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.

 

 

Semana ochenta y cinco!

Week 85 of 101 (4/27-5/03)

Hello!

Well, this week has been really busy and a ton of fun. On Tuesday, we had changes. I got transferred to Belmopan, which is the capital city here in Belize. My new area includes a lot of villages outside the actual city and stretches along the Western Highway toward Santa Elena. Actually, I was really just transferred over one area over. But, the distance is big enough that it is really different area.

My companion is Elder Williams and he is from Idaho. My number of companions from Idaho now rivals that of my companions from Guatemala. Anyways, Elder Williams is really a great guy and he is a lot of fun. He is really bold in inviting people to act and it really is refreshing.

Most of the week I spent getting to know the area and meeting a lot of awesome people. They are a lot of great people here and I feel like there are people who are receptive to the Gospel.  We had a lot of great experiences and a lot of spiritual lessons.

We also helped the sisters and senior couple moved houses. We spent most of the morning helping and at lunch the senior couple bought lunch for us. It was a lot of fun.

We also had the assistants here with us for a few days. It was really fun do go on interchanges with Elder Shirley again. We started the mission together in the same zone and a had a lot of crazy experiences together.

Also, I just want to mention that some how Elder Ford, I have mentioned him before, are some how in the same zone again. He is a ton of fun, so this will be a good change.

I have really come to understand how important commitment is this week. Our commitment to follow God is what drives us forward on the straight and narrow path. It is what allows us to progress. As missionaries, as we commit people to act, it is how we declare repentance. We follow up to help encourage them to succeed. Just as prophets of old continued to preach until the people that they taught changed. 

Until next week, 

Elder Vierkant

 

Photos:

1. Elder Shirley and me 

2. Me pretending to read the Book of Mormon in Mayan.

 

Semana ochenta y cuatro!

Week 84 of 101 (4/20-4/26)

Hello everyone!

Well, I guess the big news for this week, because I know that no one likes to wait, is that I am leaving Santa Elena. It has been a great stay here Santa Elena. I have learned so much from my time here, a lot of things that I will use my entire life. I am so grateful for all the great companions that I have here that have helped me to grow. I will really miss the people here.

This week was great. First we had the opportunity to speak with Shawn and his family. He is doing well and he has one of the sincerest desires to build a happy family that I have seen. He talked about how he had never really had that support growing up and how he wants it for his family. It was great to see how the Gospel answers his needs and I pray that he can see it as well.

We also had a great experience yesterday, Sunday. As missionaries, our purpose is to invite people to act. An essential part of the Gospel, as taught by Jesus Christ, is baptism. Thus we invite everyone to follow Jesus Christ's example and be baptized. Sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable as missionaries to invite someone, especially if you think they will say no. So it was yesterday. We knew the person we were teaching was a member of another church and had a strong tradition in the other church. As we neared the end of our lesson, we prepared to invite him to baptism. A bit apprehensive that we would be thoroughly denied, we invited him to be baptized. We were taught a really special lesson when he said "yes" and said he would pray to know if he should be baptized the30th of May. 

A lot of times, we see disappointment and we think have failed and we will continue to fail. As our disappointment increases, our hope and faith in the Lords promises begins to decrees and our efficiency and expectations fall. But, if we are willing to persevere and to test the Lords promises, We will see blessings. I love the hope that the Gospel gives us. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have of the truthfulness of the Gospel. I know that the Lord is watching over us and knows our struggles and trials, and that if we push through, we will blessed for what we have done.

Yours truly,

Elder Vierkant

P.S. The computer guy just told me it is over 100 degrees in here...

Pictures:

1. All my missionary agendas

2. Some classic Belizeian pig tail

Semana ochenta y tres!

Week 83 of 101 (4/13-4/19)

Hello!

They say that time flies when you are having fun. I think that is completely true. Time is just flying by, I can't believe that it is already Monday again.

Anyways, we had the some great experience this week. Starting with Shawn. He is the boyfriend of one of the less actives. The first time we saw Shawn was a church, which is the best way to meet someone. We actually thought he was a member when we met him! He and his girlfriend have decided that they want to make church a big part of their relationship, which is a great desire and is the perfect foundation for a very happy and successful relationship. We had a family home evening with them this week and we asked the sister to share a spiritual thought and then we taught a lesson. Incredibly, without coordinating it, we both talked about the eternal marriage! We had a great lesson and we could tell that it is something that they both want. I also thought about happy I am to know that I am sealed to my family forever and that I have the blessings of the temple in my home.

We also were able to start teaching another friend of a member, who they brought to church. I had met her with Elder Hiatt back in December, but she hadn't been quiet ready at the moment. But now she is coming to church and asked us to start visiting as soon as possible. I am amazed at how much a little patience and some help from the members can help someone grow their desire to  learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is Gods plan for happiness, but sometimes people don't immediately recognize it. They just need a little help from someone they trust. That is why it is so important that every member is a missionary. That is why members need to talk with those they know and not just wait for the missionaries to talk to them, because they might not trust the missionaries, but they will trust them.

This week we have been passing the 100 degree mark, with a nice humidity level as well. We do our best to stay alive by buying shilling waters from the small stores between lessons.

I know the Gospel is true and it blesses me and you!

Elder Vierkant

P.S. I finally am sending pictures.

Semana ochenta y dos!

Week 82 of 101 (4/06-4/12)

Hello!

I hope you all had a fantastic week. I most certainly did. I had some great experiences this week.

First of all, at the beginning of the week, my backpack with my camera and my journal from my whole mission disappeared while we were waiting to write last Monday. I was pretty sad, considering the amount of memories that I had lost in the bag. Although, there didn't seem to be much hope of finding it, I decided to try. So I talked to everyone who I thought might find it- including the trash collectors in case they threw away my journal- and I put up a couple flyers about it. After a few days and a lot of prayers, I got a call from a man who said he had picked up my bag  from about the place I had been. I met up with him and I got my bag with all my things inside! It was a miracle!

This week we have been going around showing the "Because He Lives" video, which is on helive.mormon.org. It has a helped us to really spread the message of the Atonement and it has opened the hearts of a lot of people. Some times people don't really understand what we are doing as missionaries, but we have helped explain the true purpose of all we do- to help people to find and follow Jesus Christ in our lives.  As we do that, we find safety, protection and the support of the Lord (Deut. 4:29-31).

I am so grateful to be a missionary, I am grateful for the gospel and the peace and happiness that it affords us. I am grateful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us.

Take care and remember, Choose The Right!

Elder Vierkant

Semana ochenta y uno!

Week 81 of 101 (3/30-4/05)

HELLO!

This last week was great! We met new people, did interchanges, and, best of all, got to listen to the prophet of the Lord and also His twelve Apostles! Lots of spiritual growth and opportunities to learn. I am so grateful for all that the Lord does for us and I am grateful for the knowledge of the restored gospel.

However, today I mostly wanted to focus on an experience that my companion and I had last night. Every Sunday, we meet with a member family to help them with their family home evenings. They have the family home evening on Sunday because that is the only time they really have to do it because they have busy jobs. As usual, we showed up to their door and knocked. We waited for them to get the keys and unlock the door. As we entered, I noticed that the mother seemed a bit frazzled. They had visitors and the rambunctious kids were bouncing around the house, playing. This seemed to get compounded by the fact that as we tried to gather everyone together, the video which we were trying to show wouldn't work.

Finally, as we got everything sorted out, we chose to start with a prayer. When we asked who wanted to say the prayer, the six year old little girl volunteered to teach her two year old nephew how to pray. It was one of the sweetest moments I have ever to witnessed as that six year old whispered into her nephews ear the prayer and he tried his very best to copy her. But, perhaps even more importantly was the content of the prayer. That little girl that our Heavenly Father for everything with sincere gratitude. She didn't ask for anything, but just told Her father that she was grateful.

As I thought about the experience afterwards, I thought about the effect the mother was having on her children. Although she was frustrated and may not have seen the fruit of her labors, her daughter was learning from her. What a great example of the effect that parents have on their children as they raise them. It reminds me of a talk from this general conference in which the speaker asked if we sometimes ask children to do things that we aren't willing to do or live. What kind of example are we giving to those around us? Are we dedicating our will to the will of the Lord from our sincere love for Him? Or are we giving a message of twisted hypocrisy as we say one thing and do another? Do we draw near to him with our lips while our hearts are far from him through "casual commandment keeping?"

I know that as we give an example of love and righteousness to those around us, the Lord will bless us. I am grateful for our Savior and the example he gave us. I love the gospel and I am grateful to be a missionary.

Elder Vierkant

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