Problem Week

How is everyone doing?

Hope the week went a little better than mine.

This week was pretty low for numbers and that is pretty disappointing. We felt like we were just starting to get things going.  Tuesday we went to the far side of the area and tried to see people because we are only there maybe once a week.  We couldn't find anyone to see so that day was kind of shot. Wednesday I had my first District Meeting that I led. It was good but then we spent a bunch of time in Bentonville trying to figure out some paperwork and fixing our truck. I made dinner that night and Elder Thomas dropped our phone in the soup. A bunch of buttons don't work now so we have to use the Spanish N and O s. It is just a pain to text now, and call because the call button doesn't work. Thursday I had a crazy headache all day and all of our appointments fell through. And we ended up helping a member do some painting, while wearing full dress clothes.  I stayed clean but Elder Thomas didn't haha. Friday and Saturday we had a couple of lessons that resurrected our week just a bit. Sunday was a really good day. We had an awesome stake conference that was all about Temples and then we had appointments with Jeannie and Fawn Evans. We had a decent lesson with Jeannie, until her son started playing Batman: Arkham City. I was very distracted. But I guess it went well because all the rest of the day she was texting us about all the things she was reading about in the Book of Mormon. I guess something just clicked for her. While we were in that lesson we got about 8 texts from Fawn Evans our Recent convert with a ton of questions about what she needs to do next and all that. And we ended up having a really good lesson there. We had a dinner with the Alger family and it was really good. We hadn't had a dinner for a while so it was nice to be with a family. 

So after a rough start the week ended really well. Now I am just craving some salmon.

But I love you all and hope you are doing well

A Baptism Memory

Well this week was pretty Legit. so it will be a longer email. Sorry

I don't remember what happened Tuesday so it probably wasn't too exciting

Wednesday we had a member drive us to Bentonville for meetings which was super nice. Then he took us to lunch at a really good BBQ place. I had some huge ribs and I crashed pretty hard on the ride home. We had a lesson with Jeannie which went alright. Her kids had clothes on for most of the time and that doesn't always happen. The lesson went alright even though my comp didn't lend to much assistance and the member that came with us kept throwing out some crazy stuff. But he's a blind Canadian. Then we went and did some service for a part-member family. We redid their back step so we got to play with cement. Somehow I kept managing to get sprayed in the face by our ward mission leader and the blind guy. The step turned out pretty nice though.

Thursday we had planning and then did a bunch of service. We helped some people move and then helped a crazy member burn leaves in his garden. Almost blew himself up with all the gasoline he poured and then lit with a lighter sh. then he tried to make a roast for dinner.  Friday we had some good lessons and contacts so we were pretty busy. I fried some croupy (fish) that we had been given and it turned out super good. Then we had another huge rib dinner with a several families. I love BBQ. 

Saturday was the Evans baptism. We spent about 4 hours sitting at the church filling up the font and getting ready.The service went very well and was such a sweet experience. I guess i have just been on a bit of a spiritual high the last few days. Seeing how happy they all were after their baptism and confirmation has been a great influence on me and being able to feel the Saviors love for them. Fawn, the mother, asked if she could share a brief testimony at the end of the baptism. It was so cool to see how as she looked back she could see how she had been guided and led to where she is now. I think it is important to realize that sometimes we can play an obvious role in someones conversion but that there are some many small step that come before baptism that we dont always think about, and that we may not even realize that we doing. It is just such a testimony to me that the Lord has a plan for all of his children, and that when they are ready and the time is right they will be able to receive his restored gospel. There were a ton of treats after the baptism that we got to take home so were getting nice and fat. Sunday was their confirmations and was another awesome day. We spent a lot of time with the Mallards who are just the coolest family. We havent had very many dinners the past few weeks so they told us "we eat every night so just come on over if you dont have dinner" He is the Ward Mission Leader and has been a huge help to us.The Grove ward is just doing awesome right now

Hope everyone had as good a week as i did!

With Love

Elder Shepherd

Staying in Grove

We had a pretty interesting week. Kinda felt like we were super busy with a ton of unimportant stuff.

We had to get a new tire on the truck because we got another flat and that killed a whole day in Bentonville. It is a problem when the Firestone guys know you by name because you frequent so often. But we had a few good visits this week. And it has been super nice to not have to wear suits all of the time. 

We got our transfer calls this last Saturday and both of us are staying. It is pretty exciting because we have the Evans' baptism this coming week. This next transfer should be a good one.

I'm sorry this email is pretty weak. My brain isn't quite working this morning. I made doughnuts yesterday and that was awesome. I have been making a lot of good food lately. I guess it is good that we have a gym across the street.

Well I hope you all have a great week.

 

(PS - Taylor has been made district leader)

Is he on a mission or at cooking camp?

6 Months!!

*Inspirational Quote of the day from the bar down the street

"Vodka mixes well with everything, Except decisions"

I thought someone might enjoy that.

Well it's pretty exciting being a missionary. The 6 month mark is coming up on Thursday. We have had a pretty solid week. The weather has been pretty interesting. It has been really sunny and the lake just looks amazing (wish I could just jump in.) On the other hand we had one day where it rained buckets and had a big thunderstorm. We had a big tornado come our way but it was dark and ended up not touching down near us.

I also had a pretty good week for cooking: One night I made a caramelized Flan that was delicious and I made some bread pudding and yesterday I made some soft pretzels that were really good. I also managed to burn myself while doing so.

We had a pretty solid weekend. Friday night we drove down to Bentonville and stayed with some other Elders. Early Saturday morning we got to go help put on a 5k and half marathon. We all had a blast cheering on the runners. Then we got to go to the mission home and have breakfast with President and Sister Loveland. We stayed and watched the first session of General Conference. The rest of Saturday and Sunday we spent just watching conference and eating.

One of our amazing lessons this week was with the Evans family (baptism on the 16th) about the Book of Mormon. The majority of the lesson consisted of us being attacked by their goat Oreo while he tried to pee and spit on us. It was an interesting lesson to say the least. They were able to watch conference and had a great experience. They said that they were going to watch it several times to make sure they got it all. They are just so dedicated and driven and it makes my job so much easier, almost obsolete. 

Well this would normally be the email when I say where I will be for the next transfer but with the extra week added on we will get calls on Saturday and transfers will be the following Thursday. I hope all of you enjoyed conference as much as I did and have a great week.

Love and miss you,