Letter 5-26-09

Dear Family,

Happy Memorial Day everyone! The only thing that happened with us yesterday is that we were reminded that Libraries everywhere are holiday natzis. They close down on every single holiday, big or small. Many of those holidays come on Mondays so it makes it lots of fun when you want to email on P-day. Then you go out in the evening and no one wants to talk to you; they want to spend time with their family and not with missionaries. It makes life fun.

So this last Saturday we had another baptism here in Eastland. It was an eight year old girl named McKayla Williamson. No one in her family are members. She was able to get in contact with a few of the members in the branch. I don't really no the full story, I wasn't here when it started, but somehow she got to the point where she wanted to be baptized, the only problem was that she was only seven years old. So she started to come to church when she could. There is a member that always picked her up. She was going to church for about a year when she turned eight last month. We then got to work, taught her the lessons really briefly and got her baptized Saturday. Because of the fact that her parents aren't members, it counts as a convert baptism. The great thing about it was that her whole family showed up to the baptism to support her. I didn't think they would, but they did. It was great. The idea that I got is that some time down the road, how short or long I do not know, McKayla will make an impact on her family through her example and create a domino effect in which they will want to be baptized.

So that is all I have. I hope all of you have a great week.

Elder Adam R Droge

The DrogeMiester

Letter 5-18-09

Dear Family,

Well, once again I am sitting at the computer and writing a letter back home. Weeks keep flying by. So last week I had a story to tell and ran out of time to tell it, so I will do so now. Elder Reed and I were up in Breckenridge, the city with the highest percentage of unsolved murders in the United States, and we were out finding. Well, we knocked on this door and there was a house that was empty. We didn’t know it was empty, or else we would’ve skipped it, but that’s beside the point. A guy drove by that lived a few doors down and was really angry that we knocked on this door. I’m not sure why, but he just was. He yelled at us, told us to get away from that house, and if we didn’t he would file a report against us and call the police. I found his threat quite amusing actually. Knowing how the police are in this town, they wouldn’t have done anything anyway. However, just like dad always told me growing up, there is a space between action and reaction and although my natural, prideful human tendencies wanted to shout back and not let him get the best of me, I chose to react in a nice, polite christlike way. Instead of shouting back at him, telling him that he was overreacting and that we didn’t know any better as well as the police wouldn’t do anything, we chose to just apologize, leave the door, and walk on. As a missionary, you rarely see the fruits of your efforts and your christlike attitude, which is hard sometimes, but this time was different and taught me a great lesson. A few hours later, we were walking back on the same street, when a car pulled over beside us. It was the same guy that yelled at us before. This time he was different. He was very nice and sorrowfully he apologized for his actions earlier in the day. You know me. Just like Nephi did frankly forgive Laman and Lemuel for trying to kill him, I did frankly forgive the guy for yelling at me and we departed on great terms. Now imagine to yourself what would’ve happened if I had chosen to react poorly. Would he have pulled over and apologized? Would he have felt bad about what he did? How do you think he would’ve acted the next time missionaries knocked on his door? How long do you think it would’ve taken for him to accept the fullness of the gospel as opposed to how long it will take him now? I testify that acting in a christlike manner to whatever situation we are placed in will pay off. People will see our humble example and know that there is hope for them in this life.

News-wise this week I have wonderful news. Josh Hasell, the investigator I have talked about, was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this past weekend. Elder Reed performed that baptism and I confirmed him the following day in sacrament meeting. Not that I have ever cared about numbers too much on my mission, but baptism number four is in the books. This baptism was a unique one. The other three came in a manner where we would work our hardest with our investigators and nothing would work out, then we would be blessed with the gift of finding a person that was just plain ready to listen and would get baptized with minimal effort on our part. This time we worked our very hardest with Josh. After nine months and five different missionaries, Josh finally came to realize that the church was true and that he needed to be baptized. I was fortunate enough to be there when he figured that out, even though I was almost positive that I was going to be transferred before I got baptized. We have another baptism of the 8 year old girl whose parents are non-members and are not interested in religion that I mentioned in our phone call planned for this Saturday. I will let you know how that goes.

One last piece of news and I will sign off. On Mother’s Day I told a story of us running into a big wolf spider. Someone asked if I got a picture. I answered no. Well, this last week, we ran into another one sitting there on the side of the house and guess what we did. We took pictures. He was about the size of a quarter or 50 cent piece. He was fat, black, and hairy with white spots on his back. He also had huge fangs and big scary eyes. The pictures I took were wicked awesome. Best spider pictures that I have ever taken and very close up. You’ll enjoy them when you get the photo CD of Eastland part 3, unless of course I get enough pictures to split up Eastland to part 3 and part 4. In that case it’ll be on part 4, but either way, I’m making you wait. It’ll be worth it. :) But anyways, I’ve talked for too long, so I am signing off. Adios Amigos!

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 5-11-09

Dear Family,

So the letter to the family right after the phone call home is always a weird one because I already told you everything yesterday and we had a great conversation. That was a lot of fun having that 150 way call. It was like everyone was gathered together in one place. I will admit that I feel bad for David, Greg, and Mike dying down and not being able to talk, but only listening. That's never fun, but I guess it's better than nothing. There was one thing I wanted to talk about. I think it was Annie that asked a question and because of something happening and me getting sidetrack, the question was never answered. The question had to do with the population of the branches/wards that I'd been in and which one was biggest. Well, Midland, my first area was the biggest. It was a normal sized ward like back home. There would be 200 – 300 people at church each week. I went from there to Brady. Brady met in a house that was dedicated into a church and felt like a church inside. 40 – 50 people came each week. Eastland was my next area and there was/is now 30 – 40 people that come every week. Brady and Eastland were branches. My 4th area, Big Spring, was technically a ward, and the chapel was a normal sized chapel, but I considered it a Branch on steroids. 60 – 70 people came each week. That chapel looked fairly empty every week. It could fit 300 people easily. So thats that. I really have nothing else to say. Everyone have a great week. There is a cool story that happened to us in Breckenridge last week, but I'll save that for next week so that I can have something to write about. Mwa ha ha. And no mom, it doesn't have anything to do with Breckenridge being the highest city in the United States per capita to get away with murder (that is worded funny, but you get the idea. Lots of crime). I just hope I don't forget... anyways, peace out.

Elder Adam R Droge

The DrogeMiester

Letter 5-4-09

Dear Family,

Once again another week has come and gone. May of 2009 has begun. I sent the Big Spring Photo CD last Monday. It should be there by now. I hope you enjoy it. Mother's day is next Sunday which means that I should be able to call home this Sunday. I have received no input as to when would be a good time. Church here in Eastland goes from 9 to 12. Those hours are out of the picture. If I'm correct B-town has church from 1 to 4, which means evening will be good. If I don't hear anything I will probably call sometime in the evening, maybe 6 o'clock central time, 5 o'clock Mountain Standard Time. So I mentioned a few weeks ago about a part member family we are teaching here in Eastland, Josh and Amber Hassell. They have now been taught for 8 months, slowly progressing. Well, this last week was a huge step, probably the biggest one. Josh committed himself to baptism. He knows that this is the true church. He stopped smoking 2 days ago and as of today he said that he has had no desire to smoke. They both fasted for that purpose yesterday and Elder Reed and I here in Eastland fasted for him as well. The date is set for Saturday May 16th. That should go through. I'm excited. Eastland will break this silly little drought once and for all. So there you have it. Following up on my homework I gave last week, I'm sure you all read the entry of sacrifice in 'True to the Faith'. Some points that stuck out to me: As members of the church, we should be willing to sacrifice anything that the Lord asks us to. We can not have true faith until we are willing to sacrifice the things of the world for the sake of the Lord. When we maintain an eternal perspective, we will realize that sacrificing things of the world really isn't a sacrifice at all. The blessings we will receive for sacrificing worldly things are far greater than any earthly blessings we will receive. I love being here on a mission. I learn so much. The church is true. There is no doubt in my mind. Talk to you soon... :)

Elder Adam R Droge

The DrogeMiester

Letter 4-27-09

Dear Family,

I don’t have much time this week. I spent most of my email time doing other things. This last week was a little rough, but with patience and diligence, we persevered and made it through with smiles on our faces. This morning I read a great story in Mosiah 24 that boosted my spirits. You all know the story. Alma and his people had been taken captive by the Lamanites and the Amulonites and went through much affliction, but the Lord did visit them in their afflictions and delivered them out. The moral of the story that came to me that can be applied in our everyday lives is that the Lord promises all of us that he will visit us in our afflictions, so we need to submit to the will of the Lord cheerfully and with much patience. Another theme of this week was consecration. President Robison asked us to study it and so I did and it so happens that the Sunday school lesson was on consecration. When I studied consecration, I did a webster’s dictionary tour. I looked up the word consecration, wrote down the definition and then looked up the words in that definition and continued on with that effect until I got a definition that I really liked. Here it is: To consecrate is “to be highly serious in binding your whole soul to a particular course or purpose.” Binding our whole soul. Very good counsel from Webster. That is what we need to do. Bind ourselves to Christ and his gospel, sacrificing what we need to in order to make that possible. True to the Faith has some very good insights when it defines sacrifice. I don’t have the time to elaborate this week, so that will be my homework for all of you this week. Study the section in True to the Faith about sacrifice and then report any insights to me. Thank you and have a nice week.

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 4-20-09

Dear Family,

Wow. The 20th has rolled around again. That means it has been 14 months since I have left. Scary. So I really don’t have much to say this week, but I have an interesting thought. There was an investigator that we had that had a concern about the fall, so I decided to read the account of Adam and Eve in the book of Moses. In doing so I came across a scripture that gave an idea that I had never really known. Here is the scripture:

“And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all livingãB fore thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many” (Moses 4:26).

It was that last part that caught me, ‘for thus have I…called the first of all women, which are many.’ I didn’t quite know what that meant, so I looked at the footnotes and found a cross reference for earlieer in eMoses:

“And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the son I created them, which is mine only begotten.And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:33-35).

So, if I interpreted that right, those two scriptures are saying that God created many worlds that are inhabited by people and the first two people on every earth were named Adam and Eve. That is an interesting thought that I’ve never heard before. Studying those scriptures, and looking at more cross references, also poses lots of other questions and interesting insights, some of which we may never find out in this life, but it’s interesting to think about. The Pearl of Great Price is loaded. Its name is very fitting. That is all I had for this week. Some time in the next week or two I will make and send a photo CD of me in Big Spring. I was going to combine Big Spring and Eastland Part 3, but I have racked up enough photos in Eastland this time around to separate them. I would’ve done it this week, but the machine at Wal-Mart was down, so it’ll have to wait. Anyways, that’s all folks! Peace out!

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester

Letter 4-13-09

Dear Family,

Happy Easter everyone! Thanks you for those who participated in sending the Easter package. That was very good. I say was, but I mean still is. It’s not gone quite yet. And, hey, thank you for finding the wedding ties that I had been wanting. That really made my day. I’m only a few ties off my goal now. The goal is to get to the point where I can wear a different tie every day of the transfer. That would mean 42 ties. I’m at 37 or 38. 5 more ties to collect. Don’t be amazed at that. That is actually quite a small number compared to some missionaries I know.

This last week was zone conference. At zone conference we were made aware of a certain number. Back in November we were given the commission by Elder Pearson to double the baptisms here. For the last 6 years in this mission, the average per month has been 20 baptisms a month for the whole mission. To double baptize, we would need to get a consistent average of 40. Well, for the first 3 months of this year, we have made an average of 30. We are almost there. Baptisms are possible. The Texas Lubbock Mission is a baptizing mission. We are shooting for a goal right now to average 35 per month. Then once we hit that, we’ll jump up to 40. Once we hit 40, then we will celebrate by having the whole mission get together at the Lubbock Temple and get a picture. It’ll be great. You can help me by praying for this to happen. I have confidence that it won’t take more than a few months to make this happen.

So yesterday on Easter, we were eating dinner with one of the senior couple missionaries that are serving in our area, Elder and Sister Romero. Sister Romero told a great story that gave me inspiration and I felt like sharing it. Sister Romero’s brother is very less active. Less active for 40 years. One day she was really stressed. She had tried her hardest to help him, but nothing was working. As she pondered, a voice came to her mind that said this, “Remember, he’s my son, too.” That is very good counsel that we should all remember. I look at the people here in Eastland, especially less active members and investigators that are struggling. I try to think about what more I can do. Sometimes I get frustrated because I work my best to get them to listen and they just don’t. Nothing I try works. Sometimes I have to step back and remember that Heavenly Father knows each one of his children and will do far more than I can ever do. When the time is right, he will lead his lost children back and we need to be patient. Truly patient. Study patience in Preach My Gospel, chapter 6. It teaches that patience is enduring without getting frustrated or anxious. If any of you have any friends that aren’t members or are less active members, do what you can to help when the spirit prompts you, but don’t get frustrated when they don’t listen. Be patient and don’t push them over the edge. Remember, they are heavenly father’s son as well and he will lead them back. Joseph Smith, when asked why his people listen to him and follow his teachings so closely, responded, “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” Do your best and leave the rest up to the Lord. That is my counsel for this week. Have a great week everyone.

Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester