John got Baptized!

April Pictures

May 21, 2011

Hi Familia!

Woah, it is Saturday again! Time flew this week but we had many amazing experiences in between. So Monday we actually had five hours on the Square! We usually average about two so this was a big deal and we didn't know what to do with ourselves. But we figured since we had so much time we took tour after tour. It was awesome. We found this mother and daughter from Mexico and took them on a tour. They spoke English but not very well. So since Sister Despain is a Spanish-speaking master halfway through the tour she switched to Spanish and they opened right up. When we invited them the mother said, "No, we are fine. I am Catholic and I will die Catholic!" Yeah well, Jesus Christ was born Jewish and started Christianity, so? Anyway I didn't say that but we didn't have the chance to invite the daughter with the mom hovering around her. So we said goodbye and went to find more people to talk to. Later at the North Visitor Center we were walking past the main desk and saw the daughter referring for missionaries with another Sister! Sister Despain was crushed since it was her first 'real' Spanish tour and all it would have taken was a re-invite. We walked away and found this guy looking at the kiosks by the West Gate. We offered to take him to the Tabernacle when the conversation quickly turned really deep about how we find peace and answers in this life. Looking back I realize that we never really talked about prophets, apostasy, or even Jesus Christ. We just talked about how we find peace and balance in our lives which leads us to the Plan of Salvation, being the love and mercy of God. He was amazed at our answers because he had resigned himself to never having any in this life. When we invited him to meet with missionaries he was all for it. Of course, the miracles and blessings of each day come within the last hour of the day.

Wednesday we signed ourselves up for a motor coach at 9 a.m. (perks of being in Guest Services). It was a small group of eight people but they were from Viet Nam, Germany, the Canary Islands and Singapore. We took them to the Christus, then the Temple Model, then the Assembly Hall. Surprisingly at the Temple Model one of the girls from Germany started asking me why there are so many churches and there is so much confusion. So cool and she is from Europe too! They are typically super closed-minded. We ended in the Assembly Hall and then went outside to re-invite them. The two men from Viet Nam were both really open to it. One of them (who I could have sworn was not paying attention to anything we were saying), as he snapped a picture of the Tabernacle, said, "Yeah, in four or five years when I am older I will join your church" Hello? Why not now? But looking at his referral card later he only put the city where he lived though he checked to learn more about Jesus Christ. I died inside. But the girls from Germany and the Canary Islands referred saying that they found what we believed interesting. They both loved the Temple Model which they might put in all visitor centers because of how effective it is.

Big news in the mission: We can now carry Bibles with us. Usually we only carry a Book of Mormon but it came from the First Presidency that we shouldn't neglect the Bible. I was really hesitant at first because of how many people come to the Square and want to Bible bash but as I bought a Bible from the Distribution Center and started marking it up I am getting excited at how helpful it will be to explain the restoration to people already familiar with the Bible! Instead of saying Joseph Smith read a verse in the Bible we can have them read it, then follow up with Moroni 10. Good game plan.

We have lots of mission changes coming up with the summer upon us. We schedule at least ten tour groups a day at Temple Square. And it is going to increase. About 95% of all tour groups are from mainland China so we get to teach them all about Jesus Christ (when they finally put down their cameras and listen). We save all of the referrals we get for China and send it to the MTC. They have a huge stack of people to visit as soon as it opens. We have to be careful about what we say though. We cannot tell them that they can just go to Taiwan or Hong Kong to be baptized (sorry Debbie). And we cannot tell them to look us up on the Internet. There are so many people waiting to hear the Gospel! Too bad they are prevented only because of some wonderful children of God who seek to micromanage everyone's life.

But this next week brings an end to another transfer. They just go faster and faster. But I have no idea what is happening to me next transfer. I could do ANYTHING, really. I don't think I am going outbound though so no worries (I doubt I will so everyone stop asking) but I could stay in Guest Services or leave. I really like it in there though and I am comfortable... which means that I need to change.... dang. Growth, why must you be uncomfortable?! Well, we will see, I might e-mail next Saturday or... another day (dun dun dunnn) ha ha but I am excited. So until next week, oh wait the "rapture" is happening tonight. Well, I guess that means you will see me much sooner than December since there won't be much use for me as a missionary when Christ is here. Great, see you tomorrow!

May 14, 2011

Hi Everyone!

It is amazing how fast time is starting to go! This past transfer has been a blink of an eye but don't worry, we still have one more week of it. But as for an update our investigator John did, in fact, get baptized last Saturday. We gave him a call and asked how he felt about everything, to which he responded, "I feel so good. There is such a difference." He continues to meet with his local missionaries and said that he wants to have a calling with the Boy Scouts! We love him; already asking for callings! Another one of our investigators, Sherri, found on mormon.org chat, is getting baptized next month! She was hesitant to give us her information so we waited till 9 p.m. by the computer with everyone yelling at us to hurry up because we needed to be home 10 minutes before. BUT patience paid off and now she has met with sister missionaries and her husband agreed to let her be baptized. I hope he will listen to them too. Chris is our current favorite, even though, of course, we DON'T have favorites. He read the entire Book of Mormon in a night and everything else he can get his hands on. When the missionaries stopped by Chris asked them when he could be baptized - because we had already committed him minus the date and he was so excited - and the missionaries said, "Uh... we will have to get back to you on that." We started laughing. How cool would that be as a missionary out in the field to meet with someone for the 1st time, they already had read the Book of Mormon, prayed about it AND attended church (twice!)? I think it would be awesome!! And that is what we shoot for with every investigator. He is set for May 26. Sorry about all the baptism stories; those are our celestial moments for the week.

Square stories: So I will start with happy stories and then tell stories that are funny now... and were slightly funny at the moment. So on Wednesday we had to cover Guest Services from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., talk about long day. But we had a solid 30 minutes on the Square. Right when we walked through the doors we got a tour with an older couple from Omaha, Nebraska. We took them to the Temple Model and they were fascinated by it. They watched ALL of the movie clips and asked tons of questions. I was looking at my watch because we now only had 10 minutes before we had to be at our assignment. At the Assembly Hall I decided to call Guest Services and tell them that we would be a little late. When I got back Sister Despain was telling them all about the Book of Mormon which led to the authority being restored on the earth (great lead in to moving them to the Tabernacle). On the way I was explaining authority to the husband with my favorite analogy of the "Telephone Game" where a comment starts off right in the beginning but as it moves from person to person it changes - and he finished my analogy for me! He totally got it! Which made him appreciate the Tabernacle so much more. We invited them at the Christus but they hesitated and looked at each other. He said, "Well, I am not going to convert" but his wife jumped in and said, "Honey, the missionaries aren't there to convert. I think they just want to share. Plus I want that book." Yay! I don't think I have ever had a guest use that line before but we weren't going to correct her about missionaries wanting to do a little more than share. He replied, "I am fine if you are". Bam! Go spirit. We ran back to Guest Services and had a day FILLED with setting up and arranging the Mandarin Tour groups. We had almost 300 people come at once. Total adrenaline rush. Love it.

Next story: Found this guy with his mom and little brother at Scriptures and Revelations. He joined the church last August and long story short his parents are Evangelical Christian scholars. Yeah.... interesting mix. His mom was quiet until halfway through the tour when she started bombarding us with questions on how we view the prophets' words and the Bible. She was a little outraged that we considered their words scripture. We showed her a clip of President Monson and the role of mothers, since she had an issue with women not being able to lead, and she was outraged because it was just based on good morals, not life-shattering revelations. I had to look at her and think "I love you; I love you." We stayed in control of the conversation and replied very slowly and patiently. Showed her the Temple Model; she hated it and basically said that we are full of falsehoods taking people down the wrong path (she was literally yelling btw). Her son was off doing other things avoiding the entire conversation. Poor guy. She basically said, very diplomatically, that we are going to Hell. I was trying not to smile and roll my eyes; if she would just listen she would understand that there is so much more that can help her life if she would let it. Funny how I didn't ever feel mad once about her going off because it made me understand how much she doesn't know and I cannot hold her accountable for that. I can only listen to what she has to say and help her feel the spirit enough to learn for herself through what we have around us in the Visitor Center. Her son mouthed "thank you!" as they walked away. We took lunch early; we needed it.

We had service this week cleaning the chapel that we exercise in! Probably our last service activity until Fall comes, but that is ok. The Square is busy! Lots of miracles to grab. More stories next week!

May 7, 2011

Hi Family!

Ok, lots of stories. So summer is officially here at Temple Square when the motor coaches (Bus tours) start piling in. We receive the tour requests, input them into the computers and assign the Sisters. So we assigned ourselves one because I love motor coaches and Sister Despain has never taken one. They showed up bright and early at 9 a.m. and they were all old people from Nova Scotia! We hopped on the bus, introduced ourselves and took them to the first stop which was the Tabernacle. Of course, the organist was practicing at the same time so talking all about how God has called a Prophet again = ineffective. So we talked a little about it then let them listen for a minute. The key to motor coaches is short sentences with rhetorical questions. It isn't like a normal tour when you expect to have a religious conversation. In large groups nobody says anything and they just stare at you. So we say things like, "This is the temple where the pioneers made promises with God to allow their families to be together after this life" or "Why would God only call Prophets back then and not now?" *pause* then insert some cool fact about the building. So we took them to the flag pole area to talk about the temple and then ended at the Assembly Hall to talk about the Book of Mormon. One person referred for missionaries which is amazing because they are all old people! And no offense to old-people-English-motor coaches but nobody ever refers. It is just because it was Sister Despain's first time which equals blessings and tender mercies.

We took a really neat tour with a man from Bulgaria who lives in Florida. He came on the airport shuttle because he had an hour to kill on his way to Hawaii. As we walked to the Assembly Hall he asked what made us different from everyone else. That led to a conversation on why we were missionaries and what we did all day. He was shocked that we spend 18 months talking to people, giving up TV, Facebook, cell phones and family. He said that he is a waiter and talks to people all day but doesn't find any satisfaction in it. We asked how he found happiness in his own life. It was sad to hear him ramble on because he didn't have an answer. He isn't happy but he doesn't know what to do about it. We sat down and he said that his problem is that he has friends who go to church on Sunday but then make stupid decisions the rest of the week. We read to him Mosiah 18:9 to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. That is a promise that we make with our Heavenly Father and that is why we are so happy. He started opening up and asking what we thought about suicide, or if people get terminal illnesses because they sinned, etc. We wanted to share the gospel with him so badly but he was hesitant and we decided that he wasn't leaving Temple Square till he filled out a card. So tip of the iceberg concern - he is illegal! His visa expired two years ago and he doesn't want anyone to know what his address is or else he could get deported. So we found the middle ground and the missionaries will call him! Yay loopholes!

We have an investigator who is getting baptized today! We will call him tomorrow to hear all about the fantastic details. We have a lot of new, really sincere investigators. I telephoned one who is in a shelter for abused women and right when I was thinking she was really annoyed by us she said that she wants us to call her as often as we could! Another lady we call has a life comparable to Job but nevertheless has a really optimistic outlook on life. She called the Bishop to get a ride to church for next Sunday (give him time to find her one, oh if only she knew how the church runs) because her car just got stolen. Her job has been taking money from her paycheck so she has no food left. But she is taking our calling her as a sign that better things are to come. Not so golden people: One flat out told us the Book of Mormon was wrong, another is only talking to us because her boyfriend on a mission asked her to talk with missionaries (it is like talking to a wall; if she doesn't keep her commitment we are dropping her), and another said that he didn't want to go to church because it was too early and he preferred to sleep.... umm.... eternal salvation or sleep? Obviously sleep is more important.

As for life in Guest Services we are starting to run all over the place getting motor coaches all ready. There used to be lots of time to study, write in our journal or call people but now we are figuring out which Sisters can take which tours, paging them and making sure the information gets passed to West Gate (who greets and handles the big tours) effectively. Communication is very key... unfortunately I have realized that it isn't one of my strong attributes which is why I am probably here. But when we get super stressed out we try new recipes or experiments. We made tortillas the other day for Quatro de Mayo, since we didn't have time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It was awesome.

Other than that life is great! We are working hard and trying to save souls from miles and miles away. I love being here and I love being able to talk to so many people about the Gospel. It is so fulfilling. Why wouldn't people want this in their life?!?!!?! Blows my mind. That is why we are only finding the "elect" and everyone else can try again later. Jewish people are hard to get to though. Maybe I will master them by the end of my mission.... hmmmm goals. Ok Bye!

Spring Time on "The Square"

April 30, 2011

Hi Family!

Awesome week! Last Sunday was Easter and we pretty much forgot about the fact that a holiday was happening but LOTS of people came to the Square! Unfortunately we were only on the Square for 2 hours which is pretty typical for us. Anyway as we called our investigators during our computer/phone time we decided to give Richard and Denise one more try. We had been unsuccessful at reaching them for a month and we haven't had much time to think about dropping them. So we decided that this would be the call that determined their salvation. We called... and they ANSWERED! Yay! Not only that but they have been meeting with missionaries! Another Investigator Referral Confirmed (IRC) and because they made the 15th IRC for our zone this transfer we got to take a picture of us making a 15 - Sister Despain was the "1" and I was the "5", hard? Yes. Also our 89-year-old Grandma Flo met with missionaries too! Not sure how "there" she is but she loves those "respectable looking young men who are so polite and talk about Jesus Christ with her".

Monday night they changed our schedule so that we are actually on the Square for 6 hours. We don't know what to do with ourselves. But we were talking to this Spanish family by the Christus statue when the parents said that they had brought two of their 2nd cousins to Temple Square to show them around. Usually that is code for "Leave us alone; we are better missionaries than you" so we walked away and went to the basement to find more people. We ran into them again and struck up a conversation. The parents asked us to show the two girls (non-members) around! We took them through the displays of Old Testament prophets - Joseph Smith - Book Of Mormon display - Tabernacle - Assembly Hall - then the Temple Model asking the entire way about what they thought of it. When we invited them at the temple model one of the girls practically grabbed the card from us and said, "I want a Book of Mormon!" Awesome, you can have one. We will be teaching them until the missionaries come. They are pretty Catholic so apostasy will have to be on the menu for them.

Yesterday we got a hold of one of our investigators who has been meeting with missionaries for a few weeks now. His name is John and he had a stroke a while ago so he has a hard time talking. Maybe I am getting used to the way he speaks but he sounds almost normal now! I will just say that the gospel has cured him, sounds more "Ensign worthy". He is getting baptized May 7th! He sounded so happy too. Funny thing is his son joined the church without telling him so he started investigating around the time his son got baptized. Then we called Sandra. She was listed in our area book under my name but I had no idea who she was. I was feeling like a horribly organized missionary but we called her anyway. When I asked if I was speaking with Sandra she started speaking Spanish. That is why I don't remember her- Sister Despain talked with her. Good old Sister Despain started right up speaking Spanish and even proceeded to teach her a lesson! When they said the closing prayer Sandra started crying. Her husband just got deported (she lives in Fullerton, California - go look her up and baptize her!) and she is all alone with a 2- year-old. She said she will try to make it to church on Sunday. We will follow up! Later I got a call during Guest Services from a guy in Podunkville, Missouri who is currently meeting with missionaries. He called in to refer his best friend because he overheard a lesson and wanted it as well. It was just really neat to see how "people filled with the love of God are not content with blessing their family alone... but anxious to bless the whole human race." Funny part is his friend was sitting next to him the whole time. He was just embarrassed to call in for himself. They have the thickest accent ever; it is almost as bad as Africa. Speaking of which, a new investigator we have is from Nigeria but lives in Texas. When we asked why he went to the Baptist Church he said it was closest. When we looked up where the nearest LDS church was to him, guess where it was? Right next door to the Baptist Church. If only he had walked 20 more feet....

They are updating the "Gods Plan for His Family" movie presentation and as we were trying to get a sneak peek inside of what it looks like, the guy in charge of the construction project came out and invited us to see a bit of it. Looks like a disaster still but I hope it is good. We love taking families there because it is set up like an actual house so kids love it. But as we talked to him he told us tons of stories on his building, the sets for lots of other church movies! He did Legacy but says he can't watch it because of the guy that plays Joseph Smith - bad memories there apparently because he didn't go into any details. But cool guy. Oh and it was President Holmes' 70th birthday, they ordered tons of pizza and candy, ahh good day. Anyway that was our exciting week! More amazingness to come!