2013-July-29: We Had A Baptism Last Saturday

Ola Minha Mae!

I am so happy to hear from you all! Elder Holbrook and I do not attend Ward Council (bummer!), but our Ward Mission Leader Brother Gonda reports the Missionary Work to the Ward Council. I am glad to hear that you are seeking revelation in The House of the Lord. The Robertson’s will be greatly missed, but they've got good things ahead of them. I am so glad to hear that you and Debbie and Danielle could party. I Love Them so much. I hope Danielle got my letter. And in response to your question, I LOVE PRESIDENT AND SISTER BELL! They are angels sent to us missionaries. I see them quite a bit since they live in our ward and the mission office is in the building I meet in on Sundays. He said, "I've been praying to delay your Visas because I want you all to stay here!" I hope he meant that jokingly. The missionaries and senior office Elders and Sisters are way nice.

Elder Weaver & Elder Holbrook

 So, to fill you in: We had a baptism last Saturday. Yay! For Gabby. (I hope you are getting my pictures please tell me if you are not.) 

Sisters McKay, Christenot, Tenney, Gabby, Elder Holbrook and Elder Weaver

In this picture are Elder Holbrook and I, Gabby, Sisters McKay, Christenot, and Tenney. 

I have oven mitts on in that one picture because we had to boil water all day to get the font warm enough since the water heater is semi-broken (President Bell said he'll get that fixed). Gabby is so nice and she definitely has a strong testimony. She is from Peru and hopefully we can teach some of her family who live here in Wichita. 

Also, earlier this month, Elder Holbrook's family sent me a care package. We have been continuing to teach Sister Harris, but her kids do not want her to get baptized. She has a testimony, but she wants her children's blessing. We are still working with her. Boney is going to take some time this month away from us so he can pray about whether or not he should be baptized. We will continue to pray for him.

I Love You all so much!

Eu continuo vivando o evangelho. Eu espero eu sou todas que eu posso ser. Eu continuo practicar Portugues.

Com Amor,

Elder Weaver

I Love The Kansas Wichita Mission!

Flying to Wichita

July 15, 2013

RE:  Oi! Como Vai?

Entao,

I LOVE THE KANSAS WICHITA MISSION! So far, I have taught about 3 different people. Sister Harris is a lady in her 70's. She reminds me of Aunt Sandi. She his hilarious! She calls the missionaries "her boys." She has been receiving lessons for about a month now. She reads the Book of Mormon and her only hold-up on Baptism is that her kids don't want her too. They're super controlling, but it sounds like she wants to join the church regardless! She went through chemo this year and so she has a few wigs she calls "her girls." She seems to be doing a little better now. She maintains a positive attitude despite having a heart condition.

We taught Boney. Boney is a Seventh-day Adventist. So, he attends the institute and church. He loves the Book of Mormon and believes it to be scripture. He has a problem with worshipping on Sunday. He feels that Saturday is the Sabbath day (since he is an SDA). He said, "I'll worship both days if I have to!" So, we're doing our best to help him work through that so he can be baptized and partake of the restored gospel!

Anne. So, I wanted to organize the area book because it was in bad shape (Dad, thanks for teaching me that the Lord's House is a House of Order, and for teaching me to be orderly). So we were tearing it up in the Area Book and we wrote down names of people that stood out to us that we should visit. (There were a lot of people who were dropped or were not continuing to have an updated teaching record for no reason! Crazy! Missionaries need to understand the responsibility they have for God's Children.) Anyways, my companion and I went on splits (they call them "Team-Ups" down here, but I don't really like that name) with a member named Shane. (Shane is less active due to anxiety issues he has with large groups of people, but we got him to come to church this Sunday!) So my companion felt inspired to visit this one person named Anne. She let us in and told us how she had just finished surgery and wanted to come to church! She had a Book of Mormon already and we are going to attempt to visit her this week even though she has many doctors’ appointments. So, we returned to the Area Book to review her teaching record, and it said she had received a witness of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon! She had only not committed to baptism because of her previous impending surgeries. And when we looked for her address it was not on her teaching record! We still don't know where my companion got her address! This is nothing short of a miracle.

Gabby! Gabby! Has been meeting with the missionaries for a while now. She was fellowshipped by her boyfriend Brandon. I got to teach a lesson to her with 5 other missionaries. So cool! We went over the Baptismal Interview questions with her and obeying the law of the land. She set a date to be baptized for next Saturday! She had wanted to wait until it felt right to set a date and she said it feels right!!! She has so much faith. Brandon has been deployed somewhere far away so he won't be able to attend but he is so supportive and wants her to continue with her commitment to be baptized whether he is there or not. She has a two-year old daughter. Sister Cluff was also there helping teach the lesson! Member present lessons are always so gooooooood! I cannot stress how important it is for members to work alongside full-time missionaries.

My companion's name is Elder Holbrook. He's been a pretty good trainer so far. He's from Utah, a town called Farmington. He is the complete opposite of Elder Cervantes. Elder Holbrook will talllllllkkkkkkkkkk all day long if he can! He is super funny though and his enthusiasm and talkative nature will be good for me as I prepare for the remainder of my missionary service. It's funny because he actually just barely finished his training and now he's training me! With the number of missionaries out now, this will probably become more common than rare. We have 3 sisters serving in our ward as well. Sisters McKay, Christenot, and Tenney. Sister Tenney is waiting for a Visa to Brazil as well. We practice our Portuguese a lot with members of the ward who served missions to Brazil.

Also, I ate dinner with the Howards last night. Brother Howard served in Portugal, and his wife is hard of hearing. So! I got to speak Portuguese with him and I used ASL to communicate with her! It was way fun.

I got to go, but I Love Y'all!

The pictures are of me and two angels the Lord sent me. One is named Elder Noll, the other is Elder Critchfield.

Press Forward Saints!

Elder Weaver

Elder Noll & Weaver

Elder Weaver & Critchfield

Elder Willett doing his "Blue Steel" Face. Sister Sirmans and Elder McKnight are in the background.

Elder Reinhardt and Elder Weaver

Elder Cervantes and Elder Weaver 

Nosso Distrito

Elder Michael Truman Capawana. This man is both a gentleman and a scholar and he is one of the funniest people you will ever meet!

Elders Wilson, Weaver and McMaster, My Roommates

The Lone Angolan (Elder Whittaker) and I

The remnants

In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed, when the sparrows stop there singing and the sky is clear and red!

P.S. Also,

I'm in the Ward where the mission home is so I see President Bell all the time! It's so great! I thought you'd like to hear that. The members have been feeding us super well. (In fact I wish they'd lay off so I could actually learn how to cook, but that's alright.) I Love You, So much!

Thank You for sharing your scriptures and thoughts. I Love You. Your Portuguese is coming along, I see ;) One scripture I have been thinking about lately is in 2nd Kings chapter 6. It talks about how the servant of Elisha is frightened and then the Lord opens the eyes of the young man that he may see. And he sees chariots of fire, angels, and multitudes of heaven there to assist him. Even though you are distant, I have never felt you so near. 

I Love You, Mom.

Elder Weaver

I Got My Reassignment Today!

Wichita, Kansas

July 5, 2013

To: Mommy, Daddy, Ashley, Allison, Irmaos, Irmas, Cousins, Friends, Romans, Countrymen, 

Lend Me Your Ears!

I GOT MY REASSIGNMENT TODAY! I have been called to serve in the KANSAS WICHITA MISSION until I receive permission to enter the country of Brazil! It is one of the 58 new missions that were announced. Elder Willett and I both got reassigned to this part of our beautiful world! The two of us will leave on Tuesday the 9th of July! We will wake up at 2.30 AM for our flight to Denver. Family, I am allowed to call you before or in between flights. I will leave Salt Lake City at 6 AM to connect to Denver. My next flight will at 8.16 AM to Wichita. (I believe these times are all according to Mountain Daylight Time, but I am not sure! My travel plans do not specify.) So! Family, If you wish to speak with me I will plan on calling the house around 7 or 8 ish your time in the morning. I hope that works? Thank You for all you do!  Eu AMO vos, Muito!

This week has been great! I got to Skype Anita (one of the investigators Irma Tirrell portrayed) in Brazil last Friday! It was so nice to meet the real Anita and speak with her in Portuguese about her testimony and how she came to knowledge of This Truth. It was the last lesson I taught with Elder Cervantes. I Love my first companion so much. I know he is doing incredible things in Denver!

Since my companion left this week, I was assigned to a new companion, Elder Whittaker! Elder Whittaker used to be my Zone Leader with Elder Hamrick, and he's someone I look up to very much! He was originally assigned to serve in Angola, but he stayed here 2 extra weeks waiting for his Visa. He received his travel plans today and he will be going to New York to meet a consulate that will approve his Visa. Hopefully he can be in Angola within 2 weeks!

The rest of the District: Elders Reinhardt and McKnight get to be Cary Grant in North By Northwest as they serve in South Dakota, Rapid City! Elder Capawana has been called to serve in Minnesota Minneapolis! (Maybe he'll get to convert Adam Young of Owl City! :) And Elder Knudson will serve in Texas, Houston East! (Maybe he'll convert George Strait!) I am so happy for all of them!

Yesterday was 4th of July (as I'm sure you know). There was a special holiday Devotional. We got to watch 17 Miracles! I am always astounded by the efforts the Pioneers made on our behalf. They were truly converted and recognized that the Gospel is worth every sacrifice. I Love the example of Levi Savage. Like Albert, I too hope to one day be, "Superb!" I am looking forward to being a Pioneer in Wichita and Brazil as I have the opportunity to help the Lord's children come unto Christ. After that, we got to watch the Stadium of Fire at BYU from the MTC (I had never heard of this before, but apparently it's a big deal.)

This P Day has been so great! As the scripture says my joy is full even to overflowing. I Love This Work!

Thank you, to all who have sent me letters, Dear Elders, Packages, and emails. Most of them had very timely arrivals. I Love You, and I invite you to come unto Christ and partake of the ordinances of salvation.

When I read that I will be serving in Kansas, the words of this song by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir came to mind,

"In the quiet misty morning when the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their signing and the sky is clear and red.

When the summer's ceased it’s gleaming,

When the corn is passed its prime,

When Adventure's Lost It’s Meaning,

I'll Be Homeward Bound In Time.

Bind me not to the pasture.

Chain me not to the plow.

Set me free to find my calling,

And I'll return to you somehow."

I look forward to finding God's children that has called me to seek and inviting them to return with me to all of the family of Adam at our Heavenly Home, when we are Homeward Bound again.

Eu Amo Voces!

Elder Weaver