Well to say that this week hasn't been awesome would be a lie but there has been a significant amount of difficulty. What made the week awesome was really only two very inspired days everything else was just hard work and sacrifice.
Some of the things that has really helped our area to grow is making the effort to talk to people on the bus. We've actually been getting on buses and looking for someone to talk to and doing so. It has been very helpful because you catch people in a free moment and they usually don't mind talking to you.
The best thing that has happened this week is when we went to stop by someone we tracted into named Tiffany Sumner. She is from right next to Elder Stevens home town and when we were first met her it is because Elder Stevens felt like knocking on the door while we were biking past. She was conveniently going to a wedding the next day at the LA Temple. She has tons of member friends out there. Well we stopped by and taught her and I think her mother in law. I'm not sure on that one. She seemed pretty interested in feeding us and taking the lessons.
Another cool thing that happened was a lesson with Jenny someone that Jenetta introduced us too. We went over there with the Smiths and taught them basically that they are children of God. But the cool thing was is that we taught 7 people all of whom are related to Jenny in some way. The youngest one was four and he would make adorable comments like, "So God is Santa Claus." and "So Jesus knows when you have a headache." Also Elder Stevens mentioned being taken out of the presence of God. He replied "Does God like presents too?" Just a wonderful lesson and at the end of it 7 year old girl was very eager to say the closing prayer.
There has been plenty of other people like that this week as you can see we have 9 new investigators. Some of them are pretty sketchy but God only knows the intents of their heart all we can do is teach and invite and see if they follow through with that.
I love you all to bits and don't worry I was fed Thanksgiving very well this week.
(*)<~Elder Sumsion
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
HAPPY TANKSGIVING!!!
Elder Stevens and I have really stepped up our game this week in finding people to teach. The non-members we have been helping are just not working with us. We've done a significant amount of contacting by just riding the bus system around. It just feels like a much better way to talk to someone and they usually have to listen to us for a little while and some actually like having the conversation while waiting on the bus. Also keeps us warmer : ). Getting them to commit to being taught and also being home when we come to see them has been a much different story however.
But I know eventually someone in the group of contacts will truly want to change their lives it is just a patient process. I at least know this from past experiences but especially with what has been happening with the Molina family in the Kirtland area. These sisters (one in particular) have had nobody to work with almost the entire time I've been in Cleveland. This family referred themselves and they all came to church yesterday. It's pretty amazing.
Some good things that happened this week was the baptismal interview with Barbara Dehanna in the Hiram area. She is a wonderful lady who was truly seeking the gospel and has wholeheartedly embraced it. Mario a person that we have been working with showed up late to church but he did show up and he said that what we taught really hit him in a good way. The less-actives we have been working with are just doing wonderful and they are truly repenting and changing their lives.
We've been working with a few families in the ward and the Bagley family has a friend named Angela that we gave a Book of Mormon during dinner last night. Pretty good experience after eating some cafe rio.
Well I love you all. If you feel like getting on Mormon.org i put my profile on there. Just look up either Cleveland Ohio or Lance Sumsion and you'll find me.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
(*)<~Elder Sumsion
But I know eventually someone in the group of contacts will truly want to change their lives it is just a patient process. I at least know this from past experiences but especially with what has been happening with the Molina family in the Kirtland area. These sisters (one in particular) have had nobody to work with almost the entire time I've been in Cleveland. This family referred themselves and they all came to church yesterday. It's pretty amazing.
Some good things that happened this week was the baptismal interview with Barbara Dehanna in the Hiram area. She is a wonderful lady who was truly seeking the gospel and has wholeheartedly embraced it. Mario a person that we have been working with showed up late to church but he did show up and he said that what we taught really hit him in a good way. The less-actives we have been working with are just doing wonderful and they are truly repenting and changing their lives.
We've been working with a few families in the ward and the Bagley family has a friend named Angela that we gave a Book of Mormon during dinner last night. Pretty good experience after eating some cafe rio.
Well I love you all. If you feel like getting on Mormon.org i put my profile on there. Just look up either Cleveland Ohio or Lance Sumsion and you'll find me.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
(*)<~Elder Sumsion
Monday, November 14, 2011
"Open your mouth and speak miracles." ~Elder Holland
“If you could look into the heavens and see who you really are, you would be overwhelmed with your capabilities, your talents, your spiritual qualities, and the vision of what you are able to become. If we knew now who we really are, we would feel different about ourselves. We would be excited and enthusiastic about this life even with its burdens and frustrations.” –President Harold B. Lee
This week has not been to bad. The people we have been teaching have been moving or have been slightly noncommittal. However the less-actives that we have been working with namely sis. Jackson and also Bro. Thomas have been doing wonderful things. We are hoping to start working with the grandchildren of sis. Jackson so that they can truly experience the blessings of active membership in the church.
Bro. Thomas is just awesome, he has been slowly breaking out old habits and catching a vision of a better self. He called us the other day and asked us about seeing himself being a better scripture reader. He basically told us that he has caught a vision of himself being a better scripture reader and then asked us if that would be possible. We told him defiantly. He was very happy to hear about that and it very much left an impression on my mind of how awesome the gospel is.
The most exciting thing to happen however is we were able to get in the home of some member's the Jordans who have been in this area for quite a long time and they looked over the ward list with us and gave us some names of people in the ward that might come back to church. We invited them to go and see them and ask them if the missionaries can come over. We are super excited to see what happens with that because from there we can change lives and find other lives that have been searching.
We had zone conference this week as well. It was pretty great. I'm excited to see the changes that will be happening in the mission as we prepare for the Christmas season. There is a nativity thing going on in Kirtland where tons of Nativity's from around the world are all shown in Kirtland. I've seen a few of them, they are pretty dandy.
I love you all. : )
(*)<~Elder Sumsion
This week has not been to bad. The people we have been teaching have been moving or have been slightly noncommittal. However the less-actives that we have been working with namely sis. Jackson and also Bro. Thomas have been doing wonderful things. We are hoping to start working with the grandchildren of sis. Jackson so that they can truly experience the blessings of active membership in the church.
Bro. Thomas is just awesome, he has been slowly breaking out old habits and catching a vision of a better self. He called us the other day and asked us about seeing himself being a better scripture reader. He basically told us that he has caught a vision of himself being a better scripture reader and then asked us if that would be possible. We told him defiantly. He was very happy to hear about that and it very much left an impression on my mind of how awesome the gospel is.
The most exciting thing to happen however is we were able to get in the home of some member's the Jordans who have been in this area for quite a long time and they looked over the ward list with us and gave us some names of people in the ward that might come back to church. We invited them to go and see them and ask them if the missionaries can come over. We are super excited to see what happens with that because from there we can change lives and find other lives that have been searching.
We had zone conference this week as well. It was pretty great. I'm excited to see the changes that will be happening in the mission as we prepare for the Christmas season. There is a nativity thing going on in Kirtland where tons of Nativity's from around the world are all shown in Kirtland. I've seen a few of them, they are pretty dandy.
I love you all. : )
(*)<~Elder Sumsion
Monday, November 7, 2011
What ship do you choose?
Been a very good week. A lot of the people we have been working with have been uncommital or they are moving. Sadly Nicole has not been keeping commitments the past few weeks and has been very hard to work with so Elder Stevens and I are planning on giving her a couple weeks or so before we make an effort to see her. Hopefully she makes an effort to see us and shows forth some desire in being baptized. We really love her a lot and she's doing better than she was at first but we've done all we can to this point in helping her. Even gave her an Alarm Clock to help her wake up. She'll come around.
Jenetta and her boyfriend Rob have outside of our area. So we will be handing them off to the Mayfield sisters in a joint lesson hopefully tomorrow if all goes well. She still wants to go to this ward however so it might be a little difficult making the transition. It always is for people who are so attached to members in specific wards. Although the Lords kingdom must be built in the order that he sends to his Prophets and leaders. I think the sister's teaching them (especially her) will be very helpful progression wise. However Jenetta did also introduce us to a nice girl named Jenny at a lesson we had planned in a member home. We taught her and she seems very intent on looking into the gospel.
Sis. Jackson is a great lady we've been working with who has truly commited herself to church despite many difficulties which is just amazing. She brought her non-member granddaughter to church yesterday.
As well as another wonder person we have been teaching Bro. Washington. He brought his friend Lee to church yesterday and he seemed to like it a lot. We will hopefully be teaching them both tonight.
Working with people who have had testimony issues truly does bring forth a lot of friends to help as well it just requires a lot of patience and love.
Had a leadership training meeting this week and it was pretty amazing but I did want to share something relatively funny that my mission president and his wife shared with us.
Pres. Sorenson (who by the way is not a fan of relaxing and wasting time. He is pretty much a no stop business man) "I hope you just don't stand around in the Shower."
Sis. Sorenson (very much about etiquette and being clean and pretty much civilized and very loving) "I hope they do a little bit."
Pres. Sorenson "He Stinketh" John 11:39
Gave me a bit of a chuckle.
I also heard a really good analogy/vision from Sis. Jackson last night at the Webbers for dinner. She said that she had a dream in which she was on the sea shore and it was just wonderful. Out in the distance she could see a ship that was being tossed back and forth by the waves and a storm. She saw another ship that was docked at the harbor and seeming to have no difficulty at all. Then she heard the Lord speak and say you have a choice to be on either of those ships right now, whichever ship you choose I will be with you. Which ship do you choose? She thought for a second and chose the ship out in the storm because he promised he will be with you on either. After the story Sis. Webber said that ships are not meant to be docked all the time. That's not how they were made.
I love you all.
(*)<~Elder Lance Sumsion
Jenetta and her boyfriend Rob have outside of our area. So we will be handing them off to the Mayfield sisters in a joint lesson hopefully tomorrow if all goes well. She still wants to go to this ward however so it might be a little difficult making the transition. It always is for people who are so attached to members in specific wards. Although the Lords kingdom must be built in the order that he sends to his Prophets and leaders. I think the sister's teaching them (especially her) will be very helpful progression wise. However Jenetta did also introduce us to a nice girl named Jenny at a lesson we had planned in a member home. We taught her and she seems very intent on looking into the gospel.
Sis. Jackson is a great lady we've been working with who has truly commited herself to church despite many difficulties which is just amazing. She brought her non-member granddaughter to church yesterday.
As well as another wonder person we have been teaching Bro. Washington. He brought his friend Lee to church yesterday and he seemed to like it a lot. We will hopefully be teaching them both tonight.
Working with people who have had testimony issues truly does bring forth a lot of friends to help as well it just requires a lot of patience and love.
Had a leadership training meeting this week and it was pretty amazing but I did want to share something relatively funny that my mission president and his wife shared with us.
Pres. Sorenson (who by the way is not a fan of relaxing and wasting time. He is pretty much a no stop business man) "I hope you just don't stand around in the Shower."
Sis. Sorenson (very much about etiquette and being clean and pretty much civilized and very loving) "I hope they do a little bit."
Pres. Sorenson "He Stinketh" John 11:39
Gave me a bit of a chuckle.
I also heard a really good analogy/vision from Sis. Jackson last night at the Webbers for dinner. She said that she had a dream in which she was on the sea shore and it was just wonderful. Out in the distance she could see a ship that was being tossed back and forth by the waves and a storm. She saw another ship that was docked at the harbor and seeming to have no difficulty at all. Then she heard the Lord speak and say you have a choice to be on either of those ships right now, whichever ship you choose I will be with you. Which ship do you choose? She thought for a second and chose the ship out in the storm because he promised he will be with you on either. After the story Sis. Webber said that ships are not meant to be docked all the time. That's not how they were made.
I love you all.
(*)<~Elder Lance Sumsion
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