July 7, 2014

Dear Family,

This week nothing too exciting. Elder Egbu and I now have 6 days left together. Its saddddd! This last thursday we found out that our area harbel 1 will be closing down. So sad news is i will be leaving harbel to go in town. I thought i was going to avoid town for the rest of my mission, guess not. I will miss the bush like frog which is saddddd. So ya i still don't know exactly where i am going though which makes it even more sad. But next week i probably wont be emailing you from harbel. 

But we are really trying to work hard with Elder Egbu being his last week proselyting. We are focusing on our recent converts like crazy because we wont them to be very strong because no missionaries will teach them. The Zone Leaders will still be in there area but we will be going. 

We have tried to help our people in the best way possible. We realized that many people both men and women alike don't understand much about the Priesthood. So we are going to be focusing on that through out the next week and help as many people as possible. 

By the way i love the new front yard it looks great. Shalese looks amazing, and her husband didn't shave. am i judging yes just because sometimes i want a beard too!!!! 

We had a really good lesson yesterday with one of our investigators named Martha Tambah. We invited our relief Society to sit down with us. We talked about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy! As Martha sells cold water on Sunday. Sis koineg, the relief society president, bore one of the most powerful testimonies of keeping the sabbath day holy. Not going to lie before this happened we hadn't had a very good teaching week due to excessive rain and people working at our house. So this little small short lesson just made my week to say ya it was a good week. Times when you feel the spirit when other people bear their testimonies just makes my day or week just turn out great! Im sure it was heavenly father answering my prayers. 

Today we were suppose to be at a chicken farm eating at a restaurant for my companion Elder Egbu last p day, the place is in our zone but kind of far away. When i woke up this morning i had a small prompting that said, maybe you need to ask President if you could go. This never crossed my mind or the zone leaders minds but i feel like it was the spirit so i said it to the zone leaders. The zone leaders thought about it and decided to call. Which ya we didn't get approved to go. We don't really know why but i feel as though it was the right thing to do, and talking to the other missionaries they all felt the same way. I am just thankful for the spirit to be with us, to guide and protect us even. 

Well not much else to talk about, just know we are needing all the prayers we can get out here. I am truly thankful to be a missionary. This has really changed my life being here and learning the things i have. I love you all.

Love,
Elder SkousonDear Family,

This week nothing too exciting. Elder Egbu and I now have 6 days left together. Its saddddd! This last thursday we found out that our area harbel 1 will be closing down. So sad news is i will be leaving harbel to go in town. I thought i was going to avoid town for the rest of my mission, guess not. I will miss the bush like frog which is saddddd. So ya i still don't know exactly where i am going though which makes it even more sad. But next week i probably wont be emailing you from harbel. 

But we are really trying to work hard with Elder Egbu being his last week proselyting. We are focusing on our recent converts like crazy because we wont them to be very strong because no missionaries will teach them. The Zone Leaders will still be in there area but we will be going. 

We have tried to help our people in the best way possible. We realized that many people both men and women alike don't understand much about the Priesthood. So we are going to be focusing on that through out the next week and help as many people as possible. 

By the way i love the new front yard it looks great. Shalese looks amazing, and her husband didn't shave. am i judging yes just because sometimes i want a beard too!!!! 

We had a really good lesson yesterday with one of our investigators named Martha Tambah. We invited our relief Society to sit down with us. We talked about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy! As Martha sells cold water on Sunday. Sis koineg, the relief society president, bore one of the most powerful testimonies of keeping the sabbath day holy. Not going to lie before this happened we hadn't had a very good teaching week due to excessive rain and people working at our house. So this little small short lesson just made my week to say ya it was a good week. Times when you feel the spirit when other people bear their testimonies just makes my day or week just turn out great! Im sure it was heavenly father answering my prayers. 

Today we were suppose to be at a chicken farm eating at a restaurant for my companion Elder Egbu last p day, the place is in our zone but kind of far away. When i woke up this morning i had a small prompting that said, maybe you need to ask President if you could go. This never crossed my mind or the zone leaders minds but i feel like it was the spirit so i said it to the zone leaders. The zone leaders thought about it and decided to call. Which ya we didn't get approved to go. We don't really know why but i feel as though it was the right thing to do, and talking to the other missionaries they all felt the same way. I am just thankful for the spirit to be with us, to guide and protect us even. 

Well not much else to talk about, just know we are needing all the prayers we can get out here. I am truly thankful to be a missionary. This has really changed my life being here and learning the things i have. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Skouson

Pictures from June 30, 2014

From Elder Zaugg: Elder Skouson and I doing what we do best

June 30, 2014

Dear Family,

Happy 4th of July!!!!!! in like 5 days. Elder Zaugg and I are still trying to plan something to celebrate with. We are thinking we are going to go all out and buy some hamburger meat from the super market and grill some hamburgers. He didnt like the idea of Chicken feet with a little BBQ sauce on it, on a piece of bread. Oooh that does sound nice. even drizzle some mayonnaise on it just to make it taste a little bit sweeter. Ya if you cant tell i am quite hungry right now.

Speaking of food... well i will get to that. 

Speaking of missionary work, we did a lot of that this week. It happened to be a lot of physical work that we did though. On Thursday we took a few hours to go down to the other Elders area and pump water with the hand pump for people to get our name out a little bit more. We would fill the people buckets then carry it back to there house for them. There is just nothing as rewarding as service!

On Friday we got a call from our repair man for the mission that he was coming out again to Harbel to pump water from the river and take it down to the baptismal font to fill the font for our baptism the next day. No small journey through the jungle on the back of a truck filled with water. Yup just everyday life here in the Bush in Liberia. We also did another small service project for an older woman that morning who because of the heavy rain her dirt porch was partially washed out and i  twas hard for her to step over because of the length on the water erosion. So we went into the rubber bush and found some bamboo to cut and carry back to the woman's house. You should have seen the happiness on the women's face. She was just so thankful for the help that we gave to her. 

We taught a recent covert named William Glay, he is such a great man who just has an excited personality. He gave a talk on the Sabbath Day and it was really great. He just gave it just like a pastor would. Actually kind of funny. We were teaching him about priesthood ordinances and blessings which he didn't know too much about. His friends joined in about half way through the lesson. and he kept telling them, you see this is why our church is true, or this is why the church is true. One man was a catholic man and had many questions and brother Glay did his very best to be a wonderful missionary. We are going back to him this week, i don't know i just like his lessons. 

As it is Elder Egbu's last couple weeks we are going to be focusing on teaching recent converts about the Priesthood and the power and authority we have in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. We noticed not many people understand about the Priesthood and it is the last thing people would think about when they are sick or get hurt or anything like that. In which for me at least it is one of the first things that come to my mind. So we are going to helping people understand that a little bit better.

Ok now back to the food. So I was Elder Haas's One year on mission on Saturday so we tried to do something special for him. So we bought four pounds of beef and we grilled it over a coal fire. We also drizzled BBQ sauce on it before it was done. We fried and baked some french fries and had a can of re fried beans. Turns out we made some sort of carne asada fries. I think Bobby Flay himself would had tasted it an been impressed with what we did!!!

Well thank you for the constant prayers that you send my way, i know they truly help me work harder and harder everyday!

Love,

Elder Skouson.

June 23, 2014

Dear Family,

Thank you for your emails. They always help me so much!!! Sounds like its been quite a week back at home.

This week has been kind of heck deck as well. 

I wasn't feeling the best this last week. Nothing serious just fresh cold knocked me down and out for a day or two. But it is nice to get some good rest so you can just get back on your feet and work. My companion and i have been working hard to help some people prepare for their baptism next week. So we are working hard so that the branch members can be doing there part as well. Sounds kind of funny but the most effective missionary work is when members and missionaries work together. Sometimes it is just difficult to get the members involved in missionary work.

With rain season coming in at full force it has been hacking at our zinc roof little by little and where there is rust is now starting to get holes. So last week the mission hired some help to fix our roof small small so that we can sleep in dry clothes now yay!!!!

Even through all of these problems we were still able to have a good week proselyting. We have realized how our own efforts haven't been giving us too many results so far. So we rearranged our game plan and started asking for referrals from members like crazy. Any chance we have we have tried to get a member to show us, not only tell us, to somebody who is there friend. Emmanuel Giah is one that we have been using like crazy and he has literally shown us almost all of his friends, many in which are at least partially interested. Eman is going to be baptized on this Saturday. Which reminds me we have to set up a time with our bossman Felix so we can go to the river again and pump water and take it to our font again. That was a lot of fun last time so i am kind of excited to do some more service on Friday. Be praying that everything goes very well so we can have our baptism.

My Companion has less then a month with me now which has its cons and pros. Elder Egbu is a great elder and i am happy that i am with him. Teaches me something new everyday!

President Kirkham has had us start to just focus on teaching doctrines in the lessons. This helps our lessons to be shorter and more beneficial as we are hitting the nail straight on the head. We can see how are people are growing more because of the simpleness of our lessons. The are able to understand clearly and people are able to tell others about what this churches Doctrine is!!!! 

Recently due to our efforts we have been finishing rumors that are here in Harbel and cotton tree. People don't usually talk about the five dollar church anymore. The only now say that "latter day saint church". It is interesting that people don't use the word "Mormons" to describe the Church or the members. Well they also don't refer to us as missionaries, just white man, but that is another issue.

We have been teaching this woman who lives right behind the church and sells cold water right in front. She came to church 3 weeks ago because she says as she sells in front she has seen how we worship and likes it so she just showed up one day. Her name is Martha Tambah. She is very sweet actually. She lost her husband 3 years ago and has been struggling for work ever since then. But you should she her now. She has gone from a kind of depressed mode to an energetic woman in the matter of weeks. When she thinks about her husband it still pains her small but when we taught her about the Plan of Salvation those cares seemed to deteriorate. She has been doing so very well in the few weeks that she has been introduced to the gospel and the wonderfulness of Jesus Christ!

Speaking of Jesus Christ, I have been reading in the Doctrine and Covenants and i just love how he give the revelations to Joseph Smith and others. Just puts things into prospective a little bit more, as the Doctrine and Covenants was written not too long ago. I love studying the gospel and how it makes feel. The Spirit is there when you study, i wish we could get some of our struggling investigators to understand this a little bit more! 

Well this week has just been good. Trying to continue to sprint to the finish! No small something we are doing here. Thank you for your support that you have given me throughout!!!

Love,

Elder Skouson

P.S. Not that i am thinking about how or nothing, but you are welcome to send me a letter i can open on the plane ride home. Even you can send letters now for me to be encouraged to get on that plane, cause i am going to be very nervous to do that business.

June 16, 2014

Dear Family,

Word is out my release date is September 24. I don't like this at all that means i only have a little over 3 months left on my mission. Makes me want to hurl. So the antidote is just really hard work.

We had an amazing week this last week where we were able to teach over 30 lessons which is really good for this area!!! We are trying to teach shorter more powerful lessons which focuses on the doctrines behind the lessons. No matter what we teach it always goes straight back to Jesus Christ!

At church yesterday we had 11 investigators that showed up! I love to see who comes to church on Sunday because not going to lie it sifts out the progressing investigators with the not so progressing investigators. I was a great service and my companion taught our investigator class which was good. He is very knowledgeable about the bible and helps people understand scripture very well.

 

WE are planning on working even harder this week. My companion has only about 4 weeks left on his mission so we will be working like dogs these next couple weeks. Hopefully i will have the opportunity to train a new missionary this upcoming transfer to share all that i have learned and am so grateful for! This will keep me sprinting until i give every last ounce of energy. Make sure to have the oxygen ready when i get off that plane.

My companion has taught me so many different things while i have been with him. One thing the importance of being respectful to others. Everyone in this world likes to be respected and people see it when you do respect them and for missionaries it opens up paths to share the gospel. Another thing is that i have learned that patience is a virtue truly.

Well not much time on the clock i have to get going but i love you all very much!!!

Love,
Elder Skouson

June 9, 2014

Dear My wonderful Family,

This week has been "jack-a-la" as Liberians say. My companion has been suffering with this rash business so we are trying to solve it before he goes home so he doesn't need to worry about it again. 

On Wednesday we went into town to one of the hospitals, is it weird that i like the feel of hospital small? Anyways the doctors did a blood test and found that there was nothing wrong but they still cant find out what it is. Liberians think it is some sort of African Ju-Ju business that someone put on him. This whole thing is just a mess that i just want finished so the work can progress. I am so thankful for the couples and mission president who care so much for my companion and all the missionaries.

So we kind of had multiple small service project this week. My favorite one of all time was getting water for our baptismal font so we could have a baptism this last week. Bro. Felix our missions 'go to man' called us at 4:30 saying that he is coming to pick me and my companion up at 5 to go and get water for the baptism and finish by 7. No small work we did. We quickly changed clothes and put on our boots to go down to this river to pump water into a tank in the back of his truck. We drove very quickly down this muddy road to go to the river by the time we got out of the truck it started to rain cats and dogs. So we quickly learned how to use this pump and stuck one hose in the river and one in the tank. Really it was not small work and i had to ride on the back of the truck to make sure nobody took our tools or anything as we were driving back into cotton tree. I am just thankful that i didn't get sick or a cold from being soaked to the bone. We had to do that trip several times and we still got back on time for our curfew. As i was just sitting on the back, i was thinking to myself who would have thought i would be in the jungles of Liberia, on the back of a truck getting rained on for a baptism the next day. Can i just say i love my mission!

As we were proselyting this week i greeted one old ma and said how di day? She responded like usual saying "When you sleep, and Day Break, you tell God tank you." How true it is some times we forget about how much heavenly father has done for us, we just need to learn to be grateful for everything that happens to us. It is in the midst of trials i believe we grow the most. Now nobody actually wants trials but when we do receive them we just need to have the attitude of gratitude. So laugh a little. 

Speaking of Laughing i was on exchange with Elder Haas from South Africa ( the one who bore his testimony in Xhosa. the clicky language). We just get along so well and we were just laughing so hard in the middle of our area. Laughing is totally contagious or it at least brings on a side-affect of smiling. This just helps peoples perception of us missionaries. We aren't just robots who want you to come to our 5 dollar church. We are literally given you a way to improve the quality of your life. That is when you come unto Jesus Christ. We give you this for free too we will come to your own house to teach you only if you will do what we ask! 

Missionary work is just too sweet!! Speaking of sweets ( we are speaking of a lot of things this week) Elder Zaugg and I made Carmel popcorn last night and i think i still have a sugar headache this morning. So i beg please try to ease me into all the sugar we eat back at home. Pineapple is about the sweetest thing i eat now, which is super sweet. And i am convinced that i need to try the BWW hot wing contest soon after i get back when i still have no sensitivity in my mouth and lips.

I love you all very much and hope you don't get too tired of my emails. 

Love,
Elder Skouson

If you have questions for me please just ask!!!  

Dear President Kirkham,
This week we had a really good Tuesday but the rest of the week seemed to be filled with doctors appointments for elder Egbu's rash, and fixing our apartment. Hopefully by the end of this week are apartment will be fixed. It seems like Elder Egbu's rash is going down small but then again maybe not, kind of sparks in other places on his chest now. But with the pills he is taking it should finish pretty quick.
Elder Haas and I went on an exchange this past Saturday. Elder Haas is such a great missionary we truly try to get to know me and legit-ly cares for me. He also cares for the people we taught immensely. You can see a little bit of Elder Kouao in him as he teaches. He teaches for understanding and is very bold with people about the gospel. You can see the caliber of people we taught were branch builders in the making. What i also noticed about him he really doesn't look at the outside of a person when he teaches, he teaches them on what they need to know to be better. He uses the spirit to direct him about what to say and acts on that prompting.
One thing i learned from this exchange is the power in shorter spiritual building lessons. My companion and I usually have quite long lessons and sometimes they are just us speaking. But what i understood from the lessons we had they were having the investigator talk almost just as much as we are. This avoids just filling people with a bunch of information and has them act on what we are discussing. So now i have a big testimony of short powerful lessons are much better then long almost boring lessons.
Another thing i enjoyed about Elder Haas is we walked and talked and laughed together. I would watch people's reaction when they saw us talking and laughing together and it just like they themselves want to be apart of the conversation. This makes us missionaries much more approachable. People ask us questions about who were are even what makes us so happy all the time. This happened quite a few times as we were going from lesson to lesson. I just felt like i had the spirit about me and we were very much focused on our missionary purpose in an approachable way, where we truly cared for people. When your companion becomes your friend then the work really can progress.
By the way, President, my family is so blessed for me being on mission. I'm not saying this because i am such a great man or anything but i am just thankful i am here. Being with Elder Egbu has shown me the importance of gratefulness. I loved i believe it was Pres. Utchdorfs talk last conference about having the attitude of gratitude. When we do everything in life just becomes more enjoyable. I love the saying, "Life is how we make it to be." Cause no matter what circumstance we are in if we are grateful then it just becomes better.
We didn't have quite as many lessons this week as we would have liked but we will constantly try to improve. Thank you President for all that you do for us missionaries.
Love,
Elder Skouson

June 2, 2014

Dear Family,

This week just like always has been very busy. We working very diligently and not caring about the rain. Most of the time by the end of the day we are soaked all over even down to my shoes. Actually the only reason my socks are wet is cause my soles have holes in them. Oh well that is mission.

Sometimes or actually all the time we are asked to go out of our comfort zones and be somebody that we didn't even thing we could. Now that i have the Spirit more and more in my life and i am learning to recognize the promptings i feel as if those things i thought were quite challenging 6 months to a year ago now just come and go just like a breeze.

When i first came on mission when i was still learning what were the lessons about i was so scared to get asked questions. It seemed every time i tried to answer a question i would just ramble for long and not actually answer the question. Now as i try hard to listen to what the spirit tells me to say i have become more confident in the answers i give. I was especially scared to teach classes because that is where many of those questions would be. I have come to understand that heavenly father wants us to help others and so he will give us impressions and thoughts about what we should speak, really fulfilling the promise that he will give us what to say in the moment that we should say it.

It always amazes me when we teach people when questions pop into my mind on what to ask people to either start a conversation or try to help someone understand something. It happened this week when Elder Zaugg and I were on an exchange in my area. We were going to teach this recent convert named Grace. Grace is the only member inside her family. I noticed a women a little bit older then Grace and asked her who she is. Grace told me its her like half sister in law. Half because her and her brother aren't married. So i got the feeling that this girl has a lot of questions but she was stubborned and didn't want to sit down. So for about 5 good minutes Elder Zaugg and i asked her inspired questions to get her interested in the gospel and feel comfortable to sit down with us. For us missionaries we don't force people but sometimes it is force. She sat down with us as we taught her the message of the Restoration and answered some questions about the Book of Mormon.

My companion is having this rash or skin problem that its almost like he is a lizard and shedding his skin which is kind of weird. But he is doing well has less then 6 weeks to go home which is crazy. I am just hoping i am rewarded with a greeny to train to close out my mission. I will just make me the absolute best missionary i can possibly be. And i want to give all the knowledge i have acquired to someone else

I cant remember if i have told you before but what we are trying to do every week is at least one service project. This last week we entered into my old area to give some service near our branch presidents house. A house burnt down a couple of months ago there and the destroyed one of the gutters that are their so we came in and fixed it up for the rainny season. We also went into the bush and cut some bamboo and fixed a bamboo bench. All of dads wood working skills that he showed me are paying off as we are serving more and more. 

We passed our apartment inspection with flying colors.( to be honest i don't know why they say flying colors). Sister Heszeltine was highly impressed. I have a good habit of making my bed every morning now which it is nice getting into a fresh bed each night it is just one of those things i look forward to now. 

Well not much else to talk about. I love you all and i am trying to do my best to focus in on the work. 

Love,

Elder Skouson