Don't get trunky.

January 30, 2007

Dear Family,

In response to your question, where do I consider "home"... well, right now, I consider my apartment in Mira Mesa home. When people ask me "Where's home" I say "Seattle.... kinda." I guess I consider both Seattle and BYU home in that sense.

Well, my release date is confirmed: June 6th. Give or take a day. Don't get trunky. Yes, I'm planning on living at Grandma and Grandpa's house until I can get a place to live, probably fall.

Heh, mom, when you told me about Michelle's double date, the visual in my mind of only two boys and two girls together sent off a neon warning sign. Then I remembered that she's not a missionary, so it's okay.

Today was transfers. We spent last night after we got in cleaning the apartment and all this morning. There's a lot less clutter now. Clean houses are much better. Elder Gregory got transferred so our new roommate is Elder Manning from Las Vegas. He's been out for 5 months, just like Elder Moreno. They rode in on the same plane. I'm still with Elder Moreno - for the third transfer in a row.

We taught Steven a couple times this week. He didn't come to church. Evelyn didn't come to English class or church either and isn't answering the phone. I don't know what happened. Our roommates had a baptism on Saturday night that we went to so that Elder Moreno could give the missionary invite. That was very cool. The sisters found him tracting. He's having his family down in Mexico listen to the missionaries too.

One of Ronald's coworkers who lives in Vista is starting to take the missionary lessons too. He's having his whole family listen. It's important to find families to investigate.

We went again to where the Chinese people play soccer on Saturday and talked to about 20 people there. We gave out a few pamphlets, but we didn't get any new investigators. We'll keep trying.

We also tried something new this week: we made a poster that says, in Chinese, "What is the purpose of life? Is there a God? Is there life after death?" We then bought 4 helium balloons from the party store, and filled our trunk with Chinese proselyting materials, opened the trunk, taped the sign and balloons to it, and parked in the parking lot of a Chinese restaurant. We talked to several Chinese people there too. We may keep trying this. We call it our "Guerilla Booth" because if we get kicked out of a parking lot, we can just go somewhere else.

On Sunday, Toby wasn't there (we're not sure why) but I taught someone else, and committed him to be baptized next week. His name is Shane McDonald. He's a good kid.

Last night, we were walking to an appointment at Ronald's house and we street contacted a lady who was crying and lost; she got off the bus at the wrong place and wasn't sure how to get back to her home in down town San Diego. Elder Moreno said, "Well, we're missionaries." "Are you missionaries with a ride?" "Uh, we don't have a car right now, sorry." "Then I can't waste my time, I need to find a bus that'll take me to a trolley." So she walked away. As we walked on, we had an idea to use Elmer for a ride, so we ran to Elmer's had him get ready, and drove the direction she was walking. Sure enough, she was waiting at a nearby bus stop, where she had just missed the bus and it was starting to rain. We pulled up and said, "Now we're missionaries with a ride!" and she got in and we drove her to the trolley station. She told us that we had just answered her prayer, that she had just prayed for a way to get home. And you know, for missionaries, we had the perfect opportunity -- a captive audience who was willing to listen. We taught her the message of the restoration and she was receptive. We gave her a pamphlet and got her phone number. That'll go to other missionaries, and so we never know what'll happen, but I know that when we try to talk to and serve the people in our path, opportunities will open up to share the Gospel.

Well, time's up, I hope you have a great week. I love you all,
Elder Myers

I don't think the prophets of old had it very easy.

Dear Family,

How are you doing? I'm doing fine. The orange crop here was ruined? I didn't hear that. I hope the farmers have some orange insurance. It was pretty cold.

I got some news from Orem today. Nick Clark got home a couple weeks ago. Wow, crazy.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for Michelle. I hope she gets in.

I should have my actual release date finalized this week. I'll let you know next Tuesday.

Steven Dow is doing pretty well. He came to church this week. He's still progressing; we taught him a few times. We lost contact with Evelyn this week; she didn't even show up to English class. We got Mr. Fan to church again this week, and set up an appointment for the library yesterday, but when we got here, we found that the library was closed, and we saw Mr. Fan leaving. We were 5 minutes late because Elder Moreno is compulsive about brushing his teeth. So, we have to find another time he's free.

I'm sorry, I don't have my planner with me, so I'm not sure of all the details of what happened and when and all that, and I don't think a lot really did happen this week. But, there was one cool experience that I wanted to share.

Elder King and I went on exchanges, and during the afternoon we went to go street contact by Scripps Ranch High school right after it got out. After over an hour and a half of contacting, there were no more kids, and our ride back was late, so we found a place to sit down about half a block away and read the scriptures for a minute. After just a few minutes, a school bus pulled up and a lady got out to smoke. She was waiting 15 minutes or so for when she had to pick up some kids at the school We started a conversation with her and it turned out that 1) Her mom used to read the book of Mormon, 2) she wanted to quit smoking and 3) She had just left her church and was praying for God to show her which church she should go to. We told her it was no coincidence that we met her, gave her our last Book of Mormon, and got her information. I'll probably never find out what happened with her, but we can have faith and pray that the missionaries who got the referral will have success.

We did some service this week, helping Elmer get his yard under control, and helping the Spanish Branch President move. He gave us his old table, which now replaces our "midget table." It's nice to have a table that your legs can fit under.

We were street contacting a few nights ago and walked past a bar. A lady walked out and started smoking, so we started talking to her. She said she was catholic and believed in Jesus Christ. She agreed that faith and repentance were necessary. We didn't really beat around the bush for too long, I told her something like, "I don't mean to be offensive, but I'm concerned for you because you're at a bar. God doesn't want you here. We're his messengers inviting you to change your life. You can know Jesus Christ better than you know him now. You can be happier if you keep his commandments." She of course, said that this was a very offensive thing to say and told us to go away. Oh well. Nephi said the wicked take the truth to be hard, for it cuts them to the very core. I don't think the prophets of old had it very easy.

At the MCRD, Toby had gone up north. So I hope the missionaries up there were able to talk to him and prepare him for baptism. He should be back next week. There was a baptism this week. I made sure the font didn't flood.

Well, that's about it for this week. I love you all,
Elder Myers

He had gained a testimony

Dear Family,
How are you doing? I'm doing pretty well. Today we went to the temple, did laundry, and that's about it so far.

Here, it is the coldest winter in 11 years. There was frost on the car a couple of mornings ago- not exactly snow, but it was pretty cold.

We got stood up on both of those Spanish people appointments that we made last week. No good.

We spent Saturday with Steven Dow, helping him to clean his house and arrange all the stuff his parents left behind.

On Saturday night we went to Evelyn's house for dinner. We taught about how the gospel blesses families. They didn't come Sunday.

Sunday morning, we went to the MCRD. I taught the same recruit I taught last week. during the past week, he had gained a testimony that what I had taught him was true. In fact, he said that that knowledge is what got him up "the reaper," which is the most difficult part of their training. I think it entails running up a mountain with an 80 pound backpack. I taught him the plan of salvation and invited him to be baptized. "Next week?" he asked, expectantly. I had to push it back another week, because he still had more to learn. So, in two weeks, Toby Whitehead should be getting baptized.

Sunday night, we had a tract out. I went tracting in Mira Mesa 2nd, on a street I had worked on before. They STILL weren't interested, heh.

Yesterday, we spent helping Steven Dow. His house looks much better and I think he's starting to get hope for the future. He didn't have any food in the fridge, so we gathered some of the food from the cupboards and took it to his house. We can only do so much, which is frustrating, but I know that God can make up the rest.

And that's about it. It's been a short "week." I hope you guys are doing okay, and that the storm is not too bad.

I love you all,
Elder Myers

That was such an amazing night

January 11, 2007

Dear Family,

Well, the letter's even later this week- we had interviews on Wednesday, so today, Thursday, is P-day.

I hope you can stay safe for the storm and that you won't be too isolated.

This week, we did a lot of street contacting right when the schools got out. We gave away lots and lots of Book of Mormons, but we only gave them away if they promised to read them. We gave out many more pamphlets. We got several phone numbers, emails, and addresses. The English missionaries will be following up with them. We've talked to several hundred people outside of regular tracting this week.

We also taught Georgio, Patrick's 7 year old son, a couple times. He went back to Arcadia, and I made sure the missionaries up there got over to take care of him.

Something interesting happened this week. Elder Long, my roommate, happened to be serving in Ramona, about 20 minutes away, last transfer. He asked me if I had ever gotten the referral he had tried to give to me- a Chinese lady in ramona was interested. I hadn't. he said he had given it to the zone leaders in the Poway Zone, so I called them and they gave me the phone number for this lady. The next day, my zone leader approached me and said, "Hey, Elder Myers, I found this name and phone number in my old planner, do you know who this is?" It was the same person. So, a referral, lost for 2-3 weeks now surfaced not once, but twice in less than 24 hours. This is what we call a good mistake, for the timing was miraculous: when I called her (her name is Wen Ying) she had just found out that her mother had passed away. I was able to help a little bit, but then I had sister pong call. People are so much more receptive to the gospel at those times when they know they really need it. Anytime you know somebody who has a death in the family or a new baby, you need to give a referral for that person to the missionaries.

We got the new pamphlets in Chinese this week. We were able to give a few out- we gave one to each of Mr. Fan's roommates. Mr. Fan was very busy with work this week, so he didn't make much progress, but he's still okay.

Friday night we went to Evelyn's house for dinner -but neglected to call and confirm. She wasn't expecting us, there had been a communication error. They had other guests over, but she still invited us in and made us food. We're going over again Saturday. We were hoping to teach a lesson, but the situation didn't permit it. One of the people they had over was studying film, so I was able to talk to him.

It's looking more and more like Ronalds wife Yunnie is going to be able to be baptized. We fasted for her with many of the branch members this week. At the testimony meeting, their son Calvin bore his testimony on the unity that has come into their family since the sisters came and started teaching his mom the gospel. He was crying and Yunnie started crying. It was a very moving experience. Elder Moreno also cried during his own testimony.

Steve Dow has resurfaced. He showed up to church on Sunday. Both of his parents have passed away in the last year, since he last investigated, and he's having a really hard time. We have an appointment tonight with him.

We went to the MCRD on Sunday, and I taught a marine who is very open. The marines there are all so prepared. The one I taught last week is doing well too.

One night, as we were tracting, we street contacted a couple Mexicans and it started raining, so we asked if we could go to their house to teach them. They let us, and we had a return appointment for our roommates. Also, one time when a member was taking us out to dinner once and we were waiting there for him, we saw a kid outside down the block who looked Mexican. When we got closer, we saw he was rolling some cigarettes and had some alcohol. We sat next to him, and Elder Moreno taught him that one day he was going to wake up and realize that he wasn't going down the right path. His name was Michael; he's only 17 years old. Michael knew he was right and gave us his address and phone number and said he wanted to change. We went over to his house that night (on the way, we talked to a guy sitting on a chair in his driveway and he was really interested; now he is reading the Book of Mormon) and Elder Moreno told his mom we wanted to help their family by teaching the restored gospel, and we thought since we were young, we could identify with the son. She let us in, and he taught her the restoration, and we have a return appointment. On these Spanish return appointments, Elder Moreno will be going with one of our roommates so that we can turn them over to them. That was such an amazing night; we had a lot of success, and things just worked out right.

Tuesday's zone conference was awesome. Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the first quorum of the seventy (he is also the church historian and recorder) spoke for 2-3 hours and gave a lot of good insights. His main training was on faith and missionary work. There was truly an outpouring of the spirit.

Yesterday I went on exchanges with our roommates so that Elder Moreno could hand over some of the Spanish investigators. I went with Elder Gregory and we taught Calvin and Jimmy, then went to some Mexicans. I still can't speak Spanish, but I am understanding it more and more.

My backpack's zipper broke. I might have to use some of my Christmas money on a new backpack.

That's about it from this week. I hope you survive the storm comfortably. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Myers

Happy New Years!

January 2, 2007

Dear Family,

Happy New Years!

Next week, P-day is Wednesday. That's because on Tuesday, we're having a conference with a general authority, Elder Jensen. Not to be confused with my former companion, Elder Jensen.

Elder Elkington came to visit this week. Er, Brother Elkington. He was my first companion in the field. He brought his wife; they came for their honeymoon. That was really weird. He's keeping up on his Chinese and seems to be doing well.

We went to the tail end of the fireside broadcast on new years eve. We had to be in our apartment all night after that. Our church didn't end until 5:30, actually. Elder Moreno gave a talk on the Second Coming in Chinese. Sister pong also spoke, also in mandarin. Brother Elkington bore his testimony. I translated into English (I don't know if I've told you, but for translation, we have headsets and the translator sits in the back of the room and reads into a microphone).

Mr. Fan is keeping the word of wisdom. We saw Evelyn a couple times. Her husband got back a couple days ago, and we have a dinner appointment at their house on Friday. She said the Book of Mormon's small print is hard to read, but she really likes the pamphlet I gave her on the family and is studying it diligently.

Jimmy's roommate Patrick has a son named George who is 7, almost 8, and we are teaching him a couple times before he goes back to LA with his mom. We are working on hooking him up with a ward there to go to church. Patrick isn't religious, but he's seen the good it did in Jimmy's life and wants that for his son, so he asked us to help his son go to church. I have permission from President Garner to call the Arcadia mission where he'll be and arrange it with Elder Lee - who was in my MTC district. He's the one who said the opening prayer the first day at the MTC, remember?

On Tuesday night we went street contacting and weren't having much success, then we realized we had forgotten to pray. So we prayed and then the first person we talked to was interested - she's now being taught by English missionaries. That was a cool experience.

Our English classes were sparsely attended this week. I hope it was just because people were on vacation.

On Sunday, I went to the MCRD on exchanges with our district leader, Elder Bates and the assistants, Elder Vance and Elder Pebley. They had a baptism, so Elder Vance and I went to fill the font. We put the hose in and let it start filling, and then Elder Vance wanted to check on something, so we left. About 5-10 minutes later, we came back, and the hose was still in the font, but pointing OUT into the room, spraying water onto the carpet floor like a fountain. It was very very very wet. We had to mop it up, use towels and use a huge fan to dry it up. The baptism still happened.

That's about all the interesting stuff this week. I hope you guys are all doing well. I love you all.
--Elder Myers