Well how are things going for everyone? Everyone enjoying life? Sounds like things are pretty busy over there from what I'm hearing. I got the package, muchas gracias. There isn't a specific day I get my mail it just depends on when it comes and how long it takes the mission office to get it to me so it changes all the time.So good news...................................................My backpack was found! ha So what ended up happening was Elder Hansen who came out with me, his companion grabbed it thinking it was Elder Hansen's and then when they got to their apartment it got thrown on the couch and pretty much just sat there for 4 weeks. Everyone just figured it was someone Else's bag ha. But now I have doubles of everything pretty much its sweet haha. So I have my journal again so I don't have to rewrite stuff. I'm sorry to hear about Dillon's Cross Country. You got to work if you want results. Elder Croft is super big into cross country and he smokes me every time we go out for a run. I'm at the point where I don't even care anymore, Ive accepted it as a part of life ha.
One day it was super cold and now its been super hot ever since then. ha It rained almost every day last week though.
Well Ill tell you a little about my week now. Well this week has been a pretty tough week, we have had to drop a ton of investigators because they don't have the desire to change or do the things we ask them. And we haven't taught very many lessons either. Kind of a bummer but were working on finding more people! I focus has been on Jose Paz this last little while. We have extended an invitation to be baptized twice now but he still doesn't feel ready but were pretty confident he will get baptized soon. I guess I'm improving on Spanish a little bit. I can now talk on the phone with Spanish speaking people so that's improvement right? ha The only Spanish food I have been getting is from the Salvador family. But so far its been super good! I'm actually suppose to be having some Peruvian food next Tuesday. Elder Croft says its raw fish........hmmmm. Ill let you know how it goes ha. On Friday last week we spoke to about thirty people on the street and pretty much every single one of them rejected us in some rude way, its super sweet. Sometimes people just yell at us through the door without even opening it. This one guy was sitting on his porch and we had just gotten done knocking on his neighbors door who is one of our investigators and then we were going to talk to this guy and he just yells "Dint even bother wasting your time here" But even after that we still told him that we know our message is true that's why we would like to share it with him and he just stood up out of his chair and starting heading towards us like he was going to beat us up ha. He stopped about half way though and was like "You boys get out of here" pretty fun stuff! The next cool experience was pretty intense as well. So I think I told you about this a little while ago but after the hurricane we stopped by this one house who had a tree branch fall on their car and bust it up pretty bad. They weren't home but we cleared up their yard and everything for them and then left a note on the door. Well we never heard from them so we decided to stop by on Monday to see if everything worked out for them. They were home and the guy was super nice invited us right in and he knew exactly who we were. He introduced us to his kids and then we were just having small talk on the couch and he was way nice. He grew up in an LDS community and a lot of his friends were Mormon so he knew quite a bit about the church. He is a member of this super huge church/school called Covenant LIfe. And he was telling us how he really respected us and was jealous of our "zeal" is what he said. The next thing he said was "I wish that we (the people of his church) had the same zeal for the truth as you do for a lie." He just flat out told us how we were wrong and was trying to prove us wrong the whole time. He called us blasphemers and all this junk. It was super crazy! All we could do was bear pure testimony to him and just hope that one day he changes his mind or that the spirit will soften his heart. Some super crazy experiences though!
Well on a happier note! Last night was the night of music and inspiration. Its a concert that is put on by the missionaries. It was super good and the spirit was way strong. Elder Croft played the piano for it, he is way good. This kid is just loaded with talents. Today was Fall sports day which is a mission wide activity. We all get together and play a ton of games. One of the games is called hero ball, its a mix of dodgeball, soccer, ultimate frisbee, and capture the flag. It was super fun unfortunately we lost both of our games though ha. I was the goalie for my team and not to be prideful or anything but nobody scored on me all day, impressed much? I thought you would be ha Well everything has been going pretty good here, currently our apartment is all torn up and a mess because were trying to kill all the roaches and mice ( got to love it!) But hopefully we will take care of that soon. Ill try to get pictures to you all soon. Did you get my last ones I sent? I actually haven't been able to go to the city since my first time, its been a bummer but hopefully soon! We were going to go on a dome tour of the capital today but Fall sports day got moved to today instead. Oh well I guess!
This week we have been teaching a lot about adversity especially to the members and its helped alot of them out in so many ways. Everyone goes through adversidad and some go through a little more than others. The scriptures promise us in D&C 54:2-4 that there are always blessing after trails IF we do our part. Our part is to remember the Lord during those trials, to put him first and not last, and to humble ourselves. Like the Lord promised Joseph Smith when he was in Carthage jail, If we endure our trials well we will be blessed beyond our imagination. I testify of this truth because I have felt it and seen it in my life. I hope everything is going well for you all and I cant wait to hear from you again. I love you all! Remember the Lord in all that you do and don't forget to smile :)
Elder Gleed
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Sept 7, 2011
La familia Gleed,
HOLA! How is it going everyone? I appreciate all the packages and letters I have received. All of the Elders were super jealous of me because I got all of the packages in one day. It sounds like you all are doing very well. So Dillon is going to homecoming huh? Reminds me of when I went to homecoming for the first time my sophomore year when I was....15 *cough cough* Anyways! Im sure Mom remembers that pretty well! How is School going for everyone? Hopefully great! Lots of homework yet? Make sure you let me know whats going on in your lives! By the way im trying to write as many letters as I can on Pdays so be patient ha. There is hardly anytime to do anything on Pday so I try to write as fast as possible to everyone.
Well I will tell you about my week. On Thursday We had a big Spanish meeting/Workshop thing for all of the Spanish speaking elders and sisters in the mission. It was pretty good and I learned a lot about teaching specifically hispanic members and how to use my time more wisely when studying Spanish. Hopefully it pays off! We have been teaching a ton of lessons the last couple of weeks so we have been really busy! We pretty much just taught all day both members and investigators on Friday and Saturday. Up here we are able to use the Visitor Center at the temple which is super cool! We bring our investigators here and the Sisters teach them with the resources here at the VC. We also had a ward Mission Activity on Friday. The members were able to learn more about the Kindoms of Heaven through different rooms we had designed to represent each of the 3 kingdoms. It was really cool! Francisco(got baptized 2 sundays ago) has been doing great, he actually got confirmed this last Sunday and I am the one who confirmed him....IN SPANISH! ha can you believe it? It was super intense and a really neat experience! Francisco is a great kid and he really has that desire to change his life and follow JesuCristo. He has been looking up all the Missionaries on facebook trying to figure out our first names and I guess he found Elder Croft and I ha. On Sunday we also had a special Spanish Noche de Hogar (family Night) at the Matsumori's house. It was super good! We have a lessons games and delicious food made by Sister Matsumori. Delicious! We actually had one of our investigators, Jose Paz (he is a Dad with 4 kids, his wife and kids are baptized and go to church but he is not a member) to go. He went without his wife and with all of his kids so it means he really wanted to go! and He had a great time! Then everyone showed up for the Combined ward BBQ on Monday. It was raining all day but we still had a blast, everyone was soaked. We played tug of war and ate a ton of food (of course, its the spanish way) Hermano Paz and his family had a great time! Were going to be teaching him again soon and we are going to give him a baptisimal date. Cross your fingers he says yes! Also on Monday I went on with exchanges with one of the zone leaders, Elder Edwards. He is a really good kid from Draper he will be going home in December. It was a ton of fun, we went to a members house and ate delicious food and then just went and did missionary work. He is a really good kid and I learned a ton from him. yesterday (tuesday) was kind of tough actually. First of all it rained all day so we were soaked. And it was cold! Elder Croft let me wear one of his sweaters ha. And then Im pretty sure we talked to every chinese person in the state of Maryland yesterday. We knocked forever and the only people that answered were chinese. Ridiculous! We only taught one lesson and that was with Francisco. We are preparing him to receive the priesthood and he is super excited about it! Hopefully in a couple of weeks! As for today, its still raining and we havent really done a whole ton except shop. I bought a sweet calender with some cool pictures of the temple that I think I will just send home or keep for the pictures because its a 2011 calender. But hey it was only 2 bucks!
I hope everything is going well at home and that you guys are enjoying life! Last night we had dinner at the Bishops and we talked a little bit about adversity and how sometimes life is just tough and gets you down. Elder Croft and I found this awesome scripture in D&C 58: 2-4. It says something like after much tribulation comes the blessings which is true! The best thing you can do during tough times is get on your knees and pray for help. And then after get up on your feet and get to work! Keep working hard and making the most out of everday, read the scriptures, in them we find so much hope and guidance! I started reading the new testament the other day and I love it! I figured if I want to become like Jesus Christ, I need to do the things he did, and if I want to do that I need to know what He did! ha So I started reading and im loving every minute of it! When you guys get the time I would love to hear your testamonies! Just send me an email or letter if you can! You guys are amazing and I love you! I know your striving everyday to do whats right and as you continue to do your best you will only receive blessing from it! I cant wait to hear from you again! Have a great week and remember to smile! :)
Love Elder Gleed
HOLA! How is it going everyone? I appreciate all the packages and letters I have received. All of the Elders were super jealous of me because I got all of the packages in one day. It sounds like you all are doing very well. So Dillon is going to homecoming huh? Reminds me of when I went to homecoming for the first time my sophomore year when I was....15 *cough cough* Anyways! Im sure Mom remembers that pretty well! How is School going for everyone? Hopefully great! Lots of homework yet? Make sure you let me know whats going on in your lives! By the way im trying to write as many letters as I can on Pdays so be patient ha. There is hardly anytime to do anything on Pday so I try to write as fast as possible to everyone.
Well I will tell you about my week. On Thursday We had a big Spanish meeting/Workshop thing for all of the Spanish speaking elders and sisters in the mission. It was pretty good and I learned a lot about teaching specifically hispanic members and how to use my time more wisely when studying Spanish. Hopefully it pays off! We have been teaching a ton of lessons the last couple of weeks so we have been really busy! We pretty much just taught all day both members and investigators on Friday and Saturday. Up here we are able to use the Visitor Center at the temple which is super cool! We bring our investigators here and the Sisters teach them with the resources here at the VC. We also had a ward Mission Activity on Friday. The members were able to learn more about the Kindoms of Heaven through different rooms we had designed to represent each of the 3 kingdoms. It was really cool! Francisco(got baptized 2 sundays ago) has been doing great, he actually got confirmed this last Sunday and I am the one who confirmed him....IN SPANISH! ha can you believe it? It was super intense and a really neat experience! Francisco is a great kid and he really has that desire to change his life and follow JesuCristo. He has been looking up all the Missionaries on facebook trying to figure out our first names and I guess he found Elder Croft and I ha. On Sunday we also had a special Spanish Noche de Hogar (family Night) at the Matsumori's house. It was super good! We have a lessons games and delicious food made by Sister Matsumori. Delicious! We actually had one of our investigators, Jose Paz (he is a Dad with 4 kids, his wife and kids are baptized and go to church but he is not a member) to go. He went without his wife and with all of his kids so it means he really wanted to go! and He had a great time! Then everyone showed up for the Combined ward BBQ on Monday. It was raining all day but we still had a blast, everyone was soaked. We played tug of war and ate a ton of food (of course, its the spanish way) Hermano Paz and his family had a great time! Were going to be teaching him again soon and we are going to give him a baptisimal date. Cross your fingers he says yes! Also on Monday I went on with exchanges with one of the zone leaders, Elder Edwards. He is a really good kid from Draper he will be going home in December. It was a ton of fun, we went to a members house and ate delicious food and then just went and did missionary work. He is a really good kid and I learned a ton from him. yesterday (tuesday) was kind of tough actually. First of all it rained all day so we were soaked. And it was cold! Elder Croft let me wear one of his sweaters ha. And then Im pretty sure we talked to every chinese person in the state of Maryland yesterday. We knocked forever and the only people that answered were chinese. Ridiculous! We only taught one lesson and that was with Francisco. We are preparing him to receive the priesthood and he is super excited about it! Hopefully in a couple of weeks! As for today, its still raining and we havent really done a whole ton except shop. I bought a sweet calender with some cool pictures of the temple that I think I will just send home or keep for the pictures because its a 2011 calender. But hey it was only 2 bucks!
I hope everything is going well at home and that you guys are enjoying life! Last night we had dinner at the Bishops and we talked a little bit about adversity and how sometimes life is just tough and gets you down. Elder Croft and I found this awesome scripture in D&C 58: 2-4. It says something like after much tribulation comes the blessings which is true! The best thing you can do during tough times is get on your knees and pray for help. And then after get up on your feet and get to work! Keep working hard and making the most out of everday, read the scriptures, in them we find so much hope and guidance! I started reading the new testament the other day and I love it! I figured if I want to become like Jesus Christ, I need to do the things he did, and if I want to do that I need to know what He did! ha So I started reading and im loving every minute of it! When you guys get the time I would love to hear your testamonies! Just send me an email or letter if you can! You guys are amazing and I love you! I know your striving everyday to do whats right and as you continue to do your best you will only receive blessing from it! I cant wait to hear from you again! Have a great week and remember to smile! :)
Love Elder Gleed
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