11.14.2011 "A Good Week in St. Johns" (posted by rebecca)

Dear Everyone,

I'm sorry about the last few weeks, thanks for being patient with me. This week, I actually have a few minutes to send an email, which is nice. I'll try to catch up a little bit on what's been going on here lately, and then add a few random tidbits if I have time, just for fun.

We've sort of seen snow in the air once or twice now, so winter is on its way. It's taking it's time in coming though, usually we get some real snow by now. But as I missionary, I'm ok with that. It's supposed to be a hard winter here, so good thing I have my coat and boots. A few months ago I actually bought some boots from Elder Wood, my district leader for my second transfer in Allegan, just before he finished his mission and went home.

The work around here has been going fairly well. There have been good things happening and we've seen many blessings. Unfortunately, so far this transfer and last we've had a number of sick days where we were stuck at the apartment. Did I mention in a past letter that we found out that Elder Sheppard was allergic to gluten? That seems to have been the source of a lot of his not feeling good. We found that out a couple weeks ago, and since then he's been trying to cut down on anything with flour in it. He can have a little bit and it won't really affect him much, but a lot will make him feel sick.

Unfortunately, just a couple weeks after figuring this out, this last week he got the flu and we were stuck in the apartment for about three days. There isn't a ton to do in missionary apartments, but it did give us time to do a few things.

Since Elder Sheppard slept about two-thirds of the day, one of the days I decided to watch a few of the DVD's we use as missionaries and refresh my memory of them since I hadn't seen them in a while. So I watched the Restoration and Finding Faith in Christ, which are both great movies and very well done. I would definitely recommend those to anyone. After those two, I watched the movie The Testaments again. Its a little cheesy in a way, but I love it. When watched with spiritual eyes, that movie can be very refreshing and is great way to invite the Spirit. It is a story that takes place in the America's just prior to Christ's coming, and also depicts events from Christ's life and ministry in Jerusalem. While many of the characters are fictional, this movie is true to the Book of Mormon account and is endorsed by the Church. I would also recommend this movie to everyone.

We also put together a thousand piece puzzle in our spare time. It took forever! Actually, it only turned out to be 994 pieces. I hate it when that happens! I'll try to include a picture.

I also had plenty of time to study. Lately I've been feeling like I needed to study D&C 121:34-46 again, and this was a perfect opportunity to do that. I ended up spending three hours studying, pondering, and praying about those verses. That is one of my favorite passages in all of the Standard Works. The whole time, I wrote down my thoughts and impressions in my study notebook. I felt so blessed, and I received answers to prayers and a greatly increased understanding of the priesthood and of righteous leadership. I even was taught things by the Spirit as I studied that didn't necessarily have to do with the scripture I was reading at all.  Those verses are powerful, and like all inspired scripture there is so much depth to them. The scriptures invite the Holy Ghost and are aids to revelation, and I definitely saw that as I studied. It was a great blessing to have that revelatory experience, which felt like the process that Elder Bednar would call seeing the sun rise on a clear morning (See Elder Bednar- "The Spirit of Revelation" April 2011 General Conference). The Lord is in this work and he does answer prayers. Now I need to study those things I wrote more and apply those things that the Lord wants me to do.

Recently the brand new Lansing Stake President, President Cochley, spoke at the Branch Conference here. He told us that he doesn't really believe in coincidences anymore. I feel the same. As I see this work and the experiences that I go through, I know that the Lord is behind everything. Of course things aren't going to be easy, but the experiences that we go through shape us and help us to grow, as we respond to them with faith and "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord" (Mosiah 24:15). Our Heavenly Father loves us, and that is a message the scriptures, hymns, and teachings of living prophets make very plain.

We have a few investigators that are doing well. We're still meeting with Gale. I mentioned her before, she is 64 and works at a place called Sweetie-licious (more on that place later). She is doing great, and right now we're helping her to understand the reality and importance of priesthood authority. She is Lutheran, is very nice, and loves the Bible. She's reading and praying about the Book of Mormon and knows that the Lord will answer her prayers.

Another investigator we're meeting with is Brother Robinson. He's a nice guy, and he and Sister Robinson are probably in their early 30's. She is a member, but has been less-active for a number of years. The missionaries have been meeting with them on and off for probably the last eight months or so. Brother Robinson is wanting to be baptized in a few weeks, which is great. Unfortunately we're having a hard time meeting with them. They have busy schedules, and when we set an appointment with them things keep coming up. So right now we're just doing our best to get to see them.

We have a few other investigators, but those are the main ones right now who are progressing. Yesterday we were also able to meet with Sister Anderson, who is a recent convert from about four or five months ago. Her husband was already a member, and they have three kids who are 4, 3, and about eight months old. They're doing great right and they're a lot of fun, we love going over and getting to see them.  Lately, Sister Anderson has been having a hard time with drinking coffee. She quit for a while after she was baptized, but then started again. We've been trying to meet with them for a while to help her with that, and we were finally able to yesterday. We reviewed the word of wisdom and talked with them about the blessings that the Lord promises for keeping that commandment. Sister Anderson said that she feels like she understands the principles behind it better now. She told us she feels like quitting drinking coffee is the next step in her spiritual progression right now and is what God wants her to do.  We felt the Spirit during the lesson, even though the kids were running around like crazy the whole time. At the end of the lesson she agreed to get rid of all her coffee drinking paraphernalia, and before we left she put it all in a big trash bag and we took it home with us and threw it in the dumpster. It was a good feeling. We also gave her a blessing before we left. The Andersons are great, I have no doubt that she will be able to quit drinking coffee.

Ok, time for those random tidbits I mentioned:

1. Just to clear up any confusion, I did not get transferred! I will be here in St. Johns with Elder Sheppard until December 10th. After that, there is a decent chance one of us might end up being transferred out. But we'll see.

2. I mentioned the northern lights last time. They were beautiful! I'll try to send a few of the pictures I took that don't do it justice at all. They were eight second long shots to compensate for the dark, so I had to hold really still and they're a little blurry. But they give you a hint of the majesty of what they looked like, even though they were a little faint being so far south.

3. I have learned that many new cars apparently still don't have automatic lights as basic feature, which is weird to me. If the car can beep at you to tell you when to turn them on and off, can't it just do it for you?

4. I think I mentioned before that Brother and Sister Owens sent me a huge box of candy. And it was candy I really liked, which is just making it worse! I love all the things that everyone sends me, but as we get closer to the holiday seasons, I also love getting things that are a little healthier too!

5. My new backpack... is awesome. And it has a lifetime warranty so I don't have to worry about it falling apart. Since it's my third backpack I've gone through on my mission so far (The first was really cheap, the second was pretty worn, but still), that is a really nice thing to have. Thanks Mom! I even had some waterproofing spray and waterproofed the outside in case it rains while we're out.

6. I've gotten the things that everyone has sent me. Mother sent some dehydrated apples and ginger snaps, which are greatly appreciated. I mentioned the box from the Owens, and I also got some zuchinni bread, candy, and pumpkin cookies from my family, which are excellent and not smushed. Thank you everyone! Quick funny story: This is what we're like when we have free time. Elder Sheppard and I opened the bag of giant twizzlers that are almost two feet long. The first thing that happened is Elder Sheppard put on a ski mask his mom sent him and he ate a twizzler through one of the holes that you breathe through. Next we started tying them in big knots, and making chains. Third, we just started swinging them around and whacking each other with them. It was pretty fun!

7. Ok, I have an extra minute or two, so I'll tell everyone about Sweetie-licious. It is a bakery here in the old Downtown of Dewitt, which is pretty small, and just down the street from our apartment. It is owned by Linda, who has won a number of national awards for her pies. She makes amazing cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and muffins. They also have other foods like quiche, soups, salads, and bread for lunch. We usually just get one of the desserts though, because that's what they specialize in and are known for. The shop is mostly pink and white, and just has a really nice and friendly atmosphere with Linda and the workers and the people who come in. The missionaries have been coming by weekly for a while now, and so everyone there knows who we are and we talk to them for a bit (That is actually how the missionaries met Gale in the first place). Sometimes we help them out with something small like moving boxes or putting labels on pie boxes or something. She also sometimes gives us a free cookie when we come in. It's a fun place to visit. Right now they're working overtime to get ready for the eight hundred or so pies that have been ordered from them for thanksgiving, which is crazy for a shop that size.  Sweetie-licious is pretty well known around here. If you want, you can check out their website at www.sweetie-licious.com. I've never been there so I don't know what it's like.

Hope you all have a good week! I'll talk to you next Monday. Bye!

Love,

Elder Trevor Casper

PS. Trouble sending pictures. Will send rest next week. Bye!

11.07.2011 "Short on Time Again" (posted by rebecca)

Dear Everyone,

I'm sorry. I'm going to catch up on answering all the questions and other emails I have received as soon as I can. I have about four minutes left on the clock right now. This week has been pretty good. I have seen many blessings, and I have seen myself grow tremendously in my time here in St. Johns so far.

We were able to teach a lot of lessons this week and that was a good experience. Katharina Vetticatt, a nine year-old girl we started teaching eight days ago was baptized yesterday by her father. That was a very good experience, and I'm so grateful to have able to have been a part of it. I'll have to tell you more about that next week (and the dozen other things I want to talk about also.

There was a quote that I read this week as I studied that really stood out to me and was a direct answer to my prayers:

“In many of the uncertainties and challenges we encounter in our lives, God requires us to do our best, to act and not be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26), and to trust in Him. We may not see angels, hear heavenly voices, or receive overwhelming spiritual impressions. We frequently may press forward hoping and praying—but without absolute assurance—that we are acting in accordance with God’s will. But as we honor our covenants and keep the commandments, as we strive ever more consistently to do good and to become better, we can walk with the confidence that God will guide our steps. And we can speak with the assurance that God will inspire our utterances. This is in part the meaning of the scripture that declares, “Then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45).”  -Elder David A. Bednar “The Spirit of Revelation”. October 2011 General Conference

I know that this is true, that the Lord does hear and answer our prayers, and that as we press forward, keep the commandments, and strive to be better, the Lord will guide our steps. I love you all, and I hope that you have a good week.

Elder Trevor Casper

Love,

10.31.2011 "First Week of Second Transfer in St. Johns- Halloween" (RC)

Hello Everyone!

I should have a few minutes to get to send an email this week. It all depends on if the computer renews my log-in and gives me fifteen more minutes. We'll see I guess!

Things have been pretty good here this last week. It's been a little rainy, and in the 30's at night and 40's during the day. I'm so glad that I finally got my coat back! I think I forgot to mention this, but I actually left my coat back in Harrison about six months ago. I just barely got it back a couple weeks ago, and it was perfect timing.

I had a bunch of notes that I jotted down of things that I wanted to tell everyone about over the last few weeks. Hopefully this will give you a better idea of what's been going on here:

OH NO! It didn't renew. Only 5 minutes left. Ok, I'll hit the important points and save the rest for next time. Sorry Mom, I'll answer all the questions later.

One of the main highlights this week was the Northern Lights!!! I saw them better than I ever have before on Tuesday night. We just got home from a dinner appointment and lesson with a new member. We got out of our car at our apartment, looked up, and there they were! It was pretty spectacular and impressive, although they were still fairly faint since we were so far south. There was green, and a little purple, and deep red. It was so pretty! I'll try to send some pictures I attempted to take in the next email.

I got a new backpack this week! It is awesome and has a lifetime warranty. Thanks Mom!

I got a big huge box of candy in the mail from Brother Owens. It probably weighs ten pounds. I have been eating way too much this last week!

Well, I had a few other things, but that's it for now. Have a great week everyone! Love you all and have a Happy Halloween!!!

Love, 

Elder Trevor Casper

10.24.2011 "Oh No!" (posted by Rebecca)

Hi Everyone,

I'm really sorry, but the computer did something weird and cut me out of some of my time, so I only have about a minute left. I guess that I'll have to fill you in and answer questions next week. Sorry everyone. Things are going well though for me. Hope everyone has a good week!

Love, Elder Casper

10.17.2011 Another Week in St. Johns (posted by Rebecca)

Hi Everyone,

This week has been pretty good here. The weather has gotten a little colder, and we've had some rain in the 40's, but still no snow yet! Has it snowed again in Idaho Falls since that first time?

Things are going well with Elder Sheppard and me. He's not a brand new missionary, but he had only been out two transfers when I first got here. He's a really good guy though, and we have a lot of fun sometimes.

My mom sent me a few questions that she wanted me to answer in my email home this week:

How many appointments did you teach last week?

This last week we actually taught about 10. That is about average for the last few weeks, but Elder Sheppard and I are working on getting in contact with more people so that we can teach at least 15 this week. We're hoping to work up to 20 in the next few weeks, if not this one.

Do you meet more people through tracting, referrals or some other method?

Right now... It's a little difficult to say. We've been spending more of our time teaching than finding lately. Some of the people in this branch here are really good about sharing the gospel with others and giving referrals when they can. We also find new investigators through door knocking, especially in other areas that I've been in. Each is different.  Other ways to find new people to teach is by visiting with part-member families, personal contacting when we meet people on the street, church headquarters referrals (from temples and mormon.org, and they aren't very common. Usually only about one every two or three transfers), and a whole list of other ways in Chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel.

Do you ever have car trouble?

Not usually. The most car trouble I've ever had so far is having to replace a broken windshield wiper blade. The cars are maintained well so that we will have as few problems as possible.

Tell us the names of your investigators.

Right now our investigators are:

1.                   Darnel Williams- He lives in another Branch's boundaries. We were teaching him for a while, but now he has been successfully transitioned up to the Ithaca Branch. He is such a great guy. He's actually getting baptized this next Sunday, and he's pretty excited.

2.                   Gale Junion-metz - She is really nice and has been a devout Lutheran her whole life. She loves the Bible and right now is reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it to know that it is the word of God, and what it claims to be. We're teaching her more in the meantime and reading with her and helping her to feel the Spirit. She knows that God will answer her prayers.

3.                  Brother Robinson- He is the non-member husband of a less-active sister. Lately they've been coming to church pretty regularly, and the Branch leadership is working with them to help them out. They've been a little hard to get ahold of lately, so we're hoping to meet with them soon. He is planning on getting baptized in November.

4.                   We have some other investigators, but we're trying to just get in touch with them right now and set up appointments.

5.                   Lately, a lot of the work we have been doing here is meeting with less-active members and the Anderson family where the Mom is a recent convert. Sister Anderson is doing really well, but is having a hard time with a part of the Word of Wisdom. We're helping her with that. They're both doing really well though and we love visiting them.

What did you have for breakfast today?

Breakfast is different every day. Today... I ate a golden delicious apple and a piece of toast, half smothered in creamy peanut butter and the other half smothered in nutella, folded over. It was pretty good, I just tried it for the first time yesterday.

I was part of a trade-off this last Wednesday and spent the day in Lansing with Elder Coon. It was a pretty good day, although a little hectic! We taught seven people that day. The missionaries there are working really hard and have many appointments each week. We're working on helping the area here to reach the same point. We love being busy! Missionary work is happy work, really.

I see so many blessings in this work. I know that the Lord is helping to strengthen me and refine me. This work isn't easy, and sometimes things are very difficult or stressful. But because of that, I can testify that I know our Heavenly Father hears our prayers, and loves and watches out for each one of His children. He may not always answer prayers in the way that we hope He will, but He always does. He may not always take our burdens away, but He will always give us strength to bear them, even as the people of Alma in Mosiah 34. I know that this is The Church of Jesus Christ. He is at the head of His church and directs us through His chosen servants. This work that I am in is His work, and He directs it as well. I know more than anything else that the Lord loves me and He will always be there for me. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and I know that it is true. Through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can find true happiness in this life and in the life to come.

Listen to the words of our living prophets and study the Book of Mormon daily.

I love you all. Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Trevor Casper

10.10.2011 "Halfway through the Transfer... Already?" (posted by mom)

Hello Everyone,

Things here in St. Johns are going pretty well. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but we actually live in Dewitt, which is about ten miles south of St. Johns. Dewitt is kind of a suburb of Lansing. Much of the town is neighborhoods, and most of the houses aren't too bad. Some of them are pretty nice. The speed limit throughout a lot of the town is 25, which is a little ridiculous, but it's nice place to serve. There is also a bakery downtown named Sweetie-licious, which is a really cool place. I'll have to tell you more about that later because I'm short on time, as always. 

Things are going great here with missionary work. We have a couple investigators that we're working with here that are doing really well. One investigator named Darnel Williams is getting baptized either this weekend or the next. We've been teaching him because we met him through a member in our area, but he actually lives in another area and branch, so we've been transitioning him over to there, which is going really well. He's such a great guy, and it's a great blessing to be able to see the fruits of the gospel and of repentance change his life. He keeps asking for chapters in the scriptures to read and we always love finding more for him to study that will help him. 

We're also meeting with some other investigators and less-active members and helping them. There is a lot of work to do in this area, and we're meeting with the Branch President and our new Branch Mission Leader later this week to talk about and plan how we can help the people in this area. We're excited because we really feel like this area is going to pick up a lot and we'll be able to find many more investigators to teach. We and the future missionaries here will be able to make a difference in the lives of many people.

This last Sunday was a stake Conference, and it was great. They were actually reorganizing the stake and releasing the former stake presidency, so there were two members of the Seventy there and both spoke. It was a privilege to be able to hear what they had to say. They taught about how stake presidencies are called and they taught from the Old Testament about how this is a pattern that has always been used by the Lord. I know that this Church is the true and especially living Church of Jesus Christ. I am blessed in countless ways to serve here and I know that the experiences that I'm having here and the things I'm learning are going to bless me for the rest of my life and help to prepare me for what I will do later. 

Did anyone get to see the Relief Society Broadcast of General Conference? I've been listening to some of the talks and some of the things they taught have really stood out to me. Elder Uchtdorf actually spoke in that session, and I really like the talk that he gave. If anyone didn't get a chance to see that session, they should watch it online.

I hope that everyone has a great week and doesn't freeze from the early snows in Idaho Falls!

Love you all,

Elder Trevor Casper

10.03.2011 "General & Zone Conferences" (posted by rebecca)

Dear Everyone,

How are you all this week? This week has been a pretty busy one for us here. Things are going well, and I really like the branch here, even though I haven't met everyone yet. We have several investigators that we're excited about, and missionary work is going well. 

This last week we had our quarterly Zone Conference at the Stake Center in Lansing. We got to hear from our Zone Leaders, Assistants to the President, Sister Hess, and President Hess. I love zone conferences. They are always special experiences. There had been questions I was having in the days and weeks before the meeting about what I needed to work on and how I could be a better missionary. At times over the last few weeks I also felt overwhelmed and stressed. Some of what President Hess taught us in that zone conference was an answer to my prayers and was exactly what I needed to know. It was a great blessing to be able to be there, and as he spoke I was able to listen to what the Spirit taught me that I needed to do. I know that he is called of God to be my mission president.

How did everyone like General Conference? I loved hearing all those talks. Please go online and listen to them if you missed any of them. They were such powerful talks, and it is such a blessing to be able to hear from living prophets. I know there are things in there for each one of you, if you will listen and do what they say. There are great blessings in obedience to the prophets, and what they teach us is God telling us what we need to do and work on right now. I saw many other answers to prayers during conference as I prayed beforehand and listened intently. I received great strength from their words and I know that St.  Johns is where the Lord wants me to be. He will help me to do his work here and to accomplish what I need to.

I'll have to tell you about some of our investigators next week, I'm actually out of time. I hope things are going well back home! It sounds like things are rolling along there like normal, and I hope everything isn't too crazy. Happy Birthday by the way, Stephen! Thank you so much for all your letters and support. I'm going to find time to write back to everyone soon.

Have a great week everyone!

Love,

Elder Trevor Casper