Chapter 20: What's in a Name?

Uh, yeah, this week someone called me by my first name.(what's my name?)  For over a year now, I have been called Elder. So, this week I had a great visitor: Adam and Lisa Stevens from my home ward came to Costa Rica on vacation and brought me a multitude of gifts from my family (mostly food, silly stuff but still super awesome!).  I loved the packages, and I am waiting to open the majority until their time since one is for St. Patties day, one for conference, etc.. It was weird to see the Stevens and they called me James :-/ ;-) Yeah, that was weird to be called by my first name.  My favorite thing of all of it was the letters. :) I haven´t quite finished them, but I love them. If anyone reading this hasn't sent me a letter yet, just know that missionaries crave letters from home like an alcoholic craves liquor.

Our week was anything but uneventful. Training is going well, I have him doing most of everything and just delegating to me when he needs me to do something. :) We are all getting along wonderfully. :) I think they will do well. We had a bunch of work to try and fix everyone´s money problems. I put my new companion Elder Nielson in charge of it because he´s got to learn and fast because I won´t be here the next time. the two new secretaries are Elder Nelson and Elder Nielson (and their name is?). the I in Nielson stands for "I got the money" apparently. They´re both learning very fast :)

We´re working hard with old investigators and finding many news too. Yeah, with the members in our ward we´ve had some sadness, but they area finally coming to activities and giving a few references. We´ve received many references in the last month from them, and just recently, while working with the ward secretary we found 23 people that need to be baptized that we have partial records for. Many are less active families with children at that age, but a few are parts of active members and just need to be baptized. :D I´m SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! :D  This area is doing really great and we´ve really turned it around. :)

I helped with Family history and Indexing on Tuesday this week! :) So much fun finding names and interpreting names on indexing. (what's in a name? A lot of history)

I am doing well. Presidente Cordón actually likes me I think and so I even got a picture with him before he leaves. I am, however, extremely excited to have President Wilkinson come back and get things back to normal. :)

I got to help in a project recently. It just made its debut online. I helped by sending in a video to help them. I was behind the camera, but Elder Hoover was in it. :D If anyone wants to see it and see some of my special friends in Costa Rica, here is the link (check out my byline ;))  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGhI4p4G1P4  I am kind of bummed that Meet the Mormons hasn't come out here yet. President said if we could get the video, we could watch it. Maybe one day. ;)

Te quiero,

Elder VanderMeyden

P.S. - This last week in english class (that we teach) they had a court house trial and a miss universe. I say they, because it was my companion´s class (we split it into 2 parts and I´m the basic gramatic and pronunciacion teacher and he´s the acting and practicing teacher) and it got out of his control, he did not plan it.

Chapter 19: In the Right Direction

The title for the email will be "in the right direction." I was the guide when we went to San Jose and I led people in the right direction (nothing like the choir trip to Salt Lake City, right Bri?) and the family that is moving in the right direction to be baptized. I really hope they´re going to get baptized while I´m here. :)

President Wilkinson is also going in the right direction. So a few weeks ago, our Mission President had to go back to the states for some health reasons. He had surgery and is going to come back on Friday. I can't wait! Hermana Wilkinson is the best and she´s handled it so well. He´s definitely a strong personality, President Cordón, but I´ve done quite a bit to love him. One quote that I´m not sure if it´s something I found or something I created but that I love is: "Love them, and if you can´t love them, serve them."

Anyway, for this week, We had some office problem and didn´t get out of the office very much. We have two new Office Elders: Elder Nielson and Elder Nelson. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. The best experience of the week though was when I went to Bobby Family. We went twice and I took Elder Nielson the first time and Elder Nelson the second. Here´s how it went:

With Elder Nielson we taught them about the Priesthood authority and the spirit was strong. The lesson was a bit rough, but we could still feel that the spirit was there. We taught about the Confirmation and the gift of the Holy Ghost because Carlos, the father, had a question. We explained that it was necessary and that it would be a guide in his life if he was baptized and received it. We invited the entire family to be baptized, but they said no. I instead, gave them all sticky notes that said (translated into english obviously) "I need to pray to ask for a confirmation from the Spirit that these things are true" and then we left. The next time I came back was with Elder Nelson, and we taught about recognizing the Spirit. We followed up on the commitment and a few of them said they did it and said that they felt good. We explained that it was the Spirit and there was a burning feeling in the room. I loved the lesson and it was a great experience. They shared about how their life had changed since the met us and the mother said that she felt a warm feeling that made her tremble even though she wasn´t cold. I invited them again to being baptized and it went back to their doubt of "we´ve already been baptized and I consider that the person who baptized me had authority." The father was so moved by the Gift of the Holy Ghost that he wants to get it without getting baptized again. We can´t seem to get past this one point, even though we´ve explained it 3 times. Both Elder Nielson and Elder Nelson say that this family is right on the edge of being baptized and they are really excited to teach them again. :) I left the scripture Acts 9:1-6 with them as homework and I hope they read it with an open heart and mind. :)

That´s the best I got this week.

Hope you like it.

Elder VanderMeyden

Chapter 18: Crazy

This week was really crazy. We´ve been preparing for Changes and we learned through the big mouth of a good friend that we´ll be training next week. We´ve also recieved a baby-sitter president while we wait for President to recover from his surgery in the USA. His name is Presidente Cordón and is very good. He´s really good and He caught on very fast. :) It is hard having to adapt to a new President (even just temporarily), but it makes me realize how much I will miss President when he leaves in July.

The office is a bit crazy this week and the English classes are still great. Proselyting has been hard this week because of the fact that we´re running low on progressing investigators. We find between 6 and 9 a week, but they are not progressing quickly or at all sometimes. We do have a few people that are doing wonderfully, but not too many for the moment. We´ll see how the next week goes. :)

The craziest thing is about a Baptism, IT HAPPENED! We had the first baptism in Zapote for 8 months and actually, Zona La Paz was the best in the entire mission! We are super happy, but not giving up. We are working with a family that came to church last sunday. A family of 5 people that could get baptized in February. They are really awesome and I want to take a picture of them to show you all. Unfortunately, I don´t have pictures of the baptism or of the family because I forgot my camera. I hope that I can get them to y´all next week.

People can be crazy. People get upset because they have not fully developed their Christlike attributes. It happens to everyone and it is human. The biggest thing is that they need to go to the Lord in prayer and ask for help. I feel like it can be applied to anyone. I´ve needed help like this on the mission and I think it´s made me a better person. However, it also applies to you. Try to be humble and loving in each situation. We don´t have Christ´s power to understand the hearts of everyone, but when we make that effort to try to understand, we get more than we expect. Just be patient and helpful in trying to patch things up and you should be able to solve the problems you are facing. :)

Love you all,

Crazy Elder VanderMeyden

Chapter 17: Light

Notice all the tea light? (don't notice the random missionary stuff)

One reason for this title is that we are no longer in darkness, there is a fulness of light and truth at our house after the long darkness of apostasy (Light outage). It was out for a week.  You never know what you have till it's gone. Happily, we no longer need candles to read by and such. A week is a long time. The gospel is like this as well. You can see the light in someone's eyes when they believe and are living the gospel. When you are not living the gospel, the light goes out, and while you still have some happiness (like daytime - when it's light outside), you are still in the dark much of the time.

All I have is one sad story of a man we found this week. He came up to us and told us he was from a far off place on the border of Limón and Panama called Xixaola from my best knowledge of spelling. He came to San Jose to pick up his paycheck and got beat up by the police. His phone was stolen and all his money too. He said he had been in the streets for 8 days and that he was thinking about suicide. I gave him a PB&J sandwich and Elder Hoover  gave him some candy. We can´t give him money or a place to stay but we did what we could and he got mad at us for not being able to do anything more. He walked away saying "I don´t think I can make it through another night on the street." The worst part about this is not the fact that the next day we heard in the news about him, it´s the fact that the Sister missionaries found him and he said that he hadn´t eaten in 9 days. Hmmm, would anyone else out there think that PB&J sandwiches are nothing? If you do then you are sadly mistaken and this man is a liar. It made me angry to hear that someone is making up such a big lie and falsifying papers to prove his story. I´m happy that I didn´t really fall for it and I went home feeling quite justified for everything I did to help him.

A picture of me - just because!

Reminds me of a moment- Our investigator who will be baptized today was playing Mario Kart Wii with his brother when we came over and I taught him the cheat where they both could play as the same character just like I did when my sisters were fighting about who was able to be Baby Peach. :P They both think I´m a video game genius, but it was just a small tidbit I remembered from back home. :)

Also, we started English classes which are going great. I really think that this time worked out so much better than the last time (in Nicoya, a complete failure). And today we´ll be teaching Rugby to the Ward. IE Elder Hoover will teach because I know nothing. ;)

Another shot of our room with all the candles

We hiked up to a mountain in Aserrí that had a giant rock called "La Piedra" (it´s also a slang term for marihuana). We had a ton of fun. What have I learned lately? I´ve learned about the cycle that the ancient Israel kings went through and how they were punished for being bad and rewarded for their righteousness. It´s also a goal of mine to finish the bible before I finish the mission. Wish me luck. :)

Chapter 16: Family History

First reason for this title: I got to help my companion with Geneology stuff (he found a line that goes to Adam and Eve). 2nd reason for this title: I have been thinking a lot of my family and the history we are creating right now by who we are and what we are doing.

In regards to my one year anniversary on my mission (it is on January 22nd): I am am doing fine and I have no plans of burning a shirt or tie. I need them :P And I think it´s a stupid tradition anyway. I don´t mind that the Camel won´t be there in time. I´ll probably be saying that I have a year on my mission until the last change and then I´ll say the truth. I really think that people tend to judge you based on how much time you have on your mission. I want to be in "the prime" of my mission until I end.

The oh crap moment is when I had to buy another ticket for a sister from Honduras. The Offices in Guatemala bought her a ticket to the wrong place.

Spiritual moment: I experienced a second Christmas through the eyes of a small kid by watching him open presents at his Grandparents´ house after having to move houses from Utah to our Ward here in Costa Rica.

That reminds me of: I had a wonderful time reminiscing  with

Elder hoover about the days before the mission (video games and food and friends and stuff like that).

Well, that's it for this week.

Love you all,

Elder VanderMeyden

Chapter 15: Splits

This week I was able to experience something I haven´t in a while. Splits/divisions to do a baptismal interview. Unfortunately he wasn´t home and we´ll have to be doing it again in the future. I know that next week we´ll have a chance because there will be a baptism. :D My first one in the office, long awaited and hoped for. :)

The other Splits that are happening (as you all know my titles normally have dual meaning) is something SPECTACULAR! We will be SPLITTING THE MISSION!!! :D By July there will be no more San José, Costa Rica Mission. It will be the San José EAST or the San José WEST Mission. WE learned about the split awhile back, but I wanted to wait until I knew who the 2 new Mission Presidents would be. And, needless to say, the long awaited day has arrived. Over the East mission will be a Gringo named Presidente Hays, and over the West mission will be a Honduraño named Presidente Güitty. We don´t know which of the missions we will be divided into but we´ve been told not to wonder about that and the Lord will make it know in his own due time. :D I´m super Excited :D

In other news, this week we found a family of 6 that are all very nice and some have even had contact with the Mormon missionaries before. They seem like they will progress fast and we pray that they will. The biggest problem I see with them is the fact that they go to another church and they won´t come to ours until they receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Right now we have between 15 and 20 good investigators and we´re trying to get them all progressing. Dennis wasn´t baptized today and he probably won´t for a while because he has stopped progressing. He´s frustrating and I feel like he just doesn´t want to make the commitment. We´ve explained everything we can to him but he´s not moving any further along so I don´t know what to do. We did find a new person named David this week and he basically has the same beliefs as a Mormon, he´s just not Mormon... Yet, as my companion and I like to say. We´ve given him a Book of Mormon and he´s been reading a bit. We feel like once he gets a testimony of it he´ll get baptized too.

These two are just one of the miracles I spoke about

I´ve realized that so much relies upon the Book of Mormon, but no body really wants to read it seriously here. If the truly understood then they would want to be baptized and it would be a struggle to teach because they´d have a thirst for learning the True Gospel.

One HUGE miracle for the week. :) One of our good friends in the ward, his name is Steve (a gringo name for a latino), came up to us and said that he had a reference for us. To be honest, the reference hasn´t come through yet but he also said that his daughter hasn´t been baptized and his nephew either. They´re both older than 8 and have been coming to church for a very long time. I understand that his Daughter is afraid of water, but the nephew is going to get baptized this next Saturday after his mom signs the paper. I don´t know why stuff like this happens to us. I don´t really feel like we deserve it, but we´ve been working hard with no fruits before. The Lord has prepared a way for us if we can follow through with his plan.

Just so you all know, I´ve been reading the many weekly emails sent out and I love to see all the miracles that I´ve seen with my friends. Many have had changes in the last 2 weeks and are experiencing difficulties and great uplifting experiences. Many had days when they couldn´t go to work in the mission field for the native´s "excessive celebration" as I like to call it (meaning that there were WAY to many drunk and/or drugged up people to leave the house). I just want to say thank you all for keeping me posted on all that you do and even though I don´t respond I almost always read (sorry, I can´t lie and say that I read every one, but I try and that is what is important).

Anyway, I love you all and I´m excited to hear more of the miracles and experiences that will be seen this year.

Love,

Elder VanderMeyden

Chapter 14: Same Old, Same Old

Same job and it´s getting old :P (not really - but this fits)

Same companion, but not getting old

Different investigators but they are also old

Same fridge but now it grows mold

Same mission but now I grow bold

Same country that never gets cold

Same heart, same fold

Same me, or that´s what I´m told. ;)

Funny moment- The flavored syrup. Elder Hoover and I were exploring for food one day and we found something strange in a chinese super. It was a bunch of bottles that make drinks. Normally you can find only one flavor called "Kola" Don´t ask me what it is, I don´t know. Anyway, we found a whole ton of different flavors and we decided that we were going to try as many as we can before we leave the office because they had everything from lemon to Root bear (I chose root beer because I don´t drink carbonation but I love root beer and this has no carbonation) and so much in between. On of the funniest finds though. :)

Spiritual moment- Elder Hoover and I have been working hard on our area and even though we aren´t the best we can finally see some of our work coming around. We´ve finally got enough investigators to teach more than 20 lessons a week and we´re still finding news. I love it. :)

Crazy moment- When Elderes Tai, Lopez, Leon and I were all in Zona Atlantica and we just started laughing one night about all the different stuff that happened to us. I think we were all a bit to tired to be talking about that but I actually laughed so hard that I could hardly open my eyes. It was way too crazy. :P

Oh crap moment - is that the light in our office stopped working on New years day so we are using a lamp until we get the service center to come in and get it fixed. :P

Take care guys, love you all!