Thank You!

This month we worked hard on setting goals to improve missionary work here in the Visalia Zone. Every week the Elders made their goal they got a "shirt circle" to put on the chart. When they didn't make their goal they had to polish the shoes of another set of Elders before they could get the "shirt circle". This has been an amazing activity! It was wonderful to have Wilkinson Trophy in Provo help us do the shirts. Nick Sheffer did the design. It was fabulous! Thank you!
Elder and Sister Sheffer

The Hulk

He is in the Details

He is in the Details

He is in the Details                                                           October 28, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

            The Lord is in the details, even the little details. Saturday we had a very busy day. Two baptisms and two ward Halloween Parties, both with investigators present. At nine in the morning we went over to haul tables for the third ward. We did some other business and went back home for lunch. We felt impressed to go right away to visit an investigator. We went out and tried to start the car. It didn't start. Was it the starter or the alternator? We talked to neighbors then called members. No one could help us. We push started it and drove to an auto parts store. We suspected the battery. They tested it. It was bad. The guy helped us put a new battery in and we were on our way with 5 minutes to spare. We attended the baptism, had a meeting with our investigator, went and judged the chili at one ward party, went to the other baptism, then to the other ward party without any trouble. On Sunday we went to Exeter Ward, Fourth Ward, and Second Ward. All day long the car was on the go with no trouble. The Lord knew we needed the car this weekend and there were only a couple of hours available to fix it, so that is when it broke down.

            Each ward in the stake is calling senior missionary couples and we are training them. It is amazing that they are doing so much for missionary work here. The Mission President came today and talked in 2^nd Ward's sacrament meeting. He said that the Missionary department in Salt Lake usually receives about 300 missionary recommends per week this time of year. It gets heavier in the spring. The whole year averages to about 600 per week. The last three weeks they have received 11, 900. When they usually receive 1, 000 total in the month of October.  Our mission has 190 young Elders and Sisters. They are expecting each mission in this area to top out at 250 young missionaries plus whatever number of Senior Couples they can get. That will be an increase of 60 missionaries for our mission, plus more Senior Couples. He told us that almost half of the new ones coming out right now are young sister missionaries.  In our zone right now Sister Sheffer is the only Sister!

            Friday was the 5^th Branch's Fiesta. They had a blow up toy and Elder Sheffer visited with our friend The Incredible Hulk! We couldn't stay for dinner because we had a lesson, but they have fed us often and we took a picture of all the Elders that they were feeding that night.

            We were able to Skype with Merrill on his birthday! That was great! We had everyone except for Sarah Lynn thanks to Bert's multi-Skype ability.

On Monday we had family night at the President's home. All the Senior couples met there for dinner. Then we watched the debate, followed by dessert. Sister Sheffer went to the store and bought oven mitts. She heard that those who were for Mitt Romney were called little mittens. There are no mittens for sale around here yet, so she went with oven mitts. It was popular for the debate. We took pictures, but the President asked us not to post them on any public forum. We will save this picture for future enjoyment. Missionaries are to remain neutral on the issue of candidates.

Elder Munoz is leaving us on Halloween. He was one of the missionaries who greeted us the night we drove into Visalia. He has been in the 1^st Ward for 14 months. Next week both of our trainers will have finished their missions and gone home.

 

We love you all and are praying for you. Sister and Elder Sheffer

Happy Harvest

Nachos and Peanut Butter

Dear Family & Friends,

                Another Week is fast approaching an end. This week was different from any other week so far. We have a dinner calendar that we pass around every week in church. We usually have to fix our own dinners once or twice a week. Two weeks ago we had General Conference. Last week was Stake Conference. So, this week we were pretty much on our own. We went out to dinner once. Almost every other night we had ½ hour or less for dinner. We would hit the door and Elder Sheffer would make a peanut butter sandwich or two and Sister Sheffer would throw some chips on a plate shred cheese over them and throw them in the microwave. Then she would put some plain yogurt and hot sauce over top of it all. We would eat as fast as we could and then head out the door. Thank heavens for Costco Peanut Butter and Costco Chips and Cheese. Fast and affordable.

                Preparation Day was moved to Wednesday this week. There was a leadership meeting in Fresno on Monday and Tuesday. We did our Preparation Day on Monday, because Senior Missionaries can. On Tuesday we were asked to go to the leadership meeting all day in Fresno. On Wednesday we hauled young elders around to do their Preparation Day things and we all got flu shots at Costco. On Thursday we had District Meeting all Morning. Friday we had planning all morning. Sunday we will have several meetings to go too. So, we only had the evenings and Saturday to do missionary work. We will have fewer quality lessons this week. Those are largely by little miracles. But, all the training was really great!

                Sister Sheffer led the music again at the baptism Saturday. She sings in Spanish as she leads. She doesn't know what she is saying, but sounds like a native speaker. (At least on most of it) It is great to see her name on the Spanish Baptismal Programs. (Hermana Sheffer)

                We had Super Saturday in Exeter on Saturday. They fed us a wonderful lunch and had some great projects going.

                On Monday Elder Sheffer pulled a muscle in his back. He's had some sore hips and back episodes his whole mission. This one was bad. He called the doctor who he will see this Monday. He got a blessing and started on anti-inflammatory pain killers. He hasn't missed any street time, though he has slowed us down. The Zone Leaders said, "Elder Sheffer, what if the doctor tells you to rest a couple of days?..... You know Sister Sheffer would never let you do that."

                We saw a nut shaker! It was awesome. It was only about four rows deep. We videotaped it. We will put it on our facebook page. After taping we drove a little way down the road and there was a shaker only one row deep. We got the camera ready and when it went to the next tree Elder Sheffer rolled down the window to avoid glare. It just so happened they shook the tree we were parked under. We were covered with nuts, leaves and dust. And, since Elder Sheffer had rolled down the window, it was inside and out of our car. Then he was disappointed when Sister Sheffer didn't get any of it videoed that time. That was as close as you can get and still live and we didn't get it on film!

Happy Harvest   Elder and Sister Sheffer

A Sacred Moment at a Conference

Sing for Conference

Mathew 18:20

                "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Dear Family and Friends,

                It was Stake Conference for us this week. That is two weeks without the sacrament. How is it that people can miss two or three weeks of church? Well, it did help that the conference was great. Sister Sheffer sang in the choir as usual. This time Elder Sheffer sang too. He also did a really good job. This is another manifestation of the gifts of tongues. You can't count on the great result on a regular basis. The talks were on Sabbath Day observance and Temple attendance.

                The Saturday adult session was given by our mission president and his wife. They spoke about missionary work and said that the Visalia stake has had 45 baptisms in the past 4 months. President Gelwix loves to play with numbers and he projects that the missionary force will go from 58 thousand to 80 or 90 thousand by this time next year and that there will be many more sister missionaries. The other speakers were Elder and Sister Brinley. Elder Brinley is a well-known Professor from BYU who taught marriage and family relations. He taught at education week for many years. This couple just arrived to serve in the Fresno Mission.  

                Our dinner calendar hasn't been passed around for two weeks either. That has meant that Elder Sheffer has had to step up to the plate (pan). We have an agreement, Elder Sheffer does cooking and dishes, Sister Sheffer does bookwork and record keeping. Sister Sheffer has faltered a couple of times and cooked something, but Elder Sheffer has been able to stay clear of that never ending paper work.

                We have started teaching Doug Jacobs. He was the man who talked his wife into letting her daughter be baptized. He had worked in his early years with a partner who was a member. (He was a policeman in Fresno) He was so impressed by that man that he talked his wife into allowing his step-daughter to join, and is now taking lessons. You never know how much of a difference you are making by just living a righteous life.

                We are hosting a meeting tonight. The stake has asked each ward to call a senior couple to serve as ward missionaries. They will be taking our place as we move from their ward to the next ward. This is a wonderful responsibility and we are taking it seriously.

                The walnut shaking season is here and there is a lot of dust in the air. We were able to take a picture of the walnut sweeping machine. Once the nuts are on the ground these machines sweep the nut to the center of the rows so they can be picked up. It is amazing to see all the crops that are raised here. On 10-11-12 We hit our one year mark in Visalia. That doesn't include our short MTC stay. So, we hit one year on ten, eleven, twelve. Probably at 8:09 10/11/12.

We Love you all,

Sister and Elder Sheffer

Acts 11:26 (This is the start of "The Christians")

 26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Elder Sheffer Gives the Closing Prayer for General Conference

Conference Prayers

Elder Sheffer Gives the Closing Prayer for General Conference                                                  10/7/2012

 

Dear Family and Friends,

                This week ended with General Conference. You can't lose if you listen and follow the council of the prophets and leaders.  We watched the Saturday afternoon session and both Sunday sessions at the stake center. Elder Sheffer went to the Priesthood Session while Sister Sheffer went out on splits with a Ward Missionary. The talks were all great! The big honor came at the end of the Sunday morning session. Just as the closing song was ending the signal stopped. Everyone just sat there. We turned to the 1^st Ward Bishop in the row behind us and asked if we should have a closing prayer. He said, "Yes we should. Would you give it Elder Sheffer?" He went up and sat on the stand. Elder Sheffer got up and gave the closing prayer for the Sunday morning session of General Conference. How many people do you personally know who have said the closing prayer for General Conference?

                We have been training ward missionary couples to take our place when we leave a ward. The stake is hoping to have couples called in every ward. There are 8 wards in the stake.

                We had sandwiches for our 12 baptisms in September. We went to Subway and got 12 foot longs, got some grapes at Costco and had a great party. Next month we will do bowling if the zone gets 10 baptisms. We are also doing shirts for Key Indicators. Nick is designing the shirts and getting them to us. We will see if we go bowling in them.

                One of our investigators is doing a hockey league. They use roller blades down here instead of skates. He got some roller blades, but the high quality bearings needed some lubrication. We were happy that Elder Sheffer thought to bring his Speed Cream. Now he has the speed.

                This is Elder Sheffer's week to party! Priesthood session on Saturday night and on Friday, 1^st Ward had their annual Elder's Quorum Oktoberfest! All the Brach worst, sauerkraut, rolls, and root beer you could eat. He even snuck a bunch home for Sister Sheffer.

God Bless Elder and Sister Sheffer

The Worth of a Woman

Proverbs 31:10, 26, 31

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

 

Dear Family and Friends,

 

            The capstone to this week has to be the women's conference. The stake had a dinner for the sisters right after the conference. We had an investigators come and they were visibly touched. Elder Sheffer volunteered to help serve the dinner. He was part of the group of priesthood brethren who served the water, rolls, salads, dinners, and deserts as the sisters ate. Then the brethren were fed. (That was not the only reason Elder Sheffer volunteered.) It was "Tri-Tip". That is a cut of beef that we have never heard about until we got here. Here that is about all we hear about when they are talking great beef. They must have to ship the rest of the cow to Utah. We must admit that it does taste great. It is very tender and is often marinated with something fabulous. The messages were very touching. If you haven't listened please take the time to do so. You can find it on lds.org.

            It was another busy week. Sunday is always full of meetings. We are part of the stake choir that will perform in stake conference in two weeks. This is nothing new to Sister Sheffer, but Elder Sheffer hasn't been in a choir for 35 years. It is like reading a foreign language. We were both surprised, but they have very few basses. Like we said, this is like a foreign language, so maybe the gift of tongues "in tune" is involved here. Sister Sheffer was sitting right in front of him on the last rehearsal and said that there was only one time through that he sang his own song. The rest of the time he blended in. Hopefully the performance will go well.

            On Bert's birthday we were invited to dinner after Preparation Day. We had omelets in a bag. You put all the stuff for the omelet in a zip lock with two eggs, get the air out, squish it around, write your name on the bag and boil it for 15-20 minutes. It was neat. We did that with the Rogers. They serve breakfast for dinner every Monday. They have invited us 12-15 times. We bring a visual lesson every time to teach their family. They care for foster children and have 4-5 almost all the time. He works doing floor coverings for temples and churches around the world.

            We are visiting so many wonderful people. We met Shirley Taylor who does needle point and cross stitch. She has pieces that have taken her months and years to complete hanging on her wall. Her house is like a museum. She gave Sister Sheffer a "Shirley Poppy" that was many hours of work in it.

            Well, we had better get this posted before Sister Sarah Sheffer gets her email time and misses our letter. We love you all and Christ lives, the Atonement is real.

                                    Sister and Elder Sheffer

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.

Meetings

September 23, 2012

Dear Family & Friends,

                Today has to be a record for us on meetings. We started meetings at 7:15 in the morning and went till 9:00 P.M. with only one hour of break. Elder Sheffer attended 4 ½ hours of Priesthood meetings, a record for him. That is not counting the half an hour he slept through in 3^rd Ward. Sister Sheffer got 3 hours of priesthood meetings, surely a record for her. Although she did have to occasionally plug her ears and pretend she wasn't listening when certain people walked passed her in the foyer. We went to two wards and then the High Priest Quorum Meeting for an hour, then stake priesthood meeting for two hours.

                We had a very interesting experience. A sweet Sister invited us to lunch to meet a friend. As the finishing touches were being taken care of the Spanish Elders came. There were three of them and two potential investigator. It was a much larger gathering then we expected. Now here is the biggest surprise. The Sister said, "You go ahead and eat. I need to go to the doctor's office right now." What! Well, we ate and visited and towards the end the Spirit was so strong we were able to share a very poignant message and both ladies said they would like to have the missionary lessons. It is truly the spirit that converts.

                We were able to go to the temple this Saturday because the Exeter Ward needed more priesthood brethren. In this group were two new converts and a reactivated husband. We are told that if a new convert goes to the temple they are much more likely to stay active. It is even more meaningful if they have family file names. One of the convert sisters was baptized for her mother. Another Sister said, "You are right the temple is very peaceful." And her friend said, "Just wait till you are in the Celestial Room."  

                "We must do more than ask the Lord for excellence. Perspiration must precede inspiration; there must be effort before there is excellence. We must do more than pray for these outcomes, though we must surely pray. We must take thought, We must make effort."

                                                                                God Bless You All  Elder and Sister Sheffer

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