Week 3

Hey Family!!

 

As of now, I am leaving December 10 for Syndey! :) I met an Elder that just came in from there last night and he's so excited to have me go there. I kinda am too i guess :b. So some info regarding the New Mission rules/ requirements.... we just had a fireside last night and the speaker addressed some of these things. They will be cutting missionaries time in the MTC by about 1/3 starting in January. Therefore, Anika, if you get your call and enter the MTC before the first week or so of January, chances are you'll be there for the full time. Otherwise, you'll either be here for 2 weeks, 6 weeks or 8 weeks depending on the language you'll be speaking. They are expecting a big influx of missionaries within the next three months, so the speaker told all of us to be prepared to become trainers soon because they are expecting the largest number of missionaries to come through in the summer and they will be needing lots of new trainers. I can't imagine training after just a few short months! They have initiated a new program as of about 9 months ago where, when a missionary enters the field, they redo all of PMG and have a specific training program for the first 12 weeks that the Missionary is in the field. All of these things point to the fact that the Lord is hastening His work!!! It is crazy to think that in 2 weeks Elder Staheli will be gone and I'll be training a new cantonese missionary....... I hope I can be as good of a trainer as he was! We are both very busy here. We were called to be zone leaders last week and it has been quite odd to switching into that adjustment. 

Elder Bednar came for our Tuesday Night Devotional!!!!! It was so cool!! When the doors opened up and he walked in. The spirit flooded the room and everyone immediately stood up! It was a crazy awesome experience! He talked about the need to study conference addresses and shared with us how he does his personal study. Pretty sure everyone who listened now is going to study in a similar way because if an Apostle studies this way...... You can't really go wrong with studying that way haha! :) He talked about how he will always look for Doctrine (a salvational truth) Invitations, and promised blessings. He will find these in every talk and ponder each of them seperately. He will look for the core doctrines that the Brethren are speaking about, then find the invitations they offer and the promised blessings, and then he will try to follow them to the best that he can. He mentioned something about doctrine that was really cool. He said that a lot of times we in the church like to refer to some things as "deep doctrine." but that in reality, those are not deep doctrine because Doctrine is basic, simple, and is a salvational truth. Most of the things people refer to as "deep doctrine" has little if any significance to one's salvation. So that was a really cool thing to learn. 

So a little disclaimer about the whole investigator thing...... brace yourselves. The investigators are really our teachers haha! The first week they give you a new "investigator" who then after 5 or so lessons becomes your teacher. These "investigators" are real people that they know or someone they met on their missions. So they are real people, and we are still supposed to treat them as if they were a new investigator, but they in actuality are our teachers. Sorry, I didn't know until my companion had me give a baptismal interview to his investigator, and when I entered the room, it was his teacher haha! The teachers do a AWESOME job at switching roles. I honestly dont feel like I'm talking to my teachers because they fit the roles SO well!!! And they aren't allowed to speak a single word of english, so we really do feel like we are teaching someone from Hong Kong. Especially Sister Tai, she role plays her best friend "Kim" and I really can't believe its the same person because she completely switches her role and doesn't ask the regular questions you'd expect a church member to ask. I think it's because all the teachers really knew well the people they role play so they can do an awesome job. But yeah..... was a tiny bit sad to realize they I couldn't actually baptize Pauline before Leaving the MTC as "Pauline" really lives in Hong Kong and is my teacher's best friend. But I can totally see why the MTC does it this way. It helps the teachers tremendously to help us teach according to our investigtor's needs and helps them prepare us as best they can. So for any future missionaries reading this..... don't treat your investigator like your teacher because it won't work. They won't sympathize with you and will treat you just as if you were 2 missionaries teaching them and they didn't know you from anywhere. All things here are set up to help us teach to our investigator's needs. We have a lesson every single day except sunday and so a lot of study time goes into preparing lessons and then translating them into Cantonese. My Cantonese keeps coming along much better than I was expecting. 

The blessings here are so amazing! Thank you to everyone who keeps me in their thoughts and prayers, I know they are being answered because I see blessings I could never hope to imagine. I gave my first blessing for the sick this week. Elder Staheli and I blessed Sister Larson because she caught a really bad virus and had to go to the doctor. After 14 hours of sleep (the doctor told her she needed to sleep as much as possible, so my teacher kicked her out of class one night haha! :) in a nice way of course!) she started feeling much better, but it was cool to give a blessing of healing and comfort, rather than just a blessing of comfort and guidance. My time is up now, I love you all so much and am so grateful for this wonderful experience. Thanks to everyone who has and does support me. The work I am doing is in large portion due to your efforts on behalf!

 

Elder Shafer

We received another letter from Kyle today.

Dear Family,

 

CAN YOU BELIEVE THE REVELATION WE RECEIVED ABOUT MISSIONARY AGE REQUIREMENTS ON SATURDAY!!!!!! It was Amazing!! Everyone in the Auditorium went nuts and was so excited!! Conference was So amazing! Mom and Dad, I sent you home a letter today about my feelings and everything. You may want to share it with the family and anyone else who would like to read it. It´s basically just a summary of all my notes..... which were not a few so, maybe typing it up and sending it via an email would be good.  Or maybe just the notes that I wrote would be good to add to the blog michelle, that way people actually know I´m learning a thing or two out here hehe. Also, Michelle, I AM receiving your dear elders and LOVE them!!! thanks so much! Same goes for Mark and Anika.  Dear elder´s here are the best! we can pick them up after dinner and its always nice to get a little love from back home before diving into 3 more hours of cantonese. 

As for the schedule here, it´s awesome! I feel so sorry for the Elders that just dont get it. There are some who just don´t see how amazing the MTC is and how much it helps you as an individual and as a missionary. Everything is spaced out evenly and set up so well so that the spirit can always reside with you and you can continue to learn in a variety of ways. Plus, the gym time is awesome. Elder Staheli, My compaion is pretty good at volleyball so I will play that sometimes with Him, but I also have gotten very good at 4 square. I think I may have the record for reigning as King of the court for the Longest cuz I stayed while the whole line went through several times! Not to boast, but I think I've just found a new talent for me! :) I always make sure that I run and get an actual workout before playing foursquare though cuz foursquare in and of itself isn´t the best workout, it´s just a nice cool down and something that allows me to have fun. 

My companion is really into football, and is a huge BYU fan and guess who we had come for Sunday night Fireside last night...... Chad Lewis!!!! He played for BYU, then the St Louis Rams, and then the Phili Eagles! 

He´s a hall of famer and my Companion just freaked out when He saw him walk up the aisle. I guess Chad is pretty much his idol because He saw almost every one of his games from BYU on. He's right behind Steve Young and Levelle Edwards in Elder Staheli´s book of favorite people haha. We ran up and shook his hand before the meeting and my Companion got to give him a bro hug. Chad said "It doesn't matter if you're going to Salt lake or Sydney, or if your speaking English or Cantonese!" and my companion was just awe struck because we were the ONLY one's speaking cantonese to talk to him so Elder Staheli knew that He was talking about us and that we were mentioned in one of his Idol's talks, it made me happy to see him so ecstatic! :) Another thing Chad said that was really funny is since he served his MIssion in Taiwan, he knows mandarin and is the NFL ambassador to China. So they asked him to talk about the Superbowl in China and he accepted, but then realized that he didn't know many terms outside of the mission/church language. They assured him it would be fine and would be fun so he "Testified that Steve Young threw true passes." hahahahaha :) I thought that was pretty funny, but I guess it got the point accross lol. 

I'm sleeping much better and eating fantastic every day! I actually eat more healthily here than at home haha :) Anika would be happy to know I'm eating salad with almost every lunch and dinner. Just a small bowl, but i'm starting to like it. And the fruit they have here is SO good! I eat cantaloupe with almost every meal, no joke! :) Everyone looks at me weird when I salt it, but it's so much better that way :) Thanks so much Grandma and Grandpa Ray for your letter. I will write you back, I Promise! :) 

The language is coming along SOOO much better than I could ever imagine. I have gained a HUGE testimony about hard work and the blessings of it. Someone said regarding learning a language "there is no language so difficult that a 4 year old somewhere in the world can't speak it." It made me laught to think about that, but it is true! So I have tried really hard to learn the language. I always carry flash cards with me in my pocket and whenever I have a minute or two, I pull them out and start memorizing again. I dont say this to boast, but to exclaim how much of a miracle it is that when we work hard, and even above what is expected, the Lord blesses us exponentially. I am learning between 20-25 words per day JUST from the flash cards! I know probably over 200 words and am able to understand almost every sentence my teacher says if he will repeat it once. My brain get's saturated with words by about half way through his sentence, and im just a couple seconds behind in hearing a word then knowing what it is, but whenever I ask him to say it again, I understand HIm completely! It's such a blessing and my companion just keeps getting more and more impressed. I'll ask him the correct way to pronounce a word and he'll say "You're already learning that!? We didn't learn that until 2 weeks ago!" I know that working harder than even is the normal or expected brings extra blessings and that humility is key to inspiration (anyone name that quote? :)) 

I am trying to remain humble as I learn and am always trying to work as hard as I can. I'm so grateful for my companion. He's a really hard worker.  I love you all SOOOOO much and am so grateful for the privelidge it is to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Love you all so much! keep my updated please! and I'm sorry I didn't get to answer everyone's questions :(

 

Much love,

 

Elder Shafer (Siu JeungLouh) 

Contacting Kyle

Just so everyone has all of Elder Shafer's contact information, I am posting it here.

Current mailing address: (most current address will always be posted on the side of the blog)

Elder Kyle Brandon ShaferMTC Mailbox # 253AST-SYD 12122005 N 900 EProvo, UT 84604-1793

Email address:
kyle.shafer@myldsmail.net

You can also send Kyle mail through DearElder.com.  It is free and he receives them daily (same day if submitted before 12:00 MST).  Just make sure to send it to Elder Kyle Shafer, mailbox # 253.

Thank you all for your love and support.  I know he loves and appreciates all of your letters.

Kyle's First Letter

Well we received Kyle's first letter home today.  He is working hard and loving his mission.  I'll let him tell his story...

Thanks so much for your love and the letters. Keep them coming!! :) The MTC is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO amazing!! way different and better than anyone could have ever told me. You're wrong on one thing though. The MTC IS a mission now. They have Real investigators that we are teaching and we have a MTC Mission President. His name is President Brown. Yes, they want us to speak our language as much as possible. I came in Wednesday night to my class and all I heard for the first 50 minutes was Cantonese. I guess they like to give you a crash course but it was really well done! My teacher is way qualified to teach. He just got back from his mission to Hong Kong 9 months ago and is attending BYU currently. He teaches very well and gives us the truth about how the Language really is since some of our text books are outdated. Cantonese is a "changing" language. For example, a lot of our books use the letter N, but in reality, most newer texts and the common language replaced the N with an L. Another example is that there used to be 7 tones, but now there are only 6.... not sure exactly how it works, but the langauge changes over time and so it's good to have someone who really knows the current language rather than learning from a text book that is over 10 years old. 

We started teaching our first investigator on Friday. She is from Hong Kong and is 16 and studying here at BYU. she's only spoken to us In cantonese and it is pretty difficult to teach and understand her, but our second visit, which was the next day was much better. It is amazing how much you can learn in one day here!! The gift of tongues is SO present and working in my life and I can see it all the time. I think ASL has helped me a lot to really focus and pay attention because in ASL if I didn't look at every single movement of my teacher, I wouldn't know what she was saying. It is the same for Cantonese. I only understand a couple words of what my teacher says in a sentence, but I can use those to piece together what I think he is saying and so my brain is getting faster at recognizing the words that I know. Does that make sense? My vocabulary is growing quickly too. I think I know about 100 words in cantonese. I pray in "chinglish" where I will say every word I can in Chinese and then fill it in with english words. I know how to bear my testimony on Christ living, that God loves us, the book of mormon is true, Joseph smith is a prophet. God has a plan for us, reading the scriptures makes you happy, and that you can pray to Heavenly Father at any time and He will answer. I am very suprised at how quickly I have learned these things. My companion is as well. He says that he couldn't pray without the book to help him until after a week here and I was able to do it on the 3rd day! Not to boast of myself in the slightest, but it is an answer to prayer because I have been praying for a long time for the language to not be a hindrance to my teaching. 

I want to teach the Lord's gospel to anyone who will hear is as soon as I can and I think the Lord is recognizing that desire and helping me more than I can ever imagine. I lay awake at night after praying just SO thankful for everything that has happened in the day. Once i finish my formal prayer, I will just lay there and ponder and commune with thoughts I guess to My Father in Heaven for all of my blessings. He has blessed me so much here and in my life. I am so blessed to be here and with the opportunity to bring to pass His work and His glory. We watched a talk by Elder Holland last night about that concept. Of making God's work, our work, and doing it his way, not ours. it was awesome and so inspiring!! My companion is a very hard worker. He also eats REALLY fast so that He can get back to studying. We are given 50 minutes to get our meals, eat them, and clean up before heading to class, and almost always we have eaten and are done in 30 minutes and then he pulls out his flash cards while the others in our district finish. He is an amazing Elder and I am so glad to have him. His name is Elder Staheli (pronounced Stay-lee).  

Speaking of our District...... He and I are what you call "solo" elders. The only other person in his district is a sister missionary, and the only other 2 in my district are sister missionaries. Since he and Sister Ainge (his district companion) are 7 weeks in, they are in a different class than me and the other 2 new sisters, so it's weird beacuse He and I will walk to the same building, but then have to go into different classes. They can't be in the room without the teacher, and when me and the sisters are in our class room, we all have to leave together. So it's like half the time I have 2 sisters as my companion, and then other times I''m with Elder Staheli. It's not what I was at all expecting, but that's what we have to do since only us 5 are learning Cantonese. I have checked often though to make sure we are staying within the Guidelines, and I have been reassured several times that our unique situation is fine and that we just need to be diligent and make sure we are extra conscious of not being alone with 1 sister or leaving companions or such things. So yeah..... That's the sitch with my district. I am also the District leader since I'm the only Elder in our district. I am also the only elder in the entire MTC that is going to Sydney speaking cantonese, pretty crazy to think of! but it struck me that in PMG it mentions that the gospel will be proclaimed to every person in HIS OWN tongue. So it makes me realize that the Father is relying on me to be the unique tool he needs to declare the gospel to the Cantonese speaking people in Sydney because He loves them just as much as He does any of His other children. All the other people learning cantonese are going to Hong Kong. The MTC is great here!! Love you and the Family so MUCH!!!!

 

Please pray for Pauline. She is our investigator. She is very humble, but didn't know who God was, or what prayer was before we taught her. Please pray for her by name, I know she can use all the help she can get for understanding our low quality cantonese! :) Love you!!

Kyle Reports

Well, it is official.  Kyle was set apart last night and left early this morning for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT.  He will be there for about 12 weeks learning Cantonese before traveling to Sydney, Australia.  We are all so proud of him.  He is such a great example and I know he will be a great missionary.  He loves the gospel and has a wonderful desire to share it.  Please keep him in your prayers and send him as much mail as you can!

The Mission Call

On May 3rd, 2012, Kyle received his mission call.  We gathered together as a family, via Skype, as we were all living in four different cities between Washington, Idaho, and California.  Kyle opened his letter and read his call.  He is called as a missionary to labor in the Sydney Australia mission.  He will prepare to preach the gospel in the Cantonese language.  It was an amazing experience.  I know Kyle has been called to serve in a very special place.  He has prepared himself from a very young age to be a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I took a video of the event, so please enjoy, especially Dad's joke about getting a cat so he can start practicing his Cantonese!  As a little background, Kyle's Mom served a mission as well in Sydney, Australia.

Stay tuned for more posts as we follow Kyle on his mission.  His mailing address is posted on the blog so send him some mail.  He reports to the Missionary Training Center, in Provo, Utah this Wednesday, September 26th, 2012.

Kyle's Testimony

A testimony is a personal spiritual witness given by the power of the Holy Ghost.  Each member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the sacred opportunity and responsibility to develop a personal testimony centered on Christ and His teachings.  With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Twelve Apostles, said “A testimony of the gospel is a personal witness borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost that certain facts of eternal significance are true and that we know them to be true. Such facts include the nature of the Godhead and our relationship to its three members, the effectiveness of the Atonement, and the reality of the Restoration.”

For most of us, a testimony grows gradually over time through our experiences.  It grows as we individually study, pray, learn, and serve one another.  It grows and is strengthened as we live and obey God's commandments.  An important part of nurturing a testimony involves sharing it with others.  Kyle has written  his testimony and would like to share it with each of you.

I believe in Jesus Christ. Not only that He lived and we have a record of Him and his teachings, but that He died for our sins, He arose again in 3 days time, and that through Him, all who believe on him and follow His Gospel can live with Him again for eternity. I know that God answers prayers. That is one thing I absolutely know. There have been so many experiences and wonderful times in my life where prayers have been answered to ever question that principle. I believe God to be a God of mercy and miracles. Those miracles have not ceased, and if we look for it, we can see God’s hand in our lives on a daily basis. 

I believe with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is a true work of scripture and should be read along with the Bible. Both books are of great benefit and help us to understand Jesus Christ. If you have not read the Book of Mormon, I encourage and challenge all to read it. Read it and you will see for yourself the wonderful message it delivers about our Savior. I do believe that going on a mission at this time in my life is what my Father in Heaven wants for me. I am going to try my hardest to be an example of His son and fulfill his commission to go forth unto all nations, baptizing them unto repentance. Just in particular, I will start in Sydney Australia. 

Joseph Smith is as true of a Prophet as was Moses, and Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. God loves all of His children equally and is doing everything He can to bring us back home to live with Him. He will not force us back into His presence however, we must choose to live his Gospel and we must want to live with Him again. I am so thankful to have a living prophet that is able to help me with current revelation and guidance about how to live Christ’s gospel in today’s time. There is much we learn from the scriptures and I encourage all to read them daily, but I am also very thankful to have a modern and living prophet who I can look to not only for an example, but listening to Him speak, I know the specific things that I need to work on in order to bring my life into better accordance with the gospel. I believe He will never lead us astray and that if we follow and do what he says, the blessings he promises will come to pass. I have experienced it and I love listening to him. 

I am so grateful that I can live with my family forever. Death will not separate us from being together forever, and that is such a comfort to me. 

My testimony did not come quickly or without struggle to me. I don’t want anyone to think that I am just going off of my parent’s and family’s testimonies. They have been a big help in bringing me up in righteousness, no doubt. But my testimony is my own, and was gained by much prayer, fasting, and reading of the scriptures. It also is not finished and will be a continual learning and growing process for my entire life. There is much I do not know and I am okay with that. I do not need to know it all. I do know, however, a few things which allow me to believe in many others without doubting them. I know my Father in Heaven answers prayers and loves me. When I pray to Him, He answers. I have felt the Holy Ghost and using this, can determine the true from the false. I have felt the spirit when I read the scriptures. That is how I know they are true and how I have gained my testimony.  

I encourage all to come unto our Savior, Jesus Christ. He loves each of us individually and I am very humbled and excited for the opportunity to take 2 years to go and serve Him. His gospel has blessed my life so much that I want to share it with anyone who is willing to listen. I do believe that this Gospel is true, and encourage anyone who wants to learn a little more about Christ to look into meeting with the missionaries. Their purpose is to bring others to Christ and help everyone to develop a closer relationship with Him. I am so excited about my opportunity to serve the Lord as one of His missionaries!

Kyle