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

January 18, 2012

It's been another great week.

Juncos has been really good, it's been different from what I've been used to, but things have been happening like crazy here. In Juncos there aren't as many areas where the houses are all close together, like the neighborhoods in Utah (they're called urbanizations here) so we've been working a lot in the areas that are more spread out. We were contacting in one of those areas the other day and we noticed that to the side there was a big section of a wall missing on the lot of an abandoned house. We went through the lot to see what was on the other side and it was a gated urbanization that we wouldn't have been able to get into if the wall hadn't been missing. We contacted there for awhile and found one family that invited us to come back. We went back yesterday and they were awesome. They fed us and were really attentive and receptive and they had even invited another family to come over and listen. It was the most people I'd ever taught at once, it was kind of scary but they were great.

We also found a family while we were contacting in a parking lot. They were eating Wendy's by a Burger King. We contacted them and got a return appointment, and didn't think much of it. He didn't have an address to give us but just gave a description of where to go to find his house so we weren't even sure if we'd be able to find it. We went by on the day we scheduled and found the house. When we got there they were really excited to have us there and they had a lot of interest and a lot of questions. They were really impressed when we shared the message of the restoration and they asked if they could come to church. We told them they could. They came on Sunday and loved it. We went by their house before so we could show them how to get there and their 3 year old daughter was really excited to go. They had to leave after Sacrament meeting but they said they didn't want to go, and they'd definitely be back. They said they'd been looking for something that would "fill them" and that they felt something when we talked to them and when they were at church. We have an appointment with them tonight.

The other day while we were in a lesson with a less active family, a member kept calling us. We finished the lesson and called back and the member couple asked if we could go with them to somebody's house. They were friends with a family that has been going through some hard times recently and they saw the opportunity to bless their life with the gospel. We went with them and had a really good lesson, and they're really interested to hear more. It was really great to see how important the members are in missionary work. Because they had that relationship, they were able to introduce the family to the gospel when they were the most likely to be receptive. It made things so much more sincere and personal to have them there, testifying of how the gospel had blessed their lives and how it can help them with their trials. It was a really great experience. The work has been going really well in Juncos. I've never picked up so many solid investigators in such a short time, and especially not this many families. We really have been noticing the power of the ward's fasting and prayers. It has been amazing. Little things have been happening that we know aren't coincidences. We ran into a less active family in a parking lot that Elder Visker had been trying to contact for awhile before he left. We talked to them a little bit, got their number so we could set up an appointment, and they came to church Sunday too. It's really exciting, and there's a lot of work to do now! I can't wait to see what's going to happen on February 3.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. It's still hot here. We saw a sign the other day up in the mountains that said "for sale, rabbits and rabbit tacos." I wonder how they decide which ones to sell and which ones to cook.

Well, I hope everything's going well at home. I love you all.

Elder Ducloshunterallenrobinson.blogspot.com

Pictures January 11, 2012

Some of my late Christmas

All apartments have machetes for the Elders to help cut downed greenery

Nick & Kadee sent this one to me. I is engraved with "Matranas" (Frog Killer)

I am the Puerto Rican Santa!

A street in our area

I'm gonna miss this guy

Caguas Christmas

It's still in the 90's at Christmas

January 11, 2012

Hey,

 

I've been transferred. I found out Wednesday night that I would be leaving Caguas. I wasn't sure why because the transfer had just started, but all they told me Wednesday night was that the next day I'd be going to Juncos, a smaller town in the same stake and zone as Caguas, and that I'd find out who my companion was at the mission conference we'd have on Thursday. At the conference two elders who had gone home for medical reasons had come back so Elder Griffin and I were paired up with one each. My new companion's name is Elder Visker, he's from Lehi and he was home getting surgery because he cut a tendon in his thumb. He's a good elder and it's been fun. Elder Griffin's new companion was his companion before me who had to go home because he had a badly broken arm. It was sad to leave all the elders in the Caguas apartment but Juncos has been really good. It's been really different because we are the only elders there so the house is a lot more quiet, but it's exciting to be in a new area, and we've been working hard. Elder Visker was here before he left about two months ago and since then there hasn't been anyone serving here so we're working on getting in contact with all his old investigators and finding new people. It's been a little different working with someone else but it has been great so far. The ward isn't as big but it seems really good from what I saw on Sunday.

 

Three kings day was pretty uneventful. They celebrate it pretty much the same way they celebrate Christmas and the new year. Really it's just a continuation of the holidays, Schools just started today. It was our first day in Juncos so we didn't have much going on, just getting settled in and a little bit of shopping to get what we needed to make it to P day, then we passed by some member's houses but we didn't find anyone at home.

 

anyway, not a lot to report other than the transfer. I'll be sending some pictures though

 

I love you

Elder Duclos