NOTE: 2 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Hello again everyone!
Some pretty interesting things have happened this last week:
1. I ate lobster, crab, sushi, and calamari (squid) all for my first
time this last week! The calamari was kind of weird, but the rest of it
was wonderful!
2. We tracted (knocking door to door) for the
first time in a year for me because one of our areas doesn't have enough
work for us to keep busy visiting specific people.
3. There was a
woman that was having a really tough time. She called us over to give
her a blessing and we first shared some words of encouragement (it was
more than that, but for the sake of time, that's what it was) which she
greatly appreciated, and then we gave her a blessing which she said made
her feel infinitely better. The priesthood and its power is real!!!
4. My companion bought a super nice case for his Quad that is authentic Native American art.
5. As of right now, my mission will end somewhere around the middle of
December. It may change by a week because of the Christmas time, but
that’s the current plan.
I hope everything goes well for all of you this week!
Elder Sands
Monday, July 4, 2016
Happy 4th everyone!
This last week has been wonderful! My comp and I have been teaching many lessons and have been helping lots of people with lots of things. One instance that sticks out from this last week is there was a woman who really needed help moving her things because she didn't have enough money to pay for the movers. We stepped in and helped her move the things we could so that she would pay less when the time came for her to move. She was extremely grateful and it just reminded me of how much we need to serve. There are always times when we can serve all around us at all times. My Dad was a great example of this. He would always find little ways for us to serve that weren’t assigned. We fixed sprinklers at the church building, we moved people, we cleaned the community, the church building-hundreds of little acts of service for years and years (now I get it). Our Savior was the perfect example of this. He was always serving. He was always helping.
There was another woman who has stopped going to church because of some doctrinal issues she had with the church. It was about something in the Book of Mormon and something with what Joseph Smith had said in one of his sermons. Apparently these questions were faith-destroying and she fell away from the church after being a member for 2 1/2 years. She is still a good example though. Why? Because she did not lose her faith in Jesus the Christ. I have been studying the scriptures and other sources this last week to try and find answers to her and I believe I have found some, but it will, of course, take faith on her part (which I'm almost certain she has) to accept them. Please pray for me as I present my answers to her to her deep doctrinal questions. Hopefully this will re-ignite her faith in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith as well as in the Savior Jesus Christ and then apply the teaching of Dieter F Uchtdorf: "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, June 27, 2016
NOTE: 4 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Another phenomenally hot week down here in the valley of the sun!
And good things have been happening this last week. One of the cool things that happened was when we visited Carolyn. I had labeled her location on my google maps earlier that day, so when I opened it to get directions I saw her name and saw that it was right next to us. I told my companion that we should visit so we pulled over and she happened to be sitting outside. She had two of the nicest but meanest looking dogs ever named Shrek and Fiona. We taught her a brief lesson, invited her to church and headed out. That Sunday she came to church and just loved it. It turned out that she was struggling with some things when we came by and when we left, she re-evaluated I guess you could say. She was extremely thankful for our visit. She hasn't missed a day of church since.
Another phenomenally hot week down here in the valley of the sun!
And good things have been happening this last week. One of the cool things that happened was when we visited Carolyn. I had labeled her location on my google maps earlier that day, so when I opened it to get directions I saw her name and saw that it was right next to us. I told my companion that we should visit so we pulled over and she happened to be sitting outside. She had two of the nicest but meanest looking dogs ever named Shrek and Fiona. We taught her a brief lesson, invited her to church and headed out. That Sunday she came to church and just loved it. It turned out that she was struggling with some things when we came by and when we left, she re-evaluated I guess you could say. She was extremely thankful for our visit. She hasn't missed a day of church since.
We're getting our new Mission President on Wednesday! Our new Mission
President's name is President Marc Robinson. He's an attorney from
California. Everyone's going to be so sad to see President and Sister
Sweeney leave. There will be many tears this week.
Have a great week everyone!
Elder Sands
Have a great week everyone!
Elder Sands
Monday, June 20, 2016
NOTE: 3 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
I heard my home stake just got reorganized! I'm in a brand spankin' new Stake called the Mt. Spokane Stake. How cool is that but it's going to take a bit of time to get used to saying. When I get back, I'm not going to know anything or anyone. But it will be exciting to meet all the new people.
It's been quite a bit of work getting used to these two new wards and with being a ZL again and its responsibilities, the week has been really busy. The very affluent live here and so approaching and contacting people takes a little different skill set than you use with Native Americans. But, the area's looking up and we'll see a lot of success in these wards, soon.
I heard my home stake just got reorganized! I'm in a brand spankin' new Stake called the Mt. Spokane Stake. How cool is that but it's going to take a bit of time to get used to saying. When I get back, I'm not going to know anything or anyone. But it will be exciting to meet all the new people.
It's been quite a bit of work getting used to these two new wards and with being a ZL again and its responsibilities, the week has been really busy. The very affluent live here and so approaching and contacting people takes a little different skill set than you use with Native Americans. But, the area's looking up and we'll see a lot of success in these wards, soon.
I hope you all have a great week! Hang in there.
Elder Sands
Elder Sands
Monday, June 13, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
This week has had quite a list of unexpected events.
I have been transferred out of the Papago Ward and have moved a little north into North Scottsdale! I'm serving in the Desert mountain and Fountain Hills Wards in the North Scottsdale Stake. I'm super excited to be serving here and I might very well finish my mission here but it would be neat to finish up in ASL.
This week has had quite a list of unexpected events.
I have been transferred out of the Papago Ward and have moved a little north into North Scottsdale! I'm serving in the Desert mountain and Fountain Hills Wards in the North Scottsdale Stake. I'm super excited to be serving here and I might very well finish my mission here but it would be neat to finish up in ASL.
Elder Bean is my new companion now and his personality reminds me of
Captain America-he's a great worker. We'll be sure to get a lot done
this transfer.
We’re driving a 2015 Nissan Rogue now and it is an upgrade from the previous vehicle. The areas are great and we're starting to work with people to get the areas growing again. The members are wonderful! So many of them are rich and yet every single one of them are humble and have strong testimonies. I'll miss Papago, but I'll miss leaving this area too when the time comes.
Hope you are all having a wonderful time and hope you have a wonderful week!
Elder Sands
We’re driving a 2015 Nissan Rogue now and it is an upgrade from the previous vehicle. The areas are great and we're starting to work with people to get the areas growing again. The members are wonderful! So many of them are rich and yet every single one of them are humble and have strong testimonies. I'll miss Papago, but I'll miss leaving this area too when the time comes.
Hope you are all having a wonderful time and hope you have a wonderful week!
Elder Sands
Monday, June 6, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Hello Again!
This last week has been quite terrible when it comes to the weather. Saturday got to 117 with equally as high days before and after. Having biked through the last time it got that hot, however, it doesn't faze me nearly as much as the other papago missionaries, all of which are experiencing their first Valley of the Sun summer.
Hello Again!
This last week has been quite terrible when it comes to the weather. Saturday got to 117 with equally as high days before and after. Having biked through the last time it got that hot, however, it doesn't faze me nearly as much as the other papago missionaries, all of which are experiencing their first Valley of the Sun summer.
We were able to go to the temple with a sister in our ward (SEE PIC)
that hasn't had the opportunity to go in several years. It's always
special to see people have the opportunity to go back to the House of
the Lord.
Transfers are this week and as I mentioned earlier, I will not be going back to ASL at this time, but it sounds like the mission president wants to send me to a different leadership area...so that will be interesting to see what will happen. I'll let you all know when I can.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Transfers are this week and as I mentioned earlier, I will not be going back to ASL at this time, but it sounds like the mission president wants to send me to a different leadership area...so that will be interesting to see what will happen. I'll let you all know when I can.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, May 30, 2016
Hello again Everyone!
Things are going well here in the valley of the sun. By the end of the week we'll be enjoying a nice and crispy 115+ degrees and endless amounts of blue skies.
Things are going well here in the valley of the sun. By the end of the week we'll be enjoying a nice and crispy 115+ degrees and endless amounts of blue skies.
There's this one person we're working with who's just "blossoming like a
rose". We came across her through her family and with encouragement
visited her the first time. During that visit, she had a hover board
sitting down on the ground and so Elder Kaufusi wanted to try it out.
For about a half an hour we just tried getting used to the hover board
and just talking about random things, set up a time when we could come
back, and then left.
After we left, we were evaluating the 'lesson' we had just had, and we thought that it was probably a waste of time. But none of us really felt the need to teach, and we didn't feel bad about not teaching, so we didn't think much of it. During the week before we came by again, she had gone around to almost her whole family and talked about how the missionaries just came by and did nothing but ride the hover board. Not in a disappointed way, but a surprised way, like missionaries can be normal people. Now we're teaching her regularly and she's wanting to move on towards the temple. Now that we look back, if we had been serious about teaching her that one day, she probably wouldn't have been interested, but she got to see that missionaries aren't robots. Kind of uncanny how the Spirit works sometimes.
President Sweeney will be leaving our mission for good on the 30th of June. That will be a sad day, but we also saw a video with our new mission president and companion the other day. They are similar, but different, I can't quite explain it.
Well, talk to you all later!
Elder Sands
After we left, we were evaluating the 'lesson' we had just had, and we thought that it was probably a waste of time. But none of us really felt the need to teach, and we didn't feel bad about not teaching, so we didn't think much of it. During the week before we came by again, she had gone around to almost her whole family and talked about how the missionaries just came by and did nothing but ride the hover board. Not in a disappointed way, but a surprised way, like missionaries can be normal people. Now we're teaching her regularly and she's wanting to move on towards the temple. Now that we look back, if we had been serious about teaching her that one day, she probably wouldn't have been interested, but she got to see that missionaries aren't robots. Kind of uncanny how the Spirit works sometimes.
President Sweeney will be leaving our mission for good on the 30th of June. That will be a sad day, but we also saw a video with our new mission president and companion the other day. They are similar, but different, I can't quite explain it.
Well, talk to you all later!
Elder Sands
Monday, May 23, 2016
NOTE: 3 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
This last week has been quite slow. We've had set seven appointments every single day this week, but we've had close to 95% cancellation rate. That means that almost every single one of our appointments except for four, canceled on us. Out of the 23 set appointments that we have this week and for that actually went through that comes out with a percentage of: 90.8% if only that was a success number!
I also had a meeting with President Sweeney this last week, and we talked about the state of the ASL program in the Arizona Scottsdale Mission. He then informed me that he will not be transferring me back to the ASL program while he's president. :(
My only chance of going back to the ASL program now is if President Robinson (the new mission president coming next month) wants to throw me back in there. Apparently they have two new missionaries in the program right now, and neither of them know how to sign.
But other than that, a member in my last area, Sister Densmore, received her endowments in the temple! It was so great to see her again and to be able to attend her session. We also went on the ward campout to Camp LOMIA. Many people showed up, and it was a really fun experience. We are able to help out with a few things and I think we build some trust with a few new members. We also visited the Tonto National Natural Bridge up there. It was really cool to be able to see that national park. It is literally a land bridge made from water flowing underneath it. It's really cool to see Xclamation point we got to climb below it and have water following us like it was raining.
Hope everybody has a great week!
Elder Sands
This last week has been quite slow. We've had set seven appointments every single day this week, but we've had close to 95% cancellation rate. That means that almost every single one of our appointments except for four, canceled on us. Out of the 23 set appointments that we have this week and for that actually went through that comes out with a percentage of: 90.8% if only that was a success number!
I also had a meeting with President Sweeney this last week, and we talked about the state of the ASL program in the Arizona Scottsdale Mission. He then informed me that he will not be transferring me back to the ASL program while he's president. :(
My only chance of going back to the ASL program now is if President Robinson (the new mission president coming next month) wants to throw me back in there. Apparently they have two new missionaries in the program right now, and neither of them know how to sign.
But other than that, a member in my last area, Sister Densmore, received her endowments in the temple! It was so great to see her again and to be able to attend her session. We also went on the ward campout to Camp LOMIA. Many people showed up, and it was a really fun experience. We are able to help out with a few things and I think we build some trust with a few new members. We also visited the Tonto National Natural Bridge up there. It was really cool to be able to see that national park. It is literally a land bridge made from water flowing underneath it. It's really cool to see Xclamation point we got to climb below it and have water following us like it was raining.
Hope everybody has a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, May 16, 2016
NOTE: 3 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Lots of meetings happened this last week. One of them was
called Zone Training Meeting (ZTM). Our mission president will be going home in
about a month, so he has set a goal to get 40 baptisms the month of April, 50
for May, and 60 for June. In January-March, we averaged about 36, so our
mission has much to do so we can permanently increase our baptisms. There's a natural
somberness going on in the mission right now because we will be losing our
beloved mission president and the weight to do better. Almost every missionary
I've talked with doesn't know exactly how it's going to happen, but this is where
faith and hard work comes in.
One of the people we've been working with just made it to
the temple for the first time a few days ago. It's always wonderful to see how
people seem to glow after getting their endowments. It's such a privilege to
teach and accompany individuals to the temple.
This last Saturday we had dinner with a member who was
looking for a new dog. Some previous missionaries had promised them a rez (Indian
reservation) dog but they never came through. The next day we were at another
member's home who had a number of rez dogs just hanging out in their yard that
they fed every now and then. We saw one that looked pretty decent so we asked
if we could take it for this family. They let us so we took it to the member's
home and they were ecstatic! They named him Spot.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, May 9, 2016
NOTE: 4 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
So, sorry I haven't written anybody in a while, Things have been really busy here!
I'm staying in the Papago Ward for another transfer but by all indications, I will be returning to ASL next transfer (I’ve been away from ASL longer than any other missionary has in the past). I love the Papago Ward and its wonderful members. This will be my 3rd transfer in the Papago Ward and my 7th transfer in this zone, the Maricopa Zone. Quite a long time to be in one area.
One funny fact: (almost) every morning we go to this high school track to work out. When I first got to this area, school had started that week. By the time I leave this area, school will have been out for at least 3 weeks. That's a long time to be in the same place on a mission!
We've been working with a lot of people, trying to get them to the temple, either for their first time or going back after a long absence, as well as teaching people to be prepared to get baptized, but so far very few are moving quickly towards their goals. Life gets busy and the gospel falls in priority and eventually never gets the attention it needs to grant them eternal life. I hope none of you are cutting yourselves off from such amazing spiritual blessings by letting the gospel fall by the wayside under the onslaught of the distractions of life. The gospel is the most important thing in the world.
(I think it was) Richard G. Scott who said that you should not yield to Satan's lie, which is that you do not have time to read the Book of Mormon. Read it! It's wonderful! It changes lives!
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
So, sorry I haven't written anybody in a while, Things have been really busy here!
I'm staying in the Papago Ward for another transfer but by all indications, I will be returning to ASL next transfer (I’ve been away from ASL longer than any other missionary has in the past). I love the Papago Ward and its wonderful members. This will be my 3rd transfer in the Papago Ward and my 7th transfer in this zone, the Maricopa Zone. Quite a long time to be in one area.
One funny fact: (almost) every morning we go to this high school track to work out. When I first got to this area, school had started that week. By the time I leave this area, school will have been out for at least 3 weeks. That's a long time to be in the same place on a mission!
We've been working with a lot of people, trying to get them to the temple, either for their first time or going back after a long absence, as well as teaching people to be prepared to get baptized, but so far very few are moving quickly towards their goals. Life gets busy and the gospel falls in priority and eventually never gets the attention it needs to grant them eternal life. I hope none of you are cutting yourselves off from such amazing spiritual blessings by letting the gospel fall by the wayside under the onslaught of the distractions of life. The gospel is the most important thing in the world.
(I think it was) Richard G. Scott who said that you should not yield to Satan's lie, which is that you do not have time to read the Book of Mormon. Read it! It's wonderful! It changes lives!
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, March 21, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Well we just had transfers and I am in the same area as last transfer. Whether I'll ever make it back to ASL remains to be seen, but the Papago Ward is a wonderful place to be and I'm excited to stay another 6 weeks.
My new companion is Elder Cox and he's a wonderful missionary. I actually knew him from my very first week in the mission field. When I went back to join the rest of the missionaries who arrived the week after me, I stayed at his apartment with another missionary. He looks a lot different after a year.
I just witnessed my first sealing in the temple this last Saturday. The Tanner family, after many years of preparing and working towards the temple, have finally taken the step to receiving their endowments and getting sealed together with their family. They were so ecstatic when they were sealed together for time and all eternity, and I know that they have a very powerful testimony of temples.
Have a wonderful week.
Elder Sands
Well we just had transfers and I am in the same area as last transfer. Whether I'll ever make it back to ASL remains to be seen, but the Papago Ward is a wonderful place to be and I'm excited to stay another 6 weeks.
My new companion is Elder Cox and he's a wonderful missionary. I actually knew him from my very first week in the mission field. When I went back to join the rest of the missionaries who arrived the week after me, I stayed at his apartment with another missionary. He looks a lot different after a year.
I just witnessed my first sealing in the temple this last Saturday. The Tanner family, after many years of preparing and working towards the temple, have finally taken the step to receiving their endowments and getting sealed together with their family. They were so ecstatic when they were sealed together for time and all eternity, and I know that they have a very powerful testimony of temples.
Have a wonderful week.
Elder Sands
Monday, March 14, 2016
Last week, my companion,
Elder Jenkins and I were doing our weekly sports and while we were
setting up one of the poles for the volleyball net, the extending part
slid down and crushed his finger. I bandaged it up and we headed off to
the ER where they did a few tests and irrigated it. We didn't get home
til 12:30 am so that was quite a long day. When they took off the
bandaging at the hospital, lots of blood just came falling out, so I did a pretty good job of dressing him up :) so earning that first aid merit badge in boy scouts turned out to be pretty valuable!
This week is transfers and the next 2 weeks we have 2 families getting sealed in the House of the Lord. Thankfully President Sweeney has said that since I'm in the valley, I'll be able to go to both of them when they happen. I'm so glad that I'm not missing these sacred events. Elder Jenkins and I had the goal for this transfer to get 16 ordinances in the temple but we only got to 10 :( hopefully those who couldn't go this transfer will be able to go this transfer. If only those people knew how much of a blessing it was to be sealed together for time and all eternity.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
This week is transfers and the next 2 weeks we have 2 families getting sealed in the House of the Lord. Thankfully President Sweeney has said that since I'm in the valley, I'll be able to go to both of them when they happen. I'm so glad that I'm not missing these sacred events. Elder Jenkins and I had the goal for this transfer to get 16 ordinances in the temple but we only got to 10 :( hopefully those who couldn't go this transfer will be able to go this transfer. If only those people knew how much of a blessing it was to be sealed together for time and all eternity.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, March 7, 2016
NOTE: 4 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Sorry folks, short letter, but it was a great week!
Sorry folks, short letter, but it was a great week!
We had a baptism of a young boy (SUPER COOL)
Got a bad cut when chopping wood (NOT SO COOL)
Went to our ward's roadshow (REALLY COOL)
A picture of the grounds outside our church building (COOL)
Love, Elder Sands
Monday, February 29, 2016
NOTE: 2 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Hello again everyone! Last week has been quite interesting. Just a couple days ago we all volunteered at the Phoenix Marathon. We spent the whole time pouring water/Gatorade, and picking up trash. Not the most prestigious of jobs, but it was actually kind of fun. We poured a lot of water/Gatorade and picked up a lot of trash. We don't really go to such events to share the gospel, but more to show our presence. You get a lot of people who point and say, 'Look, the Elders!" And comments such as those.
We also had Stake Conference in the Maricopa North Stake and it was very good, except we chose to sit in the back chairs. A large family sat right behind us with their many kids and so we didn't hear everything from any of the speakers. They talked about the temple, service, and keeping the Sabbath day holy.
Elder Enrique R. Falabella was the visiting general authority, a native Spanish speaker. One thing he taught quoting Marion G Romney of the 12 from several years ago was, "All the easy things have been done, now all that is left is high adventure." How true.
Elder Sands
BELOW IS A WRITE-UP BY THE MISSION ON THE ANNUAL MUSICAL FIRESIDE RECENTLY HELD:
On Sunday, Feb. 21 the Arizona Scottsdale Mission joined with the Mesa Maricopa and Mesa Maricopa North Stakes to present our mission’s annual musical fireside. The theme of the evening was Seek This Jesus – which is an excerpt from Ether 12:41 “And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.” This event was first held last year in the Scottsdale North Stake and features the best missionary talent combined with the best talent from the sponsoring stakes and nearby churches of other denominations. This year the program had choirs from 2 other churches, the Living Spirit Gospel Choir and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Mesa.
Under the direction of Lori Woods and Dottie Layton, excellent musicians and choir directors from the 2 stakes, the combined member-missionary choir performed 2 spectacular numbers, This is the Christ (to open the performance) and I Believe in Christ (to close the performance). From all accounts the 80 singers became a physical and spiritual power that spiritually lifted the entire 800 persons who gathered to view the performance.
Under the direction of Elder Morgan, and the supervising and arranging of Elder Johnson, the missionaries also performed several other numbers. Elder Sands and Elder Thompson performed a stunning version on organ and piano of For the Beauty of the Earth. Elder Johnson joined with 3 others to form a string quartet and played A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief with just the right amount of tenderness and strength. The Missionary Choir performed Beautiful Savior with Elder Sands on the piano and Elder Kirk Taylor – one of our Service Missionaries on the organ (He also runs his own music school here in the valley). They were perfectly led by Elder Morgan and sounded angelic. A smaller subset of the choir then performed a perfect (I keep using that term!) and demanding rendition of Savior, Redeemer of My Soul – with Elder Johnson backing the group (literally) on violin.
Here is just one of the reactions from those who attended: “Another highlight of the week was the Musical Fireside this past Sunday! It was wonderful! We came with a less active and she burst into tears when the Spanish Choir sang “Nearer My God to Thee”. She is from Texas and Hispanic and she was raised speaking Spanish, but is also completely fluent in English. Her family has been through a lot in the past year with the sudden passing of her little brother. This event led to her inactivity in the church, but she has recently been taking great strides to come back. She came to church and the fireside yesterday. We are so proud of her and all of her progress and can already see how much happier she is.”
I thought we could never equal last year’s performance – but I was wrong. This year’s performance combined members and missionaries working together for His glory – it was by all measures – a resounding success in inviting all to “seek this Jesus.”
Hello again everyone! Last week has been quite interesting. Just a couple days ago we all volunteered at the Phoenix Marathon. We spent the whole time pouring water/Gatorade, and picking up trash. Not the most prestigious of jobs, but it was actually kind of fun. We poured a lot of water/Gatorade and picked up a lot of trash. We don't really go to such events to share the gospel, but more to show our presence. You get a lot of people who point and say, 'Look, the Elders!" And comments such as those.
We also had Stake Conference in the Maricopa North Stake and it was very good, except we chose to sit in the back chairs. A large family sat right behind us with their many kids and so we didn't hear everything from any of the speakers. They talked about the temple, service, and keeping the Sabbath day holy.
Elder Enrique R. Falabella was the visiting general authority, a native Spanish speaker. One thing he taught quoting Marion G Romney of the 12 from several years ago was, "All the easy things have been done, now all that is left is high adventure." How true.
Elder Sands
BELOW IS A WRITE-UP BY THE MISSION ON THE ANNUAL MUSICAL FIRESIDE RECENTLY HELD:
On Sunday, Feb. 21 the Arizona Scottsdale Mission joined with the Mesa Maricopa and Mesa Maricopa North Stakes to present our mission’s annual musical fireside. The theme of the evening was Seek This Jesus – which is an excerpt from Ether 12:41 “And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written.” This event was first held last year in the Scottsdale North Stake and features the best missionary talent combined with the best talent from the sponsoring stakes and nearby churches of other denominations. This year the program had choirs from 2 other churches, the Living Spirit Gospel Choir and the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Mesa.
Under the direction of Lori Woods and Dottie Layton, excellent musicians and choir directors from the 2 stakes, the combined member-missionary choir performed 2 spectacular numbers, This is the Christ (to open the performance) and I Believe in Christ (to close the performance). From all accounts the 80 singers became a physical and spiritual power that spiritually lifted the entire 800 persons who gathered to view the performance.
Under the direction of Elder Morgan, and the supervising and arranging of Elder Johnson, the missionaries also performed several other numbers. Elder Sands and Elder Thompson performed a stunning version on organ and piano of For the Beauty of the Earth. Elder Johnson joined with 3 others to form a string quartet and played A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief with just the right amount of tenderness and strength. The Missionary Choir performed Beautiful Savior with Elder Sands on the piano and Elder Kirk Taylor – one of our Service Missionaries on the organ (He also runs his own music school here in the valley). They were perfectly led by Elder Morgan and sounded angelic. A smaller subset of the choir then performed a perfect (I keep using that term!) and demanding rendition of Savior, Redeemer of My Soul – with Elder Johnson backing the group (literally) on violin.
Here is just one of the reactions from those who attended: “Another highlight of the week was the Musical Fireside this past Sunday! It was wonderful! We came with a less active and she burst into tears when the Spanish Choir sang “Nearer My God to Thee”. She is from Texas and Hispanic and she was raised speaking Spanish, but is also completely fluent in English. Her family has been through a lot in the past year with the sudden passing of her little brother. This event led to her inactivity in the church, but she has recently been taking great strides to come back. She came to church and the fireside yesterday. We are so proud of her and all of her progress and can already see how much happier she is.”
I thought we could never equal last year’s performance – but I was wrong. This year’s performance combined members and missionaries working together for His glory – it was by all measures – a resounding success in inviting all to “seek this Jesus.”
Monday, February 22, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Sorry I didn't write recently everyone, but that was the last Monday practice for our musical missionary fireside. We spent 3+ hours practicing that day, and our week was so packed with appointments that we didn't have time to make up our lost pday time. Hence, no letters written and no time for any R&R. But it's all over now! The fireside happened yesterday and it was a phenomenal success. I played in 4 of the 10 or so songs that we preformed, one of them they gave me to do the Thursday before.
The last song of the night was "I Believe in Christ" as performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was a powerful performance, not only in terms of strength, but in spirit. It makes me want to stand with them and sing, "I Believe in Christ!"
One of the coolest things of the meeting was what happened in regard to the Baptist church that came to the fireside. They had 2 choirs sing last night but the neat part is that all the people that were sitting on the stand were the two stake presidencies who were participating, President and Sister Sweeney, and the Baptist pastor. I thought it was real wonderful that he was invited to sit on the stand with us.
Elder Sands
Sorry I didn't write recently everyone, but that was the last Monday practice for our musical missionary fireside. We spent 3+ hours practicing that day, and our week was so packed with appointments that we didn't have time to make up our lost pday time. Hence, no letters written and no time for any R&R. But it's all over now! The fireside happened yesterday and it was a phenomenal success. I played in 4 of the 10 or so songs that we preformed, one of them they gave me to do the Thursday before.
The last song of the night was "I Believe in Christ" as performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It was a powerful performance, not only in terms of strength, but in spirit. It makes me want to stand with them and sing, "I Believe in Christ!"
One of the coolest things of the meeting was what happened in regard to the Baptist church that came to the fireside. They had 2 choirs sing last night but the neat part is that all the people that were sitting on the stand were the two stake presidencies who were participating, President and Sister Sweeney, and the Baptist pastor. I thought it was real wonderful that he was invited to sit on the stand with us.
Elder Sands
Monday, February 1, 2016
NOTE: 2 NEW PICTURES! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
Sorry, time is tight due to a very long rehearsal today. I was transferred to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Reservation this last week from North Mesa, a whopping 2-mile trip total. I'm still in the same zone, just a different area now. My new companion is Elder Jenkins and we're tearing it up out here. I'm in a car now and wow is it so much nicer than on bike.
It sounds like I'll be going back to ASL next transfer because the two trial missionaries will leave and things can go back to normal.
Sorry, time is tight due to a very long rehearsal today. I was transferred to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Reservation this last week from North Mesa, a whopping 2-mile trip total. I'm still in the same zone, just a different area now. My new companion is Elder Jenkins and we're tearing it up out here. I'm in a car now and wow is it so much nicer than on bike.
It sounds like I'll be going back to ASL next transfer because the two trial missionaries will leave and things can go back to normal.
Even though things may seem bad when they change, it's usually for the best. It always is, if it's inspired.
Have a great week!!
Elder Sands
Have a great week!!
Elder Sands
Monday, January 11, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
I just gotta get use to writing 2016 instead of 2015? That's going to take a little bit of time to get over.
This last week was wonderful. We're making our goals of at least 10 lessons every week and we're seeing some pretty cool things happen in our area. We've found 9 people in the last 2 weeks that are interested in learning more about the gospel! What a number. One of them, an older lady of the catholic faith, is such a wonderful women. She's so kind and sweet she reminds me of the grandmother so many children often speak of. She's very interested in learning more and isn't afraid to ask questions-what a blessing that is!
I just gotta get use to writing 2016 instead of 2015? That's going to take a little bit of time to get over.
This last week was wonderful. We're making our goals of at least 10 lessons every week and we're seeing some pretty cool things happen in our area. We've found 9 people in the last 2 weeks that are interested in learning more about the gospel! What a number. One of them, an older lady of the catholic faith, is such a wonderful women. She's so kind and sweet she reminds me of the grandmother so many children often speak of. She's very interested in learning more and isn't afraid to ask questions-what a blessing that is!
That brings me to something that I've just felt is really important
lately. Asking questions is very important. One of my favorite sayings
is thus: God does not want blind obedience. Rather he prefers us to walk
to the edge of the light where he then moves the light ahead of us
(Elder Bednar). Please, ask questions. It doesn't matter what it's about
or in what venue. Remember, Joseph Smith received the first vision
because he asked a question.
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Have a great week!
Elder Sands
Monday, January 4, 2016
NOTE: 1 NEW PICTURE! CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO THE RIGHT TO VIEW THE PICTURE ALBUM.
It's a new week, month, and year and are finally in the time where people will begin to have lessons with us! We had this wonderful lesson with 3 investigators at one time. One of them was referred to us from the temple lights at the Mesa Temple and her sister was interested too! Then, when we were picking up our Priest to go with us to the lesson for our 3rd male, his non-member friend wanted to come with us, so we ended up teaching him too. What a spiritual experience, especially when we talked about the First Vision. All three of them really want to learn and be baptized, what a blessing it will be for them and for us!
It's a new week, month, and year and are finally in the time where people will begin to have lessons with us! We had this wonderful lesson with 3 investigators at one time. One of them was referred to us from the temple lights at the Mesa Temple and her sister was interested too! Then, when we were picking up our Priest to go with us to the lesson for our 3rd male, his non-member friend wanted to come with us, so we ended up teaching him too. What a spiritual experience, especially when we talked about the First Vision. All three of them really want to learn and be baptized, what a blessing it will be for them and for us!
Have a great week everyone!
Elder Sands
Elder Sands
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