Keeping Faith

Dear Friends and Family:

This week, China and her family were confirmed in the branch. Marie was confirmed last week, because her baptism was on Thursday, but Shirdie (her daughter) was not able to be confirmed yet because Marie was kept in late at work. Our bishop wants us to do it during this next week, we're going to do it on Thursday hopefully.

We had a great miracle this week. A few weeks ago, we received a referral from Elder Brockbank and Elder Passey in the Palm Beach zone. It was for a Haitian man who wanted to be baptized, but who was there on vacation. So we tried to stop by to see him but he was still away. And this week, we finally had the opportunity to meet with him. It had been almost three weeks since he had met with the other elders, but he still had great desires to come to church and to be baptized. It was a very good experience for me to sit down and teach him for the first time.

Unfortunately, he did not end up coming to church. We had contact with him two hours before church, and he was ready and excited to come, and then... we lost contact, he never came, and we still haven't heard from him. So we'll stop over again tonight and find out "sak te pase."

We had one investigator come to church yesterday. His name is George, and he's a completely white guy, without even a small drop of Haitian blood. It was the Sisters' investigator, but because of extraneous circumstances, we're teaching him anyway. It will be Elder Felkin's fourth white person he's ever taught. (One of the first three being Haitian anyway, because his parents moved to Haiti and then he grew up speaking Haitian Creole.) I served in Boynton Beach, which is a Haitian Creole and English area, so I have taught many, and I've baptized three already, but we are very excited to get Elder Felkins his first white convert!

One of the things we are going to work on this week is keeping faith, and continuously finding. We only had four new investigators this last week, and we need more to keep a strong pool going. So this week we're going to especially work on our harvest blessings, to bring the spirit more strongly into our first contacts with people.

I heard that Elder Austin Bradley left on his mission. I am so excited to hear that! I'm guessing the language he will be learning is Italian? There's an awesome member here, in the Branch, who speaks Italian, English, and Spanish. Her name is Sister Dieste. As anyone who has ever met her will attest, her food is "da best"!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Plan of Salvation

Dear Friends and Family:

This week was terrific for us here in Miami Shores Creole! We had six baptisms. In fact, we baptized in both the ward and the branch!

First, in the Ward, are Marie Deshommes and her daughter, Shirdie. They have been investigators for several months now, but Marie put off being baptized so that she could do it when Shirdie returned from vacation, to show a good example for her. So this Thursday, Marie was baptized; then on Sunday, she was confirmed, and then Shirdie was baptized.

Then we quickly left to get to the branch on time, and at the end of church our other four investigators who have been preparing to be baptized (China, and her children Daphney, Walkie, and Gregory) were baptized. It was a really great experience for all of them to be baptized together. We're going to keep working on China's husband, our goal is to completely baptize the family by the end of the month.

This week, I was reflecting on how much Haitians seem to hate the Plan of Salvation. Before my mission, I had assumed that we would be teaching it first most of the time. It has always seemed like the most important part of the restored gospel to me. But Haitians seem to think that when we go to the temple for baptisms for the dead, we are worshiping the dead, or something like that. I realized while I was thinking about that that the only reason anybody wouldn't like any part of the doctrine is if they don't fully understand it. We all have testimonies of the prophets, and we all believe that they receive revelation directly from God. Why would we have a problem with any of God's revealed word?

On another note, we've got plans to improve and do even better by the end of the month. One thing that we are planning on doing in order to make our missionary work more effective is to call both the ward mission leader and the branch mission leader every day, and report on each of our investigators. We'll just talk it through with them, and that way we'll be able to get the ward more involved in the missionary work. Our finding efforts right now are going to be focused on finding a family of 3 (or more) in the Ward boundaries, with a father who will lead the whole household to be baptized, take up callings, and then to be sealed.

I am still hoping that President Richardson will split our area, because both the ward are constantly feeling jipped because we don't do as much work in each of them as we could have if we only worked in the one ward.

Also, apparently, there are three more Haitian Creole missionaries coming in this next transfer, and at least two the transfer after that. This is really good, because these next three transfers will kill off about 40% of the Haitian Creole missionaries in the mission, and we need other missionaries to replace them! But it is scary to realize that so many of the missionaries that I came out with or who were here when I started are going home soon, or else they are already gone. I have been out on a mission for 10.5 months already. I wouldn't believe how fast the time has gone by.

Anyway, have a great week!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Elder Slade

Dear Friends and Family:

We've improved on many key indicators this week. We are very excited because of that, but we still have a long way to go. We had three investigators come to church as well - China, and two of her sons, Gregory and Walkie. They are all three preparing to be baptized this Sunday. This is amazing, not only because we are baptizing China (the person, not the country. Her name is pronounced sheen-uh, not tchay-nuh) but also because we finally are baptizing in the Miami Beach 2nd Branch, which is really amazing. Yesterday we think we met or exceeded our previous record of people coming to the branch. We had about 95 to 100 people there.

Another exciting development: Marie's daughter, Sherdie, came home yesterday! That means that Marie can finally be baptized! We're going to shoot for this Thursday, and then for Sherdie we'll shoot for this Sunday. It will be awesome. They are in the ward, so this week we have five potential baptisms. Two in the ward, and three in the branch.

Speaking of our two church services... we split our efforts between the north and south parts of our area. It is very difficult at times to balance the two, and it's harder to avoid wasting miles. Elder Felkins and I both believe that our area would be better if it was split, so we had Miami Shores (Creole) and Miami Beach (Creole). Then both the branch and the ward would finally get the attention they deserve.

Just yesterday, we found two really cool people, Keith and Keionea Thornhill. We went in and prayed with them, and they accepted baptism immediately, despite the fact that they had already been baptized. We were really excited for them, because most for most Haitians that is a sticking point. Unfortunately, we had to pass them to the YSA elders, because they were just barely YSA age. Oh well. I was glad we could participate in finding them, anyway.

Also, we received confirmation: this mission is getting iPads by the end of the year! There's a rumor that our mission in particular will get them at the end of September, but we know for sure that all North-American missions will be getting them by January.

My shoes and pants and everything else are holding up fine for now. Everything is showing signs of wear, but not tear.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

P.S. There's a new member in the branch, who moved there from the Philippines. We had lunch with him. He made Chinese food. (Go figure.) He thought it was funny that I knew Mabaho ang kili-kili mo. (I have no idea if I spelled that right.) He taught me how to say Mahal kita. (Again, with the spelling.)

P.P.S. No, we never found out why the camera crew was there. We also never started making a Krispy Kreme wall again. It's probably a good thing, because we have less motivation to go and buy fatty doughnuts.

P.P.P.S. I've gained about 7-10 pounds on my mission so far. It's not so much that I'm eating a ton, but it's that as missionaries, we make it our job to binge-eat. I'm still decently skinny anyway.

Haitian Creole Song

Transfers

Dear Friends and Family:

Transfer call information came in yesterday. Elder Slade: transfers. Elder Bailey... also transfers. They're whitewashing our area. Elder Harper is transferring across the hall, he's going to be taking over the area with some other, unknown missionary. And Elder Burgoyne is training this transfer. (He said that he's going to train by positive reinforcement - he'll keep a bunch of mints, and every time his trainee does something good, he'll give him a mint.)

Elder Bailey and I are both confused and surprised at what is happening this week at transfers. We were both expecting me to leave, but not that both of us would. So we're both packing up, and setting the area right for Elder Harper and whoever else comes in.

It's really hard to believe that I'm leaving Boynton Beach, I've been here 6 months already, and I've become friends with so many of the members and others in the area. But if God wants that, then I guess that's all right.

We had a terrific week. Matt Ellsworth, who also referred himself to us, was baptized on Sunday. He is here just for the summer, in order to go to medical school. He said that throughout his life, he has always felt that the church is true, and he has always wanted to be a member of the church because they have the spirit with them more. That was one of the reasons that he decided to be baptized. Also, he is excited to go to the temple, and to be baptized for the dead.

Daphne wasn't able to come to church because of food poisoning. Darn.

We had yet another miracle this week as we were harvesting. We found a member who was baptized in Haiti, who didn't know where the church was here. He hadn't been to church in a long time, and he wanted to come. We're so grateful that God gave us the opportunity to see that miracle and to be able to direct him back to church.

I'm sad that I'm missing everything that is happening at home. Seeing everyone grow up, seeing the house be changed around, seeing all of my siblings continue to go to school. I miss all of you!

Thanks, I love you,

Elder Slade

New Mission President

Dear Friends and Family:

Well, this week we had a really great week. We achieved standards in almost every key indicator, which is something that I am very happy to report. We will continue to grow and to work hard, of course, and I can't wait to achieve standards in every key indicator.

One of the biggest blessings that God has given us this week was that Dylan Edrington was finally baptized! He has been wanting to be baptized for almost a month, and he finally was able to do it! Hooray!

One of the miracles we saw this week was that a guy named Matt Ellsworth referred himself to us on Mormon.org. He has been in and out of church for several years, and although he knows it is true, for some reason he has never been baptized before. So he already knows just about everything that we need to teach him, and he's very solidly preparing to be baptized this Sunday (the 6th)!

Something that I learned over the last 7-10 days is that the Gospel of Jesus Christ really does change people's hearts. One of our investigators was on the fence when we started to teach her, and over this time she has progressively become more solid and more willing to act with each visit. Her name is Daphne, and she is preparing to be baptized this Sunday as well.

We have a new mission president. President Anderson flew home on Friday; we'll be meeting President Richardson face to face tomorrow. These are the questions that I asked him, and I'm hoping he'll respond to:

- How long have you and Sister Richardson been married?

- How big is your family?

- Where have you lived?

- And who is your favorite Disney villain?

I'd also love it if all of you (friends and family) would respond to that last question, as I only know a few of them by name and I have no way of looking them up. Thanks!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Temple Trip!

Dear Friends and Family:

Hooray for a new brother! I love you, Nathan!

This week, on Friday, we were able to go to the temple for the first time since the MTC. I've included a picture of my zone and another zone, with President and Sister Anderson in the middle. This is President and Sister Anderson's last week in the mission; President and Sister Richardson are coming in later this week, and we'll see them for the first time next Tuesday. It was a really great experience in the temple, and I felt like my perspective on life and the meaning of the gospel changed significantly.

Elder Bailey and I are getting along pretty well. We both enjoy completely different things for the most part, but we both like to read. In missionary work, the biggest struggle we've found so far is finding a lot of people who want to hear our message, or who want a scripture read to them occasionally, but who don't want to do anything or to commit to being baptized. We've resolved to be more in line with our purpose when we teach, so that it is very clear to people what we expect from them. If they are willing to act, then we will work with them; and if not, then we can spend our time looking for other people to teach.

We have had such a good week in terms of numbers. We've found a large number of new investigators, and we've had a lot of lessons. We did not, however, get many people to come to church.

So for this next week, Dylan is finally going to be baptized. He's had some problems these last two weeks, because of opposition by members of the family and also because of the recent death of his great-grandpa (who happened to be a Mormon, who would have guessed). But he is still solid and is preparing for this weekend.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing as much as I should have been. I'll send off some letters today.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

So Many Miracles

Dear Friends and Family:

First of all, we are adopting our brother, Nathan, today! From today on, he will officially be Nathan Slade. I'm not yet sure when the plans are for the sealing. I love that guy!

We have seen so many miracles this week. First of all, we have had a nightmare trying to keep contact with Shelly S. and Claricia D., who were baptized this last Sunday. We kept trying to call or stop by, but they were never there, and we were worried that they might have found some anti material. But, we were finally able to meet with them on Saturday, and they are just as cool as ever. They were confirmed yesterday, they'll be coming teaching with us this week, and to top it all off, they're making griot for us tomorrow!

Dylan E.n is still very excited for his baptism, but a few things came up this week with his family, and so he wasn't able to come to church or be baptized. He still can't wait for next week, though.

Also, next week Linda H. will be baptized. She was a miracle, she came to church in the wrong ward, and the zone leaders passed her to us. She had been taught by some missionaries in the past, but she had not been ready at the time. Now she is ready, and she can't wait to be baptized on the 22nd.

I can't wait to come to the temple on Friday! It's been so long since I've been there, I've almost forgotten what it's like. :( But that doesn't matter, because I get to come this week! :)

President Anderson is leaving the mission in about two weeks, and then our new mission president, President Richardson, is coming in to take over. It's going to be a very odd couple of weeks, I don't know what to expect.

It's sad to hear that Sè Peggy Williams just died. She's been sending me letters, every few weeks, for a while. Thanks for telling me.

Also, Bishop Golly sounds like he's had a ton of injuries, all over the place, from the way you described him. Tell him I love him and am praying for him. :l

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Harvest Blessings

Dear friends and family:

It's been a great week for both of us! We've been able to improve in almost every key indicator this week from last week, with the exception of recent convert/less active lessons and new investigators. This week we're going to be focusing on improving our harvest blessings, so that they lead to more new investigators.

Our Sunday was one of the busiest Sundays of my mission, and my life. We had six investigators in Sacrament, two of which were baptized!

First of all, Shelly and Claricia, who we found on Wednesday of last week, were finally baptized. They are very excited to continue to come to church, and to learn and grow in the gospel. They will be receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost next Sunday. They only speak Haitian Creole, so I have been teaching them pretty much on my own, other than asking Elder Baily questions in English and then translating his responses.

Dylan is another one of our investigators, who's preparing to be baptized next week. The Delray South sisters met him last Saturday as they were doing a chapel tour. He had been watching BYUTV and the Sunday devotionals, and he really likes Thomas S. Monson, and so he showed up to the church looking for someone to talk to, and one of the first things he asked was "when can I get baptized?" The answer was the 15th, and that's what he's working for. We can't wait for him to get dunked this next Sunday!

Marie G. is a lady that was harvested by the Zone Leaders, and she lived in our area. She accepted baptism on the 15th, and she came to church yesterday. She only speaks Haitian Creole, but we'll help her get more support from the ward and she's also preparing to be baptized on the 15th.

Jarmel and Tamika are two people that we found on accident. It was a miracle that we found them, because we were trying to find someone else but we knocked on the wrong door. They accepted baptism, and they came to church for the first time yesterday. They are on date for next week, but they have to get married first, and so we'll be praying that we have a marriage on the 14th.

I had the opportunity to translate for an interview for the first time this week. It was an eye-opening experience to see how the interviews are conducted, and to see more clearly the repentance that goes into getting baptized. I was very glad to have that opportunity.

I'm also very excited to go to the temple for the first time since the MTC on the 20th!

Also, I can't wait for Nathan's baptism on the 16th! It will be a P-Day, so I'll certainly wear the adoption shirt. It's sad that Liv is going. :( I hope I'll get to meet her after my mission.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Adoption shirt

 Shelly & Claricia

Elder Bailey

Dear Friends and Family:

As you know, I stayed in Boynton Beach North. But you may not have known that Elder Van Wagenen was transfered to the Coconut Creek ward, and that my new companion is Elder Bailey. He's an english missionary, and he's really awesome from the few days we've had together so far.

Boynton Beach North is an all-bike area. However, Elder Bailey has been instructed by a doctor to stay off of a bike for the next two months. Is there a contradiction? No. Because, for at least the next two months, this area has a car! (With unlimited medical miles!) Hooray!

Elder Bailey is very tall. He is 6'7". He likes to play basketball, and he likes to read, and to exercise, and to be outside. He's not quite as happy as I am that he can't use a bike for a while. I'm just counting my many blessings. He's also a very hard worker, and a great teacher. We have seen so many miracles in these days that we have been together.

We are currently teaching some very awesome investigators. They are some of the most elect I have ever taught.

The two baptisms that are scheduled for this next Sunday are Shelly S. and Claricia D. They are two Haitian ladies who we found while we were harvesting on our first day together, after we got home from Wednesday's transfer meeting. They don't speak English, so as we went back to teach them I was the only one who could really participate in the lesson. They have been keeping every commitment that we have given them. Shelly, in particular, is always apologetic that she only read the assigned chapters once, and she has not yet reread them, so she says she still doesn't have a full understanding. But, she's the only investigator I've met so far who's had any idea what it is that she read, and who naturally applies it to herself. Claricia is less verbose, but she is just as excited about being baptized this Sunday.

We also found out that they know Boynton Beach Central's investigators who were just baptized yesterday. We're going to try to get them to come out teaching Shelly and Claricia with us.

There were so many other transfer day/transfer week miracles that we have seen. We've accidentally found the elect while we are going to teach a different investigator, we've taken out members to teach who, as it turns out, already knew and were friends with the investigators, we've seen our numbers for the week jump from almost 0 at the end of Wednesday to almost standards by the end... And now we have a car, so we can be even more effective with our time.

Last week, I forgot to mention: we found a less-active member by accident. It was a miracle that we did, he had moved without telling anyone where he was going. We were biking home for the night, and we stopped to give a guy a card. He told us that he used to go to our church, and over the next few minutes we found out that he was Michael LaForge, who was baptized over a year ago, and who had stopped going to church because he didn't have a ride.

Hurricane season started yesterday. I believe it'll last for about four months, until September.

Pray for Shelly and Claricia, so they will be able to be baptized this week; and pray for Jarmel, Tameka, and Myrlande, so that they will be able to be baptized the week after.

I love you all!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Transfer Week

Dear Friends and Family:

So, this week is transfers. The news: I'm staying in Boynyon Beach North, but Elder Van Wagenen is leaving. So tomorrow, we'll go to transfer meeting and we'll find out who my new companion is, and where Elder Van Wagenen is going.

One of the things that I've learned from Elder Van Wagenen is how possible it really is to have miracles, and to find and baptize weekly, sometimes many people a week. My time with him has really helped me to increase my vision and my desire to work, so I can see those miracles and those results.

This will be my fourth transfer in this area. I'm grateful that I've had all of this time to get used to using bikes. It's not too hard to get from one place to another anymore, but it's starting to get so hot that we have to plan in times and places that we can refill our water bottles throughout the day.

I'm nearing the end of Alma in my personal study. A few things I learned this week: by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Not just good things, but bad things as well. For example: the kingmen "desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered". It seems innocent and small, but what they really wanted was "that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land".

Similarly, as applied in missionary work, things that seem small and innocent can lead to large problems. Many investigators fail to progress because of a single "wind of doctrine"; or, they can gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and the restoration as they read in the Book of Mormon a little bit every day.

I can't wait for Nathan's adoption! And Liv's too, if it ends up happening.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Balo!

Dear Friends and Family:

We met a person who spoke Bengali this week. He taught us how to say "How are you?" and "Good". Good is "balo", with a very slight b sound, so it's more like "alo". And "How are you?" is pronounced "toumikomanatchè" - written phonetically the way I would have written it if it were a Haitian Creole word, because I'm not sure how to write it in Bengali.

Yesterday was Haitian Flag day! Woo hoo! Dizwit Me!

We are doing great down here in Boynton Beach North. One of our strengths this week was, again, our member work - getting members to come out with us, and teaching with them. But one thing we're going to try to be better about doing this week is pairing up the investigators to the members who will fit best with each other, so that they can make friends instead of just providing support. That is one of the reasons that we feel we have not had more people in sacrament this week and in the past.

This week, we had a miracle with a person named Jamesly Pierre. He is Ketty Pierre's brother, and thus is a member of the Petion family, if you remember who that is. It has really shown me how much the Spirit can change things when it is present.

Two days ago, we started a lesson with Jamesly. He made it clear from the beginning that he was atheist, and he had a hard time believing that God existed. But he also said that he wanted to keep an open mind about it, and so we decided to give it a shot. At the beginning of the lesson, he refused to say the prayer. But by the end, you could tell that he had felt the spirit. He said a prayer, and he committed to come to church the next day. In church, the spirit worked even harder on him. After sacrament meeting, we invited him to prepare to be baptized next week. Rather than saying no, he indicated that he wanted to wait a few weeks to make sure that he was ready. But the change between before the first lesson and after church was like night and day, and we had nothing to do with that.

I have noticed that I don't use the scriptures as much as I should while I am teaching. So a few weeks ago, I started to memorize a scripture a day, so that I can think back and remember them in the future when I need to use them. I have kept this up for about two weeks now, and I have a few more scriptures that I can use. I'll keep learning more, and using them in our lessons, and hopefully eventually I'll have the Book of Mormon memorized. (At the rate of one verse per day, I can do it in about 18 years. It's obviously a long term goal.)

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Great Week

Dear Friends and Family:

This week has been a great week for me and my companion. One of the biggest strengths that we feel we have had is our diligence, especially in member work. We have had many members come out teaching with us this week, and we went on two splits to get more work done with them. We're planning to keep that up, and to continue to get members to come out with us, and to continue to go on splits as many times as possible this next week. They can make half-days feel like full days, and full-days feel like day-and-a-half days.

For example, on Wednesday, we had splits. I went with Brother Milton to help a new family move into the ward (just a father, actually, but he speaks French so we can't wait to take him out with us!). My companion went with Brother Archie to teach some investigators. We had five lessons total that day, and all of them were amazing, spirit-filled and spirit-led lessons. This Wednesday may have been one of the best days on my mission so far, nothing really bad happened at all, and things just seemed to work out.

On Sunday, we skyped at a member's house, and we had a great time. It was really good to see you all, chè fanmi mwen an!

I can't wait for zone conference tomorrow, especially so that we can learn what we as a mission will be allowed to do in the temple. I can't wait to go back again, especially to the FFL temple, considering how much effort we have put in to get people to go there and to prepare for it.

Inspirational quote of the day:

"And now, is not this grievous to be borne? And is not this, our affliction, great? Now behold, how great reason we have to mourn.

"Yea, I say unto you, great are the reasons which we have to mourn; for behold how many of our brethren have been slain, and their blood has been spilt in vain" (Mosiah 7:13-14, Book of Mormon)

Starting about a week and a half ago, I have decided to memorize a scripture a day for the rest of my life. I've managed to do it every day so far. Wish me luck!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

P.S.: Transfers are not next week, they'll be the week after that. I got it wrong while I was skyping!

Kisa lamou ye? Bebe pa blese m! Pa blese m! Ankò!

Dear friends and family:

We will be able to Skype, but we have no idea at what time, so I'll just write down the skype account you want me to call. We were thinking we will call some time around 5:30 (our time), but we will call briefly earlier in the day to iron out the details.

We have had a great week! We're a little disappointed that we were not able to get any investigators in sacrament, but I can't say I'm surprised. The dedication of the temple was a worthy alternative.

Part way through the week, we found a really awesome family through harvesting. We met the father, and we asked him to leave a blessing on his home and family, and he agreed immediately. He and his wife and their six kids (except for one who was still returning from School) all lined up for the prayer. They told us that they had been praying for someone to come and bless their house. They had tried to get people from other churches to come and do it, but without any success. The family accepted baptism, church, and a return appointment.

It was a great miracle, one of the best highlights from this week. Unfortunately, we have been unable to meet with them again.

Going to the cultural celebration was another great event from this week. I am very grateful that we were able to go and to watch and participate. The online video doesn't show much of it, but every missionary in the mission was there, sitting all together. We came down in the second to last song and joined in for the third verse, then we helped sing the finale as well. It felt like a vacation, more than anything. We sat back and watched the show for the most part, and we had the opportunity to "socialize" and to talk with our previous companions for an hour or so before the show started. It was really fun!

But the best event was, of course, the dedication the next day. I was curious to see how they are done, and I feel like I learned a lot from the talks and from the experience as a whole. I especially loved the talk in the second session, by Elder Christofferson. He really laid a lot of things down in a way that helped me to understand the purpose of the temple, and our purpose in life.

Our area and companionship have several investigators who are progressing with a date. We will be focusing on them, and getting them to continue reading in the Book of Mormon, and to come to church. And of course we will keep up our efforts to find others.

Fact of the day: "Print Screen" does not capture the mouse cursor. For example, see the attached image.​

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Trust in His word

Dear friends and family:

"The Fort Lauderdale Temple dedication marks the first time that the Church is broadcasting a cultural celebration live and on the internet. This means that anyone with a computer or device with internet access can watch and enjoy the cultural celebration next Saturday. Make sure your families and investigators have an opportunity to watch it.

Next Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 7:00 pm EST (be thoughtful of the time difference), the cultural celebration will be broadcast live on the internet at:

www.lds.org/broadcasts/languages/florida-cultural-celebration/2014/04." (President Anderson)

"Mothers Day is in two weeks, Sunday, the 11th of May. You will have permission to call home that day with a 30 minute time limit. You may use Skype if it is not an inconvenience to members. [...] Please organize this appropriately with your family." (President Anderson) I have no idea what time we will be calling or skyping.

Elder Van Wagenen and I are very excited for the temple dedication and everything that will be happening in the near future! We have had a great week. We received many new great investigators, and we are very excited to keep teaching them and finding new people to teach.

Unfortunately, all of the people we are teaching didn't show up at church. It was very anticlimactic, considering that we were expecting 8+ people to come. But as it turns out, most of our investigators had good reasons they didn't come, so they're still cool, and they're still preparing to be baptized on the 18th. For example, Yoline (who we found on Wednesday, and who is very excited to read and to come to church) was kidnapped by her family the night before, because they didn't want her to come. There was a lot of miscommunication with other investigators as well. We'll make sure we do better in the future with getting everything prepared and cleared up long beforehand.

I have a hard time believing that we'll get a lot of investigators in sacrament meeting this week. The biggest reason I feel this way is that we won't even have church this week. We'll have the dedication!

This week, we had a pretty funny experience. It seems trivial, but you can learn an important lesson from it.

We talked with a person and asked him if he wanted us to come and leave a blessing in his home. He agreed, and he gave us the address. The apartment number was 2317. The next day, we went to building 2, floor 3, and we started walking down the hall. We got to rooms 2311 and 2312, and we could see already that there were only four doors left. There wouldn't be a 2317. But we kept walking, trusting that that the man wouldn't have given us an address that doesn't exist. As it turns out, that apartment building skipped #2313. So #2317 was the very last room. We entered and left the blessing, and he and his wife are preparing to be baptized.

I compared that to our faith in Jesus Christ. Even when we look forward and think that there's no possible way for things to work out, we just need to continue and trust in his word. If we had turned around when we realized that he had given us a "fake address", we would never have seen them again, and we would have missed out on blessings!

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Big Events

Dear Friends and Family:

This Saturday, we had the opportunity as a mission to hear from Elder Quentin L. Cook. It was a terrific mission conference. We came early and took pictures - that part was very hot and uncomfortable, but it was probably worth it anyway.

Big events happening in the near future:

- May 3: The cultural celebration for the temple

- May 4: The dedication for the temple; doctrinally, the chapels become part of the temple for the dedication, and the dedication service is broadcast to them in several sessions throughout the day. Therefore, no nonmembers can enter the church, and so we will not be able to get investigators in church on this day

- May 9: My birthday

- May 11: A huge pile of baptisms (two weeks worth in a single day); also, mother's day, which means I get to call home. I have no details on when, or how long, but I'm hoping they'll have us do it on a different day because Sundays are always, always busy

- May 18: Haitian Flag Day

- May 21: Paul's birthday

- May 28: Another transfer meeting, which means (most likely) another companion and (potentially) another area

We had a very great experience just yesterday, while we were harvesting. It was especially meaningful to me for various reasons. This is what happened:

We had just finished harvesting for the day, and were riding back to be picked up at our apartment by our members. We noticed a man sitting down, smoking a cigarette behind his car. We stopped and offered to leave a blessing with him. He seemed very depressed and down, but he agreed. When we asked what he would like us to include in the prayer, the only thing he wanted was for God to help him get rid of cigarettes in his life. It was my turn to say the prayer, but before I started, he said, "Thanks for being obedient." I was confused at what he meant by that, but I said the prayer, we recognized the spirit, and invited him to be baptized. He agreed to a date on the 11th (mother's day). Before we left, I asked him why he had said that before. He told me that we had been obedient to the spirit by coming to pray with him. He said that he believed that many times, the things we think we do by ourselves are actually prompted by the spirit, and we would not have stopped to pray with him if we hadn't been obedient and willing to listen.

We were not able to get any dates yesterday. Also, none of the people we found throughout the week came to church. We had a few miracle people come to church, but they disappeared halfway through and we were not able to talk to them. But we may still be able to contact them today or tomorrow, and we'll do our best to follow the spirit and help them have a desire to be baptized.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Staying!

Dear Friends and Family:

I'm staying with Elder Van Wagenen for a third transfer! This means that I will have had only two companions in about 7.5 months in-field, as compared with 4 companions in 7 weeks in the MTC.

Also, we just found out today, but we will have a surprise mission conference this Saturday. We will hear from Elder Quentin L. Cook, and we will see Bishop Gary E. Stevens, Elder Erich W. Kopischke, and Elder Stephen E. Thomson. It is going to be awesome!

We're very excited for all of the amazing things that will be happening in the next few weeks. First the mission conference this Saturday; then the cultural celebration and dedication on the 3rd and 4th of May; then my birthday and Mother's Day; and on and on. We're very excited to work and help many people come to church and prepare to be baptized, and we're planning to do our best and grow this transfer.

On Friday, we had an amazing experience. We left our apartment, a little disappointed because a member had cancelled on our temple trip later that evening. While biking to the area we were going to be working, we stopped to talk to a man who was walking to work. One of the first things he asked us was "can I go to your church?" As we continued to talk, he started to cry. He repeated several times, "I just want to go to church." He committed to be baptized on the 20th. We are not sure what happened exactly to him, but as far as we can tell there were several deaths in his immediate family. We changed our schedule and organized a church tour with him later that evening. At church, he prayed in the chapel for a while, and he said he felt safe. As it turns out, he doesn't live in our area, so we had to pass him, but it was still an amazing miracle that we found him.

We went on a split this Saturday. It was probably one of my most stressful days on my mission so far. The purpose of the split was so that one of us could go to the temple with some investigators while the other stayed home to prepare for Patchouco's baptism. After praying, we determined that I needed to stay home, while Elder Van Wagenen left for the temple. But after we had already left, we realized that I had forgotten to grab the keys to the church and the font from him. As the afternoon continued, more and more things blew up, and it was a miracle that Patchouco still had desires and was able to be baptized that night. The service was nearly an hour late, and it wasn't as smooth as it should have been, but I was still grateful for the learning experience, and that despite the problems the baptism still went forward. He was confirmed the next day and given the priesthood, so he can go on the ward's temple trip this Friday.

A nice video that you can all watch: http://www.mormon.org/becauseofhim.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Received Blessings

Dear Family and Friends:

It's interesting to look back on the week and discover that most of the blessings that we've received were indirect blessings, miracles that would never have happened if not for God guiding us to where we need to be. Most of the missionary work that we do happens despite our best efforts, rather than because of them.

One example this week was on Saturday. It was round up day, so we had a ton of people that we needed to see. After a dinner appointment, we rode up to Lake Worth. We were going to follow up with a lady named Mya that we had harvest blessed on the street the day before. We got to her house to find that nobody was home. Then the clouds that had been building stranded us at her house. There was massive thunder and lightning, and a very large quantity of rain. The storm interfered with our phone signal, so we could not call anyone to do missionary work that way. We did our best to stay dry on the porch while we waited for the lightning to stop.

Later, as the storm was clearing up a little, a car pulled up and a man got out. It was Carlos, Mya's sister. We said a prayer with him and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He accepted baptism, and we helped him call his boss and ask for work off the next day. It was a miracle that we found him, and it came because God was directing our path.

In the Book of Mormon, I have just finished reading Jacob and Enos. In reading Enos, one thing that stuck out to me was the fact that Enos's faith "began to be unshaken in the Lord". I tried to imagine faith that strong, where you don't have any doubts at all. This faith came to him after he received an answer to his prayers. I believe that that is one of the reasons that God commands us to pray, so that we can learn to trust and rely on Him, and so that we can build our faith the same way that Enos did.

I am extremely excited for General Conference; almost as excited as I am for the temple trip. For our vision in April, we are going to have a temple trip every week of the open house. (Our investigators at least, even if we don't go on each trip.) General Conference is going to be two of the busiest days of my mission/life. We have a baptism planned for Patchouko Metellus at 10:00AM on Sunday, before the session starts. I can't wait!!!

Fact of the day: Blue Bell Ice Cream is only $4.97 here. In Colorado, it was ~$7.50.

Fact of the latter-days: the Florida, Fort-Lauderdale temple open house opened two days ago! A man stood outside it, passing out anti material which was, frankly, ridiculous. It's odd to think that anyone believes it.

Random event from the past week: I taught the restoration to a random stranger in Wendy's, while I was waiting for my companion who was in the bathroom.

Have any of you ever heard of Publix? It's like a more expensive version of Wal Mart, but I'd never heard of it before coming to Florida.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Blessed

Dear friends and family:

Charles, Nislande, Erlanda, Ketty, and Lornise were all confirmed successfully this week. Brother Ramos confirmed Charles, but Elder Van Wagenen and I traded off for the other four. Also, Fadens and Stravensky were baptized. It was a good service; all of their baptized family members were there to support, but we were still unable to get their parents to come, because of work. It was another case where the parents were glad that it was happening, but they still don't realize how important it is enough to act and come to church and the baptism.

God has really blessed us these last few weeks. Before the Petion family, Ed, and Charles, I had only baptized one person in about three months (Lucy P., from when I was with Elder Winslow). I have been more than a little discouraged, especially in this mission where standards are to baptize two a month and we are encouraged to baptize weekly. I have been relieved to be baptizing again these last few weeks, but looking back there's nothing really that we did to have these baptisms. They are all miracles from God. We found them all miraculously, and most of them are the type of people who only had to be introduced to the church and invited to come. They would have done the rest themselves.

This transfer is going by really fast for me. There are only three weeks left. A few things that we are going to focus on for the rest of the transfer, and this week in particular, are:

Inviting people to the temple open house

Getting the parents from the Petion family to come to church and support their kids more

Learning to recognize the promptings of the Holy Ghost better

Finding!!! This has always been a weak point for me, and I would like to go to God and let him make it strong. Especially finding through members and recent converts, not just our own efforts

Elder Van Wagenen and I still get along great. We don't always agree on the best way to do missionary work, but we usually don't let that get in the way.

Fact of the day: everyone calls the Ward Coordination meeting "Correlation". There is no reason to do that. It is the wrong word. It means something completely different. Preach My Gospel never says "Correlation" at all. Nothing does. So why do we use that word? I don't know. Don't ask me.

I just realized I might not have ever told all of you: in this area, there is a member who is a franchiser for a bunch of McDonalds. He gives it to missionaries for free. It is really nice of him. Us missionaries are very grateful.

The Florida Fort Lauderdale Temple open house starts this Saturday, the 29th. It goes until the 19th of next month. Then, the cultural celebration will be on the 4th of May. The prophet will be attending. Then, the actual dedication will be on the 5th. It will be amazing. I can't wait.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

5 Baptisms!

Dear friends and family:

This week, Edwin K. was confirmed! It was a great blessing. Brother Yorke gave it. After sacrament meeting, Ed said that he felt happy. He has been very excited to be a member, and he has been telling people that he was LDS for several weeks now. I'm glad that he found the church and has finally received the gift of the Holy Ghost!

In other news, Charles was baptized! His Mom, Nardine, was able to get work off this one Sunday, to come to church for the first time in about 8 years, and to be there for his baptism. It was a temporary solution, and it won't work again for a while, but Nardine is upset that she isn't coming to church and she is trying to find a more permanent solution that will allow her to come every week. Charles, however, is very excited about his baptism yesterday, and he's excited to be confirmed next week as well. After he was baptized and changed back, he bore his testimony to the audience. It was a very powerful testimony.

More good news: Lornise, Nislade, Erlanda, and Ketty were baptized yesterday as well. They were happy to be baptized as well. We had the baptism in the evening, at 7, so that their parents and grandparents would be able to come. Disappointingly, none of the parents came at that time anyway, so there was no parental support at the baptism itself. They all want to be baptized, and they are happy that their children are making that step, but they have their priorities skewed a little. The four who were baptized are getting a lot of support from the young women in the ward, and we are going to put a large effort into raising the parents' desires as well.

We had a member referral this week, a woman named Kaitlyn. Brother and Sister Yorke tipped us off about her and told us that she was coming to church on Sunday. After sacrament meeting, we walked over to talk with her and asked about church. She enjoyed it. We asked her if she would be baptized next Sunday; she enthusiastically agreed. We'll be teaching her for the first time tonight, and we can't wait to see her.

This week, we again struggled with finding. We didn't neglect finding or harvesting, we just haven't been able to add to our teaching pool that much. But God has blessed us to find in other ways, and we will focus on finding this week so that we can continue to have a healthy teaching pool.

Fact of the day: Mozilla Firefox is better than Google Chrome, and especially Internet Explorer.

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Baptism

First of all, Edwin K. was baptized last night at 7:30. It was an amazing spiritual experience. All of the stress of the day just went away during the calm/contentment of the service. Ed was very happy to be baptized, and I know he's just as excited to keep going to church and to be confirmed and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost next week. (Brother Ramos has pictures, but he hasn't sent them to us yet so I can't send them to you.)

Charles was not baptized, because he missed his ride to church. It was unfortunate, but he and his mother came to the baptism for Ed, and they felt the spirit a lot. He was regretful that he could not be baptized at the same time, and he is on date for next week.

This week has been a good week. All weeks are good weeks as long as you are trying, I think. I still have to work on many things, as always, but one thing I realized is that God doesn't punish you for not doing enough. He always blesses you for what you do do, and I have received so many blessings on my mission. I can't wait to keep going!

That being said, one things that we needed to work on this week as a companionship was that we had very few new investigators. Our teaching pool is starting to stagnate. So that will be a much larger focus this week than it has been in the past. This week we've committed to 1. improve the quality of our harvest blessings, 2. make sure that we get one hour and three blessings each day, and to 3. follow up within 48 hours of the harvest blessing.

Elder McMullen (our district leader) came with me into my area for an exchange this week. The exchange was great. It helped me realize that plans are malleable, and they don't have to be followed just for the sake of following them. You can be more productive if you are flexible throughout the day.

I can't wait to meet Liv! I loved the picture of Nathan smiling with her. Also, one of you said that you would send pictures of Nathan playing in the snow, but I haven't received them yet. :l

Thanks,

Elder Slade

Our newest member, Edwin.

We all went into create breakfast on Saturday.