Faith and Confidence

Arrived 14 Nov 2016

Love the family more than monthly mission leader council or concilio. I think some of my favorite moments as a group of missionaries is concilio. Every month the zone and sister leaders along with the assistants and President and Sister Castillo get together to talk about old goals and the new goals. It is amazing to see such great heroes and feel the spirit. I love the training or message President has. You cant help but leave feeling like you can conquer the world! (and like you cant eat anything more since free rice, beans and chicken is always included)

Dominican dinner: lechosa (papaya) milkshake and bread

This week I was looking at my progress and wanted to do better. It helped a lot to hear president talk about attitude, consecration, obedience, dedication and faith. I really hope I can realize how I have changed because of the Lords mission.

Monday we contacted an older fellow named silvio. Normally you go to teaching the first lesson and if they are a little slower you stop at prophets. This time we went all over and ended up committing him to come to church. Our deal or issue was if he could sell all of his papaya by Sunday he would come, to help the three of us would pray every night for him to sell everything. It didn’t work out, but one of those really energetic moments.

 

Bonao winters

We have a new goal in the mission to share the whole restoration lesson in the first visit and challenge them wit ha baptismal date! A year and a half ago that lesson took four or five visits and now it takes 45 minutes haha. We are all super animado or excited. Along those lines we found a man who may or may not have been tipsy because of his super fria Presidente (a drink not approved by the Lord) I think he wasn’t drunk but anyways we challenged him and he has a date for the 17 of December. He also promised to read the Book of Mormon, we go back Wednesday and we found out a member nearby is his friend. We have high hopes.

This week had a lot of contacting as normal and a decent number of member lessons which fell through. Its a really big challenge in our area right now but things are bright with todays plan of three member lessons. 

Progress report: Juana and Gustavo have only come to church once but with help from the branch president will be coming to a movie activity on Thursday and then a baptism in the other branch on Saturday and then to church on Sunday. she is really concerned about be baptized twice but is super sincere about it. Haley and Carolina are on the down hill but we will see after tonight. I have had so much animo because of his great questions but the second time to church is always the hardest and they are never home.

 A new investigator is Jose. As we shared about prophets I asked him if we need prophets in our days. With teary eyes he said yes. We testified about living prophets and apostles due to the restoration and it caught him by surprise! He asked us who is the prophet, where he lives and all those questions and we left him a little bit with a cliff hanger so we could come back to the next visit strongly. 

 

Peanut butter, pancake and platano breakfast

On exchanges in Constanza I gave three baptismal interviews. The elders are making great progress in a weaker branch. They have a new convert who is always leaving with them, who wants to serve a mini mission. I love being able to see them working. On the other hand the other couple of missionaries there are having a rough time. I never realized the difference in missionaries until being a leader.

Thanks for your letters and advice. Grandma and Grandpa Sheffield your letter was what I needed when I needed it. Thank you.

My thought is about faith and confidence. I read about something Joseph Smith had said. He taught that part of faith is the knowledge and confidence that what you are doing is according to Gods pan and will. I really love that. When we are obedient we have power because we are working with Him and there is no self doubt. Disobedience will always leave a feeling of worry because you do not really know the outcome, only that you are no longer on charted waters. Do what is right, ask for guidance and confide in the confirmation that will come. 

Con amor Elder A. Sheffield

Did I ever send a picture of my halloween pina?

Happy late Birthday Mom. Love you more than hammer shakes, flies in the eyes and pat-pats! I love you so much mom, miss you and cant wait to see you again. I finally got those letter you sent me. It made me laugh and cry a little bit to recognize your handwriting and read your letters. Thanks for never giving up on me mom. I still remember those long days I put you through when you tried to get me to read Bob books and bribe me with suckers, cuddling in the bathroom in Kansas to stay warm in winter, wrestling Jacob and Samuel so I could get a hug, and maybe my first moment with a testimony kneeling at the coach in Kansas as we prayed I could find a lost toy. I always look back and admire how strong you are mom. When nobody else is there, you are, not just for me but for everyone. I could never have imagined having a better mother. 

Love you Elder Sheffield

 No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. Jeffery R Holland

Rain everyday

Arrived 7 Nov 2016

Love the family more than navigating Bonao streets like a water maze. We joke about the “Elder Sheffield” curse because whenever I am in the area it rains. We have had rain everyday except for one day when I had intercambios with a district leader. The water comes down suddenly and floods all the streets! We leave on a small fan at night to dry the shoes.

Well, once again we got late to the internet center so I don’t have much time to write, sorry. But I do have a few highlights to this week.

We met this really cool young man who will probably pitch for the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team in the near future. I think he really wanted us as friends because it’s a little lonely living here alone. We got invited to the movie theater. I really love my really nice rain jacket but my companion doesn’t have anything, so I decided for now I’ll just keep it in the house. I made Dominican hot chocolate a few times this week, they put clove in it which gives it this Dominican taste yum.

I have been feeling a little bit like I haven’t been a very good companion lately and like we haven’t had a lot of results so that is something I am really trying to be better at. I really like the Liahona this month. I am really studying prayer, love, faith and charity and hope. And I have been really improving with my piano lately.

We had two members go with us this week, its really hard for us to get members right now, in the rain. For the people it’s like walking the plank to have to go out in the rain. It made our day to see a member pull up on his moped.

A member and I joked about Johnny Lingo the other day. Good old times. “Ocho vaca esposa, majana tu fea, Mr. Harris”

We had a few service projects for the day of service, but we had an intercambio so it wasn’t long for us. We got forced into a baby shower at the chapel. We sang and I gave a message about families.

Nobody came to church and things have been going a little slow. We have a few amazing people but they are just kinda learning, we are hoping for conversion. They ask some great questions which is a good sign and two families have come to church before, but we are really focusing on baptizing. That is a mission goal, to challenge everyone to baptism and to always be thinking about baptism.

I heard that in my old area things are going really great. Paulino still goes to church, and so does De Luna even though he has problems which prevent him from being baptized. Two of my investigators got baptized a little while ago and the young girl bore her testimony about us (the elders that taught her) I guess. I sometimes think I’m bad luck or that I’m just destined to not see some of these people get baptized, but it is good to be here and things are going well.

I really like a scripture in Moises 6. Enoch is told to go, to go and do, and preach. The Lord says go and I will justify your words, and I will be with you and you will be with me and we will walk together. How great would that be to have such great faith and hope that not only mountains flee from you but it is as if you were walking with The Father himself. The branch president in his testimony posed the idea at what it was like when Heavenly Father asked “Who shall I send?” What was it that we said? Oh how I believe we reverently sustained our Savior to be Jesus Christ. I want to be everyday more valiant in my love and faith that I may walk with Him who was chosen from the beginning. We need him. I pray that everyone of us can have the faith to love others as He loves them.

Elder A Sheffield

P-day at Campamento

Arrived 31 Oct 2016

I have no time but we had a good p-day and a good week. Today we went to Campamento or the church campgrounds and had fun.

Two people came to church and we have some very good investigators right now. Haley and Carolina came to church but before I could get to them from I was at the piano, they escaped. I feel like my companion, and I, could have done more by helping them during the sacrament but we gave them a chance right?

Sorry Bonao has tons of traffic for flooding and we had a late trip back from our p-day activity.

This week I was thinking a lot about love and charity. I think sometimes we forget how important charity is. Not in action as much as in thought. Sometimes I get a little unsettled when people in their laziness cause problems or in their ignorance, make a mess. I think we often start thinking to ourselves how ridiculous somethings or people are when in reality it seems okay for that person and it isn’t a big deal to them at all. I love the way Moroni writes about it in Moroni 7. Love and charity are patient, and longsuffering. I think sometimes we must suffer ourselves to abandon our negative thoughts to be charitable.

Love Elder Sheffield

Focused on 2nd lessons

Arrived 24 Oct 2016

Love the family more than letters from home! I love letters and things from home. Thanks for the handwritten letter in the things Dad brought me. It was fun to hear from Mom Dad and the boys. Haha I laugh at what people think I’m going through because of things I said, they read or heard. We are fine from the hurricane and I’m doing fine here, I like my new area.  

Thanks for the package! I felt really spoiled with the new backpack and duffel bag! They are so nice! I’m really happy with them, at transfers and on exchanges it’s always a hassle with us carrying around garbage bags so we don’t leave things behind.

And the treats! Wow I never liked cookie butter that much but now I eat it straight out of the jar. I was genuinely shocked how good that stuff tastes, it tastes like american stuff haha. I’m gonna save the candy for halloween. Nobody really celebrates it here too much, all the Christmas lights are up, but I’m excited. I am using my rain jacket today as well, it is sooooo nice and perfect. Hope your guys enjoy all the food and things dad and I got you.

I was thinking how weird it was that Dad was coming to this country and to my mission this week. This whole week I was trying my best not to think of dad  and home to much and I did pretty well. It was stressful when the assistants kept asking me what dads plans were, so they could maybe say hi to him, and when my package for Dad got lost in the mail to the office, we were frantic to figure things out and I didn’t even know what dads plans were to specifically because I wasn’t going to see him anyway! Haha I had a heart attack when the assistants ended up saying ¨we will just call your family really fast and figure it out¨  haha. Apparently Josh sounds really grown up and official because I was told they thought he was Dad’s secretary! But it all worked out well and everything. I was thinking about it and I shouldn’t be an exception to things, how many dominican missionaries live close to their families, but don’t see their parents either?

This week we focused on having second lessons with our new investigators. Finding people is okay but you gotta keep them going! It’s been crazy, all over the area and not to many set things but I’m learning the area a lot better and feeling some of the simple tender mercies of just finding someone kind in the street to share with. These are some of the most appreciated miracles sometimes even when they don’t progress.

Yefferson was a contact and he seems genuinely committed to learning more and reading the Book of Mormon. He has a nicer house which intimidates me. I’m used to “poor houses” and jerga Spanish, not middle class stuff and nothing upper class! Haha I was thinking how we probably teach some sketchy gangster style people sometimes, but we don’t realize it is scary. he only wants to share every Wednesday for now but I think we could get him to commit to the usual 2 or 3 times a week.

Omar is another contact we made, who hasn’t really read, but understands everything very easily and wants to share a lot. He is in his twenty and lives with his family. He is funny and kind. A really promising investigator.

Juan or Jeily (pronounced Haley- as his friends call him) isn’t to eager to commit but he understands pretty well that the church fell and the chain of authority broke. The problem, with most people to, is that they have this weird belief that because all churches have the same final goal it’s okay to be part of whichever one, but at the same time they always are gossiping and contending about why one is better or another one is corrupt. We try really hard to help them realize that if all churches say they are the best, then somebody has to be a little off. He did say that if this was the true gospel bearing church then it should be told to everyone and wondered why he hadn’t heard of it before.

We had another exchange this week but for the first time I stayed in the area. Haha I got lost a few times, it is weird that our area is literally a circle which blows my mind, but it worked out. I impress all the missionaries with my cooking, but I’m still working on my companion, Im gonna cook him something crazy good sometime!

Some exciting things this week we’re again going to the camping ground slash dominican Aspen Grove in our area. We have about 7 people in the beginnings of a branch which is something we are working on. The senior couples here are amazing! The Decker couple are from Florida and Honduras and then the Gomez are in charge of the campamento and are from Puerto Rico. Elder Gomez is a super cool guy! He loves horses, Harleys and is ex-police and security for church leaders. He has a daughter living in and going to school at Weber State. She is studying forensics at McKay Dee I think, or at least a hospital in Ogden. She also goes to the singles ward there so I think she knows the Hauns and is friends with Reese Schumacher. It’s a small world. the Gomez live at the Campamento and it’s like a hotel! They even have a swimming pool, which made my companion and I get a little trunky.

We had two investigators at church for their first time. Gustavo and Juana. The second time is really the hardest, but they really enjoyed the first time and are flojo committed to come this next week.

My spiritual thought comes from the Pearl of Great Price.

In the book of Moses, Father is crying and Enoch asks why in Moses 7:28-29 and 37-39

I Love how sincere it is. God really cares for everyone of us individually. Christ to pay individually for the whole of us. Why woudln’t they cry when we continually fall short and occasionally refuse their healing salve. But we, as Enoch and the Lord, have to have reason to be happy. Our Savior has overcome the world. As we realize the hopelessness of our own efforts we to can come to realize  the hope and joy bringing efforts and success of Him. He lives, and as we cry He does and as we rejoice He does. I hope we all can come to grow close to him. That Him and I, you and Him might rejoice always and be made one in carrying the burdens while being happy.

Love Elder Sheffield

The beautiful Campamento Bonao

Arrived 17 Oct 2016

Love the family more than a working washing machine. I think its one of the most precious things in our houses and in this new house in Bonao, it hasn’t been working. But due to past experience I knew how to fix it! I love clean clothes! In our washers we fill up the tank with a hose and then turn a dial which gets a wheel at the bottom to spin all the clothes. When you want to dry it all you throw it in this cylindrical tube part that spins super fast and the water gets flung out through holes.

Campamento Bonao

Well so much has happened this week.

We found an amazing couple who have a young child last Monday night! We have been fasting super hard and praying even more to find someone ready for baptism. We wont get anybody this month but this family reads and understands, which is more than 75% of what other people do. His nickname is Heily haha but he has a lot of questions and tonight we will finish up the restoration and put some commitments!

Tuesday I met my zone in a zone meeting. Like always there is somebody that is from Utah and we know people in common. The zone seems really great, I have somebody from my group there. We  set some goals to use the Book of Mormon every lesson, two new baptismal dates every week and ask references from everyone!

Later I went up into the higher parts of the country called Constanza…

On Oct 17, 2016, at 5:09 PM, A Sheffield  wrote:

>> 

>> Hey dad Im writing, if you have time we could talk a little

> On Oct 17, 2016, at 5:14 PM, M SHEFFIELD < wrote:

> 

> We will leave Santo Domingo about 07:00 tomorrow morning.

> I think I will just have to wave in Bonao.

> I am trying to do this on my cell phone.

> I was in Bonao about 7 years ago to take supplies to the beautiful youth camp there.

On Mon, Oct 17, 2016 at 4:16 PM, M SHEFFIELD wrote:

Your president might stop by our training at the Capulla on I. Blvd so I can meet him.

A SHEFFIELD WROTE: Dad, President Castillo told me he was going to do all he could to stop by and see you in Santiago while you were there! I’m super excited. You went to the campamento?  wow every Sunday we go up there and have a small sacrament service. We are trying to get a branch up there. 

 Continued letter – call it number two for the week,

In Constanza they grow tons of fruits and vegetables. They are famous for strawberries. I love spending a day up there. It reminded me of a little ski town in Utah but without any snow. It’s supposed to get cold up there the next few months and I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.

We have been doing a lot of contacting since we have been starting from the ground floor

 

Constanza

We had a crazy exchanges with some missionaries in Fantino near Bonao. I was to give an interview for the baptismal candidate but he is a teenager so there were some complications and We had a crazy ordeal getting the thumbs up from president. Wow I get so stressed, I feel like I have twenty two little siblings that I am supposed to take care of.

For church I gave a talk about our need for Christ the plan of salvation, a little bit of everything but focused on our need for Christ. I was happy when the piano didn’t work for the most of sacrament so I only had to play the closing hymn. I am playing hymns I have never played before with out any practice. I think my days of never practicing and then showing up at the Galbraiths house and sight reading all that I was supposed to practice is paying off haha… well maybe not.

We went up to the camp (Campamento Bonao) that is in the mountains of Bonao for a small sacrament service. It is a little like Aspen Grove with a senior couple missionary couple living there as the directors. Our goal is to start a branch up there someday.

I have really been learning a lot more about our need for Christ lately. I don’t think it really hit me until now. The purpose of everything, the restoration the plan of salvation isn’t just that we need a church or to know where we came from but to fulfill our needs. Alone we cannot be saved or progress, alone this life is a loosing battle. In my talk I talked about how it is like swimming towards an island but without the possibility of arriving for lack of strength, and no matter how scared we are of drowning we eventually will sink below the surface. But somebody’s pierced hands reach to grab us. Christ gives us strength and more chances than we deserve for our actions. We can make it to the island which is our fathers presence through Christ’s power of making us pure through his ordinances in his church. We need him and that is why.

Con pilas de amor 

Elder A Sheffield

One of the Greatest Spiritual Moments

Arrived July 25 2016

Love the family more than the book I am borrowing from Elder Oldroyd on hope called “Look up my Soul” by Gerald N Lund. It is sooooo good and I am, learning so much about the three Christian virtues of faith, charity and hope. I also borrowed a book called “A House of Glory” about temples from a member, she also had the “Miracle of Forgiveness” but I was/am a little to scared to read that one...

I feel like in the mission the work is summed up by the results of who comes to church. Even though it doesn’t show all the work you did, it is what determines your morale. Paulino came to church and is doing great! He has now come to church enough times for baptism and once we re set his baptismal date things will be just about ready. We also had our inactive of thirty years come to church. I am glad because I was getting a little tired of her always trying to talk about her boyfriend, and they are both fifty. Anthony who is another less active came to church. He is interesting because he knows its true but likes to pick and choose what commandments he wants to follow. He is a shoemaker and I have decided if I was your typical Dominican, I would do that to. I would be a baker, shoemaker, gua gua driver or a tailor. 

This week we officially stopped passing by the investigators who weren’t progressing. It is a little sad and uncomfortable, but I like to remember that I am not their last chance. Even when we want to shake people to make them realize the importance of this, we aren’t the last ones so we just have to accept it and not get dramatic. We had our first district meeting as a new zone. Most of the missionaries in our zone are a year old or younger. This makes me feel ancient. I still feel like a greenie and yet I have to be a leader now. I’m a little nervous for the new changes but it’ll be a good learning process for everyone. The district leaders are now getting used to their calling and the three trainers and their companions are doing well. My long time friend Elder Rojas was super excited to train and now he kind of realizes its not just rainbows and lollipops but he is doing great.

To make the mission more enjoyable for my compani0on as he is finishing up, we decided to do all four of our intercambios within two weeks. We just want to get it over with so we can keep our momentum going. It has been interesting when I know people he doesn’t and he knows people I don’t. I also am getting some experience with the latino missionaries and better range in my Spanish. I have realized I don’t know any vocabulary for things in the house since in the house I have only ever spoken English. It is a bad habit and I have some to regret it. I just use the dominican word Vaina which is a little that can be used for anything. It would be like saying pass me the thing. Or I need the thing underneath the thing haha.

Oh we also got our recent convert and less active Wadri to come to church. It is kind of sad and gossiped about when missionaries baptize children and then they go active because they don’t have the support they need. We probably should’ve waited for his baptism but we were both brand new to the area and the old missionaries gave us the thumbs up. He is a good kid, just needs more time, se necesita madurarse. In the zone there has also been some troubles with some things going on in sacrament meeting, I never realized how things worked when I just did my only little part in church. 

I had one of the greatest spiritual moments in a lesson we had the other day with Coronel De Luna. We normally teach just outside of his house where he lives on a dead end street. Things were going alright in our lesson on the plan of salvation when the spirit just took over. He was getting a little overwhelmed by it all but then I started to talk about how God has a plan and we have a purpose in this life. As I talked the words flowed out, and they simply were the right words. 

Elder Oldroyd challenged him to be baptized on the 20 of August and he said “With what I have been feeling, why not? Of course! Ill get baptized.” Then our friend Santiago who was with us shared his testimony and personally experience of conversion and the spirit was just so strong! Santiago isn’t the brightest light bulb, but he completely changed and it helped the lesson so much to here him speak. We kind of snapped back into reality after that, but finishing of the lesson I shared a part of Mosiah 18 and it finished out amazing! I am amazed about how pure his desire to improve is. He just wants to be a better man and he is feeling that this is the way how. He has innocent faith and I can’t help but feel how lucky I am to see it. I hope everything works out. He is continuing to change and say prayers for the first time in his life. It just needs to work out.

I had an interesting moment the other day reading a book. It was talking about conversion and testimony. One part hit me as it talked about getting a confirmation of our testimonies. I realized I don’t often ask for confirmation for things. I have a testimony and I love my Savior but I often just take the first response and continue forward without looking up from my work. I have decided that as I finish up the Book of Mormon another time that I am going to pray to know these things are true. It isn’t because I don’t know but because I want to refresh me testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know that by the power of the Holy Ghost I may know the truth of all things and those reading this may to. I testify that the Book of Mormon will help us grow closer to God than any other book so try it out. test me and test the book.

God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true. (Moroni 10:29)

Elder Sheffield

Dominican Family night with Paulino

Our old district

The missionary I trained is in my zone!