WEEK 8*

How is everyone doing? I can't believe how fast, yet slow the days are going. I'm starting to get more adjusted to being a missionary, but I still have a long way to go.  I knew the mission would be hard, but I didn't realize it would be this hard in all honesty. There are so many things I miss back at home: (My car, BYU and school, Vasa, golf, my family and friends, my schedule, music, basketball, etc.) I know you guys probably aren't interested in my sob story, but I never realized how many little blessings I had back at home. As I talked about it my last email, I've already become way more grateful for things I have back at home. I'd be lying if I didn't say I was homesick, but thankfully it doesn't affect my work as a missionary.  Me and my companions are starting to get a long a lot better now which has been good. There are definitely things they do and say which I don't agree with, but I'm sure that's how the majority of companionships are. They're the Zone Leaders and I'm the Jr. companion, so I don't have much of a say in what I can and can't do. I've definitely had to humble myself and just go along with whatever they tell me to do!  Here's how my past week went:

Wednesday was my first preparation day out in the field.  It was such a blessing to be able to talk to my family and friends today.  I was able to get my laundry done and organize my suitcases.  Elder Thompson had to get a haircut, so we went and did that.  Afterwards, we were able to go shopping thankfully.  We had been living off rice and beans [which I can't eat] in our apartment since it wasn't an "emergency."  So from the time I had gotten to San Jose until P day, we had no food.  My companions love to eat fast food, and I don't, so whenever we go out I just pack my own lunch. While shopping, I tried buying one energy drink, and that immediately got shut down by both of my companions.  In all honesty, that really got on my nerves.  I definitely agree energy drinks aren't the best for you, but I only wanted one for my workouts.  Also, you can't convince me that wanting to eat Taco Bell every day is healthier for you than drinking an energy drink.  After, we went and played basketball, chair soccer, and volleyball at the stake center.  It went OK. Once our P day concluded, the Zone Leaders had a meeting with the Stake President and our Mission President.  They talked about how companionships were doing and the importance of getting ward members involved in the work.

 

For Thursday, After our studies, we had a lesson with Diego.  Diego is one of our friends right now who is super interested in our church.  Right now, he's living out of a Motel 6.  Our lesson was about faith and I shared Alma 32:21 with him in Spanish.  Overall, the lesson went really well.  After, we had weekly planning which took way too long.  After, we went to go check on one of our friends, Luz Marina.  She wasn't home, but we left a card.  On our way out, we prayed for a man and then went to dinner with one of our members named Linda.  Such a nice lady!  It made me pretty sad when I found out she had no family and not that many friends, so we're making an extra effort to be her friend.  After we had a lesson with a new investigator named Carmen Meza.  She made fun of me for my broken Spanish, which was pretty funny.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and a Bible and shared two scriptures about faith! (Alma 32:21 and Hebrews 11:1).  After, we had our weekly seminar with David.  It went on for about 40 minutes, couldn't really understand what he was saying, but his knowledge of the doctrine contained in the Bible is unbelievable.  He shared with us Hebrews 11:1, which was the scripture verse I shared with Carmen Meza, so that really caught my attention.

 

On Friday, Since my companions are Zone Leaders, I had to go with them to MLC [Mission Leader Conference].  I was the only Elder/Sister in the whole conference who wasn't a Zone Leader or a Sister Training leader.  In all honestly, I definitely felt out of place, but it was good to learn how it works.  They really emphasized the importance of getting members involved in the work and telling us to ask them, "How can we help you?" instead of, "Can you help us with...?"  We had another lesson with Nelson and clarified some questions he had about baptisms for the dead and the Plan of Salvation.  Hopefully, we can get him to come to the temple with us soon.  To end the night, we had sports night.  Artulo, the member who loves taking selfies, is such a good guy.  He's super encouraging to me and helps me with Spanish.  Also, one of our friends (Sébastien) came and played with us.  Soccer is definitely not my sport!

On Saturday, The adjustable weights my dad ordered for me came and they're amazing.  It's nice to be able to workout with dumbbells now and not with bands.  We had another lesson with Diego and taught him about repentance and what happens to us after we die.  We invited him to church as well!  After, we knocked on Luz Marinas' door, but no answer.  On the way out, we met two guys named Anderson and Alfredo.  Anderson was super interested in our message while Alfredo wasn't.  Alfredo is agnostic and doesn't believe in scriptures.  Werner wasn't home, which was a bummer, but on the way out, we met a lady and her son.  We offered her a prayer.  When I told her I was from Utah, she was sarcastic with me and said, "None of you guys are from here, it seems."  It was pretty clear she had talked with missionaries before.  We had to end the day earlier and drop people who weren't interested in our message anymore.

 

On Sunday, Diego came to church today which was awesome.  However, it was the Primary program today.  So the English and Spanish wards, alongside with the Vietnamese branch, had a combined sacrament meeting.  The kids all sang in English, so the majority of people didn't understand what they were saying.  Diego still seemed to enjoy it though.  After, we had another contact with Anderson and Alfredo.  We taught them about the kingdoms of glory, and I shared with them (1 Corinthians 15:40-41). Anderson was super interested, but not Alfredo.  He basically believes that scriptures are the "philosophies of men."   Alfredo had a cat named Bobi, and he had it on a leash.  We all got a good laugh out of it.  We met some kids and had a few more lessons.  We taught two of our friends, Honorio and Cesar, about the Book of Mormon.  We read the introduction and the testimonies of Book of Mormon.  They invited us to come back next week.  Sundays are usually our most busy days.

On Monday, We had Zone Conference and District Council today.  We did some activities that represented the importance of working with our members.  Our Zone Leaders, my trainers, really emphasized the importance of getting members involved.  If you couldn't tell by now, President Larson is really emphasizing the importance of getting members involved.  Statistically, more baptisms/conversions come from referrals that come from members.  In addition to this, in our district council, we all made a goal to do our best to meet as many new people as possible while contacting.  This is something I definitely need to work on.  I struggle going up to new people and talking with them in Spanish.

 

While walking, we met some eighth graders playing football.  I played around with them for a bit. They were so surprised that we didn't get paid for doing our work and how we weren't allowed to listen to music, see movies, etc.  They thought we were lawyers at first. After we met a man named Favian.  He has had a rough life, and wanted to know the purpose of why he was still alive.  We shared 2 Nephi 2:25 and explained to him that one of our purposes here on earth was to feel Joy.  After, we met another man named Diego.  He was such an awesome guy.  We hopped in his car with him, I left the door open, and talked with him for a bit. He seemed interested in coming to our English class and church.  We taught him about the restoration.  To end the night, Elder Thompson conducted a baptismal interview for our friend named Julian.  He passed and is preparing to be baptized this Saturday, which is exciting. 

Tuesday, In all honesty, this was probably one of my least favorite days in the mission so far.  We had a lot of people cancel, and we had to do exchanges.  Elder Astle is such a smart and intelligent missionary, but he had very little motivation to work. One thing that did go well was teaching Diego again. Diego is so close to being baptized; we'll invite him to be baptized soon!  Also, we had a lesson with Vanessa on her door step.  We read the introduction to the Book of Mormon with her and clarified/explained what we do as missionaries and what the Book of Mormon is about.  Overall not the best day, but some days are like that.

This email was pretty long! I'm so grateful for the support and love for everyone in my life.  I pray daily for all of you guys!  Spanish is still really hard, but I'm taking it day by day.  The mission has really taught me the importance of patience.  I'll talk again next week! Also, pretty random, but we have this really interesting painting in our apartment with past prophets in temple clothing.  In all honesty, it's kinda weird haha.

 

-Elder Copeland

-Scripture: 

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."