Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Eggs
Because Wonka Bonka (Peet's chook) is a bully and was eating Fisher's food and scaring poor Fisher away, we decided that the chooks needed to go back in a chook pen. They had been completely free range - sleeping in the trees at night. So Roger and the kids cleaned up the old chook pen and got it ready for the chooks - and found 2 nests - with 34 eggs between them - all of which were fresh.
Just One Day!
Alec asked for and Roger agreed to give him - for just one day - a mullet. Max helped.
Then, because he didn't look bogan enough already, he threw on a flanny to complete the look.
Then, because he didn't look bogan enough already, he threw on a flanny to complete the look.
Still catching up on Thomas News
By mid-September I will have served in Daugavpils longer than any other missionary I know (at least, in consecutive transfers). This is now my 5th transfer in Daugavpils, which I can't really complain about. My companion is Elder Roderick. This is only his second transfer right now, so he still feels a little uneasy about language. But I did the same thing on my second transfer. He'll do fine, I think. He's a big Californian kid who played Rugby in high school.
Elder Berryhill is now my district leader. He's training a new missionary. When the rest of the Daugavpils district found out I was still going to be here, they found it a little hard to believe- I've seen everyone in last transfer's district come and go.
Investigators have just shot through the roof last week. Elder Berryhill and I found no less than 11 this week- One family (3), an older couple, a VERY old lady, another couple, one lady and two younger men (one of which was Dimitri- who has a desire to be baptised). President thought it worthy to note in his letter to the missionaries that one companionship found 11 investigators in this week.
A little bit about them (at least the one's we're still teaching)- Sergei is one of the humblest men I've ever met. Fighting a winning battle against depression, our first meeting with him he told us that he knew that there was something different about us. He had some very serious questions about life after death. We met with him briefly last night, and he again told us that he could feel a real sense of brotherly love around us. He very strongly believes that our bodies and souls can become re-united after death- says he even had a dream about it.
Vadim, his wife Larissa and their daughter Tanya- Very friendly family, Vadim is a little hard to get through to, very Russian Orthodox. But still found what we taught interesting.Sveta, her Husband and her mother- We met them tracting a long time ago. She said come back, but the husband was the only one home. That week, we're tracting again, and she sees us. We have a quick chat and she tells us about her mother who is very sick. We were allowed to come in and give her a blessing. We intend to see them again this week.
Sergei and Ilona- Found in the Area Book. Sergei was very receptive. His wife, Ilona, however, seems to there for the ride- that can change though. Elder Freeman (my previous district leader who is right now in Imanta, Riga as the Latvian-Russian-speaking Zone Leader) Will be teaching Sergei during the week, as Sergei works weekdays in Riga, but Elder Roderick and I will be looking after him on the weekends.
The funny part about the whole thing is: 9 of these investigators were only found at the end of the week. I think that's the way the Lord tests you sometimes. You gotta feel like your banging your head against the wall occasionally to reap the blessings.
A early Happy Birthday to Jesse, and I believe a late one Peet. Why did I not hear anything about it? As for the camera, since I'm staying in Latvia, probably better to send a camera. If I was going to be in Estonia, or Lithuania, I would say "let's see", but I think at this stage, sending one would be a safer bet.
Please don't be worried if I am happy as a missionary or not. I am certain that a missionary (at least in 90% of cases) is never so much unhappy as he is shortsighted. My problem has not been that my mission is not wonderful, but that short-term setbacks are allowed to develop in my mind and become despairing. In almost every situation, God has had something wonderful in store, something to lift me enough to drown even a thousand bad experiences. And In case you are wondering- I am delighted by my mission. Well that's all from me, I'll let you know how things progress.
Dear Dad,
Well, rough trots happen.
We have a lot of people who drop off, but thats more to do with the fact that we've been finding a lot of people in this transfer. These sort of situation really just help you to weed out those who will not progress, which makes finding them much more wonderful. I've sent the details to Mum, so you'll probably find out more from her. My new companion this transfer is Elder Roderick from California. He's on his second transfer and a giant! No taller than I am, but strong as an ox. He played Rugby in High school. I think I'm in safe hands at the moment.
So how was Peet's Birthday? I never heard anything about it and as I understand his and Max's are pretty close together.
Well that's all from me, more in the letter to the family.
Your son,Tom
Elder Berryhill is now my district leader. He's training a new missionary. When the rest of the Daugavpils district found out I was still going to be here, they found it a little hard to believe- I've seen everyone in last transfer's district come and go.
Investigators have just shot through the roof last week. Elder Berryhill and I found no less than 11 this week- One family (3), an older couple, a VERY old lady, another couple, one lady and two younger men (one of which was Dimitri- who has a desire to be baptised). President thought it worthy to note in his letter to the missionaries that one companionship found 11 investigators in this week.
A little bit about them (at least the one's we're still teaching)- Sergei is one of the humblest men I've ever met. Fighting a winning battle against depression, our first meeting with him he told us that he knew that there was something different about us. He had some very serious questions about life after death. We met with him briefly last night, and he again told us that he could feel a real sense of brotherly love around us. He very strongly believes that our bodies and souls can become re-united after death- says he even had a dream about it.
Vadim, his wife Larissa and their daughter Tanya- Very friendly family, Vadim is a little hard to get through to, very Russian Orthodox. But still found what we taught interesting.Sveta, her Husband and her mother- We met them tracting a long time ago. She said come back, but the husband was the only one home. That week, we're tracting again, and she sees us. We have a quick chat and she tells us about her mother who is very sick. We were allowed to come in and give her a blessing. We intend to see them again this week.
Sergei and Ilona- Found in the Area Book. Sergei was very receptive. His wife, Ilona, however, seems to there for the ride- that can change though. Elder Freeman (my previous district leader who is right now in Imanta, Riga as the Latvian-Russian-speaking Zone Leader) Will be teaching Sergei during the week, as Sergei works weekdays in Riga, but Elder Roderick and I will be looking after him on the weekends.
The funny part about the whole thing is: 9 of these investigators were only found at the end of the week. I think that's the way the Lord tests you sometimes. You gotta feel like your banging your head against the wall occasionally to reap the blessings.
A early Happy Birthday to Jesse, and I believe a late one Peet. Why did I not hear anything about it? As for the camera, since I'm staying in Latvia, probably better to send a camera. If I was going to be in Estonia, or Lithuania, I would say "let's see", but I think at this stage, sending one would be a safer bet.
Please don't be worried if I am happy as a missionary or not. I am certain that a missionary (at least in 90% of cases) is never so much unhappy as he is shortsighted. My problem has not been that my mission is not wonderful, but that short-term setbacks are allowed to develop in my mind and become despairing. In almost every situation, God has had something wonderful in store, something to lift me enough to drown even a thousand bad experiences. And In case you are wondering- I am delighted by my mission. Well that's all from me, I'll let you know how things progress.
Dear Dad,
Well, rough trots happen.
We have a lot of people who drop off, but thats more to do with the fact that we've been finding a lot of people in this transfer. These sort of situation really just help you to weed out those who will not progress, which makes finding them much more wonderful. I've sent the details to Mum, so you'll probably find out more from her. My new companion this transfer is Elder Roderick from California. He's on his second transfer and a giant! No taller than I am, but strong as an ox. He played Rugby in High school. I think I'm in safe hands at the moment.
So how was Peet's Birthday? I never heard anything about it and as I understand his and Max's are pretty close together.
Well that's all from me, more in the letter to the family.
Your son,Tom
Catching up on Thomas news
I know last time I wrote I had some hard days, but last week was definitely the hardest week I had ever had.
Our lesson total was 2 for the whole week. All 5 of our previous investigators dropped us, including those with baptismal dates. That hurt a lot. And for a long time it was looking like we were going nowhere. Then on Monday we were blessed by one of the most powerfully faithful young men I had ever met. His name is Dimitri, and he is now an investigator with us. We gave him the first lesson, and he ate it up. The questions he asked I had never heard an investigator ask before: How do you become a member of this church? How could he become a missionary? He showed such sincere interest. I have great hopes for him.
Don't worry if I occasionally sound unhappy in my emails. It's not so much unhappiness as it is a lack of understanding. I'm not miserable so much as stressed, and all in all unlearned in the ways of our Father. In the last couple of weeks I failed to comprehend the Lord's hand in this work. As long as we do the Lord's will he never forgets us (as I was guilty of having thought) he only refines us. If we were continuing to teach these people, who were clearly not taking the gospel seriously, we might have overlooked or ignored those who were actually ready. I've been looking at those photo's from the baptism.
Tell Alec that if he doesn't get his hair cut soon the labourers will be using him to sweep the floors. Yeah, I know, hypocrite. If you look at my hair lately, look long enough and I think you'll see my skull. And when did Peet get so big? He's almost as tall as Mum. Thankfully Max, Louisa and Jesse still LOOK pretty much the same way I left them. Keep it up.
Well, this may be my last week in Daugavpils. Transfer calls are happening this Sunday, so next week I could be writing you from another city (first time in half a year, how about that?). I keep having these weird dreams about going to Narva (all-Russian city in Estonia). If I end up going there, I'm gonna be a little weirded out. There are baptisms happening in this mission, quite a few have happened in Daugavpils. I've just been stressing out because I haven't been bringing as many to baptism as I had wanted to, or a frequently.
As for the car, I don't really know. I'll make that decision later.
The cameras here have ranged depending on the quality. For a canon-brand (which I think would be ideal, since I still have the battery charger for it) the cost is between 130 and 180 lats I think that translates into 260-360 American dollars. Couldn't tell you what it is in Australian. I would advise not buying one there, though at least until the end of the week, and we know whether I am staying in Latvia or not.
Yeah, I think I still want to teach English and Media. I really feel like I want to do something that will change peoples lives. One of the reasons I'm on a mission actually. And one of the reasons I got stressed out. Well, that's all from me this week. I'll let you know how things work out. I love you all.
This week there was one girl baptised that I had been teaching in English for several months. Her name is Vika. My companion baptised her and my district leader and I were witnesses. It was wonderful to be a part of that experience.
She was a little apprehensive about going into the water (she said it was cold-it wasn't). But she felt great afterwards and sent us the following text message (in her hilarious broken English): "Dear Bear and dear Fama (Elder Berryhill and Elder Fulcher) ;) Inexpressible I'm happy that baptize me. Thanks you:-] Brilliant feeling... Thanks you for everything :-]"
She's a very good "churchy" girl now. I just thought that text was worth sharing.
Our lesson total was 2 for the whole week. All 5 of our previous investigators dropped us, including those with baptismal dates. That hurt a lot. And for a long time it was looking like we were going nowhere. Then on Monday we were blessed by one of the most powerfully faithful young men I had ever met. His name is Dimitri, and he is now an investigator with us. We gave him the first lesson, and he ate it up. The questions he asked I had never heard an investigator ask before: How do you become a member of this church? How could he become a missionary? He showed such sincere interest. I have great hopes for him.
Don't worry if I occasionally sound unhappy in my emails. It's not so much unhappiness as it is a lack of understanding. I'm not miserable so much as stressed, and all in all unlearned in the ways of our Father. In the last couple of weeks I failed to comprehend the Lord's hand in this work. As long as we do the Lord's will he never forgets us (as I was guilty of having thought) he only refines us. If we were continuing to teach these people, who were clearly not taking the gospel seriously, we might have overlooked or ignored those who were actually ready. I've been looking at those photo's from the baptism.
Tell Alec that if he doesn't get his hair cut soon the labourers will be using him to sweep the floors. Yeah, I know, hypocrite. If you look at my hair lately, look long enough and I think you'll see my skull. And when did Peet get so big? He's almost as tall as Mum. Thankfully Max, Louisa and Jesse still LOOK pretty much the same way I left them. Keep it up.
Well, this may be my last week in Daugavpils. Transfer calls are happening this Sunday, so next week I could be writing you from another city (first time in half a year, how about that?). I keep having these weird dreams about going to Narva (all-Russian city in Estonia). If I end up going there, I'm gonna be a little weirded out. There are baptisms happening in this mission, quite a few have happened in Daugavpils. I've just been stressing out because I haven't been bringing as many to baptism as I had wanted to, or a frequently.
As for the car, I don't really know. I'll make that decision later.
The cameras here have ranged depending on the quality. For a canon-brand (which I think would be ideal, since I still have the battery charger for it) the cost is between 130 and 180 lats I think that translates into 260-360 American dollars. Couldn't tell you what it is in Australian. I would advise not buying one there, though at least until the end of the week, and we know whether I am staying in Latvia or not.
Yeah, I think I still want to teach English and Media. I really feel like I want to do something that will change peoples lives. One of the reasons I'm on a mission actually. And one of the reasons I got stressed out. Well, that's all from me this week. I'll let you know how things work out. I love you all.
This week there was one girl baptised that I had been teaching in English for several months. Her name is Vika. My companion baptised her and my district leader and I were witnesses. It was wonderful to be a part of that experience.
She was a little apprehensive about going into the water (she said it was cold-it wasn't). But she felt great afterwards and sent us the following text message (in her hilarious broken English): "Dear Bear and dear Fama (Elder Berryhill and Elder Fulcher) ;) Inexpressible I'm happy that baptize me. Thanks you:-] Brilliant feeling... Thanks you for everything :-]"
She's a very good "churchy" girl now. I just thought that text was worth sharing.
Thomas News
I've just gotten the Blog Stuff- all wonderful, of course. But why don't I get any letter from you guys? I'm kinda desperate to hear about Max's Baptism.
Good week so far. The remainder of last was definitely one of those "Trials of your faith". None of our meetings worked out for about 3 days. Then on Sunday we found one amazing, very humble young guy named Yuri. He lives with his girlfriend, and has a 3 month old child, but is still very receptive to the spirit. We'll let you know how he progresses.
The last three days have been some of the most amusing on my mission thus far. I went tracting with my district leader on Monday while on splits. In this mission we rarely tract houses, the majority of Latvia's population lives in large apartment complexes. Anyway, we found in one apartment complex a homeless man sleeping on the top floor. My district leader was a little creeped out. He told me that he had never seen that before. I told him I had once- in Vilnius. It certainly makes you feel old when you have had experiences in the mission field that your district leader has not yet encountered.
Other experiences involve two from last night: first of which was a drunk man who came over to talk to us. This happens more times than I would prefer. We asked him if he had been drinking (as if we couldn't tell- vodka leaves a stench on you that can knock a grown man unconscious). He said he had. We asked if it was some sort of holiday today- prime drinking time in Latvia. His reply was "Well... it's Tuesday." Such is the attitude toward drinking in Latvia- any excuse will do.
The second was an elderly lady we knocked into. She told us she wasn't interested, and we left. before we could knock on the door next to hers, she told us "Don't knock on that one, they're all Russians. They're always drunk. So is the next door, all drunkards. Now the door after that one. Those are good Latvians. You want that door." She was probably the most racist lady I've met in Latvia- and that's a big call.
Other than that, not a whole lot happening this week. We tracted into a lady named Regina that we want to go back to tomorrow. My Companion and I are just giving it all we got to find people this transfer, and it's showing off.
I've been reading a little out of "Jesus the Christ" lately and have been incredibly impressed by the trials of our Saviour. One thing that impressed me the most has been his temptations during his forty-day fast, and Satan comes to tempt him to turn stones to bread. It says that the temptation was not to eat, but to heed to the word "if". To have Christ doubt his divine sonship and think "If I'm the son of God, surely God would not let me suffer like this. Why would he?" I'm led to think of our own trials in our life. Many times it is tempting to think "is it right that we should suffer like this?" I was particularly thinking so last week, when it seemed like everything in my area was falling down around me. I began to wonder if God actually cared about anything I did. I have since come to realize that Satan's temptations are universal. Not just the temptation to do what is not right, but to think incorrectly about our relationship to our Heavenly Father. I know that our Heavenly Father has a sincere and deep love for all of us- and that love isn't removed simply by the presence of trial (see Romans 8:35-39).
Well, that's all from me this week. If you can give me some last-minute details about Max's baptism, please do. I'm kinda desperate. I love you all.
Then he got my letters and replied - a bit sad:
Don't worry I'm getting them. That section in "Jesus the Christ" helped me put a lot into perspective. I ended up with not only a better understanding about My Heavenly Father or about Christ, but about my place as a witness of him. I'm not gonna deny, last week was one of the most difficult of my mission. one of those weeks where you just feel like you're trying to nail jelly to a wall. I was lucky to have have the help of a Good district leader, a companion who told him I needed help and the help of the spirit to give me even greater insight.
Then it got tragic:
If you look in the chapter that talks a little about his baptism, (I think, I was kinda just flipping through) there is a part in there about his 40 day fast. I'm coping fine. Sunday at church was very difficult for me. I went into the library there, locked myself in and started praying as hard as I could- I had found before that this was the best way to find relief. Some opened the library, I presume they saw me because they closed a while afterwards, I never really payed attention. Somehow or other my companion found out, told my district leader that I was having troubles and he spoke to me later on (which helped a lot). I guess I really just felt beaten. I was never at the point of wanting to go home- I knew full well that no matter how hard things got here, going home before I had fulfilled my duty to God would just make things worse, if for no other fact than I would have feel ashamed beyond my strength to bear it. As a missionary I have felt temporarily beaten at times, but never ashamed for what I have done here. And I don't see that changing in the near future. What I felt was that I was going nowhere, like I was doing more harm than good. The long and short of the whole situation is that Satan worked hard on me this week. He knows missionaries make great "trophies" if he can win them over, which makes him zealous when using his powers on them.
Good week so far. The remainder of last was definitely one of those "Trials of your faith". None of our meetings worked out for about 3 days. Then on Sunday we found one amazing, very humble young guy named Yuri. He lives with his girlfriend, and has a 3 month old child, but is still very receptive to the spirit. We'll let you know how he progresses.
The last three days have been some of the most amusing on my mission thus far. I went tracting with my district leader on Monday while on splits. In this mission we rarely tract houses, the majority of Latvia's population lives in large apartment complexes. Anyway, we found in one apartment complex a homeless man sleeping on the top floor. My district leader was a little creeped out. He told me that he had never seen that before. I told him I had once- in Vilnius. It certainly makes you feel old when you have had experiences in the mission field that your district leader has not yet encountered.
Other experiences involve two from last night: first of which was a drunk man who came over to talk to us. This happens more times than I would prefer. We asked him if he had been drinking (as if we couldn't tell- vodka leaves a stench on you that can knock a grown man unconscious). He said he had. We asked if it was some sort of holiday today- prime drinking time in Latvia. His reply was "Well... it's Tuesday." Such is the attitude toward drinking in Latvia- any excuse will do.
The second was an elderly lady we knocked into. She told us she wasn't interested, and we left. before we could knock on the door next to hers, she told us "Don't knock on that one, they're all Russians. They're always drunk. So is the next door, all drunkards. Now the door after that one. Those are good Latvians. You want that door." She was probably the most racist lady I've met in Latvia- and that's a big call.
Other than that, not a whole lot happening this week. We tracted into a lady named Regina that we want to go back to tomorrow. My Companion and I are just giving it all we got to find people this transfer, and it's showing off.
I've been reading a little out of "Jesus the Christ" lately and have been incredibly impressed by the trials of our Saviour. One thing that impressed me the most has been his temptations during his forty-day fast, and Satan comes to tempt him to turn stones to bread. It says that the temptation was not to eat, but to heed to the word "if". To have Christ doubt his divine sonship and think "If I'm the son of God, surely God would not let me suffer like this. Why would he?" I'm led to think of our own trials in our life. Many times it is tempting to think "is it right that we should suffer like this?" I was particularly thinking so last week, when it seemed like everything in my area was falling down around me. I began to wonder if God actually cared about anything I did. I have since come to realize that Satan's temptations are universal. Not just the temptation to do what is not right, but to think incorrectly about our relationship to our Heavenly Father. I know that our Heavenly Father has a sincere and deep love for all of us- and that love isn't removed simply by the presence of trial (see Romans 8:35-39).
Well, that's all from me this week. If you can give me some last-minute details about Max's baptism, please do. I'm kinda desperate. I love you all.
Then he got my letters and replied - a bit sad:
Don't worry I'm getting them. That section in "Jesus the Christ" helped me put a lot into perspective. I ended up with not only a better understanding about My Heavenly Father or about Christ, but about my place as a witness of him. I'm not gonna deny, last week was one of the most difficult of my mission. one of those weeks where you just feel like you're trying to nail jelly to a wall. I was lucky to have have the help of a Good district leader, a companion who told him I needed help and the help of the spirit to give me even greater insight.
Then it got tragic:
If you look in the chapter that talks a little about his baptism, (I think, I was kinda just flipping through) there is a part in there about his 40 day fast. I'm coping fine. Sunday at church was very difficult for me. I went into the library there, locked myself in and started praying as hard as I could- I had found before that this was the best way to find relief. Some opened the library, I presume they saw me because they closed a while afterwards, I never really payed attention. Somehow or other my companion found out, told my district leader that I was having troubles and he spoke to me later on (which helped a lot). I guess I really just felt beaten. I was never at the point of wanting to go home- I knew full well that no matter how hard things got here, going home before I had fulfilled my duty to God would just make things worse, if for no other fact than I would have feel ashamed beyond my strength to bear it. As a missionary I have felt temporarily beaten at times, but never ashamed for what I have done here. And I don't see that changing in the near future. What I felt was that I was going nowhere, like I was doing more harm than good. The long and short of the whole situation is that Satan worked hard on me this week. He knows missionaries make great "trophies" if he can win them over, which makes him zealous when using his powers on them.
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