He was asking all the right questions.....

Area:  Independence, Missouri
Companion:  Elder Tu'akalau

Family!  

So, some more house keeping items!  ya ya!  Thanks for sending the GPS Mom, can't wait to get it!  It's hard to know where addresses are around here because there isn't a very good system, just street names.  It would also be sweet if you could send my running watch (you might have to dig through my boxes...), some good healthy easy recipes, and for some reason the headphones you sent don't want to work on the computer but everyone's earbuds work on them so it would be cool if you could send a pair. :)

Sounds like things are going great back home!  I'm excited to see what the computer room will look like when you get all the new flooring in.

 

So, I'm still chilling in the Independence South Zone with Elder Tu'akalau!  We have been working really hard this past week and really getting to work and bettering ourselves.  We get along so well now that we know each other a little better.  We are always joking around and stuff, I've got some pretty funny pictures and videos of us. 

Carlos and Araley are doing great!  We taught them the Plan of Salvation and it brought back memories to Carlos and he might have been baptized in Cuba when he was 9 so we are trying to figure that out.  We have another appointment with them on Tuesday at the Visitors Center so that will be good.  They are actually bringing along another guy for us to teach!  Pretty cool!

So my favorite teaching experience this week would have to be with a 15 year old boy named Woody.  We actually found his Dad's name in our area book and have only ran into him one time, but yesterday we knocked on his door and his son came out.  We started talking and he was so interested.  He was asking all the right questions, where did we come from?, what is repentance?, what's the Book of Mormon?, What makes you different from other churches?..... and stuff like that.  He also said that what we had talked about really hit him, but he said not like a punch, but in his heart...  Yeah this strengthened my testimony that God really does prepare people to hear our message.  We have another appointment with him this Tuesday as well!

So we have been trying to find people still, so we decided to go tracting in a trailer park near by.  We had a ton of people yelling at us that we couldn't solicit there but we would just tell them weren't selling anything, just spreading a message about Jesus Christ.  When we said that they all just drove off.  haha!  I was able to hand out my first Book of Mormon by myself out there!  It was a lot better than the last experience I had that's for sure.

 

Oh, and the Putman family moved because of a job she got so we aren't teaching them anymore. :(  But they may move back when she gets a car. 

 

I'm am really learning a lot out here and learning how to communicate with strangers a lot better.  It's pretty cool!

So that about all I got this week.

Love you all!

Elder Shoemaker

Elder Tuakalau taking a nap during personal studies :)

(Elder Shoe is sportin' the handmade crochet hat from his Aunt Kristi!)

Elder Crowton (my District leader) and all of us at his "going away" steak BBQ!