The new normal for our missionary

Elder Stimpson is doing pretty well!!!

How they are doing the mission work are very much different than what our missionary was used to.  It made him a little mission sick for what they used to do, being out on streets- making contacts.  Elder Stimpson was able to call us every Mondays and Fridays.   However, we are so thankful that they have the most excellent and understanding mission president!

Elder Stimpson and his companions spend their day, doing study one hour in morning and one hour in afternoon.  They do two hours contacts on phone in morning and in afternoon.  They also teach investigators on video calls.  

Elder Stimpson said that many people are much more gracious on phone than before and had some wonderful encounters.  Especially how some were having a bad day just when one of the missionaries called them and cheered them up.  

Our missionary said that evenings were spent with conference calls.  Sometimes, with their mission president, face to face with general authorities, or listening in one of inspiring speeches.  In short, our missionary isn't bored, even though that he is spending most of his time in the apartment.

He had many companions coming in and out through out two transfers.  They all are very good and very happy to have our missionary to cook meals for them!  He gets along well with all of them.  

There was a funny event that our missionary got in.  When repair men came in to fix the leak under kitchen sink, they struggled with communicating because they only speak Spanish.  Our missionary's companions were out for a while but Spanish doesn't come easy to them.  So when our missionary came in to talk with them, they thought that he was your authentic Mexican and then spoke rapidly to him.  Fortunately, he was able to utilize his gift of tongues and communicate with them smoothly.  I guess that our missionary actually sounds like one of them!

He had a few adventurous service hours, whether it may be:  helping a member to bury a favorite dead horse or another member to paint his roof with broom.  I look forward every week to hear what is his latest service project.  

Our missionary currently lives in Missouri City, southwestern part of Houston and he likes it there.  People down there are very friendly and warm.  Members all are wonderful and always have something for them.  We are grateful that he is able to serve his mission and still can learn within his circumstances.  

Upheaval, home for five months and new mission assignment

 Elder Stimpson had to leave Dominican Republic in April due to Covid-19.  He came home by the end of week with a latter bunch of elders who categorized as low risk.  We were privileged to have him for total of five months.

Elder Stimpson was released a week later and then received his reassignment in May.  He was so sad and missed so many in his mission.  He earnestly hoped that he was able to return to his mission if he waited for a year.  It turned out that it was not possible and soon after- he received his reassignment in May to Texas Houston South Mission- no obligations attached.  It was the primarily same area his father served though it was just east and west mission back then.  After thinking this choice over, he decided to accept the assignment.  

We were able to meet his new mission president- President Jeremy Guthrie through a video call and found his energy very contagious.  We knew immediately that Elder Stimpson will do well under his leadership.  Elder Stimpson ended the call with his new president with a huge smile on his face.  One of many tender mercies from the Lord.  1.  same mission as his dad, 2.  Amazing mission president, 3.  We still are in touch with many members in the area, and 4. We know the Lord is on his side and will sustain him.  We are very grateful for the support and love of people we know- friends, family and much more.

On August 9th, our Elder Stimpson was set apart with so many wonderful promises that the Lord is on his side and he will have the Holy Ghost as his everlasting guide.  On August 10, he departed for the mission with a bout of nervousness.  

We heard from him that he landed safely and is venturing out with hopeful heart and eager feet.  He also informed us in text that his assignment will be ending by February 5th.  Prayers are welcome in helping him to adjust to the new mission.

March 2, 2020 Email

well hello there. things are good in the hood. I have been doing something in every prayer. I have been asking for exactly what I want. To find people who are willing to listen, accept, and get baptized. It is something I have picked up from my last companion and I don't know why I haven't been doing it up until now. Because immediately I started to notice that we had a couple people coming up to us instead of us looking for them.

I started reading the book "Jesus the Christ" by James E. Talmage. It really is an eye opener. I love how it explains the details. Jesus was a very intelligent man. I hope it will help me be able to understand what the other religions fault a little better. 

the work is inching along and there is not much going on. we are just trying to get people to teach. We have found some who seem pretty cool. we are teaching someone named miriam who seems to like the teachings a lot and it seems like she knows it is true. both me and my companion believe but she seems very scared.

Emails sent on 2/17 , 2/24

February 10, 2020

hey, what's up? I'm doing pretty good. This week we had nothing happening until Thursday. Our zone leaders had planned on doing an Interchange/comp swap for about 2 transfers and finally they did it last Thursday. It was my turn to go over to the other area and I was put with the last assistant who was recently released who will be going home in a week and a half. The zone leader who came over said he had fun. He got to meet our landlady who gives us lots of food. She is always saying "if you are hungry, don't be scared and just come here, because there is always food for you guys". I can testify the truth of that. Quite often you will find someone like that in each area that the missionaries know. It tends to be a member though. As well as quite a few of the members say the same thing here in this ward. We have gotten pretty close to the ward here, they are basically family. We will see if they keep me here for a 4th transfer. Next week comes transfers. I am nervous but excited as well. I don't want to leave but it would be cool to get to know another area.

Mom, I came up with a name for the camel you sent me. I named him Frederick Douglas. Frederick just seemed to fit well. His last name is Douglas cause it says so on his name tag. Like us the only difference is that ours is placed on our heart and his is placed on his left rear end.

While on the comp swap elder Bolman and elder Farris, who is zone leader, found a couple of deaf people and contacted them. they left the first lesson and they seemed interested. I was a little skeptical because most of the deaf people I have tried to talk to haven't understood me except for deep in the capital. The lesson went well. I found that Maico and his brother yunior, who are brothers and both deaf, Don't have parents. They had died a while ago and because of that maico didn't believe in god. I had shared my testimony and promised him that our father in heaven loves and wants to bless us. While I was sharing the spirit came over me the strongest I have ever felt that I ended up completely forgetting what I was signing and just focused on the spirit. After I had finished maico had the biggest smile on his face. I have so much faith that they will get baptized.

February 17, 2020

Hey, que hay. things are going well here in the pirates of the carribean. This week has been pretty hot and sweaty in the sun all day.

Just this last Friday we had an activity at the church. At first it seemed like fun and harmless then went spiralling downward crashing into the ground. We had planned a game night for the youth and asked them to invite a non-member to come with them. The first game we had planned was dodgeball (in Spanish: cemado americano). I don't know why I thought it would go well. we had told them the rules and explained that if they didn't follow them they would not get pizza afterwards. But Dominicans don't like being told what to do. So they put their own spin on the game. Those who got hit could stay in if they wanted to, anyone can play even if they are waiting for their turn, you can cross the line if you want to just don't get close to the other team, hit all the heads you want, even if it hits the floor first you are out, and etc. Well, in the end everyone got pizza anyway because they wanted to. You won't believe the disorganization in this country. the only organized thing here is the church. Though there are some good things that come from the disoranization. This place can really test your patience.

Our converts are doing well. The husband at the moment is out in Louisiana. We were able to talk with him for a short moment just last Thursday through his wife's phone. He is working on a couple cargo ships fixing the instruments and small electrical stuff on the boat. He is out there freezing to death. Who would have imagined that Dominicans are not fit for the cold Which I miss quit a bit :'(. He says as well as the chef who cooks for them, cooks really nasty food. His wife showed us a picture of a pot with beans and chicken neck stewing over a fire. Kind of looked like dog vomit. I feel really bad for him and I don't know how he is going to survive. But at the moment we are trying to help him prioritize the gospel over work. He keeps forgetting to read. I will be sending him an email this Monday to see if that can help him. He still holds the gospel in high respect but just needs to remember that god comes first then the family then the rest.

Sunday morning we found out transfers. looks like I get to stay for another transfer. That means 6 months in this area. We will be visiting a lot of people to tell them that Elder Bolman is leaving. Our converts weren't to happy to hear that Elder Bolman is going. The younger kids don't understand but their oldest who is 11 is not very happy either. Our landlady wasn't to happy to hear either but she will be preparing us a nice dinner of Dominican spaghetti tonight. Elder Bolman is sad as well. However he is very happy to get to go and meet his new comp. and explore his new area.

February 24, 2020

Hey everyone! things are going well here in the DR. I got a new comp. his name is elder forstrom, from Provo, Utah. He is from the same group as my last comp. I had someone tell me that this is the group that I will have a lot of comps from. this is probably my last transfer in los alcarrizos.

last tuesday was when we had transfers and at the same time we had a conference with someone from the seventy. But the area seventy had asked us to wear long sleeves to conferences and church. There were quite a few who weren't happy because this country is very hot. we were all sweating very hard.

last wednesday we went on a wild goose chase to the clinic to get my residence because they had some problems last time I went and lost all my data. so I had to go again. but the appt was actually for thursday. So we also went on thursday. but this time they only took a sample of my blood. normally they take your blood, a urine sample, and an x-ray. but it was just the blood which made it very fast and simple. But they had sent about a thousand ubers to come pick us up and none of them could find us until one of the assistants had sent one and we found him almost immediately. it seems like the senior missionaries have some difficulty with technology.

This week has been mostly just contacting and more contacting. the last couple weeks we had dropped quite a few people. so we have been walking around a lot in the hot sun and getting rained on a lot.

An email and pictures from Elder Stimpson

What's going on? Things are going well. We have been working well just running into a lot of dead ends. We have been teaching someone who is kind of progressing but always gets stuck with one thing, marriage. She really wants to get married but her husband can't and it looks like it won't be fixed for a good several years. I am not totally sure he wants to get married. She has been taught for about 6 months by the missionaries and has developed a good testimony. Though, the only way she can get baptized from what we have studied is that she has to separate from him. One of the biggest problems is she doesn't have a job. She has family nearby who would be willing to let her stay with them but I think she is very nervous, scared, and unsure. They don't even have a good relationship, the husband is fairly rude from what has happened. But we are hoping she will make a decision soon, Because we are thinking about dropping her.  (Mom's note:  Missionaries generally needs to give people time and space to make decisions on their own.  Missionaries will continue contacting her over the time).

One morning I was doing my studies in the missionary library in a book written by M. Russell Ballard called Our search for happiness. There was a story in there that hit me. It was about a man Who was traveling the U.S. looking for meaning and direction in his life. He was walking down the street one day and saw two men on bikes in suits wearing name tags and holland to them. He asked them if they were selling anything. Later on the missionaries started sharing with him. This man was a little gross when the missionaries met him. Unshaven, long hair, hadn't bathed in a while, and holding a cigarette in his hand. but the second lesson the missionaries had with him he cleaned his cluttered house, took a bath, and tossed out his booze. The missionaries asked what had happened and he replied that he felt it was the right thing to do. The lesson after that he shaved and got a haircut along with other things for the same reason. The same thing happened with our convert jon and his family. Its really cool to see how the spirit of the Lord causes to improve their lives.

I learned of some terminology in my mission. Everyone in the mission has a black year and a white year. The black year is the year you don't see your family while the white year is the opposite. some missionaries say that the black year is the longest year of the mission. This year is my black year but I feel like it will go by pretty quickly.

Last Wednesday I got sick and we had to stay inside. That night we got fairly hungry but were not sure what to eat. Both of us were very tired so we didn't want to cook. we ended up going down to the neighbor to get a phone number to a pizza place, Which by the way it was a little expensive. while we were getting the number the neighbor asked if we had any girlfriends. We had told him no. So he started telling us that he could easily get a couple for us because we are gringos. He even offered his own sister who already has a husband and kids.

Elder Stimpson stays in his area through third transfer!

Elder Stimpson still is with his companion, Elder Bolman and very delighted about it.  He is loving it at his area and said that he finally is feeling like Dominican Republic island is becoming his home.  He said it was difficult to feel that way when he only was able to stay in an area for less than month.  He was able to stay in his fifth area for 20 weeks.  Here's youtube video a newly minted member made after spending a bit of P-day with missionaries.

Elder Stimpson also talked about approaching his hump day and is very excited about it.  He looks forward to countdown after that.  For some reason, the concept of countdown is keeping him motivated with the mission work.

He then told me that his favorite breakfast dish just served to him a week ago or so.  It is called

Mangú.  

I had to copy it off because I don't know how to use accented U.  Here's the link to the dish that Elder Stimpson really liked very much.

https://www.kroger.com/r/mangu-con-los-tres-golpes-plantains-with-salami-and-eggs-recipe/5d6eafa99da07c1c829ddb07

Christmas week

Hi to you all!  We had the privilege of talking with Elder Stimpson online twice this week.  On Monday and Wednesday.  He is doing great.  Just that this week, the missionary work became a bit more laidback due to the request of their mission president.  The new rules were laid out to all missionaries, particularly during this week.  A lot of Dominicans usually celebrate this holiday with a lot of drinking and parties.  Mission president didn't want his missionaries to get into a dangerous situation on streets and nighttime.  He asked them to stay off streets and go to home at eight p.m.

Dominicans don't exchange gifts but celebrate with huge groaning plates and plates of food to eat.  After Christmas day, they usually give the food out to passerby and neighbors.  Gifts exchanging usually are done on Three Kings Day and that's on January 6th.  As in the words of Wikipedia:  Biblically, Three Kings Day commemorates the day that the three wise men, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, visited baby Jesus after travelling across the desert for twelve days bringing him prophetic gifts. ... Here, in the Dominican Republic, there are many traditions that go along with Three Kings Day.Biblically, Three Kings Day commemorates the day that the three wise men, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, visited baby Jesus after travelling across the desert for twelve days bringing him prophetic gifts. ... Here, in the Dominican Republic, there are many traditions that go along with Three Kings Day.

Elder Stimpson and his companion will be facing transfer day in two weeks from now and they are waiting to hear from their mission president on which day they will be having a zone conference.  Elder Stimpson also talked about soon having hump day in February.  He is very excited about that!!!

Here's an email we received from him last Monday.

hey how's it going? things are going good. things have been rolling along. we have been working with a good amount of people one was almost baptized until we found out that she wasn't really married. she told us she was but not civilly. but I think the missionaries will still try to work with her. but other than that we have some that could show some promise but it's still too early to tell.

we had a pretty eventful monday though. I bought a couple fun things for christmas like a blow up hammock, a yoga mat, and some chips mostly salt and vinegar. we at out as well at a place called jade teriyaki style. which seems like an american made restaurant but it has a dominican twist.

yesterday we ate with our land lord who lives just below us. they gave us chicharron and tostones made from ripe plantains. chicharron is a big chunk of pig fat fried and tostones are fried plantains here they call them fritos in the poorer parts.