Happy Thanksgiving

(Photos compliments of Elder Pulsipher)

Pday at the mall 

This is where the fun happens on P-days and if we ever have a minute to spare. We have had some pretty intense Foosball games lately, the Spanish Elders have been kicking our butts though. Their soccer skills must help them out with Foosball too or something.

Hello everybody!

As has been FAR too well-documented, "Hump Day" is this week. I'm still in major denial about it, but hopefully, I can drown out the misery with food :) Elder Pulsipher and I have 3 different lunch/dinners lined up, as well as a few appointments later in the day. We're going to be serving in a Soup Kitchen as well, so we'll be around food all day long! 

Things have continued to work out in Waterbury. This last week, I conducted my first baptismal interviews as a District Leader (Brenda and Luis, some of the Spanish Elders' investigators) . We walked in to their house, and Brenda's 10-year-old girl, Michaela was there. She asked what we were doing there, and we explained that we were helping her Mom get ready for her baptism. While I was conducting the interviews for Luis and Brenda  Elder Pulsipher was teaching Michaela about our Church. Well, I came out of the interviews, and Michaela had a baptismal date for 29 December, 2013. It's a great example of how we are beginning to work together as not only Missionaries, but as a Ward at large. We're seeing the blessings of trying to build Zion here in Waterbury!

One night this week, the Longos, a family in the ward, invited us over for dinner. We went over there, and they made some DELICIOUS Brazilian food. And lots of it. They are distinctly Brazilian, but Brother Longo says that Sister Longo should have been born Puerto Rican. She likes to hoop and holler and have a good time, and when you make her angry... FORGEDDABOUDIT! Brother Longo said, "She's Mormon on Sundays, but from Monday to Saturday, she's Puerto Rican." We all got a good laugh out of that :)

As it stands right now, I'll be in Waterbury until January 2nd, but we aren't 100% sure. There are some Missionaries leaving mid-transfer, so there may still be some shake-ups right now.

President Packard came and spoke in our ward on Sunday, and it was incredible! President and Sister Packard both came and gave wonderful addresses. They also brought their daughter, Angela, with them. Angela is a very special individual. She was born 3 months early with a brain hemorrhage. She has recently developed miasthenial gravis, but never complains. She came and gave a wonderful talk about gratitude and counting your many blessings. Not only was that amazing, but President talked to Bishop Marble about how the Missionaries are doing in the ward. Bishop absolutely RAVED about us and the work we're doing and the unity we're bringing. Bishop even asked that I stay in Waterbury for a while longer :) Much of that praise was probably overkill, but it's good to see that we're earning the trust of the ward members.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

-Eldah Boone    

Survived yet another transfer here in Waterbury

Happy Transfer Week P-Day!

This was Saturday night at our T-Text party! Our district and then the Southington Elders too. Back Row is: Elder Boone, Seaich, Martinez, Elder Pulsipher  Front Row: Elder Fowler, Hermosilla, Paulson and Butters. If you look at Elder Butters face you can see that he is a little sad that he got transferred :(

Mom, I don't tell a lot of these stories because of carpal tunnel. Typing is DEATH!!! haha-and it sounds like Elder Pulsipher has got me covered on that, so it's all good :)  

While we have been focusing on helping those not of our faith to join it, Elder Pulsipher and I have also had the opportunity to work with some of the 7 and 8-year-olds in the ward to prepare them for baptism. Most recently, we helped D to prepare for baptism. The week before, we saw M and S (they're cousins) get baptized, after lots of work on our part and their parents' parts. They may not count as baptisms on paper, but they count inside, you       know what I mean? :) 

Elder Boone, D and Elder Pulsipher

Working in Waterbury gives lots of experiences that... well, can only happen in Waterbury! One of our investigators, "C", is a recovering heroin addict. Watching him begin to develop a relationship with our Father in Heaven was incredible! He was going to such great lengths to stay clean and get into a rehab program and do everything he could do to break the addiction cycle. He has moved to Bridgeport for his program, and we have sent his contact information to the Bridgeport missionaries. Hopefully he gets everything done that he needs to in order to get out of this hole!

Another sidenote: my Trainer, Elder Kilgore, is now an AP! Shoutout to Daddy! haha

Last night, Elder Pulsipher and I had an awesome lesson with the Schriver family. We read 1 Nephi 8 with them and talked about what the symbolism of the dream might be. Brother Schriver mentioned that he kind of feels like Lehi, calling to his family to come and "partake of the fruit." (Needless to say, it got a bit animated... :P) But after the dust had settled, we extended baptismal dates for January 5, 2014 to Sister Schriver, D, and J. They agreed to pray to know if it's what God wants them to do. The decision will be tough for them, but I am confident that they will do what they need to do. The Spirit and the love of Christ was so strong during the lesson, and I can't wait to hear what their responses are :)

Have a great week everybody! Love ya!

-Eldah Boone

(A PIECE OF ELDER PULSIPHER’S EMAIL HOME.  I GET A LOT MORE INFORMATION and pictures FROM HIM) 

Hellooo everyone! We survived transfer texts on Saturday, both Elder Boone and I will be staying in Waterbury together for another 6 weeks. Elder Boone has been in Waterbury for about 6 months now, so this may be his last transfer here. You  never know though! Our roommate Elder Martinez got transferred after only being here for 6 weeks. There is a missionary who has only been out for 12 weeks coming to replace him, so now I finally won't be the newest missionary in the district.

This week was the primary program for our ward, and it was definitely a good one. You can always count on those for some pretty good entertainment. Anyways, we were really excited for it because one of our investigators, "B", has a 5 year old son who has been coming to church with her for the past month. So he has been practicing with the primary each week and their whole family was super stoked for this primary program. We thought it was going to be a great experience for their family and help B continue to grow in desire to be baptized. We were wrong though, it ended up causing some big problems. During the program B had her iPad out and was recording her son singing and all that good stuff, but technically no one is allowed to film or take pictures inside the chapel. So a member of the bishopric went up and asked her to stop recording the program, and I guess she got super offended or something. We had no idea that it had happened, but she called us later Sunday evening and told us the whole story. Then she said that because of that incident she no longer wants to meet with us, no longer wants to be a part of our church and called off her baptism. She was supposed to be getting baptized in a few weeks. We were pretty shocked after that phone call. So this week the bishopric was going to try and do some damage control and see if they could repair the relationship with her and change her mind. Hopefully they can get things straightened out.

Elder Pulsipher

(Pictures thanks to Elder Pulsipher as well)

Snow on the ground in Waterbury

Elder Alexander Boone

11/12/13

To: Cheryl Ekins Boone

• 

Hello everybody!

As I type, I'm looking out the window at snow. Not a lot, but just enough to cover the grass. BLEGH. Winter is upon us, and I'm not excited for the humid, cold winds again. At least I have a car to drive, right? :P

For the record, I did marvelously at handling that nasty drink. The family even thought that I LIKED it. So ha!!! 

It's funny how God gives us the choicest blessings after trials.  Elder Pulsipher and I have had two weeks where we struggled to stay busy. In the past 2 weeks, we've had over 20 appointments cancel on us. Neither of us were OK with just going back to the apartment or anything like that, so we went out and contacted as many less-active/part-member families/inactive members as we could. Well, TRIED to contact these members. We stayed busy, no matter what. One of those stopbys that we made was to a part-member family, the Rileys. Our real intent was to go in and get to know the members better so that we could know how to best help them progress in the future. Their father, the only non-member in the home, mentioned that the Missionaries had come over before, but hadn't really explained the beliefs of the Church to him. (He smokes and drinks coffee, but seeing as he knows all about the Word of Wisdom and stuff like that, they probably just told him that he should stop doing that.) He asked a few questions that Elder Pulsipher and I answered, and we set a return appointment. During that follow-up visit, we watched "The Restoration" to explain why we are Christ's restored Church. During the portrayal of the First Vision, I glanced over at Brother Riley, and saw that he was in tears. After the portrayal, I asked Elder Pulsipher to pause the video. We shared our testimonies of that experience, and told him that he could come to that same knowledge by reading the Book of Mormon. We left the home, with him in tears and the Spirit still strong. 

Then, another investigator, Mike, who has struggled to read the Book of Mormon because of a "really busy schedule" (which, in his defense, is pretty crazy. He's been working 16 hours a day), texted us to tell us that he took the time to read, and opened to Alma 32, which he said described his feelings about baptism perfectly. He told us that he felt the seed growing, and knew it must be good, and that he would not neglect it to let the sun scorch it. It was an incredible moment to be a part of, and to see "the salvation of God" working in the lives of those we have come in contact with.

We hope to extend another 4 baptismal dates this week, so I'll have to let you guys know how it all goes!

-Elda Boone

(I, Alex's mom, became "friends" with Elder Pulsipher's mother on FaceBook.  On her wall she had a link to Elder Pulsipher's Blog, which consists of letters from her son.  The following is a portion of his letter home.  Strange how Alex did not mention this in his letter ;))

By far the worst thing I have eaten on my mission :)

Happy November, everybody!

First off, I have to say thanks for the potatoes :) I've never seen Jay so happy! (Jay is the member who wanted a BIG, Idaho potato) It's Facebook official-I'm the first Elder in 10 years to get him one. He said thanks for getting that sent out :)

(This is part is from  Elder Boone’s mom to him) OH YEAH!!! One big thing.  A new lady in our ward Sister Lori Lewis called me today and said that she was reading the ward newsletter about you and well…. Long story short, Elder Pulsipher was in her ward in Avon.  She said that he is a really great kid.  I would really like a picture of you and him (HINT HINT).  She is going to try and hook me up with his mom.  Coolio!  Huh?  Such a small world.  I love connections!!!!

(Now back to Alex’s letter)…

That's so funny about Sister Lewis! Elder Pulsipher and I shared a laugh in the library today :) It's true-the Mormon Church is the most intricately networked system in the world! 

This week has been another one where we work hard, but numbers just don't quite show it. However, the one number that does shine is our baptismal dates extended and accepted: three in one week! We now have 4 investigators on date between the first of December to the middle of January! I'm absolutely stoked to be in Waterbury right now! As we stay busy, build relationships with the ward members, and do auxiliary assignments, new investigators pop out of the woodworks left and right! We have a goal to have 3 new investigators by the end of the week. Our schedules are busy, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

One cool thing I've noticed in studies this past week: God seems to ALWAYS put an Ensign, scripture, quote, or something else in my way that I can share with others. I've gotten into the habit of studying with pass-along cards so that I can write down specific talks, quotes, ideas, or scriptures for other people. It's just a small thing, but "The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little something extra." I've also received more answers to prayers and revelation as I've taken the time to ponder and meditate after prayers. It makes our schedule even more packed than it has to be, but every time we act on the Spirit, things just work out. It's amazing to see the blessings!

I do have one funny story to tell this week: Elder Pulsipher and I went to give a blessing to a Spanish-speaking family (I have NO IDEA why they didn't have the Spanish-speaking Elders in the ward go over, but whatever... :P) and they offered us a "strawberry drink" that they have each year on the Day of the Dead. Well, Elder Pulsipher and I like strawberries, so we said yes :) Out of the kitchen comes this brown, warm, lumpy liquid that tasted like BLECKGH!!!!!!! (Yeah. That's the sound I made when we left.) I started chewing through the first bit, and I thought I just wouldn't be able to do it. To be polite, I just decided to chug it as fast as I could, cuz the sooner I finished it, the sooner I was done and could get the bad taste out of my mouth. I almost threw up mid-chug, all over their floor. BY FAR the worst thing I've eaten on my Mission. 

I hope this finds you all doing as well as I have been! Love ya!

-Elda Boone