Hello Family!
Last week was great! Elder Lee and I have been blessed to find several new investigators the past couple of weeks. Since not everyone is ready to accept the Gospel, lots of new investigators doesn't automatically equal lots of baptisms. But its important to keep a continual flow of new investigators so that we can find those who are ready. We've had the chance to meet lots of great people of many backgrounds. And we've had the opportunity to learn and grow ourselves. I want to share a couple of short experiences with you, then I want to spend a little more time writing to some of you personally.
It has been great to see Charles progress in the Gospel. He is just at the very very beginning of his journey. And so are all of us. On Sunday, Charles received the Aaronic Priesthood and a couple of assignments: to be an usher, and to be a Home Teacher. He is also very excited to go to the Temple. One of my favorite things is to witness a conversion happening right before my eyes. This is God's work.
Another neat experience we had was to meet two guys from India, one nick-named "Happy" and the other is named Tusha. Happy was a referral from the Welland Elders, who are our friends in our district. Then, we ended up meeting Tusha as we were visiting Happy. There's a couple things I liked about this experience: 1) Missionaries all over the world are on the same team, we are all united in the same cause. And 2) Happy and Tusha reminded me that all of us are unique individuals. Our Heavenly Father created us to be the way we are for a reason. Happy and Tusha had concerns & questions that we normally wouldn't even think about, let alone plan for. But they both have great love for their brothers and sisters in the world, and want to do good to them.
We are all so different in many ways. But in many ways we are all the same. Everyone needs to feel loved, everyone wants peace, and everyone wants to find happiness. The part where we differ is in how we find love, peace, and happiness. There are benign (as well as harmful) ways of finding love, peace, and happiness that are not based on the Gospel of Christ. However, the principles of the Gospel of Christ are the only source of lasting love, peace, and happiness. I know this is true! And I continue to try and indoctrinate all of you with these things because I care about you. I love you all, and I hope you have a great week.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Niagara, 2/11/13
Hello Family!
It has been a pretty good week. It snowed a TON. At least it seemed like a lot to me, but everyone here says it wasn't anything too crazy. The weather here is weird. Because now its all melting away, and I have no idea if that means spring is starting or if its going to get freezing again and start snowing more...who knows! I think we're going to see the Falls again today, since some Elders in our district haven't seen it yet. Its a nice day to go. It's 7 celcius or so. It feels so nice! :) Some random things before I share a quick thought with you: Transfers are on 2/24 which is coming up really soon. So if anyone is planning on mailing anything to our apartment here, either wait or mail it to the mission office. And, next Monday is a Canadian holiday so P-Day & emails will be on Tuesday 2/19 next week.
In some of my past emails, I've shared some experiences that have made me realize how important home is to us. At a member's house for dinner recently, I received a fortune cookie- the fortune said "The home is the chief school of human virtues." That is so true! I believe that all evil in the world is directed at destroying families. The family is the most important unit of society- now and in eternity. Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home. Every false idea, evil motive, or sinful behavior separates us from those we love. There is nothing mystic or magic about this, it is just a reality we have to accept. But we must also realize what makes a home ideal. What is the ideal home? Its not a perfect house with a perfect family with perfect kids who always obey & behave perfectly. At least not "perfect" in a superficial, worldly sense. But can a home be a heaven on Earth? Yes. We won't be perfect. We make mistakes. But we must love, we must say sorry & be forgiving, we must share, we must have fun together! We have to cleave to our loved ones. Cleave means to hold on tight. Hold on tight, or else we ourselves may get lost or we may lose those we love! I know that "broken" families can be healed. They may be far away from each other, or they may have different beliefs or feelings- but families can still love each other. And in that way, we can be healed in a very real sense. I have seen people begin to change their lives and I've seen relationships healed because of love. The Gospel is all about love. Love comes from God. If you believe in love, then what do you have against God, or His Truth? Joseph Smith said: "What do we hear from the Gospel we have received? Truth, out of the Earth. Mercy, from Heaven. A voice of gladness, for the living and the dead! Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"
I love you. Be happy, and make it a great week.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
It has been a pretty good week. It snowed a TON. At least it seemed like a lot to me, but everyone here says it wasn't anything too crazy. The weather here is weird. Because now its all melting away, and I have no idea if that means spring is starting or if its going to get freezing again and start snowing more...who knows! I think we're going to see the Falls again today, since some Elders in our district haven't seen it yet. Its a nice day to go. It's 7 celcius or so. It feels so nice! :) Some random things before I share a quick thought with you: Transfers are on 2/24 which is coming up really soon. So if anyone is planning on mailing anything to our apartment here, either wait or mail it to the mission office. And, next Monday is a Canadian holiday so P-Day & emails will be on Tuesday 2/19 next week.
In some of my past emails, I've shared some experiences that have made me realize how important home is to us. At a member's house for dinner recently, I received a fortune cookie- the fortune said "The home is the chief school of human virtues." That is so true! I believe that all evil in the world is directed at destroying families. The family is the most important unit of society- now and in eternity. Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home. Every false idea, evil motive, or sinful behavior separates us from those we love. There is nothing mystic or magic about this, it is just a reality we have to accept. But we must also realize what makes a home ideal. What is the ideal home? Its not a perfect house with a perfect family with perfect kids who always obey & behave perfectly. At least not "perfect" in a superficial, worldly sense. But can a home be a heaven on Earth? Yes. We won't be perfect. We make mistakes. But we must love, we must say sorry & be forgiving, we must share, we must have fun together! We have to cleave to our loved ones. Cleave means to hold on tight. Hold on tight, or else we ourselves may get lost or we may lose those we love! I know that "broken" families can be healed. They may be far away from each other, or they may have different beliefs or feelings- but families can still love each other. And in that way, we can be healed in a very real sense. I have seen people begin to change their lives and I've seen relationships healed because of love. The Gospel is all about love. Love comes from God. If you believe in love, then what do you have against God, or His Truth? Joseph Smith said: "What do we hear from the Gospel we have received? Truth, out of the Earth. Mercy, from Heaven. A voice of gladness, for the living and the dead! Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"
I love you. Be happy, and make it a great week.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
Monday, February 4, 2013
Niagara, 2/4/13
Hello Family!
It was a good week here. It was a little cold, and it snowed like crazy. But that's okay. Because Charles got baptized! It's been an interesting journey with Charles. I think it has tested a lot of people, including Charles, us, and the ward. People were unsure of his commitment. They worry that he'll just drop off after a little while. But we've also found that everyone who knows Charles, really love him. He is a great guy with a really big heart, he makes people laugh, and he has a strong desire to follow Christ. So there's been a few things I think we (us, the ward) have learned. 1) Don't come to conclusions before really knowing a person, 2) Don't say no for others. Let them decide. And 3) If you're concerned about someone's commitment level, show love and support- and be loving and supportive. Charles will be just fine. He has lots of friends in the ward and he wants to serve. His journey has just begun!
I've been thinking a lot this past week about my journey over the past few years. I was thinking about times I would counsel with Bishop McMaster, and he would tell me constantly to READ THE BOOK OF MORMON EVERY DAY!! And for the life of me, I just couldn't do it. I would read 15 mins for a couple of days, then I'd stop about mid-week. Then after several months of the same-old pattern of failure, I pretty much gave up. Then after several more months, I don't really know what happened that changed me, I was counseling with Bishop Frame- and he was telling me the same thing: Stop being a sloth, and read the Book of Mormon. (maybe those weren't his exact words) And I still wasn't doing that great!! But by this time, I don't know how, but I did not give up. I kept moving forward. I had a trust that if I had some sort of spiritual fuel every day, that even if it wasn't the scriptures, but any source of truth & light- that I would make it and eventually the Book of Mormon would be an everyday thing. I don't know why, but my mind just didn't want the scriptures as much as it did Mo-Tab or other easier-to-read church books, or even a random sampler of self-help books. And then it wasn't until several months later when I was riding on a bus early in the morning from the MTC to the SLC airport that I had this uneasy feeling in me. I was not comfortable. I was not at peace. I realized I hadn't said a prayer that morning, nor had I read in the scriptures! So, I said a prayer and read a small chapter in the Book of Mormon. Then, I felt better. I love the Book of Mormon. It is true, it is the word of God. And I need it every single day.
I think there are a lot of times when we feel like giving up. It doesn't have to be in our journey towards a full-time mission or becoming an every-day-scripture-reader. Maybe we feel it in our relationships, our work, our school, it could be a number of things. I am a strong believer in changing our desires, thoughts, attitudes, and then moving forward. I didn't really progress until I knew I could move forward. I think that's what helped me progress towards coming on a mission. When I was with Bishop McMaster, I felt stuck and I didn't think I could really move forward. So those thoughts needed to change, and eventually over time they did. So when I met with Bishop Frame, I still felt stuck at times and a little hopeless, but I knew that I must move forward, and I knew that I could. I could move forward, and I trusted that it would all work out. Have a worthy & positive goal at the end of your mind's tunnel, and always keep it there. And keep on going!! And you will make it. You will make it to somewhere better than you were before. And it might not be exactly what you had in mind, but it is worth the journey.
The Gospel is true! Jesus Christ makes the journey of transformation possible. We're meant to transform from someone good into someone better.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week. Attached is a picture of Me, Charles, Bishop Gilmour, and Elder Lee.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
It was a good week here. It was a little cold, and it snowed like crazy. But that's okay. Because Charles got baptized! It's been an interesting journey with Charles. I think it has tested a lot of people, including Charles, us, and the ward. People were unsure of his commitment. They worry that he'll just drop off after a little while. But we've also found that everyone who knows Charles, really love him. He is a great guy with a really big heart, he makes people laugh, and he has a strong desire to follow Christ. So there's been a few things I think we (us, the ward) have learned. 1) Don't come to conclusions before really knowing a person, 2) Don't say no for others. Let them decide. And 3) If you're concerned about someone's commitment level, show love and support- and be loving and supportive. Charles will be just fine. He has lots of friends in the ward and he wants to serve. His journey has just begun!
I've been thinking a lot this past week about my journey over the past few years. I was thinking about times I would counsel with Bishop McMaster, and he would tell me constantly to READ THE BOOK OF MORMON EVERY DAY!! And for the life of me, I just couldn't do it. I would read 15 mins for a couple of days, then I'd stop about mid-week. Then after several months of the same-old pattern of failure, I pretty much gave up. Then after several more months, I don't really know what happened that changed me, I was counseling with Bishop Frame- and he was telling me the same thing: Stop being a sloth, and read the Book of Mormon. (maybe those weren't his exact words) And I still wasn't doing that great!! But by this time, I don't know how, but I did not give up. I kept moving forward. I had a trust that if I had some sort of spiritual fuel every day, that even if it wasn't the scriptures, but any source of truth & light- that I would make it and eventually the Book of Mormon would be an everyday thing. I don't know why, but my mind just didn't want the scriptures as much as it did Mo-Tab or other easier-to-read church books, or even a random sampler of self-help books. And then it wasn't until several months later when I was riding on a bus early in the morning from the MTC to the SLC airport that I had this uneasy feeling in me. I was not comfortable. I was not at peace. I realized I hadn't said a prayer that morning, nor had I read in the scriptures! So, I said a prayer and read a small chapter in the Book of Mormon. Then, I felt better. I love the Book of Mormon. It is true, it is the word of God. And I need it every single day.
I think there are a lot of times when we feel like giving up. It doesn't have to be in our journey towards a full-time mission or becoming an every-day-scripture-reader. Maybe we feel it in our relationships, our work, our school, it could be a number of things. I am a strong believer in changing our desires, thoughts, attitudes, and then moving forward. I didn't really progress until I knew I could move forward. I think that's what helped me progress towards coming on a mission. When I was with Bishop McMaster, I felt stuck and I didn't think I could really move forward. So those thoughts needed to change, and eventually over time they did. So when I met with Bishop Frame, I still felt stuck at times and a little hopeless, but I knew that I must move forward, and I knew that I could. I could move forward, and I trusted that it would all work out. Have a worthy & positive goal at the end of your mind's tunnel, and always keep it there. And keep on going!! And you will make it. You will make it to somewhere better than you were before. And it might not be exactly what you had in mind, but it is worth the journey.
The Gospel is true! Jesus Christ makes the journey of transformation possible. We're meant to transform from someone good into someone better.
I love you all so much! I hope you have a great week. Attached is a picture of Me, Charles, Bishop Gilmour, and Elder Lee.
Love,
Elder Brett Simper
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