July 9, 2013

My week has been super duper awesome. On Saturday we had interviews with our new mission president. He is so nice. He wanted to know all about me and my life so I started with my family and that is pretty much all I talked about. What really surprised me is how much love I felt from him. I don't hardly know him and I felt just about the closest thing to pure love coming from him. He doesn't even know me but what I told him and he just showed genuine care. It is really amazing how God puts the right people in the right place to teach us things. I know I have a lot to learn from him.

We haven't had a lot of success in teaching a lot of lessons recently but I know we are going to have more opportunities soon. Tonight, we are teaching a cool lesson to an active family in our ward. It involves fire so you know I am going to love it. 

Did I tell you that we got sister missionaries in our ward? Right when I got here we split the area with sister missionaries. They are both super cool. One of them is brand new and the first day they got here they didn't have any furniture or utensils whatsoever. They got beds that night but the ward is supposed to provide them with furniture and cooking stuff and basically everything. It is crazy because in about two weeks they now have a fully furnished apartment and all the furniture somehow matches. It is crazy how that happened. It really makes me think of how the scriptures talk about going out to preach the gospel without purse or script just as the apostles did in the New Testament. They came here with nothing and the members provided.

Okay, so there was a cool announcement a few weeks ago about the church going more towards the internet and elctronics. Our mission was ahead of the game because they were testing its effectiveness here.

Well Mom, I love you.

July 1, 2013

 I am now in the Reading area. We are serving in the Reading 2nd ward. It is a really cool place with nice people. I am slowly learning spanish because of all the Puerto Rican, and Dominican people living here. There are actually two sets of Spanish elders that live right next to/above us. They are also really cool. My new companion is Elder Smith. He is from Farmington Utah and we get along super well. We have a car in this area but we don't have a ton of miles so we walk a fair amount. I am now in an apartment complex thing so you can send me packages. 

We get to play soccer every week so I am going to be slowly improving my soccer skills. The Spanish elders organize a weekly soccer game to fellowship investigators. I have been to one so far but it was really fun. I must have somehow absorbed some of David's soccer skills because, much to my surprise, I was tearing it up on the field.

We got a new mission president on Saturday. His name is President Anderson. He Is from Utah and is really cool. He used to be a business guy and his wife is super nice. She cries a lot.

555 Pearl St. Apt 103

That is my address. You can send packages there and they won't be stolen.

One of the cool things about this part of Pennsylvania is fireflies. I never knew they really existed. Fireflies light up as they fly upwards. It is really cool because you can look over a field and watch them drift up. It almost looks like tiny stars. Super sweet!

I can't see the picture :( 

Love,

Elder Engelman

June 17, 2013

June, 24, 2013

This Sunday was my last week in the Frankford Branch. I am getting transferred! I sang in church yesterday and it didn't quite go as planned. I was planning on singing the song I Heard Him Come but the lady that plays piano for our branch had a bad migraine and so I had to figure something out last minute because she wasn't coming. Luckily, the organ we have is computerized so I sang Hymn #62 All Creatures of Our God and King. It was good. We also had the Temple President from the D.C. temple and his wife speak. They were awesome! His wife talked about how they have a special needs daughter that is 40 years old that started working in the temple after she received her endowment. It was really inspiring. I am sure going to miss the people here but I know I am needed somewhere else. Or, the more likely reason, I have something to learn in a different area, from different people. I love Philly!

This is Daryl. He is a preacher that preaches on the street a lot. He seemed to want to just argue with us at first but he is really nice to us. He seems to feel like he is a father figure of sorts. He is pretty cool. By the way, I cut my hair pretty short.

June 17, 2013

So last week we had Zone Conference and it was off the chain! Our mission president is going home so we sang him a song. Do you remember when I sang a song written by one of the other missionaries a few months ago? Well, he wrote another song and this one was just for President and Sister Schaefermeyer. It was pretty awesome. One of the Elders played guitar and we had some beatboxing on the chorus. We did it in the gym so it wasn't too irreverent. The mission president's wife was crying the whole time. It was really pretty cool because our whole zone, about 36 missionaries, were all singing. There were a few solos and the spanish missionaries sang their line in spanish. It was seriously awesome.
We have one person right now with a baptismal date. He is ten years old and his family are members. He didn't get baptized for some reason but we are teaching him now. We have taught him twice and the first time we went over the Restoration. He actually told us all about Joseph Smith's experience and the Book of Mormon. It was pretty cool. This family has about 7 children and they are awesome. The youngest one is approx. eighteen months old and she is super quiet. However, Elder Riehle and I have recently got her to talk and play with us a little. She mainly will just bring us random objects but I also got a few high-fives so I am pretty proud of myself.
This last two weeks we have had a lot of appointments on our schedule. A lot of them fell through but that is irrelevant. Elder Riehle and I both felt like we needed to spend some time finding more people. On this last Friday we went on an exchange. Elder Lovaas, a missionary that came out with me, came into my area for the day. We had planned about 4 hours of tracting. Most missionaries don't like tracting very much and neither Elder Lovaas nor I have done much of it. We needed to find people so we did it anyway. Knocking on random peoples' doors is a little intimidating but when it comes down to it, I know this will make them happier so that thought makes it a little easier.
Elder Lovaas and I tracted into a few really cool people. One such human being(I know, shocking) is a nineteen year old kid. He is Christian and loves God a lot. He likes to read so when we told him about the Book of Mormon he was excited. We brought one by on Saturday and he was pretty happy. We are going to meet with him this week so I will let you know how that goes. His name is Bernard and he is super nice. I can't wait to teach him because he is really down to earth.
 One last thing I wanted to share with you. I have been trying to really improve my teaching skills. My mission president told me in an email to ask inspired questions, teach simply, and testify more often. I tried to do just that and it worked! Elder Riehle and I were teaching one of our investigators and he seems to have a problem with coming to church. He doesn't give us a reason but he just says no. This time I asked a few simple questions. I asked him if he would pray about it and he said yes. I then proceeded to testify to him that I knew what blessings come from church and that he can have some of his questions answered. It was pretty cool because when we left that lesson he had more understanding than I have ever seen him have. I have taught this investigator six or seven times with Elder Olaveson. The lesson is learn to be simple and the Spirit will have a lot more room to teach.
Love,
Elder Joseph Engelman

Mormon Helping Hands Day - Elder Engelman got into some poison oak

June 11, 2013

On Sunday, we got to hear a talk from Elder Rasband, the president of the Quorum of the Seventy. He didn't actually prepare a talk but he did a question and answer session. He wanted to know "what [kept us] up at night?" He answered about three questions and one of them was "why do bad things happen to good people?" He first told us that we would need a few hours for him to explain but he answered it anyway. He told us some pretty cool stories but it came down to the fact that people have been given agency. If he were to stop people from exercising that agency, despite the evil intent, he would frustrate and ruin the Plan of Salvation. He also told us to look up his talk from General Conference in 2012 called "Special Experiences".

June 2, 2013

It has been pretty warm lately and the Humidity is pretty fine. I have been fine but I think short sleeve shirts will be more comfortable.

The work has been awesome. Elder Riehle has learned that I am a procrastinator but I am getting better. I haven't been falling asleep as much so he doesn't even know how easily I can sleep. We have been doing great. The investigators we have are few right now. Christina and her sons have a baptismal date but it is going to be pushed back because we haven't been able to teach them. We have a new investigator that we met on Wednesday but we haven't had the chance to meet with him yet. His name is Damien and he is in his 40s. He has battled leukymia three times! He stopped and talked to us and asked us to help him get his faith back. All four of the missionaries in this branch were teaching together when we talked to him. It was cool but really hard. He said he felt a lot better after talking to us and when we asked when we could come teach him some more he said he was just about to ask the same thing. It was pretty much awesome.
I have just started reading conference addresses from past years. In the scriptures it talks about how anything that is said by the spirit is scripture. Conference talks are scripture so I have decided I want to read all of them. I'm not sure how many I am going to be able to read on my mission but I want to try.

May 13, 2013

I have a little time to write you so don't worry. I dropped off Elder Olaveson at the mission home today and I don't think I will see him again. Tomorrow I get a new companion so as of right now, I am with another missionary whose companion went home. I am in New Jersey for the day and tomorrow I will receive a new companion. I can't wait to see who he is. I know we are going to get a long great because honestly, who can look at this face and be angry. I just hope he doesn't cry when he gets emotional or when he teaches. I think we both know how much I don't like tears.
Okay so I don't know if I told you about Bob but he is the neighbor to the set of Elders that live really close to us. He usually takes us shopping on P-Day and it is often that he feeds us dinner on Monday nights. He is 80 and had a stroke about 6 years ago. He still drives, talks very well, and is super witty. He always has a quick response to tease us. He is pretty much awesome. Yesterday he gave me a safety razor! I have wanted one because I know how close they shave, not that I have much facial hair. It is pretty cool and I am excited to use it. Hopefully I don't cut my face open. I think I'll be fine but I don't want to hurt my money maker. Well, have a good week :)
I am so sure this is where I am meant to be! It is weird how well I fit this place. I love the people and there are some pretty cool missionaries.

May 5, 2013

I have the same companion for now. He will be going home on the 18th but I'll get a new companion on the 13th or 14th. I hope I stay in this area for awhile because I love it! Elder Olaveson and I fasted to be able to find less active members that we could talk to or help out. This week we totally saw those prayers get answered! On Saturday we got to talk to 2 less-active members and we were able to teach one of them. It was pretty cool because I wasn't even thinking about the fact that we had fasted for it. Elder Olaveson reminded me later that night. The Lord hears our prayers and if we are listening and watching for them, we can receive answers.
Love,

Elder Engelman

April 29, 203

So the coolest thing about this last week was Mormon Helping Hands. It was pretty spectacular. Not only did we get to put on regular clothes, but we also got to do manual labor. It was so much fun. I ended up working on clearing off a sidewalk. It sounds lame but it was definitely really tough. we were working for about 3 hours and there were probably 50 people working where I was. This stretch of sidewalk was approximately a yard and a half wide and probably 200 yards long. There was trees that had grown over it and nobody had touched it for, it seemed like, years. The dirt and roots were about 6 inches deep over the entire thing so we had to cut the roots and basically roll it off the sidewalk. The hard part was that a lot of the roots had grown into the crack of the sidewalk of were just so thick that they were almost impervious to any cutting tool we had. The only chainsaw there died after about an hour. It was tough work because there was about a foot of leaves on top that wwe had to clear off first. It was incredibly fun. We got to get dirty and get all cut up. I was sooooo sore the next day! My back and legs hurt but it is a good hurt. One of our investigator came and she had a good time. It was pretty much just awesome. I forgot to mention that I was standing in a lot of poison ivy. Pretty cool, huh?

We had to rush to an appointment afterward so we got to take three minute showers and the shower was just covered in dirt. It turned out the person wasn't home so we ate because we were both dying. We didn't end up having any lessons that night but it was still a great day.

Yesterday ws fast Sunday and I was dying. It felt like my stomach was eating itself but we had a super cool experience, Elder O and I were fasting to be able to find some less active members to teach and then one came to church today. He is 19 and he decided top come today. The best part is that he went up and bore his testimoony. Miracles happen all the time and God truly answers our prayers.

We-we-we-we-well Th-That's All Folks.

Love,

Elder Engelman

April 22, 2013

Did I tell you that I missed the first session of General Conference? We were having a lesson and we watched part of it with them but we ended up missing the whole thing by the time we got back to the church. The priesthood session was killer!
Gertrude, our Haitian investigator moved still within the branch boundaries but out of my area. She now has a different set of Elders that are awesome but I am going to miss her(and her cooking). On Saturday we had Congolie food. It was interesting. I kind of liked it. Do you recall how I always have a stupid habit of heating really hot stuff despite the warnings I get from people? Well I have yet to break that habit. They had some really hot peppers and so I ate a spoonful. It didn't burn at all for almost a minute. The spice pretty much hit me all at once. The best part is that when Jo Jo(the 15 year old boy from Congo) ate some he was crying. It was pretty entertaining.
This month, our zone's focus is to rid our selves of pride. We read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson called Beware of Pride(I think that's the title) and it basically punched me in the face. It tells us how people often think pride is a sin committed only by the wealthy but it consists of a lot more. Pride is what keeps people from opening their mouth about the gospel because they are afraid of what others will think. He said that a proud man cares more about what man thinks than what God thinks. It is some pretty heavy stuff.
I have been having a lot of fun. I have realized that hard work can be synonymous with fun. I have always had fun no matter what but this last week has been a blast and every day was productive. It was pretty cool.
 Yours Truly,
Elder Joseph Richard Engelman

April 15, 2013

A lot of members here are from Congo. Kind of unexpected right? The branch president is from Congo and when we shake hands we always do this cool snap thing. It's pretty much impossible to explain.
Proselyting is going well. We talk to a lot of people on the street because unlike at home, there are a TON of people walking around. The main mode of transportation is SEPTA(buses and trains) and walking. We have been having poor numbers lately(i.e. lessons, member present lessons, recent convert/less active lesssons) so yesterday we set a goal to have 10 lessons. What was cool is that we ended up having way less time than usual and we met our goal. In a few hours we managed to have 10 lessons with people on the street. It is just awesome to see that when we set righteous goals the Lord will help us attain them.
Sorry, this is going to be a REALLY short email today :(
Just remember that the best way to be a missionary is to be a good example. Preach My Gospel tells us that it doesn't matter as much what you say but who you are. That is why there is a section teaching us how to have more Christlike attributes.
Much Love,
Elder Joseph RIchard Engelman

April 8, 2013

We have barely been able to meet with Carlos and Samantha and we haven't been able to meet with Wanda again. It is a little disheartening but we always get to teach a few lessons to people on the street so we are slways smiling. Carlos and Samantha are moving soon and we haven't been able to teach them enough to baptize them. Hopefully the missionaries wherever they are moving to are as good as Elder Olaveson. It's going to be really cool when their daughter grows up with a foundation in Christ.
Conference was off the chain! During the first session on Saturday we had a lesson so we didn't get to see very much of it. We were teaching a family and we ended up watching the first 30 minutes of conference with them. They seemed to enjoy it. I'm sure it was a bit harder to focus with Phoebe.
The really tall missionary is Elder Olaveson. And yes, that is him on the toilet. Just ignore that one. I'm glad you finally got all of those. I did get the chance to make the birthday dinner and it was pretty dang good. Elder O was pretty much flabbergasted.
Oh yeah, he messed up his ankle really badly! Luckily, I had an ankle wrap, ice, and Aleve(all thanks to you, Mother).
Unless Dad wrote me about Tanner, nobody did. I am sooo excited for him. You need to get me his address too!
Love,
Elder Joseph Engelman

Easter Sunday

 I wish I could hear Sister Mascio and the choir sing. This ward has a lot of people that love to sing just don't hear very well. It is really making me a lot more resilient. By that, I mean that I am getting a lot more used to harsh noises.

 Easter was pretty much awesome. We went to church and during the third hour we watched a few of the Bible Videos the church has produced. We saw clips about the Atonement and Christ's resurrection. It was really cool because after we watched them the branch leader asked for a volunteer to summarize what we just watched. An old man was already standing and so he started summarizing it. He did a really wonderful job becuase he stated everything so simply that you could see the pure beauty of the Atonement. It was really amazing.

 After church was over we headed to a few members' and investigators' homes. We brought them cookies! It ended up raining on the suits we had just picked up from the dry cleaners the day before but whatever. We didn't end up having a lesson with anyone like we had planned but we definitely built some trust and love with some of our members and investigators.

 We didn't end up getting to meet with Wanda yesterday like we had planned because she was sick. We are going to meet with Carlos and Sam this week hopefully. Unfortunately we haven't been able to stay in contact with the twins :(

 Why is Pheobe so adorable?!

March 25, 2013

This is crazy that Easter is already here! I am going to miss dying eggs but I think I can handle not having to clean up the spilled dye. Easter is so awesome! We get to watch General Conference with the branch and I am so excited. Although I won't have monkey bread or be able to wear sweats and a t-shirt, I know that I am going to love this General Conference. This branch is pretty close knit and although there are loud personalities, everyone gets along. I love that I already know most of the branch pretty personally.

 Yesterday we got to teach a lady named Wanda. She had both of her parents die by the time she was 26 and she was diagnosed HIV positive by the time she was 40 and she is in her 50s. She told us that right now she is starting to relate to the story of Job because of all the things going on in her life. As a result of all the tragedies, Wanda is really humble. We went over there with a member and started teaching her a little bit. We had brought a member that ended up helping a lot. He had similar experiences to what she was going through right now and she was very thankful for us coming over. We asked her to come to church and she was excited and immediately asked where it was and what time. She wants to come closer to Jesus Christ so we talked about the Book of Mormon and asked her to read the 31st chapter of 2nd Nephi. It talks about the way to come closer to our Savior and she seemed very excited. When we contacted her on the street I didn't think anything would come of it but it turns out I was wrong.

 We got to meet with Carlos and Samantha again!!! Carlos came to the scripture study class we held on Wednesday night. He was trying to remember everything for Samantha so we just wrote down all the scriptures for him. We got to meet with them on Friday and they aren't moving till the end of April. I am so glad because that means we can continue to teach them. Their little girl is adorable!

Well, toodle ooo. I love you! This time is just flying by!

Love,

Elder Joseph Richard Engelman

March 17th

We are on out way to play basketball and I'm sure you know how much missionaries treasure that time. This week has been a little tough when it comes to appointments. Almost all of them fell through. We had about 2 per day scheduled and we were lucky to have one. Nevertheless we met our weekly goal of 25 lessons. Actually, we exceeded it. We have been talking to more people and although it can be awkward sometimes it can also be fun. There are quite a few, for lack of a better word, crazy people out here. They aren't super insane, but nutty. We discovered that I was right. Carlos and Samantha are moving really soon. Because of a series of (seemingly)unfortunate events we ran into Carlos. He said they have just been busy packing and he has felt like he has been missing something. They haven't been reading as much this last week because they don't understand all of it. We are going to help them move sometime soon. Unfortunately they are moving to Florida so we aren't going to be able to continue teaching them.
We ended up running into a family tracting that let us come in. The father came downstairs and let us share a couple of scriptures. He started crying and saying "God is great". His name is Miguel and he welcomed us back any time. I don't remember his wife's name because it was weird. They are from Puerto Rico so it was hard to say. They ended up sending us away with some granola bars, fruit, and soda. I love them! It was interesting because as we were leaving he told us that he doesn't normally come talk to people like us but he felt like he needed to.

March 4th, 2013

Mother,
I wish I could have helped Billy do some demolition. I can't wait to see the house when I get back, not to mention my two nieces. David says he's getting a speedo tan so I just can't wait to get pictures of that :P Oh, and I think I can remember the 12th of March. I like the name Wyatt.
So we mainly walk here. Also we take the public transportation called SEPTA which includes buses, subways, and trains. I hasn't been raining very much but it is humid here so I'm glad I have gloves, scarves, and a beanie. If I didn't I would often find myself with numb ears, lips, and fingers. Just a few things you should know about Philly: there are no mothers, fathers, white people, or water. There are baby fathers, baby mamas, and wooder(yes, that's how they say it here), almost everyone smokes, and this is probably the Muslim capital of the USA. Oh, and every person is a young bull or an old bull(instead of guy).
We have had a lot of plans fall through this week. It is a little disheartening but we end up contacting someone on the street that is a little interested or we at least have the opportunity to bear our testimony about the truth of what we share. It is cool because when you tell someone, "I KNOW that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that his church has been restored on the earth, that he calls prophets today, that the Book of Mormon can help you build a relationship with Him, and that the authority to organize his church and perform miracles has been restored to the earth. And I know this because I have prayed and felt the Holy Spirit give me an answer" it is pretty powerful. When you tell someone you know something and it is the truth, it is pretty powerful.
We got to meet with Carlos and Samantha briefly this week and we taught them how to study the scriptures rather than read them. We went through 1st Nephi Chapter 1 and read it slowly. We talked about each verse and they were able to better understand and draw more out of the scriptures that way. We challenged them to read every day together and they were really excited to do so. When we texted them yesterday Samantha said she keeps reading chapters over and over again to better understand them. I can't wait to see them on Thursday and teach them the Plan of Salvation. They are so amazing because they are doing all of this not only for them but mainly for Carli.
The Frankford Branch is pretty small and not everyone is active but I seriously love it here. It is nice to see people that aren't striving to be perfectly mannered but know how to talk to people, laugh, and feel the Spirit of the Lord. During the Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, a reoccurring theme was that we need to follow our heart because we won't ever be led wrong. It is so true because the Spirit speaks to our heart.
So a few days ago we talked to this guy on the street. It was going good and he seemed slightly/not really interested. We had been asking him some questions and he said that he wasn't 100% sure there is a god. That is when the Elder O(who will henceforth be referred to as baby daddy) made the unfortunate error of asking him," If Jesus Christ were standing here and you could ask him one question, what would it be?" His response,"Is smoking weed a bad thing? Cuz, I mean, it's a natural plant." He then walked away. We were laughing for the next two days about it.
At our Zone Training I ended up singing Come Thou Fount with another elder as the special musical number. It was pretty fun. Baby daddy was like,"I'm proud of you son." Because of that, I am now singing at the Zone Conference with multiple zones tomorrow. My Zone Leader is good and he told me to get warmed up because we are singing together. I'm actually kind of excited.
Thanks for the letter!
Love,
Elder Engelman
p.s. I'm going to try to send you pictures this way, tell me if it works.