Manette: Week 9 - so much to tell

Family!!!

There is so much to tell you this week I don't even know where to start. I tried to take more notes during the week than I usually do, so I could tell you more of what happens from week to week, but it just made me realize how much the ups and downs happen. I know I've said that so many times before, but this week had CRAZY ups and downs. Like every other day. I'll try and just go day by day. 

Monday: We spent our zone activity at Lion's Park in our area. It was cloudy (first day in a week) but then the sun came out :) Monday night we went to the "mid-singles" FHE group they have ha, ha. It's always soooo awkward, but there's a nonmember who goes that we're trying to start teaching.

Starting to rain again

Tuesday: Lots happened. We did an exchange with Seabeck elders, I was with Elder Nebeker in Manette. Elder Nebeker was trained in Raymond by Elder Hansen! So we had a LOT to talk about. He gave me some updates on Raymond. Brother Oneto (was in Bishopric) is now their ward mission leader, and the Morenos (we baptized Israel) are ward missionaries and Terry is preparing to receive the Melchizedek priesthood! Some sad news: remember Machel? She was someone I found and was baptized after I left, but had problems, relapsed on her drug habit, and overdosed. Her son AJ who was also baptized is living with his grandma now. Super tragic. On the other had, her friend Kelsi (I also found and was baptized after I left with 3 of her kids) is super active and went through the temple a little bit ago for her endowments! It is amazing to see the effect of missionary efforts in the long run. Elder Nebeker also met this super weird angry old man who kept telling us we weren't Christians and that the foundation of the Christian world is the Council ofNicaea (utterly and totally false). He slammed the door before we could defend the faith, so we just kept knocking. 

Wednesday: We had a great zone meeting on planning, and using tools like "grouping" where you organize the area into groups and save time in visits. Elder Anderson and Slavens and I did it in Tacoma. I also read something called the "Elder Ricciardi letter." A letter from a returned missionary to a friend about his trainer. He wrote about a lot of things this stalwart trainer had done, such as opening his mouth always, being bold and loving, working hard all day + obedience = success, praying a lot and courageously following promptings, rejoicing in persecution, dropping noncommittal investigators to focus on the elect, the doctrine of teaching by the Spirit of Truth, and why God calls us on missions (our own conversion/ that "one soul" unto Him). Anyway, lots of good stuff that I cannot fully explain but I have loved learning, applying and experiencing. There are so many good ways to do missionary work. Wednesday was a good day, I felt happy and successful and confident. Elder MacCarthy opened up more by sharing some personal things and a powerful testimony with this lady we met. He is great.

Thursday: We applied all that we learned about planning in our "mega" weekly planning session and set crazy goals for next week!!! Like 60 lessons! I did the math on how many lessons per day we need to reach our area baptism goals (March-3, April-6). It's about 9 lessons a day which is A LOT. But we will work crazy hard, pray with super faith and see what happens :) We also went to Lion's Park to talk to people and  met a nice family that seems interested.

 

Exchange day with Elder Goodwine back in Bremerton

Friday: Friday was a blessing straight from Heavenly Father. I got to go on an exchange with the ZLs with Elder Goodwine in BREMERTON!!! MY FIRST AREA! It was so so so fun and brought back dozens of wonderful memories. I could remember doors I had knocked on, streets where my trainer taught me things, and people we met. I even got to go visit my converts! We tried Kyla, but she wasn't home, only her brother and her mom. It was funny saying, "Remember me? I baptized your sister!" Chris, Annette, and Xavior have all moved, but I did see Amick!!! That was so cool! It took him a few minutes to recognize me, but when he did he smiled and we got to reconnect. He said he's meeting with the Bishop next week to prepare for the Melchizedek priesthood!! Ah! 

Saturday: The opposite. Bad news, guys. We finally saw Tina, but she told us that she has decided to stick with a church more like the one she grew up with, so she's going there with a friend. She is no longer interested in visits :'(   Inside my heart broke and my mind was pleading, "no, no.." but as we talked I realized she had not understood the Restoration doctrine, plus she had stopped reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. It's hard to keep the spirit with you when you stop keeping commitments. We told her we loved her and that the doors of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are always open and invited her to receive the future missionaries. Planting seeds or something. As devastating as it was, I had the odd comfort and assurance, from the Holy Ghost, I think, that she was always in Heavenly Father's care and not ready at this time. I hope we fulfilled our purpose. I was bold in testifying of the truth of the Restoration, and we left it at that. We also got dropped by another investigator family, and passed our most solid guy over to Spanish. Then we had these investigators feed us dinner. The husband is from Nigeria, I think. He made us goat. The first time I've had goat and I hope the last. Let me tell you, it was weird. Had a different taste and was tough and lean. We had it with this fried kale and corn meal. We usually don't get weird meals like that in the WaTac, so hopefully it was a good experience, ha, ha.

Sunday: Church turned me upwards again. Even though Dave didn't make it (still works Sundays, fell off his baptism goal date, but we're still teaching him), we had Ward Conference and Ward Council, and the Stake Presidency came to both. Our Stake President, President Anderson, is amazing. He's one of my mission heroes. He is a scientist and incredibly brilliant. His gospel knowledge is exceedingly great ha, ha. His training blows my mind and expands my understanding. He applied Preach My Gospel chapter 8 to ward councils and probably changed my church service for my life. I feel like a mission is sometimes just leadership training for the rest of your life. We get to meet with so many experienced, smart Church leaders. We are having dinner with the Andersons tonight, they live in our ward. I'm excited :) I'll probably bring a notebook ha, ha. We also had dinner right after church with the Frazier family, they fed us venison stew (ha, ha I know right?) from their backyard and homemade apple and blackberry pie, also from their backyard orchard. This meal was delicious though. We challenged them to prepare a friend to be taught by missionaries and they accepted! That night we also got to knock in the rain again. Finally!

Tommy's apartment with St. Patrick decorations from Mom

Well, my family and friends who might have actually made it through this exhaustive e-mail, I love you and I love my mission more than words will ever express. I love being dedicated to God, living my covenants with Him, and striving to have my will "swallowed up" in His. There is no greater joy, I can testify. 

Have a lucky St. Patrick's Day, and a very happy birthday, Mom. 

Love, Elder Webber

Scripture: *Mosiah 15:7

P.S. I can't wait for our mission temple trip this Wednesday!! It's going to be great!!!

Manette: Elder Maynes visits the WaTac!

Dear family,

This week was alright, the ups and downs as usual. Bad news is Tina fell off date for baptism, which would have been tonight :( We taught her the law of tithing and Word of Wisdom this week, and she felt she couldn't quite do it. Our Bishop agreed to meet with her and reassure her about things. We know that with every commandment the Lord provides a way (1 Nephi 3:7), but that takes faith. She also has still been having a hard time with her recent family member who passed away. We are going to visit her today to say Happy Birthday and try and get her on track again. Satan works extra hard on investigators the week before their baptism. Anti, self-doubt, crazy outside influences, you name it. It's really sad.

The positive this week was definitely the visit from Elder Richard J. Maynes, of the Presidency of the Seventy. We had a mission wide meeting Saturday morning, and then he came to the Bremerton stake (one of ten options) for a special stake conference we held! Our meeting Saturday was my favorite. We all got to shake his hand, then we read some familiar scriptures and got SO much out of it as he explained things and asked questions, then he taught some techniques on missionary work. He talked about how to set goals and plan and always focus on our missionary purpose, especially the central commitment to baptism. He taught about the opposition of faith and fear and how we need more faith than fear when it comes to things like opening our mouth (OYM) at all times and making bold invites, not weak ones. One missionary trap is to have weak invites that don't offend, or help, progress our investigators, then we keep visiting people who are not prepared. We are looking for those who are "truth seekers." He told us how well the Church is doing and bore his "especial witness" of Christ. I can tell you the Spirit filled the room as we heard that.

Elder Thomas Webber finds another cat

Our stake conference was great too, and our stake president, President Anderson, has such excitement, vigor, and vision for the work of the Lord in Bremerton. He sees stakes here and a temple some day! I love that our Church is always growing, from Joseph Smith + 5 more initial members in April of 1830 to President Monson + 15,000,00 more in March of 2015. We are making the history of the Church right now in our lives and it is so exciting.

Washington Blossoms

The sun continues to shine in Washington, we will all go as a zone to the park today to play some outdoor games. Even when all our appointments fall through in one day, it helps me to see the grand picture of the work of Heavenly Father, and to remember with gratitude the "many mighty miracles" (Alma 26:12) he has blessed me with on my mission. I pray for a few more while I'm here. I know the work is true.

Day-light savings means more tracting doors before dark

Love,
Elder Webber

Random Scriptures of Strength:
Ephesians 6:12-13
Hebrews 4:14-15
Alma 15:8
Romans 13:14
Mosiah 3:7

Manette: Interviews, Diligence, and Tina progresses

Dear Family,

We are excited about March and all that is on the horizon of the WA-TAC. We have a 2015 goal of 800 baptisms for the mission and we are always praying and doing daily obedience to work towards it. President Blatter is a great leader, motivating, likable, and inspired!

This Saturday we get to have a mission meeting in Tacoma with Elder Richard J. Maynes (Presidency of the Seventy) visiting, and some area authorities, Elder Nielson and Elder Bussey. I have met Elder Bussey before, he came to a training and a ward council in Soundview. We are excited to receive inspired training, have questions answered, and also get together as a mission :)

And then we will have a temple trip! Our zone is going on Wednesday March 18th! Happy Birthday mom! I am so excited to get to go (again) and be with all the missionaries.

District meets with President Blatter

Our district had interviews with President Blatter on Tuesday, which is always great to get to talk to him. We don't see him as much as we do in Tacoma, when we lived so close to the mission home and the office. I felt great after the interview and also got a copy of Elder Steed's final report which made me realize how short time is on a mission, and how fast it goes, and how short my time in Manette may be! So Elder MacCarthy and I re-energized and agreed to work extra hard from now on! We are going to be more effective and spend as little time in the apartment as possible (lunch/dinner breaks) and knock more doors and be more bold in our testifying and inviting. There is a sense of urgency in this work and the field is so white in Manette! We set a goal to knock every door by the end of the transfer! We mark on a map at home where we have knocked and it's cool to see it grow.

Elder Webber visits the famous 'Hollywood' sign

We have been working with Tina as a focus this week. We helped her on Saturday to get some more furniture for her apartment, a bed and a couch and bookshelf. She was very grateful. It was from another member who was going to get rid of it. Our wonderful Relief Society President helped organize it. We then went with her to the church to watch a baptism for the Bremerton ward! Elder Smith and Elder Goodwine's. Tina loved it and it helped her feel more comfortable and ready for her baptism. She said she got butterflies watching it. Sadly Sunday morning she woke up with a bad migraine, and couldn't make it to church. We should be meeting with her tonight and teaching the last few lessons. She is still planning on being baptized on her birthday, March 9th. So next week in my Monday e-mail everything should be planned and ready to go that evening!

Found a local place called 'The Manette'

Dave has still had to work on Sundays, but we should be meeting tonight and will try and work something out. We haven't been able to see him this week, either. And then Jeremy is doing good. Been struggling with work and some things, and still trying to adjust to a new lifestyle. I think he needs new friends, and we've been talking about getting him more involved in the YSA activities and stuff. He went with us to the family history center to get him started. Hopefully a temple trip soon!

Tommy says if you park your car over the weekend in WA, then...

Time keeps marching on, but I love my mission. The sun has been brilliantly present this week and so has the work progressed. I love my personal study time and have been getting wonderful insights on the Atonement of Jesus Christ from Book of Mormon scriptures. I'll share a few below. I love you all so much. Can't wait to see you in a few months.

Love Elder Webber

Scriptures:
Alma 34:8-16 (Amulek)
Mosiah 3:7-11 (King Benjamin)
2 Nephi 2:6-10 (Lehi)
Each is a powerful testament from a different prophet to the Divinity and reality of Christ. Each teaches a unique aspect of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Without that timeless act, all would be lost. Because of it, we have everything to gain. We just need to live His teachings.

Manette: WA-TAC Sunshine and Early Blooming

Dear Family,

This week was surprisingly sunny and that makes a Californian happy. All the Washington natives talk about how rare this is to be having sun and so little rain this year. We also hear about how terrible the weather is on the east coast. Because of the early sun and warmth, the beautiful cherry blossom trees (I think that's what they are) are already showing all over, which leads to the first story.
We met a guy named Dave our first or second week here, while knocking. He is in his 40's and married and works at a Dairy Queen. He previously worked at a Jack-in-the-Box for several years. He likes it. At first he seemed a little hesitant to meet with us, but we kept coming back and began teaching him about the Book of Mormon on his doorstep. We could never come in because he lives with a roommate he didn't want to bother plus a loud yappy dog and it wasn't clean, so we just talked on his porch. Not ideal, but it worked. Finally we were able to set up a church tour with him on his day off. Church tours were the goal for last week, so we really focused on it.

Cherry tree as a sign from God

Friday afternoon came and we met him at the church with a member there. When we showed him around the chapel and lobby and classrooms, and then talked about the Restoration by the First Vision painting, we asked about his reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He said he did start praying that morning, and when he left his apartment he saw one of those early-bloomed cherry blossom trees, which are his favorite. He felt good. When he came to the church, he saw the same tree, the only one not bare, in front of the building! He believes it was a little sign from God he is on the right path! We showed him the baptism font room and invited him to set a goal to be baptized March 28th and he accepted! He still needs to ask for Sundays off for his work but he wants to be here. Church tours are awesome.

Tina is still working closer. We taught her the third lesson this week, the Gospel, and she said she got chills when we taught about baptism. She is excited about her birthday baptism. Sadly, she had a family member pass away Saturday, so she wasn't at church, but we got to talk with her about it.
We haven't been able to see Russel, or Carolyn, but we have a lot more potentials and part member families, I just don't have time to tell about all of them. I usually just share the stories and updates that stand out to me. Also Jeremy is still doing well, he had a rough day at work this week, but keeps coming to church and has a lot of faith.

Unseasonably warm in WA

Last, I have really enjoyed my personal studies this week. I figured out how I can study the Book of Mormon this time. I have picked just one topic to study. A big topic- Jesus Christ. I go through each entry in the Index under His name, His titles, other topics that go with it (like Jesus Christ, Atonement through). It was inspired by President Boyd K. Packer's talk from last conference, "The Reason for our Hope." I've learned something helpful. I often look at my name tag, like when I put in on in the morning, and think about taking upon me the name of Jesus Christ. I would think about His perfection and glory and my goal to be like Him. I realized this week another meaning. His name is the means that we can use to get there, the grace that enables us to overcome our continued mistakes and weaknesses. He is the Standard and the Means. He is everything. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary to help others come unto Him.

View of Mt. Olympus at sunset

I hope you all have a great week! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!

Love Elder Webber
Scripture: D&C 6:36-37

Manette: DENNIS AT THE TEMPLE!

Dear Family,

This was one of the greatest weeks on my mission from the stand-alone moment of going to the Seattle Temple with Brother Dennis Hart to see him receive his own endowment. We all got there pretty early and it was so much fun to see Dennis again, all dressed in his suit and with his constant, huge grin on his face. After reconnecting after so long and asking how he's doing, we went in to get ready and got to go through the 1:00 session. Ah! I just wish I could explain how cool everything was. Elder Green and I kept looking at each other and thinking "wow." And wondering what it would be like if we only knew we would be here, back when we were first companions, on our way to "Raymond," wherever that was, or when we first discovered Westport, or when we knocked on Dennis' door at 6:59 p.m. or stood in the font together to baptize him. God, the Great Puzzle Maker, has such marvelous plans for us if we only do what is right and follow His guidance.

Smiling at the temple with the Elders

Of course, another temple trip couldn't come without its own "coincidences" or temple miracles. Right when Elder Green and I were at the front desk with Brother Green, a man came in the front door of the temple. The front desk guy said to the man who walked in, "hello Brother Webber!" and Elder Green turned and said to me, "that'll be us in 40 years." Brother Green and Brother Webber going to the temple, ha ha. Of course also at the temple that day was Brother "Papa" Agor, my old ward mission leader from Steilacoom, and his daughter, and two other members I knew, one from Silverdale 1st ward, one from Manette! Just to let me know I was in the right place at the right time.

With Ward Mission Leader Brother Green

I cannot fully describe what it was like. I just have a bright, glorious memory to keep and share forever. Dennis was smiling the entire time, and the Spirit of peace and Godliness pervaded the whole visit. It was like the joy and spirit of a baptism times 100. So crazy to think of Dennis, now an endowed member and holding the Melchizedek priesthood, and everything.

Elder Green, Dennis H, Elder Webber

Our week was also good with the work in Manette. Oh, I forgot to mention transfers ha ha! Elder MacCarthy and I are both staying, as we predicted. So are our ZLs Smith and Goodwine. It'll be another good transfer. The sad news is tomorrow will be the first transfer meeting I won't be able to go to. Probably the only one, though. On Friday, Jeremy got his new snazzy scriptures in the mail and he was super grateful and excited. We had our first official "new member lesson" that night and he brought them along with his Preach My Gospel. He prepared and taught us the first lesson, the Restoration, and did such an incredible job. He is a natural teacher, and mastered several PMG teaching techniques: asking questions, listening, applying to needs, using scriptures, etc. And I love recent converts and their simple grasp of the greatest truth. Their testimonies are so uncluttered by false or unnecessary doctrine. He bore his testimony, too, saying "now I know that God is there." It was very powerful.

Tina is still progressing. When she came to church Sunday, the first thing she told us was, "I have decided that March 9th I'm definitely getting baptized"! Yay! That will be her birthday. One obstacle, however, is she has a fear of water, like having her head go under water, because she had a fearful experience as a child. I think I'll share with her the story of Jonas' baptism and how she can be brave like him. Good job, Jonas! I'm so proud of you.

One more funny story. After sacrament meeting yesterday, we went to say hi to all the people who came (investigators, recent converts, less-actives, etc.) and I saw sitting in the lobby someone familiar. His name is Russel and we went up to say hi and I remembered that this is someone I had taught when I served in Bremerton! He was just on a walk and decided to come back to the church. We talked to him and answered a lot of gospel questions, and he stayed for 2nd and 3rd hour classes too. We have an appointment set for him this week. He said he has changed his life a lot in the past year and wants to learn more about repentance and baptism! He has been through a lot, and could really use the Gospel! I'll keep you updated.

Mission life continues strong. The Wa-Tac is a blessed land. I love my mission and try to not think about how much time I have left, even though it's really hard not to. Elder MacCarthy and I are excited to stay together for another transfer!

Love
Elder Webber

Scripture: Alma 13:3,10-13 (God's plan for His faithful children is so cool)

P.S. "God, the Great Puzzle Maker" is a phrase borrowed from President Weaver :)

Manette: Jeremy blesses the sacrament. One on Date at Church!

Dearest Family,

This week was awesome. Seriously things are good here. Jeremy is doing SO good. I'm so proud of him. He got a job that he started this week doing construction on Bainbridge Island. He said it was cold, wet, hard work, but he's happy to be doing something. We taught him about patriarchal blessings and family history and we'll be going with him this Saturday to the family history center to get him started and then hopefully pick a date to go the the temple with him to do baptisms for the dead. He has a lot of friends at church too, and wee're still trying to bring members to our visits with him. Our ward mission leader had a great idea for his new member lessons. We gave him a copy of Preach My Gospel on Sunday and opened to chapter 3. We asked him to read and study the lessons and then he is going to teach them to us! It will be fun, like a reverse role play. And he wanted us to come over with another young couple in the ward this Sunday for dinner :)

Tina is doing super also. We taught her the plan of Salvation this week and she could really feel the spirit. We brought over a couple members, including our saintly Relief Society President, Sister Wahlquist who is from the Philippines and they got to fellowship. Tina is in her late 50s and lives alone with her little dog "Romeo" who keeps her company and lifts her spirits. She is totally open to the message we share and willing to live it. She has a lot of health problems and several seizures in the past that have impaired her memory, which make it kinda hard to teach her, but she is still excited. The coolest part was after teaching her about the Atonement and reading Alma 7:11-15 (which transitions beautifully from the Atonement into baptism) we asked if she had any questions and she only replied, "so when can I get baptized?" ha, ha so we worked out a date for March 9th, which is her birthday. She could be ready sooner, but this is what she wants. Also she has been keeping the Word of Wisdom since she met with our Bishop 3 weeks ago, and we haven't even taught her that yet. :) Our mission goal this week was to have 65 investigators both at church and on date (one of our key indicators) and we got Tina on date and at church! She came all 3 hours and loved it. Our ward is good at being friendly to new people, which is nice. Especially since we still don't know all the members yet, though we try to say hi to everyone as they come in.

Manette District

I came across this quote this week and really liked it:
"Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes men weak. Do not equip yourself with superior power and hope to escape the responsibility and the work. It cannot be done. It is following the lines of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked." - Ralph Parlette
I believe missionaries have been endowed and set apart with "superior power" and a mission is a battle of struggles, responsibility, and work. To have joy is to overcome and become stronger. My experiences and struggles on my mission I would not trade for anything, because they have made me who I am. I know that the Savior descended below all things so He could overcome all things and have the power to help us overcome our struggles if we trust Him. I love my Savior Jesus Christ because He loves me and has done so much for me. I feel joy daily as I repent and rely on Him. Missionary work is the best :)

Elder MacCarthy making Lunch

Have a great week everyone,
Love Elder Webber

Scripture: D&C 31:1-3 (really the whole section) (I came across this yesterday. It automatically applied to me!)

P.S. Elder Green and I will be in the temple on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. for Dennis' endowment!!! YAY! I am so unexplainably excited for that. (I don't think that was a real word, but it's the best I could come up with ha, ha)

Manette is Great

Dear Family,

Yes, you may call me Thomas, Tómas, and Tommie-Salomie when I get home :)

This week was great, and Jeremy is doing so good! Yesterday he was ordained to a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood and we had a lesson in our elders quorum class (we have a class just for prospective elders) all about how to help prepare, bless, and pass the sacrament, and Jeremy wants to help out this next week. He also got a job which he has been praying for! We were working with him on recognizing the Holy Ghost, and Sunday he told us he felt the Holy Ghost when he heard he got the job, something that filled him with joy and happiness. He said it was not a new feeling, he realized he had felt the Spirit before in his life. It's cool when people can learn these things through their own experiences.

Elder Webber wears his "Seahawks" tie for a second year

We are also teaching a lady named Tina and she has been to the church before in the past. She has had lots of difficult life experiences, and was homeless for a few weeks, but has a place now. She is super humble and wants to be baptized, we're still working on a date! Also we are teaching a cool family, the mom's names is Carolyn. She is single with 4 kids in a tiny downstairs room. They have LDS friends. So those are some more names to pray for, I never have enough time to explain everyone's story!

We had zone conferences this week which were great. Elder Sutton (one of the APs) got a concussion Monday playing football, so Elder Slavens gave the training on his own ha, ha. He did a great job, it was all a great conference about planning, faith, baptisms, and knocking. Our mission focus is FLLOW (Faith, Love/Lessons, Obedience, Work). And our mission goal is at least 800 baptisms this year, which is about one per companionship per transfer. We are on track!

Zone Conference picture

Zone Conference Lunch

The best call in the world came yesterday. Dennis has a temple date for his endowment! February 12th which is next week. Brother Green is going to drive Elder Green and I. Dennis knows so much religious and Jewish history, I'm excited for him to teach us all about the temple. It will be one the best days of my mission, I'm sure.

I continue to love my mission and make the decision to serve Jesus Christ daily. By continuing repentance, my life has become filled with joy and peace. This work is so true, and so much fun.

Short on time again, I don't like these timed computers. But I love you all!!!

Love Elder Webber

Always finding cats

P.S. The Seahawks lost the super bowl, so the people of Washington have entered a state of depression... ha, ha just kidding, but it's cool they were in the super bowl both years I'm here.

Scripture: Alma 57:35