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

Apostasy starts in the sink!

Dear family,

Today starts week 6 of this transfer, and I feel like my time in Halls Lake might be dwindling. I will be very sad to leave, especially since there are still investigators like Bry and Gabriel that I would love to be able to help still. At the same time, it feels like it might be time to move forwards toward whatever else the Lord has in store for me. We'll see what happens next week!

I wanted to share an experience with you that I had this last Saturday morning. Sister Goode and I were staring down another very long day of tracting. We decided to kneel down and say a prayer to know which specific members we could go teach that morning. After we prayed and thought of the names, we made some calls and had appointments set up with two of the sisters in our ward. Basically we started by telling the sister that we were there to ask her for referrals so that she wouldn't be surprised. We then taught the restoration pamphlet lesson and afterwards had her say the prayer and sit quietly, the same way we do with investigators. Afterwards, instead of inviting her to be baptized, we asked for referrals. The first lesson went well, but it was when we went to the second members home that we had a truly amazing experience. Shanna had been reading the account of the first vision before we came, and as we talked the spirit was very strong. All three of us were in tears by the end, and after Shanna's prayer she had two names come to mind of people she felt would be good for us to visit. The first lesson went well, but I really believe that what made the second lesson so special was the fact that Shanna had prepared. Preparation is an eternal principle! The Lord knows He can trust us with spiritual experiences when we do the work that is necessary to prepare for them!

Love you all! I'm sending a giant hug your way!

Love, Sister Slade

P.S. In case any of you have trouble with dishes:

We were at volleyball and we asked Elder Rencher and Elder Caruso if elders ever fight over the dishes. Their response was that no, they don't, but they did have some very good advice for how to keep dishes under control. Elder Rencher started to explain how you have to empty the dishwasher right when it's finished so that dishes don't pile up, and Elder Caruso somewhat frantically exclaims, "Apostasy starts in the sink!" We now have an "Apostasy starts in the sink" sign hanging proudly in our kitchen :)

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

"Who am I to be so blessed and so loved?"

Dear family,

This week I want to tell you just how grateful I am to have a Savior who loves me dearly. I feel like I don't have the words to describe what I have felt this week through my personal studies and as I have pondered on the Saviors atonement. I love those moments in our lives when we experience such overwhelming joy that we can't help but think, "Who am I to be so blessed and so loved? I didn't realize that it was possible for me to feel such an incredible amount of joy." I had several of those moments in sacrament meeting, with investigators, and during my studies this week. Sometimes in these moments there are no words, and you can't help but just weep. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and He is your Savior. I know that it is only through Jesus Christ that we can find lasting peace and hope. I know that He loves us. He loves us when we feel that we don't deserve to be loved. He doesn't need a reason to love us, and we don't need to earn His love, He simply loves. I know that when Mary Magdalene went to visit the tomb, it was empty. I cannot think of a moment in history more beautiful than this. This week I want to invite you to study the Savior's atonement, and think about and my favorite line from Preach My Gospel:  "As your understanding of the atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase." (PMG pg 2). I promise that simply setting aside time to study the atonement will be a very special experience and you will feel an overwhelming love from the Savior that will fill your life! I would love to hear some of your thoughts and experiences!

We had lots of fun activities this week that we were able to use to help investigators develop greater friendships in the ward and develop greater trust with the ward members. We had a campfire/BBQ at the beach on Saturday. Going to the beach in Washington is not like going to the beach in California, in case you were wondering. It's freezing. We watched Michael get pooped on by a Seagull, and one of the elders investigators decided to go for a swim. That was entertaining. Shout out to Aunt Jeanna and Aunt Tiffany- they just opened a Cafe Rio in our area! A member took us a few days ago, and it wasn't quite as good as Chipotle (Also in our area :)) but it was definitely a fun time! I'm pretty sure all the Mormons in Washington flocked to Cafe Rio that first week. Sister Goode and I decided to color Easter eggs one night this week and personalize them for each member of our district. For example, we colored Elder Oliphant's egg blue and wrote "We believe in being honest, true, chased by an Oliphant..." We made a sunset egg for SIster Millett since she is always so bright and happy. I colored Elder Rencher's egg yellow then dipped the top in Orange and drew a face with glasses on it and called it the "Ginger Egg." (Shout out to Garett. :)) We also decided to buy cheap plastic eggs and chocolate and hand them out when we contacted at the college. On the eggs we wrote things like "Mormon.org- come on, we gave you chocolate!" and "Mormon.org- make a Mormon smile!" It's amazing how the little things and being sure to have fun can make life so much more enjoyable!

Oh! So this is crazy! This week we found out that Melissa got married!! The week after her baptism we were a little bit concerned because we couldn't contact her and we weren't sure what happened. Turns out she was on her honeymoon. She and her boyfriend Randy, who we thought weren't getting married for quite a while, decided to get married on April Fools Day- 3 days after Melissa's baptism. That's Melissa for ya! We're really happy for them. They are very firm in their goal to be able to get married in the temple a year from now and they are happy as can be, although sad that they will have to leave the YSA ward. Less than 6 months to go before the sealing of Darlene and Everett, and just over 6 months for Bennett and Verna!!

Well, I love all of you! (Bunches and bunches.)

Love, Sister Slade

Punny Names & Matchmakers

Hey family!

The last two weeks have been weeks of growth and I am learning more and more that my mission is about me. It's about serving others, of course, but it's also about me. The atonement is for my investigators, but it is also for me. The Lord cares for each person that we talk to individually, but He also cares for me.

We were blessed this week with a new investigator named Carla who was passed off to us by some of the other sisters. Carla is 29. She spent 7 years in Afghanistan, and as a result has dealt from severe PTSD the last few years. She thinks that the missionaries coming to help her was a sign from God. She has loved coming to General Conference and church. Every time she comes and feels the spirit she sits there and just cries. She needs this gospel so badly, and we are so excited to teach her!

Our investigators are really struggling, so please keep them in your prayers! It seems that we have been blessed to find so many people since coming to Halls Lake that have felt the spirit and begun to receive witnesses for themselves that this gospel is true, but the adversary works so so hard, and an investigator never gets all the way to baptism without all kinds of of adversity. Almost all of our investigators are dealing with drug addictions, guilt, anti from family, fear of commitment, and just about everything else you can think of. In particular, please pray for Gabriel, Bry, and Anthony.

This week in my study I have become fascinated with looking up scriptures in the Topical Guide that include the word "rejoice" or other similar words and phrases. It is amazing to be able to put things in the perspective of our Heavenly Father and really be able to feel the love that He has for us, even when the natural man in us is having a hard time remembering that love. We truly do have every reason to rejoice!!!!

love ya!

Sister Slade

P.S. Definitely the funniest moment of the week:

1. Elder Caruso and Elder Rencher think it's funny to pun our names. (Sister Knoblaugh accidentally printed my name as Sister "Shade" when I gave one of the talks for Melissa's baptism, so I'm Sister Shade. Or Sister Sledge. :) ) Some of the best have been "I Nephi, being born of Goodely parents..." and "Wow this situation is pretty Shady. It's not very Goode." The following conversation was particularly amusing:

Elder Rencher: Hey, you can't use Michael as your fellowshipper, we already called him, he's ours!

Sister Slade: Sorry, that wasn't very Goode of us, was it?

Elder Rencher: Yeah that's pretty Shady.

Sister Goode: Be careful, we might Rench your investigators out from under you

Elder Caruso: Well we'll just Caruso them right back in...

Also, apparently one of our investigators started dating one of the Elder's investigators this week. Then a few days later the Assistant Ward Mission Leader (Or is it the Assistant TO the Ward Mission Leader? You're welcome, Paul.) wrote a poem and asked one of our other investigators if she would go with him to the regional dance. Basically our calling is to be matchmakers. Gotta love Halls Lake!

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