Sigh of Relief‏

So because I've been rushed for time in writing my general email to everyone, I decided that I should try to write it first, that way I'll be able to finish what I want to say without having to beat the Library computer clock. 

This is Transfer week again, and to kill the suspense early I'll let yall know that I'm staying in Parkersburg with Elder Penn for another round. Elder Dayley will be leaving and going to Salem Virginia, which was in my first district next to Cave Spring. I told him its a great area and how much I loved the Roanoke Zone, but he's still pretty bummed to be leaving the area. In part I suppose because things have been going pretty good for Southside. Bro Hutchinson got Baptized last Thursday and it was a great time! We've all loved getting to work with and know the Hutchinson Family. They will always be among the Families that come to mind when I think of my mission. To Replace Elder Dayley we will be getting Elder Squires!!! I'm way stoked for that! I served around him while in Gretna and we even went on a few exchanges. He loves to cook as well so hopefully he'll help me hone in on my culinary skillz. He's from Fallon Nevada but has lived kinda all over. Its going to be great!

As talk of transfers was coming up missionaries often  talk about who is going home in the coming weeks. It was mentioned that one of the Sisters I came out with will be going home the transfer after this. Kinda strange. Also made me realize that I'm getting close to my 3/4 mark in the mission. I took a little time to reflect on all that has happened. The good times and the bad. Yesterday for instance a man on his bike stopped us and proceeded to give us the usual dribble of anti-Mormon sentiments. He eventually got mad and biked away because I just kept smiling at him. I've realized how much I've grown in how I felt after he left. A year ago I might have been very disgruntled and discouraged. Now I get over it almost as soon as its over and just go on. I'm still a little sad that sometimes no matter what I do, I can't do anything to help some people (I even tried to commend him for doing what he thought was right, he didn't like that either) But aside from that the discouragement that would follow those situations and others seems much smaller. I've found that increased earnest prayer has been such a huge help in getting me through tough times. I'm excited to see what The Lord has in store for me in the coming months. There's still so much time. So I'm not to worried about everything ending yet. Perhaps that will come when I get down to a month or two. Hopefully it won't hit me till a day or two before I board that plane. I'm happy to be where I am, doing what I'm doing. I know God Needs me here and that is enough.

Otherwise in the work we've had good meetings with a lot of less actives this past week. We are going to work on teaching them and helping them come to church more often. What good is it to go and Baptize people if after a few years they stop coming and learning more? The beauty of the Gospel is that we are never done learning. Just this morning in Scripture study I found answers to questions that I had. I've been told that "the Creation" Is one of the Three Pillars of Eternity, according to Bruce R. McConkie anyways. But I could never figure out why it was so important. I mean it seemed pretty straight forward. An Earth was organized, day was divided by night, the waters from the land and so on. But without even looking for answers specifically I came across some scriptures, which while I'd read them before, took on a deeper meaning and I feel like now I Understand better the importance of the Event. Though perhaps not enough to explain it more fully at present haha but that may come with more time and study.

Also! Elder Penn found my camera!! It was under a couch which I'm sure I've checked under, but somehow it appeared when he was looking for some Malt balls that he'd dropped between the cushions. And who said snacking wasn't a productive activity? The problem now being that I have two cameras, and my new one is a good deal nicer. So Still unsure of what I'm going to do with the old one. But I'm glad that at least I was able to recover the pictures that were on it :) In Lieu of recent events I've tried to do better at Journal writing, whereas before I relied upon a Digital Photo Journal. I also realized how many precious moments that I'd missed on recording and so I'm hoping to record them as I go.

Well I think this was a much better week for Writing. I've been getting a few hand written letters out too, so for all you who are waiting a reply, I Haven't forgotten! I'm just slow. I'm stoked for the Wedding coming up and Can't wait to hear about the details when it finally goes down! Love hearing about the goings on back there and I appreciate all the Prayers.

Love Yall!

Elder Sunada

Easter Season: He Is Risen

Hey Everyone!

What a great weekend it has been to be able to reflect back on the life of Christ! Its been a big boost to have Interviews with President, General Conference, and then Easter Sunday all in a row. It puts into perspective the focus of what I'm doing out here. I follow the instructions I've been given as a missionary, so I can teach people about the Restoration of the Gospel through Prophets and Apostles, who Testify that Jesus is the Christ and that he Lives and Loves us. Its also been cool because the Church released an appendage to the Mormon.org site we share with Investigators to help them learn about the summarizes the last Week of Christ's Life that I've been able to share with people. Its from the Bible Video series that the Church has been shooting. 

The websites are:

www.mormon.org/easter And http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/easter-message-first-presidency-2012

Go Check them out!

I also tried to make the Focus in my teaching this past week to have everything focus on Christ. Its been neat to see how I've changed my view of Easter and how I view this time of year. Serving the Lord has blessed me with a greater understanding of How and Why I live the Gospel, instead of just What I do to live it. I think that this transition of thinking has helped me grow more than I had thought possible. I just hope that the People I teach come to that understanding early on and will have a head start when they join.

Which Brings me to another exciting bit of News. There's a family in our ward that I've come to love dearly during my time in Parkersburg. Each Member of it has been a beam of light to me, Especially the Father, Mark. He has just decided to get baptised this Thursday. The rest of his family were members but its taken him a while to accept the Gospel. They live in south sides develop a personal relationship with all of them anyways. Its been so cool to notice how in the Last two weeks he's changed. And I could notice it! I still didn't think it'd be this soon (He announced this last Thursday) But I'm glad I will be able to see this come to pass. Its transfers next week so I might have missed it. 

Well Gotta Run Again! Bye!

Elder Sunada

General Conference Weekend!!‏

Whoa, what a weekend! 

General Conference was such a blast! I love being able to listen to Apostles, Prophets and other church Authorities in hearing what they have to say to the world. I'm also proud to say that I only dozed off for a few minutes in the Sunday afternoon session, a new personal best! I probably would have been able to stick the whole thing through but the Ward decided to have a Potluck Lunch between the two sessions. Fill me with good food then stick me in a dark room and the result is inevitable, as many of my high school teachers will attest to.

Some of my favorite talks were Pres Uchtdorf's on resolving contention and forgiveness, I can't recall who but the Saturday morning session speaking on Sacrifice in our lives, and Elder Baxter's comforting words to single parents and broken families. The last one I mentioned was a message that struck me particularly because of some of the situations which I have seen in the past few weeks. I've been struggling to know how I can help families, particularly single mothers and their children, and from that talk I've been able to find new solutions and comfort. There were many other messages that struck me and that I made careful note of. My notes for this conference are also several pages longer than the notes I have for previous ones, and volumes larger than any notes I tried to take in school. Perhaps the habit will transfer back to a secular usage one day... But I have learned that if I prepare myself to listen, I'll be fed more than I otherwise would have. Each conference Just gets better!

Darn it! Fighting the Clock again. Well, just a few brief updates then. Lost my Camera. Can't seem to find it. Might go buy one today so hopefully pictures will resume here shortly. The week went by pretty well. I had a Wonderful interview with President. Much to prepare for.

Well I love you all. Glad its been a great day in the kingdom!

Elder Sunada

Marilyn's Baptism

Hey Friends and Family,

 

We had a Baptism!!! Marilyn is now a Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! It was a great day. Elder Heiner was permitted to come for the Baptism, but also was asked to perform the Baptism. It meant a lot to him as he has not seen many enter in the the Waters of Baptism. It was so cool to see him again too. President and Sister Pitt were also in attendance.Its great to know that I've made life long friends here. Even more so as many of them live in the West. Something tells me that I'll be down in the Western States often over the course of my life for one reason or another.

 

The Baptism itself went off fairly well, with the execption of the Font. Our ward Mission leader was concerned the Water would be cold, so he took the time to fill the font for 5 minutes a time, waiting then for 30 minutes for the hot Water tank to fill again, resulting in a sauna like atmosphere. I Kinda thought that it was a little hot (more like scolding). They had expected the water to cool some by the time of the Baptism. The expression on Marilyn's face as she stuck her foot into the water told me otherwise. So we had to run some cold water to try and cool it off. Which caused some over flow to occur and some general unreverence by those who were watching. But even with all that, we went through with the Baptism and all was well. Oh, Except for me playing the Piano. I played for the whole program, which included a musical number in the middle. I played the intro and then stopped, as I realized that those singing were giving me a confused look. Then I realised I was not playing the right song. Opps. But Again, it was Rectified and all went well.

 

The following day I had the priviledge of performing the ordinance of confirmation. I've loved being able to use the Priesthood to bless others. Oh man. 30 seconds! Well Sorry to cut this Short. love you all.

 

Miss Ya!! I'll make it better next week!

Elder Sunada

Upcoming Baptism!

Hey Everyone!

 

So We're excited for this upcoming Saturday!! The Baptism is just about all ready to go pending one final interview. And we're so excited for Marilyn! She's excited too, except for the actual part of getting her head below water. That Kinda freaks her out. But With a few prayers I'm confident that we'll get through it and it will be a more than positive experience. The ward has been really great with helping her out too and showing great support. It makes such a difference when ward members treat everyone who comes in the doors with welcome and love. Of course this is the way it should always be, though sometimes people are prone to judge. Its easy to do and we've all been guilty of it. But I've really tried to focus on how Heavenly Father see's them. He knows they need to be there and is trying to support them. Especially for those who look out of place its so important to make them feel welcome.

 

Yesterday we also had a missionary Fireside where we showed the film (with proper permission) 17 Miracles by T.C. Christianson about the Willie and Martin Handcart companies. It was a decent turn out. Marilyn and one other investigator were there. But it was also interesting to see who else was there to support the event. One thing I've noticed is there's certain people in every ward who are always there. The Church to them isn't something they go to or what they do. Its who they are. Its everything to them and they give everything to help it. They really know what the Gospel means and the debt that they owe to their God. I hope that I'll always be one who realizes the importance of this Gospel.

 

We also had a great Zone meeting last Thursday. President Pitt is such a great teacher and knows how to drive a point deep. We also did some role plays practicing different parts of teaching. The points we taught didn't stand out to me as much as the spirit I felt. I've made an effort to have the spirit be a bigger part of my lessons with my investigators. There's no greater feeling than the Love of God.

 

Gotta Run! Love Y'all!

 

Elder Sunada

 

 

 

Snow, please?

Hey Folks!

 

This week was a little less exciting than most. But that's ok too because sometimes its nice to have a little break from too much Drama. We did do a lot of biking this week. I think I wore Elder Penn out a little bit even haha. But He's alright because this week we have the car. And its supposed to be up to 75F (24C) later this week! What madness. It better Dump snow next year when i get home to make up for this Nonsense! But I know I shouldn't complain. Its actually great weather for missionary work. People will talk to you on doorsteps longer if its not so cold. We have gotten some good rain storms pass through. The other week I got soaked to the bone!

 

This upcoming Sunday we have a missionary fireside planned where we are going to watch the movie "17 Miracles" Its pretty good, for those of you who haven't seen it. It covers some of the sorest trials of the early pioneer hand cart companies as the left persecution for safety in the West. Knowing that I had ancestors who participated in those early days makes it even cooler for me. We're just hoping for a decent turn out as the Movie is about an hour and 40 mins long!

 

If everything goes to plan we'll also have our first baptism since I've been in Parkersburg the following Saturday! I feel 95% sure that our investigator will make it so I'm getting pretty stoked. Its been dry in this area for a while. South side also had 2 people just drop into their hands who want to be baptised in the coming month. Its way awesome when people actually go out of their way to find us to baptise them! If only it could always be that easy. But then again as it goes with that famous quote, "That which we obtain to easily, we esteem too lightly".

 

Whatever the Lord has in store for us here in the coming months I'm ok with. I know in whom I can Trust :)

 

Elder Sunada

Back on track‏

Tomorrow is transfers. But we've had enough transfers in Parkersburg lately, and President Agrees. So Parkersburg is staying the same! An Additional sister will be added to Marietta however, which is in our district. All that matters is we're not losing anyone :). So Parkersburg is still home, at least for another 3 weeks.

Elder Penn and I have been getting along just fine so far. I've made an effort to better serve him and my other companions. I've discovered the best way to learn to love someone is to serve them. Its amazing to me how much helping others also helps ourselves. I cannot seem to give more than I get, try as I might. The reward doesn't come from those that we serve in the form of gifts or services, but I feel the changes within me and I know that they are of great worth. Its really made me realize how true the Book of Mormon Prophet King Benjamin statement really is:

Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn ^awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the ^bservice of your ^cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

I hope that I will always be able to serve others in some capacity all through my life because of the joy it brings.

I guess I should give a small update on the work. We've been working with a Woman Named Marilynn for a while now. She is super awesome! She was at church again this past Sunday and even signed us up for Dinner last night! We've set a date for her on March 24th to Be baptised. She has been so willing to do everything for the hope that she can receive the promise of peace the Gospel brings. So we are stoked for her!

 

There are several other families who are getting close to accepting Baptism. I'm still working on how to help people realize the importance of Baptism. Its hard because there are so many different ideas about it that many people are confused. I've found its still the same Formula that helps people come to that knowledge though. Coming to Church, Reading the Scriptures, and prayer. Strange how its the same answers I've been told since I was in Primary! But the Truth is its really that simple. Anyone who wants answers has to diligently do these things, and they'll find what they are seeking. Now getting people to do just those things is a matter in itself, but that's what I'm working at.

 

Anyways, hope all is well back home. Loved the Letters from the Young Mens/ Young Womens! I miss them like Crazy.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Elder Sunada