Lucky to have my companion

Arrived Jan 23, 2017

Love the family more than getting light after a few days without it. It’s one of those things that you take for granted when you use it daily. We had a cut line and no light for a few days and at first it was nothing, just a little dark when we planned for the next day. Then we realized there is no using our washer, the water pump, no charging the cell phone or refrigerator. We have light now but our poor chicken in the freezer didn’t make it through. We have a pool of chicken salmonella blood-water at the bottom of our fridge that we will need to clean out.

Some of the best parts of the week were our lessons with Yoelvi or Yovi like he prefers. (Kinda like Bon Jovi) We taught the first lesson and the spirit was so strong. It was a little scary to be there on intercambios (exchanges) but it still went super well. He is super excited to be baptized in February, if he gets himself ready. After a motorcycle accident and losing his mother it has made him humble and every time the spirit testifies of eternal families the whole room fills with God’s love. It was really nice that our missionary, that I did exchanges with, could see how the lessons aren’t just sharing information. Yovi came to church for the first time and the only problems we can see in the horizon are possible things with a girlfriend.

We have a less-active who has tons of questions about agency and the pre-earth life. He is great but feels like a hypocrite in church, its sad that people can slowly fall away and then forget the truths they once knew. They forget that they were valiant in the testimony of Christ and were willing to put everything on the line to receive the promised blessings through him.

Isuary and Coralina are well, but they just need to work to have an eternal family. We have talked about temples and everything. How do you tell somebody they need this, when that’s what you are constantly trying to do.

We had another intercambio (exchanges) and I realized how lucky I am to have my companion. We can have the spirit so well and we both understand how things should be. I really feel like we are doing what we can even though things aren’t always fruitful.

Today we played baseball at the Campamento in Bonao as a zone. Its super hot here, even though I heard Utah is covered in snow. The only thing cold here is the cold I had during the week and our bucket showers. I had a really fun time and this week is a new week. I’m excited.

I am coming to learn more about how to be patient and how to be positive, even when things are hard. I am also learning more about the real value of priesthood blessings. Not only blessings of health but everything that comes because of the priesthood. How great is it I can share with people the truth that my family not only can be eternal, but is. It is a current and progressing thing. Again the Lord has opened the blessings of heaven with the keys he once gave to Peter, and has now given to Thomas S Monson. 

Elder Sheffield

Counting Blessings

Arrived Jan 16, 2017

Love the family like I love counting blessings. This week I have tried harder to count my blessings and looking back on the past few months I have been blessed more than what I realized in the moment.

 

My latino prescribed "fix every infirmity" concoction of orange, carrot, celery and cucumber

 Remember my big mistake when the interviews with president were one day but I had everyone plan for a different day? Well I don’t know if I ever shared this but a sister missionary from a different zone came up to me about a week after that had happened and asked if I was the one who had mixed up the days, sheepishly I admitted to it. She told me that because of the mix up one of their investigators who wasn’t going to get the essential pre baptism interview was able to have president come and interview her. She thanked me for the mis-up because for them it was a tender mercy.

This week we had been learning patience since the progress has been up and down and up and down. On Sunday we set high goals to make up for the other days and we had some nice tender mercies. 

One new investigator had read the whole pamphlet and agreed to be baptized and asked us when church is. Hopefully Wendy and her son Yojeidy keep up the work.

Also yesterday a member came up to us in the conference and said he was going to take us to a reference. He drove us (a blessing) to the family where we met a young man using crutches from a motorcycle accident and whose mother just passed away. With several family members present we testified of the plan of salvation, I shared a scripture in Enos that personal helped me when grandpa had passed away. One of the family members was visiting from New York and she is a temple worker and she went on about eternal families. And also our favorite member Pedro Pablo showed up in the middle of the lesson. He is also the district president. We also gave a blessing to the new yorker family member and folletos to everybody. I also found one of our super fancy new pamphlets on families and temple work. The young man liked it all and said he is interested in coming to church. The new yorker said she will be in town for some time and with a special look said she would help the guy read, she is set on baptizing him. Also, they gave us some moro de guandules which was also a blessing.

 

Family night with the mission leaders and the sisters

I woke up yesterday without my voice but I have been able to teach alright, even if I sound like Darth Vader. We have been a little sad this week that Santiago still is having problems with drugs and it doesn’t really seem like he wants to change even though he says the church is true. Also Juana and Gustavo who want to get baptized haven’t made the changes in their lives to make this promise with God. They want to be baptized and take the sacrament but haven’t done the work, only gone to church. Changing, repentance, putting ourselves in harmony with God. It’s sad that most people don’t know how and others simply want to play their own note.

 

baseball with Elder Nickel

Elder Laureano and I have been exercising hard lately and waking up earlier to toss around the baseball. Its really fun and funny and challenging when its 6:45 in the morning and you barely see the ball until its right in front of your face haha. 

This Sunday was the Caribe Area Conference and we watched the broadcast from Utah of Elder Anderson. Also our dear Elder Cornish talked as well. Elder Anderson talked about having patience, diligence and faith. I am working on having more patience and hope lately. Not just faith in the investigators or hoping they show up to church Sunday but that I have faith and hope in Christ that these people can change. What a great word is change. I think a lot about how I have changed and I hope to always be changing. Change is the course through trials to consecration and holiness. 

Love Elder A Sheffield

Celebrating my 18 month mark with pizza

Filling our planners

Arrives Jan 9, 2017

Love the family more than my new baseball mit! My companion is a big Dominican baseball player so we decided to get me a baseball mit a toss around a baseball for exercise in the morning. I now have a mit that I got for 300 pesos or about 7 dollars. Thanks for the Christmas money, I finally used some of it.

I would say this week was a good hard work week but I feel like I say that every time. 

I really enjoy some of the things my companion and I are doing right now. We are planning for our lessons more deeply and trying to leave earlier to teach and to take advantage of the members help.

In our planners we are completely filling the pages with contacts and lesson plans and phone numbers. I feel like we teach a lot better. I have loved how much we feel the spirit in the lessons. It was a goal of ours to help people not just feel the spirit but recognize it and then follow it. We have spent a good amount of time really bringing back into progress some of the investigators that were dropping off. It feels like we have some amazing families and He doesn’t want us moving on quite yet. 

There is a young man in our branch who came up to us a few weeks ago asking if he could go with us because he said he has a testimony but it isn’t super strong. He doesn’t do much in the lessons, but it is super amazing he has that courage to ask to come and spend a few hours with us a couple days a week.

Thursday we went to Santiago to the mission office and started exchanges with the assistants. We have a new assistant and now both of them are from my group. Elder Millward and I have always joked around about how great it would be to be companions and it finally happened for one day. He is probably my best friend in the mission, a good guy from god old Burly, Idaho.

Friday was our mission leadership council meeting and like all new zone leaders my companion was super anxious. Haha, I remember feeling the same way but this time president even made us give a training on obedience. It was kind of a stressful week but when Sunday came around, I got a new record in my mission. We had 9 investigators in church and it went well.

My spiritual thought is of the power of testimony. We fought then, and we fight now, the forces of darkness with faith in Christ and our testimonies. It has been an amazing week for me in how much I have been able to feel the spirit carry my testimony to the people. I know he lives and this is his gospel that allows us to reconcile ourselves with our father. 

Love Elder Sheffield

New Companion

Arrived Jan2, 2017

Love the family more than corbatas quemados! Again we stuck to tradition and had the ceremonial discard of a tie. I think only return missionaries understand what it is like once all the sister missionaries that started with you go home and you feel the pressure of only so much more. Every week I panic a little. The mission is too good. Happy New Year and happy 18 months Elder Sheffield.

 

transfers

What a week. Every time you have a transfer it feels like starting over again. For some reason certain investigators suddenly disappear from off the face of the earth while others progress. You have to worry about eating differently. Who takes the shower first. And now only Spanish. Once again I realize my Spanish isn’t that great haha.

My new companion is Elder Laureano from the capital of the DR. He is an amazing elder and I couldn’t be more satisfied really. We have been having good hard work but a lot of laughs and a new spirit here in Bonao 2.

Monday night we taught Isaury even though his wife was in Camino and then never showed up. He is pretty prepared for the gospel but she isn’t very much help. I’m a little worried for the decision that will eventually have to be made. 

 

Elder Rasmussen and ice cream

Tuesday was my last day with Elder Rasmussen and we worked hard. Sometimes missionaries spend the day relaxing a bit by saying goodbye and taking pictures. I really admire that guy. We didn’t get along too great, or that bad, we just had different personalities. He is a good guy and it will be different without him. We taught Oclide Casado and again the wife was gone. He said he wants to go see a baptism before he makes a decision to get baptized or not. Another great person, but coming down to an official decision.

With my new companion Elder Laureano (Elder Laurel) we have had some amazingly spiritual lessons. We have taught a few less active families that both had problems with being ashamed for mistakes with chastity that love the gospel but are having a hard time with coming to church. It is really sad and as a missionary you really feel for them.

 

Elder Laureano

It has been a good week for door to door contacting and this week we will see how things go. It is a constant planting, culturing and separating the wheat from the tares here. 

Juana and Gustavo are pretty set on being baptized. They are working on their marriage papers and coffee. Juana was so funny. Starting our lesson with the word of wisdom she read a little ahead of us and suddenly blurts out ¨coffee! You guys are gonna kill me¨ Haha she understands it’s an addiction and we put plans with her to make a hot chocolate or drink instead of coffee. Finishing the lesson their grown up son walks through the front door and into the kitchen. After looking around for a bit he shouts to us in the other room ¨mom any coffee?¨ Gustavo couldn’t keep down a big smile and busted out laughing. They are super funny and sincere.

For almost everyone but Juana and Gustavo, and Santiago, this week was almost another lost week. It’s really hard to help people when their families come around for a few weeks to ¨eat drink and be merry¨ (scriptural proof) 

I love some of these people and I really don’t want to move on from Jose, or Alen, or Isaury or Hipolito. 

 

a family in Bonao

This week I was thinking about prayer and guidance again. I can think of very few other things that I want for our investigators and myself than these things. I’m still putting yearly and less than six month goals so for all of you that are like me, pray for goals, present them to Him and ask for confirmation. I love the word confirmation. Do something good and ask for the confirmation, I promise it will come. 1 Nefi 10:19. El que busca, hallara. Entonces busque! 

Con mucho amor 

Elder A Sheffield

Christmas

Arrived Dec 26, 2016

Love the family more than a lot of things but this week especially more than the Apple Cider I made when I was cold from rain (thanks Heber and Trudy), my custom made shirt (now pajamas) from ex-Elder Oldroyd and a healthy stomach after eating so much pork. It was a very Merry Christmas.

 

A stocking I stuffed for myself and the Christmas box from home

So Monday is normally our good learning experience days (some mission lingo for you mom ;) ) and this week we had an interesting lesson with a contact but a great lesson with a great investigator. Remember that one guy we shared with and gave a baptismal date to even though he was partying with friends on the patio? Well he reads and understands and has a lot of questions but hasn’t been able to come to church. We went over the importance of church and how it isn’t just learning but worshipping, obedience and renewing cleaning covenants. He gave a ¨si Dios quiere¨ answer and we didn’t think much more of it. Saturday night we passed by and he wasn’t home but right as church was starting, he popped into the chapel! You should have seen my grin from the keyboard piano. It was super spiritual and he left with tears in his eyes asking if next Sunday will be the same! 

 

My mission posterity, I trained Elder Bouwhis (next to me) and the guy he is training,
so in mission terms my kid and my grandkid

Another miracle was on our bus ride up to the efy ¨Campamento¨ sacrament service. On the way up this one guy kept staring at me and so I started to talk to him. I guided the conversation to our message and gave a brief overview of the restoration. As we pulled up to his stop the driver asked ¨you are getting off here right?¨ and our new friend said ¨No I’m going up further with these handsome fellas¨ (I added the handsome part para que sepan) So we ended up with an investigator in church up there. The Lord has a lot in store for Alexis. It was also a miracle that on Friday we ran into a less active member son of a member who just got to the country Monday. They were driving by on their moped and we got their information and then invited them to church. The less active son introduced himself in church and said I have gone less active over the years, not for any beliefs but for issues with work, I think I will start coming again. In the meeting as my companion shared impromptu talks he couldn’t stop crying. The world is a small place and the Lord watches over everyone even if you have four days in a foreign country are less active and have no idea where or when church is.

 

THE group

That is the bulk of my email but Tuesday we had a small practice for our Christmas skit. Senior couple Gomez were going to play the guitar but we found another one so I ¨learned¨ the songs we were going to sing and ended up playing in our skit for half the mission. Man do I need more practice but I can fake it pretty well haha. Tuesday we spent from 8 to 5 either traveling or in the Christmas party. It was fun. Lots of food, laughs, old friends and a good spirit. We also watched Disney’s “A Christmas Carol”. 

Wednesday was our branch Christmas party. We laughed watching the senior couples, a few less actives and an investigator. There was also a scripture trivia game we played. Not gonna lie, I was surprised how much I knew. We almost won but they gave us all the hard questions. Trivia: Who was Abraham’s first son? (The one we got wrong) 

Thursday we did intercambios with Constanza. I LOVED the feel and smell of the cold. I think it only got to 50ish, but my body has been just expecting the cold that has never come. We went to bed with a homemade banana milkshake and woke up with Elder Sheffield’s apple cider packets. Haha we got a little nauseous on the way down the mountain the next day. 

The intercambio proved to be prophetic. Elder Laureano, the Dominican district leader I was with, IS NOW MY NEW COMPANION starting Wednesday! He is one of the best missionaries in the mission and I’m really excited. Once again my Spanish will get better and my streak of American comps end. I’m now 7-2 American to Dominican and 0 other Latin companions. 

I was a little hesitant Christmas Eve and Christmas with our plans. Christmas eve here is like thanksgiving and October fest mixed together and so when my companion suggested we don’t spend to much time enjoying the holidays with things less important than preaching I was a little torn. However things worked out well. I know the Lord blessed us for the extra effort. We even had a good Samaritan give us Christmas eve dinner a block from our house as we walked home. Our Christmas eve and Christmas day was spent in the Lords service, giving of ourselves. 

Last night we had a sleep over since our phone doesn’t work so we needed to get together with the other missionaries to use their phone. After doing numbers we drank egg nog and played the guitar (Samoan Elder Nickel is teaching me a lot) 

Today was my companion’s birthday and so we spent the day at the senior couples house playing board games and eating. I have a small surprise gift of all the different candy I have received throughout the week. I hope he looks back with good memories on our time together.

My spiritual message is simple. Father watches over every one of us. We are his work and his glory. For this purpose was His only Begotten son given. For this new year may we ponder and pray for what the Lord would have us do to improve. 

Feliz Navdad y un Prospero año de felicidad por 2017!

Con todo mi amor 

Elder A. Sheffield

 

Christmas present from ex-Elder Oldroyd

 

Christmas morning

Closing prayer with my family through Skype 

Christmas party (Try and find me among half the mission)

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It's not a checklist of what you've done, but how you've changed

Arrived Dec 19, 2016

Love the fam more than Christmas Music! Even though I only have a few different songs and I have probably heard “Joy to the World” a few hundred times now, I love Christmas music! Its fun to sing and feel the Christmas season while I sweat in my short sleeves and tie.

This week:

I think the Lord wanted me more humble. Monday was good and hard. We had a good lesson with Hipolito who wants to get baptized, but never comes to church. We think fast pitch softball is holding him back, which is sad. One of my favorite members is his friend and he was there. After that lesson however we ended up contacting a lot. Not sure why but the whole world was against us. We normally don’t get rejected, just dodged by lazy excuses but I was surprised at the opposite Monday. Sometimes it gets me to hear us contact, the Spanish is not what I wish it was. Then it bothered me I was bothered and it was all humbling. We had a tender mercy in disguise when I felt like I should double check and double lock our front door, also when I woke up at 4:40 in the morning. A few people where trying to get in at some of our things but I caught them and everything worked out. 

Tuesday we did exchanges and a district meeting in Cotui. We practiced a little bit for our mission Christmas party skit which will be this Wednesday. I’m nervous because it wasn’t planned that well but it’ll work out. On the intercambio I met a few great families that are so prepared. I love where I’m at in the mission because I get to hear all the miracles and trials of the other missionaries.

Wednesday, with my favorite investigator Jose, we had an interesting lesson. Brother Rosario came with us, and like all Dominicans they somehow knew the same people and each other. We talked about baptism. He understands the importance and wants it, but he hasn’t been able to come to church. We testified that the Lord loves them and wants them, but wants them perfect. The Gospel of Christ, restored on earth, and His church is how we return and become perfect. Sunday Brother Rosario committed to passing by on his way to church but I think we went by the wrong house haha. Anyways they weren’t there when we started but half way through sacrament meeting we got a text saying “We are on our way” from them. We had six people in church and I think it really helped Jose and his wife.

Our work in the Los Quemados part of our area and by Campamento is really interesting. We only can go about once a week so progress is super slow. I’m hoping after Christmas we can go twice a week.We went to the other branch the other day to give a baptismal interview. I did the interview but she didn’t really seem ready. It’s interesting to see the depth of conversion in people. It’s not the answers you give or the checklist of things you have done, but how you have changed and whom you have become.

Our apartment; we don't always have water, so we keep buckets full in case

Saturday we made an amazing contact. The young couple asked us what we believe in and when talked about baptism being a saving ordinance and then tied it into the restoration with the falling away of the authority and then it being restored to the earth. The spirit was really there and everything flowed so well. They committed to be baptized if they received an answer from God. We will see how things go. Our one investigator that reminded me of John Tanner has been in the hospital recently and they amputated his whole leg. I was praying about what we could do and that things would go according to the Lords will. We hoped we could have helped him, but it seems my plan wasn’t THE plan. They still should be interested in the gospel after they get released from the hospital in a week or two. Instead of the John Tanner video I think we might share the stone cutter video... Diabetes here is killer because they don’t take care of it. Also you shouldn’t ever go bare foot here, that’s why we shower in flip flops.

After stressing out and going through various back up plans, I didn’t go to Coronel De Lunas baptism in Santiago. The firefighters have been having troubles in Santiago and so his baptism got pushed back a week. I would have like to go but I think it’ll be better in general if everyone stays put and and enjoys their Christmas eve. It is like the biggest holiday here.

The sister missionaries had a family get baptized Saturday and I was asked to baptize one of them so things went alright. 

Our investigator Santiago said this week that he no longer has problems with addictions and he is ready for his baptism the 31. We don’t really feel like he should be baptized at this moment so we are going to have to postpone it for the future.

Sunday after church in Campamento, los Gomez made us dinner! We had Puerto Rican pastel, rice and ground beef. I haven’t eaten anything that good in months. I love the missionary couple. He is and ex-cop, church security guy, guitar player, Harley lover, cowboy and golden convert into the church. His daughter is studying at Weber state right now so we talk about Ogden a lot. 

More pictures of our apartment

One of our new investigators randomly gave us food Sunday as well. It was barbeque chicken, pig roasted over a pit and morro and yucca bread. I think this will be our Christmas dinner since the plan is to work instead of spending more time with members this week. Oh well it was a good Sunday. 

My spiritual thought is the family. I had not realized the complete importance or blessing of a good family until the mission. It is interesting to see families I could only have imagined of which their problems and incompleteness while at the same time seeing families that are blessed by the gospel. I have seen horrors and miracles in the mission that I didn’t expect to see. Oh how important the family is. This week with a family the mother volunteered the 8 year old to read the restoration pamphlet in the lesson. I couldn’t help put take a step back and see this family together learning of the gospel and together feeling the spirit. I think it is a wonder but no surprise that the only begotten of the Father was born on the earth so that the family could be raised up together. We are children of God. I am so very grateful for a small stable in Bethlehem a few thousand years ago filled with the Light and Life of the world.

Feliz Navidad 

Elder SheffieldSheffield