Well week 48 and we finished up our week in Utah and are headed back to Oklahoma. It was a very interesting trip this year several people go the stomach flu and that is something that has never happened. Mitch and Grandpa were able to give Keith a blessing which is a huge milestone. I know Jacob would have been very proud of both of them. Here is his latest email.
"Hey there! It feels really nice writing you all and I'm happy to hear you could all take a break and head out to Utah. Well, at least you know how I felt for the past few weeks, having the stomach flu and all, but it sounds like things cleared up. There is a good chance that he will get called here, there a lot of missions and they're adding one this year. Ya, get back to work on that reading, it will help you everyday. The week was pretty good, we're finding all sorts of people to teach, but the trouble is getting them to church. All of the young men and women went to EFY and have really changed. One girl brought her friend with her, and now her friend wants to get baptized! The training is a lot of fun, but a lot of work, I think I'm learning just as much as Elder Mariano! Yep, about one more month and I'll hit my year mark, but that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I've got some goals that I need to reach right now and I can't stop any time soon. I'm loving it here and I know I'm here for a reason too. The garment tops will be well appreciated and I'm good for money right now. Thanks for all you help and I'll be sure to send you more photos soon! Well I love you all back home, I miss you and I know the Lord is looking after you (Doctrine and Convenants Section 31). Keep on pressing forward and I will be home before you know it. Talk to you next week!
-Elder Butterfield
Friday, July 29, 2011
Week 47
Well we traveled to Utah and it was our first summer trip without Jacob. It seemed rather strange to not have him along. We have only been here a few days and he is greatly missed. Mitchell is lost and has no one to go to Macey's with or do pranks at Walmart. It will be a few years before these two will be back together being that Mitch will leave on his mission next summer and Jacob won't be home yet. Here is is latest email with a picture of his new companion
"What a week! How great to hear that you're all in Utah and everyone is growing up so fast! Thanks for all the support and love you give me, it's really not going to waste. You're going to past me up I think, I'm in Mosiah 9 in Spanish right now. President Treviño is wonderful, I wish you could meet the Treviño family and the Hansen family, you would understand better why I'm so pleased to work alongside them in this great and true work. How neat that you have all of the Scriptures with you all the time. Well, this week I headed down to Veracruz to pick up my new companion. President Treviño gave us our assignments one by one, then we waited to welcome them. I was assigned to train Elder Mariano. He's from Oaxaca, Mexico, but has lived in Tijuana for the past few years. He really came prepared and we got to work right away. Training is a very large responsibility right now in missionary work, and I'm honored to fulfill this assignment. We are really getting out there and doing all we can to advance this great work. I know the Church is true and the Jesus Christ lives and loves every one of us. I have been blessed to be counted among His people in this time. We are the light of this people, he has put us in charge of it. We much do all we can so that all others see us as His servants. Well I love you all immensely and I thank you all too. I love hearing from you each week, and seeing how Our Heavenly Father blesses you all every day!
-Elder Butterfield
"What a week! How great to hear that you're all in Utah and everyone is growing up so fast! Thanks for all the support and love you give me, it's really not going to waste. You're going to past me up I think, I'm in Mosiah 9 in Spanish right now. President Treviño is wonderful, I wish you could meet the Treviño family and the Hansen family, you would understand better why I'm so pleased to work alongside them in this great and true work. How neat that you have all of the Scriptures with you all the time. Well, this week I headed down to Veracruz to pick up my new companion. President Treviño gave us our assignments one by one, then we waited to welcome them. I was assigned to train Elder Mariano. He's from Oaxaca, Mexico, but has lived in Tijuana for the past few years. He really came prepared and we got to work right away. Training is a very large responsibility right now in missionary work, and I'm honored to fulfill this assignment. We are really getting out there and doing all we can to advance this great work. I know the Church is true and the Jesus Christ lives and loves every one of us. I have been blessed to be counted among His people in this time. We are the light of this people, he has put us in charge of it. We much do all we can so that all others see us as His servants. Well I love you all immensely and I thank you all too. I love hearing from you each week, and seeing how Our Heavenly Father blesses you all every day!
-Elder Butterfield
Week 46
I must say that I was relieved when I read Jacob's email this week. I had worried all week about him being sick. It is hard not to be able to just call and tell him what he should take or what he should do to start feeling better. Here is his latest email
"Wow, I could believe the letter you wrote me. I would just have to say that it's pretty funny, but at the same time very exciting. Well, I'm feeling a whole lot better this week, I have been taking my Pepto-Bismol like a good missionary are everything has really cleared up. We are going to have to work very hard this week to get this area excited, but we're ready to start going. I will have to check on that in 2 Nephi, but I can tell you that every time we introduce The Book of Mormon, we always make reference to the ancestors of our investigators. We hardly use anything else to teach because there is no other book that was written for these people. Well I believe that this excitement is someting that's going to help the Church, and it all seems like good publicity. I sometimes just wish that the world would view how perfect the Church is and lend it's ear to the inspired voices of the Prophets and Apostles of our time. Well this past week was tough, but we managed a baptismal service for a young single mom named Marí. We also confirmed a young man who didn't want to get confirmed after his baptism three months ago. Also, President Treviño came to a large conference this past Wednesday. We have a new goal for the next six months of 1,800 baptisms now that we have completed with our goal of 1,500 in 6 months. I have set various personal goals and we are eagerly working toward that great and inspired goal. Thank you so much for the prayers and I know they have truly helped me feel better. I know you're supporting me in more ways than I can imagine, and I thank all of you for it. Well, tonight we have a baptismal service of a young couple and tomorrow I have to head on down to Veracruz to pick up my fresh companion. There was never a work so thrilling as this one. Well, I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you in one week!
-Elder Butterfield
"Wow, I could believe the letter you wrote me. I would just have to say that it's pretty funny, but at the same time very exciting. Well, I'm feeling a whole lot better this week, I have been taking my Pepto-Bismol like a good missionary are everything has really cleared up. We are going to have to work very hard this week to get this area excited, but we're ready to start going. I will have to check on that in 2 Nephi, but I can tell you that every time we introduce The Book of Mormon, we always make reference to the ancestors of our investigators. We hardly use anything else to teach because there is no other book that was written for these people. Well I believe that this excitement is someting that's going to help the Church, and it all seems like good publicity. I sometimes just wish that the world would view how perfect the Church is and lend it's ear to the inspired voices of the Prophets and Apostles of our time. Well this past week was tough, but we managed a baptismal service for a young single mom named Marí. We also confirmed a young man who didn't want to get confirmed after his baptism three months ago. Also, President Treviño came to a large conference this past Wednesday. We have a new goal for the next six months of 1,800 baptisms now that we have completed with our goal of 1,500 in 6 months. I have set various personal goals and we are eagerly working toward that great and inspired goal. Thank you so much for the prayers and I know they have truly helped me feel better. I know you're supporting me in more ways than I can imagine, and I thank all of you for it. Well, tonight we have a baptismal service of a young couple and tomorrow I have to head on down to Veracruz to pick up my fresh companion. There was never a work so thrilling as this one. Well, I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you in one week!
-Elder Butterfield
Friday, July 8, 2011
Week 44
Week 44 and counting! Not really but sort of. Anyway this week has flown by also but when I got Jake's latest letter I am a little concerned. He mentions being under the weather twice in this letter and that always worried a mom. I hope he is feeling better and about all I can do is pray. So Blake and I have been doing a fair amount of that this week. Here is Jacob's latest letter.
"A wonderful week indeed! A little tough because I got sick two times, but I'm feeling better and ready to work. We changed our apartment to a really nice place that's right by the new Church. We also changed our Mission President, something that really affected the mission. This week we will welcome in President Treviño in a zone conference and be able to press forward. We were hit with massive rain this week, but the ''hurricane'' deteriorated before it got to us. Is Wisconsin still crazy right now? Or have things settled down in the city or chaos? Well don't worry about the work, I was sick this whole week and there wasn't any time to rest, but I know that it's better to press forward, which is something I learned from you! Well, next week I'll receive my new companion, and President Hansen said he might be American, well we're in for something new in the coming days, can you say excited? Let's get out there and do some solid work! I know the Church is true and that Heavenly Father is merciful with all of His children. We deserve mercy if we give it and rest if we give it. There's still plenty of work for us to do in this world, and we know that trying times are ahead, if you're feeling down, check our Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk from General Conference about ''Facing the Future with Faith.'' Well I love you both and keep hitting me with the good news because I know there's a lot of it to go around!
-Elder Butterfield
"A wonderful week indeed! A little tough because I got sick two times, but I'm feeling better and ready to work. We changed our apartment to a really nice place that's right by the new Church. We also changed our Mission President, something that really affected the mission. This week we will welcome in President Treviño in a zone conference and be able to press forward. We were hit with massive rain this week, but the ''hurricane'' deteriorated before it got to us. Is Wisconsin still crazy right now? Or have things settled down in the city or chaos? Well don't worry about the work, I was sick this whole week and there wasn't any time to rest, but I know that it's better to press forward, which is something I learned from you! Well, next week I'll receive my new companion, and President Hansen said he might be American, well we're in for something new in the coming days, can you say excited? Let's get out there and do some solid work! I know the Church is true and that Heavenly Father is merciful with all of His children. We deserve mercy if we give it and rest if we give it. There's still plenty of work for us to do in this world, and we know that trying times are ahead, if you're feeling down, check our Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk from General Conference about ''Facing the Future with Faith.'' Well I love you both and keep hitting me with the good news because I know there's a lot of it to go around!
-Elder Butterfield
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Week 43
Week 43 by the next time I write an email to Jacob he will have been out 10 months. We are headed to Utah in a couple of weeks for our annual trip and this will be the first summer without Jacob. He was always our source of entertainment. He and Mitchell have their little routines and it has been so fun watching these two boys grow up and become the young men they are today. Here is Jake's latest letter.
"We had our Mission Conference to say goodbye to President Hansen and his wife this past Tuesday. It was very interesting to see them go, I don't know hardly anything about the coming President Treviño. It was very special to see all of the missionaries here united and we really enjoyed it. We had a baptismal service of a woman named Margarita this Saturday. I baptized her in a river, to be able to get baptized, she had to move out of the house of her boyfriend with her three kids although she didn't have much money. This service completed a ''bauti-mes'' which means that we baptized someone every week of the month of June. It was really special, and the mission as a whole completed with the goal of 1500 baptisms from January to June. The month of July is looking like an unastounding 300 baptisms, something this mission has never done before. I testify that we are truly working in the Lord's vineard and that we are receiving blessings and revelation for our service. I love you both and I can't wait to talk to you in one week, granted you have a computer to e-mail me, haha."
con amor,
Elder Butterfield
"We had our Mission Conference to say goodbye to President Hansen and his wife this past Tuesday. It was very interesting to see them go, I don't know hardly anything about the coming President Treviño. It was very special to see all of the missionaries here united and we really enjoyed it. We had a baptismal service of a woman named Margarita this Saturday. I baptized her in a river, to be able to get baptized, she had to move out of the house of her boyfriend with her three kids although she didn't have much money. This service completed a ''bauti-mes'' which means that we baptized someone every week of the month of June. It was really special, and the mission as a whole completed with the goal of 1500 baptisms from January to June. The month of July is looking like an unastounding 300 baptisms, something this mission has never done before. I testify that we are truly working in the Lord's vineard and that we are receiving blessings and revelation for our service. I love you both and I can't wait to talk to you in one week, granted you have a computer to e-mail me, haha."
con amor,
Elder Butterfield
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