Transfer 12 Week 1

This week has been great!

The final days in Chilton this past week were spent mostly cleaning and packing up the apartment for the move.

Wednesday I got with Elder LaRose. We do a lot of Hmong work, which I can't really participate in, I just stand there and look good while he does all the talking and teaching.


We've been preparing for a Baptism that we have this Saturday. Jasmine is an 18 year old girl that never got baptized in her family. Shes so awesome! She's a little handicapped but is super excited for her baptism this Saturday. We've had lots of good, fun moments happen this past week and it has been great.


We werent able to make it out to Chilton to see any of the investigators there because we have mileage restrictions but we should be able to do that soon due to the new month. Sorry for the shorter letter. Just know everything is great! Having lots of fun and getting lots of work done. Couldn't be better. I'll get in more detail and what not next week when I don't forget my notes.. I love and miss you all!

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 11 Week 6

Soo some big news I guess.. The Chilton area is closing down due to 0 missionaries coming out and like 8 missionaries going home. We received a call on Friday from the Mission Office telling us to pack up our whole apartment into boxes and to deep clean it. We found out today that Elder Amann and I are both leaving, I will be going to Manotowoc/Two Rivers Hmong area. (President would like us to do Hmong and English work) I'll be serving with Elder LaRose. I've been on plenty of exchanges to this area and with Elder LaRose, so I'm pretty excited. Elder LaRose is awesome and the Area is great. I'm not 100% sure at the moment, but I'm pretty sure we will still cover Chilton's Investigators as well.. So were just going to have to drive a little while to keep teaching Vince and others. 

 

This last week in Chilton has been slower than usual.. To start it off, we had District meeting in Manotowoc and then afterwards we had exchanges. I was with Elder LaRose in Two Rivers.. haha (little did I know that was my new area and comp..) But it was a really good exchange. We were able to teach and find some Hmong people and even some English people. After the exchange we helped out the Abendroths with some yard work and gardening back in Chilton.

 

We saw Granny on Thursday, Elder Amann was sick, but pushed through it for the most part. We had a pretty busy day with planning, and Helping out Byron Hacker, a former investigator with carrying a truck load of flowers into a building for a sale on Saturday. Friday, we were going to help out Granny again but Elder Amann wasn't feeling well, so we stayed in for the morning and then helped out Brother Reichwaldt with some screen windows. (Looking back, we did a lot of service this week.. everyone was asking us to help out haha) After Brother Reichwaldt we helped out at the care center, then had an awesome lesson with Johns friend Jens. We taught him the Restoration and it was pretty cool because John was testifying of the Book of Mormon to his friend.. It was hard to say goodbye to John but it was pretty cool that he referred us to Jens before he left.

 

Friday night we left to Green Bay for a Blitz with the Zone Leaders on Saturday. By this time, I wasn't feeling too well.. I caught whatever Elder Amann had.. Anyways, I was with Elder McDermott and all we did all day was help one of the members in their ward with Roofing. I got pretty sunburnt.. It was fun though. I wasn't wearing the right shoes so it was pretty scary at times.. hahah The roofing took most of the exchange and then we had dinner at a members home there and played some football. It was pretty cool. 

 

Sunday, we were back in Chilton for church. When the members found out we were both leaving and most likely wouldn't get missionaries back, they through us a surprise pot luck! They told us to come to the church at 6 and we had an awesome pot luck with a lot of the members! It was pretty awesome. We also had a lesson with Vince last night to say goodbye.. I'll miss a lot of people here.. It stinks that I'm getting cut short on time here, but I look forward to serving in Manotowoc. 

 

 

Anyways, hopefully this letter makes sense.. Hope you all have a good week! 

 

Elder Stevens. 

 

Pics are of the Pot Luck and Vince

Transfer 11 Week 5

This week was really good. 

We were able to see Granny and help her out by cleaning some horse stalls.. We had gloves on this time so that was a big difference.. Our hands didn't smell like horse urine for like 4 days.. hahah We talked about living in the world but not of the world with her because she wanted to show us that native american poem that talked about 2 Worlds. One of spirit, one of physical. It was interesting. 

We had interviews with President Cutler on Thursday. This was our last interview with President Cutler as were getting a new Mission President at the end of next transfer. He told us about President Williams and how we would all like  him and he will do this mission lots of good, and then went on to say that were stuck with him for the next 6 weeks however.. haha Its always great to have interviews. After Interviews we did some work in Two Rivers to help find people. We knocked on this door, an older guy came to the door and said he didn't have much time to help out with the survey we were doing, so as we were saying goodbye, I had noticed that he had a Korean war veteran sticker on his car, so I asked him if he had served, and thanked him for his service. He thanked me for thanking him and started talking about his life.. Before, during and after the war. It was quite interesting actually. He talked about how after the war he got really into sports and he went on to do some really great things! He invited us in to see all of his trophies. He had hundreds, maybe even thousands of Trophies, Ribbons, and pins for sports such as Curling, Horse Racing, Golf and any sport you can think of he said. He had gone to the Olympics for curling and horse racing, or something of the sort.. It was pretty awesome! We shared with him the First Vision and he thought it was pretty interesting so he told us we could come back and share more with him at a later date. It's pretty funny/cool how he went from having no time, to entertaining us for about an hour and a half, off of one comment about him serving in Korea. His name is Mikey. 

Saturday was my Birthday, I'm 20 now, which is pretty cool I guess.. hahah no longer a "teenager" :P We started out the day by playing basketball and ultimate frisbee with some of the members. That was fun, later in the day we had a dinner appointment with the Guest family. They were a little upset that  didn't tell them before hand that it was my birthday. They emphasized that we are family and we should of told them! So they're actually having us over again tonight to have cake and ice cream.. hahah They're super nice. We had a lesson with Chris and Cheyenne in the Walker's home. Chris is a Non member son of the Walkers and Cheyenne is his girlfriend. We started teaching them the lessons. At the moment, they're kind of being forced to take the lessons by their mother, but Cheyenne shows some interest.. They came to church on Sunday. I think they enjoyed it. Anyways, the lesson went super good, We taught the Plan of Salvation and some of the Walkers, less active kids were there and participating. It went well. After the lesson they gave me a cake to take home as well because they found out it was my birthday.. ahah Super nice.

Sister Reichwaldt gave me some cookies (best cookies ever), some special chocolate milk and some fancy colorful socks. I got a letter from Merlin in Beaver Dam with a nice pen in it, and I also got a package from my parents which was awesome. Overall it was a great birthday! So thanks to everyone. 

McKay and John

Sunday, we had a Potluck after church and we were able to see Vince and John. With all the stuff that has been going on with John, he is going to be moving down with his brother in Iowa. I'ts pretty sad that we won't be able to teach him anymore.. He agreed to letting the missionaries come by down in Iowa. He'll continue to take the lessons and I know he'll eventually be baptized.. It sucks it won't be here and now though.. Vince is doing pretty good. He had a friend over during our visit and we taught the Restoration to her. It was a really good refresher for Vince and they both had a lot of questions. It was overall really good for both of them.

Anyways it was a good week! Hope you all have a good one, I love and Miss you all!

Elder Stevens

Pic is of John and I.

Transfer 11 Week 4

This week was good! We started it off by going to Manitowoc for Pday to spend it with the Hmong elders. We were able to do some finding Monday night in two rivers and the first door we knocked, we met Tiffany. Tiffany had taken the lessons 14 years ago when she was a teen in Racine WI. She remembers a Sister Young who really made an impact on her. She has 4 kids now and wants the best for them. She was brought to tears when she found out who we were and that she would have the opportunity for her and and children to be taught. She's now being taught by the two rivers elders. 

 

We had District Meeting on Tuesday and then I stayed in Two Rivers for exchanges with Elder Lewis. We were able to find a few hmong people for them to teach. I wasn't able to help out too much though because of the language barrier.. haha

 

On Wednesday, when I was back with Elder Amann in Chilton, we were able to find this guy named Tony. Tony was super sincere and when we told him that Christ Literally ministered to the people in America as he did in Jerusalem, he was literally soo excited. He was like No wayy! Thats soo awesome! He took the Book of Mormon with enthusiasm and couldn't wait to read it. He wanted some time to read before we came back so we set up an Appointment for early June.. (we tried to make it earlier as there's time for unfavorable information to seep in..) Oh, well, we're excited for him.

We were able to help out with Granny twice this week as she needed a lot of help done.. We read from the bom with her and something we read reminded her of something from native american culture. So she was excited about that, and eager to show us the similarities in our next visit. 

 

Saturday was super busy, we've started to have a weekly sports activity with the branch. Where the branch can invite friends to come play basketball and soccer. This Saturday was the first week. We actually had a bunch of the youth come and they all enjoyed it. Hopefully we'll be able to talk to some new people this way. After the sports activity in the morning, we had an appointment, then we went straight to a service opportunity with Todd, then straight to a dinner appointment, then straight to a lesson with John. It was a very quick, packed day. It was nice. 

 

Yesterday we were able to Skype with our parents. It was awesome being able to see them! Sucks saying goodbye though.. 

 

Anyways, those were the main points of this week! Hope you all have a good week. 

 

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 11 Week 3

Nyob zoo Kuv lub npe hu uai Tub Txib Pov Lauj.

(Hello My name is Elder Stevens) in Hmong.. So I got a Hmong Name this week, They obviously don't have Stevens in Hmong so this Hmong lady had to give me a new name. Which is Pov Lauj, Which is the Hmong name for the Apostle Paul. Pretty neat! 

Vince now has a job and just moved into a place in Chilton, right down the road from the church. So we were able to see him a few times. He is doing well, of course is taking it very hard but seems to be getting through it. He isn't crying as much as he was a few weeks ago so that's good.. 

John is doing great. We've been able to read the Book of Mormon over the phone with him every night and visit him on Saturday. We taught him the Word of Wisdom. He gets everything except the Coffee and Tea part but he is very open minded and is willing to try it out. He doesn't have a problem with the drinking or smoking part as he had already expressed he was against those. We're able to be completely open and honest with John. We joke around and have lots of fun with him as we have a really good relationship and then were able to buckle down and have a really good lesson with him. It's great.

We met with Granny again this week. We helped her out in her basement, cleaning and organizing stuff as she is planning to move in the next couple months. It was rainy that day so it was good to help  out inside. We're re-doing all the lessons with her so we taught her the Plan of Salvation and she really enjoyed it. It was nice. 

We visited a former investigator that was camping out by the campfire when we stopped by. He immediately welcomed us and invited us to sit down. He started talking about how he totally agrees with the Mormons and believe they're the true church and everything but he doesn't agree on the Word of Wisdom.. That is literally the only reason he hasn't been baptized and stopped coming to church.. Hes gold except for that.. That's why the previous missionaries stopped seeing him, because he won't budge on his beer.. So were gonna start working with him now.. His name is Todd. 

Anyways. Those were the main points of the week. This week went super quick! I hope you are all doing great! I love and miss you all!

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 11 Week 2

This week was slower but still really good!

 

On Tuesday we were over in Manitowoc for District Meeting and around 4oclock we received a call from Vince asking if we could meet up sometime that night. We met up with him back in Chilton at the church at 5. He has been going through a lot over the past couple of weeks. He was able to let out all that has been on his mind. We felt it was right to stay with him for a while. We went over and played some basketball to get his mind off some stuff and we called the Branch President to come over and talk with him. He is officially getting divorced and looking for a place to live and a job. Hes got a lot going on and he truly needs Gods love and support. Its good to be back in contact with him now. 

 

We met with Granny again this week. She put us to some hark work! She had some of her barn fall apart due to a recent storm and we helped her haul all of the wood off for her. We had a good lesson with her. She told us she knows the Book of Mormon is true but she doesnt get the acting on that knowledge part. She is strong into Indian Spirituality and she says that we are the closest to what she believes.. Idk. Shes awesome but quite stubborn! hahah I wish you all could meet her..

 

We met with John yesterday. Hes really stressed out, he has a lot of people influencing him to go one way and then theres us influencing him to go another.. Hes just really confused right now. He sincerely wants to follow Christ and so we helped him understand that his answer wouldnt come from us or his friends, but to truly feel what was right, he would have to go to God and get the answer from him. The lesson was amazing, the spirit was so strong and we think it finally clicked in his mind. Pray for him! Hes so close! 

 

We had dinner with the Guest family and we had freshly slaughtered Rabbit! It was really good! We had BBQ Rabbit sandwiches. After we ate, they brought in some other pet rabbits and had us hold and pet them. Rabbit fur is so soft! 

 

We did a lot of finding this week as well and we were able to find a really solid lady named Janet! She is super prepared as well but she wouldnt accept a return appointment or stop bys.. We gave her our number and the church address and she said she would call us. Really hoping she does because she is super solid! 

 

Anyways. Those were the main points of the week. Time flies! Hope you all have a good week! Love you all!

 

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 11 Week 1

So this week was full of knocking knocking and more knocking. Because of all the knocking we were able to teach a lot of lessons and find a few more investigators and a lot of potential investigators. There's not much to update on.

We met with John twice this week. Once on Tuesday and then at the normal time on Saturday. John is sooo close to joining the church. He knows he has to make his decision soon if he really wants to go through with his Baptism date on May 14th. He is stuck between his old church and our church. All of his friends are at his old church but he knows that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. He came to church yesterday and he really enjoyed it. After everyone had left, Elder Amann and I went out to the car to leave, and we found him still in his car crying.. We went up to his car to see if we could help him out at all. He got out and gave us both hugs and just talked about that he reallyy doesn't know what to do. We comforted him and he said that he would make his final decision by next week. So he needs a lot of prayers! I know he'll come through and make the right decision. He's soo solid. I'm excited for him.

We met with other less actives and had some really good Restoration lessons this week. But nothing to really point out on.

Last update on Vince: He's in Appleton, his wife isn't being to faithful to him so he's just trying to find peace right now. Supposedly he's looking for the church and a job in Appleton. Pray for him!

We've had lots of great weather this week! in the 70s!

Yea! Sorry for the short letter, I'm doing great! Lots of Miracles happening every day! Love you all!

Elder Stevens.

Cool pic I snatched.