11-25-13

Dear Family!

Well this week has just been crazy! I honestly don't know if I have felt the spirit this strong for a long time, or if ever! I was on bike the other day early this week, and it was just pouring rain! It was dumping down like never before on my mission! I was with an elder that was struggling with some diligence issues, and so I knew that I couldn't just say ok lets go back to the apartment and do some studies. Or let's just get the umbrellas, and walk for today. Nope we hopped on bike, and peddled through the rain! We tracted like two hours in the rain without an umbrella, and just grinned and bore it. We found a few good potentials, probably because they just felt so bad that we were soaked to the bone! I thought that my pants were ruined, but thankfully I was able to hang them up outside, and let them dry out and go back to almost normal. My shoes are goners though haha. They were suede, and I had no idea that it was going to rain. Haha no worries though. It was all worth it to really work hard and be an example. Elder Fajardo just laughed when he came into the apartment and saw both of us just passed out on the floor dripping wet. I stood up and there was a water outline of my body on the carpet! That's how wet we were! It was crazy!

We also had a big area blitz for two of the areas in the zone! They are areas that have struggled in the past, and hadn't found in over a month. Both of the senior companions have kinda given up on the areas and have said that they think that they are dead... President has always said that areas are only as dead as your faith, and so we really wanted to help those companionships out and help them to see and understand that their areas still had some fire left, and that all it would take is a little hard work and faith! We had 4 sets of missionaries in each area for a little over an hour and all we did was find! We saw soooo many miracles in each of the areas, and we were super blessed to be able to find one new investigator in each area in our companionship. It was neat to be able to help out, and to be able to help them see that if they have faith, and work as diligently as possible, that they can find people too. It just takes the plain and simple things that president is always telling us! You have to be obedient, diligent, and have faith! I know that that is not always the easiest thing in the world, but hey, it really does work when you learn to apply it. I have really enjoyed being able to be a leader in this part of the mission. We have some great missionaries, and they are all so willing to work hard and are very mold-able and willing to change to improve. I have just loved being able to go on exchanges with them and help train them. 

We were super blessed in our own area finally too! The weeks have just been super crazy with tons of meetings and things that we are required to attend, and so it has been super nice to have a few full days in our own area! We were super blessed to find 4 new investigators and set 3 new dates! It was just super crazy! But amazing to watch the Lord just place people in our paths time and time again! I read the other day in Jesus the Christ, that it's not about the quantity of your faith, but the quality of it! That was a statement that blew my mind let me tell you! I always pictured it as gaining as much faith as you possibly can, and then just keep on gaining the rest of your life! But the whole seed the size of a mustard seed makes so much more sense now!!! It doesn't have to be the size of a basketball, it can be super small, as long as it is a super solid quality of faith. That has been what I am working on now! It's been so cool to work on making my faith super strong and not trying to just get a ton of low quality faith. Something to think about huh? Try it out! It will change the way that you think about things! 

Tyler is still doing as well as ever! He is still working towards the 14th of December, but he has a concern that I have never faced before! He was raised in kinda Jewish background, and so his main concern is accepting Christ as his savior and not just a Prophet! This is something that I have never been faced with before! Everyone I have taught has either loved christ or had no idea who he was. Interesting trying to help someone bump him up from a prophet to the savior! We could use help if anyone has any ideas!

Deniella is doing better. The lady that was driving had just looked down at the wrong second and didn't see that the light was red! She hit her doing about 25 mph... She was sent up on top of the car and broke the wind shield, and then rolled down, and actually was hit again by the same car cause the lady was so shocked she didn't stop right away.... it was nuts! She is totally ok though. The Lord has stepped in right away, and she is just bruised and bumped up a bit. It was a huge blessing!!! Love the miracles! 

Well I know that this isn't super info filled, but I have a few letters that I need to write! Thank you all so much for letting me write to you every week. I do look forward to it! Please have a great Thanksgiving, and don't forget to say a Prayer of only things your are thankful for! Those are my favorite prayers anyways! They bring the spirit so much! I am thankful that you are all safe and going to have a good weekend. Please remember what you are thankful for and for the blessing that this gospel is to our lives! I know that this work is a revelatory work, and that the Lord stands at the head! He is my Savior, and is my joy! I find no more joy then to be able to communicate with my heavenly father, and to ask him to apply the Atonement of his son to my life! I use it every day, and that is what I am thankful for this Year! I am thankful for this past year, and the progression that the Lord has helped me to obtain! I love this gospel so much and can't believe that I am going into the last week before my last transfer... It will be a sad sad day when the tag has to be taken off my suit coat.... I love you all so much! Please remember that! 

11-18-13

Dear Family,

I am so thankful for all of the prayers and thoughts that have been sent out for the people in the Philippines. I have been in very close contact with members that have family out there, and have been on and reading the daily updates on lds.org on their news feed describing the situations. I am so thankful that the 21 missionaries that were lost have now been accounted for, and that their families have been notified and comforted. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be there, and to be faced with that big of a difficulty! I have such respect for the elders and sisters who gave of their time and stretched themselves to be able to save lives and families. I have been thanking the Lord daily for saving as many lives as he did. I know that this will be life changing in the life of everyone who experienced it, but it will also be something that they will never forget. 

So we just got back from ice skating as a zone, and we have like NO time!!! I am sorry that I have not been emailing anyone today, but it has just been one of those days. Ice skating was such a blast!! We have a bunch of Missionaries that aren't from the U.S., and have never been ice skating! One of the sisters just stayed glued to the wall and would not let go! It was so cute. haha all the sisters were trying to get her to skate with them holding hands or something, but she would not leave. It was so funny, but she still had a really good time, and said that she enjoyed it. It was a really good time. I am thankful that all of the missionaries are so willing to enjoy the zone and each other. It makes the times so much funner on pday! 

Sorry that this is going to be so short, but I have got to hurry so that we can go give a blessing here in an hour or so. Deniella Parker randomly last night I guess got hit by a car, and wants a blessing. We really don't have any info other then the fact that she was hit, and that nothing is broken and that she is home and resting but wants a blessing. We have a 6 o'clock appointment with her so we need to get over there. 

Tyler Falls is doing sooooo well! He just had ACL surgery, and has been sitting around all week just bored out of his mind. He finally was able to go and meet with us at Courtney's house, and we had just an amazing lesson. We taught the plan of salvation, and it really touched him. He had just lost a really good friend, and had lost his grandpa to an accident when he was like 5. So when we started teaching about the spirit world and how important the temple was for all of that point, he was very touched, and we set a baptismal date with him for the 14th of December. He is working on getting his mom to be ok with it all, but we have faith that it will all work out. It was such a great blessing to be able to share with him the way that I was able to find peace with grandpa's passing, and how it all works into the Plan of Salvation! It was powerful. 

Zhen Guo has a baptismal date for the same day, and it was a good time being able to help him through all of the concerns that he had and helping him recognize the blessings that can come from being in the lords paths! He struggles with the idea of having to come to church every single week, and so we have to really make that a focus this week to get him to church so that he can see just how much fun he will have and the friends that come from being apart of the YSA Ward. It has been fun watching our members step up and trying to get him to feel the spirit, and receive a spiritual witness. That is the thing that is holding him back big time. 

Well I am sorry that I have to cut this one short, but the work of the Lord calls. I am so thankful to be able to email each week and share a few experiences that I have had in the past week. I love this work with all my heart. I am so proud of you all for who you are, and for how much you have helped me in my growing process! Please know just how much I love this gospel, and that I know without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true, and that Joseph Smith truly did translate it by the power of God! I love being able to receive personal revelation for myself and for the area that I serve in! Thanks again everyone for the love and support you give me! I will be on much longer next week, so if you would like to email back and forth just let me know! You re all my heros! 

11-12-13

Look what we just got! He really is coming home-seems like he's been gone 5 years!

SERVICE               DATE  FROM           TO             DEPART  ARRIVE

_____________________ _____ ______________ ______________ _______ ______

US AIRWAYS            15JAN OAKLAND CA     PHOENIX AZ     955A    1243P

US 2712           WEDNESDAY OAKLAND INTL   SKY HARBOR INT

T ECONOMY                   TERMINAL 1     TERMINAL 4

                                                          NON STOP

                            RESERVATION CONFIRMED         1:48 DURATION

                            FLIGHT OPERATED BY US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-MES

                  AIRCRAFT: CANADAIR REGIONAL JET 900

                            SEAT 10F NO SMOKING CONFIRMED

 

RESERVATION NUMBER(S)  US/DEB5C9    

 

SHELLEY/MACKAY DALE  268824-R

     ETKT:US/037 7351319187

11-11-13

Dear Family!

Holy Cow I am EXHAUSTED!!! hahaha I love this mission so much. I didn't think that I could ever get much more tired, but this week has proved me wrong. I don't think we had a day this past week that we didn't have some kind of a meeting that we had to go to, or an exchange with missionaries that we had to go on. It has been a week to remember though, and next week is actually going to be even more busy. We have this big training that we are going to be giving in Oakland this next week on going on exchanges with missionaries, so that should be a good time. I love to give trainings, cause it takes a lot of effort, but the product is always so spiritual and amazing! I love to do them with Elder Fajardo too, cause we seem to have a lot of the same ideas, so it usually comes out pretty unified, and fun. We gave a big zone training this past Saturday, and it was good to be with all of the missionaries in the zone in one room. Great experiences. 

This past week was a really neat week for me though. While I was on an exchange a little over a month ago, we found an investigator in the San Ramon and were able to set a baptismal date with her! She was this cute little 10 year old girl that was a part member family and had just started to go to church with her aunt and uncle. A few weeks ago I was on another exchange in that area and we were able to meet with her again and finalize all of the baptismal plans. So this past week on Saturday she was baptized! Her name is Ella, and she was sooo happy! Her cousin who is prepping for a mission was able to baptize her, and it was just an all around great experience! It was really fun to see an investigator that we found on an exchange go all the way through the process and then be baptized by her cousin! It was great! 

This past week Xian spoke for a big fireside in Oakland that is called why I believe! He lit up the crowd too! He was sooo nervous about it, but just did such a good job! He spoke about how he was completely against Christianity and was scared of it, but has since found the joy that comes from it and how great it has been to be apart of the YSA ward here. The people in the crowd were blown away by how good he was at speaking and how confident he was up there. I was really proud of him, cause we were the ones that talked him into doing it. We were a little nervous about how he would do, and that it may scare him so much that he would get embarrassed.. not enjoy the experience. He said after that he really felt the spirit up there. He bore a powerful witness of Christ and Joseph Smith! It was a testimony builder to me to watch a young man who really had no foundation, and then to take off like he did. It has been so cool to be apart of him! 

We also found this new investigator named Tyler Falls. He is a young guy who is dating a less active member of our ward who is working to get back to church. He is very very open to learning, and has been progressing very well. We have really been pushing for baptism, but his family is a split family between Jewish and Catholic. He is a little worried about getting baptized because of his family, but he is willing to keep learning and is just kinda waiting to get that undeniable spiritual impression. 

Well it is time to sign off, and do a few more things that I need to do on the computer before we head out to play some basketball. It's not a successful P-day, if we don't get to play at least an hour of ball! 

I love you all so much. It has just been an amazing opportunity to be in weekly contact with you all. I love sharing my testimony on my mission, and it has been a true pleasure to be able to share it with all of you! Thank you for the love and the guidance that you give me through email. I look forward to Monday's a lot, cause I get to share my experience with everyone! I have a testimony of this great work, and it makes me sad to think that this could be coming to an end soon.. It has been crazy to even think about what it's going to be like to be a normal member.. It will all work out though! It all has to come to an end at some point. I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and how much it has changed my life! I am completely changed because of how much power it has put into my life! Thanks all for the love you share! I will talk to you all next week!

Picture: Elders Fijardo and Geilman

11-4-13

Dear Family,

How has the week been going for everyone? Our week has been going sooo well! We were lucky enough to move Xian's Baptisms up to last night!! It was a great baptism! He really had a good time. It was a little tough though for us, because he had a tough time picking someone to baptize him. He had two people that he had asked that said that they would, and then they at the last minute had something come up, and told him that they couldn't do it. We really have been trying to get members to baptize our investigators, so that they have that special connection with someone in the ward. So we finally found one of the guys that had driven him to church a few times, and so that was a blessing to be able to find someone that he had a connection with to be able to do it. It was a very special service. During the intermediate lessons while Xian and the man who baptized him changed, me and Elder Fajardo were able to teach the message of the Restoration to the members. It was a very good lesson, and we got a lot of really good compliments on the way that we teach together, and the level of spirit that they felt. We were really unified in the lesson, and really hit home with the members about how we need to be able to get referrals, or that we are not going to be able to keep baptizing! We have been super blessed to be able to baptized 3 out of the 4 on our own efforts, but that isn't what usually happens! We really need to be getting referrals, and for all of the referrals that we get, that we would love to be able to teach them in their homes! It was a very specail thing for me and Elder Fajardo to be able to teach a huge group like that, and to be able to feel the spirit so strong! We got three referrals after that, and they seem really solid!

All of our dates in November unfortunately dropped this past week.. We still have one hanging on by a thread, but we are looking to add a few more this week with the new investigators that we find! It has been a pretty crazy last few weeks with all of the things that we have had to do as Zone Leaders, that we have been struggling to find for the past few weeks! So this week we have set the goal to find 10 new investigators! We really need to rebuild our pool, and that is the most important thing for us to do! We had a tough week with really everything, so we are getting prepared to just tear it up in the finding aspect! Keep us in your prayers this week that we will be able to find those that will receive us!

So this past week in the Stake we had Stake conference and it was AMAZING!!!!!! The Stake President out here is out of this world with being missionary minded, and has really been pumping the stake up with getting to know us better, and trying to find more people to teach!  He spoke about missionaries who get it done, and those that get it. Those who get it done set mission records, and have HUGE short term success, but those who get it, are the ones that baptized converted investigators, and those who care more about the person that they are teaching then the number that they are trying to get! That touched me a ton, because when I first entered the field, that was all I really cared about! All I wanted was to be known to the mission President, set records and baptize a thousand! Well a few of those things happened, we lead the mission for a while, and baptized more then usual. But what I realized now is the diference that I feel now compared to then! I cared about the people, but I was so much more worried about what the mission president was going to say when he saw the numbers. Now I have a very special love for the people that we teach!                                                                                                                                                 

Peter as been less active for the past month again, and told us last week that he doens't want to be Mormon anymore.. We have both lost sleep over what it is going to take to get this young man back into the church, and to not care about what his friends say about the "Mormons." We are really hoping that one of these days that we will be able to touch his heart again or have one of the members do it. He is a great kid, and really needs the gospel in his life! We will see how everything goes, but please keep him in your prayers too! I couldn't bare to see him just walk away from this because he doesn't fully understand it! Things will work out, but it will just take time and effort! We are willing to put forth the effort!

I have got to get going.. Time has gotten past me, and it has been super loud in here, and hard to focus and type. I am a horrible multi tasker when I am trying to talk listen and type at the same time! Alison is doing SOOOO well though! Since her baptism, she has taught gospel principles class in sunday school, talked in Stake Conference, and given a talk at Xian's baptism! She is super willing to come out and teach lessons with us, and even wants to serve a mission herself!! We are sooo excited for her and all the things that she is doing!

I have a very powerful testimony of this work as I hope that you already know! This has been a very powerful week for me and my testimony has grown 10 fold! I LOVE being a missionary so much, and it just keeps getting closer and closer to the day that the tags will come off for good... But it's all good right? Cause we will be able to always have a tag imprinted on our chests! I will never loose the title of a representative of the Savior Jesus Christ! It is a very special opportunity to be able to tell people that every single day! I love to be able to walk the streets and talk to the college students and telling them that we have a message that can take all of their stress, worry, and guilt out of their lives! You have no idea how many people just hate life and wish that they didn't have to go through it! It is so sad to watch and see, but it is a huge blessing to be able to tell them that I have something that can fix all of that! I love it so much! Elder Fajardo was a horrible friend, haha and reminded me that after this week I will be within single digits week wise.. I can't believe that it is going this fast! I don't even want to think about it!  Thank you everyone for all that you do on a daily basis for me! Thanks mom and dad for the way that you raised me and the life lessons you have taught me over the years! I will be eternally greatful for all that you have given me! I love you all and pray for you each day!

Love 

Elder Mackay Dale Shelley 

picture: Xian's baptism