President Greg Anderson & Sister Christy Anderson
No news at this time.
Elder Trevor Cummings
No news at this time.
Elder Hudson Driggs
No news at this time.
Elder Tyler Eggett
No news at this time.
Elder Jamison Enfield
September 2, 2024
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Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I hope your doing fantastic. This past week was a crazy one filled with lots of surprises so I've got a lot to catch up on. It may be a longer email than usual but let's just hop right into it.
So in terms of transfers, we got news last Monday night and our area ended up getting white-washed! Pretty crazy because I thought I was gonna stay, but hey, that's okay. We had a couple friends ready to get baptized and the new Elderes there are already helping them out. I'm now back in Rosario in an area called Francia and I'm loving it so far. My comp is awesome. His name is Elder Marble and we actually lived in the same apartment back when we were both serving in Parque Field. We get a long really well and we worked really hard this last week.
Some little things:
- It's pretty weird being back here in Rosario. The last time I was here was over six months ago and it has changed quite a bit. However, I'm excited to end my mission here because it feels like I'm back at home.
- I'm in a ward that has six missionaries! We are all Elders and my MTC comp, Elder Carroll, is in the ward so we'll be ending together in the ward.
- When I was at the terminal for transfers day, I was able to see a lot of past comps and say my goodbyes to them.
Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 13: 31-34
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.
Alright, that's all for now! I hope you are all doing well. Time keeps on moving quick so I gotta make the most of it while I still have time left. Chau!
Elder Walker Erickson
No news at this time.
Elder Zachary Eyring
No news at this time.
Elder LJ Felila
No news at this time.
Sister Mele Felila
June 30, 2024
Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah for Israel, has become our usual cheer every Monday when we speak with Hermana Felila. It has been an exhilarating 9 months, to say the least, since Hermana Felila departed for her mission. She’s in good spirits and loving the work. She’s tired and exhausted at the end of her days but wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s made a lot of life-long friends and has met some interesting people that have helped her testimony grow.
Hermana Felila was called to Bolivia, but has been waiting for her visa in the Oregon Eugene Mission. Her mission President there has been kind and loving to help her learn how to be a leader in the field. She is a spontaneous missionary that is all hands on!
She’s eager to go and spread the good word, her first companion found that out the hard way…. Her companion was tired and wanted to go back home after having door after door shut in their faces, but Hermana Felila would not give up until her companion was in tears, asking for them to please go back home ☹ As they were walking home, Hermana politely apologized and said, “It’ll all be ok, Heavenly Father will help us, and we'll try again later on.” Her Faith is that of a “Giant” soldier unmovable.
Her 2nd month in Eugene she was called to be a trainer and the President wanted to let her know it’s not just any incoming sister, but one who had just lost her mother while she was in the MTC and wanted to go home because the missionary life was too difficult, plus she was missing her mom.
Sister Vaa and Hermana Felila became the best of Sisters and are proud to say that Sister Vaa stayed on her mission and gained a strong testimony of the importance of the work. She sadly became ill and was hospitalized and was given the option to return home and end her mission. Sister Vaa, didn’t want to give up just yet. She asked to become a Service Missionary and that she was! I’m so proud of Sister Vaa for staying on the course. She’s currently serving in Samoa as a service missionary in the Samoan Temple.
Hurrah, Hurrah, Hurrah for Israel, Sister Vaa! Hermana Felila’s leadership continues to grow in the field as her next calling was called to be an STL-Sister Training Leader. She was a little resistant to this calling because she felt uncertain about her knowledge and ability, but with a little encouragement from us, she was filled with the spirit and ready to do whatever the Lord asked of her to do.
Her time is winding down in Oregon Eugene. On June 13 she was supposed to be on the plane to Bolivia, but this girl, as competitive as she is, sprained her ankle in a volleyball game during the Pday. Why she would go play volleyball a week before traveling is beyond me lol, but maybe the Lord is not finished with her in Eugene, so
she’s there until the next transfer, and now she can follow up with her friends that need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. She’s had so many wonderful experiences and some challenging ones too, but all in all she’s doing great and loving the work!
Elder Lincoln Hodge
No news at this time.
Sister Carolina Huch
No news at this time.
Elder Landon Huch
No news at this time.
Elder Gary Nelson & Sister Annette Nelson
July 2, 2024
Hello from Aruba! Elder Nelson and I are in awe of the members and missionaries here! We have 2 branches on the island and 8 younger missionaries. There are 2 other branches on 2 other islands that combine with us to make a district. All the missionaries and members are working hard to build up the church so we can become and stake with wards.
We do not proselytize, but enjoy occasionally being invited to go with the missionaries as they teach. Our small chapel does not have a font, and most baptisms take place in the ocean. Although you can't hear what's being said from shore, it is a beautiful thing to watch.
I have absolutely loved helping the members build their family trees, with the hope that someday they will be able to go to the temple for their families. We are in the Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) temple district. Many members will go to the temple only once because of the expense, but they diligently work on their family history. We are supposedly a FamilySearch Center, but we have no computer or printer. Some nights we have 8-10 people arrive to do family history, but because there are only 3 of us that bring computers from home, the members just sit and patiently wait. Every week there are people who stay the entire 2 hours, but never have a chance to look at a computer. It’s hard to see this happen, but they don’t complain, and they come back again the next week, hoping they’ll be able to have the chance to put their family records online.
Sunday at church I was told that if you speak several languages, you are multi-lingual. If you speak 2 languages, you are bi-lingual. If you speak 1 language, you’re American. Gary is making much better progress becoming bi-lingual, but I’m still very American.
Though it’s physically much harder here, the Gospel is the same. We take great comfort in knowing that the Lord knows each and every member here and can see their diligence in becoming His disciples. We learn from them every day. We are grateful to you, and humbly thank you for your prayers.
Elder Doug Smith & Sister Julie Smith
No news at this time.
Elder Paul Ralph Van Noy & Sister Wendy Van Noy
July 20, 2024
Hello Everyone,
We hope that you are having a wonderful summer! We have been very busy since the end of May. I love seeing families from all over the world choosing to spend their family vacations visiting the Church Historic Sites. They could choose to go to many different locations in the country, but they come here to share with their families the history of the Restoration of the Church. We have had so many young men and women come who have already received their missionary calls and who are anticipating sharing the Restoration with the people on their missions. I love to see the light in their eyes as they feel the
Spirit testifying to them that what they see and hear is true.
As we give the tours I love seeing people of all ages also getting tears in their eyes as they recognize that they are part of a
wonderful Church that is impacting the world in a huge way. A few months ago the Bishop's Storehouse, here in Palmyra, was recognized by the Rochester region for its work in aiding the homeless population here. This last year the Bishop's Storehouse gave away about $500,000 in grants to agencies in this area to allow them to shop at the Storehouse as they feed the homeless. This is just one example of the impact the Church has worldwide.
Starting in April, we have had 33 single Sisters join us for the first four months of their missions. Their mission calls tell them where they will serve, to proselyte, but then it adds a paragraph that states that for the first four months of their missions they will be serving in the New York/Pennsylvania Historic Sites mission. We love having these beautiful young women help us through our busy summer months. They are so full of energy and enthusiasm and bring a special spirit to the sites.
As a mission we have learned to work together to help our guests have a good experience among thousands of other guests with them. For 5 days in June we had what's called the Millennial Choir come to visit with their families. They are a 2000 voice choir and orchestra made up of 5 Western states. I must admit I was very nervous about how we were going to handle such big crowds, but we did it really well! It was exhausting but awesome at the same time. Elder Van Noy kept reminding the missionaries that if the Lord could feed 5000 people with a few fishes and loaves of bread, then we can provide positive
tours for the multitudes of families!
We have loved having several members of our family come to visit us over the last 2 months! We have enjoyed showing them not only the sites but other parts of this beautiful Western New York! We welcome all of you to come visit!
We can't believe that we only have 4 months left of our mission. It has been such a blessing and privilege to serve where the Restoration began. We are so grateful for this opportunity to have our own testimonies strengthened.
Have a great rest of the summer!
Love,
Paul and Wendy