Monday, October 14, 2013

October 14, 2013

Na fuede!!!!,(Hello from the "Kru" tribe)
Exciting week-o!!! Just another week in the office. Actually really a crazy one as well! I really like having a extraordinarily full week. It helps me from being idle.
Mom and Dad first off i love you very much and thank you for always being there for me. It really means a lot to me that i now am an Eagle Scout. The things i have done for it really have made me be a better person. I wasn't the easiest thing to accomplish in my life but now i can look back with no regrets. Or maybe i should have got it before i started smelling things like Perfume and Gasoline or hit the age of 16. haha well at least i got it. I think it really has an effect on way i got a call here in Liberia. Every American missionary either has there eagle scout or has been in the military its probably because they can consider this mission to be of a rugged nature. I truly don't know why because the people here are so great.
I fall more and more in love with Liberia everyday. Being in the mission Office i get to meet Branch Presidencies and District Presidencies this helps me see everything on a wider scale. Even we receive numbers for all the missionaries in the mission. This too helps me see as a whole of Liberia. And i absolutely love it.
Liberia had its first ever District showing of General Conference. We watched the Sunday morning session. Although it was a week late, it really had an impact of the whole district. Really there is something about meeting together and watching the Prophet and Apostles speak. I really took it for granted back at home. All we have to do at home is just turn on the TV and watch a session. Sometimes even get into our nice air conditioned cars and drive 10 mins to the stake center to watch priesthood session. I think the only car that was in the parking lot was the Missionary Senior Couples. Everybody else had to take a motorbike or car taxi. Its an all day event for most because they live so far away. I wont go into to much detail but it does bring a new outlook on the simple General Conference. Come listen to a prophets voice!!!! Oh how i love it!!!
Luckily the District center is right in our area so we had many of our investigators there. We followed up with them how they enjoyed the conference and they shared some of the wonderful experiences they hear. I was so very grateful they could hear when the people were talking it some time hard to hear true American (ceries) talking.
Missionaries here are just off the hook. We are doing so well as a mission. The lord is truly opening the hearts here in Liberia. President has been really inspired to focus on having Members in Every lesson we teach. This helps our the investigator and the members. We have set a goal that we would teach more member present lessons then other lessons(just us missionaries teaching) in the whole mission. Its a very hard and time consuming thing but we have already seen very big improvement towards members coming to church really progressing in the gospel. We are very close to be able to do it. I really believe we have the best missionaries in the world right here in LIB.
Well i really am out of time. I just wanted you too feel the same enthusiasm i have for this work. This is such a great time in Liberia and very happy that i have a full year again until i go home. This has become my home away from home.  I love Liberia and the people that are here as well.
I Love you all very much  and miss you like crazy.
Love,
Elder Skouson
(the White African)
  Here is the email i sent to president Kirkham.
Dear President,

Well we just got out over our interview. So i will just some up the last week cause you already know everything else that happened, basically I'm fine, my companion's fine, the area's fine, our investigators are fine and the Branch is fine, so everything's fine here President.
Honesty president everything is going very well. Elder Pentreath and I are doing great together. One thing i really have learned how to do since i have become his companion is how to evaluate. I never really knew the importance of evaluation. Its no that we come back at the end of a teaching day and talk about what went well and what didn't. With these past few weeks it has been more then that. Really in everything we do, as we give an instruction, as we talk to certain elders about something, as we go on exchange, Even when we cook food. Now i can look back at the things i was lacking or didn't do correctly and step forward. I have always been a "put the past behind you" kind of person. Now i know it is always better to learn from it first before you put it behind you. As they say, History always seems to repeat itself. If I can learn from the situation the first time then when it comes around again i will now how to best go about that certain situation.
Elder Pentreath is such a great example to me. He is always very loving even when i do make a mistake. He really can help me see what should have been said or done not in a forceful or criticizing way but in a way were i see the need to improve. I love the things that we are able to do and go through together. 
It was great to have everyone from Monrovia District come and enjoy a session of General Conference. Really for our Investigators and Recent converts its a big thing to actually hear the prophets voice. Well for everyone really. I feel it really unify us as a church. I found my self looking around while President Monson spoke and seeing everyone's eyes really glued to the projector screen. It touched me to see everyone so willing to excited to hear the Prophet speak. We have asked some of our investigators what they learned and liked most about the Conference. It was great to see what they like about it through a non members eyes. Even one of our investigators expressed how much she enjoyed hearing from Sister Oscarson about choosing this day whom ye should serve. She like it a lot because she could relate to it. She knows about the story and loved the description she gave about it. Really it has helped her to see a bigger picture. I know you like to talk with us missionaries about vision and what our vision needs to be. For her she was able through conference to see why she needed the gospel in her life. Thank you very much for the insight and advice that you gave me in our interview today.
Love,

Elder Skouson

No comments:

Post a Comment