Hello everyone!
This week was pretty good. So last night we got transfer
calls. Elder Neville is being transferred and I'll be getting my new companion
tomorrow morning. We are all speculating that President Pingree is putting all
the Zone Leaders back together this transfer for President Mortensen, who will
arrive here in Houston on the 30th. Crazy stuff. :)
On Wednesday this week we had dinner at the Liu's (a Chinese
family that was baptized 3 years ago) with President and sister Pingree and the
sister missionaries. Brother Liu was president Pingree's first baptismal
interview and confirmation as a mission president, so they've developed a good
friendship over the years. Sister Liu made some amazing Chinese food. So
incredibly good. She made the best shrimp I've ever had. On Thursday we had
dinner at another recent convert's home. She was baptized in May. She's
awesome. Her husband is not a member and is a really great guy. The highlight
of the day was that he made us seafood paella. Oh my goodness. I've never been
so scared in my life. It was loaded with shrimp, mussels, clams, and idk what.
It actually was pretty good. Way too much work to put in for a meal though. I
was sick of opening shells and tearing legs off. haha. :)
On Friday we had Specialized Training. It was all about the
Restoration. It was awesome. President Pingree basically planned the training
around the Talk entitled "What is the Blueprint of Christ's Church"
by Elder Tad R. Callister. Coolest talk ever. Listen/watch it! Anyway,
President talked about what needs to happen in order for someone to gain a
testimony of the Restoration: They need to 1) understand the pattern of Apostasy
& Restoration that has happened repeatedly throughout time. 2) Read &
pray about the Book of Mormon 3) Have the Spirit testify to them. He went
through a pretty lengthy list of scriptures that prophesied of Apostasy and
then scriptures that contained corresponding evidence to those prophecies. Most
of the scriptures with the evidence, or fulfilling of the prophecies of
apostasy, were from the different epistles in the New Testament. Apostasy was
happening even during the life of the Apostles, the epistles were written
BECAUSE of apostasy. The Bible is in itself a testimony of apostasy. It
testifies of it, not only in the day of the apostles, but also of apostasy to
come in the future. Pretty cool stuff. There was a sister missionary who asked
the question what we should do when people we teach get caught up in
anti-mormon material. We had a very long discussion and President then shared
D&C 29:7: "And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine
elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.” As
missionaries we are here to gather the elect, not everyone. Only those who hear
his voice and harden not their hearts.
To go along with that I have a cool journal entry that I
came across the other day that you all might like. Here it is:
January 25, 2014
"Today we went tracting in an area that Elder Bergman
felt impressed to go to. We ended up knocking on the door of some crazy old man
with a ginormous, cigarette-stained white beard. He then went on and on talking
crap about Joseph Smith. He was in my face and staring into my eyes the whole
time. I could do nothing but stare back and smile at him. We just testified of
the savior and he softened up a little bit. He has had what sounded like many
missionaries placed in his path. He has had plenty opportunities and if he
never takes them he won't have much of a case to plead. Joseph Smith was a
prophet. He saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He was given the priesthood
and this IS Christ's church. It is led and directed by Jesus Christ Himself,
through His prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and His apostles. I have this priesthood
and I am here to share this gospel, the true gospel of Jesus Christ, with those
that are willing to hear."
Happy Father's Day Dad! Hope it was a good one. I had to
give the thought at Autumn Leaves yesterday and it was focused on Father's.
Here's kind of the gist of it. It started off by a discussion of what our
father's mean to us and what role they've played. After a while we came to the
conclusion that ultimately what a father does is provide. Whether it be
financially, educationally, spiritually, or emotionally. The father's role is
to provide for his children. Not everyone has a father on earth who does that.
Not everyone has that role model that they deserve, and NONE of us have father's
who are perfect. But all of us do have a perfect Heavenly Father who not only
loves us perfectly, but has PROVIDED for us perfectly.
John 3: 16-17
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Our Father in Heaven has provided a way for us to return to
live with Him again. He loves us more than we can comprehend, and will always
provide a way for us to do the things He commands us to do. Dad, I'm thankful
that I have BOTH a loving father on earth and in heaven who have provided for
me. Thanks for all that you have done for me and our family. A couple of things
that I really admire and appreciate about you: 1) You have ALWAYS provided for
us financially. You leave home early, come home late, and go to bed early to
get ready to do it all over again. You've been doing that our whole lives and not
once have I ever heard you complain. 2) You've always been very patient with
us, but not too patient. You're a great father and I love you!
Have a great week! Sorry this was so long. I also have a TON
of pictures from this week and the week before. Love you all!
Elder Steed
At the Liu's!
Waiting for yummy chinese food!
Downtown The Woodlands, TX (next several pictures)
We ran over a snake! haha warning! next photo is graphic!
It kinda... puked up it's insides..
This is a roadrunner. blurry. It had a fish in it's mouth. it runs soooo fast.
Sister Powell and Elder Roberts at Specialized training. We came out together.
random huge storm. Picture doesn't do it justice.
We were doing church tours and watched a ladies dog as the sisters gave her a tour.
Don't leave your camera around..
Dinner at the Ayre's. Amazing steak!
Brother Shumway, Ward Mission Leader in Woodlands 1st ward.
Woodlands 1st ward mission!
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