It just felt like a special day to talk with family

Love you more than…snow... La Republica has been trying to snow!! We have been getting a lot of rain lately and I feel like I’m in Jakarta Indonesia sometimes, until I hear Bachata music blasting from a speaker tied to a wheeling motorcycle riven by a Dominican tigre. The other day I looked up in the hills slash mountains and imagined snow on the peaks.

 

Elder Jeppesen and I didn't shave... just kidding

More about Tamboril, so its like the suburbs of the city Santiago, but more city like than Dajabon. We live on the first floor of a big rich person house. We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. I haven’t had much weird food but pigs head, pig feet, and something called modongo are all on my list. For Christmas Dominicans eat lots of big fatty greasy pork that’s roasted of big fire spits and eaten with the hair still on it, I don’t like the hair part and it always gets my stomach going and it all gets through the body in about two days. I took down my paper Christmas tree today and the whole time thought of Emily singing “I cry the day that I take the tree down” song haha. Soon I’m planning on buying some nice handmade scripture cases, even though its a little costly. We go to district meetings in Santiago (Villa Olga) by taking a guagua (bus in Dominican) or a Ruta (pretty much a taxi) the way it works is they follow a route and you wait on the street and like hitch hike holding out your thumb till the pick you up. If it’s the guagua which should fit 12 they squeeze in about 19 and if its the Ruta (normally a barely running old Toyota Camry) they squeeze in like 7 or 8.  

Wow this week felt like it was a month long, it went by fast but it felt like Christmas was a month ago. I guess it didn’t feel like Christmas even with the parties and stuff. It just felt like a special day to talk with the family. 

 

My Christmas presents

So last Thursday night we had a big Christmas eve dinner with the old lady whose family lives in the capital and Nuevo York which was fun. Friday we ate waffles, listened to Christmas music, watching two missionary movies, Freetown and one of my all time favorites “The other side of heaven”, with our district in Spanish, ordered pizza haha and talked with the family. We had a different week since lots of people were visiting family and or were busy. Walking around was crazy since the street was covered with people, Borachos, and cars blasting Bachata and Merengue music. 

I gave away one of the remote control cars I received from home to Elder Payem,
who was also trained in Dajabon, I think it might have been one of the best presents the Haitian had received, but I think it broke pretty soon after

We had great Sunday with some great lessons in church and with investigators. We have this one family who is trying to decide if they should get married and then change their daughters name (something is wrong with her birth certificate) or change the name and then get married and so we are trying to help them figure out what to do but encourage that getting baptized sooner than later is better. 

The other day we had a greeaaat lesson with a 15-year-old named Christian. His dad is a member, he isn’t, but he has been coming to church for like a few months now, even before we started teaching him, thank you missionaries here 8 months ago! We got into his street-contacting-proof front gate and wall and started to talk when his older sister asked if she could join too!!! We reviewed the first part of the restoration which he completely remembered and helped her understand too. We then shared the first vision and it was great and we felt the spirit. The best and kinda annoying part though, was as I was closing with my testimony he wouldn’t stop interrupting me and sharing his testimony and sharing his thoughts. Whenever we need people interested - they aren’t, whenever we try to put a pause on it they can’t help but talking more! He said he believes it all to be true and he thinks other churches are crazy. 

We left the lesson almost skipping down the street. Me and Elder Jeppesen spent the whole walk home exhilarated and laughing. Like the “preach my gospel” video, I get so happy sometimes that its almost strange. What a miracle! Lately we have been playing a lot of “Uno” which is also a miracle, we gain the peoples trust and grow so close as we have fun playing. Today I made blueberry waffles from one of the blueberry muffin mixes I got for Christmas which worked out great. Also we ate at a sweet member family´s house and Elder Jeppesen and I watched “La Otra lado del Cielos” or “The Other Side of Heaven” again today, (its not against the rules, so we normally watch legacy or Meet the Mormons around lunch time) as we cleaned the house and exercised to work off all the pig fat.  

Elder Jeppesen and I got some presents from the Hermana's this was one... the house 

A scripture(s) I was thinking about lately is the change that came over King Lamonis father in the Book of Mormon. At the beginning he offered half his kingdom to be spared his life, but when he learned of the gospel of Christ, he offered up his kingdom and everything he had to know of its truth. It really strikes me how we often forget that the things in the world are temporary, but the gospel and families are forever. How much are we willing to give up to have forever with our families, our Father and our Savior. I know the gospel is true. I know it. I know it. El evangelio bendecirán sus vidas, en verdad este sencilla sacrificio vale la pena porque nos bendice con todo. Testifico con mi corazón y mi alma que este es verdad. Atrévete a creer, atrévete a saber, atrévete a vivir. 

Hurra por Israel!! Hura! 

Remember He who has given us everything

Love you more than…

The Forgotten carols (and other Christmas music)!

Elder Dickson had a lot of music and so does Elder Jeppesen and its fun to try and get into the Christmas season listening to Christmas music while we get home at night all hot. I miss the snow! I hear there’s a few areas here in the mountains where there is frost, maybe Ill go there next Christmas

Wow I don’t even know how to explain this week. Each day kind of blends in with the others, doing the work, so in some ways I feel like I got to the area and country just barely but it also feels like I’ve been doing this my whole life, ha ha. I bet most return missionaries know what its like. 

So this week started out pretty stressful. I was told I was district leader of four of us elders and two sisters and I was really worried. However I read a Christmas present book my companion,Elder Jeppesen has called “Tu eres Especial” or “You are Special”, one of those classic Deseret Book stories. After reading it and remembering reading with the family, I was feeling the spirit and tearing up a little bit. So I started to feel more confident and prepared when we got a call from our zone leaders (my trainer Elder Coombs is one of them!) and the assistants who told us that it is actually going to be one of the other elders. As soon as I feel up to the challenge I got kicked out haha! Elder Cruz from the capital though is a great guy and will do a better job. 

My new area is supposedly campo or country like but after Dajabon I don’t think anything will feel campo again. To describe my time there I would compare myself to Nephi’s brother Jacob, born in the wilderness of our afflictions.

Dajabon, I feel like is a decent representation of Africa and though I love my “birth town” it was difficult compared to most other areas. Here it is great. The weather is so much cooler, I feel like I’m in an island in the Caribbean! We are in the mountains, or hills rather, that are just outside of Santiago. We have more rain and its kind of more jungle like. We have a really nice house but we aren’t spoiled with hot water like Dajabon. 

Elder Jeppesen has one less transfer than me, so I call him my step-son, which means he is just finished training and I’m his second companion. He is from Jordan, Utah, he likes lacrosse, is a cool guy and well prepared. He is doing better than I was when I began my first transfer after training. 

We have about the same amount of members as Dajabon, but they are a little more involved in the work and there is more priesthood holders here. The investigators are all great and I’m feeling pressure to not drop the ball. 

This week we had our branch Christmas celebration and I got to see lots of the members dancing Bachata, Merengue and Salsa. We aren’t allowed to dance which makes me happy, since I have no clue how, but it would be sweet to learn how and show off my stuff. We had a mission activity in the big Santiago mall called Jumbo. It was fun to hand out Christmas video cards and see other missionaries for once and also bittersweet to hear American music and see the billboards for the American movies that have come out. In church I was called up to bear my testimony. I was nervous but I realized my Spanish has come a lot further and I need to stop reciting lines from lessons and focus more on the spirit. We have a great district and zone. We spent a few mornings with our zone to organize our presentation for the mission Christmas party. We have spent the past week finding out ways to skype and finding web cams, headphones and microphones and back up plans if it doesn’t work to skype home. We don’t really know exactly what we are doing, which makes me nervous but it’ll work out. Tuesday was the mission Christmas party. We acted out the “You are Special” book and watched our half of the mission do their presentations. I also got to see most of my group and my buddies Rojas and Dickson from Dajabon. I got the final Christmas gift and the general conference Liahona finally. At the Christmas party we ate pork, apples, rice and lasagna. We also got to watch the Christmas Carol which is little creepy but who doesn’t love the Christmas Carol! Today we spent the p-day in Santiago, a 20 min gua gua (sketchy minibus or van or sketchy honda civic), and celebrated  Hermana Buchanons birthday. We went to a breakfast place and also surprised her with cake. I bought Uno for our district gift exchange, we’ve played Uno with Jeppesens cards and I’m holding on to the deck Emily gave me hoping it’ll last another few months from all the use. 

This week we are planning to eat with a sweet member family and skype at another branch since our internet is down. It’ll be a little hard to get back to work and recover all this lost time but Christmas is worth it.

 Spiritual thought. I really love how Christmas is a time to remember the birth of Christ and the spiritual rebirth that he offers us. Just like scrooge we all need a change of heart. Constantly we need to be trying to align ourselves with Christ’s life and letting him help us. He was born to be our savior and we were born to rely on his help. I love my savior because he helps me become more than I am. I keep sharing with the people our family tradition of the special gift under our tree. That fancy looking present that has nothing inside and how it represents the first and greatest gift ever given, the humble birth of Christ. 

Regocijad jesus nacio!! Have a merry Christmas and remember He who has given us everything we have and may have. Love you all, more than the grinch with his new triple sized heart!

--

Elder Andrew W. Sheffield

Transfered

Love you more than…

The Christmas presents you sent me!! Thank so much for the rubber band guns and remote control car that I kinda accidently gave away to our district leader De La Cruz who fell in love with it. 

Well big news, Ill let you decide if its good or bad, more just a good challenge. I got transferred to the area Tamboril just outside of Santiago. I’m in the zone of my trainer Elder Coombs and since he is zone leader we will see each other a lot. My new companion is Elder Jeppesen from Taylorsville, I think, I forget now. He is a gringo and has one less transfer than I do so we will be doing a lot of learning together. Also I just found out that I’m the district leader though I feel a little under qualified and a little inadequate. I appreciate this chance to learn and president’s confidence in me and the newer missionaries. I do feel a little grateful I will have extra time to learn before training, if I train, unlike an American and Puerto Rican Elder in my group who are both training this transfer. This will be an interesting time in the mission for many of us.

This week in review.  Dajabon continued to be difficult. Little had changed, just continued contacting and visiting just about every old investigator, inactive and member I knew plus showing Elder Dickson the area which he didn’t know super well. By the way he is training a Mexican elder now and is excited and I’m super happy for him he deserves it. We went to the market for my last time with a zone leader who was there to give the interview to Elder Rojas baptismal candidate. We visited an inactive and she then came to church Sunday which made my Sunday. I also started telling people goodbye since it was really probable I would leave. We helped prepare the church for the baptism Saturday and taught a few lessons and then had the baptism and ate out with the new convert Pedro a eighty year old man. We tried to get the little girl Yamile to bring her inactive mom to church which is the only holding her back from baptism. The mom wanted to come but couldn’t make it. Yamille came though and went to a family search activity later that night as well, she is amazing and i will miss her. I said goodbye to granpa hermano Blanco and Carbonera. We went once again to the family night of Chachi and Marisols family. We watched a great Mormon Message about an old man and his wife who both have disabilities but live together still and it was pretty emotional. We played Uno and ate treats. That night president called Elder Dickson to train and talked to me and told me I was to be a senior companion and he would need all of my knowledge and effort. Monday we headed to Santiago for the training of the trainers meeting. I went on splits with a supper funny elder named Elder Brindley from Saint George and an Elder Hainsworth from Idaho. That night I said goodbye to a few more people and also we ate with Hermana Tati one last time and played  Uno with her. I started packing. Elder coombs called me that night and broke the surprise to me early that I was coming here to Tamboril as senior comp and mission step dad. The next morning our zone leaders called us and told us where everyone was going. Elder Rojas is staying with his companion Elder de la Cruz though they aren’t very close, it was kind of hard for him. I missed saying goodbye to Frammi and Maria Jose and Andri but a member made us brownies and I said goodbye to Yamile and then we went one last time to Chachi and Marisols house where we listened to Christmas music and made pizza. It was really fun but bitter sweet. I stayed up a little late that night finishing packing re packing and deciding what to take or leave behind, hard decisions. This morning we woke up early went to Santiago i saw some of my group said goodbye to Elder Dickson and now I’m here where I found out my responsibilities.

Other stuff: neither me or my new companion have ever done this before so we are learning. My final package was given to some elder in my old zone to give to me at transfers but they forgot it, ill get it soon. 

Happy Birthday to my amazing father and hero. Thanks dad for all you have given me. I see the sacrifice you have made to make me who I am and I cant express to you how grateful I am and how I will never be able to pay that back. I have never heard of a harder worker, team player or more honest man than you dad. Wish I could give you a running jump into your arms hug like those good old days but I’m excited to skype you soon.

Spiritual thoughts. Right now I am thinking about a few things. First as kind of a part two to that one e-mail i wrote about how we as missionaries aren’t heroes, the reason I think that is because this isn’t our work nor are we the converters, solely the means or instruments to the work. Without the heroes of the members, our savior Jesus Christ, the holy ghost and our heavenly father we out here in the field wouldn’t be successful at all. Second how we are given challenges in life but they will never be more than we can manage, alone maybe, but with Christ no. We can overcome all things, make weaknesses become strong and also run our part without worrying about fainting  for lack of energy. Oh how I love my savior. Though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, the lord is with me, I shall not want, and I will fear not. 

With all my love  Elder Sheffield 

--

Elder Andrew W. Sheffield

Life is about choices and choices determine destiny

Arrived Dec 9 2015

Love you more than…

Reeses puffs cereal! I couldn’t help opening it up, when I received the package from home, and eating a bowl. I realized it’s my first time eating the peanut butter chocolate flavor of reese’s puffs. I plan on eating it the next several days before transfers. 

I got another package, labeled #2, and I also opened it. I shared the candy with my companion because I realized that the first stocking was his, not mine, so I had to make up for some of the candy I’d eaten. I’ve opened the packages and eaten some of the stuff to avoid packing it during transfers, but I’m saving the three little wrapped presents for Christmas.

Wow, this week was also one of those longer ones. There was fun stuff, but it was again a little stressful and slow because of difficulties with finding new investigators and working with the branch. 

The week in review. We went to another one of the branch dinner activities and ate pasta and there one of the members announced he is getting married. It was funny hearing the whole branch in uproar about how they were gonna cook the big pork dinner. I went on splits with our district leader Elder De La Cruz, who is pretty much the handyman and cook and cleaner of the house (I’m like his sidekick in these projects). It was interesting to learn how he teaches and we got a lot of lessons in that day. Exchanges are getting better, but still not one of my greatest joys as of right now. We made empanadas that night. We bought a new bag for Elder Dickson at the market and we have been eating waffles about every other day. We made a decent amount of contacts and taught a few first lessons and we were having a lot of hope for how things were looking. Church was a little exciting again as the new moved-in member Rudi announced our Elders Quorum president moved to Mao and also gave like a basic class on Priesthood organization that helped us all learn a lot. We attended the family night of Chachi and Marisol again, and had a little art project and I shared with them the pop rocks you sent. Hilarious how they reacted, and we had chocolate coco puff milk. We then attended the Christmas devotional broadcast at the church which made us late to get back home, because here it was 9:00. I had exchanges again, I went to Monte Cristi with Holbrook, who I have decided reminds me of what I think a young uncle Gaylin is like. It was a little relaxing to not be in charge and have to worry about where to go when lessons fell through. Back in Dajabon some of our brand new contacts/investigators didn’t want to continue with learning and they visited Yeffri, where they explained clearly how the only church with the same organization of Christs church is well, Christ’s new church, which has been restored in its fullness, the Church of Jesus christ of Latter-Day Saints. We came back together and did more corn grinding service for the “sweet spirit full of instruction” Hermana Fidelia. The day ended up really slow and hard as we didn’t have a good plan set. 

Other stuff: Elder Dickson heard that BYU and Utah are playing in the Las Vegas Bowl, Bronco Mendehal is going to coach at Virginia, isis is getting more intense. We are having a zones reunion sometime around the 21 for a Christmas celebration. I’m like 90% guaranteed to be transferred next week, a week before Christmas to Santiago. Elder Holbrook thinks I’ll be senior comp, but I’m nervous for that to happen. Change will be good but it’s still hard to leave all I have known and continue into insecurity and upcoming responsibilities. Lately I’ve been listening a lot to the 2001 efy music that has a lot of Peter Brienholt and music that reminds me of the family. I finally got those short little videos that you sent me to work. That cool neck towel thing is really cool, I love the memories of the rubber band guns, the avengers shirt is cool, I love the little remote control car and Im excited to open that beef jerky!!!

Spiritual thought. Just thinking more about how life is all about choices and how choices determine destiny. The other night we were going to have our first lesson with a contact family of 8. I offered to take the lead and though I didn’t want to because of my mind trying to justify how the family was  probably not home etc. I got to the front porch and started tell the family, sitting there, how we had passed by the other day and how one of the daughters said we could come back this night to share a message. The family asked around who had said that and all the family members denied it and said that we had made a mistake, so we awkwardly walked away. It was rough being rejected like that and feel so awkward - but that is the mission. Sometimes we expect that because we make right decisions we will be rewarded immediately, but no. The choices we make are the course corrections of life. The more we travel the more corrections we make and we either maintain our path or slowly lose ourselves in forbidden paths. Sometimes the rewards of our good choices are simply staying where we should be, not grand gifts. Staying on the right path should be reward enough for us.

LOve you guys alot. Miss you and cant wait till we can skype. 

--

Elder Andrew W. Sheffield