Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Semana ochenta!

Week 80 of 101 (3/23-3/29)

Hello!

I hope that you are doing well. We had some fun experiences this week as Elder Ellis and I talked to as many people as we possibly could.

First of all we met a man named Thomas. He is really interesting to talked to but really receptive to our visits. He studied to be a Jesuit priest but now everyone just calls him "Rasta." He has a great knowledge of the Bible and he really wants to live a good life full of love. He was actually one of the first people we contacted when I got to Santa Elena, but we just began teaching.

We also had a great experience this week. One night we were contacting a street, looking for some one who had given us a really general address. As we came off the street we saw a young couple walking down the street. We have a goal to talk to every single family we see walking together, so we went up to them and started talking to them. They said they would be interested in hearing more of the message and we left them with a pamphlet about the restoration of the gospel. Fast forward a few days, we were biking from one appointment to another when we heard someone shout at us and we quickly turned back to talk to them. Turns out it was the same lady we had talked to two days before. She told us that she had read the pamphlet and she had some questions. We told her we would be back that night and gave her a Book of Mormon.

When we reached her house that night, we started talking to her. Turns out she had read everything we had given her and had already prayed about it before we even invited her to do so. It was incredible to see someone so prepared to receive the message of the restored gospel. It shows that not one effort is wasted in the service of God. Elder Ellis and I are very hopeful for her and know the gospel will bless her life.

I love you all. I am so grateful for all the blessings that the Lord has given me. I feel like every time I recognize a blessing from God, more come to me. I know that as we count our blessings, that "every doubt will fly" and we will feel the love of God and know for a fact that He exists and is watching over us.

Elder Vierkant

Semana setenta y nueve!

Week 79 of 101 (3/16-3/22)

Wuada guan aan?

How are you all this week? I am doing well. We had changes this week. Elder Naillon left Tuesday morning, going to El Salvador. I will miss him, he was a great companion. That same day, we headed over to Belize City for changes meeting. I met my new companion, Elder Ellis. He is from Arizona. He is a great, humble missionary. We will have a lot of fun over this next change.

Well, I don't have much time so I would just like to say that I am doing well, I love where I am and the people here. This is the Lords work and I am grateful He is letting me help Him. The Church is true, The Book of Mormon too.

Elder Vierkant

Semana setenta y ocho!

Week 78 of 101 (3/09-3/15)

Hello!

Back to Belmopan? What is that suppose to mean, you might ask. Criminal records. Yet again, I am sending my companion back to El Salvador. Yep, Elder Naillon is already leaving Santa Elena and going back. We suppose the reason is that Elder Naillons back won't permit him to ride bikes for the rest of his mission. So, next time I write you, I will have a new companion.

Elder Naillon and I had a great week this week. Although we were barely able to see any of our investigators due to their busy schedules, we were able to talk with plenty of new people and have some very spiritually powerful lessons.

In particular, we met a lady named Sharron. She is from Belize, but she lived a large part of her life in the United States. She has a strong desire to have a strong family and thus she is naturally interesting the gospel, which happens to be the perfect plan for the happiness of families. Isn't that great?  We had a really great experience with her as we taught about the Restoration. She understood really well and you could tell that she felt the spirit as we and Brother Kib taught.

We also had a great activity this weekend. We gather as much of the branch as we could, inviting anyone that we had ever talked to all change as well. We played some volleyball outside before going in and having snacks and watching a movie. It went well and the members that came really enjoyed it. The branch really needs unity and it is great when we can get them to participate in the activities that we hold.

The Gospel is great, it really makes me happy. I love to be a missionary, it is just a blast. Belize is pretty awesome. So is El Salvador (Elder Naillon).

Take luck,

Elder Vierkant



Semana setenta y siete!

Week 77 of 101 (3/02-3/08)

Hi,

I don't have much time left, but I thought I would let you all know that I am still alive. We had a great week this week. We had some great experiences this week.

This week we were walking down the street a lady stopped us and asked us how she could start studying with us. We set an appointment with her and we showed up that day and she was waiting for us and we taught her. The next day she came to church. It really is incredible the way the Lord puts people in your way who are ready to receive the gospel.

We also had an opportunity to work with one of the assistants to the president, Elder Moore. It was great to see the fire of desire that he had to share the gospel and it was most definitely contagious. We also had a great multizone with President Hintze and we came away feeling very edified.

I love you all and I love the mission, Belize and the Lord,

Elder Vierkant

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Semana setenta y seis!



Week 76 of 101 (2/23-3/01)

Hello!

Alright, to start off this letter I just have to share the amazing feelings that I have right now. I hope I can do them justice with my mere words, but I am going to give it a try! More of the Rivera family from La Ponderosa have gotten baptized! Oh, man, I am just so happy for them and I can't wait for the day that I get to see them again. It is always just indescribably incredible to see people that you taught and love get baptized, even after you have left the area. I haven't ever even met the missionaries that are there, but they are very fortunate to be there.

To add on to that great news, we had some awesome experiences here in Santa Elena, Belize! We were blessed to find just an incredible person named Nickisha. We were coming back from a fallen appointment when we saw a house tucked back away from the main road, so we thought, " Well, last time we had success contacting tucked away houses, lets try this one."  Well, I don't know if it was actually that, or mostly the Spirit directing us, most likely the later. But either way we ended up in front of that door. We stood there waiting for a bit, calling to see if anyone would come. Finally, a women walked up from the road and greeted us. We talked with her for a while and she invited us back the next day.

Fast forward to a few days later, We were teaching the Plan of Salvation and we explained that Adam and Eve had received two commandments when they entered the Garden of Eden. The she asked us when effect eating the fruit had on Adam and Eve and we explained that they had been in a state of innocence and that eating the fruit had made it possible for them to know good from evil. She then asked us how it would be possible for Adam and Eve to have children if they were so innocent. We were able to read 2 Nephi 2:22-24 with her. It was amazing to see such a clear example of the Book of Mormon answering the questions of the soul. After we had finished explaining that this time is a time to prepare to meet God, we invited her to be baptized and she said she didn't want to procrastinate her repentance and accepted a date. That lesson was a great blessing and I am so happy to see the changes that the gospel is causing in her life.

God has a plan for us and is preparing us for the future. I have learned that every down is just so you can get a little bit more speed upwards. Even though we may not know why we are going through what we go through, it is so worth it if we keep the course and fight the good fight.

Love you all!

Elder Vierkant

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Semana setenta y cinco!

Week 75 of 101 (2/16-2/22)

GOOD MORNING!

This week was a blast. Elder Naillon and I had a ton of fun. We had some great experiences this week, and more than ever, I am convinced that the Lord is watching over his work.

Now, to explain the title of this email and also the rest of the week. Last Monday we went to the hospital because my companion had been suffering from back pains. We got his back x-rayed and we sent the x-rays to a doctor in Guatemala. The next day we get a call from the Central America medical adviser. Basicly, in layman's terms, my companion broke his back. However, it isn't quite as bad it sounds. I guess a small piece of the bone chipped of one of the vertebrae in his back. There is nothing that they said we can do but wait. But, in the mean time my companion cannot wear a backpack nor can we ride bikes, which means a LOT of walking, which is great fun.

Undeterred by the above mentioned events, we still were able to put a great amount of effort into the work and I am impressed at my companions ability to soldier on, even when it does hurt. And if he hadn't, we may have never met a lot of the people that we did this week nor had a lot of the great experiences that we did have.

One of the best experiences that we had this week was when we found Sue. Elder Naillon and I had walked around most of Santa Elena just trying to find an investigator, a less active or just anyone who would listen to us. On our way somewhere, we decided to go and knock on the doors of a few houses that were a bit far from the road that were on. The first house had a locked gate and no one was home. The second house was empty as well. We went to try the third house and first no one came to the door. We were about to leave when a lady came out and asked us if we had been standing there a while. She invited us in and we sat down and explained our purpose as missionaries. Towards the end, she explained to us that just before we had showed up, she had been praying that God would show her the way and give her help. Not long after we showed up. God answers prayers. I know it.

The most amazing thing is, that if we had been riding around on bikes, I doubt we would have stopped and talked to those houses. The Lord has plans, which are infinitely greater than ours. What may seem as a stumbling block for us at the moment, the very thing that frustrates us to wits end, is the very stepping stone that God is giving us to raise us up and to hasten his work. Have patience. Have Faith. Rely on the Lord.

With Love,

Elder Vierkant

Semana setenta y cuatro!

Week 74 of 101 (2/09-2/15)

Hello!

I thought that I would start out this week by expressing how much I love Belize. It really is such a beautiful place. I feel like you could take incredible pictures from any one spot in Belize.  I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve here.

Fun little fact about Belize, unless there is hot sauce on the table, it isn't a meal. Every where you go, there is always a bottle of habanero hot sauce on the table, usually Marie Sharps brand. Its great, especially in contrast with El Salvador where they don't really eat hot food.

Neat experiences this week were that we got to plant pineapples with the Moody family at their farm. That was a unique experience. Also, the sister missionaries saw the actor who plays one of the hobbits in the Lord of the Rings filming for something and they took pictures with him.

Anyways, I digress. This week was a lot of fun. There was is a member who is from Santa Elena but is living in the states who came back and has been working with us. We were able to work with him a lot this week as well as one of the members of the branch presidency. As I have said before and I will say again, working with members is the best way to go.

We had a tender mercy this week. We were looking for a less active member at his house, or at least were he use to live. His neighbor, named Carla came out and told us that he had moved out. We had talked with her before and we had given her a pamphlet about the Restoration of the gospel. We asked her if she read it and she said yes. She then invited us in and we started to talk with her. Turns out she is very intelligent and spiritually sensitive and we had a great lesson with her. We came back a few days later and she told us that she had prayed and received an answer that the things we were teaching were true. It was amazing to see the faith that Carla had to receive that answer and we are really looking forward to teaching her.

I know this is the Lords work, I know that He is hastening it. I know that as we rely on the promises of the Lord and we work out hardest, miracles will happen. I am grateful to be even a small part of this great work.

Elder Vierkant

Semana setenta y tres!

Week 73 of 101 (2/02-2/08)

Buite binafi! (I have no idea how to spell in Garifuna)

This week was full of great, new experiences. On Tuesday, Elder Hiatt left to go to El Salvador early in the morning and Elder Williams came from Bullet Tree to accompany me to Belize City for changes meeting. It is a three hour bus ride from Santa Elena to Belize City and so Elder Williams and I had some good time to chat.

We ended up making it to the chapel in Belize City right before the meeting started. The changes meeting here in Belize are a lot different from those in El Salvador in that they are short and to the point. It didn't take long for me to find out that my new companion is Elder Naillon. He is coming from Dangriga. He and I were in the MTC together. He is from Idaho and is bit of a rancher. He likes country music, which explains a lot. Just kidding, we are pretty similar in a lot of ways, especially in the fact that we both wrestled in high school.

As follows, we have had a lot of fun over this last week. We concentrated on a lot on finding new investigators. And so we did. We found a really positive lady named Rosanna. She is really interested and is really excited to read the Book of Mormon.

We also had the chance to watch "Meet The Mormons" with President Hintze. It was a great movie and I feel like it really got the point across that Mormons aren't crazy, strange people, but just normal people who have good values and try to follow Christ, no matter what walk of life they come from. After we watched it, we got a mini training session from President Hintze, which was great and cleared up a ton of questions that I had had.

Overall, it was a great week and I learned a lot about other people and, probably more so, myself. I have learned to always trust the promises of the Lord. He does not lie and sooner or later what He says, happens. Patience and faith are so vital. Being short sighted and believing that any trial is permanent is so detrimental. So, fear not, for He has conquered the world.

Elder Vierkant

Semana setenta y dos!

Week 72 of 101 (1/26-2/01)

Dear Everyone,

Like the title states, tomorrow are changes. Elder Hiatt is leaving Santa Elena and is going back to El Salvador. When we got the call last night, we weren't very surprised. He has already been in Belize for over a year, which is a lot of time. We also had to go to immigration on Thursday, which is a dead give away. It has been a good 8 weeks with Elder Hiatt here in Santa Elena. I have learned a lot during this time. We have had a lot of disappointments and a lot of successes. I hope him the best back in the land of pupusas.

Side note, when we went to immigration, we also saw Elder Tello, my companion on San Pedro. He told me a lot of things, but among them one of the families, the Stain family, who we were teaching got baptized. I am so happy for them.

We experienced a lot of success with less active families this week. We had to go searching far and wide, looking cross the land. We found a lot of them and we were even able to have the joy of seeing one of them, Oscar, in church. It was a rewarding week and I am reminded how much greater it is to serve the Lord than ones self.

Have a great week,

Elder Vierkant