Last Week's Letter

Wow, a great week for us. We had seven baptisms this past Saturday, a family of five, and another couple - the parents of the teens we baptized a month ago. We are hoping to have two more this Friday, maybe three, the couple's son may or may not be eight yet, so we're getting to the bottom of it. So as of right now, we have five or six people on date for baptism this month. A family of six fell off date, they weren't ready yet, but that's alright, my faith has been strengthened greatly in the past couple of weeks, I know others will take their place. Our goal is twenty baptisms this month. we have had I think some solid new investigators this week, and i know if I do my best and believe that our goal will be achieved!

 

Get this. We received a call from the assistants today. The MTC is sending someone up this Friday to spend the entire day with us and record everything we do. The success we have been having has become somewhat a big topic of discussion amongst the mission, especially with President Winn. The MTC wants to see what we are doing to have the numbers we are having. Cool huh!?! I hope we don't disappoint, we're really not doing anything outstanding, we're just being obedient and working hard. I'm excited for this, I'm going to work even harder these next couple of days to make sure Friday is a great day. We'll have more people on date by then, I have no doubt.

 

Everything else has been normal, I'm loving what I'm doing. With baptisms every week, February is just flying by. I definitely want to continue this. I'm excited for this transfer to be over, soon spring will be here and I'll be hitting the pavement without a suit jacket on! Then things will really take off! Elder Warczak, street warrior of righteousness!

 

Thanks for those of you who read my blog and keep me in your prayers, I feel the much needed strength to do this work everyday, and I know it's because of all the prayers being offered for me. I love you all, can't wait to tell you how this week goes!

 

Elder Scotty

Pictures

1) Two girls - Soni and Chunkhu - our surpirse baptisms!

2) The wall of religion! I guess by the time they got to us they lost their creativity...and their ability to spell :)

3) Robin and his sister Saru were our first Nepali baptisms

4) Typical Nepali meal...a butt load of rice and a side of...stuff? All eaten with our hands

Week of Miracles, Missionary Style

Let me tell you, the Lord has a way of working that makes my head spin. Don't ask me what I did or how it happened, it just did. Right now, Elder Clerveau and I have 19 people on date for baptism for the month of February, 16 of them are Nepali. The 16 Nepalis are made up of former investigators, and new referrals from this week. We would get a call, "Hey, this family wants to be baptized", or "We've wanted to get baptized for awhile, but were scared. We are now ready to be baptized." Literally. There was no convincing any of them, we didn't say anything that sparked something inside of any of them, we didn't prepare mind blowing lessons. All I can think of is that we are being obedient, and trying hard to be effective missionaries, and the Lord is trusting us to not screw things up for these 19 people. Whew, I have been spirit bombed too many times this week. My faith has increased tremendously, I was lacking in it and wasn't sure what to do with the Nepali people. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I will never again doubt. Obedience to God's commandments is huge. Just do things the Lords way, and everything will work out. My testimony of that is secure.

 

I would tell you more about our week, but...what's the point? Everything pales in comparison to this wonderful news. 19 of Heavenly Father's children have chosen baptism, outstanding. I'm going to do my best to make sure all these people go through with their decision and make it to the waters of baptism. I need to keep this going, I refuse to baptize all these people and then go cold for 3 or 4 weeks with no one else. Nope, not doing it. I now know the Lord has prepared people everywhere, and if I do things right, the prepared souls will always be there.

 

The church is true, no other church in the world is so bold in their claim of that as we are. This is the Lord's kingdom on the earth, and it will never be stopped nor destroyed. The stone cut without hands continues to roll on, and everyone in the world will know it, especially the Nepali people!!! Elder Warczak will make sure of that!

 

Much love everybody,

 

Elder Scotty

Fun Week!

Hello everyone!

 

Transfers are this week, ridiculous! By the end of this next transfer, conference will be just weeks away! The work is going well here in south salt lake. We have two more Nepali people committed for baptism on February 5th, they are the parents of the first two kids we baptized. We also have the "H" boys on date for the 26th of February, that one my friends, will be the baptisms of the year! It's a great story, the "H" family, I'll share details with you all as the end of February approaches! I hope my companion stays with me one more transfer. Getting to know someone new gets tiring after a while, I just want to serve with people I already know from here on out!

 

In other news, my basketball skills are getting terrific! We play this three-point shooting game on p-day and I make it rain with the hoop all...day...long! As far as "playing basketball" well, I'm still a short white kid, I just run around and try not to look stupid. I have learned that the overall moral of salt lake is greatly altered by the success, or the suckiness, of salt lake sports. Right now the jazz have lost four games in a row. What does this mean for me? Bad time to contact a white person referral, that's what. I don't know why people here in Utah are obsessed with their sports, but they are. Likewise, when the jazz are doing great, EVERYONE will talk to us! I can't figure it out, this is the best explanation I have. Also, I am learning which areas to avoid as a missionary. Sugar house and the east side....very interesting places. Sugar House especially, the people there just glare at us when we walk into a store, or when we are walking around the apartments there. But that is a large gay and liberal community, so that's an easy one to figure out :)

 

That's all for me. I need to run and take my suits to the dry cleaner and get all the Nepali curry smell out of them! Take care everyone, and hope to hear from you all and see how you are doing!

 

Love,

 

Elder Scotty

Miracle Week!

Silly me, we forgot it was Martin Luther King Day, and so every public place was closed for emailing. We are emailing at a family research library at a chapel. I didn't think I would need my camera today, but nope, should have brought it so I could send pictures!!! Dang!

 

Well, as you know we had our two Nepalis baptized last week. I thought that would be the last of them for a while, but lo and behold, Thursday night we were teaching part of this family that we thought would be good for baptism, but they said they would wait. As we are talking, all of a sudden the two oldest daughters in this family start nodding their head and go on talking with our translator for a few minutes. I didn't think anything of it, this happens a lot. Finally they stopped and our translator says, "They want to be baptized!" My response, "You fool, you misunderstood your own language." (Me of little faith!) But sure enough, they DID want to get baptized! When? "This Saturday." So we began calling all our ward leadership and other missionaries, and set up their baptism interviews and the baptism service. On Saturday Soni and Chunkhu Monger were baptized! Four Nepalis in two weekends, huzzah! Other Nepalis may soon follow, like the rest of the Monger family, the parents of the first two kids baptized a few weeks ago, and a new family that just got here that said they want to come to church and learn about Christ. Aside from the Nepali people, we have an English family in the ward. There are four boys in the family, all baptism age. Their parents had been inactive for years, but the dad started coming back to church with his boys about two months ago. The mom is slowly but surely getting back. She has word of wisdom issues, and has some hard feelings still towards a bishop who treated her poorly when she got pregnant at an early age, but she likes us and says things during lessons that sound an awfully like things a person with a testimony would say! The dad was only a deacon, but this Sunday was ordained to a priest. The dad will baptize all four boys on February 26th, they have a nephew getting back from his mission in Arkansas February 22nd, and they want him to do the confirmations. The Hulsey family is an amazing story, I cannot wait for the end of next month!

 

My companion and I still get along. Nothing else really to say. He's really into basketball and the NBA, me...not so much. I'm sure one of my future companions will be like a best friend to me, where we just click and both have the same desire to work hard. I am a stubborn person though, and tough to please, so maybe I just need to relax a little and I'll find more in common with people. If not, oh well, I'm here to build the foundation for the rest of my life and future posterity, I really don't care about mission reunions and being the "cool" Elder in the mission. I'm here to work people!

 

That's my week, two surprise baptisms, and a family taking the rights steps towards becoming a family forever in the temple. Transfers are already next Wednesday, by the end of next one conference will be just a few weeks away. Whoa. I imagine I will be in this area through conference, I don't think I will do another six month area though, at least I hope not, one of those was enough for me. Take care, and I love you all.

 

Elder Scotty

Stinkin Church History Library!

So I guess I can't send pictures from the Church Library, the software doesn't match up! I have some awesome pictures too! I will try and find a way around this problem. The issue is that we email from here every week, that or go to the Salt Lake Library, which is packed. Mama mia, what to do. The south salt lake stake is still great. We had two Nepali baptisms this weekend, a sister and brother. I think those will be our last Nepali converts for a while though, the rest of them are so set in their ways. They are very influenced by other Nepalis. One night we commit a family of six for baptism, and they say yes and they are on date for baptism. The next night we meet them and they tell us that they will, "wait for rest of family to come from Nepal." I'm not frustrated I'm not frustrated.....DAHHH!!! Our Nepali translators are members, and even they are annoyed by their people. It's sad, we do everything we can, but they just can't get past their Nepali traditions. Another excuse they use is that if they become Christian, they will go to the bottom of the caste systems (In Nepal, Christians are not looked well upon.) We try to explain to them, that they are in America, there is no caste system. Can't convince someone of anything though, they have to have that desire to change themselves. They still treat us very nicely. They feed us a lot, I am getting good at eating with my hands. a skill I hope to carry with me after the mission. Hahaha the language is still a problem, I still just know the basic phrases, it's a difficult language to pick up, they talk really fast. They understand Hindi, and watch a lot of Bollywood movies, to give you an idea of what their language is like. My clothes smell like curry, I'll need to make frequent trips to the dry cleaners! The white people are not doing so well either, all our English speaking investigators are avoiding us.

 

Other than that all is splendid. I still go downtown a lot, and it's fun to see things I knew before the mission. Like driving up 700 E, and seeing places like Hires Burger. My freshmen roommate Pete LOVES Hires, and so every time I see it I think of the times we went there as freshmen. The weather is cold, but nothing too bad. Many missionaries get the chance to meet apostles and church leaders, as for me, my luck hasn't been there yet. Today we went to the temple, as I left the changing room, Elder Oaks walked in and shook hands with many of the Elders, dang! Others get to meet them at stake conferences, or in the areas they serve. Elder Holland is a fellow-shipper for an investigator, so Elders get to teach lessons with an apostle sitting next to them! I hope I get a chance to do something like that, but if not oh well, the church is still true.

 

Love,

 

Elder Scotty

We had a good time, 2010. But I've outgrown you. Hello 2011!!

Hello all,

Thanks a bunch to everyone that sent a card my way, it was wonderful to hear from many of my friends. Christmas was a good one. My zone went caroling both Christmas Eve and Christmas day to a rehabilitation center and the VA hospital. Both nights the dinners were good, both families were happy to have us and it meant a lot to have a nice Christmas dinner. Christmas day was one to remember. My companion had to call international to the Bahamas to talk to his father, and we had to do that at the mission home. We get there and our president's entire family is there. Children, grandchildren, it was packed. We were the only Elders there. It was in the morning, and we got there when they were getting ready to open presents. As my companion called home Sister Winn invited me downstairs with the family. I hesitated but thought, "why not?" So down we went. Seeing President Winn in normal clothes and being called Grandpa threw me for a loop, it was weird. As they started opening presents I had to keep it together. Seeing the grandkids reminded me of my niece and two nephews, and knowing all my family was together made me very, very sad. I excused myself and went back upstairs to call my family. My mother asked me if I had a cold, my throat had a frog in it. I told her it was from yelling at the zone activity the night before, but really I was choking back, trying not to cry. (You win mom, I DO miss my family! Haha I thought I would never be home sick, I was going great, nearly 7 months, but that morning I was very homesick!)

The rest of the day was chill, we just went around and say hello to people. That night all the missionaries in the valley met up at the mission office for treats. Elders Carter, Orr, Calderwood, and myself (again, my district 14E brothers) were talking in a group. President Winn came up to us and said he was glad he had the four of us together. He told us to all prepare ourselves in the next few months, because we were all going to be stepping up in leadership, and that we would be the ones leading the mission....come again! We were floored when he said that. So who knows, come conference time I could be a district leader or something, and once we are around that year mark, I bet a few of us will be zone leaders. I guess we have been out a long time, we really aren't greenies anymore, even though people in Utah consider you a greenie until your year mark, and almost going home right after you pass that milestone! Go figure, Utah, I'll never understand this place.

The Nepali people are, interesting. They are very nice, but Christianity is something totally new to most of them. Even the ones that are already Christian, they don't see the need to meet with missionaries, or be baptized again. Most say, when we bring up baptism, is, "We wait for rest of family to come from Nepal." I am told that's a nice way of saying, "Not a fat chance." Most already have 20+ members of their family here, but apparently second cousins and their dogs are considered family members in Nepal. I am definitely racking my brain trying to figure out how to help the Nepali people. We cover all Nepalis and just the one ward the Nepali people come to because they have translation available. The ward is a small one, typical Utah size, so if we are not teaching Nepali, our numbers our small. We have a handful of English speaking investigators, but we will need to constantly be finding new investigators. I love the Nepali people already. the other day I had my first Nepali meal. It was rice, curry, and fried eggs, all in a pan. You eat with your hands, a first for me. I struggled trying to get the food into my mouth, with the curry is was all very slippery! The family laughed at my techniques and showed me the proper way to eat with your hands. I never knew there was such a thing! I am picking up on phrases and words, and hopefully as I continue to try and think of different ways to get through to them, I will be able to have a simple conversation in Nepali.

I am excited for the 2011, I know that many great experiences await me this upcoming year, as long as I work hard and do my best. The Lord will bless me in the development of my talents, and strengthen my weaknesses.

Elder Scotty