Month: June 2015
This Week…
This week has come and gone, and I think it broke the speed limit out here, meaning the week seemed to go by very quickly! Speed limits aside:
Monday: P-Day stuffs… here’s a picture of me with my tablet.
Tuesday: We worked in Barnstead and Pittsfield, had some success in those areas. At this point, “success” is getting a few appointments in a single area. Teaching is something we aren’t doing a lot of yet, but we are stilling working on it.
Wednesday: ZONE CONFERENCE
Thursday: Lots of walking, because we got grounded. We have a car for driving to the far off places of the area. When we get grounded we are not supposed to use the car for that day. It’s common to be grounded because of severe weather, but occasionally we are grounded for not following car care requirements.
Friday: Weekly planned the next week and spent 2 hours in Loudon, not including the dinner we had up there. My endurance and persistence have increased, but my feet still hurt after walking 15+ miles.
Saturday: Worked in Franklin (which isn’t ours…)
Sunday: Church, Dinner, work, not much… At dinner with a family who is from Utah, we were talking about our family lines and Brother W. mentions something about his ancestors and then something about Ebeneezer Bryce. It turns out that I’m related to them. He is from the oldest son of Ebeneezer and I’m from the second youngest. It was so interesting to find out that link.
My scripture study is at a stand still right now. I’m focusing on teaching lessons with confidence…
Well, we have been rained upon for a couple of days. It’s nice while its raining not so much afterwards. It has been consistently 50-55 while raining and 70-80 when Its not. I love the weather out here (Not really)! My back has been giving me trouble as of late, but not enough to put me out of action. Getting up is still a problem, but I do my best.
Elder Seely
Sent from my Mission-Issued iPad
I have no idea what happened
Well, I have nothing much to report here this week either. I don’t even have my planner with me. How unmissionary like of me. Anywho…
Monday – Today: I dont know what we did.
I lied last week, this is the shortest letter ever.
Anyway, take care out there!
On the lack of email from my siblings…my guess is that you have nothing to say (or so you claim), I want you all to know that you always have something you want to say, regardless if it be a difficult assignment given to you or a get well card while you were sick. I have the ability to read my emails all week. If you tell me you’re have trouble with something, I will make sure to add you to my prayers and respond back with encouraging words when I can reply. We are commanded to pray often to Heavenly Father because he wants to hear us. I want to hear from you. I love you all, I love you no less if you don’t email me, but please Please PLEASE email me!
The shortest of them all
This may be the shortest letter I send for the year. Absolutely nothing awe-inspiring, crazy, or awesome has happened. We have been street contacting and teaching the little investigator pool that we have.
Monday: P-day
Tuesday: MLT (Mission leadership training) I went on exchange to Manchester
Wednesday: Went on exchange with the zone leaders and tracted an area that has had previously good reception.
Thursday: More tracting.
Friday: Weekly planning the whole day for the rest of the week.
Saturday: Looked for less actives and had a member meal.
Sunday: Church, followed by a lesson with dinner at the end.
Today: P-Day stuff (laundry, car care, etc).
So not too much this week, maybe more interesting things will happen next week.
Teaching, Preaching, and Tracting. Oh My!!
Last Sunday (which I forgot to tell you about), a couple of Baptist kids came from the church which is right next to us to visit shortly after Sacrament Meeting. They cornered several of us and asked us question after question, and we had a brilliant discussion of our belief. I’ll expound on it more later.
Receiving a new companion, brings area training, something I’m doing a not so great job at. But new my companion has been in the western part of mission for most of his service, so he thinks this is a good break from that area (before he plunges into the abyss of Maine). Anyway, our teaching pool has been small so we are tracting a lot.
Monday: All emails were sent from this iPad. Here are the Elders from my first district (before we’re transferred other places…) Left to Right, Elders Perry, Jenson, Betts, and Seely.
Tuesday: Transfer meeting, received my new companion: Elder Poe (Related to Edgar Allen Poe)
Wednesday: Mostly in Pittsfield, tracting.
Thursday: More tracting.
Friday: Tracting again.
Saturday: Guess what we did? If you guessed tracting, you’re right. Tracting is a long process that comes with no guarantee of success at all. When we do teach, it is someone who is surprised that we are out in extreme conditions (very muggy, hot mostly), anyway, not something you want to do a lot because it is super tiring, and the fact that some houses are farther away from each other (makes great exercise though).
Sunday: Stake Conference. We helped a little bit with ushering, had another visit from the Baptists, and we brought more people to discuss our beliefs in more detail.
So, about the Baptist kids… here is what happened. Last week on Sunday (may 31) we had a surprise visit from some Baptist kids that wanted to learn about our religion. Well they said what they think we believe and we gently corrected them, because we know what we believe. We spoke with them in detail about we believe and they left. This past Sunday (June 7) they came back after stake conference, with a specific set of questions, and we answered them as best we could. Then our Mission President and the Seventy who spoke to us earlier dropped in and brought weight to what we had be talking about. I don’t know what they (the Baptist kids) were thinking after that, but I felt the spirit and I know that what they testified of is true.
Which leads to today where we have several district activities that we are doing after emailing our families.
My training continues without much resistance but I’m starting to understand all of the concepts of being a good missionary. As long as I remain obedient to the rules that I have been given then I should be ok. This week went at a fairly odd pace, must be the transfer meeting that disrupted the speed, oh well.
Elder Seely
Ps I’m trying something new in my emails. I have been sending the letter to myself because I can’t email groups on my iPad (I have to select every contact) so we’ll see how this goes… And because I had a tiny bit of goof off time on my iPad, meet my imaginary puffball friend…
A Missionary’s Week
I can now say that have gotten a pretty good idea of what the rest of my mission will look like: I will spend 5/6 of time out proselyting and rest will be spent recovering from sickness. I say that because I have been sitting in the apartment for about a week and I think we have more to come. The weather out here isn’t helping me or my companion because it has been so muggy recently.
Here is the play by play of this week:
Monday: We felt pretty good so we did some simple proselyting.
Tuesday was a disaster. Nothing we had planned got done. Elder Betts was so sick it was very challenging to get him out of bed.
Wednesday: We felt okay enough to go to district meeting and conduct (so well that if you didn’t know he was sick that you would have thought that he is just a little tired).
Thursday: He’s still quite out of it. I have determined that if it lasts till Saturday that we are spending the next Monday in the hospital to figure out what is going on. Package arrived! All is well.
Friday: Another day sitting around the apartment, while Elder Betts recovers from being sick, I’m officially 19 but I think that mission office has incorrect information. I’ll check in on that next time I’m in Bedford.
Saturday: Yet another day in the apartment; this makes day 7. More practice for tomorrow’s musical fireside. Elder L Tom Perry died and has gone all the way of the earth, may he rest in peace. Transfers happened…
Sunday: We did go to church and the fireside was a complete success.
I want to say a couple of the words about elder L Tom Perry. He was a physically commanding person who knew how to use the space he was given, he talked with power but with a comforting tone. I want you to know that I wouldn’t be surprised if other members of the quorum of the twelve were to die within the next couple of years, the quorum is starting to get grow older and I believe that the Lord knows this and preparing their replacements right now. I do not know who is going to take the place of Elder Perry, but I know that it will be someone who is unprepared to take the role, and the Lord will transform him.
Transfers have come, and I will be staying here, and my companion is becoming the zone leader and I will be follow up trained by the incoming district leader. My address has not changed this time. Other changes happening in the district: we are getting a new sister in Canterbury and the Concord elders are getting a new elder. So this will be interesting to train him on the area and be trained at the same time.
No photos this week, sorry.
Elder Seely
Sent from my mission-issued iPad
Elder Richard M. Seely 