Arrived in Nicaragua!

Hey all,

I arrived in Nicaragua, and it is definitely different than what I expected it to be. I am in Managua right now for the first part of my mission. And my companion is Elder Zorrilla. I am already enjoying it here and am excited to get started.

We are going to be heading off to meet the branch president and some teaching appointments . The president and his wife seem like nice people from how much I have been able to talk to them.

I am kind of struggling to understand everything here but I know that the Lord will help me to be able to complete all things while I am here and learning. My trainer, Elder Zorrilla, is pretty nice but I am not sure how much I understand of what he is saying.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be here to serve the Lord. I know that he will help me with all things and is always there. Sorry I don´t have much more time but thanks for all that you do to support me.

Elder Ferrin

Meeting Sister Collado

Loading luggage on the bus.

On the bus.

Filling out paper work.

Meeting Elder Zorrilla for the first time.

Lunch! Pizza! Every Elder received their own pizza.

Learning mission rules.

Learning mission rules.

All the new missionaries and their companions.

CCM Farewell

Well hello to all. I know you guys were not expecting to get an email from me today, but I get to leave early tomorrow for the lovely Nicaragua. It has been such a great last week.  However, I really cannot tell you how ready I am to finally get out of here and do the work of the Lord. Mom, there are a few people who will be sending you emails that are about me, if you haven’t gotten them yet. One is a picture of our district and the other is a video that I think you will enjoy. So if you get some emails that you really don’t recognize, that is why.

One of my favorite things that happened this week was in TRC. I really enjoy this because we get to teach real members about what questions or problems that we have in their lives. This week, we taught a woman who had once served a mission, but for some reason could not go to church or take the sacrament. I don’t know the reason because, I could not understand her half of the time. Anyway, we started of talking about church and the sacrament, and just talking with her. As we got farther in, I began to talk about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  And how there will always be someone that knows what she is going through and can help her in life and all problems. As I talked about it, the Spirit was so strong in that room. I think that is one of the times that I have felt the Spirit so strongly. It was testifying so strongly to this daughter of God that she has help and she can do all things with Jesus Christ. She felt it so strong that she started crying because of the Spirit. It truly was an amazing experience.

Yesterday was our very last Sunday here in the CCM and they do many different things for those that are leaving to enter the mission field. In sacrament meeting they have us share our testimonies and do a musical number as a district. I was the one that got to arrange the musical numbers so we sang A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and I Stand All Amazed. It turned out really well for only having a week to come up with something. Each week we get to watch a video on Sunday Night.  This week we watched The Testaments and afterwards they show pictures of all of the leaving districts (that’s what one foreign email is). After  the video and the slide show, they do a testimony meeting with only those leaving. I liked it because they required testimonies to be straight and to the point and testify of truth, which is what I think a testimony should be. The only thing I didn’t like was that almost no one smiled as they bore their testimony. I was sitting right in front of the pulpit just smiling at everyone. They probably thought that it was really creepy. But the Gospel is something to rejoice about. It brings happiness and joy, not sadness. We should always be smiling because we have the Gospel in our lives.

Well I think that is all that I have for this week. You guys will laugh at me for this, but the people and other missionaries in the CCM are really interesting to watch. I don’t know why, but people normally just make me so happy.  And I am so excited to try and bring joy to other people’s lives.

Just to make sure you know, here are my flight plans. I leave the CCM at 2:30 to go to the airport. I board a plane to go to El Salvador at 5:40 then connect to Nicaragua. So I think I will get there about 9:00 in the morning, I’m not sure. I will probably get the chance to email you just to say I got there, but I’m not sure. I am excited for the opportunities that await me and I know that the Lord will be with me always as I am obedient.

Next time I write will be from Nicaragua.

Elder Ferrin

Last Week is Here!!!

So I have finally made it to the last week of the CCM, but this has been an amazing week. I am still ready to leave though. I will be leaving the CCM at 2:30 in the morning on October 28, and my flight leaves at about 5:40 a.m. I have an hour layover in El Salvador and then I arrive in the lovely Nicaragua. I’m so excited to finally be leaving and go to work. So I don’t know when I will be writing next week. It might be on Monday, Tuesday or any other day. I don’t know if I will be able to call from the airport, but you never know. It’s a possibility, but I doubt it.

I think that half of the reason I have been surviving the CCM is because of all the Nutella. I have replaced my addiction to ice cream with the Nutella. I think that I am enjoying being able to eat as much Nutella as I can until I leave. I don’t know what I’ll do when I get to Nicaragua because I might not get Nutella or 5 bananas a day (it’s the only fruit that actually is ripe here most of the time). And yes, mom, I have used my medicine about the second week when everyone got sick in our district, so I used the cold medicine.

This week I really enjoyed Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, Elder Andersen and Elder Maynes came and spoke to us.  It was one of the coolest experiences ever. When they walked into the auditorium, you could definitely fill the spirit that they carry with them to testify that an apostle is called of God and acts in his name. Elder Andersen also took the time to shake every single one of the missionaries hands, so I had the opportunity to shake Elder Andersen’s hand. I wasn't able to give him a hug or trade ties with him. Apparently if we did that, the CCM president would shoot us on the spot. Of course he was joking though. Elder Andersen spoke to us about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how it can apply to missionaries. One of the things that he really emphasized was that you cannot teach the Atonement if you have never used it in your life. That is so true, I don’t think I would know anything about the Atonement and how it works if I had not been able to use it in my life. I think that true understanding can only come from action. If you want to know how to actually do something or if something is possible, you have to try it. It is like every single other principle in the Gospel. You can’t gain a testimony of truth or something like the Plan of Salvation if you aren't willing to act upon the teachings and see if it is true. Another thing that Elder Andersen talked said was not to judge yourself based on those around you, but how you have improved from the last day or month. I feel like that is something I always do, and I just need to take a step back and realize how much change has come in my life and that I’m improving because of it.

On Sunday, church was amazing as always. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able to partake of the sacrament. I liked how in conference, one of the woman talked about how the sacrament should be a spiritual experience and it truly is for me. I also enjoyed the class that we had with the CCM presidency. It was President Pratt and he was speaking about testimony and conversion.  Something I am always trying to learn more about and his class truly helped me. We also watched another devotional from Jeffrey R. Holland and I enjoyed it a lot. It was similar to the last one we watched about Preach My Gospel and how it is made more for the missionary rather than the investigator. You should always have one convert on your mission, and it should be you. He had a lot of funny things to say like if you come from your mission and you fall away from the Church, you better not find Elder Holland in a dark alley. It is so amazing how passionate he is about missionary work and everything about the work of the Lord.  We should all be trying to eventually have same desire and passion for the work of the Lord.

On Monday, we did our service activity which was assembling bags with the language material for the incoming missionaries. And it is much better than scrubbing the walls of the rooms for you service time. After the bags were assembled and we were taking the bags down to the main floor, four of the missionaries used the elevator instead of the stairs. Then they got stuck in the elevator and had to show up to class about 15 minutes late. It was quite funny to see because the elevator has a little peephole into it so you could see four elders crowded together in an elevator. It was quite funny to see.

I don’t know what else to say, but thanks for all the support and love you have given me. Good to hear from the people who have been writing me and telling me what’s happening in their lives. I’m not sure when I´ll be writing next so until next time. Nicaragua here I come.

Elder Ferrin

Temple Tuesday

October 14, 2014

Dear Mom and Dad,

So today has been a pretty good week and I am slowly getting closer to the end. The Spanish is still progressing and getting better and better, but there is still plenty of room for me to improve. Elder Clark and I are still getting along just fine and so far we still haven’t had any problems yet. I was also able to receive the letters from Levi and Kyle. One of the things I keep thinking about how much I write in my emails compared to others, I could have more time write.  There are not as many missionaries (I think by the end of the week there will be about 450 as opposed to the 800 that were here when I arrived). This week on Saturday we also have something big happening. Elder Andersen and Elder Oaks are coming to the CCM and Elder Andersen is going to do a devotional, so I am really looking forward to that.

Our lessons with our investigators are getting better and better. Elder Clark is really improving in his Spanish and is able to speak pretty well, except for when I go off topic from the original lesson plan. We were able to commit our investigator, Wendy, to baptism and she has been reading the Book of Mormon. The other, Teresa, we are hesitant to ask since she told us that she doesn’t want us to focus only baptizing her like other missionaries that have taught her. Teresa is a lot more interesting to teach because she tends to give us more experience of what a real investigator would be like. During one of the lessons we were talking and then decided to say a prayer. While Elder Clark was saying the prayer, she pretended to fall asleep on us and so we had to wake her up. Elder Clark joked that we should have got up, left, and knock on the door again and she could believe she had received revelation about the missionaries coming. During the lesson, we taught about God and how the Gospel  blesses families and this lesson will make you proud of some of your thinking mom. I used pictures of us to show how much I love my family and that it is all because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think that it was one of the best lessons we have had and the Spirit was definitely there.

On Wednesday afternoons, we also do this thing called TRC. Member volunteers come into the CCM and you teach them about whatever questions they might have. When we talked to our first person, we asked if she had questions and she had none so we had no idea what to do. So we just taught about prayer. The second person was a lot better. He didn’t have any questions either, but I was able to understand what he was saying and had a good conversation about El Evangelic. I could tell that the Spirit was there as we talked.

Sunday was a great day. We had a devotional recording from Jeffrey R Holland and it really made commit to always try to give my time to the Lord. This isn’t my time, it is the Lords and it is sacred. So we should all live like we are running on the Lord’s time. I also enjoyed one of the videos that we watched which was I think was “For This Purpose Have I Come into this World”. The movie was about the Atonement and my favorite part is the end when Jesus is received into heaven and is greeted by all of the heavenly hosts. That is kind of how imagine happening after death. That when we enter the Spirit World, Jesus will be waiting to greet us in some form.

One of the best days of the week has actually been today. We had the opportunity to go and visit the temple grounds and the visitor center. I wish that we would have had the opportunely to do a session in Spanish, but the temple is closed for reconstruction. But the visitor center was really well done, and there is a very special spirit about everything that is in that place. It is truly designed to help all feel the Spirit and see the need for the Gospel in all of our lives. I even got to go shopping in the store at the grounds. And don’t worry, Mom, I only got three more ties. I got another side bag and scripture cases as well. But overall, it was an amazing experience. I have pictures that I will be sending of the temple and the drive to and from the places. The city is a pretty crazy place with lots of people, but it is definitely interesting. It made me realize just how sheltered we are in the CCM since we never see much of the outside world.

I love you all and thanks for all the support!!!

Elder Ferrin

Halfway Done with the CCM

Well I think that this has been such a great week. I definitely enjoyed watching conference and thankfully it was in Spanish, and I was able to understand everything that was said. Thank you mom and dad for the advice. I think that everything is slowly getting better here and people really do pay attention to what you are doing. If people have questions they will often come to me when it comes to scriptural or doctrinal idea.  I forgot to mention that I am officially halfway done with the CCM.

We have been continuing to teach our investigator teachers and the lessons have slowly started to get better. I think that through these lessons I have been able to really see how much planning is needed to make sure that a lesson goes well. In one of our lessons yesterday, the teacher was amazed at how much better our Spanish has gotten and that we were able to teach pretty well. We also did a couple of activities about practicing teaching with other missionaries in the other distritos. Several of them complemented us for our Spanish and how we were able to teach. My compañero has improved a lot with his Spanish. In past lessons, he has had to read what he wants to say, but now he is starting to just talk. I think that the Lord truly does bless his missionaries as they are preparing to serve Him.

I had a few of my favorite speakers during General Conference which were President Packer about the Atonement, President Eyring about Personal Revelation, and President Uchtdorf in Priesthood Session about self-evaluation. I think one of the themes that I noticed during the Conference was the need of conversion and developing Christlike attributes and personal revelation.

I liked President Eyring’s talk because of how highly he spoke of his mother.  That made ponder just how grateful for both of you mom and dad. I would never be here without you and your guidance. Thank for all that you do for me.

I think that all of these talks stood out to me because they were all answering questions I had about becoming more like Christ.  The first step to that is finding out where you stand through self-evaluation. I also noticed how much we need to strive to understand the Atonement in order to understand Christ. He is always there for us and wants us to strive to be just like him. I was reading in Chapter 6 of PME about Christlike attributes.  It stated that developing Christlike attributes is a life long process, but we need to focus on doing that all the time. And I think that we all have a long ways to reach that goal. I think that we all should study that chapter of PME to understand what we can do to be like Christ and know him personally. It truly is amazing how much the Lord will bless as you try to strive for this goal. I also started reading the Book of Mormon again.  I am using a new copy only searching for ways that I can develop all of these attributes and become like Christ.

Everyday for gym time, I play volleyball and most of my district likes to do the same. But last p-day our district had decided to make a bet with another district over a volleyball game. They originally had decided on the winning team getting two dozens of donuts. I don't know about you guys, but that does not seem like something that missionaries would do. So instead, I was able to convince my distrito to not bet on donuts.  Instead they decided to play for returning the trays of the opposite team at meals to the dish room. The game was a lot of fun to play, but we lost. I found it funny because we were winning for a long time and some of our district started to say we were the Nephites. And just like when the Nephites started to get prideful, bad things start to happen them because they are slow to remember their Lord. So like when the Nephites got prideful and lost battles to the Lamanites, so did our district. I found it quite funny to see that comparison.

You know what, I am also really missing singing hymns in Ingles rather than en Español. I just don’t get the same meaning out of them. One of the nights before leaving the classroom to go to our casas, we sang I Need Thee Every Hour in English. I think that music is truly one of the best ways to feel the spirit, since I could feel it so easy during that song. And the words of that song are so true. We need our God and Jesus Christ to do all things. Without them, we are hopeless and lost. I also think that some of the hymns are odd to sing in Español, such as singing Called to Serve. In Spanish it is Llamado a Servir and instead of having two verses it has four. I feel like we sing several of our funeral marches here because sometime we sing songs so slow. It is also funny because some of the hymns have more notes because there are more syllables for the Spanish version of the song.

Thanks for all of the emails you all send me. When Katee wrote me, I only responded to her in Spanish so you'll have to see what she has to say about. It looks like she is having a great time. Congratulations to Katie and Stuart on having the baby. She looks very cute and I am sad to not get to see her for a few years, but it is all worth it to be here. I am grateful for all of the support everyone gives me and their prayers and emails.

Thanks and love,

Elder Ferrin