March 17, 2012

Elder Visker and I are still together in Juncos. I'm excited because we've found some great people to teach. There's a new elder from Roy Utah in our district now too. I saw Elder Newman's picture up in the mission office a few weeks ago, and I recognized him but I'm not sure where he is now. Tell Evan good luck, and to stay away from all the cougars in Columbia.

This week has been great, and we've found some people with some good potential. Edgardo and Givendolee are progressing really well. We just taught them about the law of chastity using the family proclamation. The promises and declarations in that proclamation are so powerful. It made them really excited, and they committed to getting married. But, they're moving. I don't know if I mentioned this but we found out a little while ago that they're going to be moving to Humacao. It's close to Juncos, and the elders that work there are in our district but they'll be moving any time now. Probably within the next week or so. So now we're working on making sure the transistion goes well for them and they keep going just as strong in Humacao.

We also had a really great lesson yesterday, one of the best of my mission so far. It was with a guy named Edwin that we contacted a few days ago. While we were talking to him he said he believed in God but he didn't believe in the Bible or Jesus Christ. We didn't have time to talk about any more than that but we studied in Preach my Gospel about what it says to do to teach those without a Christian background. He is really sincere and has a lot of faith in God, and a strong relationship with Him. Because of that the principles from the message of the restoration made sense to him, and he could see the truthfulness of the message. During the lesson I could feel the Spirit reminding me of principles I'd read that helped us tesify of the importance of Jesus Christ. One of the things it says to do is to bear testimony about why you have chosen to follow Jesus Christ in your life. There was a perfect opportunity to do that during the lesson and the Spirit was so strong. He really felt it, and he recognized too that what he felt was from God. He was also excited to read the Book of Mormon. He has doubts about scripture because he says his relationship with God has been something really personal and he has a hard time seeing how scripture could apply to his life but he said he was willing to read and pray to ask Heavenly Father if it was true. It was a great lesson and so rewarding. I know this is God's work. I know He prepares His children to hear the gospel and I love being a part of that. The Church is true.

It's been great. Puerto Rico is still hot. It's just always hot, but I'm pretty used to it by now. We're still waiting for the neighbor's mangos to get ripe (that's part of the reason I was excited to stay in Juncos). I love it here. I learn so much every day about how the Spirit works, and how much our Heavenly Father loves all of us.

I love you. I'm glad everything's good back at home.

Elder Duclos

March 12, 2012

Don't worry, I'm not breaking the rules

So our P days are Mondays now. We now have our weekly planning session, district meetings and P days all on Monday. It should leave us with some more time during the week to get work done.

It hasn't been too long since the last email but it's been pretty crazy since then. That P day we went to Caguas because I had to get the brake cable on my bike fixed, and my license changed I don't know if I mentioned it but I realized that when I got my Puerto Rican license gave me a learner's permit. So we got that stuff done on P day and drove back to Juncos. When we got there the zone leaders called and told us Elder Visker had a meeting in Bayamon the next day. So on Thursday I worked with the elders in Caguas while Elder Visker had the meeting. It was cool to be in Caguas again. I was with Elder Hammer, who was also trained by Elder Griffin. The meeting went way longer than they expected and I ended up spending the whole day with them. Then on Friday, we went to the airport. While Elder Visker was at home, President found out that his grandma had served a medical mission and he asked her to come serve here. She landed on Friday night and President let Elder Visker go too to pick her up. So we've been all over the place.

We've also found some good people to teach this week. I was telling dad about this but before we drove up to Caguas, we stopped by a place in the pueblo where we had taken a few pairs of pants to be sewn. We were in a hurry so we were going to just pick them up and go but he still hadn't sewn them. He told us we could wait if we wanted, and talk awhile about the Bible. We ended up talking to him for about an hour. He had questions about what we believed, especially about what we think happens after we die. We passed by again the other day and taught the rest of the plan of salvation. He liked it, especially that it's possible to live together forever as families. It's a different teaching situation than I've ever had, because he only has time during work and people are coming in and out. But that's good too because the customers hear stuff and get involved in the conversation and we give them our number when they leave. We had a lesson yesterday with the guy I contacted in Caguas who is now in our area. His name is Miguel Maldonado and he was really cool and interested. He lives in the same neighborhood as our bishop so we took him with us.

So things are going well. I love you and hope everything's okay at home. 

Elder Duclos

March 6, 2012

Another great week,

It has been pretty hard to get ahold of Edgardo and Givendolee this week. We've had about 3 appointments fall with them, all for different reasons. One day they were stuck in another city because their car broke down at the beach and they don't have a phone so they had to walk around to find somebody to help them fix it. We finally got to go by to teach them on Monday. They're still really excited for their baptism. We had left 2 Nephi 31 for them to read, that talks a lot about baptism. Edgardo especially understood it, and talked about how baptism was the beginning of the path, that it's the door and that they need to keep going after. We still have a lot to teach them, and the 17th might not work because we haven't been able to meet with them as much as we'd hoped, but they are still progressing and doing really well. Manuel and Keila have both been really busy studying for finals. He's got his next week and hers are this week so we haven't been able to go over at all. We've been trying but we've decided to just back off a little until they're done. It's a shame because I know how much it could help them even with their studies. We've still been out trying to find new investigators, and we've met a few people with potential. Yesterday I was looking through my first planner and I found a name and address I'd written down. I remembered that he was the security guard for an apartment complex in Caguas where we were visiting a member, and that he was pretty interested in learning more. We realized later though that he wasn't in our area, so we tried to pass on the reference but somehow it got lost in the mix. Anyway, when I looked at it yesterday I realized he lived in San Lorenzo, and that's actually in our area now. We figured it was worth calling him even though it was months ago that we contacted him. We called and he said we could come by Sunday, so we'll see what happens with that.

My bike broke the other day, the brake cable broke so we're going to Caguas today to get that fixed. It's been great here. I'm pretty used to the heat, and riding around on the bikes. I still get sunburned every once in awhile though. And, we found out some good news. We were at a member's house one day and they showed us their mango tree in their backyard. I didn't know what they looked like and when we got home and went in the backyard I noticed that the neighbor's huge tree that hangs over on our side of the fence is a mango tree, and there's fruit starting to grow. I'm really excited for that, I hope I'm not transferred before they're ripe.

Anyway, everything is going really well. I'm the happiest I ever have been and I am learning so much every day. I know the church is true and I love the gospel.

Elder Duclos

February 22, 2012

Another great week,

It has been pretty hard to get ahold of Edgardo and Givendolee this week. We've had about 3 appointments fall with them, all for different reasons. One day they were stuck in another city because their car broke down at the beach and they don't have a phone so they had to walk around to find somebody to help them fix it. We finally got to go by to teach them on Monday. They're still really excited for their baptism. We had left 2 Nephi 31 for them to read, that talks a lot about baptism. Edgardo especially understood it, and talked about how baptism was the beginning of the path, that it's the door and that they need to keep going after. We still have a lot to teach them, and the 17th might not work because we haven't been able to meet with them as much as we'd hoped, but they are still progressing and doing really well. Manuel and Keila have both been really busy studying for finals. He's got his next week and hers are this week so we haven't been able to go over at all. We've been trying but we've decided to just back off a little until they're done. It's a shame because I know how much it could help them even with their studies. We've still been out trying to find new investigators, and we've met a few people with potential. Yesterday I was looking through my first planner and I found a name and address I'd written down. I remembered that he was the security guard for an apartment complex in Caguas where we were visiting a member, and that he was pretty interested in learning more. We realized later though that he wasn't in our area, so we tried to pass on the reference but somehow it got lost in the mix. Anyway, when I looked at it yesterday I realized he lived in San Lorenzo, and that's actually in our area now. We figured it was worth calling him even though it was months ago that we contacted him. We called and he said we could come by Sunday, so we'll see what happens with that.

My bike broke the other day, the brake cable broke so we're going to Caguas today to get that fixed. It's been great here. I'm pretty used to the heat, and riding around on the bikes. I still get sunburned every once in awhile though. And, we found out some good news. We were at a member's house one day and they showed us their mango tree in their backyard. I didn't know what they looked like and when we got home and went in the backyard I noticed that the neighbor's huge tree that hangs over on our side of the fence is a mango tree, and there's fruit starting to grow. I'm really excited for that, I hope I'm not transferred before they're ripe.

Anyway, everything is going really well. I'm the happiest I ever have been and I am learning so much every day. I know the church is true and I love the gospel.

Elder Duclos

February 15, 2012

The church is still true

It seems like yesterday was P day, the weeks go by so fast. But there was a lot that happened in between too. On Thursday we had zone conference, and that was so cool. We have been learning a lot about faith. In preparation for Bishop McMullin's visit he gave us two talks to study, both by Elder Bednar - Ask in faith and seek learning by faith. They both focus a lot on the responsibility we have to act. That true faith really leads to action. I've learned a lot about that principle in the past week, and how each thing we learn and do needs to lead to action, to applying the Atonement to make a positive change in our lives. In zone conference we learned about how our planning, studies and teaching should all be working together so that we receive revelation for our investigators and their needs and then help them develop the faith to repent and accept Jesus Christ and the Atonement in their lives. It's amazing how profound the simple things are. On Sunday, we had stake conference in the Caguas Stake. We had one couple who committed to coming and one who said they might be able to but neither ended up coming. I wished they had because it was a really great meeting. The stake president, President Santos spoke. His talk was so humble and genuine and I could see the love he had for the people of the stake. I wish our investigators could have seen that, the kind of leaders we have in the church. Bishop McMullin's talk was powerful. He only had about 20 minutes to speak, and even less because it was being interpreted, but he exhorted the members of the Caguas stake to get their Patriarchal Blessings, and encourage their youth to do the same, and to pay their tithing. He was very straightforward and bold about that. He said "We cannot change the economic situation in the United States or Puerto Rico but pay your tithing..If you pay your tithing your children will never go without. If you pay your tithing the God of Heaven will never leave your cupboards empty". The next day we had a mission conference where he spoke to all the missionaries. He taught us a lot about how we need to be letting our missions change who we are, and that we will never be the same people. That is what the Atonement is all about. He also taught us a lot about how the Spirit works and how it communicates to us. It is a conscious effort on our part to receive and act on the impressions we get from the Spirit. I love the mission, and I am learning so much.

Up until this week, Elder Visker's bike has been broken but he got it fixed and we have been going out on bikes all day. It's been a lot of fun, but on Monday after the conference, about 15 minutes after we left, it started dumping rain on us. It was a lot of fun and we rode all around Juncos looking for people. We got rained on yesterday too, but not as bad. The other night we went to talk to the Rodriguez family, to see what had happened and where their doubt was. We were nervous to go over but when we got there they invited us in and we started talking. They said they recognized that baptism was a really strong commitment, and they wanted to make sure they were ready. We assured them that they wouldn't have to make that commitment until they knew they were ready for it, and they said they would like us to keep coming over. They said they were still reading from the Book of Mormon and praying daily. We had a lot of appointments with investigators fall through this week but we have made contact with everyone and they're all still doing well, it's just been hard to get any appointments. We were contacting in Manuel and Keila's urbanization and we found Manuel's dad, who lives there too. He said he'd talked to missionaries before and had the Book of Mormon. So that might end up being really good too, we may have an opportunity to teach Manuel's parents. The work has been going forward here, and I continue to see the Lord's hand in the work and in my own life. I know this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and that He is at the head of this church. I love this gospel and the opportunity I have to share it.

I love you,

Elder Duclos

February 8, 2012

It's been a good week but there have been some trials too

Friday was a great day, I could really feel the power of the fast. We were contacting and we found a lady that we'd talked to a few days before in the parking lot of a store. She hadn't been really receptive before but we had more time to testify, especially about the Book of Mormon. She accepted a copy of it and said she'd read. Then, a little while later when we were walking back to the car, we saw her next door neighbor outside. We talked to him and found out that he and his sister had met with the missionaries years before, and they said they passed by really often, but that they hadn't been baptized. We asked if we could come by and they said we could come by this Saturday. Then we got into another gated urbanization. We're just breaking down all the walls here in Juncos. It was even pretty cloudy all day without raining much so we weren't dying all day. It was great. Then, that night we went to a member's house for dinner. They made us chicken and I'm not sure if I've mentioned this but Elder Visker is allergic to chicken. So he told them and their daughter said one of her friends had mentioned that missionaries had visited them and that one was allergic to chicken. We found out it was the daughter of the Carasquillo family, so she already has a friend in the church. That was really exciting, and that will be a good connection for them to have. 

This morning during studies we got a call from the Negron family, they're the ones that have been going over with us to teach the Rodriguez family. Brother Negron told us that the Rodriguez family doesn't want us to come by anymore, we're not really sure what happened, they always seemed to really understand how it was helping them in their family. We're not sure what we're going to do but it's a really good thing they still have the Negron family to be there for them and to be examples and to be there for them if they ever feel like they're ready again. We'll see what happens with them. Edgardo and Givendolee's situation has been getting worse. They had us come over last night and we gave them blessings to help them get through. They're still looking for a house and haven't been able to find anything. Manuel and Keila have been good, we're still working on getting them to commit to a baptismal date though. 

This week is stake conference, and Bishop Keith McMullin is coming so that's exciting. He might be speaking to the mission too, I'm not sure. Anyway, everything is still good here, we're still being blessed and seeing little miracles every day. I have really learned this is God's work and His will is always done. It's just up to us to accept it, even when it's different from ours. I love you all. Thank you for all the support. 

Elder Duclos

February 1, 2012

Things this week have been going well as usual. Transfers are today, and I'll be staying in Juncos with Elder Visker. I'm excited because this will be when we see all the progress really happen. All the families we found have stayed steady and progressing. One of the Narnia families, the Valentin family, has been really busy and it's been hard to get in contact with them but they're still interested. Their neighbors, the Carasquillo family, aren't so busy so we are going to be able to go over there more often. We're expecting that to help the Valentins be more interested in making time. The wife of the Carasquillo family told us too that in their neighborhood, there's a group that gets together every Monday to talk about religion. They call it Café con Dios. We're hoping she'll get baptized and change it to Chocolate con Dios. Manuel and Keila have been good too. We had a good lesson with them the other day about the Plan of Salvation. Edgardo and Givendolee have been going through some hard times and they're going to have to move out of their house. They're not sure yet where they're going. That might make it hard for them to keep progressing but they've said they really want to do what they can to keep going, and to keep coming to church. They came for the rest of the meetings on Sunday and they loved it again. The 3 year old loved the primary class and had a lot of fun. The Rodriguez family is progressing really well too. We've been teaching the commandments with them. They've been really receptive to everything but they are nervous to accept a baptismal date. They said they're afraid they weren't ready to make the commitment, and they wanted to be sure that they wouldn't just be baptized and then stop going, so that's what we're working with with them. I've really noticed how when people start to investigate and really progress there are always challenges, big or small. But we're working hard with them and they're all still really excited to learn and progress. If you could include that in your fast, that would be really great.

We went to Humacao, another area in our district, so Elder Visker could do a baptismal interview for a family the elders have been teaching over there. This family has been investigating the church for 3 years now but they only just recently got married so they could be baptized. It was really great to see how excited they were to finally be able to make that covenant with Heavenly Father.

Well, we're still seeing miracles. Even with the challenges that have come up, we have seen how Heavenly Father really is helping His work to move along. I love being out here and being able to be a part of that work. I'm excited to see what happens on Friday. I love you. The Church is true.

Elder Duclos

January 25, 2012

	Jan 25

The stake must still be fasting for us

They're reading my letters in stake conference? I'm going to have to be more careful about what I write. Everything keeps going really well here, and we're still seeing miracles. All the families we found have stayed firm, and we've even found another one, Manuel and Keila. We made contact with the wife a little while ago and passed by for the appointment but they weren't home. The other day we were planning and we decided to go by one more time, just to give it another chance. We got there a little late, about 8 or so. The husband answered and recognized us because his wife had told him about us, (we were glad because we thought they'd forgotten completely). He said they couldn't talk right then but that we could go by the next day. When we went by they were great. We applied some principles we'd been studying from the 12 week program (the new program for new missionaries that the mission has been working a lot with) about teaching people, not lessons. It was a really good lesson, they felt really comfortable talking with us and sharing their concerns. It impacted him a lot that our invitation was to ask Heavenly Father to be able to know for himself if the message was true. He said there were so many different voices in the world saying they had the truth and that he didn't know what to do, or who to trust. It was great to show him that this was something he could have his own testimony of, and know without a doubt that the things we'd shared were true. He even committed to read the whole Book of Mormon. They also really loved when we talked about families. They have a little girl who's about a year old and they told us how important the family was for them, and how they make an effort to spend as much time as they can doing things together as a family. They were great and we're really excited for them.

Edgardo and Givendolee, the family with two little girls that came to church last week, couldn't make it to church this week because she got really sick. After church we went to their house to see why they hadn't come (they don't have a phone) and Edgardo was gone because he'd gone to the church to apologize for not being able to come. We've had some good lessons for them. We were showing the little girls pictures out of the gospel art book and the older one loved the picture of Helaman and the 2000 stripling warriors because of the horse he was riding and she kept asking to see it again.

The Rodriguez family who were the referral from the members are coming to a ward activity tomorrow, and that should be really good. We've taught them almost all the lessons and it's always impressive to see how much of a difference it makes to have the members there, supporting and helping them.

It's been really exciting to see all these things happening. Yesterday there was a meeing in Caguas for the district leaders. Elder Visker is the district leader so we went up there and I got to see all the Caguas elders again. During the meeting, the Rosario family needed something from the missionaries so I got to go on an exchange with Elder Hammer and see them again, so that was really good. Today I had to go change my Utah license to a Puerto Rican one so we drove up to Caguas again. All I had to do was take the written test but I got it done. I got the letters and stickers yesterday. Tell Brookie I'll try to find Rapunzel's tower with the map she gave me.

I love you all, have a good week

Elder Duclos