We had a really great week. I've been doing a lot of thinking about
what a good missionary is and how I can do better. It's difficult to
work with companions, because you are often put into this Garden of
Eden situation. For example we need to keep the rules of the mission,
but at the same time there are ways you can keep all the rules and
still protect the relationship of you and your companion. That has
been something I really struggle with. I'm really the type of
individual that when we can't do it the best way, why do it at all.
There are so many different ways to be a missionary and being the best
missionary you can be always involves working with your companion.
Elder Conaway and I are both pretty bull headed. That said we are
blessed with the ability to teach effectively with not much
preparation. It's not that we don't try to prepare, it's just that we
get anxious when we think too hard about what we are doing.
Well this week it was really exciting, because we set two baptism
dates in our area with potentially three on the way. I'm really
excited. One of the dates is for an unbaptized 10 year old, and for
whatever reason he and his family want to be baptized before Elder
Conaway and I leave. I don't know what we did, but it was remarkable
the change that has happened to the whole family.
Heads up long paragraph
As a missionary the work we do is a lot like trying to grow a garden.
When you get a new companion, or new area, it's like moving to a new
patch of ground. Sometimes the changes are just moving over one row
and you can plant the same and nourish the plants the same way. While
other times you move to a completely different climate, and the way to
plant and manage the crops changes dramatically. Through all of the
real changes we experience with missionary work two things remain the
same. The first is our efforts. No matter who you have or where you
are working the greatest measure of your effectiveness is how hard you
work. That can influence greatly the number of people you help. But
no matter the number, your efforts are the real measurement of
success. Sooner or later as you apply these efforts to the
metaphorical field, plants will start to grow as you continually work
harder. The growth highlights the second force that remains the same
as a missionary. That is the will of the Lord. Just as the course of
a plant's growth can not be accelerated beyond it's natural limits so
is missionary work subject to the will of God. You can quantify and
measure your efforts in how obedient you are, or how many people you
talk to, but none of these external measurements will show success in
terms of the gospel. As a missionary, success is seen when despite
how effective you are miracles come as a result of your faith and
effort in the work. When you see people listen and treat their
families with greater love and respect. When you can see others show
love, compassion, and charity to those they do not know, then you can
see how successful you have been. I'm grateful for these miracles that
you can see when you look for them.
In other news: It's getting hotter. For a couple days I tried
sleeping on the floor, but it wasn't very comfortable. This week
Elder Conaway and I developed a cool game that involves a ceiling fan
and rolled up socks. It's like dodgeball only dodge the sock as it
gets hit by the fan.
I've got a wonderful week coming up and it's going to be Super
missionary Weekend =General Conference!!
love you all,
Elder Will Davidson
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Time flies on wings of lightning
Hey Mom,
Can you believe it it's already been a week since we last emailed.
This week has been a tribulation week. I have not worked the hardest I could have this week which has been really frustrating. I can't point a specific reason why I haven't. Sunday evening we started planning and I reviewed the weeks efforts. They were far below what we could be doing .In all honesty it was a very humbling experience. Our week this week should be much improved as we try and increase our efforts. I can't say that I've ever had a companionship that is close to the ideal preach my gospel companionship, but I can say that the lessons we've learned have greatly impacted my understanding of people, and also my character.
This week we did have a really good opportunity to fix someone's yard. They had a dirt mound that needed to be down sized, so we took some time and put our backs into service. It was a really fun.
The Easter Pageant is coming up so I'm really looking forward to that. This morning we passed by the stage and I could see they were starting to hang the speaker arrays. Sometime this morning they put up the lights too.
Yesterday it rained for several hours, which was really cool. I stood outside, and just soaked up the moisture.
Not much else to report I started looking for motivational scriptures and 3 Nephi 12:16 really boosted me up on Sunday.
Love,
Elder Davidson
Can you believe it it's already been a week since we last emailed.
This week has been a tribulation week. I have not worked the hardest I could have this week which has been really frustrating. I can't point a specific reason why I haven't. Sunday evening we started planning and I reviewed the weeks efforts. They were far below what we could be doing .In all honesty it was a very humbling experience. Our week this week should be much improved as we try and increase our efforts. I can't say that I've ever had a companionship that is close to the ideal preach my gospel companionship, but I can say that the lessons we've learned have greatly impacted my understanding of people, and also my character.
This week we did have a really good opportunity to fix someone's yard. They had a dirt mound that needed to be down sized, so we took some time and put our backs into service. It was a really fun.
The Easter Pageant is coming up so I'm really looking forward to that. This morning we passed by the stage and I could see they were starting to hang the speaker arrays. Sometime this morning they put up the lights too.
Yesterday it rained for several hours, which was really cool. I stood outside, and just soaked up the moisture.
Not much else to report I started looking for motivational scriptures and 3 Nephi 12:16 really boosted me up on Sunday.
Love,
Elder Davidson
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Birthday!
Just to let you know I am incredibly tired, so if there are any errors
in my email it's for a good reason.
Today is my birthday. I'm twenty! It's weird because I don't know
what to do. Sister Langford the one we live with fed us dinner last
night, and Elder Conaway told her it was my birthday. She put candles
in a cake and I got to celebrate my birthday with her little Grandson
who turned 7 on Saturday. I got up this morning and didn't feel like
biking to sports so I didn't wake up Elder Conaway and just slept in
until we have to get up. When I went up stairs to get breakfast there
were two balloons tied to the stairs that Sister Langford got for me.
One of them was the kind that sings. As I was trying to get it to
play I kept giggling, because I didn't want to wake anyone up. I think
this Preparation day we will spend it at home. I need to iron my
shirts. I'm looking forward to taking it easy the whole day.
This past week we had a very interesting experience. One of the
people we were teaching, a very intelligent fellow, was offended by
something one of the members said. After we had a really good lesson
the member said "Good Luck" to the man we where teaching. Well he
doesn't believe in luck, and the member said good luck a couple more
times. At that the man we were teaching biked off and felt that we
had offended God for saying good luck, and wouldn't have anything more
to do with us. I wasn't sure quite what to think.
Elder Conaway and I have worked with a member to put together a DVD
with lots of Mormon Messages from the Mormon Channel on Youtube. It's
really fun to watch them with investigators and members, because they
are so uplifting. One of my favorites is called "the blessing of
scripture". It includes a history of William Tyndale and then a
really cool video along with it. Then there is another one called "a
Book of Mormon Scripture" it's about a bishop from London. There are
other ones but those are my favorite. Another one while I'm on the
subject is called "things that matter most".
So for this wonderful birthday I have a new tie, which I think is
really retro. It's called a penguin. I didn't bring my camera and
I'm having trouble sending pictures. The library where we email
doesn't let you upload pictures anymore. I also got a lot of candy,
which I will have to distribute between all my fellow missionaries. I
always enjoy giving away candy.
My companion got me some really cool bike pedals for my bike. They
change color when they are in the sun. The only problem is that they
don't fit in my pedal arm for the bike.
Not much more to be said. I'm very excited for this coming week Elder
Conaway and I have set some really good goals.
Love you all,
Elder Davidson
P.S.
I love you lots :)
in my email it's for a good reason.
Today is my birthday. I'm twenty! It's weird because I don't know
what to do. Sister Langford the one we live with fed us dinner last
night, and Elder Conaway told her it was my birthday. She put candles
in a cake and I got to celebrate my birthday with her little Grandson
who turned 7 on Saturday. I got up this morning and didn't feel like
biking to sports so I didn't wake up Elder Conaway and just slept in
until we have to get up. When I went up stairs to get breakfast there
were two balloons tied to the stairs that Sister Langford got for me.
One of them was the kind that sings. As I was trying to get it to
play I kept giggling, because I didn't want to wake anyone up. I think
this Preparation day we will spend it at home. I need to iron my
shirts. I'm looking forward to taking it easy the whole day.
This past week we had a very interesting experience. One of the
people we were teaching, a very intelligent fellow, was offended by
something one of the members said. After we had a really good lesson
the member said "Good Luck" to the man we where teaching. Well he
doesn't believe in luck, and the member said good luck a couple more
times. At that the man we were teaching biked off and felt that we
had offended God for saying good luck, and wouldn't have anything more
to do with us. I wasn't sure quite what to think.
Elder Conaway and I have worked with a member to put together a DVD
with lots of Mormon Messages from the Mormon Channel on Youtube. It's
really fun to watch them with investigators and members, because they
are so uplifting. One of my favorites is called "the blessing of
scripture". It includes a history of William Tyndale and then a
really cool video along with it. Then there is another one called "a
Book of Mormon Scripture" it's about a bishop from London. There are
other ones but those are my favorite. Another one while I'm on the
subject is called "things that matter most".
So for this wonderful birthday I have a new tie, which I think is
really retro. It's called a penguin. I didn't bring my camera and
I'm having trouble sending pictures. The library where we email
doesn't let you upload pictures anymore. I also got a lot of candy,
which I will have to distribute between all my fellow missionaries. I
always enjoy giving away candy.
My companion got me some really cool bike pedals for my bike. They
change color when they are in the sun. The only problem is that they
don't fit in my pedal arm for the bike.
Not much more to be said. I'm very excited for this coming week Elder
Conaway and I have set some really good goals.
Love you all,
Elder Davidson
P.S.
I love you lots :)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
movies and soda, no popcorn
Greetings from Arizona,
This past week has been a crazy week. We didn't get to teach very
many lessons to our investigators. On Tuesday we were informed that
we would be moving to a very small house in another ward. It was
interesting, because I actually made a scale drawing of the room to
see where the beds and table could go. We weren't too excited, but it
would be a learning experience. Then would you believe it on Friday
night we found out we'd be moving to a different home with a family.
They live just north of University and West of Country club. They are a very kind older couple. It's a
really great opportunity to live with them. In addition they have a few
perks. First is a full size fridge stocked with all kinds of Soda
(which we can drink). Then there's a really cool home theatre where
we can watch... "The Testaments" during lunch. The best part is that
Bro.L is in a band, and it's really cool because he has his
equipment in the garage. So on P-day we'll have a place to play some
music. When I write next week, I'll be sure to send some pictures.
State of Affairs: The Noble Steed
As I'm sure you all are aware, my bike has had some troubles since the
beginning of its life. This past Monday I took the whole front end
apart because I needed to adjust a few things. One of the things Elder
Landsaw pointed out that even if something isn't broken I'll still try
and fix it. After that I got the rear deraileur fixed. The only thing
that it is afflicted with currently is a bent wheel. It still lives
on and is very strong.
It has been a wonderful week as we've made contact with a lot of our
investigators. They are all very sincere. One of them said the other
day that we aren't pushy. That was a really nice complement, because
it shouldn't feel like we are pushing anything on people. Our primary
purpose is to invite. In reality we don't do much for anyone. All we
do is show them the tools (Prayer, Scriptures etc.) that they can use
to find answers for themselves. Just as a teacher won't write a
research paper for a student, but they will do everything in their
power to give the students the proper tools. The same investigator
that told us this also fed us a really good meal on Sunday. She made
green bean casserole, fried ockr and green tomatoes, potatoes, and a
really good roast. It was a perfect meal to finish off fast Sunday.
One of the members in our ward has been helping us out a lot. He has
burned a lot of the Mormon Message videos from online onto a DVD. Lots
of them are so cool. There was one that had many shots of rain falling.
I felt really homesick... moisture sick.
All is well in AZ the temperature is slowly creeping up. We're not
looking forward to biking in the heat. Then again I've beat it once.
Till next week have a wonderful day wherever you may be.
Love,
Elder Davidson.
This past week has been a crazy week. We didn't get to teach very
many lessons to our investigators. On Tuesday we were informed that
we would be moving to a very small house in another ward. It was
interesting, because I actually made a scale drawing of the room to
see where the beds and table could go. We weren't too excited, but it
would be a learning experience. Then would you believe it on Friday
night we found out we'd be moving to a different home with a family.
They live just north of University and West of Country club. They are a very kind older couple. It's a
really great opportunity to live with them. In addition they have a few
perks. First is a full size fridge stocked with all kinds of Soda
(which we can drink). Then there's a really cool home theatre where
we can watch... "The Testaments" during lunch. The best part is that
Bro.L is in a band, and it's really cool because he has his
equipment in the garage. So on P-day we'll have a place to play some
music. When I write next week, I'll be sure to send some pictures.
State of Affairs: The Noble Steed
As I'm sure you all are aware, my bike has had some troubles since the
beginning of its life. This past Monday I took the whole front end
apart because I needed to adjust a few things. One of the things Elder
Landsaw pointed out that even if something isn't broken I'll still try
and fix it. After that I got the rear deraileur fixed. The only thing
that it is afflicted with currently is a bent wheel. It still lives
on and is very strong.
It has been a wonderful week as we've made contact with a lot of our
investigators. They are all very sincere. One of them said the other
day that we aren't pushy. That was a really nice complement, because
it shouldn't feel like we are pushing anything on people. Our primary
purpose is to invite. In reality we don't do much for anyone. All we
do is show them the tools (Prayer, Scriptures etc.) that they can use
to find answers for themselves. Just as a teacher won't write a
research paper for a student, but they will do everything in their
power to give the students the proper tools. The same investigator
that told us this also fed us a really good meal on Sunday. She made
green bean casserole, fried ockr and green tomatoes, potatoes, and a
really good roast. It was a perfect meal to finish off fast Sunday.
One of the members in our ward has been helping us out a lot. He has
burned a lot of the Mormon Message videos from online onto a DVD. Lots
of them are so cool. There was one that had many shots of rain falling.
I felt really homesick... moisture sick.
All is well in AZ the temperature is slowly creeping up. We're not
looking forward to biking in the heat. Then again I've beat it once.
Till next week have a wonderful day wherever you may be.
Love,
Elder Davidson.
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