Aloha from rainy Michigan!
Nothing much going on here. I don't think this week was any more exciting than the last. It has been getting cooler as most of the leaves are now on the ground instead of on the trees. This has been a rainy week (it actually hailed yesterday) but no snow yet. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't come until at least November.
Wednesday we had trade-offs with our district leader and his companion. I spent the day in Charlevoix with Elder Robinson. It was a pretty busy day for them down there, which was nice. I got to meet a lot of neat people but I was kind of sad that I probably won't see any of them again. I suppose we'll have tradeoffs again sometime next transfer, maybe I'll go down to Charlevoix again.
Thursday we had our interviews with President Jones. I had been sort of looking forward to it and was a little disappointed that we only got to talk to him for about 5 minutes each. Since Traverse City is a district and not a stake, President Jones is actually the presiding ecclesiastical leader for the district so he was also going from place to place doing temple recommend interviews, etc. Anyway, he was late in getting to Petoskey and then had to hurry off to Cheboygan and Gaylord.
Also on Thursday we received a visit from two women that Elder Williams knew from when he served in Badaxe in the thumb. They came up with the Midland zone leaders, Elder Mineer and Elder Seely. Elder Mineer knew them because he trained Elder Williams in Badaxe. They were fun; we went out to lunch at Applebee's.
We spent almost the whole day Saturday at training with the Red Cross. Eventually we will be on the DAT (I think it stands for Disaster Aid Team). If there were a single-family fire anywhere in Emmet County, they would call us out to contact the family and see what their needs are and give them whatever the Red Cross is able to provide. It sounds like a neat thing to do. I'm just hoping that once we finish all our training it will end up being worth it. Thankfully, once we have the training, we can go into any chapter (at least in Michigan) and be put on the team.
Tori (our one investigator) bore her testimony in church yesterday (again!). She is amazingly solid. I'm so excited to be teaching her.
Piano lessons are officially starting this Thursday. A lot of the members have said they're intending to come but I don't know if any of them will be bringing other friends from the community, which was sort of the idea. That can come in time, I suppose. I'm a little nervous, especially since it seems like it will be such a mixed class, ranging in age from 6 to 60. We'll see how it goes, I guess.That's about all the news that's anywhere near fit to print (or at least type).
My piano skills are being used frequently (shall I say exploited?). I'm now the Primary Pianist for the branch and I ended up playing the organ yesterday, too. (I way butchered the closing hymn, though, so maybe they won't ask me back.) It's nice to be able to play since I don't ever get to practice during the week. Well, I hope all is well with all of you.
I love you lots!
Elder Cloward
Monday, October 27, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Wint'ry Day, Decending to it's Close
An e-mail sent Monday, October 20th
Hello all!
I don't know if you've noticed my pattern of hymn lyrics and titles for subjects but I simply wanted to point out that it is not yet wint'ry here, just a little chilly and currently rather rainy. I just think that hymn has a funny title.
In other news, sorry I didn't email on Thursday. Elder Williams suggested we simply have a Preparation Day (starting about 2) on Thursday and then we'd have the other half today (ending about 2). Going up to the Mackinac bridge was really fun. It's MASSIVE - the longest bridge (5 miles) in the US. We paid the toll to drive across and I took lots of pictures. Half of the road is just a grate - Elder Williams and I stuck our heads out of the window and looked down. It was so sick; you're so high above the water! The trip was fun. We went up with Sherman and Tori (they drove). Tori's our investigator and Sherman's her boyfriend and the Branch President's son.
Nothing particularly eventful happened all week. In our weekly planning session we decided to drop almost all of our "potential investigators" that missionaries have been focusing on for months and even years. None of them are really interested, so we've designated this week as a finding week. Hopefully we'll be starting piano lessons the first week in November and we're also planning a community-outreach stop-smoking clinic. Apparently, that sort of thing has been really successful in the past.
Dad had a bunch of questions that I thought might interest other people. We're supposed to write to the mission president every week but I've only remembered to do it once so far. I'll have to find time to write one today. We haven't had interviews with President Jones yet but he's coming up to Petoskey to do an apartment inspection and to interview us on the 24th. My district leader is Elder Stoddard. He serves with Elder Robinson in Charlevoix. Also in our district are Elder and Sister Horne who serve in Charlevoix as well. We were supposed to have trade-offs with Elders Stoddard and Robinson last Wednesday, but Elder Stoddard was sick so we're probably doing that this Wednesday instead.
I'm not sure how many missionaries serve in my zone. I'd guess 24? I think we're the smallest zone. Our zone leaders serve in Traverse City, although they do almost no proselyting there. Apparently, President Jones has changed the role of zone leaders in our mission a little bit (at least from the way President Edwards did it) so that they only get 14 or 15 days every 6 weeks to spend in their home area. Because of that, a pair of sister missionaries serve in the same area in T.C.
Saturday was a really busy day. Pres. Everest, the Elders Quorum President, picked us up at 8 to help him and Bro. Kintz cut down some trees. Those things were MASSIVE! We cut down one that was over 100 feet tall and probably 7 or 8 feet around. Elder Williams and I had to pull on the lead rope (if that's what you call it) while President Everest and Bro. Kintz went at it with the chainsaw and wedges. It was a split tree, but it had rotted out and was actually split lower than it looked, so when Bro. Everest started cutting it down at the bottom (once it had fallen) the top "tree" fell and gave Elder Williams a pretty good whack on the head. Bro. Everest was cutting big round slices of the tree and having me move them out of the way. They were WAY heavy and I dropped one on my foot. Ouch.
After that, we went to the Christensens (the branch president's family) and helped them take out their hardwood and tile flooring. It was a lot of work, but it was fun. Unfortunately, I injured my foot a little more by stepping on one of those long flooring staples. I'm not sure which injury did the most damage, but my foot's pretty swollen, or at least it was yesterday. It's mostly good today. I had to play the organ in Sacrament Meeting yesterday because Sis. Lindstrom wasn't there. I could barely get my swollen foot in my organ shoes (which are already two sizes too small) but it actually felt really good to have something tight on there, so that was a blessing in disguise. I had thought it would hurt to play the pedals, since it hurts to walk, but it was just fine.
I also spoke in church yesterday. I gave a talk on prayer and I quoted a lot from Elder Bednar (April 2008 and Oct. 2008 Conferences) and from Elder Scott (April 2007 Conference). I told a story from the MTC, when I felt like our prelude singing was an answer to my prayers and I decided to actually sing "I Feel My Savior's Love" instead of just reading the lyrics. I don't know what came over me, maybe it was a bad idea. I'm feeling sort of embarassed about it now but no one has mocked me too badly, so I guess it's all good.
Have I mentioned that the members in our branch are amazing? We had a dinner every night this last week and this week might be the same way. Funny story: We went to the Ellsworths last night for dinner (Bro. Ellsworth is the Branch Mission Leader) and had a delicious homemade chicken pot pie and some ice cream cake (it was also Bro. Ellsworth's birthday). Anyway, after we shared our little message - a fun one in which Elder Williams uses a real alligator - we had a prayer before we left. Bro. Ellsworth asked Sis. Ellsworth to say the prayer. Halfway through her prayer, their little four-year-old, Lillian, stood up and walked over to her mom and started whispering in her ear, just like her mother had done for her when she blessed the food earlier. It was so cute - Sis. Ellsworth said exactly what Lillian told her too. I've never seen a little kid do that before - it was so funny!
Anyway, that's probably a long enough letter, especially considering how non-eventful the week was. Hopefully this next week will be a little more exciting.
Love you all lots and I'm praying for you!
Love,Elder Cloward
Hello all!
I don't know if you've noticed my pattern of hymn lyrics and titles for subjects but I simply wanted to point out that it is not yet wint'ry here, just a little chilly and currently rather rainy. I just think that hymn has a funny title.
In other news, sorry I didn't email on Thursday. Elder Williams suggested we simply have a Preparation Day (starting about 2) on Thursday and then we'd have the other half today (ending about 2). Going up to the Mackinac bridge was really fun. It's MASSIVE - the longest bridge (5 miles) in the US. We paid the toll to drive across and I took lots of pictures. Half of the road is just a grate - Elder Williams and I stuck our heads out of the window and looked down. It was so sick; you're so high above the water! The trip was fun. We went up with Sherman and Tori (they drove). Tori's our investigator and Sherman's her boyfriend and the Branch President's son.
Nothing particularly eventful happened all week. In our weekly planning session we decided to drop almost all of our "potential investigators" that missionaries have been focusing on for months and even years. None of them are really interested, so we've designated this week as a finding week. Hopefully we'll be starting piano lessons the first week in November and we're also planning a community-outreach stop-smoking clinic. Apparently, that sort of thing has been really successful in the past.
Dad had a bunch of questions that I thought might interest other people. We're supposed to write to the mission president every week but I've only remembered to do it once so far. I'll have to find time to write one today. We haven't had interviews with President Jones yet but he's coming up to Petoskey to do an apartment inspection and to interview us on the 24th. My district leader is Elder Stoddard. He serves with Elder Robinson in Charlevoix. Also in our district are Elder and Sister Horne who serve in Charlevoix as well. We were supposed to have trade-offs with Elders Stoddard and Robinson last Wednesday, but Elder Stoddard was sick so we're probably doing that this Wednesday instead.
I'm not sure how many missionaries serve in my zone. I'd guess 24? I think we're the smallest zone. Our zone leaders serve in Traverse City, although they do almost no proselyting there. Apparently, President Jones has changed the role of zone leaders in our mission a little bit (at least from the way President Edwards did it) so that they only get 14 or 15 days every 6 weeks to spend in their home area. Because of that, a pair of sister missionaries serve in the same area in T.C.
Saturday was a really busy day. Pres. Everest, the Elders Quorum President, picked us up at 8 to help him and Bro. Kintz cut down some trees. Those things were MASSIVE! We cut down one that was over 100 feet tall and probably 7 or 8 feet around. Elder Williams and I had to pull on the lead rope (if that's what you call it) while President Everest and Bro. Kintz went at it with the chainsaw and wedges. It was a split tree, but it had rotted out and was actually split lower than it looked, so when Bro. Everest started cutting it down at the bottom (once it had fallen) the top "tree" fell and gave Elder Williams a pretty good whack on the head. Bro. Everest was cutting big round slices of the tree and having me move them out of the way. They were WAY heavy and I dropped one on my foot. Ouch.
After that, we went to the Christensens (the branch president's family) and helped them take out their hardwood and tile flooring. It was a lot of work, but it was fun. Unfortunately, I injured my foot a little more by stepping on one of those long flooring staples. I'm not sure which injury did the most damage, but my foot's pretty swollen, or at least it was yesterday. It's mostly good today. I had to play the organ in Sacrament Meeting yesterday because Sis. Lindstrom wasn't there. I could barely get my swollen foot in my organ shoes (which are already two sizes too small) but it actually felt really good to have something tight on there, so that was a blessing in disguise. I had thought it would hurt to play the pedals, since it hurts to walk, but it was just fine.
I also spoke in church yesterday. I gave a talk on prayer and I quoted a lot from Elder Bednar (April 2008 and Oct. 2008 Conferences) and from Elder Scott (April 2007 Conference). I told a story from the MTC, when I felt like our prelude singing was an answer to my prayers and I decided to actually sing "I Feel My Savior's Love" instead of just reading the lyrics. I don't know what came over me, maybe it was a bad idea. I'm feeling sort of embarassed about it now but no one has mocked me too badly, so I guess it's all good.
Have I mentioned that the members in our branch are amazing? We had a dinner every night this last week and this week might be the same way. Funny story: We went to the Ellsworths last night for dinner (Bro. Ellsworth is the Branch Mission Leader) and had a delicious homemade chicken pot pie and some ice cream cake (it was also Bro. Ellsworth's birthday). Anyway, after we shared our little message - a fun one in which Elder Williams uses a real alligator - we had a prayer before we left. Bro. Ellsworth asked Sis. Ellsworth to say the prayer. Halfway through her prayer, their little four-year-old, Lillian, stood up and walked over to her mom and started whispering in her ear, just like her mother had done for her when she blessed the food earlier. It was so cute - Sis. Ellsworth said exactly what Lillian told her too. I've never seen a little kid do that before - it was so funny!
Anyway, that's probably a long enough letter, especially considering how non-eventful the week was. Hopefully this next week will be a little more exciting.
Love you all lots and I'm praying for you!
Love,Elder Cloward
Monday, October 13, 2008
Carry on, Carry on, Carry On
Hello all!
This wasn't a particularly eventful week. Monday was disappointing because we didn't get to go up to the Mackinac Bridge, BUT we should be going on Thursday. We called President Jones last night and got permission to switch our preparation day so we'll have two this week (send any emails by Thursday) and none next week. It's the longest bridge in the US - 5 miles long!
Tuesday we did some more work on Kelly's wall and floor. It's going to need a lot more work. I'm sure glad Elder Williams has worked construction for years (he's even been a foreman!) because I have no idea what we're doing. I just hold things.
Tuesday night we drove down to Kalkaska where we got a ride with Elders Jensen and Harper to the half-mission conference in Mt. Pleasant. We spent the night with the zone leaders there. (Did I mention that Elder Mineer is my grandpa? He trained Elder Williams.) Wednesday morning we met with President and Sister Jones and Elder and Sister Maynes (Elder Maynes is a Seventy and I believe he actually spoke in the last Stake Conference I attended in the Valley Forge Stake). It was fun to see a few of the elders with whom I left the MTC and was a really good conference. Elder Maynes mostly encouraged us to refocus our efforts on baptizing by doing the real work of finding and teaching more. Our mission definitely has room to improve and rumor has it we'll be receiving a somewhat biting letter from President Jones in the next few days. It sounds like Elder Maynes gave him a lot of instruction. (Speaking of President Jones, when we called him last night he was in Palmyra! Elder Williams said President rubbed it in that he had been taught by Elder Bednar in church that morning, held in the Peter Whitmer home, and that they are going to the Palmyra temple tomorrow. President Jones said there's still not much chance that we'll get to go to Detroit or Chicago anytime soon.)Also at the mission tour, we picked up a couple of keyboards that Sis. Brunner and Sis. Kidd brought up from the mission office and the thumb, respectively. Why, you ask? Well, I will, hopefully, soon be teaching piano lessons. Elder Williams asked me to teach him and then thought it might be a great finding activity. We'll be offering free piano lessons one night a week at the church (or something like that) and the only cost is for individuals to buy the Keyboard Course booklet sold by the church.
Friday I taught my second lesson (on baptism, the Sacrament, and the gift of the Holy Ghost) and we had trade-offs with the zone leaders, Elder Rau and Elder Hatch. I spent most of the day knocking doors with Elder Hatch. He's a really great missionary. I wouldn't be upset at all at serving with him in the future, but I think he'd have to stop being a zone leader. I don't think I want to do that, ever.
Saturday, Sister Jones didn't allow us to leave the apartment. It was our semi-annual deep-clean day, which she instituted after doing apartment inspections for the first time. Our apartment was already pretty clean - Elder Williams is at least as obsessed with cleanliness as I am - but now it practically sparkles. We shampooed the carpet, I scrubbed all the walls, we cleaned out the stove, the refrigerator, the microwave, and scrubbed every square inch of the bathroom. It was good. I'm really scared to get a companion that won't clean because I know I'll have one. I guess I did fine with roommates, though.
I think I'm going to be really sad when I have to leave Petoskey. I already feel like a real member of the branch here, partially because it's so small and I really do know everyone already. Still, the members are SO great. We had dinner with the Belfords last night and Brother and Sister Belford entertained us on the guitar and the piano. And (Brother Belford taught me to play the banjo! It's way easy. I think I'm buying one when I get home.) They really reminded me of home.
Anyway, things are going well; I can't believe I'm already halfway done with my first transfer! Petoskey is more beautiful than ever; I think the fall colors are reaching their peak. We went for a walk along the bay yesterday, and it was amazing! And the drive to the Belfords was even more amazing - over rolling, country hills with intermingled farmland and forest! I was pretty much basically in heaven.
Love you lots!
Elder Cloward
This wasn't a particularly eventful week. Monday was disappointing because we didn't get to go up to the Mackinac Bridge, BUT we should be going on Thursday. We called President Jones last night and got permission to switch our preparation day so we'll have two this week (send any emails by Thursday) and none next week. It's the longest bridge in the US - 5 miles long!
Tuesday we did some more work on Kelly's wall and floor. It's going to need a lot more work. I'm sure glad Elder Williams has worked construction for years (he's even been a foreman!) because I have no idea what we're doing. I just hold things.
Tuesday night we drove down to Kalkaska where we got a ride with Elders Jensen and Harper to the half-mission conference in Mt. Pleasant. We spent the night with the zone leaders there. (Did I mention that Elder Mineer is my grandpa? He trained Elder Williams.) Wednesday morning we met with President and Sister Jones and Elder and Sister Maynes (Elder Maynes is a Seventy and I believe he actually spoke in the last Stake Conference I attended in the Valley Forge Stake). It was fun to see a few of the elders with whom I left the MTC and was a really good conference. Elder Maynes mostly encouraged us to refocus our efforts on baptizing by doing the real work of finding and teaching more. Our mission definitely has room to improve and rumor has it we'll be receiving a somewhat biting letter from President Jones in the next few days. It sounds like Elder Maynes gave him a lot of instruction. (Speaking of President Jones, when we called him last night he was in Palmyra! Elder Williams said President rubbed it in that he had been taught by Elder Bednar in church that morning, held in the Peter Whitmer home, and that they are going to the Palmyra temple tomorrow. President Jones said there's still not much chance that we'll get to go to Detroit or Chicago anytime soon.)Also at the mission tour, we picked up a couple of keyboards that Sis. Brunner and Sis. Kidd brought up from the mission office and the thumb, respectively. Why, you ask? Well, I will, hopefully, soon be teaching piano lessons. Elder Williams asked me to teach him and then thought it might be a great finding activity. We'll be offering free piano lessons one night a week at the church (or something like that) and the only cost is for individuals to buy the Keyboard Course booklet sold by the church.
Friday I taught my second lesson (on baptism, the Sacrament, and the gift of the Holy Ghost) and we had trade-offs with the zone leaders, Elder Rau and Elder Hatch. I spent most of the day knocking doors with Elder Hatch. He's a really great missionary. I wouldn't be upset at all at serving with him in the future, but I think he'd have to stop being a zone leader. I don't think I want to do that, ever.
Saturday, Sister Jones didn't allow us to leave the apartment. It was our semi-annual deep-clean day, which she instituted after doing apartment inspections for the first time. Our apartment was already pretty clean - Elder Williams is at least as obsessed with cleanliness as I am - but now it practically sparkles. We shampooed the carpet, I scrubbed all the walls, we cleaned out the stove, the refrigerator, the microwave, and scrubbed every square inch of the bathroom. It was good. I'm really scared to get a companion that won't clean because I know I'll have one. I guess I did fine with roommates, though.
I think I'm going to be really sad when I have to leave Petoskey. I already feel like a real member of the branch here, partially because it's so small and I really do know everyone already. Still, the members are SO great. We had dinner with the Belfords last night and Brother and Sister Belford entertained us on the guitar and the piano. And (Brother Belford taught me to play the banjo! It's way easy. I think I'm buying one when I get home.) They really reminded me of home.
Anyway, things are going well; I can't believe I'm already halfway done with my first transfer! Petoskey is more beautiful than ever; I think the fall colors are reaching their peak. We went for a walk along the bay yesterday, and it was amazing! And the drive to the Belfords was even more amazing - over rolling, country hills with intermingled farmland and forest! I was pretty much basically in heaven.
Love you lots!
Elder Cloward
Friday, October 10, 2008
There is Hope Smiling Brightly Before Us
This is from an e-mail Joseph sent on Oct 6 I just took awhile to post it
Well, I've just completed my first full week in Petoskey. Since you all seem curious to know a little bit more about the area, I guess I can start with that. From what I understand, our area goes West to Bay Harbor, South to the Charlevoix county line, East to the Cheboygan county line and north to Cross Village. Petoskey isn't quite as small as the census would suggest because the town limits are actually pretty small. Right next door (literally) is the town of Bay View, I think it's called, and Harbor Springs, Walloon, and Boyne City are just a couple of miles away. All the areas in between seem as densely populated as rural farmland is apt to be, so, rural as the area is, it doesn't feel anything like Holden or Fillmore. Maybe it's just all the trees though.To be honest, mom, I can't answer any of your questions about the city of Petoskey. I don't know if I've really been to the downtown area or not. Actually, I'm positive I've driven through it (I think it's about one square block) but I didn't notice any tunnels.
I'm glad to hear your trip went well. It sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'm surprised to hear that the leaves were all still green. They're changing pretty nicely here, although it's not as impressive as I had hoped because there are so many evergreens this far north. (Incidentally, driving up to Petoskey we passed the 45th parallel - I'm closer to the North Pole than to the equator!)
This past week has been pretty good. On Tuesday, I met one of our investigators. We helped her move (out of our area) but didn't end up having any time to teach her. We may still be visiting her, even though she's in the Cheboygan area now, because she's only spending the winter there and is keeping her house in Alanson. She, like a lot of people I've met, can't afford to heat their homes this winter. She's just lucky to have a friend she can spend the winter with in Indian River.
We've also been working with a recent convert (and former Strangite). We went to her home yesterday to tear out some mold-infested dry wall, hoping to replace it so her home would be fit to live in, but discovered that the mold is also in the flooring, making the situation a whole lot messier.
We helped a branch member, move. He, like lots of others, is living with another family to save them all money. Perhaps that sort of thing is more common than I had ever realized or maybe it's just a Michigan thing.
I got to teach my first lesson this week! Thursday night we visited Tori and taught her about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life and the importance of prophets in preparation for General Conference weekend. Elder Williams tells me not to expect many of my teaching appointments to be as easy as those with Tori. For the most part, teaching her was just like the simulations we did in the MTC.
General Conference was awesome! We had two elders from Kalkasska, where there is no church building, come spend the weekend with us. It was fun to have more than just the two of us. In conference, I especially enjoyed President Uchtdorf's priesthood session talk. I think his suggestion to "lift where you stand" was exactly what I needed. I also loved Elder Bednar's talk on prayer and Sister Dalton's talk on virtue. And Elder Holland's talk. And ALL of them! I think I finally get why dad always says "I can't believe it's already over" on Sunday night. I'd always thought he was just feeling a little goofy after the ten hours of church or something
Well, my time's almost up, but I love you all and trust that you are doing well. May God bless you always!
Love,Elder Cloward
Well, I've just completed my first full week in Petoskey. Since you all seem curious to know a little bit more about the area, I guess I can start with that. From what I understand, our area goes West to Bay Harbor, South to the Charlevoix county line, East to the Cheboygan county line and north to Cross Village. Petoskey isn't quite as small as the census would suggest because the town limits are actually pretty small. Right next door (literally) is the town of Bay View, I think it's called, and Harbor Springs, Walloon, and Boyne City are just a couple of miles away. All the areas in between seem as densely populated as rural farmland is apt to be, so, rural as the area is, it doesn't feel anything like Holden or Fillmore. Maybe it's just all the trees though.To be honest, mom, I can't answer any of your questions about the city of Petoskey. I don't know if I've really been to the downtown area or not. Actually, I'm positive I've driven through it (I think it's about one square block) but I didn't notice any tunnels.
I'm glad to hear your trip went well. It sounds like you had a lot of fun. I'm surprised to hear that the leaves were all still green. They're changing pretty nicely here, although it's not as impressive as I had hoped because there are so many evergreens this far north. (Incidentally, driving up to Petoskey we passed the 45th parallel - I'm closer to the North Pole than to the equator!)
This past week has been pretty good. On Tuesday, I met one of our investigators. We helped her move (out of our area) but didn't end up having any time to teach her. We may still be visiting her, even though she's in the Cheboygan area now, because she's only spending the winter there and is keeping her house in Alanson. She, like a lot of people I've met, can't afford to heat their homes this winter. She's just lucky to have a friend she can spend the winter with in Indian River.
We've also been working with a recent convert (and former Strangite). We went to her home yesterday to tear out some mold-infested dry wall, hoping to replace it so her home would be fit to live in, but discovered that the mold is also in the flooring, making the situation a whole lot messier.
We helped a branch member, move. He, like lots of others, is living with another family to save them all money. Perhaps that sort of thing is more common than I had ever realized or maybe it's just a Michigan thing.
I got to teach my first lesson this week! Thursday night we visited Tori and taught her about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life and the importance of prophets in preparation for General Conference weekend. Elder Williams tells me not to expect many of my teaching appointments to be as easy as those with Tori. For the most part, teaching her was just like the simulations we did in the MTC.
General Conference was awesome! We had two elders from Kalkasska, where there is no church building, come spend the weekend with us. It was fun to have more than just the two of us. In conference, I especially enjoyed President Uchtdorf's priesthood session talk. I think his suggestion to "lift where you stand" was exactly what I needed. I also loved Elder Bednar's talk on prayer and Sister Dalton's talk on virtue. And Elder Holland's talk. And ALL of them! I think I finally get why dad always says "I can't believe it's already over" on Sunday night. I'd always thought he was just feeling a little goofy after the ten hours of church or something
Well, my time's almost up, but I love you all and trust that you are doing well. May God bless you always!
Love,Elder Cloward
Friday, October 3, 2008
Greetings From Paradise!
From an e-mail sent Sep. 29th
Well, after the last day and a half in the MTC, we were all shipped off to Michigan on Wednesday. Funny story from Cincinnati - we had a really quick layover and none of us really felt up to giving out a pass-along card. The one elder who did, Elder Barney, was about ready to give one to the man sitting next to him, when the man actually turned to him and asked Elder Barney where we were all headed and then explained that he had served his mission in South America somewhere. Those darn mormons are everywhere!
Anyway, we got into Grand Rapids about 4 Wednesday afternoon and were greeted at the airport by President and Sister Jones and the three assistants: Elder Kunz, Elder Sweat, and Elder Belliston. After a few pictures (which you should get in the mail sometime soon), we loaded into a couple vans and drove about an hour to Lansing. That evening we did a little bit of orientation with the assistants, had a pizza dinner, and went to bed a little early. The next morning, we headed over to the Stake Center a couple of blocks away for more orientation. There we met the office staff - Elder and Sister Brunner, Sister Fredline, and Sister Rogers, who told us all about how we should spend money wisely, take care of our mission vehicles, etc. and then we went over into the gym where the President announced where we'd be going and who our trainers would be.
The night before, he had actually told us what the possibilites were and who would be training, but we met all the trainers Thursday at the church. He had them step out one by one and tell a little bit about their areas and then he would assign one of the new Elders to the area. My training companion is Elder Weston Williams of Elko, Nevada and we are serving in Petoskey (pronounced puh-TOSS-key), Michigan! After lunch, we went and picked up our stuff at the mission home, dropped by the mission office to have my driver license copied, and then headed up to Mt. Pleasant where we would spend the night. We were met there by Elder Mineer and Elder Seely, the zone leaders for the Midland zone (which I believe covers the area of the Midland Stake). We went with them to a dinner appointment with a really nice family there in Mt. Pleasant. After dinner we went to Wal-Mart to get a pillow and blanket for me and then we went for a run on the track at CMU (Central Michigan University).
Anyway, Friday morning we were picked up by a Petoskey branch member, Bro. Rutterbush, who is actually the first counselor in the branch presidency. It was about a two-and-a-half hour drive up to Petoskey but it was really nice. The leaves are just starting to change and this is truly a beautiful part of the country. Literally EVERYONE has told me I'm really lucky to be starting out in Petoskey, which everyone calls the paradise of the mission. It's a beautiful coastal town and a major Michigan tourist attraction, although the tourist season is mostly over with winter coming on. I'm especially lucky to be in the only part of Michigan with hills. Elder Williams has told me not to get used to it - everywhere else he has served (Badaxe, Battlecreek, and Cass City) is completely flat so that you can never see over the trees. Fun fact: The home at which the final scene of Gone With the Wind is filmed is in Petoskey! I have, in fact, driven by it about a hundred times already!
The branch here in Petoskey is pretty strong. In the summer they have a large crowd but it has apparently dwindled. I'd say there were probably thirty people there yesterday. The members are fantastic though. I've had a chance to meet a lot of them already. So far, I've only had to feed myself for breakfast, so they definitely take care of our temporal needs. We've had a chance to do some service, helping out Bro. Law and the Ellsworths - Bro. Ellsworth is the branch mission leader. Yesterday I also met our investigator, Tori. She's dating Sherman, the branch president's son, and has said she wants to be baptized. She even bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon in Sacrament meeting yesterday! I also got a chance to meet the two converts that were baptized over the last two transfers - Brandt and Kelly. We taught Kelly one of the new member lessons yesterday with Bro. Ellsworth.
I haven't had a chance to knock doors or do any kind of street contacting yet, which I can't say I'm too disappointed about. Apparently, President Jones has actually asked that we do very little door-knocking, simply because it's completely ineffective here in Michigan. I guess we're supposed to come up with more creative methods of finding.We did, however, leave the apartment last night with the intent to do some door-knocking. We were going to walk around and look for a street that we felt good about working on and on our walk we stopped at the pier since I hadn't really seen Lake Michigan yet. Gorgeous! Anyway, we were looking for some Petoskey stones (fossilized coral found only here and in the Middle East somewhere) when a man walking toward us called out "Hey, Elders!" It turns out that his daughter is a member, married to a return-missionary, and seeing as his family had just finished a turkey dinner, he invited us in to have some. They were on vacation from Midland. We ended up just eating and chatting for fifteen minutes because we had to hurry to get to our actual dinner appointment with the Belfords, after which we were STUFFED! I don't know if I can handle two dinners every night without getting super fat.
Anticipating your possible questions, this is almost entirely a car mission. There are 60 cars for 70 missionary companionships and we are one of the many companionships with a full-time vehicle. It's an '07 Malibu (only the Sisters get to drive '08s). It's 100% necessary because ours is a pretty large area and definitely rather rural. For instance, we had (our real) dinner at the Belford's farm last night out in Boyne city - a good 20-minute drive, but in beautiful country. Driving out over those rolling, verdant hills was breathtaking. I can't wait for fall to hit in full force. It will be terrific!
Sorry for the length of my epistle. I am doing well and enjoying Petoskey so far. I do sort of feel like we should be working harder, though. I'm not exactly sure how we would do that though. Everyone tells us to "work hard, but work smart". I guess I'll figure that out in time.
Love you all,
Elder Joseph Cloward
Well, after the last day and a half in the MTC, we were all shipped off to Michigan on Wednesday. Funny story from Cincinnati - we had a really quick layover and none of us really felt up to giving out a pass-along card. The one elder who did, Elder Barney, was about ready to give one to the man sitting next to him, when the man actually turned to him and asked Elder Barney where we were all headed and then explained that he had served his mission in South America somewhere. Those darn mormons are everywhere!
Anyway, we got into Grand Rapids about 4 Wednesday afternoon and were greeted at the airport by President and Sister Jones and the three assistants: Elder Kunz, Elder Sweat, and Elder Belliston. After a few pictures (which you should get in the mail sometime soon), we loaded into a couple vans and drove about an hour to Lansing. That evening we did a little bit of orientation with the assistants, had a pizza dinner, and went to bed a little early. The next morning, we headed over to the Stake Center a couple of blocks away for more orientation. There we met the office staff - Elder and Sister Brunner, Sister Fredline, and Sister Rogers, who told us all about how we should spend money wisely, take care of our mission vehicles, etc. and then we went over into the gym where the President announced where we'd be going and who our trainers would be.
The night before, he had actually told us what the possibilites were and who would be training, but we met all the trainers Thursday at the church. He had them step out one by one and tell a little bit about their areas and then he would assign one of the new Elders to the area. My training companion is Elder Weston Williams of Elko, Nevada and we are serving in Petoskey (pronounced puh-TOSS-key), Michigan! After lunch, we went and picked up our stuff at the mission home, dropped by the mission office to have my driver license copied, and then headed up to Mt. Pleasant where we would spend the night. We were met there by Elder Mineer and Elder Seely, the zone leaders for the Midland zone (which I believe covers the area of the Midland Stake). We went with them to a dinner appointment with a really nice family there in Mt. Pleasant. After dinner we went to Wal-Mart to get a pillow and blanket for me and then we went for a run on the track at CMU (Central Michigan University).
Anyway, Friday morning we were picked up by a Petoskey branch member, Bro. Rutterbush, who is actually the first counselor in the branch presidency. It was about a two-and-a-half hour drive up to Petoskey but it was really nice. The leaves are just starting to change and this is truly a beautiful part of the country. Literally EVERYONE has told me I'm really lucky to be starting out in Petoskey, which everyone calls the paradise of the mission. It's a beautiful coastal town and a major Michigan tourist attraction, although the tourist season is mostly over with winter coming on. I'm especially lucky to be in the only part of Michigan with hills. Elder Williams has told me not to get used to it - everywhere else he has served (Badaxe, Battlecreek, and Cass City) is completely flat so that you can never see over the trees. Fun fact: The home at which the final scene of Gone With the Wind is filmed is in Petoskey! I have, in fact, driven by it about a hundred times already!
The branch here in Petoskey is pretty strong. In the summer they have a large crowd but it has apparently dwindled. I'd say there were probably thirty people there yesterday. The members are fantastic though. I've had a chance to meet a lot of them already. So far, I've only had to feed myself for breakfast, so they definitely take care of our temporal needs. We've had a chance to do some service, helping out Bro. Law and the Ellsworths - Bro. Ellsworth is the branch mission leader. Yesterday I also met our investigator, Tori. She's dating Sherman, the branch president's son, and has said she wants to be baptized. She even bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon in Sacrament meeting yesterday! I also got a chance to meet the two converts that were baptized over the last two transfers - Brandt and Kelly. We taught Kelly one of the new member lessons yesterday with Bro. Ellsworth.
I haven't had a chance to knock doors or do any kind of street contacting yet, which I can't say I'm too disappointed about. Apparently, President Jones has actually asked that we do very little door-knocking, simply because it's completely ineffective here in Michigan. I guess we're supposed to come up with more creative methods of finding.We did, however, leave the apartment last night with the intent to do some door-knocking. We were going to walk around and look for a street that we felt good about working on and on our walk we stopped at the pier since I hadn't really seen Lake Michigan yet. Gorgeous! Anyway, we were looking for some Petoskey stones (fossilized coral found only here and in the Middle East somewhere) when a man walking toward us called out "Hey, Elders!" It turns out that his daughter is a member, married to a return-missionary, and seeing as his family had just finished a turkey dinner, he invited us in to have some. They were on vacation from Midland. We ended up just eating and chatting for fifteen minutes because we had to hurry to get to our actual dinner appointment with the Belfords, after which we were STUFFED! I don't know if I can handle two dinners every night without getting super fat.
Anticipating your possible questions, this is almost entirely a car mission. There are 60 cars for 70 missionary companionships and we are one of the many companionships with a full-time vehicle. It's an '07 Malibu (only the Sisters get to drive '08s). It's 100% necessary because ours is a pretty large area and definitely rather rural. For instance, we had (our real) dinner at the Belford's farm last night out in Boyne city - a good 20-minute drive, but in beautiful country. Driving out over those rolling, verdant hills was breathtaking. I can't wait for fall to hit in full force. It will be terrific!
Sorry for the length of my epistle. I am doing well and enjoying Petoskey so far. I do sort of feel like we should be working harder, though. I'm not exactly sure how we would do that though. Everyone tells us to "work hard, but work smart". I guess I'll figure that out in time.
Love you all,
Elder Joseph Cloward
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