2 years of living a higher law

Arrived 27Mar17

Love the family like best friend companions. Well transfers were this week and my Guatemalanzx companion finished his mission. We got close in just that transfer. It is a little sad to think about never seeing some of these friends again, you get close while working and sacrificing together. My new and probably final companion is Elder Zuniga from Honduras. He is a young missionary with only 10 months but has a lot of ideas and animo!

 

My new companion, Elder Zuniga

This week began with the final goodbyes of Ex-Elder Cordova. Things come to and end fast. One day you are here and the next you are home. It makes me laugh to hear inexperienced missionaries talk about home as if it was a break from work, a relief from the struggles but in reality these two years are the only two years of vacation from the world. It is two years of living a higher law (in a way) Tuesday night we cleaned and packed and set apart things to gift to people.

Wednesday was a long day haha. Transfers lasted forever. We got to Santiago and one by one everyone left except for a group of us heading to Dajabon and Navarrete. There was a brand new missionary who reminds my of myself a year and half ago. Opening up the old Dajabon area. Really nostalgic. We started the day and new transfer off strong.

A bad picture of a good mission coordination meeting

We have been working really hard our first week to make things simple and to the point. Repentance and baptism. I have really grown close to a few of our investigators. Alex is a 30 year-old father always busy with three young daughters work and helping a sister build a house. I just want him so bad to read and pray and prepare and change for baptism. He accepted to come to conference this week, which made my night.

We had several people in church. The most exciting was Victor Cruz. Once again his son pulled him up on a motorcycle and the middle of sacrament meeting and I walked out to help him in. The ward all turned to watch us, its super great to see his desire to be apart of the kingdom of God, and everyone smiled. I was going to get a picture but the members hustled him off in a car to go back home before I had a chance. He puts a lot of effort into coming by his own power and then the members really help out by giving him a ride home.

It has been a little interesting with my new companion really great guy and hard worker but sometimes he forgets that I’m not in training or a missionary with only a few months. It's hard for the new guys adjust from being so proactive and in charge to taking the wing man position. And then when its their time to take the lead again it can be hard. Things are good and we are working really hard, just getting used to things for now. 

 

Old district I was in

The other day we taught Luis and the little girl they have been raising after the death of her mother, and even though Luis cant get married right now because his wife doesn’t want to we put a baptismal date with the girl. When we told the wife she told us she didn’t like some things about the church and it turned into a confrontation and wasn’t to good. She is bitter and hard-hearted that her son secretly filled out his mission papers and since he was an adult she couldn’t stop him. She also doesn’t talk to him since its her strategy to not talk to him until he "comes home early" A lot of respect for him and a lot of godly sorrow and indignation for her. It frustrates me that she doesn’t see the good he is doing, is selfish and wont look for comfort through the Lord. Believing in other things is one thing but not being able to ask our Father for help and direction is one of the saddest things I can think of. I’m grateful for parents who have looked to Him. I’m grateful for the change he works in us. In elders quorum we talked about unconditional love. He will always love us unconditional in some senses but being able to receive that love is very conditional. Why can’t they just see that they can have more than they have ever dreamed of if they just ask for help and do what He says. This week we have interviews with president and then general conference. I pray that I and that everyone can use this time to come to know him. I know he lives and little by little, chin a chin, I am coming to know my Father and my Savior.

Thanks as always for all the emails and pictures. Fam its fun to here able the little funny moments each week and see not only the change in the house but in you. Love you

Elder A Sheffield

 

What I call "cat heart soup" it's actually surprisingly good (Dulce de Tomate)

Balm from Gilead

Arrived Mar 20 17

Love the family more than missionary reunions! This past week was an amazing week! Ill write more in detail in the email but on Monday and Tuesday the missionaries got together and it was great. Some highlights were singing songs with one of the assistants and a Sister Training Leader from Phantom of the opera, Wicked and Les Miserables, seeing old companions, learning the mission hymn, playing basketball, habichuelas con dulce and the spirit.

 

Me and my companion

Last Monday and p-day we had a activity of only the zone leaders, sister leaders and the office. It was the second time in two years. We played a lot of basketball, dominoes, and games. Turns out our mission has a hymn, which we learned and practiced. We then stayed the night at the mission home in a big elder only sleep over.

Tuesday. Elder Anderson of the quorum of the twelve apostles came to the country and came to talk to all the missionaries in the capital. Our whole mission got special permission to get together to watch the transmission. A group of use sang the mission hymn and then we watched the broadcast. It was super spiritual and funny to. Elder Anderson is a great person. I came prepared and really felt the spirit. It’s something I wont forget.

 The rest of the week we had a few exchanges. It really had me animated and we worked hard. We haven’t been working very well as a zone and it has been frustrating. It’s amazed me how you can spend so much time away from the apartment and yet not have results. I’m really excited for these next two transfers. My companion finishes his mission this week and so I will have a new companion, a new month and a new start. We are going to do what He wants us to. Preparaos porwue manana haremos milagros.

We found a new investigator named Luis this week. His sons were some of the first members here in Navarette and he always went with them to church even though he never was baptized. He has a lot of questions and said he wants to come to church. He has a baptismal date and even though he didn’t come to church this week we are working hard.

For the past few weeks everyone and especially the members have been talk about the world classic baseball championship and giving me a hard time. The ward mission leader brought up the games in the Elders Quorum and used it as an example. Well I got my balm from gilead when we won against the dominican republic 6 to 3. Everyone was unusually quiet in church this week, while elder sheffield had a huge smile. Platano power loses to corn flakes con leche power I guess.

We have started saying goodbye to the people here since my companion goes home Wednesday. Our golden investigator Victor started balling when he found out. It was a touching moment to see him get so emotional.

The work is hard and frustrating at times. The traditions blind people and discourage to truth seekers but I am happy. It is a happy work and filled with miracles in the little things.

I don’t have much time but this week I was reading in Mormon. Its sad to read of the destruction of the Nephites, and It makes one think. How strong were Mormon and Moroni. True heroes. I can’t stress the importance of prayer to people and to myself. Great men are made by prayer. 

Con gozo y amor por ustedes

Elder A. Sheffield

Victor was really sad as my companion sees him for the last time

Spiritual Gifts

Arrived Mar 13 2017

Love the family more than hearing about the late finishers. I was talking with my old companion Elder Laureano and looks like two of our investigators got/are going to be baptized. Its nice to hear after painstaking hours working with people and then leaving without seeing the end result. Eli Jimenez from Los Quemados and then Joelvi from the middle of nowhere in our area finally arrived at baptism!

 

The Navarrete Zone

In our week we had consejo where we went over some new rules and ways to help the zone and then the next day had a zone meeting. My companion told us about his life. He was a little rebellious before the mission and his parents really thought he had wasted his talents and didn’t come out to be anything great. He came on the mission just to follow his older brothers and to be obedient. When he was here he really had hard times but for the humility and prayer and fast he received his testimony. I love my comp. He is a funny, medio tigre, guatamalen and Im gonna miss him. The energy is decreasing a little bit but we should make it.

We had a lesson with Luis who wants to be baptized and we invited his niece to come as well. We contacted her one day and figured out they were related and put an appointment. IT was a typical good first lesson but then Saturday when we went  for the second appointment she never showed up. I guess her mother said not to listen to us. A little disappointing but she still has her book of moron to read. 

It feels like the bulk of our investigators are either older men or teenagers and their older parents. It has been interesting to see that the people who listen are these people. Its nice that they seem to be the more humble and not sucked up in the things of the world. 

Sunday we had just one investigator in church when Victor Cruz our 50 year old blood clot survivor drove up on a motorcycle. He has been super animated to come to church, he calls it "our church", and it made our week to see his son drive him up on a bright red super gato. The church was full this week. The ward has an initiative to invite friends and less actives to church and it has brought results. 

This current week is super busy but I'll let you guys know how it turns out.

I was thinking about spiritual gifts this week and something I hadn’t thought  of before. I used to think that spiritual gifts were only the ones that we feel we were born or natural had. I really liked in Doctrine and Covenants 46 it  talks about all the gifts. What I learned was that we should work to develop the gifts that we have weaknesses with. If somebody is really angry all the time they should ask for and work to develop the girft of charity. IF somebody has a hard time following living day prophets they should develop the gift to believe that Jesus is the Christ. To all is given a gift and he who asketh receiveth.

With love 

Elder A Sheffield

 

The office elders "heart attacked" us

Learned about Consecration

Arrived Mar 6 2017

Love my family more than la viana (ba-i-nuh) This word here means everything. Instead of saying give me the thing you say dame la vaina. It makes me laugh and I love it but also the real viana I bought today for the cabin I’m gonna have someday. I’m gonna get a Dominican flag to put on it. 

The cute granddaughter of an investigator 

Wow this weeks highlights since I don’t have much time:

Victor Cruz is a man we are teaching who had a few trombosis (Spanish for a blood clot) and doesn’t walk well or have function of his arm but he really wants to be baptized. He started tearing up as he heard about the plan of salvation and said nothing was going to stop him from coming to church! It was raining and he couldn’t make it this week haha but things are going well so far! 

Going to buy souvenirs with my companion

 The Lord has wanted me to contact a lot this week, more than usual and we have found some amazing people. For the first time in a while a man, Alejandro, asked us when we could come back after the first lesson. It surprised the both of us. 

We met a man this week who preaches some of the saddest doctrine I’ve heard in person. He says that repentance isn’t necessary or real after the resurrection of Christ, all religions are false and an abomination, Peter never taught the gospel and is hardly credible and the gospels in the bible are not the gospel but simply history. He kind of attacked everything we stand for, when we contacted him, and said he didn’t have time, but we were worthy enough to converse over the scriptures with this shirtless, but world  “renowned” preacher. We simply listened to his ideas for some time and then told him we were there to share our message and so we would be coming back this Wednesday morning. Interesting things.

Our investigator, Jesus didn’t end up being baptized since he can’t pay tithing and so we are taking things slow now.

The zone is having some hard times and it’s a little discouraging that there are problems being our own agents and being efficient, but we have high expectations for our future.

I really enjoyed reading the story of great great (great?) grandpa Sheffield who served in Tahiti and climbed palm trees to survive a crazy ocean storm, and the miracles he worked there. Wow, I love my family. I feel kind of the same way he did but about some of the people here on my island. 

Today we had fun watching the new first vision video with the assistants and talk with them about things. Both are from my group and we talked about our confirmed travel plans on the way home. We are all going to the temple. Two of us then go to New York and have a five-hour layover there to enjoy in the second Dominican capital haha. It’s weird and nervous to think about.

This week I learned more about consecration. Everything we do in the church and in the mission is preparing us for the time when we can live consecrated lives. We must live and in a sense be celestial in order to return to Him there in the celestial kingdom, the tercer cielo. I try to consecrate myself now and hope to finish off strong. #100

Love Elder Sheffield

Going with my companion to buy sovernirs

The cute granddaughter of an investigator

Truth is Truth

Arrived 27 Feb 2017
Love the family more than nerve soup! Its actual pretty good, you just have to get over the thought that it is fat since it feels a little squishy. 

Ths week has been interesting.

Lots of contacting nd getting to know people. Jesus didnt feel ready for his  baptism and wants more time. He also has something with tithing. 

Jesus

We have been finding some interesting people. One lady ranted on about how we cant believe in men, that there is no biblical proof (supposedly) for the restoration etc. It really just makes me sad how she was looking to fight and got my adrenalin going. We found and have a few people who were going to get baptized one but had problems but are back on track. The daughter of a less active is starting to recieve the lessons, her mom called out to us as we walked by one night and said Hey look Im inactive but I want my daughter to be baptized. Another lady we contacted this week knows a lot of members and had family nights with them but couldnt be baptized until hopefully now. Another lady also couldnt because she wasnt married to her husband but they are speratded now. Today is DOminican Independence day so everything is pretty much closed or on super sale. My companion is stressed to buy things for his family as he goes home. He is a great comp. Super smart in the scriptures and really funny. Today we played soccer nearby my old area Tierra Alta and we got to pass by and say hi to Paulino. 

Paulino

He is doing alright, a little sick still. We also went to Zapatero anthony and I orderd a pair of shoes and a belt for the temple. Im really stressed with trying to get things set to go to BYU and we are trying not to think to much about home. 

I have been thinking about truth. Truth is truth even when bpeople dont believe, dont like or dont follow. It's truth that going out it the sun will give you a sunburn,

even though we dont like it and go out into the sun anyway. Joseph Smith was a prophet. Christ is our savior. This is his church. Our savior offers us freedom from our errors if we simply accept the truth and conditions of repentance. I know these things because I have recieved and recieve confirmation from the Holy Ghost. 

Elder Sheffield

 Jesus 

Back-of-cow-knee-nerve soup

Paulino