Weekly Update: My first experience with an antimormon...

Hey, everyone!

 

Not a lot has happened this week, just one pretty big event. Elder Westley and I were sick Thursday through Sunday (we're still dealing with it a little bit today), so we stayed at home and just tried to heal up fast and study a lot. The ward members have taken pretty good care of us and we're doing ok, just trying to get over a weird but intense cold that's going around.

 

So this week we went to teach a man named Matt. He is a firm Christian with a pretty good knowledge of the Bible, and has been doing a lot of soul-searching lately. He apparently was praying really hard for direction to know what God wants him to do in his life the other day... the day before the other missionaries in our area found him. He accepted their invitation to learn more, and, after teaching him a few times, they referred him to us because he's in our area. He's got a real desire to learn more and has come to terms with the fact that either he's right in his beliefs and we're wrong, or we're right and he's not. He says that if he comes to know that what we teach is true, he's willing to be baptized a member of the Church, regardless of whatever he has to leave behind or change. As you can see, he's really got a deep desire to follow Christ and he just wants to know the truth. Then, there's his friend Mark. Mark is really well-versed in the Bible, and also has read up on a lot of antimormon literature. Matt invites Mark to all the lessons, which has caused a huge problem for the other elders because his intentions are to cross us in our words and essentially disprove our teachings. It becomes really difficult when Matt is there to learn truths and Mark is there to Bible-bash. When we went to teach Matt for the first time on Thursday, nothing was different. Mark was already there, waiting for us to come, and had printed material ready to throw at us to combat us in our teachings. It became so difficult to teach and to have the Spirit there. We knew we had to avoid argument at all costs, because the Spirit, which is the real teacher, can't be present where there is contention. We were respectful and gentle, but Mark was relentless. He pretty much had one motive: to completely destroy our work with Matt and prove that we were "false prophets" who didn't believe in "the real Christ". He tried to show us that the Bible contradicted our words, but I knew he was interpreting the verses falsley. I felt a little down on myself, though: he knew the Bible way better than I did. How could I compete? I looked at Matt, whose face showed that he really just wanted Mark to be quiet so he could learn from us. At that point, I felt something inside me tell me to do something I don't usually do: be bold and a little confrontational. I knew that feeling was the whispering of the Spirit. I didn't want to speak out at first, but I knew that if I wanted Matt to learn, that the Spirit had to teach, and that couldn't happen if I, the Spirit's conduit, shut myself off. I realized that I had something that Mark didn't, and it was much more powerful than a proficient knowledge of Bible references. So I sat up straight in the stool I was sitting in, and, with all the courage I could muster, said: "Matt, no matter what any of us can tell you, there is only one way for you to know that what we're teaching is true, and that is for you to know for yourself. You can't rely only on what we say or what Mark says. You need to know for yourself. You will know when you learn of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, because if the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet called by God, and there is continuing revelation in these days, and there is a living prophet on the earth today. The only way to know if the Book of Mormon is true is to read it, study it, and pray about its truthfulness with real intent to know and faith that you will be given an answer. God is your Heavenly Father, and He loves you. He wants you to be happy, and He wants you to come unto Him. He cannot lie, and He will not lead you astray. I know that if you ask Him sincerely---with a real desire to know---if the Book of Mormon is true, He will tell you. If it does contain the fulness of the gospel as we have said, He will tell you through the power of the Holy Ghost. If it is a lying and blasphemous book, He will let you know. But you have to do the work yourself, and you can't rely on any of us here for that knowledge. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true, and that you can come to know it. It might be hard, and the answer might not come immediately, but I promise you that you will come to know for yourself that that book is true if you do study and pray about it in faith. I have come to know of myself of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon as I have read it and prayed to know. It has brought so much peace and happiness to my life. That is why we're here; the message that it brings is of such great worth to us that we want you to experience the same joy that it has brought into our own lives. I know that it is true, and nothing and no one can take that knowledge away from me." As I spoke, I felt the feeling of power spread from my core to my arms, legs, and head until I felt completely energized and empowered. The power of the Holy Ghost flooded the room. I knew that the Spirit was teaching through me, that I was being an instrument in the hands of the Lord. As I testified of what I knew to be true and of that which is so sacred and dear to me, emotions began to overcome me and I was able to teach boldly and courageously without anger. As I looked around the room, I could see Matt sitting on the edge of his chair, looking into my face as if he wanted to learn more. Mark, on the other hand, was completely silenced, and seemed to be trying to hide himself by backing into the padding of the couch. Elder Westley was also emanating with the Spirit, and his own testimony was evident in his face. I could see the Spirit testifying to all of us that my words were true, whether they liked to admit it or not. Having all of this power and authority was amazing and it really built my testimony. And yet, it humbled me. It reminds me of something the Book of Mormon prophet Ammon said:

 

"I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things;... Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.... Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo." (Alma 26:11-12, 16, 36).

 

I am thankful that I was able to be the means to teach Matt and help him to feel the Spirit

I learned some important things: boldness, when used righteously, is an act of love. Jesus never wavered and was always bold, yet loving... that's why He could teach with such power. Moroni said:

 

"Behold, I speak with boldness, having authority from God; and I fear not what man can do; for perfect love casteth out all fear" (Moroni 8:16).

 

That's what I learned: if I really do have love for the people I teach, I will teach with boldness and without fear.

 

I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he was chosen by God to restore the church of Jesus Christ to the earth. I know that Christ's priesthood authority has also been restored, and that the Book of Mormon is true. If you don't know that the Book of Mormon is true, I promise you that you can know for yourself if you study it and pray to know of its truthfulness. God will not lead you astray, because He is your Father and He loves you. A testimony of the Book of Mormon isn't just another nice little thing to add to your list of personal religiosity. It testifies of Christ and proves that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ's true church on the earth today, and that by abiding by its principles you can achieve eventual eternal life with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

I also know that there is a prophet on the earth today, and that prophet is Thomas S. Monson. He will be speaking, with other Apostles of Jesus Christ, to the whole world this weekend in the General Conference of the Church. I encourage you to watch it, hear from their words, and be spiritually fed by these prophets of the Lord.

 

Have you had any good missionary experiences lately? I'd love to hear about them! And if you haven't had any, I'd love to hear from you anyway!

 

I love you all so much and hope things are going well in your lives! Thanks to those of you who have sent me letters recently! (I think the issue with the mail has been resolved.) I enjoyed reading them so much! I miss you and hope all is well at home!

 

With love,

 

Elder Schank

Weekly Update---Let the 2nd Transfer Begin!

Hey Everyone!

 

I've got to make this one really quick!

 

Well first of all a miracle happened! We went to the ghetto (not that that's saying much) to find an inactive member of our ward. We were pretty scared cause it was dark outside, but we felt ok about it. Turns out he wasn't there, but his girlfriend, Markevia, was! We had another man with us, so we went it and talked with her. She had seen the missionaries before, and she said she had some questions that she wondered if we could answer. We said YES! We started with a prayer and then asked what her questions were. She asked if there were more commandments than just the 10 commandments that we needed to keep in order to be saved. We began to explain that yes, there are many other things. When we mentioned baptism, she said "Wait... so baptism is a commandment?" We showed her that the Bible and Book of Mormon both taught that was. Then we began to teach her that it needed to be done by the priesthood authority of God. It made a lot of sense to her. She told us that she had been baptized Baptist, but that she knew it wasn't done by authority. I invited her to be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority, and she said she would!

I was so excited! I hope she stays with that committment. In our closing prayer, she revealed that she had been wondering about the things we were taught her for many years, and she expressed gratitude for that newfound knowledge. Wow! And we weren't even looking for her originally! What a miracle.

We went by later in the week to teach her again. It was dark (I really don't like the fact that the sun is setting early in the day these days) and it was really scary again. We forgot the exact apartment she lived in, so we called her, and she told us she was gone for the next week! No!!!!! We just reminded her to read from the Book of Mormon every day and pray to know if it's true (because if she learns that the Book of Mormon is true then she knows that everything else we say is also true). Dang it! It seems like whenever we come close to being able to teach someone, the opposition kicks in and it makes it so much harder to teach them! Our investigator Grant is in Arkansas for a month just as he was almost done breaking his addiction to coffee; our recent investigator Betty can't come to church because of some other obligation; and another investigator... well... we had to drop him (see next paragraph). As I was talking with Markevia on the phone in her neighborhood, some domestic violence broke out about 30 feet away and a huge group of people started fighting so we left poste haste.

We had another investigator named Matt. We went to see him and things were great. He was really willing to learn. We saw him come to church yesterday! We were in the hall after sacrament meeting, and we watched him come in and go to the young single adults branch sacrament meeting. We were really happy! Three minutes later we saw the branch president escort him back outside and kindly but firmly tell him that he was no longer welcome and that he shouldn't come back. As Matt left, the branch president explained to us that he was dangerous, particularly for the sisters, and that he was no longer welcome on the church property. We also found out that he has a history of kidnapping. Yikes. So there goes one of our investigators. Dang opposition.

Well I gotta go, but I want to leave you with my testimony that I know that the church is true and that miracles still exist! The world says, "Show me a sign, and then I'll believe." But God says "Show me your faith, first, and then I'll show you a miracle!" (see Ether 12:6-12.) We have to do things the Lord's way. I know that if we have faith first, we can see miracles after.

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

With love,

 

Elder Schank

Elder Schank: Weekly Update 9/12/11

Hello Everyone!

 

I hope things are going well in your lives. Things here are going pretty great.

 

I have been getting better and better at understanding people when they talk here. I still get a kick out of their accents, though. We've been doing a lot of moving recently. It seems like suddenly everyone is moving! Last weekend, we helped two families move from upstairs apartments to different upstairs apartments. This weekend, we helped one family to empty their house into two 26-foot-long moving trucks, after which we helped a different family in the other ward unpack another moving truck. I'm pretty sore from all of the lifting and carrying of heavy boxes and furniture, but it feels so wonderful to know that we have made a difference to these people. In some cases, the jobs couldn't get done without our help. The blessings of service that we have received outweigh by far the soreness that we're still experiencing from all that hard work!

 

Health wise, I'm doing pretty good. I'm covered with bug bites because our phone doesn't work in our apartment and we have to go outside to make phone calls each night, but that's not really a big deal! There are so many mosquitos here! And they're gigantic! I also went to the dentist this week to have a mouth infection cleaned out. After a stressful series of phone calls between the mission office,  the mission president, my home in Utah, and the dentist office, we were finally able to get my SSN (I kinda forgot it...) and get in. I'm on an antibiotic now and the stitches in my mouth are driving me crazy, but it went really well and I feel a lot better than I thought I would. The infection has been quite the blessing, actually. Before the procedure, I was supposed to take an antibiotic. That led us to the pharmacy, which opened a huge door for us that I'll talk about in the next paragraph. When we went back to pick up another post-operation antibiotic, a man flagged us down at the same pharmacy and told us that he was an excommunicated member who was trying to make changes in his life after many years of alcoholism and illicit drug abuse. He was a way cool guy. He asked for the bishop's number, which we were able to give to him, and it sounds like we'll be seeing him in church pretty soon! Were it not for the infection, we wouldn't have been able to meet him or the woman I'm about to mention in the next paragraph. I also talked to a chiropractor in my ward about my knee problems. He said that he thinks lazer accupuncture will help. He offered to do the procedure for free! Depending on how much time it will take, I think I'll do it. If it's something that I can undergo without it interfering with my work, I'm going to give it a shot... we've tried pretty much everything else short of surgery. If it takes up too much time, though, I'll talk to him in two years about it. :)

 

We have been teaching a man named Louis (I can never remember who I've mentioned before) who has recently become fully active again. He loves us a lot and we love him too; he is the friendliest person I have ever met. He likes to go on exchanges with us, where he basically tags along when we go to teaching appointments. Exchanges are really important to missionary work, because there is a special power that is added to the work when members of the church are present. (Remember that!) We were on an exchange with him once, and we ended the exchange with a trip to the pharmacy to pick up an antibiotic. As we left the pharmacy, a woman pushing a shopping cart asked if we could help her. Of course, we jumped at the chance! As we loaded her groceries into her van and Louis helped her great-grandson get into his car seat, he began to talk more with her and they seemed like old friends. Then he explained to her who we were, and what we were about. He asked her if we could come by and teach her sometime. She said yes! Then he got her address and set up an appointment for the next day. Elder Westley and I were shocked and super excited... we try to do that all the time and it's a miracle if we can get people to accept us. Louis made it look way easy. The next day, Louis came on another exchange with us to visit her. She was very open, and didn't know anything about the Church at all. In fact, she thought we were the Jehovah's Witnesses (it seems like EVERYONE thinks that!). We began to teach her the first lesson: the Restoration of Christ's Church. As we taught her, she was so open and she became very excited when we taught her that there was a prophet today who received revelation for God's children! The Spirit was strong as we told her about Joseph Smith seeking to know the truth, and how he saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. She accepted our invitation to read from the Book of Mormon and to pray to know if it and the message that we shared are true. We think she will be a great progressing investigator! The only real concern we have so far is that she is a member of a nondenominational Christian congregation who is pretty well-known for distributing anti-Mormon literature. But we think that her stubborn-ness and open-ness will help her to seek the truth about the Church from those who know best about it: us! :)

 

One of our other investigators, Grant, really wants to be baptized! He isn't technically a "progressing investigator", according to the definition in the Preach My Gospel manual for missionary work, but he is improving each day and getting a little closer to being able to be baptized. We can really see his countenance begin to change each time we visit him. Before, he just seemed like a normal old guy... now, there is a light about him. His testimony is growing. His thoughts are more centered around Christ. Once we went to visit him and he welcomed us in, saying, "Hey, fellas! I was just reading up about revelatory!" We asked him what he meant and he showed us a printed-out article by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles about revelation. We were surprised! "Where did you get that?" we asked. He explained that he got it from us! We assured him that we didn't give it to him... the print-out showed that the article was printed after we last saw him. Oh well... I guess it doesn't matter where he got it, but we sure were excited to see him reading it! He's changing so much! A while ago we taught him about the word of wisdom (again) and invited him to not only strive to keep it by not drinking beer or coffee anymore, but also to dispose of the alcohol and coffee he had in his home. He made excuses to keep them, assuring us that he wouldn't drink them, but he needed something to give his friends when they came over, and, besides, he doesn't drink the whiskey and moonshine either... he just thinks the bottles look cool. However, last time we saw him, he told us that he would get rid of his alcohol! We were so proud of him! We didn't even bring it up! That's kinda how Grant works; teach him a principle a billion times, and a week later he'll finally get it. :) The last time we taught him, we taught him the gospel of Jesus Christ: that in order to enjoy eternal life with our Heavenly Father again, we must 1) have faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, 2) repent of our sins, 3) be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority, 4) receive the Holy Ghost, and 5) endure to the end. We read 2 Nephi 31 together, which pretty much outlines those 5 points. It was powerful and the Spirit was strong. He gave many of his own insights and it was very obvious that he has grown so much and he has really learned a lot! He's so close to qualifying for baptism... he just needs to kick the coffee habit and he'll be ready!

 

I've done a lot of studying about the Gospel of Christ (the 5 points above) recently. One thing that has hit me really hard is that while we can repent and change whenever we do something wrong, we cannot receive a complete forgiveness of sins unless we are baptized! That's something that I always knew, but I guess I didn't completely grasp it until just a few days ago during my personal study hour. That's why missionary work is so important! God wants all of His children to live with Him, but "there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God" (1 Nephi 15:34). Because of the Atonement of Christ, all men can repent (change) and receive forgiveness... but we can only be forgiven if we are baptized by the authority of the priesthood. Think of those you know and love who haven't been baptized by proper authority. You want them to be saved, right? Alright... then go do missionary work! It doesn't have to be big... just go serve them... love them... be their friend, and show them who Jesus Christ is through your own example. I encourage you to read 2 Nephi 31. I am very impressed by those of you who have told me about the work you are doing to bring people closer to Christ... keep up the good work! I promise you that if you do missionary work and help other come closer to Christ, you will be happier, and you will be blessed.

 

With love,

 

Elder Schank

Elder Schank weekly update 9/6!

Dear friends and family,

 

Things have been pretty interesting around here lately. We've been doing a lot of Hurricane Irene cleanup these days. Most of it's taken care of now, so it's getting back to normal, but in the last week I've been spending much of my time in jeans and a tshirt doing all kinds of work. It's pretty weird that now I feel really strange wearing jeans because I'm just so used to my "church clothes"! It's been nice that we haven't really had time for tracting, but all this work has been pretty hard on my body. On Saturday alone, we helped two families move out of their top-floor apartments into  different top-floor apartments. Elder Westley and I moved most of the heavy stuff because there weren't very many men to help with the move. My knees are still feeling it, but I can feel the spiritual rewards of making a sacrifice of my physical comfort. We've also had a few opportunities to help people clean up their yards or reduce fallen trees. Most of them were members of the Church, because almost every nonmember who sees our nametags quickly turns us away when we offer to help, even if they still have hours of work ahead of them. That can be pretty frustrating. I just wish these people would soften their hearts enough to accept help when they obviously need it! We did get to help one man who was cleaning his yard. When we were done, I told him who we were, what we were about, and invited him to learn more. He said he would like to have us back over so we could teach him! It's such a wonderful thing when someone finally accepts to learn more. It turns out, however, that he was cleaning a friend's yard and his home is not in our area. Oh well. At least we were able to help some different missionaries teach someone!

 

We found out about a week ago that we're expecting a second hurricane on Friday. Oh well. Hopefully another storm will humble people enough that they will be willing to accept our help!

 

We're still trying to find people. No new investigators yet. That can be pretty frustrating. It seems like everyone is "satisfied with their salvation". We have about 15 potential investigators, but because of summer vacations, the beginning of the school year (our area covers East Carolina University), and the hurricane, everyone is really busy and doesn't have a lot of time to meet with us.

 

We are still working with our only investigator, Grant Smith. He's 81 and has been battling his addiction to coffee for quite some time now. He's slowly cutting back though, and tells us that he's seeing the blessings for cutting back. He wants to be baptized, and this is really the only thing holding him back. He even fasted on Sunday that he would have help to overcome his habit. We're a bit worried though... he's going to be in Arkansas to see his daughter from 9/13 to 10/9! He'll be gone for a whole month! We're praying that he won't lose his growing testimony, that he won't give in to temptation, and that he will keep reading the Book of Mormon while he's gone. He is planning on meeting with the missionaries in Arkansas to help him get to church each week, and we'll be having lessons with him over the phone, so things should be pretty good. I'm sure he would benefit from your prayers....

 

Well I don't really have a lot of time today to write a super long email. So I'll try to wrap this one up.... Thanks to those who have sent me letters. I think the hurricanes are really messing with the mail system because I got 6 letters all at once and they were sent on different days... all about 2 weeks before I received them. And the packages I've been told that have been sent still aren't here. Thanks to those of you who have sent them... I'll let you know when I get them!

 

Today we're meeting with Bro. Smith. Then we'll be teaching a potential investigator for the first time a little later with a recently-reactivated man in our ward named Louis Warren. I can't remember if I've written about him before, but he is my favorite person of everyone I've met so far! (He apparently wrote a letter to my mom and dad!) We'll also be teaching him tonight.

 

Well, I've got to go, but I hope that all of you will keep trying to improve in your daily prayers and scripture study as well as your temple attendance. I know that if you do those things, your relationship with the Savior will grow and strengthen and you will have a better understanding of His love and sacrifice for you. That's why I pray for each of you every night to do a little better at these three things!

 

I testify that Jesus Christ lives. I know firsthand that He is very active in the lives of His brothers and sisters on earth. He loves us very much and promises to help us in our times of need---no matter what they are---if we will accept His constant invitation to come unto Him.

 

I hope to hear from you soon! I would love to get a letter from you!

 

I love you all and hope you are doing well!

 

With love,

 

Elder Schank

Weekly Update: Elder Schank!

Hey everyone!

 

I don't know if you heard, but over the last week we had a fire... and an earthquake... AND a hurricane! I don't really know what was up with the fire, to be honest. It happened almost a week ago. The earthquake was actually just the aftershock of an earthquake up north, but I could feel it when we were teaching a woman about the Book of Mormon on her porch. The hurricane, though, has messed a lot of our plans up! Our mission president instructed us to evacuate Greenville and stay with missionaries in Rocky Mount, which is farther inland. So on Friday morning, we headed over there before the storm began to come in on Friday night. Hurricane Irene hit Moorehead City on Friday. It was a level 3 at only about 110 mph (apparently they can be a lot worse), but it was very destructive because it was traveling laterally by only 15 mph. We had no power Friday night, all of Saturday, and Sunday morning, but we were completely safe... just hungry and very very bored. I did a lot of studying, and we watched some church videos on the little DVD players they gave us for training. On Sunday morning, we were finally allowed to leave the apartment and see the destruction. Fences and signs were torn up, and I was really surprised at how many trees were taken down. Sacrament meetings all over our mission were cancelled because trees blocked parking lots and meeting houses had no power. We had permission from our hosting missionaries' bishop to hold our own sacrament meeting. That was an awesome experience. Our sacrament meeting took place in a bedroom and consisted of opening and closing hymns and prayers, the administration of the sacrament, and each of us sharing a scripture and testimony. The whole meeting lasted about 15 minutes, but the Spirit was very powerful. After the meeting, we changed into jeans and t-shirts to go do service. One of the members in the local ward owned a golf course, and we went to help him clear up the greens. It was incredible how the winds had taken down some really big trees! They were as big as 70 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter! It amazed me how a tree so strong and so heavy could be completely torn out of the ground by the wind. As we used chainsaws to reduce the fallen trees into smaller pieces of lumber that were manageable enough to be removed and collected in piles, I began to realize the reason that these trees didn't stand a chance against the winds. I looked at the roots, and observed that they were only shot about 2 feet deep into the ground. The trees were also planted in soil that was very loose because of the humidity and moisture. It didn't matter how tall or heavy or thick these gigantic trees were... when it all came down to it, it was the root and the foundation that could make or break the tree. 

 

 

As I pondered over this, I remembered a different service project that I had been involved in many years ago as a Boy Scout in Arizona. We were camping in the desert, and we were working to clear part of a hiking path. I found a little bit of sagebrush in the middle of the path and tried to pull it up. It wouldn't budge. My scout leader noticed my efforts and told me not to waste my time. He taught me that sagebrush, even though it looks very small and weak (it usually grows between 1 and 2 feet tall above the ground) is actually very hard to uproot because it has a huge root system. The roots of the sagebrush grow wide and deep (up to 10 feet deep!) in search for any water they can find in the hot and dry climate of the desert. The hard, rocky ground in which the roots are set cling tightly to the roots as well, making it nearly impossible to rip them out of the earth. As I compared the fate of the gigantic trees torn down by the hurricane to that of the little sagebrush, I began to learn the importance of growing our own personal roots in a solid foundation. It seems that most people in the world focus all of their energy to grow above the surface, focusing only on improving in areas that will bring them recognition and admiration from people around them. In doing so, they grow their roots down just enough to survive. Few people these days are like the humble sagebrush; they don't so much care about how strong or great they appear to others, but rather they focus on expanding their roots deep into their foundation and continue to expand, knowing the true source of strength. However, these people still can never find greater strength unless they build themselves in the right foundation. What is this foundation? I think you already know. The Book of Mormon prophet Helaman knew, and he taught the answer to his sons: "Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Helaman 5:12). I have learned throughout my life that it is vital for us to focus our strength on pushing our roots into the foundation of Christ. I have a testimony that if we do build on the Savior by having faith in Him, repenting of our sins, making covenants, and enduring to the end, that the hurricanes of life will have no power to bring us down. It is my prayer that we will all be better able to do so. To me, it seems that life has two difficulties: hard and harder. No matter how difficult we find life to be, we can ALWAYS find peace, comfort, and a helping hand in Jesus Christ. Remember what He told Joseph Smith as the Prophet was suffering in Liberty jail:

"If thou shouldst be cast into the ^apit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the ^bdeep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to ^chedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of ^dhell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee ^eexperience, and shall be for thy good. The ^aSon of Man hath ^bdescended below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, ^ahold on thy way, and... ^efear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever" (Doctrine & Covenants 122:7-9).

 

Well things are beginning to pick up now that the storm is over. We're actually expecting another hurricane in about a week. The big concern with this one is going to be flooding... after all the rain we got with Hurricane Irene, this next storm is going cause a lot of flooding probably. Even more service opportunities! I'm really excited to be able to serve more. Tracting is the worst possible way to find people to teach (remember that... if you know of any one who missionaries in your area could teach about coming closer to Christ, let them know! You will make their month. Referalls are like Christmas to a missionary, and missionary work is 100 times more effective (literally) when Church members work with the missionaries!) These service opportunities will hopefully become teaching opportunities.

 

Greenville is doing considerably well. A lot of trees are down, but there wasn't a lot of flooding... just a little bit in our kitchen and living room, but none of our personal property was damaged.

 

Have you heard? My older sister Christa got her mission call! She will be serving in the New York Rochester, English-speaking mission! That includes the Hill Cumorah visitor center! I am so happy for and proud of her and I know she will make an incredible missionary because of her wonderful example to me.

 

I love this work! If any of you who aren't members of the LDS church want to learn more about what I do and teach, I would love to hear from you!

 

How are you doing? Yeah, I'm talking to YOU! I would love to hear from you and get an update on your life! I hope all is going well. To those of you who have written me, thanks! I loved reading your letters and I will be writing as many of you back later today when it's letter-writing time! For those of you who haven't written me (including my own siblings!), I would still love to hear from you!

 

I love you all and continually pray for each of you! God bless you!

 

With love,

 

Elder Schank

Week #2 in the Field!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been great. Nothing too exciting, but great. I am still trying to get used to North Carolina. It amazes me how completely different it is over here, even though it's part of the same country as the west. For one, there are no sidewalks, and there are barely ever crosswalks. People just kind of amble across the street where and whenever they feel like it. They pretty much just expect cars to yield to them, and the crazy thing is that they do! That's been tough for us, because we have to ride our bikes in the middle of the street. Last email I mentioned the diversity of the people here. This week I got a little taste of how diverse their living situations are. We've been in and out of a lot of ghettoes. They're kinda scary in broad daylight, and we look very out of place with our light skin and nice dress clothes. We get a lot of stares. It can be difficult to visit some of the people who live there, because we can't really go there at night (too dangerous), but we're supposed to make visits with church members whenever we can, and they're usually available only in the evenings. The last time we went to visit someone in a ghetto at night, though, we brought a police officer in our ward with us. He works at the prison in town, and he said most of the people in that particular ghetto knew him. He brought his gun, just in case. On the other hand, we've also gone tracting around some neighborhoods that have the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. They've got all these columns and they're made of brick, with climbing vines and gigantic trees on huge lawns. Some of them are 3 stories high, and others are bigger. There's one particular neighborhood with $15 million houses, and you can see grand staircases and chandeliers bigger than our car in the window. It's sad to see the ghettoes that are barely held together with molding wood and rusty nails next to these pristine mansions with 5 muscle cars in the garage(s). It's also pretty interesting to see the difference in the way the rich and the poor people receive us. Whenever we're in the ghettoes or other poor communities, we see a lot of scary people. They're covered in tattoos and their faces are filled with piercings, their homes are filled with the smell of alcohol and drugs, they wear dirty and cheap clothes, and a lot of the time they're missing half of their teeth, and the other half are just about to fall out. But they are (almost) always so nice! They'll just talk your ear off like we've been old friends, laughing and thanking us and offering us water and shade. Then there's the rich people. At first, they seemed like the ones with the greater potential to hear us out. Their houses are big and comfortable with nice air conditioning, they wear nice clothes and look clean and neat, and a lot of them have little signs or carvings decorating their front lawns and doorsteps that say something among the lines of "Welcome". And then when they figure out that we're missionaries, they wave us away or interrupt us or even just close the door before I can finish introducing myself. If they do actually listen to what we have to say, they tell us "I am satisfied with my salvation" or "Don't waste your time" or "I'm too busy". It reminds me of the differences between the shepherds and the innkeeper at Christ's birth. The innkeeper was probably pretty well-to-do, and he had no room for the Savior. On the other hand, the shepherds, who were undoubtedly very humble, immediately came to see the Christ as soon as they heard of His coming. I hope that we never think to ourselves, "I'm too busy to grow closer to the Savior." I am very confident that if we put Him on the backburner, it will take us a very long time to put Him at the top of our priorities, if we do at all. I hope you know that I pray for all of you every night before I go to bed that you will grow closer to the Master as individuals and families.

This last week we have obtained two tracting treasures! On one occasion, we knocked on a man's door while tracting. He had a cool-looking cattle skull in his flowerbed. As he opened the door, Elder Westley and I mentioned that we thought it looked really cool and that it reminded us of home. He wasn't very interested in our message, but he did tell us that his wife hated the skull and that we could take it! So... we did. It's on our dresser right now.

On another day, we were tracting in this little rich neighborhood of town homes. The founder must have been Irish, because the streets were called Rainbow, Clover, Shamrock, and Blarney. And, believe it or not, Blarney was a pretty lucky street! We talked to an old man for about half an hour. He was a very kind Methodist who told us that he was preparing to die soon because of his old age and the poor condition of his lungs. He told us of his family who he loved dearly. I testified to him of the Book of Mormon and its ability to bring happiness into our lives by teaching us more about the Savior. He wasn't too interested. Then I felt that I should ask him about his beliefs as a Methodist. He stated some basic Christian truths about Christ and His Atonement. I asked him about his belief in life after death. It was pretty in line with what we believe: that we will be judged according to our works and that if we are righteous we will inherit a place in heaven. Then I asked him if he thought he would see his family again after he died. He said he wanted to believe that, and that he hoped so much that he could. I then testified to him that I know that families can be together forever; that God loves us and created the family, that He wants us to be able to live with our families for eternity, and that He provided a way for us to do so through His Son, Jesus Christ. Tears began to well up in this good man's eyes. He praised the two of us for our faith and our dedication to and love for God. He invited us in for water. We accepted. He gave us each a glass of water and a cayenne pepper. He explained that he grew them himself, and that he didn't have a lot to offer us as an expression of his gratitude, but he could give us some of his peppers. I could tell that they meant a lot to him, and we gratefully accepted his gift. He told us that if we put a drop of pepper juice on bug bites, it resolves the itchiness almost instantly. However, I am going to let it dry out and keep it for as long as a reminder of his hospitality and that the Spirit testified to him that the words of my testimony of eternal families were true.

We are STILL trying to find people. We really don't have many people to teach. I'm trying not to get frustrated here, but it's difficult because people's views of God here are so warped and they're so sure that they're right that they won't even give us the time of day. The few people who actually have let us speak to them only seem to like to talk about Jesus; when we talk about any other important beliefs, they tell us that it doesn't matter and ask us to leave. I don't understand it... these people swear by the Bible and say the believe everything in it. And then we learn that they think God is some amorphous spirit, or that by grace alone they are saved and that their works have no effect on their salvation, or that salvation is a single event that they have already achieved, or that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all one being. I don't understand how anyone can believe those things and call themselves Christian! The Bible clearly shows that these ideas are not true. We have given away only three copies of the Book of Mormon because we are discouraged to give them away on first contact unless we feel prompted to do so. Most people hate it anyway, even though they've never read it and they don't know what it is. It's like they think we're handing out Pandora's Boxes or that evil will enter their homes if they accept it. The prophecy found in the Book of Mormon is being fulfilled, as written in 2 Nephi 29:6-9: 6 Thou fool, that shall say: A ^aBible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?
 7 Know ye not that there are more ^anations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the ^bisles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the ^cearth beneath; and I bring forth my ^dword unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
 8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the ^atestimony of ^btwo nations is a ^cwitness unto you that I am God, that I remember one ^dnation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two ^enations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
 9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my ^bwords according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one ^cword ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my ^dwork is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
This scripture just makes sense! I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and that it is a gift given to us because our Heavenly Father LOVES us. That is what the entire gospel comes down to. Every ordinance, every commandment, every prophet, scripture, and teaching are given to us by our Father in Heaven as an act of love. The Atonement is the best example of them all. People here are very familiar with John 3:16:
16 For ^aGod so ^bloved the ^cworld, that he ^dgave his ^eonly begotten ^fSon, that whosoever ^gbelieveth in him should not perish, but have ^heverlasting ⁱlife.
While they understand that Christ's sacrifice was a manifestation of love, I think they fail to realize that it is really just the beginning.
I know that the Book of Mormon is true! If you aren't reading it, please do! If you don't have a copy, let me give you one, as my gift to you. It is the best gift I could ever give. If you would like a copy, please let me know! I would love to mail one to you. (Don't worry, it's free.) I promise and testify to you as a representative of Jesus Christ that the teachings of this book can help you to be more happy than by any other means. I PROMISE you, with a 100% surety that this is true. It testifies as a companion and help to the Bible that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of our souls.
While it has been hard to find people who are willing to listen to our message, I have not given up, and I never will. I know that there's someone out here that the Lord has prepared for me to teach, and they are "kept from the truth [only] because they know not where to find it" (Doctrine and Covenants 123:12).
I love you all and hope all is going well. Again, I pray for each of you EVERY DAY! Please let me know how you are doing! I don't have a lot of computer time, so please send snail mail rather than email. I stare into the mailbox everyday and sob.... Ok, just kidding, but really, please send me mail. Thanks! My address is:
6508 Falls of Neuse, Ste. 100
Raleigh, NC 27615

With love,
Elder Schank

First day in NC!

Dear Friends and Family,

Whew! I'm finally here in North Carolina! Flying in was a breathtaking experience because there are trees EVERYWHERE! I still can't get over how green it is here. The trees are so big that they are apparently hiding the mountains, because I can't find them anywhere. It's kind of a disorienting feeling. It is also super humid here! That has made tracting oodles of fun because the air is so full of water that it keeps your sweat from evaporating! I've had to get used to the fact that I will just feel nasty all the time, and that people here recognize that and it's not actually that gross to them. It smells like tobacco smoke, rain, and fried food outside wherever you go. There are tons of ghettos all around, and it's pretty funny because a lot of people here have cars (or even just the rims of their cars) that are more expensive than their houses! This is the only place I think I have ever been where I have been a minority! It's amazing how many African Americans are here! I think only about 30% of the people I see every day are white. So far, I have been doing really well at living my first mission goal, which is to not laugh at people while they are talking to me. Their accents are so awesome! I'm trying to get used to it, but I can't help chuckle on the inside whenever I hear a really thick southern accent, especially at church. People here say stuff like "Cut that light off!" and "Mash that button!" and "I usedta could _______" and, of  course, "YA'LL".

My first transfer is in the Greenville 2nd ward of the Kinston stake. It's the area that is on the western end of the eastern most zone in my mission. So basically I don't get the coast at all, just the humidity of it. Nice. My companion is Elder Westley from Sandy, UT. He's been out here for about 19 months. He's loud, hyper, and absolutely hysterical. I love him! He's even a cancer survivor. He is an awesome trainer and I have loved working with him! He's been super helpful and I've learned a lot from him. Oh yeah, and Kyle Simmons, my friend from high school is in my district! I saw him a few days ago.

The Church just barely, barely came out with a brand new infield training program that involves the junior companion (me) a lot more so that he doesn't just sit back and let his senior companion (E. Westley) do all the work. It's so new that the group of missionaries who left the MTC with me is the first group to ever use it! They shipped us out with new manuals and DVD players so we could watch instructional videos. A lot of the videos are from The District.

Our day goes like this:

6:30 wake up, exercise, eat, yadda yadda yadda get ready for the day

7:30 personal study

8:30-10:30 companion study (an extra hour for the new training program)

10:30-9:00ish teaching, tracting, planning, and all of that good missionary stuff

9:30 plan for the next day and get ready for bed

10:30 bed time! Hooray!

So far, I've had no problem getting right to work! On my very first day we already were tracting. We just pick a place on our big map to go, ride our bikes out there (yep, I got my new bike!), lock them up on a street sign, and start walking! I was really nervous to start talking to people right away, but I decided to suck it up and deal with it! The second person I talked to was very interested in our message but she's out of town till the 20th. So we gave her a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet about the Restoration, and she sincerely committed to read them and pray to know if their words are true! We're going to follow up with her and start teaching her once she gets back.

When I got here, NO one was currently investigating, so, for the most part, we've been visiting members and asking them for referrals, and contacting/tracting. We've had some people let us talk and invite and they are super nice. Some of them even ask us to come back later. Others, however, are not so receptive. One lady opened the door, looked at our nametags, and rolled her eyes and shut the door right in the middle of our introducing ourselves. Oh well! It can be really hard here. There are a lot of hard-core Baptists here, who are "satisfied with their salvation". A lot of people think that as long as they verbally admit that Jesus Christ is their Savior that they are saved! That's frustrating alone! I don't really get how anyone can say they believe the Bible and believe that, too. Oh well, we just do our best and continually pray for the Lord to bless us by leading us to the people He has prepared for us to teach!

The people we teach, if we're lucky enough to be able to do that, are really interesting. We've gotten to teach a schizophrenic nonactive man who is so caught up in science that he has a hard time with faith. Then there's the woman who claims she is a "prophetess" because she shares God's word with others. We taught her yesterday. Actually, it was more like we talked to her yesterday. She was happy to "talk Jesus" with us... until we began to teach about the apostasy and a living prophet, and then she said she didn't want to talk anymore because she didn't believe in that. I thought that was the point of our being there: to teach what we believed to her. Oh well. She's super nice and she's going to call us soon to get our help with her gigantic lawn. It was really interesting praying in her home. I gave the opening prayer. After every sentance I said, she would say "Thank you, Jesus!" or "Oh, God, yes, Lord!" or something like that. It freaked me out the first time. The closing prayer was given by her. She had us stand in a circle and join hands and it was the craziest most beautiful prayer I have ever heard.

I actually had Coke for the first time here... on accident... kind of. For those of you who don't know, I don't drink caffeine because of how unhealthy it is (and it's not like I need that extra energy anyway) so it's a pretty big deal. :) We went out into the boonies to visit a prior potential investigator and invite him to come to church. He wasn't home, but his girlfriend was. So we just taught her instead! She sounded really interested! She even said that she was looking for a new church to go to cause she had just moved into the area, so we invited her to come to ours and she said she would! She saw that our faces were dripping, so she asked if we would like a drink. I said yes, because 1) I wanted to extend our time with her and get that church invite in, and 2) I was thirsty! A minute later she came back to the door with two cups. I looked in and saw some brown soda. It tasted nasty like nothing I'd ever drank before, so I assumed it was Cola. She was watching us, and I didn't want to offend her or make anything awkward, so I drank the whole thing. Gross. But we invited her to church in between sips and she said she would come! Yes! Did she come on Sunday? Nope. *Sigh* oh well. We'll follow up with her and get her there next time.

Please send me letters! Please, please, please! I know you are all busy, but it really is so wonderful to hear from all of you at home! I am so busy so I can only write to you on preparation days, but I will write back eventually! (Mom and Dad, please send me snail mail rather than emails... I don't have time to read emails with my limited computer time! Even if you just type it up, print it out, and send it. That would be perfect. If you could also mail me any emails you've sent since August 3rd, that would be great, because I haven't had a chance to read them. Thanks!) I will write back in the same order I get emails, and I will respond to family first. For those of you who sent me mail already, THANK YOU! I will be writing letters today. Our mailbox was actually broken when I got here, so I got a ton of letters all at once and I will try to get responses written ASAP! For those of you who haven't written me yet.... write me, for crying out loud! Thanks. :)

The work has been going really well! I love it here! The mission is awesome! I hope all of you are doing well yourselves! Please let me know how you are doing! I love you all and my computer time is up so I will write you again in a week!

Love,

Elder Schank