Week 23 (4/1/2019) Ricky the Raccoon

Elder Mooney and I should not be trusted with small furry animals. 

But anyways, this week has gone really well. Tuesday we had our zone conference, which went well. They were focusing on using the Book of Mormon, and as a mission we are going to be reading the Book of Mormon in 65 say-so if anyone wants to join in on that, that is about 8-pages a day, and we start today. Also at zone conference we got new TIWi's installed in our cars, so now it is even more sensitive about telling me to stop speeding ;) oh well. 

After zone conference we had our interviews with President, and he told me a little bit more about Elder Kopischke's visit. They apparently talked about all of the missionaries he interviewed. Long story short, I am working on my humility and charity ;) since that is what Elder Kopischke felt impressed that I needed, and that is what I have recognized as deficient in myself as well. But it wasnt all bad about Elder DeFord ;) so I didnt walk out feeling like trash. I just walked out knowing that there are areas I am strong in and areas where I can improve. 

Tuesday was also the day that we met Ricky the Raccoon. Met him in the trap at Bro Resendez' house, that is ;) and then we skinned him for his cozy fur. There is definitely not a dead raccoon in our freezer, perish the thought. Actually, perish Ricky, but that is besides the point ;) so I had my first experience watching an animal get skinned and gutted. When we got our next raccoon (Rex the Raccoon) I actually did most of the skinning. So now I have that experience! Of course, Elder Mooney yanked Rex's tail in half trying to debone it. It looked easier in the video ;) 

We played a lot of basketball this week, but it is really helping us get in with several young men to teach them. There is an inactive family with four unbaptized kids, and now we are their friends and the mom welcomed us at their house, which hasn't been the experience of missionaries in the past. Truly being their friend makes a huge difference. 

For our other people we are teaching, and progress made this week, let us see...

So the night Elder Kopischke came, whenever that was, we went out and I was on spiritual fire, ready to go teach some people ;) so when M__ came to the door, I was so ready, and I extended a baptismal date right there, which she accepted...but we never saw her again. Well, yesterday we had a lesson with her daughter and four of her grandkids, and we are going to be teaching the whole family. So great things have come from it! They are all so sweet. The mom hasn't been to church in a long time, and the kids aren't even really familiar with Christianity (that is rare in the bible belt) so it really is kind of a fresh and clean start. I am so excited to work with them!

Another person we have been talking to for a long time is K__. It has been probably almost a year she has been talking to the missionaries, but she had never come to church or really moved forward. Well, Elder Mooney came in, asked her when she was getting baptized, told her to get her butt to church, and to stop smoking her cancer-sticks, all in about 3 minutes. I was mortified, sure we were about to get thrown out, but it all went over really well. We are becoming even better friends with her, and she was at church on Sunday! We had to show up at her house Sunday morning with an energy drink, but we got her there. She works nights, so it is hard for her to be there at church on two hours of sleep. But she made it, and it went pretty well. There were some doctrinal things that got thrown around in the self-reliance 2nd hour which I would have rathered if they had been avoided. But it all blew over ;)

T__ and L__, friends of the Sopers (I dont remember if I have talked too much about the Sopers. They are awesome! Extremely faithful, and super fellowshipping for everyone. Plus Brother Soper is an excellent cook) anyways, we have been working with T__, but he had missed his last couple appointments with the Sopers and us, and hadn't made it to church, so we decided to stop by. And I am so glad we did! We went through the baptismal interview questions with him, and when we got to the one that says "do you believe that the church and gospel of Jesus Christ have been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith", he just said "yes" with the same conviction of a lifelong member, with the same conviction as he said yes about the reality and divinity of Jesus Christ. I was blown away! And then he accepted a baptismal date! It was a really powerful experience. 

That was pretty much the big stuff from this week, I am thinking. So y'all have a great day and a great week, and email me privately any questions, comments, concerns, returns only accepted within 30 days with receipts, all that jazz. 

Elder DeFord

Week 22 (3/18/2019) RIP Snuffles

This has been a fantastic week. 

After picking Elder Mooney up from Vidor, we headed to the Soper's for a lesson with T__. So for our first experience together we just jumped into teaching, and it was a great lesson. We really built off of each other the whole time, and committed T__ to baptism. 

Elder Mooney and I have been having a party. We have got along really well, worked hard, played hard, prayed harder. He brought 500 pounds of free weights plus a bar, we made a bench out of three chairs and a board...and Elder Mooney and Elder Stobart are trying to get me to actually work out with them. I sometimes do, with like half the weight. But hey, maybe it'll turn this fat I'm catching into muscle. But probs not. 

Other highlights from the week...we got two new people to teach by annihilating them at basketball. Which was a actually a fantastic lesson, so that was sweet. 

Let's see...my first district council was on Friday. I felt pretty good about it. And then the Assistants pulled up to join in. And then Sister Hewlett walked in. So I had a slightly stressful council. But it went well, and then Sister Hewlett took us all out to lunch, so I certainly enjoyed that. But I didn't need that sort of stress in my day. 

We have had really good luck contacting people this week. We have already set up return appointments with several people we are teaching. We got to see M__ and J__, sit down with them and have a great visit. Then they fed us, Elder Mooney fixed their lawnmower and I fed a squirrel. So how about that, huh? 

K__ is doing super well. She gave her testimony in church this week, and it was awesome. Seeing the spirit in her life has been incredible. 

Well, other than that not too many updates from here in Texas. I'm sure there were more...I haven't stopped being happy and laughing for days straight, so I am doing well. 

I love you all! Address any questions to me personally, and have a fantastic week. 

Elder DeFord

Week 21 (3/11/2019) End of an Era

After 6 months, Elder Gunderson is leaving Cleveland. Funnily enough, he is heading out to Jasper. I am staying in Cleveland with my new companion, Elder Mooney. This is his last transfer, so we are gonna hit the ground here in Cleveland. 

But on to the events of the week!

Let's see...on Monday we had a good lesson with a family we had lost contact with for a little while. Didn't really teach a discussion, but hopefully brought the spirit in. 

On Tuesday we spent a good 7 hours tracting. Met a nice guy named A__, after our doorstep contact he let us in and we taught about the restoration. He seems pretty cool! That night we had a dinner and lesson with T__, who is long time friend of the Sopers who only now has become interested in the church. After the lesson we were just talking, and he asked about our interests. When I told him I sang a lot, he asked me to sing something, so I got to give a rendition of the Impossible Dream. Still got the ability to make people teary eyed, sweet. Made me miss the stage, though. T__ also showed us some of his armor, because one of his interests is Renaissance stuff, combat and jousting. 

Wednesday was funny: we were going out with Brother Lee to go to some lessons, but when he picked us up he told us it was customer appreciation day at O'Reilly's, so we went there to get some free lunch! Then we went to finish teaching K__ the last new member lesson, which went well. She has such a sweet spirit! Later that day we delivered cookies that I had made to M__, and she actually said she wanted to meet with us! Didn't end up happening, though. 

Not a lot to say for Thursday or Friday, pretty normal stuff. We did have district training on Friday, but nothing extraordinary. 

Saturday ended up being a pretty fun day. We went out to tract on foot, and saw some crawfish in the culvert! So we played with those for a little bit. We then also saw the fattest cat ever, and a German shepherd with a peg leg. In the afternoon, we were going to head out to a lesson, and I got in and was backing up when I saw Elder Gunderson's face...and I knew we had a flat. So we put on the spare, called Elder Christenson, and headed down to Kingwood for a new tire. Going down to the city, with people and houses and stores...ah, so nice. But it was great fun, and on out way back we stopped by M__'s for a lesson. Didn't end up being a lesson, since he was trying to install his new thermostat and asked for our help. So I got to play electrician! He had the wrong kind of thermostat for his system, though, so it was a lost cause. Oh well, still good. 

Sunday, no one ended up being at church, and C__ sent us a text dropping us, which was really sad. But the day apart from that was pretty good. We got a call in the afternoon from President...he called me as District Leader for Cleveland, so we knew I was staying. 

Monday morning we got our transfer instructions. The Cleveland district actually changed, so now instead of being over Cleveland and Livingston I am over Cleveland and the Zone Leaders. So that is pretty fun, I love Elder Brown and Elder Slade. A lot of the rest of Monday Elder Gunderson spent packing, because he has gotten quite a bit of stuff in the half of a year he spent in Cleveland. Oh...we did also spend about 4 hours hauling and splitting logs. Those hydraulic log splitters are super cool!

And now Tuesday! How the time flies and the world spins! 

Love,

Elder DeFord 

Week 20 (3/4/2019) One Week Older and Wiser Too...

Gooood-morning this fine p-day. Your variable Texas weather report for the week is variable-get your summer clothes out, but don't put away those thick coats for a couple for weeks! And keep your umbrellas handy! 

Actually I lost my umbrella when I left Jasper. But it is all good-I either just ignore the rain or my raincoat does a fine job. No need for an umbrella. 

So let us start with the weeks recap. On Tuesday we had dinner with the Sopers: they usually feed us on Fridays, but they felt bad that no one was signed up to feed us, so they signed up twice this week. No complaints here, they cook really well. But also at dinner was Brother Sopers long time friend T__ and his family. Bro Soper had talked about T__ before, nothing too serious, but we got to meet him. Cool. 

However, when we saw the Sopers at the church on Wednesday, they told us that after years and years of Bro Soper telling T__ about the church, he had finally asked about it. Asked Sis Soper, ironically, but he had shown interest. 

Friday night was our other dinner with the Sopers. As it was also his game night, he had friends coming over after we left. Just before we walked out, T__ came over. Bro Soper jokingly said he should have us missionaries over, he said yes, we planned for the next day. 

Zip zip fast forward to Saturday, we met with T__. We talked a little about what he knew about the church, and then he asked us to just give the speech we give to everyone else. So into the Restoration we went. He was very engaged and understood what we were teaching. Wasn't converted by the conversation, but agreed to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and that is where true conversion comes. So that was very cool, very cool indeed. He wasn't able to make it to church this Sunday because of family things, but he should be there next week. 

Speaking of making it to church, of the four people we thought we would get there we only managed to get one. But M__ did come! It has been an incredible journey watching M__ progress. The first time we met with him, there truly felt like there was a bad spirit in his apartment. We met with him for our regular lesson on Friday. He was meek, and during his prayer at the end the Spirit was truly there. Sure, he still asks questions about the Mark of The Beast and Nimrod, and references Greek Mythology and conspiracy theories, but truly a marvelous change has already come upon him. We went over the Baptismal interview questions, and for maybe the first time, it felt that he truly was going to be able to qualify. The whole experience has served to strengthen my faith in the converting power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is something I have been focusing on. 

Another big development this week: so, my first week in Cleveland we met this very nice chap named O__. He was very humble, talked about how over the last year he had changed his life because of Jesus Christ. I felt a kinship and a love for O__, I was excited to share the gospel with him. But he wasn't there at our return appointment. Or the next time we stopped by. We couldn't catch him on the phone and he didn't respond to texts. I mean, what did we have to do to find this guy? So it had been two months, and we were just about ready to give up, drop him, and let some future missionaries at find him. And then we went past his house just to see...light?! There hadn't been lights on in two months! So we went and knocked, and lo, a male's voice! And then O__ comes to the door. He invites us right in, and when we ask about what we had discussed two months ago, he actually remembered a good bit. We went over the restoration again with him, and while he shared that he was happy and comfortable with where he was at, he would read and pray and do whatever God wanted him to. And set up a return appointment for Friday. And when we went by Friday with Bro Resendez, he was there! He only had a couple of.minutes, but we read from Alma 32 and talked about growing and nurturing our faith. Super awesome experience. 

Church also went very well, I was grateful for the opportunity to fast and partake of the spirit. I definitely felt the presence and love of my Heavenly Father. 

Well, that is pretty good on my week. As always, send us any questions you have if you want to hear more!

Love,

Elder DeFord

Week 19 (2/25/19) DeFord Note

It is crazy that it is already almost the end of February. The other day I was referencing an event that happened before my mission, and I threw out the ballpark estimate that it was two months ago. And then I realized that I have been out for more than four months. It is crazy how time just continues to roll forward. Of course, at the same time as it seems to have blown past, I can't seem to remember not being on my mission, as well. Think about how I'll feel in a year! 

Anyways, on to the events of this week. I very much enjoyed talking to my family last week! Many of the members have asked us about our thoughts on it, and shared their opinions. Most of them are agreed that it will be a really good thing. 

As for the rest of the week...I'll need to look at my journal, I have no idea what happened. I'll actually probably do it by event and person, not by day. 

So we had a very disappointing occurrence this week. J__ was the most solid person we've taught, was really on fire about the gospel. Unfortunately, when he tried to come to church on Sunday he arrived during the Sacrament, was turned away by the usher, became offended, and no longer wants to join the church. This was obviously a pretty big morale hit for us. We tried to drive down there and see him to explain and encourage him, but he wasn't home, so we will try by again this week. 

But there were happier occurrences! One of the people we "started teaching" (taught a principle during a door contact and set a return appointment with) last week (his name is D__), is actually looking like he will progress! We came by for our return appointment...wasn't home. We came by with a member just to try by...was home but didn't have time. But he said he was off work on Saturday, so we decided to come by once more. Came by, and we had a really good discussion. He agreed to come to church (starting next week) and to be baptized on March 30th! He may not fully understand what is different about our church, but he has felt the spirit of our message. 

That is one of two new people who agreed to work towards the covenant of baptism. C__ is a very nice woman who we met out tracting two or three weeks ago now. Elder Gunderson and Elder Carroll taught her the first lesson while on splits, so I wasn't present for that. We came back on Sunday for a return appointment, and it was really amazing. She has been going through a hard time with health challenges and loss, and as I testified both of the gospel and of the Savior's enabling and comforting power, the Spirit was there very strongly. After reciting the First Vision I could feel it there, so I asked her how she felt and she said she got goosebumps. She too, accepted a baptismal goal of March 30th, and is excited to attend church with us this week. 

Thursday morning, when I was planning for our day, I put for our evening plans to tract Truman St. Well, then I remembered that we did Hour of Power on Thursday nights, so I nixed that plan, but still left it in area book in case we had extra time. Well, Thursday night we went over to Brother K__'s house to pray for Hour of Power. After talking about it and saying a prayer, he told us that the street that was just weighing on his mind for some reason was Truman St! I showed him that it was already in the calendar, and it was a strong testimony that that was received by revelation! That really helped me feel like our planning could be led by the Spirit. And even if that was the whole purpose of that street being selected, we did have much success there, with some wonderful contacts and seeds planted, and one person who agreed to have us come back. Really cool!

On Friday after district council we went on exchanges, so Elder Harward from Livingston came down to spend the day with me in Cleveland. It was a lot of fun, and we ended up with some good success. We saw M__ that night, and had a good short visit-Brother Call really brought the Spirit as he testified and invited M__ to church. And M__ was there Sunday, and really enjoyed it! On Saturday, as Elder Harward and I were going out, I noticed this rather large, muscular, tattooed, rather shaggy looking man cleaning out his car. Rather intimidating looking, and I was ready to just walk on by. But the Spirit reprimanded me, so I called out to him more to prove that I was willing to open my mouth than with any hope he would listen. The Spirit seems to like teaching me lessons when I do that, though, and we had a really good conversation with him. He talked about how he had a strong desire to know God but that church had never really worked out for him, and I shared Moroni 10:4-5 with him. He really connected with it and was rather surprised that I could pull out a scripture just from what he said. Course, it is a regular missionary scripture, but still, it was really good for him. We invited him to church, but he said that he lived in Livingston...well, we had Elder Harward with us! So we testified that we met him on that day for a reason, and got him the address and time of the Livingston ward. So that was really cool.

All in all, a pretty good week! I hope everything is going well for all y'alls reading this. And for all y'alls not reading this too, I suppose. But I'm fixin' to get some breakfast, so I'll conclude this email. 

Love,

Elder DeFord