Elder Jeppson
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Zone Conference

5/27/2013

 
A ton happened this week!  It was one of my favorite weeks on my mission so far, we baptized 9 people!  
No, im just kidding, we havent baptized yet, but it was still the best week.  
We left to zone conference on thursday, flew to Trinidad, and got to all stay in the same apartment.  all of the Grenada Elders got to sleep in the same apartment, which was fun.  beds, couches, cushions, all were used for sleeping.  The hardest part was 8 people trying to use 1 shower/bathroom in the morning, but we got through it.
   before zone conference I got to run with some missionaries over to a doubles stand and try my first doubles.  they are really good!  If you want to know what they are, google them, cause I don't even know 1/4th of what was in it, but it was tasty and spicy!  Thats come to be my standard.  Something isnt spicy until it is making your nose run and your eyes cry.  Then it might be considered spicy.  So after the doubles we went and ate cinnamon rolls before the meeting.  Lots of food!  The meeting was great, I learned a lot about how to be a better missionary and all of my concerns about being discouraged or being more motivated were addressed perfectly.  For lunch we had sloppy joes and then desert was Haagen Daas ice cream and chocolate cake. I had 2nds of both.  I was so stuffed!  It was like thanksgiving, all over again!  After lunch we had some more meeting.  I got some cool statistics about how many contacts there were in the WIM last 6 months, but i don't have them written down with me today, so I can't recite them this time.  The zone conference ended about 3 oclock and then the Grenadian companionships got to go out with the Trini Elders on splits.  We got put with a companionship that had a car and was running errands for a baptism the next day so we got to sit in a car for the most part and talk and see a lot of Trinidad.  Trinidad is sweet!  I would love to get to serve there some day.  We went up to downtown Port of Spain, which has skyscrapers and stuff.  It was weird, being in rural Grenville one day, the next, downtown city.  The WIM is so diverse, IDK how I got so lucky getting it.  Really though, best mission ever.  where else do you get to travel for zone conference?  So we went to the city to drop off an Elder that was on a split, then we stopped by the chapel and picked up a baptismal suit and then we went to a MCDONALDS!!!!!  I got to have mcdonalds!  Made my day!  I got a Big Mac and Mcflurry.  I was already stuffed from the lunch but I had to get it anyways, may be my last chance for 21 months.  It was just as good as in the states.  We went back and as we were driving along the freeway the elders who were in that area pointed out this hill that was called Lavent hill.  this place I had heard of before, it has the most gang wars and violence in the caribbean.  Missionaries are of course not allowed in.  you know who else isnt allowed in?  the police.  they would get shot at.  The police can only go in undercover.  I am not lying when I tell this story.  Aparrently the police sent a blimp over Lavent Hill to try to count the bodies and see how bad the fighting was.  guess what happened?  The gangs shot the blimp down with a rocket.  Yeah, I didnt believe it at first either.  So we got back and I did some tie trading.  I traded a turquoise tie for this sweet pink and orange pasley tie from Guyana.  It actually is well known in the mission and has a name.  "curryfest"  I wear it proudly, and will have to get a picture one of these days.  President Mehr went back with us and the APs to Grenada and the APs came on a trade off with me and my comp in grenville.  I got to go with Elder May who is an absolute boss of a missionary.  He is sweet.  He told a story to me and a lady we were talking to of someone who he met that had a weird name.  I have told you how weird names are spelt here, but this one takes the cake.  here name sounds like nadasha but its spelt Na-a .  That is how she spells it, with a -.   Its even that way on her birth certificate.  We taught some great lessons and I learned a load from the APs. 
   The next day was church, and it was very rainy, and today President and Sister Mehr and the APs came back over to Grenville to talk with us and do interviews.  I loved my interview with him.  Really, My MP is the best, I am so glad I get him my whole mission.  
     Another cool thing that happened is i found this weird bump on my wrist today.  I didnt know what it was and I asked the Elder May, and he said it was a cyst, so we smacked it with a spoon really hard and it went away!  
Sorry if some find that as too much info, but hey, It wouldnt be a good email without a squeamish part right?  Just another day in the life of a missionary!
  I am doing really well, especially cause of all I learned at Zone conference.  I had a lot of fun last week and now I get to work hard and try to apply it all. 
Probably the favorite thing I learned at zone conference is that doubting stops us having faith.  If we truly have faith, then we would not doubt at all.

Thats all for this week!  Love-E. Jeppson
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Silly Holidays.

5/21/2013

 
They have holidays to celebrate holidays here, i swear.  Yesterday was "whit" monday, no one knows what it is for but they get the day off, including our email shop, so we are emailing today.  there is another holiday on this thursday, but I won't be here, we are going to Trinidad to Zone conference.  how cool is that, that i get to fly around between islands for meetings and zone conferences and such?      So, cool things of the week.  we got our conference Liahona's and guess who I found in it?   On page 44 there is a picture of Allison Wright and here brother and his wife at conference.  It made my day almost to see our ward getting so well represented!  
    We did service helping some guy clean out under his house and yard and after he gave us a bunch of delicious bananas, fresh papayas and 2 coconuts. the coconut I got was a lucky one.  occasionally they have a carbonation to them, very slight.  It was so good, and it had loads of meat in it to eat.  really, getting coconuts to eat in the middle of the day from people is so nice.  I will miss coconuts, you all don't know what your missing out on.  then when we got back I made a smoothie out of the papayas and bananas.  I love the fresh fruit.
    We had an insanely busy week, and as a result of us working hard and the Lord's help we got our weekly goal of 50 contacts and we also got 20 new investigators, which is a lot of investigators!  more than 3x our goal.  1/4 of them were in one family, which was lucky. 
      I saw a nice saying that someone had on their car window, It was "A clear conscience makes a soft pillow"   I find that to be so true, especially in missionary work.   If you don't work your hardest, you feel guilty.  it may be hard work, but if you do your best, you feel better and its worth it in the end.     
     Have a good week, talk to you next week!
- E. Jep
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Week preceeding the 12th of may

5/13/2013

 
Not really anything interesting of not has happened this week, we have been working the hardest I have been so far on my mission, and it went pretty quick.  I have nothing of interest or note as far as pictures, except a boring one of my on our porch.  I have been told to get more pictures of myself lately, so here are 2, and one of a spider.   That spider is a kissing spider, or so some other elders have identified it.  I think this one is older than that other one I sent a pic of weeks ago.      Me and Elder Bracken have gotten along well.  He is teaching me how to work hard and the importance of being obedient so as to have the Spirit with us as we teach.  Being obedient, especially to small rules that we think are silly, is an act of faith.  remember, there is only obedient, or not obedient.  there is no mostly obedient, that is a lie Satan spreads to justify smaller sins.  I encourage everyone that reads this to work on being obedient.  I promise blessings as you do so.
     Elder Bracken did a LOT of video games before his mission, (WoW, DotA, HoN, WC2, etc...) and we have had quite a few in depth nerdy conversations which has been fun, but also distracting.  made me a bit trunky...  
Our baptisms fell through, the people are not ready yet, and that is fine.  People just don't keep their commitments to read, because that is an act of faith and that is how people progress spritually, acts of faith.  They don't exercise faith and just like a muscle, if you don't exercise it, it atrophies.  
oh that reminds me of one other thing here, my grammar and vocabulary is degrading.  Its the only way to be able to understand people here, they dont get big words!  should be fun when i get back and speak Caribbean.

Love you all!  Pray oft and stay strong!
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Week of april 29th to may 5th.

5/7/2013

 
Hello all, I hope this email finds you all well.   I have 15 mins to write this today, so i hope its good.  Last p-day some members in our area, (the Branch's) took us out to lunch at a nice plantation tourist site place called Belmont Estate.  We had a delicious meal and got to see some cool stuff.  they had some pretty birds there, there was this one bird called Rainbow.  It was a green parrot of some sort that could talk and say tons of things, including polly want a cracker.   This was way sweet, but made me a little trunky as I missed my bird after.            For p-day this week 4 of us went golfing at the Grenada Golf Club.  It was Elder Wilson's last p-day so we made the best of it.  I got a bogey on a couple holes, which was good, and got 2nd place.   It was a brutal tie for 2nd that I won out in a putt off at the end for a tie breaker.  it was important as smoothies were on the line!  
          Both fun p-days.  It helps stay more focused in the week when we have fun on monday.   So remember how I was saying how I didnt know who my next companion was going to be?  Well, I got it figured out now.  Elder Bracken somehow got through immigration.  they accepted his paper work with a copy of a police report which NEVER happens according to the senior couple.  I guess the Lord needed him here and with me, because he really shouldnt be here.     So yeah, Elder Wilson has gone home, he gets there tomorow.  I miss him, we got to be good friends.  I will miss him but I learned a lot from him and we had a good run.  Elder Bracken is quite different than Elder Wilson but he is easy to get along with, he makes it easy by being very nice to me.   He just turned 28 in april.  Im 18.  we have the largest possible age difference.  Its weird.  he was born in 1985 and was graduated high school before I was out of elementary school.  I will learn a lot from him and I hope we will be able to progress the area here.  
      Our baptism fell through as the investigators didnt make it to church  on sunday and they arent quite ready yet.  we are trying again for the 18th now, so keep your fingers crossed.   
         On sunday when we were trying to catch a bus, there was a giant red Macaw in Grenville, just sitting on a sign.  I snapped a few pics cause it was so cool.   The bus to get to church never showed up so we ended hitch hiking there in some tiny old mitsubishi van.  It was way fun!  I don't know why they don't like hitch hiking in the states, it is awesome!  Riding in the  trucks is my favorite, but that has only happened once sadly.
          I hope I can become a good enough missionary out here and learn all the things I need to to be faithful for the rest of my life.  I wish you all the best, you really all are in my prayers.  
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