Sister D 4.29.13 "Minnesota is rejoicing"

Dear home,

Life is good. The sun has decided to show up for the first time and the whole state of Minnesota is rejoicing. Never have I seen so many people outside but I think that could just be because they were all in hibernation. Which I don't blame them. But, now this is like a whole new place.

We spent some hours painting this weekend and Adri was able to come with us. Oh, how I like her. She is so fun to be around that I wish that we could be better friends now but I'm too busy with missionary stuff. So, it's all good. She is slowly finding some friends here in the ward besides the members that she lives with. so that's great.

We will be moving into our apartment this week if I have to eat from one plate and sleep on the floor. Ok, we have beds and we bought paper plates today, so it's fine. We are very anxious to move in, if you could already tell. :)

Hope all is well there,

Love from the slightly frozen still,

Sister D

Elder E 4.29."Goodbye Elder R"

This is the big week. Elder R goes home in several days. we had a good time together for these past 2 months. He is such a great missionary. But Sunday hit him really hard. It was his last Sunday as a missionary and it was fast and testimony meeting as well so the branch presidency asked if Elder R would be the first to bear his testimony. While he was up at the podium, that's when the reality hit him all at once. He broke down and everyone did as well. After he was done, the members that we met with the most got up and said their goodbyes to him and said what a wonderful job that we had done with the area. I think it was a good way for him to end this life before the next one.
This past week has been pretty dreary. The weather has been rainy the whole time. It looks like it's going to rain anytime now. But the work moves on. We also had exchanges with the district leader and the zone leader last week. I was in E with Elder P and we did some tracting. There was one atheist that tried to bash with us for almost an hour. There was a scripture in the Book of Mormon that continued to rise to my mind as we "conversed" with this man. It's found in 2 Nephi 9:28. There were no heated words, no hatred felt. He just had too many opinions and no willingness to try the true way to find knowledge. After that, we biked to our next appointment. We had a wonderful time with these investigators and answered many of their questions. I hope that there will be some good that will come from them. The next day, we went back to G and helped out at the library. They were doing a huge project where we moved two rooms around. We had so much fun and I'm happy to say that this library is my favorite library in all of Ohio. We were using the little scooty thingys that you put underneath the big objects to move them around. That was a huge blast to use. We made games and activities with them. Lauren and Ruben are our favorite librarians ever! We took pictures and made videos of the whole event. The library looks completely different now then it did before. It was definitely needed. After that we had to go to the church building to help out in a service project. We were laying down some new mulch for the plants and what-not and then had a quick potluck afterwards. There was a non-member there who is interested in learning more but we aren't counting him until we actually teach him. That should be this weekend.
Anyways that's pretty much all I have for now. I wish I had more but I haven't been writing in my journal lately so I can't remember everything now. Hopefully I'll do better this week.
Love you all,
-Elder Ephraim Kade DeCoursey

Elder E Letters three weeks worth.

Due to some illness I was not able to get these letter on in an orderly manner.  This his last three weeks of emails.

 

4.8.13

Howdy Howdy Howdy!!!

How good it is to be able to write to my homeland on such a repetitive basis. I do love General Conference. It feels like a holiday for each missionary in the world. Never had I been more excited for conference than this one. I took so many notes and learned so much from what was spoken. I wait anxiously for when the Ensign comes. Let me retell an experience I had on Saturday.
Before the Priesthood session, Elder R and I went to see a less active member of the branch. It was immediately apparent that he joined the Church because of the sisters that taught him years ago but we did our best to bring to conference. Actually, Elder Rdid all of the talking. I sat like a lump on the log and said nothing. After we left, I felt horrible. How can I be serve the Lord if I couldn't even open my mouth to say one little thing. As we sat down to listen to prophets and apostles, I said a prayer in my heart that what is spoken in the session will help me to speak or I would go home and leave the church. Almost immediately after I closed my prayer, Elder Robert D. Hales was first to speak. As he opened his address with Ephesians 6 on the Armor of God, tears began to stream down my face. This had been what I was waiting for! Not only was my prayer answered, but every word that was shared that night touched me in such a way that amazes even me. I really did grow 5 feet that night. I am so grateful for prayer.
That scripture that Elder Hales shared is the very scripture that I live by. No more do I need the Lord's council than I do now. Thanks to General Conference, I know how to be a better missionary than I have been. Now is the true beginning of Elder DeCoursey.

This past week, we spent much time over at Nikki's house and doing service with her husband. They really are a great couple. I was shocked when she asked for visiting teachers . She's not even a member yet. Once she's read the Book of Mormon. I know that she will join the true church of God.

It's been rather difficult to find any new investigators. Sometimes we won't be able to find investigators but that;s alright. I know that God is just testing my faith. He knows what I need learn so until then I'll keep on working.

We made a new missionary meal calender that covers till next December. Each page has a funny comic that had to have been made by a return missionary. I know that the branch will love it.

Nothing much else really happened. Love you lots.

Elder Ephraim Kade DeCoursey
---------------------------------------
4.15.13
Family and Friends,
 I've got a riddle for all of my friends and family at home. :When the music stops the girl dies. How does the girl die?" Now don't use the internet to answer this. Use your best judgement and then I'll answer it next week.
Hello everyone. My mission has committed us to memorize all 40 of the scriptures they have given us to study. I'll be honest in saying that I've been neglecting this privilege to study these verses in the past 6 months. I want to take on this challenge so I can become a better missionary. I will let you know how the progress goes as the weeks go by.
Yesterday we went to see a less active family of the branch. They are super nice to the missionaries. The husband is the member and he hasn't been to church since he was in his teens and his wife is not a member. However, 2 of their kids have been baptized into the church and these kids regularly go to the youth activities every Wednesday. We had a great time visiting them. He makes his own hot sauce and he asked if we wanted to try some. So of course we tried some and our mouths were definitely on fire. It wasn't the hottest I've had but it was certainly hot. After our visit we counted the wife as a new investigator.
In one of the towns that we cover, we tracted into an older gentleman that spends the majority of his time wood crafting. And he is really good. He made a carnival, many churches, portraits, and more. He is really good. I'll be sending some pictures along so you can see his work.
Niki, one of the investigators that we already have is progressing quite well. She's already a member but she's what we call a "Dry Mormon". She doesn't think she knows enough yet to make the decision but she is reading the Book of Mormon regularly. She believes that she has to read the entire book before she makes a decision. That certainly is very good, but she really doesn't have to know every little detail about the church to get an answer. The Holy Ghost is the best teacher and it can help her to learn more. But for now she is truly progressing.
That's all the highlights of the past week. I love you all so much.
Love, Elder Ephraim Kade DeCoursey
----------------------------------------------------
4.16.13
Hello,
So I have recently discovered a certain modern day Apostle by the name of Elder Bruce R. McKonkie and his works. Have you heard of him? I've heard of him before but I had no idea what he's done. He is so cool!!! My district leader has a copy of one of the books that he wrote. It's called Mormon Doctrine. It's basically a dictionary for latter day saint terms and great stuff like that. I love that book. I wish I had my own copy so I could read it on my free time. But it is no longer in print so it's not so easy to find. I can live without it for now.
So last week we did something called the Burgess challenge. The Burgess's are a member of the branch that moved in from Utah 3 months ago and we were having dinner with them a few weeks ago and we got on the subject of challenges. Bro Burgess wanted to create a challenge for us to do and future missionaries to come. So last Tuesday we arrive at their house for dinner and on the table are 6 loose-meat burgers, 6 spanish style coney dogs, and a quart of chocolate shake for each of us. After the prayer, the challenge began. I had 3 burgers left, 1 coney left, and I had drank all my shake before I had to quit. I was stuffed. Elder Riggs, on the other hand, was able to finish. we sorely regretted it later. We were rolling around on the floor in pain in our apartment. I gained several pounds from that meal alone.

We discovered that we had an investigator that had "fallen through the cracks" in missionary communication. Her name is Roberta. She is a 70 year old confederate and she lives in a very historic home. She has had the Church's influence almost all her life. Ever since she moved in missionaries have visiting her for 12 years now. She has a lot of old stuff that if she sold it all she would have a lot of money by now. But she likes having all the things she has. She loves the Church so much but she's told us the only reason that's holding her back is that she's a traditional Lutheran and she's not used to all the business suits and no robes out on the podium. But she wants to be baptized. She understand what the proper authority is and she's even told us she's Mormon at heart. We just need to help her come to church and to ease into the Restored Gospel. In an effort to help her, we went to her church on Sunday before our church. She ended up not coming to ours because she was going on a trip to Georgia to scope a house that she thinks God wants her to have. We still went to her church with her and I will tell you this. The Church of Jesus Christ really is the only true Church upon the earth. I felt empty the whole time I was at the service. It was foreign to me. The Holy Ghost could not have been there in that building, unfortunately. I almost felt silly while I was there. But coming to our Church felt right. Taking the sacrament is the greatest thing I can do in this life. We have something that no other church does. And that's a Prophet that has restored all the eternal truths to the children of God in these latter days. I am always thankful to be worthy to hold the power of God in my hands to use for the good of others. No where else can I find such a feeling like this anywhere else.

That's all I got. Till next week. It should be next Wednesday when I'm online next so don't worry if I'm not online on Monday.

Elder Ephraim DeCoursey

Sister D Three weeks worth.

Due to some illness I was not able to update the blog for a few weeks.  So here is the last three emails I got from Amicherie. 

4.8.13
Dear home,

This week has been a blur. With General Conference this weekend and then I was sick earlier in the week. The days went by so terribly fast but that's a good thing, right? I loved reading about your experiences in Salt Lake. I too wish I could have been there. But I was watching the same speakers. So, no matter the distance it still felt like we were watching it at home together.

 

Eph wrote about the power of prayer this week and I would like to echo his thoughts. I too have had moments on my mission when things have seemed to hard and thoughts of giving up have seemed like a sweet release. But it has been through prayer to my loving Heavenly Father that have helped me to stay strong and remember that I'm out here to do great things. Dad wrote me an email a few weeks ago and I keep a quote from it in my planner to look at when feeling down. It reads" Don't forget what you are there to do, the work is greater than all of us. It's the Lord's work and He will make you equal to the challenge. Hang in there kiddo" I know that just like my father here on earth that my Heavenly Father is helping me to continue on and wants me to succeed.

Love you all,

Sister D

-------------------------------------------------

4.15.13

Hey,

No tranfers for this missionary. We are staying in the same area and I am staying with Sister Pyle. Things should be great.

We were able to teach Adri twice this last week and she is progressing really well. She is dead set on getting baptized on May 25th. We talked with her about the word of wisdom and committed her then and there to stop smoking and to change her life for the better. She agreed to do it and has been keeping it up amid the challenges that have come her way. She told us at our lesson on Sunday that she was having a really hard day at work on Saturday. She was so frustrated that she was just going to bum one smoke off of her co worker and no one would be the wiser. However, right as she was going to ask the said co worker, we just happened to text her reminding her about our appt the next day. She was so surprised that she didn't end up asking her co worker and is now still on the path to overcoming that addiction. We talked with her about moving up her baptism date because she could be ready to be baptized sooner than May 25th. But she still wants to get baptized on that day because it is her son's birthday and that would mean a lot more to her. I agree that becoming a new person by being baptized will be special and it would just mean more to her to get baptized on that day. Plus, now that I'm not getting transferred, I get to be apart of her baptism. YAY.

Talk to you next week,

Love sister D

--------------------------------------------------

4.22.13

 

Home!

This week has been one snow storm after another. It's pretty insane.

Guess what? Adri moved her baptism date up a week! She moved it because she wants the member she lives with to baptize her and he was going to be gone on the 25th. She is very excited for the baptism and nervous all at the same time. I'm very blessed to be a part of her conversion. As she grows closer to the Lord, I can see the light of Christ in her that reminds me why I love this gospel so much. She is pretty much my favorite person ever. She is sad that after I leave here we won't be able to keep in close contact until I'm off of my mission. I can't wait until that day when I'm at home and I'm able to get in touch with all the people that I have met here.

I hope all is well there at home!

Love you

Sister D

Family Trip to Conference 4.8.2013 and notes from Elder E

Sister Sister and Elder Eph

We had a great time. We had some amazing experiences. We got there Wednesday night, did not do much but check in to a .....hotel that Landon and I thought we saw a drug exchange or something like that. The hotel was in a really bad part of town, and the beds were awful, the people around were very scary. It was a bad hotel.  ..... I woke up with a sore throat, and a determination to get another hotel. We got on line and found a new one. We were able to get into Red Lion Hotel about 6 blocks off temple square.

We got dressed to go to temple square and to go do baptisms at the Salt Lake City Temple. We were able to get there and had a great experience. Dallin had fasted on the way up to SLC so that he could have a spiritual experience. We finished there and went around temple square again, and looked at the temple on the outside and then went to the museum. We went on a tour of the humanitarium center, they talked a bit about it during conference. We had lunch/dinner at Cheese cake factory and ended the evening visiting with the Pedersen's which was fantastic. I'll try and put together some notes and send them later.

Friday Dallin really wanted to go to the the Bountiful Temple to do baptism there also. So we got up early and went and did that in the pouring rain. When we got done we went back to the hotel and got ready for the day. We ended up going shopping, we went to the Brick Oven pizza palor in Provo, and we stopped by the Provo books and got for each of you Lectures on Faith. We will get that to you soon.

.....

 

Saturday we got up and got ready to head down to temple square to see if we could get in to conference on Stand by. As we were waiting in the hotel entry for the shuttle to take us to the rail. There was another couple waiting also. Dale felt like he should talk with them and started a conversation. They were going to conference also and needed a ride to the rail. We started talking about where we were from and ...... their son teaches seminary at Chiawania High school in pasco, which Dallin just meet on Friday before spring break. His name is brother P. He is also Chelsie and Paul's bishop and teaches Madisen in seminary. Small Mormon World!!! Get this, they were meeting some friends that happened to have four extra tickets to conference... they called them and were able to get them for us. SO we got into conference. ...... It was a blessing for serving him. Anyhow it was fantastic.

As we were crossing the road to get to the conference center we heard this "Sister DeCoursey's Sisrer

DeCoursey's!!" We turned and we saw Addision Q.  I was so surprised to see him. It was like seeing one of you, I mean it was just so good to see one of your friends that I started Shaking and we got a quick picture.

 

We enjoyed conference so much. Dallin and Landon both had spiritual experience this weekend. We left this morning and came home. It was a great weekend.

I love you both.

MOM.

 

Emails back and forth with Elder Eph 

Mom, that is so awesome. Certainly the Lord was helping you to listen to a Prophet's voice in person. I certainly had a moment with conference that really touched my life. Before the Priesthood session, we went to see a less active member of the branch. It was immediatly apparent that he joined the Church because of the sisters that taught him years ago but we did our best to bring to conference. Actually, Elder R did all of the talking. I sat like a lump on the log and said nothing. After we left, I felt horrible. How can I be serve the Lord if I couldn't even open my mouth to say one little thing. As we sat down to listen to prophets and apostles, I said a prayer in my heart that what is spoken in the session will help me to speak or I would go home .... Almost immediately after I closed my prayer, Elder Robert D. Hales was first to speak. As he opened his address with Ephesians 6 on the Armor of God, tears began to stream down my face. This had been what I was waiting for! Not only was my prayer answered, but every word that was shared that night touched me in such a way that amazes even me. I really did grow 5 feet that night. I am so grateful for prayer.

 

I have come to realize this in my studies recently. I am studying the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I want to know everything about it. I feel that was something that I've been slacking on. Now I know more about our Savior's last days on earth more than I have and that has given me great courage to go out and to speak

 

I feel like I could do better. I feel like I could work harder. Do you believe that each area has it's own personality? Greenville certainly does. It's way to chill for us to come in to a home all business-like and not get to know them. Greenville is deffinetly a difficult area to work with. Our main focus with with the Less Active members. And when we're with investigators, we are mainly getting to know them. I feel like they think that we just want to sell them something. And even when I tell them that salvation is free, they still reject us. I know that there is so much potential to work with here but I don't know how to go about it the best way.

Elder DeCoursey

Elder Eph,
Sometimes an area is about your willingness to bear the rejection, which is so HARD!!!. Just keep on keepin on is all you can do, don’t get discouraged, go find a way to serve at least once a week, maybe contact the community center and see what you can do there. I don’t know if you are suppose to, but I will be praying for you this week much more, I will put your name in the temple and your companion, what is his first name?

This time is your time to grow and become who you are going to begin to be in this life time. We heard from Pres. Pedersen and it was so great. One thing he said over and over is that we were ....................  we have beat Satan, we can do it again. So go out and be a warrior, a real warrior one that is willing to open your mouth and let Christ put things into it. Do it Eph, and then report to me on how it went. Will you do that this week?
mom

Yes mother. I will. I think my main problem has been letting go of my own thoughts and stop worrying about what I'm going to say next. I know that I should let it go but it's hard. Too much runs through my mind that it's difficult to bring words together. I'm going to do my best to let my mind go blank and let the Lord fill my mouth instead of my mind with the everlasting gospel

I know that this area will define and refine myself into the missionary and the man that I need to be. Thank you for you're words of advise. They mean so much to me.

I got the Easter package you sent me. I got it on Saturday. Thanks for the chocolate eggs. They made me feel at home during conference. Did you go to all sessions of conference?bye mom your awesome.  I love you,
Elder Ephraim DeCoursey

Elder Eph, I will call over  to the Temple and put your names on the pray roll and do that in a few minutes. Also we did not go to all of the sessions. We were in the morning one, we did not hear the afternoon or the priesthood. We did listen to the Sunday ones on the way home it was so great.
I love you too,
your mom.

Sister D 4.1.13 "I'm usually not a crier"

Happy April Fools day,

I was not able to do any tricks today because it is really hard to do a trick on someone who you live with all the time....maybe I will come up with something by the end of the night. Plus, I'm on the recovery from a flair up that I had this weekend. Started Friday and is finally getting better today. Sister P wouldn't let me drive, which was probably the best option. lol.

We moved into yet another home this week. We were only in the other one for 6 days and will be in this home for about a week and a bit. Spring is slowly coming here. It actually rained instead of snowed! So that was great. Minnesota is getting an April fools of it's own because we had weather in

the 40's all last week :) ...and then today it's barely 30 and should be that way for the rest of the week. I don't believe that it is April because of all the snow that is still on the ground. This place is slightly insane. Oh and the home that I live in is the White's. The White's have a son named Dan and Dan married Tessa Peterson (in HHH ward) last year. So, sister white was showing me around her house and I was shocked to see a picture of someone back at home. We came to find out that we were both eating in Yoplicity at the same time around when they were married. The whites were super stoaked. Oh what a small mormon world it is!

We taught an amazing girl this last Wednesday. Her name is Adri and she has a young adult who has been through a lot in her life. She is recovering from about every addiction that you can think of and has been 5 months sober! She is doing great. She told us about how she has been looking for a church where she can feel at home ever since she sobered up. And that has been her experience ever since she moved in with members and has been coming to our ward. She loves it there and is really searching to find out if the gospel is true. We invited her to be baptized on May 25th. After we extended the invitation, she started to cry and the spirit was so strong because May 25th just so happens to be her sons birthday and because we were lead to pick that day, it meant a whole lot to her. She is really a great gal. We teach her on Tuesday and it should be great. I'm usually not a crier but the spirit was so strong that we cried together as I testified of the peace that will come into her life as she comes to accept this gospel. Things are looking up here in Rochester.

I had a lot of pics to send...but then I left my camera at home! Sorry! I will be better next week.

Love you all,

Sister D

Elder D 4.1.13 "Mission Spliting...where will I be assigned?"

Family and Friends,



Good Day to my homeland. I love you all so much. During this Easter holiday, I've had time to reflect on the Savior and his Atonement and Resurrection. Never before had I thought so deeply of the love that He had for us to take upon Him, the Perfect Son of God, all of the sins and the mistakes that we have made so that we may return to the Fathers presence. Such love. Such mercy. He didn't have to do it. He had the ability to quit when it got hard. But it had to be done. Just imagine what the angel said to Jesus as he suffered in the garden.

 

 I am so happy for His grace and love for each and everyone of us.  So last week, our district went back to the Air Force Museum on Monday for a few hours. I got a picture in a space suit, we used the flight simulator which was awesome, and just looked around at all the stuff. There had been some new exhibits since I was there last time. It also had snowed from Sunday thru Tuesday so we have a lot of snow. Ohio has crazy weather. One minute it's a blizzard. You turn around for 1 minute and there's sunshine and the snow's melted away. But thankfully, Ohio has realized that it's spring and there needs to be more sunshine. It feels so good not to wear a suit coat anymore,

We found a new investigator last week! It had been a while since we had found someone and so we are very happy. Lynn is a very religious woman who needed help moving. So we helped and she loved it. She had apparently been talking to the missionaries before us for sometime. I really pray that she will even want to learn more about the Church.

For Easter Sunday yesterday, we had a lot of plastic eggs and lots of candy so we decided to decorate them and fill them with a picture of Jesus and M&M's. We drew a tie and name tag on the face of the eggs, then we handed them all out to all the members of the branch. They loved it! The whole branch loves us and we love them. I'll need to get a picture with them before I am transferred.

I've been holding this bit of info back for a while now but I feel that now is the time to share it. Because of all the new missionaries coming out in the field soon, our mission would have way to many Elders and Sisters in the Great Ohio Columbus Mission by the end of the year. So we have agreed to split the mission and the Cincinnati Mission shall rise again. I have no idea where I will be. The zone I am currently in will become part of that mission but I have no idea what will happen. I do know that it will happen in July but I don't know what mission I will be going to. I feel as if I will be going to the Cincinnati Mission and if that's where the Lord needs me then I will go with a glad heart. But I really want to stay in the Ohio Columbus mission. I was called to serve here. But like I said, I will be happy where ever I am sent.

Love you all. Have a happy spring break.

Love Elder Ephraim Kade DeCoursey

Monster from Ohio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ground Monster...We found this while tracting. It's pretty intense. I fought it. I'm not sure who won, though.