Transfer 14 Week 3

Soo, my first week up in the U.P der aye. (They don't really talk like that.. well at least most don't) This was a good week!! Classic first week in a new area. Getting to know people and what not.

On Monday we spent the second half of the day (after emails) driving around in Milwaukee traffic for 2 hours to get to ChikFilA, which from there we had to leave to take the trek up the Escanaba. So we spent the rest of the day driving the 5 and a half hours to our apartment. We arrived at 9:15, I spent some time unpacking and then hit the hay.

Tuesday morning we had District Meeting, which from there I went on an exchange with Elder Miller in Marinette WI. I love Elder Miller, he replaced me in Beaver Dam, and I've served a lot around him. So that was super fun, being able to see him and do some work in their area. We taught this less active lady with no front teeth, who thought Canada was in the US.. and I definitely knew from there on out that i was no longer in Milwaukee.. Its different country out here.. hahah

The Exchange went into Wednesday and then I finally got back to Escanaba Wednesday evening. We spent the rest of the day contacting and visiting people.

Thursday we had our correlation meeting with Brother Ollero, Weekly planned a bit, Set up for an unexpected funeral (someone in the branches brother died) and Tracted. A lot. We met some super nice people and got some return appointments so that's good! :)

Friday we did our monthly service at St Vincent De Paul's Thrift Store, had Lunch with an Elder Moffett that went home about a year ago, who was back visiting his mission with his parents, Went to the funeral to fellowship and support the member whose brother died. Then spent the rest of the day Contacting and Visiting people. While tracting we ran into this less active member from Alabama that just so happened to be in town for a few weeks. We were able to talk to him a lot about why he stopped going and he expressed feelings that he wanted to go back when he gets back to Alabama. Hopefully he does!

Saturday we had a wide open day so we spent the whole day visiting and contacting people. We were able to get into various peoples houses and set up some return appointments. People are super nice here in Escanaba. Its nothing like Milwaukee, but there's Pros and Cons..

Sunday we had Church, there's about 40 people that attended and so we all had to participate in one way or the other. I gave the opening prayer, We blessed the Sacrament and both bore our testimonies so that there wouldn't be silence the whole meeting. (It wasn't that bad, just back to the branch life I suppose)

We definitely aren't as busy here as we were in Milwaukee, I'm sure its due to the fact that there's nearly not as many people here, but I'm adjusting to being wide open again. While i was on Exchanges in Marinette, Elder Hill and the other Elder set baptismal dates with this family. Which is super awesome. So don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great things going on here, lots of potential for success. We just have to work for it! It ll be fun doing so.

Labor day we spent park contacting, getting yelled at by a Lutheran who told us we would both burn in hell, and driving an hour one way to go visit a referral! It was a fun day in all honesty. I like it here. :)

Pics are of some random abandoned building off the side of the road and some random ranch.

Hope you all have a great week!

Elder Stevens

Transfer 14 Week 2

This was yet another event filled week.

Monday was of course Pday, we did the usual, which consists of emailing, then going to play sports with the Zone at the church building. It was fun as always. That evening we were able to see an inactive member named Caleb. He works on his aunts farm and he came out and gave us a huge bag of corn and potatoes. Super nice of him. 

Tuesday morning we had a nice lesson with this lady named Jo. She requested a Bible, so we were able to deliver that to her and we also shared the Restoration and the Book of Mormon with her. It went really well. We then went to another lesson with this lady that also requested a bible. We did the same thing with her. However she lives out of our area so we had to hand her over to some other elders. We had a nice dinner with the Diefenbachs and then finished off the day seeing Janice williams with Brother Diefenbach. We talked about Family History and B. Diefenbach was perfect for that topic. He was able to talk and testify so strongly on the subject. So much that he actually talked for 45 minutes straight about it and practically stole the lesson from us.. Its okay though. Janice is solid and it was really good for her.. hah

Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with Brother and Sister Courson. Sister Courson has her appointment scheduled to get a Patriarchal blessing and is on her way to get her endowments. Were super happy to be helping her do this. We also had a really good lesson with Nikia and Nikel with Brother Young. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ and were able to testify super strong to her about the importance of Priesthood Power. It went well. We finished off the day with a super good dinner with the Mackay family. They're awesome. 

On Thursday we had a Mission tour with Elder Ringwood and Elder Courdon of the 70. They spoke to us for most of the day. It was a super good meeting. We talked a lot about Faith and looking at people and investigators at who they could become, rather than where they are now. We also had a Q&A with them and discussed Moroni 7 for a while. It was awesome. Later that day we saw Mark and read the Book of Mormon with him. Then finished off the day with a nice dinner with Bishop Chaplin and his family.

Friday we met with Chivarlo for the second time. We watched the Restoration video with her, however she didn't have a DVD player, so we had to stream the video from her phone and watch it there. However her connection wasn't very good so the video had to keep buffering and right as Joseph was walking into the forest to pray (the best part) it cut off and we weren't able to finish the video.... So we just spoiled the ending for her and shared the first vision again. But it was all good though. The spirit was still there and we were able to set a date for her to be baptized on the 8th of October! Were excited for her. Later, we helped out at the Widmans like normal and then saw Janice again and read the Doctrine and Covenants with her. We had lots of good discussion and it went great. 

So on Saturday we got an unexpected call from the Assistants, they said that the had some bad news for us and to put the phone on speaker. They said that there was an Elder up in Escanaba Michigan that was going home early and that I would have to have my bags packed by Sunday night to go replace him. Sooo, I'm being ETed to Escanaba.. We went throughout the rest of our day as planned but i had to start packing that night. 

Sunday, we went to church as normal, saw the Tracers and then had to be at the mission home at 5 to pick up Elder Hill (my new companion) who had just driven down from Escanaba to drop off his companion who was going home early. We then picked up Elder Smith (who will be replacing me here in Milwaukee) and then went through with the rest of our day. However for the Dinner appointment and the lesson we had after dinner, Elder Smith went to, since we couldn't have 4 missionaries at those events and he was replacing me anyways. So last night I had to finish up packing while the 4 of us stayed at our apartment.

So today, Monday, were emailing in Milwaukee and then after we email, Elder Hill and I have a 4 and a half hour drive up to Escanaba Michigan. This will be the most North I've been on my mission, ill also be in another time zone than the whole rest of the mission. Ill be back to Eastern standard time, and my new address is: 806 S 16th St #1 Escanaba Michigan 49829. So yea! I'm pretty excited, even though I'm getting cut super short in Milwaukee.. These things happen though. It'll be great.

So yea, Hope you all had and have a good week! 

Elder Stevens

Transfer 14 Week 1

This week was really good. We were able to teach a ton of people and really get the work going in the Milwaukee 1st ward. There's soo much potential and tons of people could be baptized here, we just need to harvest all of these people. Bishop Chaplin was able to make it into Janice Williams home and talk to her and her boyfriend. The intent of this meeting was to bring up marriage and how he could marry them however Bishop used this meeting as a get to know you, not wanting to be too pushy. Were really focusing on Janice and Ronnie, as Janice would be baptized this Saturday if they were married.

We were able to dedicate this recent converts apartment, as there has been quite a scare there since the riots occurred only 1.5 miles from there. There has been a number of break ins and sketchy stuff happening. We were glad to be able to help out there. All in All it was a really good week. We saw and taught a lot of people. 

Sorry for the shorter letter.

Hope everything is going good with you all! 

Elder Stevens

Transfer 13 Week 6

This week was great.

On Monday, we were able to go out to lunch with Elder Atkinson and Elder Tunstall. 2 of my previous companions. Elder Tunstall is heading back to Canada this Wednesday as he is done with his mission. It was super good to see both of them.

Tuesday morning we got a call telling us that there was a Hmong elder that was coming to the mission field a week early and that he would be spending that week with Elder Goldsberry and I. We would be picking him up later that night. 

We had Zone Training Meeting, learned a lot of good stuff, afterwards we went out to a restaurant with our district, 4 Elders, and 4 Sisters. We would all be paying for ourselves. It would be about 10 bucks each. Our waiter brought us the receipt and he said that some couple across the restaurant paid for us and would like to remain anonymous. What a blessing. We were all soo grateful. Thanks who ever did that..

We eventually picked up Elder Bastian and then had dinner with the Deifenbachs later that night.

Wednesday we had to go to the mission office so that Elder Bastian could receive some training from the Senior Couples. After that we were able to see a couple investigators and Less Actives. We had a really good lesson with Nikia and Nikel, we shared the Book of Mormon with Nikia and then taught them the Plan of Salvation. Nikia just ate up the plan of salvation as she had already believed most of the points in it. It was great. We finished off the day having a dinner with the Young family. They're super solid. 

Thursday we had our 2 of 2 appointments fall through on us so we spent the day weekly planning and tracting. We were able to catch up with a lot of our records and find some cool people to hopefully start teaching.

Friday, we started off the day with an apartment inspection. We passed.. hah  We then went to the Widmans for our weekly service. That was enjoyable as always. We then had a lesson with Janice Williams. We shared with her the Families and Temples Pamphlet, pointing her to the temple. It went really well. We finished off the day doing service for Pat Jensen, helping her out with the portfolios again. We shared a good message with her and her daughter after the service.

Saturday we had a lesson with Gary (a recent convert) and Alyse (his nonmember daughter) We watched the Restoration Video and the lesson went super smooth. We testified super strong and were just super down to earth with her. It was good. Afterwards we saw Brother Vang, shared the Families and Temples pamphlet, pointing his wife and him towards the temple to be sealed. Afterwards we stopped by taco bell to use the restroom, as we walked in they asked us if we wanted some free tacos, so of course we said yes.. We got 3 Doritos tacos and 3 soft shell tacos, perfect for all three of us.. Miracle.  

We went on to see Firmin Delago and his 8 year old son Jordan who isn't baptized yet. We taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he really wants to be baptized! He just has to get permission from his mom before it can happen. Hopefully it happens before he turns 9 in a few months. We finished off the night Tracting with Mark. I went with Elder Bastian and Elder Goldsberry went with Mark. We were able to talk to some really nice people and be there for one women who opened the door crying. Its so cool how God puts people in our path. 

Sunday we had church. After church we went to the Tracers to give Sister Tracer the Sacrament. She told us about the Milwaukee Riots that had occurred the night before. People going crazy, protesting a police shooting. They went around burning cars and a few buildings. I'm sure you all have heard of it.. 

We then went to Cynthia, where we had an appointment with her. She was truly sorry but wasn't able to sit down with us because apparently some of her family members were involved in the riots and they were planning for a funeral on Friday. We shared an uplifting message and told her she'd be in our prayers. We then had planned to go visit some less actives that lived next to where the riot occurred. We stopped by them and drove passed the gas station that had been burned down. There were news trucks everywhere, I got some pictures and videos of it. Pretty sketchy! After that, we finished off the day visiting the Xiongs. Elder Bastian was able to practice his Hmong with them. 

Anyways, it was a fun filled week with a lot of stuff going on! We were told to tell our families that we are safe and sound! Hope all of you have a great week! Love you all!

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 13 Week 5

This week was pretty interesting. 

On Monday we went to the Brewers Stadium like I mentioned last week, it was a super fun day. I'll have some pics at the bottom for you guys.

Tuesday we went on exchanges with the zone leaders. I stayed in Milwaukee and was with Elder Steenblik. We had some success tracting in the hood and had a really nice dinner with Bishop Chaplin at Sobelmans. Soblemans is only in Milwaukee and it is sooo good.. 

Wednesday we had to finish the exchange early because we had to put our car in the shop. We got the car from the MKE sisters who got double out of their area, and when they gave it to us (at the beginning of the transfer) it was all wrecked because they had a little fender bender a few days before. So we finally took it into the shop and we were car-less for most of this week. We bought buss passes and it was super fun experiencing the buss life of missionary work. 

By Thursday we had obtained bikes from some members, so we were able to buss/bike around everywhere. We had 5 appointments on Thursday, so the whole day was literally bike to a bus stop, catch the bus, bus to the appointment, bike the rest of the way, have the appointment, bike to the bus, catch another bus, bike to the other appointment. It was a workout! But miraculously we made it work and had some really great lessons. 

Friday was basically the same, we did service at the Widmans and had a really good lesson with Janice Williams who is making really good progress towards baptism. The only thing holding her back is not being married and living with her boyfriend. There is talk of marriage, so we'll see how that goes. We finished off the day by helping out Sister Jensen with some day care art. The sisters had been helping out before, but since they've been gone, we were finally able to make it over and help her. It was fun. 

Saturday, we actually worked out a way to borrow a car, until ours gets out of the shop, so around 6 in the evening, the A.Ps picked us up and gave us a truck to use. We saw Rozz that day and made some great progress with her. 

Sunday we had Correlation meeting with the bishopric, (something the stake is really trying to enforce. That went well. We saw the Tracers, who we take the sacrament to every week. This week she actually taught us how to crochet, which is actually super hard! But we got the hang of it.. We ended off the day with having a dinner with the Germann family, in their super nice home. It was an amazing dinner to end our fast to. 

Anyways, this week went super fast and we were super super busy every day! This upcoming week should look the same! Have a great week!

Elder Stevens 

Transfer 13 Week 4

This week we've been able to stay mostly busy, having multiple lessons with various people daily. This week we got a referral from the West Allis Elders, telling us they ran into this guy named Erik, and that they taught him a brief restoration and that we should call him to meet up with him. We were able to visit with him on Saturday. Eric is a super chill Hispanic guy that has sincere desires to bring his family closer to Christ. We taught him a full restoration lesson and set a baptismal date with him for Sept 3rd. Come to find out later, that Eric actually lives about 2 streets out of our area.. He lives in the Parkway ward, were going to have to call up the Parkway B Elders and give them Eric.. It sucks for us, because Eric is sooo cool and were just going to have to hand him over, but I'm sure the other Elders will be super glad to take him.. 

When we went back for an appointment with Nikel, a 22 year old kid that we met last week, we were able to sit down with him and his mom, Nikea. Nikea and Nikel both have a super strong faith in Christ. Nikea has seen lots of corruption and what not in religion so she is actually in the process of starting her own ministry with some friends. We taught them the Restoration and they sure arent afraid to let it be known what they believe. We weren't so sure how the lesson went, but afterwards they couldn't stop thanking us for stopping in and for the wonderful spirit we brought into their home. They would love us to come back, and share more but I'm not sure how far it'll go. They're super nice though! 

This month were going to have to start riding the bus to save miles. I'm sure I'll have lots more stories with that.. haha

Earlier today we went with about 8 other missionaries and toured the Brewer Stadium. It was really neat! I was able to get tonss of cool pictures. Neat Experiences. 

(Comp won't let me upload my pics, I'll have them for yall next week)

Anyways, Things are going great here. Hope you all have a good one!

Elder Stevens.

Transfer 13 Week 3

Another really good week.

This week we moved apartments to the sister's old apartment. The new apartment is much closer to the church but we are still at least 6 miles from our area. This makes it really hard on our miles.. The rest of the month will be superrr tight. We'll get through it though.

We were able to see a lot of people we haven't been able to see for a while now and set up a lot of appointments. Were super busy this next week. It should be great. Sorry for the shorter letter but things are going really good!

We had interviews with President Williams on Wednesday. Those went super super good. President Williams is awesome. He's a super down to earth guy and cares a lot. Super excited for him and what he'll do for this mission.

We get lots of Media referrals, being in the heart of Milwaukee. Most of them request a free bible so there isn't much there, but occasionally someone will request a Book or Mormon and be willing to learn. On Friday we got a referral from church headquarters for a Cynthia, who wanted a Book of Mormon and said she would be willing to learn. We called her up and set up an appointment to drop off the Book of Mormon on Saturday. We were able to sit down with her and teach her the Restoration and talk a lot about the Book of Mormon. She is super interested. She said she always wondered what Jesus was talking about when he said there were other sheep which were not of this fold like John 3 says.. She was super excited about the restoration of the gospel and she accepted an invitation to be baptized. We don't have a date with her yet, but hopefully we'll set one up on Wednesday. She came out of no where and is soo prepared. Miracle.

Anyways. Have a good week. I love and Miss you all!

Elder Stevens.