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THE MESSENGER
VENEZUELA CARACAS EAST MISSION
JANUARY 1992
Translated from the Spanish by Erin Howarth, January 27, 2002
"President," requested the elder,
"I do not want to go home. Help me.
Please, teach me to love!"
Alma 5: 59-60: For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him. And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Dear elders and sisters:
Sister Hoffmann and I are very grateful for the opportunity to work with each one of you and for the beautiful letters and for the experiences that you share with us. I know that you are very special children of our Heavenly Father and that you are VALIENT because you are here to share the message of the restored gospel with all the people. (Mosiah 12:21) [How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth;]
This is a time for growth as much for you as for us, from each one of you, I can learn many things. Especially that each one of us has tests and even blessings prepared for us, and if we know how to overcome each obstacle, in the end, we will be the winners. We will be able to accept the reward that our Savior Jesus Christ offers us, and it is the greatest of all the gifts, life eternal and exaltation. It is my goal to try to help each one of you to obtain your maximum potential.
I want to share with you a very beautiful scripture that will make us understand this better:
"For what shepherd is there among you having many sheep doth not watch over them, that the wolves enter not and devour his flock? And behold, if a wolf enter his flock doth he not drive him out? Yea, and at the last, if he can, he will destroy him.
"And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you; and if you will hearken unto his voice he will bring you into his fold, and ye are his sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you, that ye may not be destroyed."
I love you all and always want to be your friend.
T. Hoffmann
WE LEARN THE LANGUAGE
We see with much worry that ours missionaries from the north are not making an effort to improve the learning of the Spanish language, and are constantly speaking English with their companions (especially in the apartment), leaving out the Latinos that are present, and this can create bad feelings.
Do you know that Spanish is the second language of the Church, after English? One of the blessings of a calling to serve in another country is the opportunity to learn its language, culture, customs and landscapes, and soon to return to your country and to be able to offer the knowledge of the other language (even choosing to work in the MTC as trainers for the missionaries going to Latin countries).
You MUST study the language with your red book each day as it appears in the MISSIONARY HANDBOOK, page 17: ["If you are learning another language, spend thirty minutes each day studying that language."] In addition, we have indicated that in the first months of the mission, one must study one hour more each day to obtain more effectiveness in the discussions and in your relationships with the investigators and members.
Some missionaries think that when they can speak a little of the language, they no longer need to study any more. This is a mistake. We can always learn new vocabulary, and we can always improve our grammar. The Latinos must help them correcting them when they say something badly, and to do this with humility and love. Also, you must receive the correction with humility. We can show a true love like the love of Christ if we help each other and each one learns the language of the other.
I exhort you to pay attention the goal of SPEAKING ENGLISH ONLY WHEN YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND SOMETHING. I promise you that you can learn the language faster, and you will feel more effective and surer of yourselves.
MESSAGE FROM THE ASSISTANTS:
We are very happy with the success that we all have had in the month of January. The mission is improving and progressing more every month. We feel very pleased and we have been thankful for the time that we were working with you, in the splits that we made together.
At the beginning the New Year of 1992, each missionary made goals. We want you to remember the goals that we made so that the "MISSION OF POWER" can always progress.
This year we have received a new form letter to the president. This letter has six very important statistics that each missionary must take into account. Every Tuesday after district meetings, each district leader must call his zone leader, and zone leaders must call the office, and report the zone statistics to us or the secretary to the president, Elder Williams. We want the mission to begin this process so that everything can be easy.
We very are excited for the month of February, and we want you to remember that we are always here to help in whatever form that we can.
WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH,
ELDERS WAITE AND CHRISTENSEN
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY WANTS TO ASK FOR YOUR HELP WITH THE FOLLOWING:
You must send your invoices specifying each thing that you bought (we can not accept a total amount labeled VARIOUS).
Also it is important that the missionaries who have received advances, so that they can buy some necessary articles for their apartments, that they send the in voices as soon possible.
Elder Sego can be more efficient if you help him with these things. THANKS!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
THE MATERIALS SECRETARY, ELDER LOPEZ, wants to tell you that he is at your service in his new calling and that he appreciates all your support by sending in orders early. He is sending your personal correspondence every Thursday.
Almost he has finished sending the Christmas packages that are still arriving, so if some of you are waiting for packages, do not lose hope. It is the fault of the mail not of Elder Lopez nor of Elder Petit!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now we have new photo copy machine in the office and little by little we will be improving our equipment to better serve each of you.
It is the desire of all the elders in the office, the president and Sister Hoffmann to serve you better each day.
ARRIVED IN JANUARY:
| S. S. DeLange |
|
E. M. Henderson |
| E. S. Erickson |
|
E. J. Crocket |
| E. E. Aguilar |
|
E. S. Carter |
| E. D. Garfield |
|
E. J. Nelson |
| E. D. Palauni |
|
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BIRTHDAYS IN FEBRUARY
| E. Colls |
11 |
|
E. Negretti |
13 |
| E. Turner |
14 |
|
E. Bundy |
14 |
| E. W. Diaz |
16 |
|
E. G. Slater |
18 |
| E. P. Puertas |
19 |
|
E. Garrett |
20 |
| E. Fox |
20 |
|
E. Peña |
24 |
| E. Petit |
24 |
|
E. Ramirez |
27 |
| S. M. Davis |
28 |
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CONGRATULATIONS!
BAUPTISMS BY ZONE FOR JANUARY
| ZONA |
TOTAL
BAUTISMS |
AVERAGE FOR
COMPANIONSHIP |
|
|
|
| Barcelona |
25 |
2.18 |
| Ocumare |
23 |
3.14 |
| Guarenas |
22 |
2.50 |
| Cdad. Bolivar |
15 |
2.33 |
| Guayana |
14 |
1.33 |
| Cumana |
11 |
1.17 |
| Caracas |
9 |
0.60 |
| El Tigre |
7 |
1.17 |
| Maturin |
6 |
0.22 |
| Valle de la Pascua |
3 |
0.55 |
| Margarita |
1 |
0.33 |
| |
|
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| TOTAL |
136 |
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Comments and suggestions
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