Written by Elder Dallin Remund, currently serving in the Virginia Chesapeake Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Hello everyone!
I opened up my email and I had 16 emails! I read through all of them, and I am just so happy to hear from all of you.
I can't believe it's been a week and a half out here. I've been learning that missionary work is work! You get so tired, but you keep pushing. I'm on the Lord's errand! What a great errand it is!
I think the biggest thing this week has been my connection with the ward members. They are really great! We've visited with a ton of them, and they all bring us in and talk with us. The South is super hospitable! We were talking to members about the weather out here in the summer. It's supposed to get super stormy, and we should expect a little bit of hurricane weather in the next month or so. I'm pretty excited for that! As long as it doesn't get too bad!
We are teaching a couple Hispanic families out here. The Hispanics are SO humble. They will always let you into their homes, and they are receptive to the message. The challenge is having them act on the commitments they make to read The Book of Mormon and pray with real intention to know if it is true. The Lord will provide for those who do it, and they will receive that witness! There are some people who are so ready for the gospel! I am excited to see what this next week brings.
On Friday, I went on an exchange with our District Leader in Mt. Olive, AKA the 'Pickle Capitol' of the world! Like I said last time, think of me when you see a jar of Mt. Olive pickles. ;) The exchange was really neat. Elder Bowes, who's from Arizona, speaks really good Spanish and he's on his way out. I learned a ton from him! We talked to a Haitian that natively spoke Creole and French, but also knows Spanish. I did not understand a word that he was saying... It was so confusing! But he is so knowledgeable, and he wants to read The Book of Mormon. But he can't read it in Spanish or English, so he needs a Creole one. Apparently there's a lot of Haitians in the Mt. Olive area! And they are ready for the gospel, so hopefully they can send out some Haitian Creole speaking missionaries to the mission in the future!
My birthday was one of the craziest days ever. It was spent picking weeds out in an older member couples' garden and talking to less active members and recent converts. It was the best way I could have spent my birthday!
Saturday was one of the most fun days out in the field.. One of my favorite families in the ward, the Hernandez family, drove us up to Goldsboro to play soccer with some other Hispanics in the zone. It was intense. I am no good at futbol. Haha! But the Hernandez family is amazing! They were a little less active in the church a couple months back, but they're one of the strongest families now. They speak English and Spanish, so you get a good mix with them. Hermano Hernandez wants to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood, and Hermano and Hermana Hernandez are hoping to be sealed in the temple in the next couple months, which is so exciting!!! Their family is reaping the full benefits from the gospel, and they are learning new things every day. I feel like I'm with family when I'm with them. AND Brittney, their daughter brought a friend to church with her last week. She also brought him to a fireside that Elder Bednar spoke at in Goldsboro. Now Sergio, her friend, wants to know more, so we're teaching him AND his sister in the next week. Ah! It just fills my heart to be a part of all of this.
I love this work! It is tiring, but so blessed! We all have a divine potential here on this earth. As we meditate on the words of Jesus Christ and the prophets, pray to God, and live what we learn, we receive a wonderful outpouring of the Spirit and the truthfulness of this gospel! It is wonderful, and it is here for everyone!
I loved hearing from all of you this week! I'll give out my address one more time so you can write me letters throughout the week:
1019 Seth Turner Road
Deep Run, NC 28525
Con felicidad,
Elder Remund
I'm Fixin' to Teach the Gospel!
