Landmarks and Landmines

It was a great last week in Fort Ord Ward. It’s really sad to leave it behind, but bigger and better things are in store. It’s been a week full of strange false leads, skunks, fried Raccoon, and unexpected accomplishment. 

Spiritual: It’s interesting to be a missionary and be able to chart your progression in an area. Most of the learning and growing that takes place on a mission is a very spiritual change and is not able to see with the outward eye. Occasionally though you are able to find a landmark where you can judge your progress and see how far you have come and be able to see that you have grown. I have had a few landmarks come my way this week. The first was a very physical land mark. The first day in Fort Ord we biked from seaside to fort ord. to get to the housing you have to climb a really big hill. It might not be huge to other people but this was a big hill to me. When I first came here it was one of those throw the bike into 1-1 gear and start trucken. This past week I threw the bike into 3-5 and flew up that hill. Another landmark for me was standing up to bear my testimony to the ward for fast and testimony meeting. The first time I bore my testimony I remember looking into the congregation and not knowing anyone and being a little freaked out by the intense military faces that I saw there. Sunday I looked down and saw family and friends that I have grown to love sitting there. It was also really funny to walk down the row and get a fist bump from one of the members. Yeah! It has been a good time of spiritual development to interact with such amazing members and to hear their stories and their experiences. Another landmark that I observed was last night when I went to the outgoing fireside and saw my good friend Elder Fisher who was giving his final testimony before he went home. What an experience it was to remember the interaction that I had with him and how our relationship has grown. It was very special to me. In all of these landmarks of progress it’s very easy for me to say that I was the one who grew in strength, in social prowess, and in spiritual strength. It would be very simple for me to dismiss my growth as a result of circumstance or a product of environment, but I know better than that. True spiritual, physical, mental and social growth comes from the master gardener. The one who has the power to truly change our desires and our hearts. I know that the progress that I Have made is due to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He lives! He has the power to change us and to help us grow. He is my king and I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice and his everlasting Love. 

Funny: Our solid awesome investigator Beth went to the hospital this week due to a potassium deficiency. It gave the ward an excellent opportunity for service and it was really neat to go visit her and share a lot about what the gospel and the church provides. She had somehow smuggled her dog into the hospital with her and because she had not been able to leave the room the small little yorkie named peanuts was getting a little spot of cabin fever and a full bladder. She asked us to take the dog for a walk. We said yes and went out to walk the dog. We rounded the first two corners and then the dog does the dirty. That little ball of fluff runs over to a carpeted waiting room and sits down and does her business right there in the middle of the hospital. Thank goodness it was only urine. That little menace finished up while all sorts of people were walking by and chuckling to themselves. Awwww man! Seriously Little dog??? I was not a happy missionary. It was really funny though. We went to the bathroom and got some paper towels and cleaned it up. That little dog though knew that it had done the dirty deed and was scared for its life. It was shaking and was absolutely terrified. We ended up walking it around a little bit more and a few people actually requested to see the dog in their rooms so it turned into a missionary tool but it came with a price. 

Where I am at: I am leaving Fort Ord ward. It’s a sad day but I know that it’s on to bigger and better things. We avoided getting sprayed by skunks again this week and we are very excited to see the progress that our investigators are making. It’s absolutely killing me to leave these people that I love, but that is what is required. I will be sure and fill you in on the new adventures that await in the land of California. I love you all! 

Yo ho yo ho a missionary life for me

It was another good week here in Fort Ord. The fast is still going strong and the miracles are still flowing like dead whale juice on the beach. (True story!) Things are progressing really well here and we are pleased at the progress that our investigators are making. It’s amazing to be here at a time when the work is progressing so well. I am really happy here! I have fallen in love with the military culture and the pace of the military life. I really love Fort Ord Ward! 

Spiritual: There were so many spiritual experiences that happened this past week. It’s been really amazing to be a part of this great experience. When I was on exchanges with Elder Jackson, we met a man by the name of Terry. He was a super good guy and we found out later that his daughter had met with the sisters before. Terry is about 45 and a very humble man. He is African American and is very smart. He works at a hospital and is a God fearing man. He has read the bible 14 times. When we met him he told us that he wanted to take us out to lunch. After being on my mission for a while, I have gotten maybe a little judgmental about people who have read the bible 14 times taking us out to lunch. That sends off the "bible basher" alarm bells inside my head. We couldn't refuse him so a few days later he told us to meet at his house and we were going to go out to lunch. Elder Barney and I were a little apprehensive about this particular appointment. Beforehand we prayed that we would know what to say to help him and that this appointment would go according to Gods will. When we went to lunch it was a totally different experience than we had expected. He sat us down and asked what we believed in. I handed him an articles of faith card and held my breath. He read it. Thought about it. Then turned to us and told us that due to the first thing on the card, We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost, that we were Christian brothers and then the meeting turned around. He is such a humble man! He felt like his life was good. He had nothing going wrong for him in his life yet he chose to turn to the bible because he knew he should be doing better. Ever since he has had so many blessings come into his life because of that. Terry is a good example of being humble before God and changing your life on your own accord rather than being humbled and being changed. The meeting ended with us bearing our testimony about how our faith in Jesus Christ has blessed our lives and him bearing his witness of the same. We did end up leaving him with a commitment to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it’s the word of God. It was a humbling experience. A happy experience to know that there are still educated men about the word of God who are still humble and willing to learn. There is still good in the world! 

Funny: Talk like a pirate day was this Friday and Elder Barney and I had a great time talking with each other in our pirate phraseology. It was really fun because we had a lesson with an investigator who was a part member family that we have been working with for the entire time I have been here. We finally committed him to baptism and he was expressing his concern that he had a really bad problem with swearing. What was our solution? Replace swear words with pirate words. Just as many consonants to make it sound angry, but nothing really serious. Teach according to their needs! I was a little sad that he was in the air force and not the navy though. That would have been much better. 

Where I am at: This particular area pulls at my heart like nothing I have ever experienced before. It’s a totally new experience to be a missionary dressed in a white shirt and tie and board shorts standing on the beach with the sound of waves in the distance watching as the group next to you lights off about thirty Japanese lanterns and lets them go Tangled style. Surrounded by the people you have seriously grown to love and just as happy as a clam. It’s truly spectacular. I Love this area! So in other words the beach bonfire went really well! The members are starting to catch the vision and brought a few nonmember families as well! Yay! The theme of this ward is fliers and activities. That’s the key to Fort Ord. It feels good to have been in an area where you have figured some of the bigger things out like that. I love this area. This is the last week of the transfer and there is a good possibility that I could be transferred. Oh just break my heart and my leg and throw me in a ditch. That’s kinda the feeling. I am doing really well and things are going great here. I love you all

Blessings on the HILL OF DEATH

Okay. Yalll need to listen up. Fasting works. It’s really powerful. Especially when you have a large group of people fast. It’s crazy! I never expected or could imagine so many miracles happening here in The Fort but due to this fast things are really picking up. Just a heads up this will probably be my last transfer in Fort Ord. I am up for a transfer in about two weeks. Its normally four transfers an area. Things could change, but that is the most likely route. Things are going really well here and I am excited that the work is picking up. It’s really cool. We are having another beach bonfire this Saturday and this time we are inviting everyone we know. We have 35 families on our list of people to contact and invite. It should be huge!

Spiritual: One of the biggest miracles we saw this week while we were fasting was a man named Joseph. We had met him before and actually street contacted him. He lived in Marina so we gave him to them as a referral. We met him again this week on the street. He was pretty down about life. His really nice bike had just been stolen and he was pretty mad. We talked a little then asked if we could pray with him about it. We did and then had to leave. We were able to meet up with him this Thursday and while talking to him he told us about how after we had prayed a little later he had gotten a call from the Santa Cruz police informing him that a backpack that he had lost a little while ago had turned up. He was in tune enough to see that the Lord had given him a small little blessing letting him know that He was there. It was incredible. Joseph ended up coming to church and tonight we are going to have FHE with him and challenge him to baptism. Joseph is interesting. He is 23 and has been in all sorts of yucky situations. He is a military brat and has moved around a ton. He had been all over the country and had done a lot of drugs and had a lot of bad experiences. He told us that he was really seeking for the Spirit in his life. At church he made the comment that the things that we talked about (FHE, families, and service) were all things that made him happy just in a way that his natural self didn’t like. What an amazing man to recognize this. I honestly don’t think we know quite what we have. We can’t understand how powerful this gospel is to change us or how powerful the spirit is that permeates our meetings. I am seeing that more and more and my gratitude is growing for this chance to see how meaningful this is to us. I believe that the trick is to let this spirit permeate us and change us. It’s really hard to do, but the spirit is there and no matter who we are Heavenly Father wants us to change. 

Funny: This last Thursday we were doing a lot of service. Helping someone move, then building some planter boxes for an investigator. We went to dinner and changed into our proselyting clothes. We put our service clothes in our bags and headed off to our next appointment. This appointment was scheduled to begin at 8:00. There is the HILL OF DEATH that goes up to this appointment and we had already ridden it once that day. I thought it would be really smart to not go up the mongo hill and go through the golf course that had a much more gentle climb. We had never been through the golf course before and the only light we had was my dinky little light that you couldn’t see 5 feet in front of you. So we went for it. It was a good ride with lots of turns and fun stretches. we only went through a couple of sprinklers, and at the end of the ride we had a crazy part down this big sand hill and through the woods but finally when we came out we were at our investigators house on time and all was well. Until I looked in my bag and realized that I had two shoes when we started this ride and now I had but one little sad shoe. That was not good. We borrowed a flashlight from our investigators and took off again. I was riding a fair distance behind my companion looking for the shoe when up ahead I heard him scream stop short and then laugh. I thought it was strange but at that time I found my shoe and picked it up. Yay! I rode over to my companion and he had a strange look of disappointment and relief on his face. Yes. He had seen a skunk when he rode by with its tail up in the sky. He was not sprayed and neither was I so all was well. We decided to forgo another skunk run in and go up the hill this time. As we were rounding the corner by their house the skunk popped out of the bushes again and proceeded to prance across the road with its tail waving high. Again the protection of the Lord was upon us and we were saved. Yay! The Lord has a way of protecting his missionaries. From skunks and blessing them with lost shoes.  

Where I am at: I keep saying that miracles are happening! I am so happy to be here when the work is going forward. I think it’s so amazing! It’s so interesting to be here at this time in our countries history. I love this work. I thank God every day for this chance to be here doing this work. I am so eternally happy to see people come closer to Christ. It’s great. Thanks for all of your support and love. I love you all!

Pat a cat pat a cat

Hi! This marked another great week in the field. This ward fast is really moving the work forward. It’s amazing to see the miracles that happen with fasting. It gets me every time.

Spiritual: Why is the Gospel even important? Today shall I answer that grand question with a story. Yesterday we were with a member and were trying to go visit a potential investigator. This man had told us a little bit about himself and told us his situation. His name is Rene and he has a daughter that has cancer. He works two jobs and is stressed out of his mind. He is a hardworking man and has a desire to learn about God. We went over to go see him and he wasn’t home. Even though we had set an appointment. (this is not uncommon.) Oh well! His daughter answered the door and started to talk to us. This was Shaylee his daughter who has cancer. When we talked to her we found out more of her story and what had happened. Her life was going great. She placed high in the Jr. Olympics and was pursuing a path to go to the actual Olympics, she was the lead scorer on her high school soccer team and had high hopes for that and all of the sudden she developed brain cancer and it was gone in an instant. She is now confined to a wheelchair and is not very happy with life. She felt like it was God who took her dreams and hopes away and now she is really upset at the way her life has gone and the events that have led to her being where she is. When we talked to her it just broke my heart. She was so upset at where she was that there was no hope in her heart. I was really concerned about how to help her. I realized that what the gospel gives us and why it’s so important is because it gives us opportunity for a change in perception. When we have hope in the resurrection and we have faith that Jesus Christ really did what he said that He did, we can look forward and be happy. We can turn our trials into opportunities to help others. Living the Gospel does not entitle you to be completely free of opposition or pain, but it does entitle you to change your perception and your reaction to live a life of service and help to the people around you. This is not something we can really go over and say to Shalee right now, she has some other issues that we need to help her with before that time but we are going to work with her and help her on her path to knowing God. I love this gospel. I love the Savior. I am so happy that I have the ability and the hope to change my perception of tragedy into a mindset of service, humility and love for others. I know that Heavenly Father did not send us here to fail. He sent us here on earth to live so that we can grow. I love this and I know this. 

Funny: In missionary work it really is helpful to pay attention to the person you are talking to. This will help you know their needs and learn how to help them. It is also crucial for you to pay attention to their surroundings. Both are essential for good missionary work. We were street contacting and we met a lady who was holding a cat. I stopped and asked if I could pet the cat. She was a really sweet lady and that was a really fluffy cat. I walked over and gave the cat the old scratch behind the ears. The cat was a little freaked out but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought it was normal. I am a scary tall guy with a bike helmet on and a machine of death with two wheels next to me. I kept talking to the lady and for some reason she kept backing away from me while holding the cat. I would come closer and she would go farther away. Eventually she said that she really had to go because the cat was done. I tried to talk to her but she just started to walk away. That was really strange because for the most part people that will talk to us and we get that far with will stay and listen to the whole thing. It was odd. I asked Elder Barney what his thoughts were about it and he said "Didn’t you see the cat?" Silly Elder Barney. I saw the cat and I even played Pat the Cat. He told me that when I had patted  said cat that the cat didn’t like Elder Black. It had its claws out and was clinging to this lady very tightly. Whenever I got closer it would get more and more freaked out and would scratch the lady even more vigorously than before. I was probably not very good that every time she would back away I would take a step closer. Oh dear. I felt bad about that. I did learn a very important lesson about observing the situation that people are it. 

Where I am at: This ward fast is awesome. We have met someone every day that we think has some solid potential. It’s super cool! Strangely though every time we meet someone it’s after we have a huge long bike ride to the top of our area and are completely out of breath. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven! We have Zone Training Meeting on Friday and we are really excited about it. Our theme is going to be based on Ether 2 and how the Lord answers prayers. I am doing great and loving this work! I love love love the Fort Ord Ward! This is awesome. I love the stories and the strength of the members. Things are going well! I love you all! 

Miracles and Crazies

Things have picked up this week. Sometimes it’s really fun to be in-between the trials for the blessings when you are totally focused on the blessings and workings of the Lord and sometimes it’s just annoying, haha. The blessings came this week with a new investigator and like five new families in the ward who are super solid and look like good missionaries. It’s pretty fun to be in a ward with such large turnover. I love this ward! Good heavens, it’s really won my heart to see all of the strong men and women who are devoted to the gospel. It’s really crazy to be coming up on my year mark. That is just plain scary. It doesn’t feel like that long at all! When I look back it kinda does though. I have really really enjoyed this past year and am so so so excited to have another full year to serve my God. I delight in this missionary work and I delight in my God. I love this work and the spirit that is felt with it. I love my mission! 

Spiritual: The miracle of the week was not due to our finding efforts at all! Good old Dhani pulling in for a win! He was home teaching with another member of the bishopric and had finished a little early when he noticed a lady who was taking something off of the back of her car. He told the bishopric member to pull over and he got out and gave her a hand. (Btw, if you are a home teacher this is the kind of home teaching that you really should be doing. Super cool.) In the process they got to know each other and they took her contact info. She later related the story to us about how a few days later she knew that the church gives people blessings and she really needed a blessing but she didn’t have the bishopric member’s number. So she took matters into her own hands. Long story short she showed up at his home Monday night and asked him for a blessing. Needless to say we went by later that week with Dhani and met her. It was so cool. She was a life flight nurse and a strong willed woman who has been through some incredible experiences. It was really neat to get to know her. Despite many health issues she was able to come to church. The lesson in Gospel Principles was on service and she had a lot to say. It was so incredible! At the end of the lesson there were tears rolling down her face as she bore testimony on the power and impact that service has on people. She talked about Dhani and about the power of the blessing she received and it was incredible. Everyone in the room felt the Spirit and it was perfect. We are doing service for her tonight. It was really hard for her to ask for service because she is so independent and there were tears in her eyes when she asked for some help. The humility expressed when she asked for service and the initiative required to seek help from the Lord through a blessing are fruits that she is willing to come closer to Jesus Christ. It’s amazing both how prepared she is and how just a small act of service while home teaching can make such a large impact in her life. Yes, we might offer to help 100 times and have absolute total rejection. But what if the 101st time we ask if we can help they respond yes and it changes their life. Charity is the pure love of Christ and it will never fail. I am so certain that we come closer to Jesus Christ through service. I know that this is how we show our love for the Lord and for our fellow men. Small acts of service do make a difference! Look for a small way that you can do service today. 

Funny: Street contacting is so much fun. Last night we stumbled upon a four foot tall Vietnamese woman, earlier that day we met an old Southern Baptist man named Garfield, and a woman who spoke in tongues. I love it! It’s really quite entertaining to meet some of these people. The woman who spoke in tongues was a little crazy. We were talking to her husband and he had read the Book of Mormon and believed it! He had even told the people in his church all about it and tried to get them to read it! They were not happy with him. We met his daughter and were talking to her when he came out and told us that story. He asked for a copy so we gave it to him. He told us that his wife didn’t like him reading it. That was the first key that something was off. We were talking to him a little bit more than his wife in plain pajamas and hair all over the place came running out and grabbed the Book of Mormon gave it back to us and then started yelling at us in this crazy demonic language. We hopped on our bikes and got out of there! He will join the church someday but that was not the day. It told me how important it is to marry the right person. 

Where I am at: Things here in Fort Ord Ward are going great. The minor exodus has taken place so there are a bunch of new families in the ward and they look like great missionaries. It’s going to be really fun to get to know more people. In church it was so crazy that I probably didn’t know 1/3 of the people there! There were so many visitors and new people that came. Interviews with president are this Tuesday. I am really excited. It’s almost my year mark. Wow. How time flies! I feel like I have changed a ton. Really grown up in ways that are not really easily visible. I know more than ever that God loves us. Jesus Christ is His Son and performed the Atonement completely and totally. The Restoration is real. The church is restored! It’s true and it makes me so happy. I love you all!