April
6th, 2015
Dear
family,
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| District Leader Training |
This
was a great week! We held a District Leader Conference for the
mission this week and we had Elder W give a training on keeping
apartments in order. The first thing he said is "President
Slaughter and the Assistants are like the First Presidency. Elder W,
Elder R, and I are the Presiding Bishopric. We take care of the
temporal needs of the mission." It was hilarious. His whole
training was funny, but he went like 15 minutes over.
Monday
we had a great lesson with J at the Bs. She is doing incredible. We
taught her about family history and temples, but she already knew
everything. We were going to show her familysearch.org,
but she already had an account and found some relatives. She is
working on Personal Progress, and she knew which prophet's teachings
are found in 2 Nephi 9 without us telling her (and it's not Nephi if
that's what you are thinking). She is great. We tried contacting her
mom all week, but we didn't make contact.
Tuesday
I was on exchanges with Elder W. It was a blast. He has made so much
improvement. He is a very stable and steady missionary now. We got a
call from the Balcones Heights sisters and told us they had an
investigator that moved into our area, and that their day off was
Tuesday, so we went and contacted them. They are a cool couple. They
are really young and have two kids. They are trying to get back on
their feet. and living in their friends apartment who is being
generous. They were taught several times and we showed them "Because
of Him" and they loved it. They have been reading a little bit
in the Book of Mormon, so hopefully they progress well. We also
shared the "Because He Lives" video with several people on
the street on their smart phone, so that was cool.
Wednesday
we had our District Leader Conference. I gave a training on
conducting effective exchanges and giving correction. My main
emphasis was that we often correct others too much. Much of the
"correcting" should be taught by example. The missionary
handbook makes it clear that is what it is suppose to be like. Also,
there is a difference between correcting and suggestions. We should
rarely give correction, especially in the TSAM because everyone is so
obedient. That is vocally helping someone that is way off the path to
and is doing something harmful to their effectiveness or salvation.
Suggestions are merely things that could help them improve, but
aren't life-altering and even many of those should be taught by
example. So on exchanges we should do everything we can to be
examples because that Spirit we bring is what will teach the other
missionaries more powerfully than anything we can say. I talked about
the three most important things we should be examples of are constant
faith, consecration, and conversion. The three C's. President got up
in MLC and used those same things and read letters he receives about
exchanges and it was really cool to hear that they often said things
like, "the things I learned weren't said. I was so impressed by
their constant faith" or "their consecration." Those
are also the things that should last after the mission too. We had a
great meeting. We had a good lesson with P and he seems to get really
excited about what we teach. He was so excited about Apostles, but he
didn't come to General Conference.
Thursday
we did all the office work we needed to. We helped the As. They are
such a good couple. They also told us they allowed this Medical
student from Mexico live with them and so they brought them to
Conference. We are also teaching a different friend in their home on
Friday. They are such good member missionaries simply because they
don't worry about being awkward or slow with things, they just be
themselves. We brought H with us to a lesson with the Os. It was a
good experience though to have H add his testimony and give him a
chance to vocalize it. We figure that is all we can help him with at
this point.
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| Leadership Conference |
Friday
was MLC. It was incredible. Elder I and Elder I gave great trainings
on how to help District Leaders. The LSTLs both gave trainings on
exchanges and correction and it was cool to see they had some of the
same thoughts that I had from the District Leader Conference. Sister
R and her companion are STLs in Round Rock and they are the ASL
missionaries. There was a deaf expo that they went to and had been
preparing for for like 3 months. They taught like 26 lessons at the
expo and got about another 30 referrals, and things have just
exploded with that, so we had them speak to us for a bit on what
happened and how we can help. It was inspiring. President Slaughter
gave incredible trainings again. Elder H and I gave a training on the
"Because He Lives" video and how to keep it going after
Easter. We did a big scripture chain of what the Book of Mormon
teaches about the resurrection (Mosiah 15:8-9, Mosiah 16:8-9, 2 Nephi
2:7, Alma 34:9, 2 Nephi 25:13, Helaman 14:15). It was a great
MLC. I went on exchanges with Elder H right after. He is a younger
Zone Leader and he is great. We had a bunch of things fall through
but we had some really good discussions. We had a lesson with the M.
They told us they were planning on going to the Davis' for Conference
on Sunday. That was great.
Saturday
was incredible. We had to print off stewardships for transfer
planning this week, so we didn't have any time to proselyte, but
Conference was so good. Several of them stuck out, especially Elder
Bednar and Elder Andersen of the 70 and Elder Ballard in Priesthood.
That was perfect. J watched Saturday afternoon at the B's and loved
it. The As brought their new roommate and she seemed to enjoy it.
Sunday
was also incredible. Elder Holland and Elder Nelson's stuck out but
they were all good. We went to the D' for afternoon session and the
Ms came! We brought them cookies. I think Brother M enjoyed it and
hopefully they stayed after for awhile. We stopped by the As just to
see what we should do with M and they have already talked to her a
ton about the church, and they brought her down so we showed the
"Because He Lives" video and basically invited her to
investigate. She will only be here for a month or so, but she has a
great spirit about her. She would be a great kingdom builder in
Mexico, especially since she is working on her PhD. We had a great
meeting with President. We counseled together and decided it is time
to bring in and train another Assistant and I am going to go back
into the field. I'm not sure where, but it will be good. Elder C is
my replacement and he will do really well. It will be sad to go, but
I trust that there is somewhere I need to be for the remainder of my
time.
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| Elder Pew's district |
We
had such a great opportunity to witness one of the great
characteristics of being part of Christ's true church. To hear
prophets and Apostles speak. One thing I've learned on my mission is
the need to be "quick to observe." We all heard things that
we can improve and do better, and there is no point to the Conference
if we don't quickly observe them. I hope each of us take the
inspiration we received and act on it. It was also special to be
representatives of Christ on Easter, to bear witness of Him. He does
live. He "stands betwixt [us] and justice" and he made it
possible for us to overcome both physical death as well as spiritual
death. We can return to live in His presence as we accept Him and
live His gospel. This is the church that contains the fulness of it
and the authority to teach and administer the ordinances necessary to
access His Atonement. Thank you for all you do!
Love,
Elder
Pew
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| Elder Pew and his companion with a friend |
April
13th, 2015
Dear
family,
Monday
we picked up Elder C and he's doing well. He's so teachable and
humble. He's great. We had a lesson with this man we met several
weeks ago street contacting and he missed the appointment but we saw
him Monday night and he beckoned to us and wanted us to come in. It
was a great lesson, but we haven't been able to get together again.
His name is A.
Tuesday
we started transfer planning. It is always incredible to see the love
and inspiration from President Slaughter. It gets easier every time
because I know all the missionaries so much better. It took awhile to
find a place for me. It just so happened that the best place would
be in Brushy Creek. I would be over 8 missionaries in the district
and Elder T just happens to be there and he is in his first transfer
but he's going to be really good. We finished out the planning for
the day and I had no idea what to think about going to Brushy Creek.
Lots of mixed emotions. We had a great evening. We had a lesson with
P and again he was so excited to see us and loved everything we
taught. He canceled our next lesson and missed church. Not sure how
to help him. We had a lesson with J and S and talked about missionary
work but unsurprisingly J is already doing tons of missionary work.
She's great. We had a lesson with this lady named M about the Book of
Mormon. She was another person we street contacted and she was really
interested. She didn't come to church but was excited to start
reading.
Wednesday
we finished transfer planning, and throughout the day I felt uneasy
about going back to Brushy Creek. I don't want the mission to think
that I just chose where to go and moved everyone out of the way so it
could happen and Elder M, who is in Brushy Creek right now has been
very clear about the fact that he doesn't want to leave Brushy Creek.
I voiced these concerns with President Slaughter, but he didn't see a
problem and really liked the idea of me going there, so that is where
I am going! So I'm very excited and also nervous for how people
react. I'm sure it will be good. My only goal is to baptize a family.
That is my only desire. That night was the night Elder H left, but
Elder C and I didn't have much luck besides the Indian couple we
taught.
Thursday
we had zone meeting in the morning. It was great. Elder W and I sang
our own words to "Oh Savior thou who Wearest a Crown" to
the tune of "If you Could Hie to Kolob" and it went really
well. I wish we recorded it. That will probably be our last chance to
do that. We had to do a bunch of office work after that until dinner.
We also didn't have much success that night, but we set up a bunch of
lessons for the next few days.
Friday
we had to go pick up Elder H in Austin and bring him back. We got
more of the office work done and then headed out. We had dinner and a
lesson with M at the As. We had a lesson with R and we just watched
"Come, Join with Us" with him. He really liked that, so
we'll see if he starts to open up some more. He's doing better. We
also had a lesson with the Ms that was great. I had the son build a
lego house while we opened to the scripture. We talked about the
importance of having a strong foundation and that the way that we
build that foundation is by hearing and doing the words of Christ.
That is exactly what they need to know right now too. It went well.
Saturday
we finished the office work for the weekend and headed out. We had a
lesson with J and S and we had J and S teach us since they both
understand the gospel so well. They did a great job and we are just
waiting for her mom still. We might have an FHE with her at the B's
again tonight. We talked to this lady who thought she was Jesus in
the flesh, but besides that, not a lot happened.
Sunday
at church everyone figured someone was leaving since in this ward a
trio means someone is going home, so they all found out I was
leaving. This ward is so incredible. I am going to miss it. We didn't
have any investigators at church, but Paul came back into town for
church, so that was great to see them. They are doing so well. We are
eating with them Tuesday so I will see them again. We had an
incredible lesson with the A family. They are so awesome. They had
been out of town but just got back and they let us right in. We read
2 Nephi 32 with them and they were just eating it up. They are all
in. They had been reading on their own too. I'm sad to leave them,
and I'm sure they will get baptized soon. We did transfer calls that
night and it went well. Everything is worked out for transfers. It
was sad for it to be a last meeting at President's house, but it was
great.
This
is the true church. I know this is the way of salvation. Thanks for
all you do!
Love,
Elder
Pew
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| A fellow missionary made this for him when he was on splits with him! |
April
20th, 2015
Dear
family,
This
was a crazy week, but it has been such a great experience. I know I'm
already a better person this week than I was last week.
Monday
we taught that Indian couple again. They are such good people. We
made it simple and just invited them to read the Book of Mormon. That
was mostly it.
Tuesday
we got the departing missionaries. We had a great lesson with the A
family. I am so sad to leave that family. I hope they get baptized.
They are so great.
Wednesday
morning we dropped off the departing missionaries at the airport. We
had our district leader meeting which was strange knowing that I was
going to be one of them. It was good for me though to have some time
to think about what I want to accomplish with them. We picked up the
new missionaries which was an interesting group because all three of
the Elders had already been out for a few transfers but either got
reassigned or were coming back. We took them to the Alamo
and the
Slaughters left for a meeting in Dallas, so we were on our own. We
still took them to the Mission Home and did our best to replicate the
presentation the Slaughters give. The Pressers were there and the
kids, so it was only us. It went well.
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| At the Alamo |
Thursday
morning we took them to transfer meeting. I bore my testimony in the
transfer meeting in San Antonio and I actually got really emotional.
I was reading from Alma 26 with my own words a little too.
And
now, these are the words of [Elder Pew] to his brethren, which say
thus: My brothers and my brethren and [Sisters], behold I say unto
you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed
when we started from the land of [Utah] that God would have granted
unto us such great blessings?
Behold,
I answer for you; for our brethren, the [Texans], were in darkness,
yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are
brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the
blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made
instruments in the hands...
Behold,
the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the
sickle , and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye
labor; and behold the number of your sheaves ! And they shall be
gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted.
I
just started thinking about how great the Lord had been to me and our
mission and it made me emotional for one of the first times on my
mission as I shared with our mission my feelings and testimony. I was
overpowered by the Spirit and it was probably the most powerful
speech I've ever given. There were so many people wiping tears away
afterwards which is the first time I've ever noticed that. I was
grateful for that experience. Once we finished announcing the San
Antonio transfers everyone knew I was going up to Austin and everyone
was asking where I was going, but I didn't tell anyone. The Austin
transfer meeting was really good. We did alright for not having
President Slaughter with us. When they read my name going to Brushy
Creek there was an audible gasp in the chapel. It was crazy. After
the meeting Elder T and I got everything together and headed out.
Elder T is great.
He has a lot of excitement and he's a powerful
teacher. He has a lot of potential. He'll be great. I'll just give
you a rundown of the people we are working with.
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| New companion and Elder Pew |
1.
M- Single mom with four sons. Three live with her right now and are
9, 7, and 1. They hadn't taught her yet and she hadn't been to
church. Right when I met her I felt great charity for her and I had a
good feeling about this family. We invited them to church and she
said that she needed to come back and she came to church! She liked
it and her sons seemed to like Primary too. We are teaching her
tomorrow night. It will be great. The ward did a great job of helping
her feel welcome.
2.
E- Lives with a recent convert named B (not the one I baptized last
time) and he is pretty interested. He's been to church a couple times
and wants to learn more. We taught him the Restoration and he
understood well. He seems ready. His only holdup will be that he
works on Sundays for the next four week, but he really wants to come
to church which is great.
3.
M- Young women. Friends with the Ss. Taught her in their home. She
knows all about the church and studies with the Ss from time to time
and reads on her own. She seems to be one who is waiting for some
powerful answer instead of just choosing what she thinks is best. It
is just a matter of time for her.
4.
O- Nice guy who has brain trauma. He likes what we have taught so
far. He's really nice.
5.
The Fs and E- Both going out of town but were really excited to see
me. They seem like we will just pick up right where we left off.
6.
E, J, and others- Still don't seem to be ready. It is a little sad,
but they are good people.
Church
was crazy. Everyone was so excited to see me and Sister S was
probably the most excited. She was telling everyone that I was the
one that got her back to church. It was cool to see their excitement
and luckily none of them have thought that I came back just to have a
good time or something. I have never been so motivated to work so
hard in my life. I just want to give everything I've got to this area
and Elder T. He's doing well but it has been hard just being
companions with someone so new again. I'm used to Zone Leader or
Assistant companions, so I've been praying constantly to just be the
example he needs me to be and to give him the experiences he needs to
be a leader. He's going to be good but sometimes I need to not worry
about getting him all the way there this week. It will take time. My
district is incredible. We will have a great time. I
have been surprised by the weight of the load I've felt here. It felt
very heavy the first few nights, and I've come to understand in a
small way the burden the Savior felt and I've grown closer to Him
because of this time. You would think that being an Assistant would
be a bigger load, but I've come to see how important District Leaders
are and how important it is to stand alone. I've been used to being
surrounded by other missionaries at the top. The Lead Sister Training
Leaders and the Zone Leaders and those at MLC, but out here I have
really had to put more on my shoulders to help them out. I am very
grateful for this opportunity because it has been helping me to give
absolutely everything I have because I have to. There is no one else
that can do it and it has already made me grow a lot. I am excited to
continue to serve here in such a great area. I'm so grateful for my
mission. The Lord truly is good to us. Thank you all for your love
and your examples!
Love,
Elder
Pew
April
27th, 2015
Dear
family,
I
think I've regained the knowledge of the area I had forgot. I will
just go through our investigators again.
1.
E- We taught him twice this week and we taught him about baptism and
invited him to be baptized May 23rd. He accepted but he works
that day, so it will have to be another day that week or sometime
around then. He is a really nice guy. Elder T was freaking out since
it was the first person that has accepted a baptismal invitation on
his mission. He even called President because he was so excited. We
taught him on Sunday and brought some more fellowship and read with
him in the Book of Mormon. He's doing well and is on track. He is
worried his parents won't support him, but he said he's pretty
committed. Being roommates with a recent-convert will help him for
sure.
2.
M- She came to church and we also taught her twice. She told us of
this awesome experience reading the Book of Mormon when she was not
feeling well and she read in Alma 17 when it says to "be of good
comfort" and "bear with patience thy afflictions" and
it was exactly what she needed. That was incredible, but she still
says the Book of Mormon is just another book. Oh well.
3.
O- We weren't able to meet with him. We might need to move on from
him if he isn't ready.
4.
A- who has been taught once and we read Moroni 6 and invited him to
church but he didn't come. He is cool though. He lives on his own and
is about 50.
5.
G family- Didn't come to church and we stopped by. She still responds
over text and had to work until 2 in the morning on Sunday so that is
partly why. Hopefully we can just start teaching her son this week.
6.
Fs and E get back this week so hopefully we can set something up and
hopefully they progress.
7.
D & S- We met this couple trying to go by a part-member family
but we accidentally went by the wrong apartment and the couple we met
was super nice and were in a hurry but they let us in and were
interested in the Book of Mormon. We talked about it and gave it to
them. They were pretty interested but are busy until the summer, but
we are going to stay in contact and hopefully start teaching them as
soon as possible. We talked to sooo many people this week, it felt
good to have so much time.
Friday
night and Saturday was an open house for the new church building they
built in Cedar Park as part of our Stake. They set up the church with
tons of information about the church and made it a great missionary
opportunity. It didn't have the biggest turn out but there was a good
number of non-members that came. Our whole zone had to be there the
entire time so that was pretty long and there wasn't always stuff for
us to do, but it was good. I hope it yields some positive results.
Thursday
we moved into a new apartment that actually isn't in our area but
it's in McNeil and isn't too far away. The washer flooded after we
finished moving in so that was an adventure.
Wednesday
was my first district meeting and it was a blast. I focused on
prioritized planning and preaching by the way and I made it very
flexible so I could really help the district with the things it
needed. They had some questions on how to find new investigators
through current investigators so we practiced that for awhile which
went well and then we talked about what makes a good street contact
and then I just asked what they needed to work on and then I gave a
demonstration and then we practiced. It went fairly well. I am
excited to work with this district. It's me and Elder T, the Sign
Language Sisters and Sister Training Leaders Sister W and R (yes the
one from Lone Peak), Elder D and O (our zone leaders and the ones we
live with), and Elder B and J (the one from South Africa). It should
be a good transfer.
Thank
you for all that you do and your examples. This is the true gospel of
Christ on the earth. It is the way to true joy. I love you all!
Elder
Pew
May
4th, 2015
Dear
family,
This
was a busy week and it flew by! We had some good things happen,
although no family yet.
Monday
we showed up at O's house perfect timing. He was needing help moving
some furniture so we did that and had a lesson. We basically read
with him and he realized he needs to read more often. It was kind of
a make or break lesson, and we haven't heard from him since, so he
might be done taking lessons.
Tuesday I
went on exchanges in Walsh Ranch. We were on bikes so that was fun. I
was with Elder B. He is great. He's only been out 5 months but he
will be a great leader. He is so teachable. We had fun. We found this
family from Colombia move some furniture and they were pretty
Catholic but we asked if we could show them "Because He Lives"
and it was powerful. They are such a good family. We talked to them
about the Book of Mormon and the dad wasn't really interested right
now, but the wife was actually curious and asked us some questions.
Wednesday we
had a lesson with M. We read from Mosiah 4 and it was good. She is
slowly coming along. We had Brother H come out with us and he is
great. Such a good member. We actually taught a lesson to a partially
Hispanic family that mostly speaks Spanish but they live in Austin
and it was a short first-lesson.
Thursday we
had zone meetings with interviews. It was really awesome. President
gave a great training on finding balance and seeing the big picture
in the scriptures. Basically he tore apart the classic response we
get down here "all I have to do is confess with my lips and I'm
saved." He talked about how we are saved by the merits, mercy,
and grace of Christ and taught the difference between grace and mercy
and how the gospel is how we access that power. It was great. My
interview was pretty short as usual. I gave a training on using the
Book of Mormon more, so of course I enjoyed that. I ran through a
couple scriptures that show the power and importance of the Book of
Mormon (1 Nephi 13:40, 2 Nephi 25:18, 2 Nephi 33:10, 2 Nephi
29:9) and then we did a bunch of role plays.
Friday we
had a great lesson with E and explained the Plan of Salvation. He
said he had actually been wondering about that and what happens after
this life. He is great. We met this new guy named D. He was outside
his house and we went up and talked to him and he is 19 and just
moved back in with his family because he had a rough year away from
home. He got caught in the wrong crowd and he said he "woke up
to God." He has made a ton of changes in the last two months and
we taught a bit of the Restoration and the Book of Mormon and how
this will help him make those changes. He seems really solid. He had
to reschedule our return appointment. We might have to pass him off
to the YSA Sisters if the rest of his family isn't interested, but it
was a great experience.
Saturday we
were out all day and we had 5 lessons fall through. We worked until 9
and we didn't see any successes, but it was a great day to test our
faith. Those are the true tests to see if you will still serve the
Lord faithfully even when nothing seems to happen. I think it was
hard on Elder T.
Sunday was
great. Church was fantastic despite no investigators coming. We had a
lesson with M and watched "Come, Join with Us" We had a
really open conversation with her and she expressed her concerns
being able to balance church and everything else in life, and
tithing. I think they both come down to her not being sure if she
wants to do this forever yet. I asked if she saw herself getting
baptized someday and she said she thought when she was on her own and
could not be swayed either way she would be able to see what she
really wanted. I'm glad she understands the long-term impact of her
joining, hopefully we can help her develop enough faith to do it. Her
fellowshipping family is incredible. They help her a lot. We also had
a great lesson with E. We talked about prayer and commitment and he
seems totally on board. He is probably getting baptized May
17th or 24th. It should be great.
Thank
you for all that you do and your examples! This is the Lord's work!
Love,
Elder
Pew
