dartboard dart holes that were done by previous missionaries and conveniently covered. That night we moved all of the furniture. We had some good help from the ward and the missionaries from Savanna. There was still no utilities so we slept on the ground at the old apartment.
Thursday was district meeting and moving the rest of the stuff. I went with Elder Bailey to teach the lesson we had in the middle of the move. Still no utilities that night, so we slept on the ground at the old apartment again.
Friday we finally got electricity halfway through the day. The gas guy also showed up, but because there was no water on, he refused to turn on the gas. We also discovered that a spigot was missing from a pipe. We later found the spigot but the pipe was cracked so that needed to be fixed. That night the Holts had us over for dinner so when Brother Holt picked us up he took a look at the pipe and figured out what needed to be done. He and his wife asked what they could do to help out that night, and I said, halfway joking, "Let us live with you." A phone call or two later, and we had a place to stay until everything was fixed. We've enjoyed the nights and mornings since that call, with our queen sized beds, whirlpool tub, and wonderful breakfasts. I've also opened up the window and listened to the frogs as I've gone to sleep, as they live out in the country. It was also about this time that Elder Jahn, the senior office couple elder over the housing awarded Elder Unsicker and me with the fictitious Flexibility Award. I hope you're proud, Mom.
Saturday included Brother Holt fixing our pipes, which included sawing off a whole section and replacing it with PVC. As soon as that was dry, we turned on the water, which we had discovered was on but just needed to be turned on at the meter. We began looking around, making sure that the water was running well around the apartment, when we discovered that the toilet and the wall by the toilet were leaking water fairly heavily. We quickly shut the water back off and called Elder Jahn. He had been trying to get a hold of the landlord and maintenance guy and at this point called and left a message with the landlord saying that if he didn't call back we were moving out. Sadly, he called back, saying that the pipes had apparently not been winterized in time and so they would have to fix it Tuesday. And we've been over on miles. So the Holts have had to drive us into town every morning and pick us up every night. They drove us to church on Sunday and even took us out for a Memorial Day Lunch Picnic in Eagle Point Park, a really beautiful park overlooking the river from the top of a bluff.
To add to the drama, members have not been too keen on the location of our apartment. It's downtown, right up against a bluff. The downtown is considered by many to be an unsafe area, but we intentionally found a place that is south of most problems, across the street from the library, and going to have the exterior renovated soon as the city is fixing up this section of town. Not to mention that with all of the anxiety I've had lately, the only time I would feel peace was when I prayed about this apartment, so I, for a change, wasn't worried. Also, this location is so much closer to all of our work. We can walk or ride our bikes to all of our investigators, no problem. Goodbye hilly bike rides and wasted miles. Not to mention that air conditioning is pointless in it as it has a couple feet thick stone walls so it is basically a cave in there. A member believes it to be from the mid 1800s and so it was made to last, and it has.
We also have been so busy with all of this that we still haven't gotten the car in for a recall on the airbags and to get an estimate from a very minor accident we got in last week when we got rear ended.
In the way of the work, all is going great! The two baptisms that were going to happen this last saturday were moved to this coming one, and all is going well in that regard. They're great investigators and one especially, Justina, is so solid. She now sits there in lessons with both her English and Marshallese copies of the Book of Mormon and has a calling already as Marshallese Relief Society Chorister.
We also saw one of the main priesthood holders that will lead the rest back to church return on Sunday, which was awesome! I love all that is coming together here!
Seriously, though, we know that none of this good stuff and none of this bad stuff would happen without the other. There are truly opposites in all things and right now we are being tested and tried as we see legitimate miracles come to pass. There may be days where I'm tempted to hop on my bike and start heading west, but the knowledge that I am seeing miracles take place amongst the Marshallese keeps me from letting the bad stuff from getting to me. How many places do you have people that commit so easily to things, are serious about all of it, and already believe in tithing and either already do it with our church or did it with their old church? It's so crazy, I love it.
Anyway, that's been my week! Congrats to Stephanie for being endowed!
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Tuesday we decided on an apartment. We prayed about it and it felt right. Or, at least, that it wasn't wrong. That day the utilities were called about. Keep that in mind as I continue.
Wednesday we got the keys and everything was settled and then we found out that we had another month on the old apartment. Apparently there was a misunderstanding. Whatever, that's just another month to clean our apartment. Hopefully they don't try sticking us personally with the apparent knife throwing contests and dartboard dart holes that were done by previous missionaries and conveniently covered. That night we moved all of the furniture. We had some good help from the ward and the missionaries from Savanna. There was still no utilities so we slept on the ground at the old apartment.
Thursday was district meeting and moving the rest of the stuff. I went with Elder Bailey to teach the lesson we had in the middle of the move. Still no utilities that night, so we slept on the ground at the old apartment again.
Friday we finally got electricity halfway through the day. The gas guy also showed up, but because there was no water on, he refused to turn on the gas. We also discovered that a spigot was missing from a pipe. We later found the spigot but the pipe was cracked so that needed to be fixed. That night the Holts had us over for dinner so when Brother Holt picked us up he took a look at the pipe and figured out what needed to be done. He and his wife asked what they could do to help out that night, and I said, halfway joking, "Let us live with you." A phone call or two later, and we had a place to stay until everything was fixed. We've enjoyed the nights and mornings since that call, with our queen sized beds, whirlpool tub, and wonderful breakfasts. I've also opened up the window and listened to the frogs as I've gone to sleep, as they live out in the country. It was also about this time that Elder Jahn, the senior office couple elder over the housing awarded Elder Unsicker and me with the fictitious Flexibility Award. I hope you're proud, Mom.
Saturday included Brother Holt fixing our pipes, which included sawing off a whole section and replacing it with PVC. As soon as that was dry, we turned on the water, which we had discovered was on but just needed to be turned on at the meter. We began looking around, making sure that the water was running well around the apartment, when we discovered that the toilet and the wall by the toilet were leaking water fairly heavily. We quickly shut the water back off and called Elder Jahn. He had been trying to get a hold of the landlord and maintenance guy and at this point called and left a message with the landlord saying that if he didn't call back we were moving out. Sadly, he called back, saying that the pipes had apparently not been winterized in time and so they would have to fix it Tuesday. And we've been over on miles. So the Holts have had to drive us into town every morning and pick us up every night. They drove us to church on Sunday and even took us out for a Memorial Day Lunch Picnic in Eagle Point Park, a really beautiful park overlooking the river from the top of a bluff.
To add to the drama, members have not been too keen on the location of our apartment. It's downtown, right up against a bluff. The downtown is considered by many to be an unsafe area, but we intentionally found a place that is south of most problems, across the street from the library, and going to have the exterior renovated soon as the city is fixing up this section of town. Not to mention that with all of the anxiety I've had lately, the only time I would feel peace was when I prayed about this apartment, so I, for a change, wasn't worried. Also, this location is so much closer to all of our work. We can walk or ride our bikes to all of our investigators, no problem. Goodbye hilly bike rides and wasted miles. Not to mention that air conditioning is pointless in it as it has a couple feet thick stone walls so it is basically a cave in there. A member believes it to be from the mid 1800s and so it was made to last, and it has.
We also have been so busy with all of this that we still haven't gotten the car in for a recall on the airbags and to get an estimate from a very minor accident we got in last week when we got rear ended.
In the way of the work, all is going great! The two baptisms that were going to happen this last saturday were moved to this coming one, and all is going well in that regard. They're great investigators and one especially, Justina, is so solid. She now sits there in lessons with both her English and Marshallese copies of the Book of Mormon and has a calling already as Marshallese Relief Society Chorister.
We also saw one of the main priesthood holders that will lead the rest back to church return on Sunday, which was awesome! I love all that is coming together here!
Seriously, though, we know that none of this good stuff and none of this bad stuff would happen without the other. There are truly opposites in all things and right now we are being tested and tried as we see legitimate miracles come to pass. There may be days where I'm tempted to hop on my bike and start heading west, but the knowledge that I am seeing miracles take place amongst the Marshallese keeps me from letting the bad stuff from getting to me. How many places do you have people that commit so easily to things, are serious about all of it, and already believe in tithing and either already do it with our church or did it with their old church? It's so crazy, I love it.
Anyway, that's been my week! Congrats to Stephanie for being endowed!
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
For the Marshallese, Hearing "May Day" is a Good Thing
This Saturday was the celebration of the Marshall Islands' Constitution Day, which led, as usual, to a lot of partying. We had district meeting Saturday morning and all of the missionaries there just went with us to the party. I'm not quite sure why they didn't go home after eating the food but whatever. All of the Marshallese congregated at the park and had a lot of food and games, such as races and tug-of-wars and musical chairs and all sorts of other stuff (we even got into the action and raced). It was a great way to talk to all of the Marshallese people and meet a few of our referrals and all sorts of good stuff. The highlight of the day had to be, though, the basketball tournament. We ended up needing to leave during the second game, which basically consisted of Mormons vs. Assembly of God, as we're the two main Marshallese congregations in the area. We lost, but it still was a vicious game. Marshallese know how to get into basketball. There's a reason why when we played with them one PDay I nearly got a concussion. But yeah, I got a jersey for the "Mormon Team," called Nam, meaning Mosquito, for five bucks off of one of the benchwarmers.
Our baptismal dates are still on track, but we had to move their dates back due to a stake priesthood meeting this Saturday. So we will have two on the fourth of June and one on the eleventh of June. We also have two young men fasting about whether they should be baptized and if this is all true. All sorts of good stuff going on here in the way of the work!
But in the way of finding an apartment...yeah, it sucks. Hardcore. Watch, now that I've said that, this will end up being the one on the quarterly newsletter. But it's seriously one of the most stressful things of my mission. We have not been getting very much luck in that department. Needing to be out by the end of the month, needing something under 600 a month, and something that isn't out in the middle of nowhere (or somewhere in Wisconsin, which would be outside of our mission) has been a real trial. We found something in a good area within the price range and even signed off on it, but it still needs to be approved by the office, but halfway through signing we realized it was through a company that has screwed over the Marshallese multiple times in the past, I didn't like the guy, and the apartment was the cleanest he was willing to make it. Basically, he's a slum lord. And I do not want to rent from him. But if we can't find anything better today, we've been told to go with it, unless the contract is not acceptable by the office. I really don't know how this apartment search could be any more aggravating. We had thirteen member present lessons this past week, which is so unheard of that the Zone Leaders called us up to see if we were counting our numbers correctly, and if we weren't teaching lessons, we were apartment searching. All sorts of acceptable apartments just have not called us back yet. We have one more to look at today, and as long as we can be in there sometime this week and it's any better than slumtopia, we're going with it. Anyway.
Well, that's about it for the area. Once we get moved all will be well. This truly is the best area in the mission and I can't wait to see it completely flourish. Our goal for this area is 22 lessons taught with a member present this week, which may just be a record, I don't know, but it's definitely achievable. We have four scheduled for today, our PDay. Doing some work as well trying to get the Marshallese Priesthood holders reactivated. We need them for this to work. There's one especially that could lead the rest of the men back.
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Our baptismal dates are still on track, but we had to move their dates back due to a stake priesthood meeting this Saturday. So we will have two on the fourth of June and one on the eleventh of June. We also have two young men fasting about whether they should be baptized and if this is all true. All sorts of good stuff going on here in the way of the work!
But in the way of finding an apartment...yeah, it sucks. Hardcore. Watch, now that I've said that, this will end up being the one on the quarterly newsletter. But it's seriously one of the most stressful things of my mission. We have not been getting very much luck in that department. Needing to be out by the end of the month, needing something under 600 a month, and something that isn't out in the middle of nowhere (or somewhere in Wisconsin, which would be outside of our mission) has been a real trial. We found something in a good area within the price range and even signed off on it, but it still needs to be approved by the office, but halfway through signing we realized it was through a company that has screwed over the Marshallese multiple times in the past, I didn't like the guy, and the apartment was the cleanest he was willing to make it. Basically, he's a slum lord. And I do not want to rent from him. But if we can't find anything better today, we've been told to go with it, unless the contract is not acceptable by the office. I really don't know how this apartment search could be any more aggravating. We had thirteen member present lessons this past week, which is so unheard of that the Zone Leaders called us up to see if we were counting our numbers correctly, and if we weren't teaching lessons, we were apartment searching. All sorts of acceptable apartments just have not called us back yet. We have one more to look at today, and as long as we can be in there sometime this week and it's any better than slumtopia, we're going with it. Anyway.
Well, that's about it for the area. Once we get moved all will be well. This truly is the best area in the mission and I can't wait to see it completely flourish. Our goal for this area is 22 lessons taught with a member present this week, which may just be a record, I don't know, but it's definitely achievable. We have four scheduled for today, our PDay. Doing some work as well trying to get the Marshallese Priesthood holders reactivated. We need them for this to work. There's one especially that could lead the rest of the men back.
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Death by Heat Has Arrived
Hey Everyone,
Ok, let me respond to a few of these questions that have been asked:
Flooding. Yes, there has been quite a bit of flooding, but Dubuque has a large flood wall and so it didn't do any damage in Dubuque. In East Dubuque, on the other side of the river, it caused some flooding, but no real damage. At least I don't think so. There's a little area that has some houses right on the flood plane. They intentionally build those houses with the garages on the lower level and the house on top. So for at least a couple weeks each year they must row boats to the shore to do anything. I don't get it myself, but whatever. There was more flooding down in Savanna, another area in our district, but that only covered one street and I don't think it caused too much damage. Sandbagging was done, for as much as that was worth, and it looked like it was going to do damage, but never did. It got into the basement of the church there, which is just a storefront on the main street.
The old computer. Yeah, chuck it. I will need a new computer...I'm figuring i'm going to have quite the shopping list when I get home....
Tom and Amy's baby. Congrats!
I think that's about it.
Alright, so, in the way of the work. We're still on for the two baptisms on Saturday, and we set another baptismal date for July. Ejmi and Mailalyne passed their baptismal interviews so they are on track for the baptism. I'm sure more baptismal dates will be set soon as well.
I know everybody who reads this, claims to read this, or I simply assume reads this, were not all there for my call home, but I don't have much more to update you all on than that.
Oh, and we had a Marshallese first birthday party. We were so busy we only made part of it, but it was great as always. My personal favorite part was when the Dora the Explorer pinata body was knocked off of the head, and we ended up with a head hanging from a rope. So morbid, so wrong, and such a great picture.
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Ok, let me respond to a few of these questions that have been asked:
Flooding. Yes, there has been quite a bit of flooding, but Dubuque has a large flood wall and so it didn't do any damage in Dubuque. In East Dubuque, on the other side of the river, it caused some flooding, but no real damage. At least I don't think so. There's a little area that has some houses right on the flood plane. They intentionally build those houses with the garages on the lower level and the house on top. So for at least a couple weeks each year they must row boats to the shore to do anything. I don't get it myself, but whatever. There was more flooding down in Savanna, another area in our district, but that only covered one street and I don't think it caused too much damage. Sandbagging was done, for as much as that was worth, and it looked like it was going to do damage, but never did. It got into the basement of the church there, which is just a storefront on the main street.
The old computer. Yeah, chuck it. I will need a new computer...I'm figuring i'm going to have quite the shopping list when I get home....
Tom and Amy's baby. Congrats!
I think that's about it.
Alright, so, in the way of the work. We're still on for the two baptisms on Saturday, and we set another baptismal date for July. Ejmi and Mailalyne passed their baptismal interviews so they are on track for the baptism. I'm sure more baptismal dates will be set soon as well.
I know everybody who reads this, claims to read this, or I simply assume reads this, were not all there for my call home, but I don't have much more to update you all on than that.
Oh, and we had a Marshallese first birthday party. We were so busy we only made part of it, but it was great as always. My personal favorite part was when the Dora the Explorer pinata body was knocked off of the head, and we ended up with a head hanging from a rope. So morbid, so wrong, and such a great picture.
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
"As a Rule, Marshallese People Have Great Senses of Humor." -Marshallese Language CD
Yeah, I heard something today about Osama Bin Laden being dead. That's pretty exciting! Those rare times in life when you can celebrate the death of another one of God's Children and not feel guilty are delightful experiences.
I believe it was Thursday night when Elder Unsicker turned to me in the car and asked a question I've heard from many of my companions who assume that my silence is due to some deep pondering:
"What are you thinking, Elder Gates?"
To his dismay, my reply was not the usual "Why is there no squirrel-based superhero?" or "Bunny rabbits sure do make horrible pets." Instead, I responded with a thoughtful "About how much I want to be consecrated."
Silence. Neither Elder Unsicker nor I have been bad missionaries, but we have had some things that we could be better on in order to be the best missionaries we could be. After about a minute, he drilled deeper. "How badly do you want it?"
"Bad."
"How bad?"
"Really bad."
He then began an inner struggle. His lifelong pursuit of doing what he wanted started to give way to his mission-long dream of being consecrated. By the time we arrived back at the house, he had acquiesced. Elder Unsicker is the first companion in a very long time that I knew I could strive to achieve this with once more. So, on Sunday, we began it all with a fast, and we're changing ourselves and giving up everything that we need to. We're sacrificing not only the little things we'd do, or the little laziness that might creep in, but, more importantly, our heart and soul, to the work. I only have 3.5 months left and I want to sprint it. Not my usual way of ending endurance races, as I tend more to say "Bah, I'm tired, when can I get my Sunny-D?" but I know this is how I have to do it.
As for the work this week, it's been incredible. On Wednesday alone, we set 2 baptismal dates, got 2 new investigators, committed both of those investigators to be baptized, had three member presents, and all of them were Marshallese. All in all we have 6 Marshallese investigators now, 5 committed to baptism, 2 with a date, and 1 should have a date as of last night. She, Justina, was going to be meeting with a member of the Relief Society about wedding plans. She apparently wants to get married and then walk right down into the font, so I'm not about to complain. The first lesson we taught on Wednesday was with a new investigator, Mary. Mary is the pregnant girlfriend of a member and knows very little english. That whole lesson had to be translated into Marshallese for her. But she understood well and excepted a baptismal invitation. Her less-active-due-to-work boyfriend did a great job translating, teaching some, and testifying throughout. We then met with Janie, a new investigator as well, and sister of Justina. She, too, has a boyfriend that is a member, but understands english pretty well. She, also, accepted a baptismal invitation. After that we tried to go see a less active with the two Marshallese Priests we had with us, Ronnie and Mike, but that lesson fell through (she's not Marshallese). So, instead, we went to what I think of as my mountain. It's a hilltop park overlooking the city where I go when I really need to pray. There we knelt and prayed about what date we should commit Ejmi and Mailalyne, our next appointments, to be baptized on. We felt that May 14th was the date God wanted them baptized on. So, for that lesson with Ejmi and Mailalyne, we had Ronnie and Mike teach it all with Elder Unsicker's visual aides (I have a whole plan of salvation as well but I had left it at home). They both did a fantastic job explaining everything and, when we asked her how she felt, she said she could feel the Holy Ghost come on her, telling her it was true. So, I confirmed what she felt, as Elder Unsicker and I had been feeling it, too, even though we couldn't understand what was being said, and then informed her of God's plan for her to be baptized on May 14th and asked her how she felt about that. She thought for a minute, and then agreed. Her biggest concern was whether or not her boyfriend that lives elsewhere could get baptized, too, when he arrived and they got married. It was a hard decision, but we agreed to it. Mailalyne, who had been sitting there as well, ended up being 8 and not 7.5 as I had thought, so we invited her to be baptized on that day as well, which she excitedly accepted. As her mother lives in Seattle and is not a member, she falls into our hands for being baptized. We left that appointment exhausted. Although we had driven everywhere that day, we felt as if we had biked from one end of town to the other. We could feel that same sort of exhaustion that has always overcome God's servants after marvelous revelations. We had a short coordination that night with our ward mission leader, and neither of us could hardly believe what all had happened that day and struggled to remember it all as we also fought off complete surrender to our exhaustion. That was a good day. We had other good days through the rest of the week, as we kept teaching our investigators. One, Branton, we thought was going to drop us, but instead just wants a Marshallese Book of Mormon. We're running out. I only have two left, and after I deliver that one to him, only one left. We told our ward mission leader about our dilemma, to which he responded "Well, there's about twenty in the missionary closet at the church." Elder Unsicker and I laughed a little and informed him that we have handed them all out. Anyway, when we went to meet up with Mary for a second lesson, Branton sat in on it. Again, Mike and Ronnie taught it, doing a great job. This time, Steve, Mary's boyfriend, asked a question about baptisms for the dead. Branton also asked for further explanation on the Spirit World and the Three Kingdoms of Glory, which, because he understands english, I was able to explain with the New Testament. After that he seemed more drawn into learning more. We also taught another couple of lessons to Janie, and more to Justina. Justina is already living the Word of Wisdom and paying tithing. She already has a strong testimony in the latter, as Jemity, her boyfriend, has always told her that they would be living it, and when they moved to the states and into their current apartment, the price was dropped from $700 a month to $100 a month, and she knows it was all due to them paying their tithing, and God allowing them to have the money to do so. So, we're not teaching Justina, we're simply checking it all off of the teaching record so we knows she knows it before baptism.
I only bother with the nonMarshallese investigators if they're in Galena.
Well, that's about it! Mother's Day is coming up!! I'll get to talk to yall in Worshington in pertinear a couple three days, yet! Bah, my Iowa-talk is leaving, as I'm switching over to Marshallese talk. During our appointments I speak really slow, pronouncing everything clearly (imagine that, me not mumbling), and so I've realized a lot of times I accidentally pick up the Marshallese accent during the lessons.
We also are working a lot with members, and the members are starting to really love us. We're rebuilding trusts that were lost by former missionaries and building even stronger the trusts we had. God is blessing us so much, he's even sent a member here that wants to take us golfing. I know it's not your thing, dad, but I enjoy it. I just haven't gone on my mission because it's not the cheapest of things, especially when you don't have a set of clubs.
Life is great. I really can't think of anything to complain about, and even if I could, I can't anymore, because I'm become the ideal missionary.
Love you all like a Marshallese teenager loves socks with flip flops! (I didn't even know that was physically possible.)
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
I believe it was Thursday night when Elder Unsicker turned to me in the car and asked a question I've heard from many of my companions who assume that my silence is due to some deep pondering:
"What are you thinking, Elder Gates?"
To his dismay, my reply was not the usual "Why is there no squirrel-based superhero?" or "Bunny rabbits sure do make horrible pets." Instead, I responded with a thoughtful "About how much I want to be consecrated."
Silence. Neither Elder Unsicker nor I have been bad missionaries, but we have had some things that we could be better on in order to be the best missionaries we could be. After about a minute, he drilled deeper. "How badly do you want it?"
"Bad."
"How bad?"
"Really bad."
He then began an inner struggle. His lifelong pursuit of doing what he wanted started to give way to his mission-long dream of being consecrated. By the time we arrived back at the house, he had acquiesced. Elder Unsicker is the first companion in a very long time that I knew I could strive to achieve this with once more. So, on Sunday, we began it all with a fast, and we're changing ourselves and giving up everything that we need to. We're sacrificing not only the little things we'd do, or the little laziness that might creep in, but, more importantly, our heart and soul, to the work. I only have 3.5 months left and I want to sprint it. Not my usual way of ending endurance races, as I tend more to say "Bah, I'm tired, when can I get my Sunny-D?" but I know this is how I have to do it.
As for the work this week, it's been incredible. On Wednesday alone, we set 2 baptismal dates, got 2 new investigators, committed both of those investigators to be baptized, had three member presents, and all of them were Marshallese. All in all we have 6 Marshallese investigators now, 5 committed to baptism, 2 with a date, and 1 should have a date as of last night. She, Justina, was going to be meeting with a member of the Relief Society about wedding plans. She apparently wants to get married and then walk right down into the font, so I'm not about to complain. The first lesson we taught on Wednesday was with a new investigator, Mary. Mary is the pregnant girlfriend of a member and knows very little english. That whole lesson had to be translated into Marshallese for her. But she understood well and excepted a baptismal invitation. Her less-active-due-to-work boyfriend did a great job translating, teaching some, and testifying throughout. We then met with Janie, a new investigator as well, and sister of Justina. She, too, has a boyfriend that is a member, but understands english pretty well. She, also, accepted a baptismal invitation. After that we tried to go see a less active with the two Marshallese Priests we had with us, Ronnie and Mike, but that lesson fell through (she's not Marshallese). So, instead, we went to what I think of as my mountain. It's a hilltop park overlooking the city where I go when I really need to pray. There we knelt and prayed about what date we should commit Ejmi and Mailalyne, our next appointments, to be baptized on. We felt that May 14th was the date God wanted them baptized on. So, for that lesson with Ejmi and Mailalyne, we had Ronnie and Mike teach it all with Elder Unsicker's visual aides (I have a whole plan of salvation as well but I had left it at home). They both did a fantastic job explaining everything and, when we asked her how she felt, she said she could feel the Holy Ghost come on her, telling her it was true. So, I confirmed what she felt, as Elder Unsicker and I had been feeling it, too, even though we couldn't understand what was being said, and then informed her of God's plan for her to be baptized on May 14th and asked her how she felt about that. She thought for a minute, and then agreed. Her biggest concern was whether or not her boyfriend that lives elsewhere could get baptized, too, when he arrived and they got married. It was a hard decision, but we agreed to it. Mailalyne, who had been sitting there as well, ended up being 8 and not 7.5 as I had thought, so we invited her to be baptized on that day as well, which she excitedly accepted. As her mother lives in Seattle and is not a member, she falls into our hands for being baptized. We left that appointment exhausted. Although we had driven everywhere that day, we felt as if we had biked from one end of town to the other. We could feel that same sort of exhaustion that has always overcome God's servants after marvelous revelations. We had a short coordination that night with our ward mission leader, and neither of us could hardly believe what all had happened that day and struggled to remember it all as we also fought off complete surrender to our exhaustion. That was a good day. We had other good days through the rest of the week, as we kept teaching our investigators. One, Branton, we thought was going to drop us, but instead just wants a Marshallese Book of Mormon. We're running out. I only have two left, and after I deliver that one to him, only one left. We told our ward mission leader about our dilemma, to which he responded "Well, there's about twenty in the missionary closet at the church." Elder Unsicker and I laughed a little and informed him that we have handed them all out. Anyway, when we went to meet up with Mary for a second lesson, Branton sat in on it. Again, Mike and Ronnie taught it, doing a great job. This time, Steve, Mary's boyfriend, asked a question about baptisms for the dead. Branton also asked for further explanation on the Spirit World and the Three Kingdoms of Glory, which, because he understands english, I was able to explain with the New Testament. After that he seemed more drawn into learning more. We also taught another couple of lessons to Janie, and more to Justina. Justina is already living the Word of Wisdom and paying tithing. She already has a strong testimony in the latter, as Jemity, her boyfriend, has always told her that they would be living it, and when they moved to the states and into their current apartment, the price was dropped from $700 a month to $100 a month, and she knows it was all due to them paying their tithing, and God allowing them to have the money to do so. So, we're not teaching Justina, we're simply checking it all off of the teaching record so we knows she knows it before baptism.
I only bother with the nonMarshallese investigators if they're in Galena.
Well, that's about it! Mother's Day is coming up!! I'll get to talk to yall in Worshington in pertinear a couple three days, yet! Bah, my Iowa-talk is leaving, as I'm switching over to Marshallese talk. During our appointments I speak really slow, pronouncing everything clearly (imagine that, me not mumbling), and so I've realized a lot of times I accidentally pick up the Marshallese accent during the lessons.
We also are working a lot with members, and the members are starting to really love us. We're rebuilding trusts that were lost by former missionaries and building even stronger the trusts we had. God is blessing us so much, he's even sent a member here that wants to take us golfing. I know it's not your thing, dad, but I enjoy it. I just haven't gone on my mission because it's not the cheapest of things, especially when you don't have a set of clubs.
Life is great. I really can't think of anything to complain about, and even if I could, I can't anymore, because I'm become the ideal missionary.
Love you all like a Marshallese teenager loves socks with flip flops! (I didn't even know that was physically possible.)
--
Love,
Elder Gates
"Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing." Bible Dictionary
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter: The Source of All Joy
Mom said in her latest email that she is thinking about forwarding my last email to President Miles because he might be interested in the Marshallese work going on here. If the last email hasn't been sent yet, don't bother, this one will be much more informative. So, last sunday, as I mentioned, we started teaching a lady named Justina, who is living with a member. She knew it was all true before we went over. We've gone with a couple of Marshallese Priests (as in, Priests of our church that are Marshallese. Sometimes when I say this in the district, other missionaries get confused what a Marshallese Priest is), Mike and Ronnie. Mike is a recent convert and Ronnie is preparing to go on a mission as soon as he graduates. Both are incredible young men and priesthood holders. We've taught Justina a few times this week, and she is understanding everything very well so far. I'm learning how to teach very simply in simple words and to annunciate clearly. You never know, I might not even mumble anymore when I get home. Doubt it. She knows she needs to get married before baptism and is planning on getting married very soon. We don't know quite when yet, but the Relief Society will be helping with that. We are also trying to pick back up a Marshallese investigator who had had a baptismal date not that long ago, Eddy. He is sixteen and apparently has still been going to mutual, just not to church. We had heard that it might be that his parents haven't been terribly supportive of him being taught, but I'm texting him now so we hope that he will be taught more here soon. We've also extended soft baptismal invites (when you know this is true, will you...) to two new investigators this week, Mike's aunt and cousin, Ejmi and Lalailyne, respectively. Both have been going to church for about a month. They also seemed to understand what was being taught. The Mike's cousin is 7.5 and her mom is living in Seattle. The way Marshallese families work is that they are very tightknit and a lot of times it just doesn't matter to them if the parents are the ones raising the child or if it is the aunt and/or uncle. We taught those two yesterday and will be seeing them again soon. We also started meeting with another one of Mike and Ronnie's friends, Branton. When we were walking around with Mike in a predominately Marshallese neighborhood, we ran into a lot of the Marshallese youth and Branton. They all surrounded Branton and told us to start teaching him. If only all of the church was this onto missionary work. So, letting Branton know we weren't going to force him to do anything, even to be taught, we invited him to take the lessons and he agreed. He's been to a few activities as well. He's kind of a shy kid but cool, nevertheless. Marshallese people have the best sense of humor. And the youth attack anybody that starts swearing. They know their standards and they are not afraid to stand up for them. We also gained two new referrals yesterday. One is the sister of Justina who was referred to us by a member. The other one was obtained while coming out of an appointment with Justina. It basically was obtained by Mike pointing across the street at a guy and saying "He wants his girlfriend to be taught," and us asking the guy, who is Ronnie's less active brother if this was true. All in all, we'll soon have about 7 Marshallese investigators, with more on the way I'm sure. It's funny, because they are far more solid than any of our nonMarshallese investigators, who all have dropped off the map. Basically, if they end up bringing another set of missionaries here for some reason, Elder Unsicker and I will take all of the Marshallese people and they can have everybody else. I don't know if they will bring other missionaries here, but, if a Marshallese branch is started here soon like the plan is, it may be necessary. I would not mind ending my mission as a Marshallese missionary. Actually, I have some news on finishing my mission. This week the entire district except for Elder Roberts and me went to Des Moines for one of those Leadership Conferences, as they are trying to have everybody that has never gone to one go. I think I mentioned that last week. Anyway, I was stuck in Savanna for two whole days. I never realized just how depressing that area is. But I survived and received some news from Elder Unsicker. He talked to President as we had planned and asked him if we could stay together for a little bit. President responded that that is the plan, to leave us together in Dubuque till the end of my mission. Let's hope so. Great things are going to happen here. Now it's just up to us to prove to God that we can accomplish these great things. Elder Unsicker was also able to obtain from one of his previous areas a Roomba that they had been given while he was there. So now we no longer need to vacuum, just merely set his robotic vacuum named Chloe in the middle of the floor and press on. Yeah, life is good. We're very booked on appointments this week, it's really not allowing time for anything besides teaching, which is exactly how it should be. Oh, and a realization I had before another appointment this past friday with our investigator in Friday who is attempting to drink herself to death is that everything in life is a blessing. Yep, everything. It's up to us to make sure it blesses us or not, but God doesn't allow anything to happen to us unless it will bless us in some way, either by giving us a learning experience or just flat out making our lives better. I don't know if this is new to any of you, i really doubt it is to me, I just haven't realized it in this way before. Sometimes, people have a lot more complicated learning experiences than others, but all in all, we can learn from everyone. I know, you might be thinking I'm oversimplifying it, but I doubt it. So whether it's a stubbed toe, wrecked car, dead cat, accidental deleting of an email, stain on a tie, or whatever, it's a blessing. Or, at least, if you have that mindset that it is, and that you need to make it such, it will be. Anyway, whatever.
--
Love,
The Transcendentally Beautiful Elder Gates
(Doctrine and Covenants 137:2)
--
Love,
The Transcendentally Beautiful Elder Gates
(Doctrine and Covenants 137:2)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Blindsided by Blessings
Sometimes I wonder if God just likes to hit us with blessings from a direction we didn't fully expect when our attention is elsewhere, like a cheapshot ball to the face in dodgeball. Or water polo.
Anyway, as I was saying last week, or should have been saying last week, we've been getting a lot of referrals. Some of them have been for Marshallese people who are already going to church. One of these people we went and saw yesterday. As my companion was committing her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, I got an impression I followed through on.
"Have you already read from and prayed about the Book of Mormon?"
"Yes."
"How did you feel?"
"That it's true."
I asked her the same thing about Joseph Smith, receiving the same response. Blessing smack to the face! I invited her to be baptized, and she agreed. My companion, either unaware or else having forgotten her current story, invited her to pray about a date to be baptized and that whatever that date was we'd make sure she was able to be baptized on that day. He asked when she would be able to pray about it and when we could meet next. She said she'd pray that night and would be ready to meet with us today. I later informed my companion that she is living with a man that is a member whom she is not married to and would kind of need to have that taken care of before baptism. I would have brought it up in the lesson but didn't feel a need to, letting him give the promise and see what may come. We had taken a couple of Marshallese Young Men with us to the appointment to help them prep for their missions. We let them know afterwards just how rare such a thing is. We've been meeting a lot with those two young men this week, preparing them to teach the lessons to the aunt and cousin of one of those young men. Once they are prepared we'll start teaching them, I'm thinking that will give nearly the same results. I LOVE MARSHALLESE PEOPLE! One of the young men made a really good point, however, that, despite her good english and insistence that she didn't have any questions, probably didn't understand a good portion of the lessons. We may need to have them translate a lot from now on. While one of those young men has only been a member for a few months and was on the wildside before then, both of these young men have the deepest respect from Elder Unsicker and me. They are probably a couple of the most stalwart Aaronic Priesthood holders we've seen on our missions. We're also finding more ways to work with the members, using a concept Elder Unsicker brought from his last zone which is GREAT. We shared it with a family last night and, as Elder Unsicker informs me is the norm, there were tears shed. The major point of the spiritual thought is to have the members set a baptismal goal of their own for the year. In order to double baptisms, all of the members just have to invite 1.2 more people. It's really just that simple. Remember everyone, you're the finders, we're the teachers. Don't you dare, however, try to find without the Spirit. Pray about it and God will direct you. And don't think us missionaries simply assume that it's easy to talk to your friends and that it's simple to refer people to us to teach. Remember, I tried to talk to my friends back at home, too, but I also got missionary experiences because I was praying for them. They didn't come the way I though they would, but they came.
Anyway.
We also followed up with a referral from a member in Bettendorf. It was for her uncle. He has some pretty interesting ideas that revolve mostly around agnosticism. We're trying to focus on just how cut and dry and scientific the experimentation of the truth is: try it out, pray about it, and the Spirit will tell you it's true. Simple as that. I don't know if he will just consider himself too old to change or something, we'll see. We also are still meeting with people in Galena, including a man who is praying about baptism. That was a great and spiritual lesson on just how important the Gift of the Holy Ghost is and how the little flashes of light he gets when we come will be a constant sunlight when he receives that gift. We also taught another investigator in Galena. A good portion of that is more or less convincing her not to drink herself to death. Luckily she did keep her promise and was sober for this lesson.
Some of the investigators that Elder Noel and I were trying to follow up with all last transfer are either sort of dropping us or else I'm just saying forget it about. We're getting enough better stuff in this area that I don't need to keep wasting the Lord's time trying to meet up with people that won't even call us back.
I've also been happy to do a lot of bike riding. A good portion of the week was in the car, however, it slipped back and forth from Death by Storm to Death by Cold. I was pretty proud of myself yesterday in that I biked all of the hills except one without walking. My asthma didn't like it much, so I took my inhaler, just to discover that I had chosen the one that had been expired for over a year. That was fun.
Also it seems that we're on better terms with our landlords. We met them in person and they were much nicer. I think that Elder Jahn, who is over the apartments in the office, worked his magic when he called them. We're still keeping our eyes open, though, for apartments just in case.
Sadly, however, with all of this stuff going on, we are going to be out of town for a couple days due to a meeting Elder Unsicker has to go to. It's one of the leadership meetings I've been to in the past, but now they're inviting everyone who's never gone before, too. And since I have no leadership and have been before, I get to stay... but not in Dubuque. Due to mileage conditions, I'll be staying in Savanna, a small-town area with little going for it and a branch that is so small, the missionaries are basically the first and second counselors. It seems odd that while there is a branch that is on the verge of collapse there, we're working on starting a Marshallese Branch, here. I'm hoping it's created before I leave. Anyway, we just found this out last night, so we have to cancel some stuff and refigure it all out. Great stuff is going to go down, I know it. I love this area, I love this ward, I love the Marshallese, and I love the work.
--
Love,
The Transcendentally Beautiful Elder Gates
(Doctrine and Covenants 137:2)
Anyway, as I was saying last week, or should have been saying last week, we've been getting a lot of referrals. Some of them have been for Marshallese people who are already going to church. One of these people we went and saw yesterday. As my companion was committing her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, I got an impression I followed through on.
"Have you already read from and prayed about the Book of Mormon?"
"Yes."
"How did you feel?"
"That it's true."
I asked her the same thing about Joseph Smith, receiving the same response. Blessing smack to the face! I invited her to be baptized, and she agreed. My companion, either unaware or else having forgotten her current story, invited her to pray about a date to be baptized and that whatever that date was we'd make sure she was able to be baptized on that day. He asked when she would be able to pray about it and when we could meet next. She said she'd pray that night and would be ready to meet with us today. I later informed my companion that she is living with a man that is a member whom she is not married to and would kind of need to have that taken care of before baptism. I would have brought it up in the lesson but didn't feel a need to, letting him give the promise and see what may come. We had taken a couple of Marshallese Young Men with us to the appointment to help them prep for their missions. We let them know afterwards just how rare such a thing is. We've been meeting a lot with those two young men this week, preparing them to teach the lessons to the aunt and cousin of one of those young men. Once they are prepared we'll start teaching them, I'm thinking that will give nearly the same results. I LOVE MARSHALLESE PEOPLE! One of the young men made a really good point, however, that, despite her good english and insistence that she didn't have any questions, probably didn't understand a good portion of the lessons. We may need to have them translate a lot from now on. While one of those young men has only been a member for a few months and was on the wildside before then, both of these young men have the deepest respect from Elder Unsicker and me. They are probably a couple of the most stalwart Aaronic Priesthood holders we've seen on our missions. We're also finding more ways to work with the members, using a concept Elder Unsicker brought from his last zone which is GREAT. We shared it with a family last night and, as Elder Unsicker informs me is the norm, there were tears shed. The major point of the spiritual thought is to have the members set a baptismal goal of their own for the year. In order to double baptisms, all of the members just have to invite 1.2 more people. It's really just that simple. Remember everyone, you're the finders, we're the teachers. Don't you dare, however, try to find without the Spirit. Pray about it and God will direct you. And don't think us missionaries simply assume that it's easy to talk to your friends and that it's simple to refer people to us to teach. Remember, I tried to talk to my friends back at home, too, but I also got missionary experiences because I was praying for them. They didn't come the way I though they would, but they came.
Anyway.
We also followed up with a referral from a member in Bettendorf. It was for her uncle. He has some pretty interesting ideas that revolve mostly around agnosticism. We're trying to focus on just how cut and dry and scientific the experimentation of the truth is: try it out, pray about it, and the Spirit will tell you it's true. Simple as that. I don't know if he will just consider himself too old to change or something, we'll see. We also are still meeting with people in Galena, including a man who is praying about baptism. That was a great and spiritual lesson on just how important the Gift of the Holy Ghost is and how the little flashes of light he gets when we come will be a constant sunlight when he receives that gift. We also taught another investigator in Galena. A good portion of that is more or less convincing her not to drink herself to death. Luckily she did keep her promise and was sober for this lesson.
Some of the investigators that Elder Noel and I were trying to follow up with all last transfer are either sort of dropping us or else I'm just saying forget it about. We're getting enough better stuff in this area that I don't need to keep wasting the Lord's time trying to meet up with people that won't even call us back.
I've also been happy to do a lot of bike riding. A good portion of the week was in the car, however, it slipped back and forth from Death by Storm to Death by Cold. I was pretty proud of myself yesterday in that I biked all of the hills except one without walking. My asthma didn't like it much, so I took my inhaler, just to discover that I had chosen the one that had been expired for over a year. That was fun.
Also it seems that we're on better terms with our landlords. We met them in person and they were much nicer. I think that Elder Jahn, who is over the apartments in the office, worked his magic when he called them. We're still keeping our eyes open, though, for apartments just in case.
Sadly, however, with all of this stuff going on, we are going to be out of town for a couple days due to a meeting Elder Unsicker has to go to. It's one of the leadership meetings I've been to in the past, but now they're inviting everyone who's never gone before, too. And since I have no leadership and have been before, I get to stay... but not in Dubuque. Due to mileage conditions, I'll be staying in Savanna, a small-town area with little going for it and a branch that is so small, the missionaries are basically the first and second counselors. It seems odd that while there is a branch that is on the verge of collapse there, we're working on starting a Marshallese Branch, here. I'm hoping it's created before I leave. Anyway, we just found this out last night, so we have to cancel some stuff and refigure it all out. Great stuff is going to go down, I know it. I love this area, I love this ward, I love the Marshallese, and I love the work.
--
Love,
The Transcendentally Beautiful Elder Gates
(Doctrine and Covenants 137:2)
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