I had the chance to visit with Justin for a bit as we were trying to get classes situated so I can get him registered for school. Can't believe he'll be home soon. The time flies too fast!
This past week has been slow. My feelings lately have been ones of frustration. Seriously though, things are good and I'm happy, just struggling trying to figure out how to get things rolling more. I feel like I am working harder than I ever have and I am being more obedient than I ever have before as well, but it's kind of like I am just treading water. Our main frustration is with our ward. I can't even begin to list off all the things that are driving us crazy. For example:
There is a family in our ward, the Jenkins. Their entire family has been baptized over the past year or so and they are awesome. The problem is, they are struggling. They have told missionaries in the past that all they really want in the ward is a friend. Sis. Jenkins wants so badly to go to the temple to be sealed. Her husband wants to go as well, but he needs some help kicking some Word of Wisdom problems. When they come to church they tend to only stay for the first hour before they take off. As far as I can tell, nobody really reaches out to them. Sure, they get the occasional hi from somebody, but that isn't enough. One of the three things that Pres. Hinckley said every recent convert needs in the church is a friend - somebody to stand by their side to help them through the struggles they face and to answer questions that they will have. Well, that isn't happening. We as the missionaries can do what we can, but we can't do what the members can do. There are a select few in our ward that are solid when it comes to fellowshipping those that are in need, but it just isn't enough. I am just praying that people like the Jenkins get the help that they need before they decide to throw in the towel.
Well, now that I've been on the phone with Mom for the past 45 minutes I've run out of things to say. Things are going well, other than the typical missionary frustrations. Hopefully everyone has a great week. Be mighty!
love,
Elder Justin Hammer
PS. Thanks for helping me out, Mom. I really appreciate it.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Hello Again
Well, I can't believe that Halloween is this week. October has gone by so ridiculously fast. I'm excited though, cause that means that winter will be here soon and then it will be snowing too, which I am way excited for. I can't wait for the winter.
So anyways, this week was pretty good. E. Rith got transferred clear out to the middle of nowhere in Western Mass. That's pretty funny. Guess who my companion is? E. Winslow again. haha. I'm pretty excited about that. It's pretty funny cause E. Winslow started his mission in Lowell for 7 months, came to Lynn for 9 months, went back to Lowell for 1 transfer, and now he's back in Lynn. haha. He'll probably only be here for one transfer too, cause E. Rith's replacement is coming from Cambodia at the end of this transfer, and I will most likely be training him here. But, that's not for sure, just what we think will happen. We'll see what happens though. That's still a couple months away.
This last week has been a pretty good one. We were able to teach Mike again, and he was at church yesterday too, which is awesome. He still wants to be baptized on the 7th, but I'm thinking we may have to push that back a little bit, just so he can be more comfortable at church. But, if he's ready by then, that's when we'll do it. We taught Bryan a few more times too. He is still working on being able to recognize the Spirit. He is still progressing very well, and keeping all of his commitments. We are shooting for the 7th with him as well. We went to teach him last night, which was a good lesson. We taught him a few of the commandments, and he committed to follow them. After we taught him, Sis. Sen came out of her room with 2 shopping bags from Macy's, which she handed to both me and E. Winslow. She told us that they were our early Christmas presents. We each got a new pair of Bostonian shoes (which are SO comfortable!) and 4 pairs of dress socks. It was so cool. I love Sis. Sen.
We also went on splits with the ward yesterday after church, which is the first time that's happened since I got here. We are working with the ward to visit all of the inactive Priesthood holders in our ward and get them back to church. I went out with a man named Matt Allen, who is one of the coolest guys ever. We had a list of about 7 names that we were supposed to try and contact. We only met one of them, but he knew exactly why we were there, and let us in to talk to him. He poured us both a glass of whole milk (which I decided is really good, by the way) and we proceeded to teach him about the restoration, with an emphasis on the Atonement and repentance. I asked him to tell us the Joseph Smith story. He told us the whole thing, without missing a beat. It was pretty powerful the way he told it. I definitely felt the Spirit. While he was telling us the story, he started talking about why he isn't going to church. It was pretty awesome how he just opened up to us and told us his concerns. He is 60 years old, and he feels like there is no place for him in our ward because it is basically young dental students with their families. There are only 4 High Priests, so I can definitely see where he's coming from. But it was a great visit, and we were able to let him know that we wanted to see him at church again. He is probably going to take a while to get him back, but Matt said that he'd fellowship him and help him out in any way possible. It was a really cool experience.
So that's all the stories for this week that I can think of right now. Just a few more things I thought you'd like to know: I am no longer the youngest Cambodian Elder. E. Winegar got here about 3 weeks ago, and I have forgotten to tell you about that. He is a way cool guy. He's from California, where he went to UC Berkeley for some crazy Biochemist major, or something super smart like that. haha. He's pretty funny. I like him a lot. His Cambodian is pretty good too, so that's good news.
I have also been thinking about what I want for Christmas. the only things I can think of right now would be some CD's. The ones I want are by a guy named Alex Azevedo, I think. I can't remember exactly what his name is. But he has 3 CD's that I know of that are just symphonic arrangements of hymns. I think the CD's are green, black, and red, if that helps you find them at all. They are really good CD's. The other thing I have decided I want, and that would probably be the easiest for everyone would be to just send me money, and I can buy things that I need/want. I'd say about $200 from everyone in the family should be enough :) But really, I think that would be the easiest thing to do, that way you don't have to worry about getting the right size and spending more money shipping stuff to me. But, if you don't want to do that, what I am thinking I need/want right now would be: lots of Grandma's jerky, sweat pants, a hoodie or two, some jeans, some more ties, a couple Boston hats, a football, and maybe a new watch.....I was also wondering if you could send me my Kevin Garnett shoes that are in one of my boxes. That'd be cool.
]
Well, I think that's it for this week. I am still waiting for some letters/pictures/gifts from your vacation. Well, cool beans. Hope you all have a great week. Love you all!
Love,
Elder Hammer
So anyways, this week was pretty good. E. Rith got transferred clear out to the middle of nowhere in Western Mass. That's pretty funny. Guess who my companion is? E. Winslow again. haha. I'm pretty excited about that. It's pretty funny cause E. Winslow started his mission in Lowell for 7 months, came to Lynn for 9 months, went back to Lowell for 1 transfer, and now he's back in Lynn. haha. He'll probably only be here for one transfer too, cause E. Rith's replacement is coming from Cambodia at the end of this transfer, and I will most likely be training him here. But, that's not for sure, just what we think will happen. We'll see what happens though. That's still a couple months away.
This last week has been a pretty good one. We were able to teach Mike again, and he was at church yesterday too, which is awesome. He still wants to be baptized on the 7th, but I'm thinking we may have to push that back a little bit, just so he can be more comfortable at church. But, if he's ready by then, that's when we'll do it. We taught Bryan a few more times too. He is still working on being able to recognize the Spirit. He is still progressing very well, and keeping all of his commitments. We are shooting for the 7th with him as well. We went to teach him last night, which was a good lesson. We taught him a few of the commandments, and he committed to follow them. After we taught him, Sis. Sen came out of her room with 2 shopping bags from Macy's, which she handed to both me and E. Winslow. She told us that they were our early Christmas presents. We each got a new pair of Bostonian shoes (which are SO comfortable!) and 4 pairs of dress socks. It was so cool. I love Sis. Sen.
We also went on splits with the ward yesterday after church, which is the first time that's happened since I got here. We are working with the ward to visit all of the inactive Priesthood holders in our ward and get them back to church. I went out with a man named Matt Allen, who is one of the coolest guys ever. We had a list of about 7 names that we were supposed to try and contact. We only met one of them, but he knew exactly why we were there, and let us in to talk to him. He poured us both a glass of whole milk (which I decided is really good, by the way) and we proceeded to teach him about the restoration, with an emphasis on the Atonement and repentance. I asked him to tell us the Joseph Smith story. He told us the whole thing, without missing a beat. It was pretty powerful the way he told it. I definitely felt the Spirit. While he was telling us the story, he started talking about why he isn't going to church. It was pretty awesome how he just opened up to us and told us his concerns. He is 60 years old, and he feels like there is no place for him in our ward because it is basically young dental students with their families. There are only 4 High Priests, so I can definitely see where he's coming from. But it was a great visit, and we were able to let him know that we wanted to see him at church again. He is probably going to take a while to get him back, but Matt said that he'd fellowship him and help him out in any way possible. It was a really cool experience.
So that's all the stories for this week that I can think of right now. Just a few more things I thought you'd like to know: I am no longer the youngest Cambodian Elder. E. Winegar got here about 3 weeks ago, and I have forgotten to tell you about that. He is a way cool guy. He's from California, where he went to UC Berkeley for some crazy Biochemist major, or something super smart like that. haha. He's pretty funny. I like him a lot. His Cambodian is pretty good too, so that's good news.
I have also been thinking about what I want for Christmas. the only things I can think of right now would be some CD's. The ones I want are by a guy named Alex Azevedo, I think. I can't remember exactly what his name is. But he has 3 CD's that I know of that are just symphonic arrangements of hymns. I think the CD's are green, black, and red, if that helps you find them at all. They are really good CD's. The other thing I have decided I want, and that would probably be the easiest for everyone would be to just send me money, and I can buy things that I need/want. I'd say about $200 from everyone in the family should be enough :) But really, I think that would be the easiest thing to do, that way you don't have to worry about getting the right size and spending more money shipping stuff to me. But, if you don't want to do that, what I am thinking I need/want right now would be: lots of Grandma's jerky, sweat pants, a hoodie or two, some jeans, some more ties, a couple Boston hats, a football, and maybe a new watch.....I was also wondering if you could send me my Kevin Garnett shoes that are in one of my boxes. That'd be cool.
]
Well, I think that's it for this week. I am still waiting for some letters/pictures/gifts from your vacation. Well, cool beans. Hope you all have a great week. Love you all!
Love,
Elder Hammer
Friday, October 22, 2010
HAHAHAHAHA!
Oh boy, I have to be honest, that was a good one, eh? haha. I was kinda worried about the idea of sending an email like that home last week because I had a feeling that something bad might happen, but I sent it anyway. So after I sent it, I was thinking about it all day, and how there was nothing that could go wrong because I put the PS in there. Well, 2 days after I sent it, I got a call from Sister Evans. haha. She told me that my father had called, and all I could think was "oh boy" She said that you had talked to her and that I had said I had an accident. I told her the whole story about how my family was at Disneyworld, and I just thought it would be funny to shake up the weekly blurb. I'm not kidding when I say that she actually laughed about it! haha. I love Sister Evans. She said that was pretty funny, but that she would call you and let you know it was just a joke. haha. I was even thinking that it wasn't going to work cause when Justin hurt his shoulder awhile ago, the mission called home. I thought you might catch that, and realize I was kidding, but I guess you were too worried. Sorry. I am pretty proud of how real I made it sound though. I was laughing before I was even done writing it last week. Wow. haha.
So I also realized this week that I was so busy making my story sound believable that I forgot to mention some of the cool stuff that happened last week. First up is the weather. Aaahh, it is SO nice right now. It's been up in the low 60's for a few weeks now, and it is wonderful. It is even getting pretty chilly here at night. We are coming close to suit coat weather. I'm so excited for it to get cold. In addition to the weather, the trees are all looking great too. They have really been changing colors a lot lately. Oh - last week (on the day Sis. Evans called me, actually) we were driving home from an appointment we had, and we were driving right by the ocean, when my comp was like "is that a funnel cloud?" We pulled over, and sure enough, there were 2 funnel clouds out above the ocean. They were getting pretty big, and then they just disappeared. Pretty anti-climactic, but it was cool, and I got some cool pictures of them. Another cool thing was that last week we had a Nor'easter. That's basically just a really strong storm that comes from the northeast direction. The winds are pretty strong, and there is lots of rain, and the wind is freezing cold, since it's coming from up north. That was pretty cool. It rained a lot, and it lasted for about 3 days.
Next up are our investigators. First is Mike Pucci. He is doing so awesome. He's been smoking for 40 years, 2 packs a day, and we were teaching him about baptism, and we told him he has to stop smoking to get baptized. I am happy to say that he is going on 7 days no smoking, cold turkey! He said that he doesn't want to go to any addiction recovery sessions, cause they don't work. He says that if you're going to quit, you just have to quit. Awesome! Plus, we taught him the Word of Wisdom the other day, and he doesn't have any other problems with that. He is one of probably 2%of the New England population that doesn't drink coffee. It's crazy how many people drink that stuff out here. But, we set a baptismal date for November 7th with him, and he is progressing towards that very well.
Bryan is also doing really good. He won't be getting baptized this sunday, as we were hoping because he doesn't feel ready yet. His main concern is that he "doesn't feel the Spirit" We talked about how to recognize the Spirit, and then we had him say the closing prayer. In his prayer, he asked to feel the Spirit, and boy, did it come. After the prayer, I asked him how he felt. He said that he felt like an awkward moment just happened. I was like "It feels different doesn't it?" Then he started smiling, and he said "yeah, it does" Cool story! We are hoping that we'll be able to rechedule his baptism for the 7th of Nov. as well, cause we have Stake conference on Halloween. So he's doing great.
Midge is doing good. I don't have an update on her, cause we are meeting with her tomorrow, so next week we'll have some news.
So, now I will tell you about transfers. This week was transfers, hence the reason for the Wednesday email. Good news - I'm staying again. yay! And that's about it for transfers. haha. E. Rith is being transferred though. That's weird. I was only with him for 1 transfer. And he only has 1 left so I won't serve with him again. But, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. I'm excited to see who my new comp will be. I'll let you know next week.
I suppose I'll tell you what we did for pday today too, cause that was pretty fun. We woke up at the normal time to go watch the sunrise again, so that was cool. While we were there, we played catch with a football for awhile, which was SO fun. I haven't even seen a football in like 8 months, so that was awesome. Then we went and played basketball for another while. After that, we went and cruised around Salem for a few hours. That was fun too. We went to a museum and checked out some of the stuff there. It was a pretty cool museum. They had some cool stuff from Korea, China, Japan, and some Pacific Islands too. They also had an optical illusion exhibit that was pretty awesome. I had a headache after being in there for like 30 minutes, cause some of that stuff messed with my head. haha. It was really cool though. Salem is an interesting place right now. There are TONS of people there, and lots of them are dressed up in crazy costumes already. I got like 3 flyers handed to my by "vampires" about some of the nighttime stuff they have going on. It's pretty cool to see. They sure are some die-hard Halloween-ers. So that's what we did today. I got some good pictures from the museum.
So I think that's about all I got for this week. At least that's all I can remember, I wrote down a whole lot of stuff to tell you, but I left my planner in the car, so I don't know if I'm remembering everything. haha. Well, hope you all have a great week. Love you all!
P.S. Kurtis, I'm disappointed. I guess you don't want to play guitar hero very bad, huh? I haven't heard from you for a while. LAME!!
So I also realized this week that I was so busy making my story sound believable that I forgot to mention some of the cool stuff that happened last week. First up is the weather. Aaahh, it is SO nice right now. It's been up in the low 60's for a few weeks now, and it is wonderful. It is even getting pretty chilly here at night. We are coming close to suit coat weather. I'm so excited for it to get cold. In addition to the weather, the trees are all looking great too. They have really been changing colors a lot lately. Oh - last week (on the day Sis. Evans called me, actually) we were driving home from an appointment we had, and we were driving right by the ocean, when my comp was like "is that a funnel cloud?" We pulled over, and sure enough, there were 2 funnel clouds out above the ocean. They were getting pretty big, and then they just disappeared. Pretty anti-climactic, but it was cool, and I got some cool pictures of them. Another cool thing was that last week we had a Nor'easter. That's basically just a really strong storm that comes from the northeast direction. The winds are pretty strong, and there is lots of rain, and the wind is freezing cold, since it's coming from up north. That was pretty cool. It rained a lot, and it lasted for about 3 days.
Next up are our investigators. First is Mike Pucci. He is doing so awesome. He's been smoking for 40 years, 2 packs a day, and we were teaching him about baptism, and we told him he has to stop smoking to get baptized. I am happy to say that he is going on 7 days no smoking, cold turkey! He said that he doesn't want to go to any addiction recovery sessions, cause they don't work. He says that if you're going to quit, you just have to quit. Awesome! Plus, we taught him the Word of Wisdom the other day, and he doesn't have any other problems with that. He is one of probably 2%of the New England population that doesn't drink coffee. It's crazy how many people drink that stuff out here. But, we set a baptismal date for November 7th with him, and he is progressing towards that very well.
Bryan is also doing really good. He won't be getting baptized this sunday, as we were hoping because he doesn't feel ready yet. His main concern is that he "doesn't feel the Spirit" We talked about how to recognize the Spirit, and then we had him say the closing prayer. In his prayer, he asked to feel the Spirit, and boy, did it come. After the prayer, I asked him how he felt. He said that he felt like an awkward moment just happened. I was like "It feels different doesn't it?" Then he started smiling, and he said "yeah, it does" Cool story! We are hoping that we'll be able to rechedule his baptism for the 7th of Nov. as well, cause we have Stake conference on Halloween. So he's doing great.
Midge is doing good. I don't have an update on her, cause we are meeting with her tomorrow, so next week we'll have some news.
So, now I will tell you about transfers. This week was transfers, hence the reason for the Wednesday email. Good news - I'm staying again. yay! And that's about it for transfers. haha. E. Rith is being transferred though. That's weird. I was only with him for 1 transfer. And he only has 1 left so I won't serve with him again. But, it was fun while it lasted, I guess. I'm excited to see who my new comp will be. I'll let you know next week.
I suppose I'll tell you what we did for pday today too, cause that was pretty fun. We woke up at the normal time to go watch the sunrise again, so that was cool. While we were there, we played catch with a football for awhile, which was SO fun. I haven't even seen a football in like 8 months, so that was awesome. Then we went and played basketball for another while. After that, we went and cruised around Salem for a few hours. That was fun too. We went to a museum and checked out some of the stuff there. It was a pretty cool museum. They had some cool stuff from Korea, China, Japan, and some Pacific Islands too. They also had an optical illusion exhibit that was pretty awesome. I had a headache after being in there for like 30 minutes, cause some of that stuff messed with my head. haha. It was really cool though. Salem is an interesting place right now. There are TONS of people there, and lots of them are dressed up in crazy costumes already. I got like 3 flyers handed to my by "vampires" about some of the nighttime stuff they have going on. It's pretty cool to see. They sure are some die-hard Halloween-ers. So that's what we did today. I got some good pictures from the museum.
So I think that's about all I got for this week. At least that's all I can remember, I wrote down a whole lot of stuff to tell you, but I left my planner in the car, so I don't know if I'm remembering everything. haha. Well, hope you all have a great week. Love you all!
P.S. Kurtis, I'm disappointed. I guess you don't want to play guitar hero very bad, huh? I haven't heard from you for a while. LAME!!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Oh Man!
First off, as mean of a joke as it was, I laughed my guts out when I read my emails today. I hope all is well and that everyone has forgiven Devin. We'll be talking about that one for years!
Zone Conference was this past week in Auburn. It was good to be back in the area since I left that Zone back in April. Each Zone Conference, the missionaries who will be going home before the next Zone Conference stand and give their Departing Testimony. Well, the next Zone Conference won't be happening again until sometime in January, so that means that I will be home before it takes place. Ever since my first Zone Conference when I heard the missionaries who were leaving stand and talk a little about their mission and what they had learned, and as my mission has gone by and I've heard all of the missionaries who have gone home each stand and bear testimony of what they know to be true, I have wondered what it would be like to be in their shoes. Although I still have a few weeks remaining, the end is quickly coming; and thinking about that while I was standing at the pulpit doing the exact same thing that every other departing missionary has done in our mission in the past was a bit overwhelming. The setting wasn't much different from the last time I stood in my home ward and spoke. Then, there were many people who had come to support me and wish me the best. Those that were there were people whom I love very much, and I remember thinking to myself, "Leaving this behind is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done." Now, although there weren't many people in the chapel, I still felt an incredible love for them. President and Sister Pendleton were on the stand, and some of my missionary heroes were sitting in the congregation. These are people I love very much. My thoughts have been, "Leaving this behind is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done." Thankfully, my time is not yet finished as a full time missionary. I still have lots to do, there are still people that need to hear my voice, and I still need to learn how to not be so prideful. The remaining weeks of my mission are going to be the best. The words to our mission song have taken a new meaning to me. I will share some of them with you:
Master, thou hast called
In answer I have come
To mountains high and redwoods tall.
Master, thou hast made me
A messenger of light
Bringing joy to one and all.
My commision
In California
The Roseville Mission
To do thy will.
Master, I will strive to do it well.
All I want to do is to do "it" well.
I love you all, and I wish you the best this week. The holidays are coming up and they are the perfect time of the year to share the Gospel with someone. Hopefully my family isn't one of those families that drive missionaries crazy - you know, the ones that don't really take the time to share what they have. Hopefully you are all participating in the greatest work we have to do, and I am sure you are. Thank you again for your love and your support. Be Mighty!!
Love,
Elder Justin Hammer
PS. Mom, I am leaning towards Music Education as my major. I don't know for sure yet, mainly because I don't really know what kind of options there are for a major. If I had to choose now, Music Education would be it. I may change my mind when school actually starts up and I get going in things again. Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.
Zone Conference was this past week in Auburn. It was good to be back in the area since I left that Zone back in April. Each Zone Conference, the missionaries who will be going home before the next Zone Conference stand and give their Departing Testimony. Well, the next Zone Conference won't be happening again until sometime in January, so that means that I will be home before it takes place. Ever since my first Zone Conference when I heard the missionaries who were leaving stand and talk a little about their mission and what they had learned, and as my mission has gone by and I've heard all of the missionaries who have gone home each stand and bear testimony of what they know to be true, I have wondered what it would be like to be in their shoes. Although I still have a few weeks remaining, the end is quickly coming; and thinking about that while I was standing at the pulpit doing the exact same thing that every other departing missionary has done in our mission in the past was a bit overwhelming. The setting wasn't much different from the last time I stood in my home ward and spoke. Then, there were many people who had come to support me and wish me the best. Those that were there were people whom I love very much, and I remember thinking to myself, "Leaving this behind is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done." Now, although there weren't many people in the chapel, I still felt an incredible love for them. President and Sister Pendleton were on the stand, and some of my missionary heroes were sitting in the congregation. These are people I love very much. My thoughts have been, "Leaving this behind is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done." Thankfully, my time is not yet finished as a full time missionary. I still have lots to do, there are still people that need to hear my voice, and I still need to learn how to not be so prideful. The remaining weeks of my mission are going to be the best. The words to our mission song have taken a new meaning to me. I will share some of them with you:
Master, thou hast called
In answer I have come
To mountains high and redwoods tall.
Master, thou hast made me
A messenger of light
Bringing joy to one and all.
My commision
In California
The Roseville Mission
To do thy will.
Master, I will strive to do it well.
All I want to do is to do "it" well.
I love you all, and I wish you the best this week. The holidays are coming up and they are the perfect time of the year to share the Gospel with someone. Hopefully my family isn't one of those families that drive missionaries crazy - you know, the ones that don't really take the time to share what they have. Hopefully you are all participating in the greatest work we have to do, and I am sure you are. Thank you again for your love and your support. Be Mighty!!
Love,
Elder Justin Hammer
PS. Mom, I am leaning towards Music Education as my major. I don't know for sure yet, mainly because I don't really know what kind of options there are for a major. If I had to choose now, Music Education would be it. I may change my mind when school actually starts up and I get going in things again. Thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it.
Good News, Bad News
Dear Family,
Well, I hope you are all having a good time in Florida. I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm not jealous, but I am happy that you are having a good time. I must say that when I got Dad's letter telling me, it was definitely not what I was expecting. I wouldn't say it "blew my world" as Dad said it would, but I was definitely surprised. I totally agree with Justin in that I will be expecting a whole lot of cool stuff for Christmas (extended family included there). I won't be needing a phone, car, or girlfriend right now (although you will be able to give them to me sooner than you think...), but I would like some ties, maybe a new suit (grey colored) some shoes, and a whole lot of junk food. And some souvenirs too. But yeah, I hope you are enjoying yourselves without your two favorite people.
So my subject says I have good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news that way I can try to cheer you up with the good news. So as you know, the kids we live above got baptized awhile ago. We have a thing where we teach them a lesson every saturday morning then we go play soccer with them. Well, this last week while we were playing, I was running down the field with the ball. E. Carrillo was coming up on me, so I juked him. But, as I tried to juke him, he swung his leg to hit the ball, but ended up hitting me right in the shin. It hurt pretty darn bad, and when I looked down at my leg, it looked kinda funny. "This doesn't look good" I thought. I couldn't walk, so the other elder's carried me back to the car, and we went to the hospital. Turns out, I fractured my tibia down near my ankle. I won't be able to walk for about 2 months, cause I have a huge cast on. I talked to Pres. Evans about it, and he said that after prayerful consideration, I will be coming home for 4 months to let it heal before I will be able to come back out here. I told him that my family is in Florida right now, so he put me in the office until next week when I will be flying home. I told President that I would do whatever he wants me to do except go home, cause I don't want to come home. But, he said that he feels it would be best for me to go home and make sure it's 100% healed before I return. I'm pretty upset right now, and I don't really know what to do. I know that President knows best, but this is definitely a tough one to obey. I guess there's not a whole lot I can do about it though.
Now, for the good news - I guess it's not so much good news as it is just a normal report on my week. So right now, we have 6 investigators. I am pretty excited about that, but like I said, it's pretty hard to focus right now, but I'll try my best. Our first one is Bryan Sang. He is still doing awesome. He is on schedule to be baptized on the 24th. He is keeping all of his commitments, and is progressing really well. Next is Mike Pucci. He is doing great too. We are getting him a large print BoM so he can actually read, and we set a date with him for Nov. 7th. Angeline is also scheduled for the 7th of Nov, although I think that will probably get pushed back to later, cause we aren't able to meet with her very often. Aesha is ok. We haven't met with her for awhile, but they are hopefully meeting with her today. Then finally we have Nick and Midge. She is the quadreplegic I told you about awhile ago. They are being taught later tonight. Hopefully I hear that that goes well. So that's about all the updates I have right now. No cool stories, but maybe I'll get one here in the office. We'll see. I guess I have a few more days to see what I can do... Sorry for the short one this week, but I don't really know what else to say. I think President's going to let me call after the 16th so I can let you know my flight plans and everything. Ok, well. See you all soon, I guess. Have a good time in Florida. Love you all!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
P.S. haha. I bet you're freaking out about now, huh? I am totally kidding about my leg, I just wanted to see if I could give you a heart attack. That's just my way of saying have fun in Florida without me. haha. Love you all!!
Well, I hope you are all having a good time in Florida. I'm not going to lie and tell you I'm not jealous, but I am happy that you are having a good time. I must say that when I got Dad's letter telling me, it was definitely not what I was expecting. I wouldn't say it "blew my world" as Dad said it would, but I was definitely surprised. I totally agree with Justin in that I will be expecting a whole lot of cool stuff for Christmas (extended family included there). I won't be needing a phone, car, or girlfriend right now (although you will be able to give them to me sooner than you think...), but I would like some ties, maybe a new suit (grey colored) some shoes, and a whole lot of junk food. And some souvenirs too. But yeah, I hope you are enjoying yourselves without your two favorite people.
So my subject says I have good news and bad news. I'll start with the bad news that way I can try to cheer you up with the good news. So as you know, the kids we live above got baptized awhile ago. We have a thing where we teach them a lesson every saturday morning then we go play soccer with them. Well, this last week while we were playing, I was running down the field with the ball. E. Carrillo was coming up on me, so I juked him. But, as I tried to juke him, he swung his leg to hit the ball, but ended up hitting me right in the shin. It hurt pretty darn bad, and when I looked down at my leg, it looked kinda funny. "This doesn't look good" I thought. I couldn't walk, so the other elder's carried me back to the car, and we went to the hospital. Turns out, I fractured my tibia down near my ankle. I won't be able to walk for about 2 months, cause I have a huge cast on. I talked to Pres. Evans about it, and he said that after prayerful consideration, I will be coming home for 4 months to let it heal before I will be able to come back out here. I told him that my family is in Florida right now, so he put me in the office until next week when I will be flying home. I told President that I would do whatever he wants me to do except go home, cause I don't want to come home. But, he said that he feels it would be best for me to go home and make sure it's 100% healed before I return. I'm pretty upset right now, and I don't really know what to do. I know that President knows best, but this is definitely a tough one to obey. I guess there's not a whole lot I can do about it though.
Now, for the good news - I guess it's not so much good news as it is just a normal report on my week. So right now, we have 6 investigators. I am pretty excited about that, but like I said, it's pretty hard to focus right now, but I'll try my best. Our first one is Bryan Sang. He is still doing awesome. He is on schedule to be baptized on the 24th. He is keeping all of his commitments, and is progressing really well. Next is Mike Pucci. He is doing great too. We are getting him a large print BoM so he can actually read, and we set a date with him for Nov. 7th. Angeline is also scheduled for the 7th of Nov, although I think that will probably get pushed back to later, cause we aren't able to meet with her very often. Aesha is ok. We haven't met with her for awhile, but they are hopefully meeting with her today. Then finally we have Nick and Midge. She is the quadreplegic I told you about awhile ago. They are being taught later tonight. Hopefully I hear that that goes well. So that's about all the updates I have right now. No cool stories, but maybe I'll get one here in the office. We'll see. I guess I have a few more days to see what I can do... Sorry for the short one this week, but I don't really know what else to say. I think President's going to let me call after the 16th so I can let you know my flight plans and everything. Ok, well. See you all soon, I guess. Have a good time in Florida. Love you all!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
P.S. haha. I bet you're freaking out about now, huh? I am totally kidding about my leg, I just wanted to see if I could give you a heart attack. That's just my way of saying have fun in Florida without me. haha. Love you all!!
Have Fun
I hope Florida is treating everyone well right now. I guess this means that I'm going to be getting totally hooked up by everyone for Christmas to make up for totally shafting me with the biggest trip my family has ever taken together. I'm going to be needing a computer, a phone, a car, a girlfriend... : ) Seriously though, I better get loads of letters and pictures telling me all about it. And, that can't wait until Christmas!
Well, once again I'm sitting here trying to think of what I can report on from the previous week. The best and hardest part about this week was the leadership meetings I had with President Pendleton. We had a Zone Leader Council meeting where we had to report on a few things that are taking place in our areas. Elder Dowling and I were put through the ringer. President grilled us about why so many baptismal dates have been missed in our Zone over the last month. It was not fun. We weren't the only ones that got punched in the gut, but I think we took it the hardest. The point of this was to show us what we can be doing better. The entire focus of the meeting was on improving ourselves in every area of missionary work. We discussed a ton of different things, and for Zone Conference this week President is going to be sharing some of those things with the rest of the mission. My thoughts lately have been, "Wow, I have so far to go to become a good missionary." Elder Dowling and I have been thinking a lot about the meetings we have had and we've set some goals to improve ourselves. President Pendleton is one of my heroes, and I am so grateful for the things I have learned from him. These most recent meetings were exactly what I needed. After Stake Correlation yesterday, President asked us if he'd gone too hard on us and I told him no way. It was perfect.
So, things are going well right now. I am more determined than ever to be better than ever. The next transfer and a half of my mission are going to be the best yet. Sorry to keep it short, but I'm running out of time. Be Mighty, everyone!
Love,
Elder Justin Hammer
Well, once again I'm sitting here trying to think of what I can report on from the previous week. The best and hardest part about this week was the leadership meetings I had with President Pendleton. We had a Zone Leader Council meeting where we had to report on a few things that are taking place in our areas. Elder Dowling and I were put through the ringer. President grilled us about why so many baptismal dates have been missed in our Zone over the last month. It was not fun. We weren't the only ones that got punched in the gut, but I think we took it the hardest. The point of this was to show us what we can be doing better. The entire focus of the meeting was on improving ourselves in every area of missionary work. We discussed a ton of different things, and for Zone Conference this week President is going to be sharing some of those things with the rest of the mission. My thoughts lately have been, "Wow, I have so far to go to become a good missionary." Elder Dowling and I have been thinking a lot about the meetings we have had and we've set some goals to improve ourselves. President Pendleton is one of my heroes, and I am so grateful for the things I have learned from him. These most recent meetings were exactly what I needed. After Stake Correlation yesterday, President asked us if he'd gone too hard on us and I told him no way. It was perfect.
So, things are going well right now. I am more determined than ever to be better than ever. The next transfer and a half of my mission are going to be the best yet. Sorry to keep it short, but I'm running out of time. Be Mighty, everyone!
Love,
Elder Justin Hammer
Monday, October 4, 2010
Emotional Week
This past weekend has been a tough one. Going back up to Fall River was one of the best and hardest things I have done on my mission. It was incredible to be up there, but at the same time, it was really difficult. We were able to work it out so that all of the missionaries from the past year, plus the ones currently serving there in Fall River, were at the funeral. Me, E. Schiffman, E. Mortenson, and E. Mortenson's companion after I left all drove up together. As soon as we walked into the church building and some of the members saw us we were surrounded. I was grabbed by the relief society sisters preparing the meal and hugged by them all. Sis. Clark even kissed me on my cheek. Yeah, I know, breaking the rules, but that's how it goes sometimes. I just about started crying when Linnea, the youngest Petersen girl came running up to me and hugged me. Each of the older Petersen girls greeted us and I was able to tell each of them that I loved them. Their mom, Sheri, hugged me and kept saying how grateful she was that we were able to make it. She had a great attitude about everything while we were there, but when you looked her in the eyes, you could tell that she was hurting pretty badly inside. Elder Schiffman described how I was feeling almost exactly. He said, "You can't help but feel like a big baby when you're balling your eyes out and then you look at the Petersen's and they don't have a tear in their eyes." The hardest part of the day for me was when one of the speakers mentioned how speaking at Greg's funeral was the greatest honor he had ever received. Although my part in the service was very small, I felt the same way. It meant so much that they asked me to participate by playing their favorite hymn, If You Could Hie To Kolob, and also some postlude while Greg was carried out of the chapel by the pall-bearers. I will never forget this experience.
I love the Petersens. I have learned so much from them in the short time I have known them. I will be forever grateful for the love they have given me and also the sacrifice they have made for me. I have learned more fully what it means to be true to your faith, to endure cheerfully, and to have Christlike love for those around you. Greg Petersen was and is still an incredible man and I look forward to the time when I can give him a hug and thank him for sharing his family with me. If there is anything I could possibly do for any of them, I would do it.
This is going to have to be a short email today. Conference was wonderful. I have learned that I need to be more grateful for the people in my life. I am also going to work on being less prideful. Life is good, time is short, do your best. Be mighty!
love to all,
Elder Justin Hammer
I love the Petersens. I have learned so much from them in the short time I have known them. I will be forever grateful for the love they have given me and also the sacrifice they have made for me. I have learned more fully what it means to be true to your faith, to endure cheerfully, and to have Christlike love for those around you. Greg Petersen was and is still an incredible man and I look forward to the time when I can give him a hug and thank him for sharing his family with me. If there is anything I could possibly do for any of them, I would do it.
This is going to have to be a short email today. Conference was wonderful. I have learned that I need to be more grateful for the people in my life. I am also going to work on being less prideful. Life is good, time is short, do your best. Be mighty!
love to all,
Elder Justin Hammer
Conference Was SO Awesome!!
Well, hello again. Man, conference was so amazing! I think my favorite talk was Elder Ballard's at the end. He was so direct and to the point with counsel that applies directly to us today. He gave such great counsel about what to do if you are caught in an addiction too. I loved when he said "We must be aware of the artificial flies that are being presented to us by the counterfeit fisher of men" That quote was so great. I also loved that he said that texting and video games are an addiction too. Some of the other Elder's teased me about that one, but I told them that I am not addicted and never played anywhere near 18 hours a day. That was such a great talk. And then President Uchtdorf was hilarious too. "Some of you may be wondering what this has to do with flying an airplane.." haha. He is so funny. I also really liked the talk that was directed toward parents of teenagers. I can't remember his name, but I really liked that one too. He talked so much about exactly how I felt when I would ask something. haha. Overall, I enjoyed conference thoroughly. It was great. I have to say that I was pretty jealous of the MTC choir. I stopped going to the choir once I heard that we weren't singing at conference when I was there. haha. I saw Mike Morris (from Super Band) in the choir too! He was the only one I recognized, but I thought that was pretty sweet. I haven't heard where he is going though.
Mom, the cookbook is great. It ended up that I didn't cook anything for Bro Buckley like we had planned. E. Rith and I made a ton of cambodian egg rolls though, and those were delicious. Hopefully I'll be able to remember everything we put in them so I can make some when I am home. It was pretty fun to do that. I think we made about 150 of them, and we ate them with the other missionaries that were at conference, and shared them with the Buckley's too. We went to his house in between Sunday sessions and had meatloaf, squash, potatoes, and our egg rolls. But yeah, the cookbook looks like it will be really good. I'm excited to use it sometime.
So besides conference, this week was pretty good. We are still teaching Bryan and preparing him for his baptism on the 24th. He is so cool. He has read every chapter we've given him, and is now reading everyday by himself. I'm so excited for him. We also taught Angeline, who is the daughter of one of our less actives, who we haven't met with for a long time. We were finally able to meet her again, and re extended a baptismal date for November 7th. She accepted that date, so that's cool. She's really cool too. She answers all of our questions and has such a sincere desire to learn about our church. We also met a woman named Aesha. She is a construction worker who is married and has 3 kids. Our ZL's tracted into her, but they only do spanish work, so we got to go meet her. She told us that she gambles, drinks, swears, and doesn't want to join a church that will change that. However, she is extremely interested in our religion. We talked to her for about an hour and talked all about the plan of salvation, the Book of Mormon, and all sorts of all other things. We haven't told her yet that she will have to change all those things if she wants to join, but we will the next time we meet with her. She was a pretty funny lady.
So I think that is about it for the week. The weather this week has been awesome! It's been in the low 60's all week, and it has rained about 5 out of the last 8 days. I'm loving it. I'm so excited for the weather to change and turn into winter. The trees still have a pretty long way to go before they're all changed, but they are getting there. It looks pretty cool. We have been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately too, to get us in the mood for the season change. haha. One of our ZL's in our apartment has a bunch of the Motab Christmas CD's, so that's what we've been going through. He doesn't have the one that I bought for Mom last year, so I was wondering if you could burn that one and send it to me sometime. No hurries, just as long as I have it by the time Christmas does come around. haha.
Alrighty, that's it. Hope you all have a wonderfully great week! Love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
PS. Kurtis, thanks for the letter FINALLY! I had an idea come to my head this last week. I haven't yet given you permission to play guitar hero, so you better not have gotten it out yet. I am issuing a challenge that if you can write to me for 3 more weeks in a row, you can get it out. I know that's probably going to be the hardest thing you've ever done, but I don't care. I want you to write to me, and so far, this is the only way I've found that's worked. That goes for all of my younger siblings. If you can write to me for 3 weeks in a row, you can all play it. There ya go. Now let's see who does it. It starts this week. OH, I just had another thought pop into my head. You have to write to both me and Justin for 3 weeks in a row. yeah, that sounds better. And they have to be separate, hand written letters. No typing and sending the same one to both of us, that's cheating. Yeah, now I'm excited. We'll see if you really want to play it that bad. haha. Cool Beans!
Mom, the cookbook is great. It ended up that I didn't cook anything for Bro Buckley like we had planned. E. Rith and I made a ton of cambodian egg rolls though, and those were delicious. Hopefully I'll be able to remember everything we put in them so I can make some when I am home. It was pretty fun to do that. I think we made about 150 of them, and we ate them with the other missionaries that were at conference, and shared them with the Buckley's too. We went to his house in between Sunday sessions and had meatloaf, squash, potatoes, and our egg rolls. But yeah, the cookbook looks like it will be really good. I'm excited to use it sometime.
So besides conference, this week was pretty good. We are still teaching Bryan and preparing him for his baptism on the 24th. He is so cool. He has read every chapter we've given him, and is now reading everyday by himself. I'm so excited for him. We also taught Angeline, who is the daughter of one of our less actives, who we haven't met with for a long time. We were finally able to meet her again, and re extended a baptismal date for November 7th. She accepted that date, so that's cool. She's really cool too. She answers all of our questions and has such a sincere desire to learn about our church. We also met a woman named Aesha. She is a construction worker who is married and has 3 kids. Our ZL's tracted into her, but they only do spanish work, so we got to go meet her. She told us that she gambles, drinks, swears, and doesn't want to join a church that will change that. However, she is extremely interested in our religion. We talked to her for about an hour and talked all about the plan of salvation, the Book of Mormon, and all sorts of all other things. We haven't told her yet that she will have to change all those things if she wants to join, but we will the next time we meet with her. She was a pretty funny lady.
So I think that is about it for the week. The weather this week has been awesome! It's been in the low 60's all week, and it has rained about 5 out of the last 8 days. I'm loving it. I'm so excited for the weather to change and turn into winter. The trees still have a pretty long way to go before they're all changed, but they are getting there. It looks pretty cool. We have been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately too, to get us in the mood for the season change. haha. One of our ZL's in our apartment has a bunch of the Motab Christmas CD's, so that's what we've been going through. He doesn't have the one that I bought for Mom last year, so I was wondering if you could burn that one and send it to me sometime. No hurries, just as long as I have it by the time Christmas does come around. haha.
Alrighty, that's it. Hope you all have a wonderfully great week! Love you all!!!
Love,
Elder Hammer
PS. Kurtis, thanks for the letter FINALLY! I had an idea come to my head this last week. I haven't yet given you permission to play guitar hero, so you better not have gotten it out yet. I am issuing a challenge that if you can write to me for 3 more weeks in a row, you can get it out. I know that's probably going to be the hardest thing you've ever done, but I don't care. I want you to write to me, and so far, this is the only way I've found that's worked. That goes for all of my younger siblings. If you can write to me for 3 weeks in a row, you can all play it. There ya go. Now let's see who does it. It starts this week. OH, I just had another thought pop into my head. You have to write to both me and Justin for 3 weeks in a row. yeah, that sounds better. And they have to be separate, hand written letters. No typing and sending the same one to both of us, that's cheating. Yeah, now I'm excited. We'll see if you really want to play it that bad. haha. Cool Beans!
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