Dear Family,
Happy Birthday Jesus and Happy Birthday Church!
Conference has come and gone. It went way too fast. It’s hard to believe that I only have one more conference left on my mission. General Conference on the mission is always really good and I have learned a great skill at General Conference that helps make conference much more enjoyable and helps you learn a lot more. Taking notes. I have learned so much more from the last three General Conferences than I have from all the other general conferences growing up. If you’ve never tried it before, you should. That’s my advice, take it or leave it.
In talking about conference, let me first make mention. My prophesy that Elder Pearson would speak in conference came true. I don’t know how many caught that, but Elder Pearson, who came to our mission back in November, spoke about faith on Saturday afternoon. It was a great talk. The cool thing was is that is was kind of a de-ja-vu. Lots of the stuff he spoke about in conference are things he told us about. Smart man. He uses his resources. Some of that stuff included spiritual photosynthesis, faith coming by exact obedience, and the 6 destructive D’s that destroy our faith. Great talk.
Other things to note, in my opinion, there were several amazing talks and for me to talk of all of them would be redundant, but let me make mention of a few others that stuck out to me. Elder Holland’s talk, in my opinion, was the best overall. He talked about the last week of the savior’s life and how because the savior was all alone, none of us have to be, he’s always there for us and we should never forsake him. That talk was the other de-ja-vu. Elder Holland uses his resources as well. He came to the MTC and that is what he talked about in part of his address to us. The only difference at the MTC is that he is allowed to be more enthusiastic. He basically threatened all the missionaries and almost broke the pulpit when he smacked it in saying, ‘don’t you dare abandon the savior.’
We also got drilled on the temple, just like I said we would a couple of weeks ago. 4 specific talks that I can think of talked specifically about temples and temple covenants – Christofferson, Scott, Bednar, and Stevensen. The talk most personal to me was Elder Snow’s talk about how to deal with change. I hate change. Never have liked it. The missionary winner this time around is obvious. Elder Perry wins. There has been a big focus on member missionary work recently among not only our mission, but I assume several others. Elder Perry heads the missionary program so it’s only fitting for him to throw down on the members, the huge majority of whom kick back and relax and expect the full-time missionaries to do all the work. Interestingly enough, 3 or 4 weeks ago, Elder Reed and I were asked to speak in sacrament meeting about member missionary work. Elder Perry pretty repeated what we said; only he said it a lot better than we could. You gotta love the foreigners. Elder Costa and Elder Teixeira were quite fun to listen to and, bless your heart Elder Pino, I loved your message about overcoming pains and sorrows, but I am going to have to go study it again when the ensign comes out because I couldn’t understand half the things you said. Best talk to the youth came from Elder Ballard. It’s frustrating being a teenager because your parents are the stupidest, most stubborn people, and will never listen to you. Then you grow up and realize how smart they really were and you become embarrassed because you realize that you were the one that was quite stupid, stubborn, and close-minded. President Uchtdorf never ceases to amaze me. I never think he can give a better talk than the one he most recently gave, and then he proves me wrong time after time without fail. President Packer looked a lot more upbeat than he has previously. Last but not least, I was excited when I heard the announcement of Elder Andersen as the new apostle. He’s a stud and will do great. I still remember his great talk last October when he instructed me that I don’t know everything, but I know enough.
But that’s all. With no further ado, I will sign off for this week.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Monday, April 6, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Letter 3-30-09
Dear Family,
Well, another week has come and gone. March is on its way out this week and in comes April. I have no idea what happened to March. I have been saying that every month now, you would think that I would get used to time going so fast, but I don’t. I’ve been trying to tell time to slow down but it hasn’t really listened, so I think I’ll just extend my mission for another year or two. I wonder if President Robison would let me do that. Not much news on my part. I am still doing great, although I think I’m a little depressed. My dad just died. Now don’t panic. To those of you who don’t know missionary lingo, that means my trainer just went home. Back to his small podunk ranch town of Carey, Idaho. The sad thing is that I never got to see him or talk to him after he left me on my own in Midland to a crazy second companion. He camped out in the panhandle and Roswell, New Mexico while I got stuck down south. Sounds like everyone is doing good, except for Greg; from what I hear, he got drunk and decided that BYU wasn’t good enough for him and made a decision to join the rebellious Shawn down in Georgia. What’s this whole Georgia move about? Isn’t that the place where the devil went down to? For those of you who are curious, I have every intention of being a good boy and staying in Utah when I get home.
But, hey, conference is this upcoming weekend. That is exciting. A few names to watch out for. Kevin W Pearson came to our mission this last November and I was really impressed with everything he told us. He is a cool guy. Watch for him to speak at some point during conference. I have a strong feeling he will. He just got sustained last April and usually they make the newer guys speak soon after they get sustained to the first quorum of the seventy. One more name to look out for. Our old mission president, D Brent Rose, would make an excellent Seventy. That would be fun. It will be interesting to see who the new apostle will be. I’m not going to try to predict that. Church callings have a tendency to be very unpredictable. I’d get it wrong. But anyways, I’m signing off. Everyone have a great week.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Monday, March 23, 2009
Letter 3-23-09
Dear Family,
Well, all is well in Eastland. I don’t know how many of you have heard this, but something crazy happened this last week. We heard this from a part member family we are working with, Amber and Josh Hassell. Amber is a less active member and Josh is an investigator who should get baptized next month sometime. Anyway, there is this big show on TV, HBO to be specific, called Big Love. Apparently it is the number one show on HBO. That means tons of people watch it. The show is about the FLDS church. Well, this week on the show there was a character who stole a temple recommend from a family member who was LDS and was able to get in to the temple and participate in an endowment session and it showed an enactment of the session right there on HBO in front of the whole nation. Apparently one of the people working on the show is an excommunicated member who had been to the temple before and that person was the source from which Big Love got their information. Well, the Hassells like the show, well, liked the show, but were disturbed at what happened so Amber got in contact with her mother who had been to the temple many times and Josh got on the internet to see the reaction from people. Apparently Big Love was freakishly accurate, almost word for word. That is way bad. Big Man upstairs isn’t going to be too happy with a select few people if you know what I mean. To make things better, guess who is the producer of this TV show? You may have heard of him. A man by the name of Tom Hanks, AKA Woody. …I know. That’s what I said. I liked Tom Hanks.
On a higher note, Josh Hassell’s story is great. For one, he told us that this wouldn’t change his views on the church at all. That was good. Back before I got to Eastland, Amber Hassell flagged down the missionaries somehow because she wanted to take the lessons so that she could come back to church. Well, Josh was against the church back then, but Amber somehow convinced him to take the lessons with her. That is where I came in back in October. Josh was only taking the lessons so that he could basically prove to himself that this church is false. Well, long story short, he has come a long way and before we closed the area he was getting excited about the church. When we left, he was devastated and prayed for guidance. Well, turns out that we came back and he saw that as an obvious answer to his prayer. We have used that as leverage to show him that he knows the church is true. He has faught it a little bit, just because of his views before on religion, but we discussed opposition and that really helped. Yesterday he came to church for the very first time. He is strugging with the Word of Wisdom, but once he stops that he should get baptized.
So that is your missionary story for the day. Eastland is doing good. The church will go forward, despite opposition. We are making real progress here and I guess Big Love is Satan’s way of fighting back. Conference is coming up. I wonder how much emphasis will be placed on temples… but anyway, I’m signing off for the day. Peace out.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Well, all is well in Eastland. I don’t know how many of you have heard this, but something crazy happened this last week. We heard this from a part member family we are working with, Amber and Josh Hassell. Amber is a less active member and Josh is an investigator who should get baptized next month sometime. Anyway, there is this big show on TV, HBO to be specific, called Big Love. Apparently it is the number one show on HBO. That means tons of people watch it. The show is about the FLDS church. Well, this week on the show there was a character who stole a temple recommend from a family member who was LDS and was able to get in to the temple and participate in an endowment session and it showed an enactment of the session right there on HBO in front of the whole nation. Apparently one of the people working on the show is an excommunicated member who had been to the temple before and that person was the source from which Big Love got their information. Well, the Hassells like the show, well, liked the show, but were disturbed at what happened so Amber got in contact with her mother who had been to the temple many times and Josh got on the internet to see the reaction from people. Apparently Big Love was freakishly accurate, almost word for word. That is way bad. Big Man upstairs isn’t going to be too happy with a select few people if you know what I mean. To make things better, guess who is the producer of this TV show? You may have heard of him. A man by the name of Tom Hanks, AKA Woody. …I know. That’s what I said. I liked Tom Hanks.
On a higher note, Josh Hassell’s story is great. For one, he told us that this wouldn’t change his views on the church at all. That was good. Back before I got to Eastland, Amber Hassell flagged down the missionaries somehow because she wanted to take the lessons so that she could come back to church. Well, Josh was against the church back then, but Amber somehow convinced him to take the lessons with her. That is where I came in back in October. Josh was only taking the lessons so that he could basically prove to himself that this church is false. Well, long story short, he has come a long way and before we closed the area he was getting excited about the church. When we left, he was devastated and prayed for guidance. Well, turns out that we came back and he saw that as an obvious answer to his prayer. We have used that as leverage to show him that he knows the church is true. He has faught it a little bit, just because of his views before on religion, but we discussed opposition and that really helped. Yesterday he came to church for the very first time. He is strugging with the Word of Wisdom, but once he stops that he should get baptized.
So that is your missionary story for the day. Eastland is doing good. The church will go forward, despite opposition. We are making real progress here and I guess Big Love is Satan’s way of fighting back. Conference is coming up. I wonder how much emphasis will be placed on temples… but anyway, I’m signing off for the day. Peace out.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Monday, March 16, 2009
Letter 3-16-09
Dear Family,
Well, this last week was interesting. I think I cursed myself. I shouldn’t have bragged about the weather. I think God looked at my letter, laughed, and said, ‘I’ll show him. Mwa ha ha!’ It rained for 3 days straight last week and freezing cold and miserable, 30-40 degree weather. Horrible. It doesn’t rain very often in Texas, but when it does, it destroys you. It just dumps. We walked around in Lake Eastland all week, if you know what I mean. Luckily, though, Mr. Mac did me good. I have a nice, warm, waterproof coat, the warmest gloves in the world, and some lifesaving rubber shoe-covers. I survived. To make things better, it was spring break down here and no one was ever home. So in addition to having it real cold outside, a lot of people weren’t home, so we spent all day outside in the cold. Lots of fun. Especially for me, you know how much I love the cold… But hey, being the way Texas is, it’s back up 70-80 degree weather today. Crazy. The temperature just rollercoasters like that all year long. Anyway, that is the update for the week. Eastland hasn’t got a baptism since 2004. That is going to change here real fast. We have a few people who are progressing real good, but each of them have barriers that they need to jump that are right in front of them at the moment. Big things are word of wisdom, coming to church, and reading the Book of Mormon. No one is yet scheduled for a solid date, but that should change here right quick and when it does, I will let you know. We are teaching more than twice the amount of lessons that I taught when we were here before, so good things are happening. April should be a big month. I always look optimistically and what is coming up. That’s all I have for now. God be with you till we meet again.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Well, this last week was interesting. I think I cursed myself. I shouldn’t have bragged about the weather. I think God looked at my letter, laughed, and said, ‘I’ll show him. Mwa ha ha!’ It rained for 3 days straight last week and freezing cold and miserable, 30-40 degree weather. Horrible. It doesn’t rain very often in Texas, but when it does, it destroys you. It just dumps. We walked around in Lake Eastland all week, if you know what I mean. Luckily, though, Mr. Mac did me good. I have a nice, warm, waterproof coat, the warmest gloves in the world, and some lifesaving rubber shoe-covers. I survived. To make things better, it was spring break down here and no one was ever home. So in addition to having it real cold outside, a lot of people weren’t home, so we spent all day outside in the cold. Lots of fun. Especially for me, you know how much I love the cold… But hey, being the way Texas is, it’s back up 70-80 degree weather today. Crazy. The temperature just rollercoasters like that all year long. Anyway, that is the update for the week. Eastland hasn’t got a baptism since 2004. That is going to change here real fast. We have a few people who are progressing real good, but each of them have barriers that they need to jump that are right in front of them at the moment. Big things are word of wisdom, coming to church, and reading the Book of Mormon. No one is yet scheduled for a solid date, but that should change here right quick and when it does, I will let you know. We are teaching more than twice the amount of lessons that I taught when we were here before, so good things are happening. April should be a big month. I always look optimistically and what is coming up. That’s all I have for now. God be with you till we meet again.
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Monday, March 9, 2009
Letter 3-9-09
Dear Family,
Not many updates to bring up today and I spent too much time replying to other emails that were sent my way, so I will be real brief. First off, item of business that I failed to mention last week. Back in Big Spring, there was an investigator named Paul Schlipf that we were teaching and he was going to get baptized. Well, if you remember, he had to wait 2 weeks and in that time period I got transferred. Well, good news is that he got baptized on schedule after the 2 weeks was up, February 21st. So that is good news. Even though I wasn’t there for the baptism, I participated in everything else, so it counts in my book as baptism number 3. That will be the good news for the day. We have a couple investigators that are progressing well, but I haven’t the time to talk about them right now. But here is some interesting news. I heard that back in mid-February it snowed real bad. Well, do you know what the weather was like for me when that was happening to you. Hot and sunny. 90 degrees. Mwa ha ha! I never thought it was possible to get a sunburn in February. And for the record, I still have yet to see a snowflake since I’ve left Utah. Anyway, that’s all for now, if Shawn feels daring enough, he can forward my remarks to him as concerning the elaboration of my comments last week that he saw differently than I did. But, with no further ado, peace out all!
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Monday, March 2, 2009
Letter 3-2-09
Dear Family,
Well, another week has come and gone. Another month has come and gone. Life continues to do what it always done, move by way too fast. You gotta love it. The big highlight for me was zone conference. Zone Conference already? Yikes. I just got back to Eastland. I hope I don't get another 6 week area. I hate it when that happens, but it's happened twice already. Just so you know, that system of not telling you I got transferred till the next week after it happened worked well. I got all the letters sent to Big Spring quite promptly. Anyways, in Zone Conference we were given great counsel that I would like to share. We are going back to the basics and President Robison said that it doesn't get any more basic than testimony. Having a testimony of the gospel is very important, and the thing that president stressed is that we need to build our testimony when we don't need it. What does that mean? Well, he compared it to Valentines Day. Many people treat Valentines day as a day to love your wife. Well, it's kind of pathetic if you have to have a day set aside to love your wife. If you treat your wife differently on Valentines day than you do any other day, then you have a problem. You need to love your wife every day of the year. Same thing for Christmas. We need to always be celebrating the birth of Christ, not just during Christmas time. Same goes for your testimony. We need to always have a strong testimony, not just during church when we are called upon to bear our testimony. If you have a testimony and are striving to build it during the early times of the morning where it isn't necessary to share it with others, then you know that you have a true testimony. If you don't work on building your testimony when you don't need it, then it will diminish quite quickly and when you are called on randomly to bear it or the sudden opportunity arises to share it with a friend that needs it, then it will be no bueno for. Testimony is what builds our shield to fight this war against Satan. Guess what? We are losing the war. Satan is winning. But do you know what? We are on the winning side. In basketball, the only score that matters is the score at the end of the 4th quarter. Right now we are in the 1st quarter and we are losing by a lot. However, we know that we will win. We need to work our hardest. We won't be winning at the end of the 2nd quarter or even at the end of the 3rd, but we will win. Satan will lose. We need to keep pressing forward, doing our best, working our hardest. Not all of us will score 28 points per game, but we need to play our role and sometimes the player that scores 0 points is the best because he gets every rebound, he blocks shots, he steals the ball, and plays wonderful defense. Even though he didn't score 28 points, doesn't mean he was a bad player. We need to have a team that has 5 excellent players on it because that is the team that is hard to defend. When you have a team with mostly good players but a few bad ones, then that team is easy to beat. We need to all play hard and do our best to play our part, because although we are losing the game right now, we are on the winning team and need to stay on that winning team.
That's all for this week and speaking of Valentines Day, I appreciate those who sent that Valentines box. I have been enjoying that. :) Have a great week. Work Hard and Choose Joy... :)
Elder Adam R Droge The DrogeMiester
Well, another week has come and gone. Another month has come and gone. Life continues to do what it always done, move by way too fast. You gotta love it. The big highlight for me was zone conference. Zone Conference already? Yikes. I just got back to Eastland. I hope I don't get another 6 week area. I hate it when that happens, but it's happened twice already. Just so you know, that system of not telling you I got transferred till the next week after it happened worked well. I got all the letters sent to Big Spring quite promptly. Anyways, in Zone Conference we were given great counsel that I would like to share. We are going back to the basics and President Robison said that it doesn't get any more basic than testimony. Having a testimony of the gospel is very important, and the thing that president stressed is that we need to build our testimony when we don't need it. What does that mean? Well, he compared it to Valentines Day. Many people treat Valentines day as a day to love your wife. Well, it's kind of pathetic if you have to have a day set aside to love your wife. If you treat your wife differently on Valentines day than you do any other day, then you have a problem. You need to love your wife every day of the year. Same thing for Christmas. We need to always be celebrating the birth of Christ, not just during Christmas time. Same goes for your testimony. We need to always have a strong testimony, not just during church when we are called upon to bear our testimony. If you have a testimony and are striving to build it during the early times of the morning where it isn't necessary to share it with others, then you know that you have a true testimony. If you don't work on building your testimony when you don't need it, then it will diminish quite quickly and when you are called on randomly to bear it or the sudden opportunity arises to share it with a friend that needs it, then it will be no bueno for. Testimony is what builds our shield to fight this war against Satan. Guess what? We are losing the war. Satan is winning. But do you know what? We are on the winning side. In basketball, the only score that matters is the score at the end of the 4th quarter. Right now we are in the 1st quarter and we are losing by a lot. However, we know that we will win. We need to work our hardest. We won't be winning at the end of the 2nd quarter or even at the end of the 3rd, but we will win. Satan will lose. We need to keep pressing forward, doing our best, working our hardest. Not all of us will score 28 points per game, but we need to play our role and sometimes the player that scores 0 points is the best because he gets every rebound, he blocks shots, he steals the ball, and plays wonderful defense. Even though he didn't score 28 points, doesn't mean he was a bad player. We need to have a team that has 5 excellent players on it because that is the team that is hard to defend. When you have a team with mostly good players but a few bad ones, then that team is easy to beat. We need to all play hard and do our best to play our part, because although we are losing the game right now, we are on the winning team and need to stay on that winning team.
That's all for this week and speaking of Valentines Day, I appreciate those who sent that Valentines box. I have been enjoying that. :) Have a great week. Work Hard and Choose Joy... :)
Elder Adam R Droge The DrogeMiester
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Letter 2-23-09
Dear Family,
Well, this last week has been great. I am settled back in Eastland and we've started to see a lot of success in teaching lessons this last week. I'm at a loss for what to say really. I guess the scary thing is that I hit 1 year this last week. That is freaky. I've been doing a lot of pondering recently. This last year has gone by way too fast. I feel that I have just barely started my mission and now it is half way over. I don't really want to go home. Yes, I miss all of you, but I am enjoying myself too much here. Being a missionary gives me lots of purpose in life. I feel useful out here, like I am doing something that is really important. I've heard that the last year goes by a lot quicker than the first year and if that is true I will be home in a jiffy and that doesn't sit well with me. It gives me more perspective on life. I have learned a lot. I have learned how important it is to do the small simple things that most of us take for granted at times. Reading our scriptures. Praying, morning and night. Going to church. Partaking of the sacrament. Singing hymns. Most of all, we are blessed to be members of this church. Not many people are. There are so many millions of people in the world that haven't been blessed as great as we have. It's quite sad, yet we should be praising the Lord constantly for the great blessings we have received in our lives. There are many called, but few chosen. Think on that. We have been called, but just because we are members of the church doesn't mean we are chosen. Believing that the church is true isn't enough. We need to act upon that and do all that we can to purify our selves and purify our lives and get out of the world. I know that I have come to the point in a missionary's life where I have become an afterthought. You all have gotten used to me being gone, so it doesn't phase you. I've seen that, but it doesn't matter because me being at home has been an afterthought as well on my end. Texas has become my home and I am loving it here and the fact of me hitting a year and knowing that I will so be going back home to Utah makes me sad. The older missionaries that I was raised with have been going home or are close to going home. My trainer goes home in a few weeks and he will be my first companion to go home and after that they will drop like flies and I will be left alone. Anyway, life is great, I hope everyone is doing good and staying true to the faith. Bruce and Joe, do your best to prepare for your missions right now. I heard that constantly growing up but never hit me that I would actually go on a mission, so I never took it too seriously. The time will come where both of you will have to make that decision to serve and it is closer than you think. Much closer. The more prepared you are the easier it will be to make that. If you make the decision to go, it will truly be the best decision you will ever make and the best way to prepare is quite simple. All those classic sunday school / seminary answers. Read your scriptures, pray, go to church. And don't just do it to do it. Take it seriously and it will bless you throughout your mission and throughout your life. Peace out All!
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
Well, this last week has been great. I am settled back in Eastland and we've started to see a lot of success in teaching lessons this last week. I'm at a loss for what to say really. I guess the scary thing is that I hit 1 year this last week. That is freaky. I've been doing a lot of pondering recently. This last year has gone by way too fast. I feel that I have just barely started my mission and now it is half way over. I don't really want to go home. Yes, I miss all of you, but I am enjoying myself too much here. Being a missionary gives me lots of purpose in life. I feel useful out here, like I am doing something that is really important. I've heard that the last year goes by a lot quicker than the first year and if that is true I will be home in a jiffy and that doesn't sit well with me. It gives me more perspective on life. I have learned a lot. I have learned how important it is to do the small simple things that most of us take for granted at times. Reading our scriptures. Praying, morning and night. Going to church. Partaking of the sacrament. Singing hymns. Most of all, we are blessed to be members of this church. Not many people are. There are so many millions of people in the world that haven't been blessed as great as we have. It's quite sad, yet we should be praising the Lord constantly for the great blessings we have received in our lives. There are many called, but few chosen. Think on that. We have been called, but just because we are members of the church doesn't mean we are chosen. Believing that the church is true isn't enough. We need to act upon that and do all that we can to purify our selves and purify our lives and get out of the world. I know that I have come to the point in a missionary's life where I have become an afterthought. You all have gotten used to me being gone, so it doesn't phase you. I've seen that, but it doesn't matter because me being at home has been an afterthought as well on my end. Texas has become my home and I am loving it here and the fact of me hitting a year and knowing that I will so be going back home to Utah makes me sad. The older missionaries that I was raised with have been going home or are close to going home. My trainer goes home in a few weeks and he will be my first companion to go home and after that they will drop like flies and I will be left alone. Anyway, life is great, I hope everyone is doing good and staying true to the faith. Bruce and Joe, do your best to prepare for your missions right now. I heard that constantly growing up but never hit me that I would actually go on a mission, so I never took it too seriously. The time will come where both of you will have to make that decision to serve and it is closer than you think. Much closer. The more prepared you are the easier it will be to make that. If you make the decision to go, it will truly be the best decision you will ever make and the best way to prepare is quite simple. All those classic sunday school / seminary answers. Read your scriptures, pray, go to church. And don't just do it to do it. Take it seriously and it will bless you throughout your mission and throughout your life. Peace out All!
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
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