I don´t know what to write now. Seing as this is my last letter for the blog, I wanted to fill it with all sorts of spiritual wisdom, but I still don´t feel all that wise and the small wisdom and experiences that I DO have, I will be sharing with all of you in person very soon.
All that I want to say is that finishing the mision is a strange experience. It was somewhat sad as yesterday, I finished my last complete week in the mission field, went to my LAST sacrament meeting my LAST ward council meeting, and saw many people for the last time.
On the other hand I am excitited to see all of you again for the FIRST time after a long time, or for 3 of my nieces and nephews, simply see them the FIRST time.
While I am happy to see al of you again, I will be doing my best effort to not think about any of you until Friday.
If anybody wants to see me you can come to my house Friday at midnight, or Saturday in the morning.
Elder Jack Casdorph
Monday, June 16, 2014
Monday, June 2, 2014
Simples testimonios
Last week a wrote about a lasseon that we had where a few testimonies changed everything.
When we visited that same investigator again we asked her: "Did you pray to ask God if our message is true."
"Yes, I prayed and .... I felt very calm, then I had a dream .. and in my dream somebody told me that it's true."
"Do you think that that was an answer from God?"
"Yes"
"Will you continue preparing to be baptized on June 21?"
"Yes"
(a bit later) "Will you attend church with us this Sunday"
"Yes, but I went to church Sunday and you guys weren´t there, and I felt uncomfortable so I left."
With excitement and confusion, we asked, "What church did you go to?"
"Where you guys told me! The bus stop of bus number 4!"
"No sister, our church is next to the bus 53 stop."
"Oh, that expains why I didn´t like that church!"
She did try to go to church, but she was a bit confused and went to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Yesterday, she went to the right church and liked it a lot. Her son didn´t want to leave the primary because he was having so much fun coloring in a CTR sheild.
Helen will be getting baptized June 21st.
Elder Casdorph
When we visited that same investigator again we asked her: "Did you pray to ask God if our message is true."
"Yes, I prayed and .... I felt very calm, then I had a dream .. and in my dream somebody told me that it's true."
"Do you think that that was an answer from God?"
"Yes"
"Will you continue preparing to be baptized on June 21?"
"Yes"
(a bit later) "Will you attend church with us this Sunday"
"Yes, but I went to church Sunday and you guys weren´t there, and I felt uncomfortable so I left."
With excitement and confusion, we asked, "What church did you go to?"
"Where you guys told me! The bus stop of bus number 4!"
"No sister, our church is next to the bus 53 stop."
"Oh, that expains why I didn´t like that church!"
She did try to go to church, but she was a bit confused and went to the Jehovah's Witnesses. Yesterday, she went to the right church and liked it a lot. Her son didn´t want to leave the primary because he was having so much fun coloring in a CTR sheild.
Helen will be getting baptized June 21st.
Elder Casdorph
Monday, May 26, 2014
Unos Simples Testimonios
This week, I saw how it is that a few simple testimonies could really make a difference in somebody. In the second visit that we had with a young, single mother named Helen, we somehow managed to bring 3 different young adult members with us to the lesson (normally, we are extatic if 1 member goes with us) which was especially suprising because it´s cold here right now, and when it´s cold, the people here don´t leave their houses, sometimes not even to go to work or school. These 3 valliant members walked about 10 blocks with us, and 2 of them completly soaked their shoes and feet in cold puddles of muddy rainwater.
We arrived at the appointment, and asked Helen if she had prayed to know if our message is true or not. She started to tell us that she didn´t pray nor did she intend to do so, because she was catholic and had every inention of being Catholic the rest of her life because she was raised catholic and was rather content with catholicism. She told us that she was only listening to us because a good friend of hers had asked her to listen and that she thought that many of the things we taught were wierd and against her upbringing.
We decided to make use of the 3 members that were with us, as well as the other 2 members that rent a couple of rooms in the same house as Helen and had given us the referral to teach Helen. We asked them to share their testimonies because 4 of the 5 were converts in the church and 2 of the 5 were returned missionaries. They shared their testimonies and we almost didn´t even talk.
"Will you pray to know if our message is true?" we asked.
"Si"
"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised by someone who has the priesthood authority of God?"
"Si" she replied, "because I want to have the same change in my life that they had."
"We will be having a baptismal service June 21st. Will you prepare yourself to be baptised on that day?"
"Si"
At first she didn´t even want to thing about the possibility of our message being true, but thanks to a few simple testimonies from a few faithful members, she decided to accept getting baptized June 21st without the missionaries saying hardly anything.
Please share your testimony with somebody. It will make a difference.
Elder Casdorph
We arrived at the appointment, and asked Helen if she had prayed to know if our message is true or not. She started to tell us that she didn´t pray nor did she intend to do so, because she was catholic and had every inention of being Catholic the rest of her life because she was raised catholic and was rather content with catholicism. She told us that she was only listening to us because a good friend of hers had asked her to listen and that she thought that many of the things we taught were wierd and against her upbringing.
We decided to make use of the 3 members that were with us, as well as the other 2 members that rent a couple of rooms in the same house as Helen and had given us the referral to teach Helen. We asked them to share their testimonies because 4 of the 5 were converts in the church and 2 of the 5 were returned missionaries. They shared their testimonies and we almost didn´t even talk.
"Will you pray to know if our message is true?" we asked.
"Si"
"Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptised by someone who has the priesthood authority of God?"
"Si" she replied, "because I want to have the same change in my life that they had."
"We will be having a baptismal service June 21st. Will you prepare yourself to be baptised on that day?"
"Si"
At first she didn´t even want to thing about the possibility of our message being true, but thanks to a few simple testimonies from a few faithful members, she decided to accept getting baptized June 21st without the missionaries saying hardly anything.
Please share your testimony with somebody. It will make a difference.
Elder Casdorph
Monday, May 19, 2014
Machetazos
I honestly don´t know what to write about any more. The missionary work is going fantastically in my new area. We don´t have many investigators, but I feel like we are really helping a lot of less.active members and other members. The whole missionary thing is pretty much the same as it has been for these last 22 months, so I thought I´d talk about something a bit different today, el carpir.
"Carpir" is a word used in the eastern part of Bolivia which basically means "to mow the lawn by hand". There hardly aren´t such things as lawnmowers and weedeaters here, so the work is done with machetes and a tool similar to a hoe which is called "azadón". In my time in Bolivia, I have become an expert carpidor. We had a service project Saturday where 3 other Elders and I went to carpir a lawn. The other 3 Elders are really new misionaries and never have carpido before. I felt pretty awesome as they all asked me to show them how to cut the lawn with a machete. As I started to show them with my "hard-aquired machete skills" I stated to cut away at a bunch of tall weeds. About 1'0 seconds later, my machete struck something hard and I heard "Pssssssssst" and found that I had taken a big chunk out of their water-line which was now spraying water everywhere. We had to shut of the water in all their house, and then in addition to mowing ther lawn with machetes (which is no easy task) we had to fix their water line. The family felt very thankful, even though I broke their water line and they went to church yesterday.
"Carpir" is a word used in the eastern part of Bolivia which basically means "to mow the lawn by hand". There hardly aren´t such things as lawnmowers and weedeaters here, so the work is done with machetes and a tool similar to a hoe which is called "azadón". In my time in Bolivia, I have become an expert carpidor. We had a service project Saturday where 3 other Elders and I went to carpir a lawn. The other 3 Elders are really new misionaries and never have carpido before. I felt pretty awesome as they all asked me to show them how to cut the lawn with a machete. As I started to show them with my "hard-aquired machete skills" I stated to cut away at a bunch of tall weeds. About 1'0 seconds later, my machete struck something hard and I heard "Pssssssssst" and found that I had taken a big chunk out of their water-line which was now spraying water everywhere. We had to shut of the water in all their house, and then in addition to mowing ther lawn with machetes (which is no easy task) we had to fix their water line. The family felt very thankful, even though I broke their water line and they went to church yesterday.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Cupesi y Cartagena
I got transfered this week. I am now in Cupesí, which is in like the 8th to 10th ring on the East side of Santa Cruz (as shown in the map, Cupesí is the blue thing with a little church inside of it.
My new companion is Elder Garcia. He´s from Cartagena Colombia (the same city and even the same ward as Elder Jaime, one of my companions like 8 months ago). The area is fantastic and my new companion is awesome. He´s the only member in his family and was baptized only 2 years ago because he had to wait to turn 18 to get baptized because his parents didn´t give him permission. I´ll let you know next week more about the new area.
Elder Casdorph
Elder Casdorph
Monday, April 28, 2014
Mudanza de Casa
This week we moved our house. I have helped many people move, but this was the first time in my life that I have moved (other than the whole Utah-Indiana and America-Bolivia thing....and all of the misionary transfers) It was wierd to move all of the stuff and arrive at a completely different house, in a completely different place....with the same furniture and all or the same stuff.
In other news, the Rivero family went to church for the second time and everyting is on track for their baptism May 10th. The kids really like the primary and the father has started to say "when we get baptized" rather than "if we get baptised". The sad thing is that is like a 95% probability that I will leave the area May 7th.
I wanna share something that I learned this week and that I wrote tomy mission president, but I´m out of time so I´m gonna copy and paste it in Spanish. I hope it makes sense
8 (Pues sus discípulos habían ido a la ciudad a comprar algo de comer.)
31 Entre tanto, los discípulos le rogaban, diciendo: Rabí, come.
32 Y él les dijo: Yo tengo una comida que comer que vosotros no sabéis.
33 Entonces los discípulos se decían el uno al otro: ¿Le habrá traído alguien de comer?
34 Jesús les dijo: Mi comida es que haga la voluntad del que me envió y que acabe su obra.
35 ¿No decís vosotros: Aún faltan cuatro meses para que llegue la siega? He aquí os digo: Alzad vuestros ojos y mirad los campos, porque ya están blancos para la siega.
37 Porque en esto es verdadero el dicho: Uno es el que siembra, y otro es el que siega. Juan 4:8, 31-35, 37
Comida del hombre: nuestros propios deseos
Comida de Cristo: Hacer la voluntad de Dios
GOOGLE TRANSLATE:
8 (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.)
31 Meanwhile, the disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 And he said to them: I have meat to eat that ye know not.
33 Then the disciples said one to another, What man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.
37 For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps. John 4:8, 31-35, 37
Man Food: our own desires
Food of Christ, doing the will of God
-Elder Casdorph
In other news, the Rivero family went to church for the second time and everyting is on track for their baptism May 10th. The kids really like the primary and the father has started to say "when we get baptized" rather than "if we get baptised". The sad thing is that is like a 95% probability that I will leave the area May 7th.
I wanna share something that I learned this week and that I wrote tomy mission president, but I´m out of time so I´m gonna copy and paste it in Spanish. I hope it makes sense
8 (Pues sus discípulos habían ido a la ciudad a comprar algo de comer.)
31 Entre tanto, los discípulos le rogaban, diciendo: Rabí, come.
32 Y él les dijo: Yo tengo una comida que comer que vosotros no sabéis.
33 Entonces los discípulos se decían el uno al otro: ¿Le habrá traído alguien de comer?
34 Jesús les dijo: Mi comida es que haga la voluntad del que me envió y que acabe su obra.
35 ¿No decís vosotros: Aún faltan cuatro meses para que llegue la siega? He aquí os digo: Alzad vuestros ojos y mirad los campos, porque ya están blancos para la siega.
37 Porque en esto es verdadero el dicho: Uno es el que siembra, y otro es el que siega. Juan 4:8, 31-35, 37
Comida del hombre: nuestros propios deseos
Comida de Cristo: Hacer la voluntad de Dios
GOOGLE TRANSLATE:
8 (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.)
31 Meanwhile, the disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.
32 And he said to them: I have meat to eat that ye know not.
33 Then the disciples said one to another, What man brought him ought to eat?
34 Jesus said unto them, My meat is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.
37 For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps. John 4:8, 31-35, 37
Man Food: our own desires
Food of Christ, doing the will of God
-Elder Casdorph
Monday, April 21, 2014
Seguimos
Not much has changed in the last week. The Rivero family has been progressing quite well, and want to get married and baptized, but they couldn´t go to church because they had to go to the hospital with their 11 year old daughter that was sick with dengue.
I learned an important lesson in the book of Mormon this week about the need for member missionaries.
Alma was Preaching in Amonihan, but the people rejected him saying:
Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony ofaone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
and
Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?
Afterward, however, Amulek, a great member misionary, bore his tesimony with the people and the following succeded:
And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was amore than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them. (Alma 9:2,6; Alma 10:12)
Try helping a missionary out by offering your testimony and you will see miracles.
I learned an important lesson in the book of Mormon this week about the need for member missionaries.
Alma was Preaching in Amonihan, but the people rejected him saying:
Who art thou? Suppose ye that we shall believe the testimony ofaone man, although he should preach unto us that the earth should pass away?
and
Who is God, that sendeth no more authority than one man among this people, to declare unto them the truth of such great and marvelous things?
Afterward, however, Amulek, a great member misionary, bore his tesimony with the people and the following succeded:
And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was amore than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them. (Alma 9:2,6; Alma 10:12)
Try helping a missionary out by offering your testimony and you will see miracles.
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