Hey everybody!
I hope that everyone had a terrific week! Elder Rosaschi and I had a very eventful week and we were blessed with some wonderful rain the last couple of days (it's the little things that excite me as a missionary haha)!
Before I get too far into this letter, I want to first thank Grandma Jeri so much for the letter and package! Elder Rosaschi loves the cake bites a lot. So he told me to thank you too. Your continual love and charity shown to me is truly inspiring. Love you grandma.
So this week was a very hardworking week. Elder Rosaschi and I just go, go, go. We even super deep cleaned our apartment today and it is completely spotless (So glad I have had clean companions for the most part). So it feels great to go home to such a nice, clean place. I will have to take some pictures of the inside for my next email. We are super spoiled.
Something quick and fun was that we were able to do last week is go down to the border to see the Rio. Elder Rosaschi and our member George hadn't seen it yet and we were nearby. I will attach a couple of pictures.
We also were blessed with a few, very cool miracles this week. One was going back to a former investigator that was ecstatic that we came back because she thought that we had forgotten about her. What makes this a miracle is that when we were there a month ago, she was very disinterested and was making a lot of excuses to not go to church. So the Lord and the lack of the spirit around her really humbled her and prepared her more. When we mentioned baptism she exclaimed "Finally! I have been wanting to be baptized for a long time!" So that was a fantastic thing to hear as a missionary. It doesn't happen too often. So we will be praying that she keeps the fire and continues to come to church, so she can have that essential covenant in her life.
The next miracle was similar from a part-member, less-active family. The father has been less active for over four years and had actually asked the missionaries to not come by anymore. So to our surprise while eating dinner one night, we get a phone call from him pleading with us to come over. So we hurry over as quick as possible and we meet a very humble, different person than that whom was described in our area book. Crazy how the Lord softens people's hearts. When we sat down to have a conversation with him he confessed to us that he had had the wrong focus for the last years and was chasing the dollar instead of what is most important in life. He knows that our church is the only true one and explained that even though they tried other churches, ours is the only one that ever answered his questions. So we are helping him get back to church and to recenter his life on Christ. Something cool though is that he has three kids that are all baptism age and all of which have expressed desires to come to church as well. So they are looking very promising. I love seeing families all come together and unite stronger in the gospel. Through that, I really hope to see them go the the temple and be sealed some day.
Probably to coolest miracle this week came from visiting a less active in a trailer park nearby our apartment. The less active is a very cool, funny guy and has desires to return to church (the trouble here is finding transportation, so we are currently searching for ways to get him there). What was cool was that as we were turning around to leave his porch a young man about our age is standing there and had been listening to us teach the less active a little bit. Elder Rosaschi and I were both a little startled, but had seen him before and he appearted to be a rather harmless, nice guy. The first thing that comes out of his mouth as we go to shake his hand is "I want to go to your church". Woah! That does not happen very often at all and especially when you haven't even spoken to them before as random contacts. Only once previously have I ever had someone walk up to me wanting to come to our church. So Joe is a very cool investigator we have now that I see progressing very well. He is a very humble, quiet guy that has a big heart.
The last, but not least of the miracles was finding out that the husband of a couple that feeds us every week was excommunicated a long time ago. It was surprising to us because he seemed to be very strong in the church and is helping a lot of people around him. I suppose he has made a lot of great changes in his life. He and his wife expressed to us at dinner that he wants to be re-baptized into the church. Pretty sweet, so we are naturally very excited about that. I hope that he has been in he repentance process long enough that he can do that soon. He is a terrific guy.
To close this email I wanted to focus on a super great family friend and give her a shout out for getting her mission call! Congrats Brooklyn Hermansen! I was so happy to hear that you had received your call today and can tell you without a doubt you will love where you are going. Minnesota is an extremely beautiful state and you get to jump right in the thick of the work with English. I hope you weren't shocked or disappointed where you were called. If so, just know that I was shocked when I was called here to McAllen, Texas. I had a feeling that I was going to stay within the United States, but I remember thinking "Just anything, but Texas" hahaha. So when I read that at the opening party it was definitely a bit of a shock. I can tell you however that after feeling the calming reassurance of the spirit telling me it was right and the following prayers and experiences here, I know without a doubt that my call was inspired and I wouldn't trade missions for the world. I know without a doubt as well that your call is the very same and comes directly from your Father in Heaven. You are going to the perfect mission president and his wife, whom are specifically for you and who the Lord wants you to gain attributes from. You are also going to an extremely beautiful state that has more lakes than I have ever seen in my life combined. Sure it will be cold in the winter, but never doubt that where you are going is perfect for you (p.s. I would trade cold for the summer heat down here any day haha). What it all comes down to is that the location doesn't matter whatsoever. Sure, some rain forests or castles would be sweet to explore on p-day, but that isn't why you go on a mission at all. It is cliche, but it is NOT about you. Nor will it ever be. Yes, you will have life changing experiences and come from it a much stronger, better person, but that is not your focus. Don't go into the mission thinking that. You have been called to serve people that have been prepared to hear the gospel directly from you and your testimony from the formation of the earth. That is something pretty amazing to think about. You will effect generations and generations of people with your actions (and they will be in an extremely positive way. Of that I have no worries). You have the makings of a terrific missionary and you haven't even stepped into the MTC yet. How extremely blessed and fortunate is the state of Minnesota and the missionaries you will work with. You have my full support and confidence. Enjoy every minute of it. Don't waste a second. And above all, just keep a great attitude snow or shine. You will have numberless concourses of angels supporting you, you will have support and prayers from people on both sides of the veil, and you have the humbling privilege of being a witness of our Savior and redeemer Jesus Christ. Could you be a luckier person in the universe? You are going to do amazing things out there. Get to work and enjoy the ride. I can't wait to see the way you change the world in your own specific way.
I hope everyone has a terrific week and knows how much I love and care about each and every one of you and how uncomprehendingly greater is the love of your Savior and Father in Heaven that dwarfs my best mortal attempt. My hope and prayer is that I will continue to grow and demonstrate that love to you all.
Stay Classy,
Elder Sheehy
The great wall of "Murica (not without a passport, Rosaschi)
Another Rio Grande picture. I've seen it at just about it's smallest and largest now. since I keep sliding down the border.
My P-day happy place :)
