Mission Address

Washington Yakima Mission
1006 S 16th Ave
Yakima, WA 98902

Monday, June 13, 2016

Elder Daniel Johnson of the seventy spoke to us (week 48)

We had ourselves such an amazing week. We were blessed to have Daniel L. Johnson of the quorum of the 70 visit our mission. The time while we were not having meeting and conferences we were able to go out and enjoy the work. 

Elder Johnson shared a lot of things with us that are really going to help us in this work. On Thursday we had a conference for all the Spanish speaking missionaries up in Wenatchee. I was great as he answered questions and addressed concerns in relation to working with the Latin American culture. One thing that really stood out is how in the Latin American culture they act more based on feelings than logic. His advice to us was to testify often so they can feel of the spirit and feel that the things we are sharing with them are true. Here are some other random notes from the Spanish conference; Be direct in commitments, Be a good listener, Teach them to look for miracles, Set the example. One other thing that he emphasized is the fact that missionaries are HARVESTERS and not sowers. Our purpose is to find those that are prepared and help them make and keep commitments. His analogy was that of a tomato farmer. The farmer can go in the field and yell/encourage the unripe tomatoes as much as he wants but it will not change the fact that they are not ready. His time is better spent searching for those tomatoes that are ripe and ready to be picked. We as missionaries need to do the same thing. We need to look for those that are prepared and give those that are not more time so they can one day be found prepared and be harvested. It's not hat we should completely ignore those that are not prepared but rather that we should not force them to do something they are not ready to do. He brought our attention to the fact that so many times people a forced and coaxed into making the baptismal covenant when they are not properly prepared. Many times this results in people being baptized into inactivity and as Elder Bednar says "You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost". When they are not prepared it is like baptizing a bag of sand since they do not truly understand its purpose. This whole idea is emphasized in Doctrine and Covenants 4: "4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul". After that conference I can now say I know what that scripture means when it says we are to thrust in our sickle. 

Another topic he covered in the Southern Zone conference is how we need to practice receiving answers from the Lord and repenting so we can teach our investigators more effectively about the process. He told us of how it is very important for the youth to learn how to use the atonement and how to repent before the mission. He told us of how many missionaries get to the field and find that they don't know how to repent and how it would be so much better if they learned before hand because it will give them the experience they would be able to share with their investigators.

Sorry most of my email this week is filled with things I learned from conference. I just wanted to share the great insights and I hope you can gain something from what I have shared. I hope all is going well back home. Enjoy the summer break!

With love,
Elder Boren



week 47

We had ourselves another pretty good week here in Sunnyside. It is pretty sunny and hot here. Just the other day it hit 100 here. It was a pretty tiring day. We were fasting and I happened to be wearing a long sleeve shirt since I wasn't feeling like changing shirts after church. Then the other elders borrowed the car from us and we had a two hour block between three and five where we had to walk. So they dropped us off at one of the trailer parks in our area where we were hoping to contact a pretty golden referral. Sadly he wasn't there when we went to stop by. So we started a thirty minute walk over to  another trailer park which is about a mile and a half away. It was exhausting and we were both pretty thirsty by the end. We didn't get to talk to the person we planned on seeing there in the second trailer park ,but we did find and talk to two people with some really good potential. Another positive is that our exhaustion made dinner all the better. We had homemade tacos with one of the families in the branch here. (Not the "Tacos" they sell at taco bell or that we made at home. These are the real deal.)

Since the branch is so small most of the families will feed us just about twice a week. It's cool because we get to know the families a little more. However it would be nice to get to know more families and not feel like a burden on the families that feed us frequently. 

Elder Steadman and I have been developing a plan to improve our use of the finding tools we have over this transfer. At the beginning of our planners we have a list of activities that we can use to find people. Some examples being; Hold a fireside, Publish an article in the newspaper or organize a bible study class. We are excited to try a bunch of different finding activities and find those that are being prepared. We will see how they go and keep you updated on the outcomes. A lot of them are also in preach my gospel under finding if you want to look through them. 

This week we also had zone training meeting over in Yakima (almost and hour drive from Sunnyside). The training was all centered around becoming a representative of Jesus Christ rather than just a messenger. People are always watching us and we want them to see us as representatives of Christ and not just the messengers of his gospel. 

This upcoming week we have the opportunity to hear from Daniel L. Johnson of the 70. He is going to be speaking to all the Spanish missionaries on Thursday and we will have a normal southern zone conference on Friday. It is going to be a great experience as we learn how we can better work with those in our area. At the Spanish conference he is going to teach us how we can work to overcome the challenges that come with working with the Spanish culture. I'm excited to see what great things we can learn from him. 

I'm not sure what exactly everyone around here does during the summer but I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. Yes it is getting hot. But it's not humid so I think I'll make it through.  I hope it hasn't gotten too hot back home. Enjoy the summer break.

With love,
Elder Boren


transferred to Sunnyside (week 46)

Transfers have come and now I am here in Sunnyside. My new companion is Elder Steadman. He is from Orem, Utah. I have been out just a transfer longer than he has. We are also living with Elder Baker and Elder Buchanan. The area is pretty awesome we split Sunnyside with the elders we live with and we just work in Spanish. We have a car in our area and the others elders use it every Wednesday and Saturday. It is going to be an awesome transfer working here in this area. 

So Wednesday night we got here and had dinner with one of the members. Then we got back to the apartment and started looking through the area book so we could figure out our area and decide where to go and who to see. I think we have somewhat of an idea of the investigators in our area. We haven't been able to see very many of them yet ,but we are working on that. Thursday was a bit of driving around the area to figure out where people live and knocking on the doors of their houses. Not very many of them happened to be home yet but we found out from a few of them the better times to stop by. We also got to visit with the Acosta family who just got baptized about three weeks ago. The head of the household isn't a member yet but he has the potential to it soon. 

Saturday morning is when everyone in the house started to feel crummy. The only exceptions being me and Elder Buchanan at the time. So we left our companions at the house and went to the store to get them something before heading out to work our areas. While in the store Elder Buchanan dropped a liter of soda and it exploded and slid across five aisles. That combined with a trash bag ripping on him as he took out the trash started a pretty fun day for him. At about three he started to feel crummy as well so we headed in and spent the night at the apartment. It was a good time to get to know everyone and listen to some good talks. Got to listen to the conversion story of Glenn Beck. 

On Wednesday when we got here I was asked to give a talk in sacrament so thats what I did on Sunday. Luckily everyone was feeling well enough to accompany me to church. I gave my talk on the Sabbath day and then after sacrament meeting Elder Baker and Elder Steadman headed to the apartment because they were once again not feeling well. Then after Elder Buchanan and I finished church we went back and Elder Baker and Elder Buchanan were able to got out while Elder Steadman and I stayed in. We stayed in for the night again which made for a fun weekend of sickness. 

The warm weather is getting here although it's nothing in comparison to Texas heat. Hopefully it doesn't get as hot as Texas. 

We are looking forward to another great week and hopefully no one gets sick. I hope all is well back home and everyone is enjoying the beginning for summer break. 

This is our address here in Sunnyside:
418 S 13th St #9
Sunnyside WA, 98944

Love you,
Elder Boren