Semana noventa y dos!

Week 91 of 101 (6/15-6/21)

Hello!

This week was great! Elder Stone and I had a ton of fun and we did a lot of work. We are seeing lots of miracles in our area and it has been great to see the progress of the investigators that we are helping come closer to Jesus Christ. I love to see people make changes in their lives through repentance. There is such happiness that comes from it. When we don't repent, we remain in darkness, confusion and sadness. When we have the courage to repent, we have light, happiness and a renewed sense of purpose as the children of God.

This week we had the awesome opportunity to work with the Elders from Dangriga. I got to work with Elder Sac from Guatemala in our area for two days. He has the least time in the mission of all the missionaries in our zone- 4 months. Everyone else has over a year. But regardless of time, he is a great missionary. He is learning English and he is doing a great job. It is awesome to see how The Spanish speakers learn English here in Belize. The Lord most definitely helps them and it is a huge blessing for their lives.

Some sad news: Floritas pipe burst Sunday morning and she wasn't able to make it to church. Good news: We visited her after church and she is doing great!  We also started to teach some of her family.

I know this email is short but there is a lot more to do today and not too much more time. Just know that I am safe, I am having a great time and this is the greatest work that anyone can ever do and it brings so much happiness.

BYE!

Elder Vierkant

 

Semana noventa y uno!

Week 91 of 101 (6/08-6/14)

Hello! 

I hope that everyone had a great week, I did! I almost can't really remember what happened. But I will try my best to remember.

On Tuesday we had changes. We traveled out to Belize City and waited for about an hour in the chapel to find out where everyone was going. They did a slide show to show where the changes were. Elder Williams was the very first person to find out. He is now serving in Belize City as the Assistant with Elder Shirley, They are both awesome missionaries, so I am super excited for that. My companion is Elder Stone is my new companion. He was actually already in the zone, down in Dangriga, they just moved him to Belmopan. Elder Stone and I actually lived in the same house a year and a half ago. He was my district leader in Opico.

The rest of the week went really well! We worked super hard and talked to a lot of people. We saw a lot of progress in some of our investigators. This Sunday Florita came to church. She is so excited to get baptized and she accepts the gospel so quickly. She really has been prepared.

I know that my email might not seem like much right now, but I don't think I can really communicate in 10 minutes all the different things that have happened this last week. I am super excited for the future. We have a lot of goals and we have the motivation to accomplish them. I know that we are edifying the Lords kingdom on Earth. I know he is directing us. I know that as we are obedient and as we give all our heart might mind and strength to the Lord, He will mold and reform us into the people He needs us to be and we will blessed with abilities and strengths. 

Amen,

Elder Vierkant

 

 

Semana noventa!

Week 90 of 101 (6/01-6/07)  

Mawnin', mawnin,

This week was just another great week of missionary work. Is there much else to say? Elder Williams and I had the great opportunity to meet a lot of new people that are willing to accept the gospel.

I had the chance to go with Elder Wither this week to his area on interchanges. I love being able to go visit with other missionaries because you learn so much and you have great experiences. You also get to know the missionaries around you better and it helps everyone to work in more unity.

The Mendenhalls, the senior couple here in Belmopan left this morning for Idaho. It was sad to see them to go home. They really have helped the work here. Senior missionaries help so much and they are such a blessing and example for us younger missionaries. I am extremely grateful for Elder Mendenhall, who noticed that my shoes were dying and traded me this morning. Now I won't go home barefoot.

There are changes this week. Elder Williams is leaving. I am sad to see him go. He is a great missionary. He is on his last change, so I hope he works hard to finish off his mission.

This work is lead by God. I know that we do not always understand the things that go on around us, but I know it is for our good. Patience, faith, and diligence are the attributes that we must have to succeed in this work.

bye,

Elder Vierkant


Photo: These shoes were sent to us a couple of weeks after Matthew mentioned them in his blog. There was a letter sent with them which is below.

Brother and Sister Vierkant,

Enclosed you will find the shoes I wore home from our mission. These are priceless and show the dedication and hardwork that your son has put into serving the Lord. Believe me, he is a great missionary!! It was a pleasure for Sister Mendenhall and I to serve with him. We worked with him and Elder Williams, Monday night in Rearing Creek and Cotton Tree. We enjoyed listening and learning from him and Elder Williams during our weekly zone meeting each Wednesday. I gave all of my partially worn shoes to the missionaries in Belize before coming home because I did not have the room to carry them in my luggage. Senior couples are not nearly as hard on clothes as young missionaries walking and riding bikes all day everyday.

Brother Mendenhall

Semana ochenta y nueve!

Week 89 of 101 (5/25-5/31)  

Hello!

We had a great week this week! 

First of all, we found a super awesome family, Carlos and Judith, by contacting referrals this week. They are super willing to listen, which some times it can be hard to find people who pay attention. They have kept most of the commitments that we have left them. We were definitely lead to them by the Spirit.

We also did interchanges with the missionaries that are in Dangriga. Elder Mariano, from the Dominican Republic came up and was with me for two days while Elder Williams did interchanges in Dangriga. It was a great, especially because Elder Mariano served in Central, my first area. He told me about some of the people that I had taught while I was there. It turns out that one of the less actives that I had taught had gone to the temple and gotten sealed! I was super excited! That is pretty much the best thing I could ever hear!

This Sunday we also got the chance to see Loretta get confirmed! She is great and I know that she will be a great asset for the branch. She is always super excited to go to church and to keep the commandments. She was definitely prepared for this moment.

I hope that you have a great week!

Elder Vierkant

P.S. Congratulations Joselyne for getting married!

 

 

Semana ochenta y ocho!

Week 88 of 101 (5/18-5/24) 

Hello!

Today was super great! Actually the whole week was awesome!

On Tuesday, we had a super awesome experience. We were teaching someone and we invited him to be baptized on the 13th of June. He agreed and said he wanted to "just get it done." Then he gave a bunch of referrals for a bunch of different people that we could go visit.

Wednesday was awesome. Elder Mendenhall told us that President Hinze wanted to Skype us before zone meeting. We all showed up early, a little bit nervous because we didn't know what it was all about. When everyone was there, we messaged him and he called us. Turns out he was just calling to congratulate us for our week. We had the most progressing investigators, new investigators and invitations to baptism in the whole mission, by a lot. He then had Elder Mendenhall take us all out to eat pizza after zone meeting.

In zone meeting we talked about hastening the work. We did a speed cup stacking tournament. Turns out that one of the sisters in our zone is a national speed stacking champion. We talked about how they had to be quick but they had to do it correctly and neatly in order to succeed. We talked about hastening but not being hasty.

There were a lot other cool experiences we had, which I don't have time to write about. But I would like to talk about the baptisms today! Today three people got baptized in the branch. It was incredible. One of the most incredible parts was that Lorretta, our investigators, walked 3 miles from Roaring Creek to the chapel in order to get baptized. Talk about faith! It has been such an incredible to teach her and see her faith. 

The Gospel makes us happy. So live it!

Elder Vierkant

Photos:

 

1) A day in Dangriga

2) This is Lorretta. She got baptized today. She is super incredible- she walked 3 miles to the chapel to get baptized!

3) Getting treated to pizza after zone meeting. 

Semana ochenta y siete!

Week 87 of 101 (5/11-5/17)

Hello! 

 

This week went by super fast. Probably because we did a bunch of companion exchanges and did a lot of fun things. 

 

On Tuesday we did interchanges with the other Elders in Belmopan because they were going to do a baptismal interview for us. That ended up falling through, but we still had a great day. I was with Elder Withers, who is from Idaho. He is a great missionary. He is very humble and kind. We had a really cool experience asking everyone for referrals.  We were riding down the street and we decided to talk some people in the house. We tried to talk with them but most of them tried to hide from us and the rest of the people weren't really interested. When seemed a little pointless trying to talk to them anyone and we were about to leave, Elder Withers decided to ask if they knew anyone we could talk to. They said yes and gave us a name and an address. It was awesome! 

 

On Wednesday I want on interchanges to Dangriga for two days. Dangriga is a town about two hours from Belmopan. It is on the coast and its a little bit like San Pedro. They people are really friendly and open so it was a ton of fun to work there. On Wednesday we went to a family home evening. On the way, we talked with a little girl, about six years old. I don't remember what the Elder asked the little girl but she looked at him and said "Because... Jesus made Frozen." Completely unrelated to what he said, but it was pretty funny. 

 

ON Thursday I got to go with Elder Mariano from the Dominican Republic. He is a great guy. I have a lot of respect for him because he speaks mostly Spanish and Dangriga is a mostly English area, so its forcing him to learn English faster. We had a great day and we made an effort to talk with everyone and invite them to repent and be baptized. It was a great day. We also had the opportunity to listen to a guy pray in Garifuna. I didn't understand a thing, but it sounded really cool. 

 

Lorreta came to church today. She is the wife of a less active. She is so excited to join the church and you can see how the Gospel has made her so much happier. I am super excited for her and her baptism and it is so cool to see how the gospel has blessed her life.

 

Remember to read your scriptures, pray and have Family Home Evening.

 

Elder Vierkant

 

 

Semana ochenta y seis!

Week 86 of 101 (5/04-5/10)

Hello!

Well, I hope all the mothers that read this had a great mothers day and that all those that have mothers did something nice for their mother. It was great being able to talk with my family again. You guys are awesome and motivate me to work hard.

This week was great. We taught a lot of people and we found a lot of new people to teach. We had an awesome experience this week. As a zone, we have put a goal to fulfill the standards of excellence that President Hinze has put out. One of them is to ask referrals from everyone we talk to. Sometimes it is hard to remember to do it, but the Spirit helps us to remember. One such occasion that was when we were teaching some siblings. We shared the "Because He lives" video and we were sharing a brief message to go along with the video. As we ended, we remembered to ask for a referral from them. They thought for a second and then referred us to a house just up the road. It was a bit unusual because a lot of people you contact in the street don't normally try to help you share the Gospel.

As we walked away, my companion and I discusses how we both had felt really impressed to asked for the referral. We tried to contact it then, but they weren't home. Then we went on Saturday and we were able to find them all. We invited them to learn more about the message we had and we invited them to church.They said "yes." But the best part was that they followed through! Not only did they come but they also brought two neighbor boys. It was a great experience and it really shows me that God is leading us towards those who are prepared, especially if we take the time to ask Him and others for help.

I love you all!

Elder Vierkant

 

 

Photos are from a service project.