Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone is doing well and that you all have fun plans for Christmas. We are spending the afternoon with the Branch President's family here, it'll be pretty fun. Other than that though, Christmas is pretty slow for a missionary since no one will let you in(or so I've heard).
Anyway, this week was pretty good. We got to teach Debby Trap again, this time about the Plan of Salvation. It was a good lesson and we enjoy visiting with her and her family. Now only if we could get her to church...(she lives out of town on the weekends on her ranch). Oh well.
On Tuesday we had Zone Conference. It was way good like always. At the end of it each companionship was assigned to give a short training on one person or aspect of the Nativity and how we can apply it to missionary work. It was awesome. We got to train on the innkeeper. And though he isn't directly mentioned in the Bible, we did our best. We touched on President Monson's address from the Christmas Devotional about how we need to make room for Christ in our lives.
We got to teach Cal some more, and Angelo as well. We read with both of them from the Book of Mormon. Hopefully it will strengthen their desire to read and pray about its truthfulness.
One of the zone leader's, Elder Wallace, came to Pierre for an exchange for a few days. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from him. He's from Boise, Idaho and is a hard worker.
We got to visit Rachel, our less-active lady, this week and read with her some more out of the Book of Mormon. But what was awesome is we got her to pray at the end of our visit!! I was so excited, when we first met her she told us flat out she wouldn't pray with us, and now she is, its great! The Lord sure does know what he's doing.
So we finally got in contact with Markata again, turns out she was in jail for 11 days this time...that would explain a lot. Anyway, we're helping her move this coming week, but she's staying in town so we'll still be able to visit her. Hopefully we can get her back on track!
Well this is kind of a shorter letter, but its time to get going. I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you will remember Christ in this season of giving. I heard a powerful talk yesterday at church talking about the greatest gift ever given, our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave his Father everything He has, his will. So I'd like to remind everyone that the only gift we can give to our Father in heaven is our will, everything else he already has and owns, but our will is our own and cannot be taken away. So as we submit our will to Him, I know he will bless us and lead us down the path to supreme happiness and joy. I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Prep Day Email 12/5/08
Hello Everyone!
Dang its cold. Saturday night a big storm chased us from the west as we drove home to Pierre from Rapid City, and hit all day Sunday. Raw temperature was around -14 degrees with 30-50 mph winds...we didn't leave the apartment, and church was cancelled. It was pretty cold.
But the week was alright though. We got to visit some people, but not as much as we would have liked...lots of appointments fell through and Markata is still missing. We did get to visit some less-active members and help them out, which is really exciting. Its great seeing them progress back towards the gospel when they're so far off the straight and narrow.
We had our Branch Christmas party this week and we were able to get some non-members that attend our Branch volleyball nights to come, as well as some less-actives, it was good.
We did a lot of traveling this week. We received a referral to deliver and visit with a lady in St. Francis, a small town on the Rosebud Indian Reservation near the border of Nebraska, about 140 miles away from PIerre. So we traveled down there, and guess what...she dogged us, but we still dropped the video off. Elder Nelson had a leadership meeting to attend because he's district leader, so we traveled to Rapid City after going to St. Francis, another 150+ miles. On the way as we drove through Kadoka(you may recognize that name...that was where we got stuck in the hotel for three days because of a storm last month) the weather got really bad, almost to the point where I felt like I should turn off. But thankfully I was able to follow a train of cars out of the storm and then it cleared up. I did not want to be snowed in again in a hotel!!! Anyway, spent the next day in Rapid while Elder Nelson was in Gilette, WY for his meeting. I got to serve with
Elder Callor and Elder Moss. It was a good experience because they're both really good at tracting and I learned a lot from them. The next day we drove home because my eyes were acting up again and I had to go to the doctor to get some medication for them which I don't even think helped at all, but oh well.
And now its Monday and we're out of miles. Yeah, each set of missionaries gets a certain amount of miles alotted to them each month, and we have already used 1000 of our 1100, for the month because of all the traveling. So, we are going to have to walk everywhere we go now in the cold, its going to be fun...kinda, but its alright, the Lord will provide!
One of the great blessings of missionary work that I have noticed really strongly this week is that the Lord is always there to help you. As long as you're willing and are trying to do His will, He will help you accomplish your goal. I know this is true and am so thankful for it. And I know that as we put our faith in Christ, that we will be able to work miracles in the lives of those around us. Never doubt that! This gospel is true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Dang its cold. Saturday night a big storm chased us from the west as we drove home to Pierre from Rapid City, and hit all day Sunday. Raw temperature was around -14 degrees with 30-50 mph winds...we didn't leave the apartment, and church was cancelled. It was pretty cold.
But the week was alright though. We got to visit some people, but not as much as we would have liked...lots of appointments fell through and Markata is still missing. We did get to visit some less-active members and help them out, which is really exciting. Its great seeing them progress back towards the gospel when they're so far off the straight and narrow.
We had our Branch Christmas party this week and we were able to get some non-members that attend our Branch volleyball nights to come, as well as some less-actives, it was good.
We did a lot of traveling this week. We received a referral to deliver and visit with a lady in St. Francis, a small town on the Rosebud Indian Reservation near the border of Nebraska, about 140 miles away from PIerre. So we traveled down there, and guess what...she dogged us, but we still dropped the video off. Elder Nelson had a leadership meeting to attend because he's district leader, so we traveled to Rapid City after going to St. Francis, another 150+ miles. On the way as we drove through Kadoka(you may recognize that name...that was where we got stuck in the hotel for three days because of a storm last month) the weather got really bad, almost to the point where I felt like I should turn off. But thankfully I was able to follow a train of cars out of the storm and then it cleared up. I did not want to be snowed in again in a hotel!!! Anyway, spent the next day in Rapid while Elder Nelson was in Gilette, WY for his meeting. I got to serve with
Elder Callor and Elder Moss. It was a good experience because they're both really good at tracting and I learned a lot from them. The next day we drove home because my eyes were acting up again and I had to go to the doctor to get some medication for them which I don't even think helped at all, but oh well.
And now its Monday and we're out of miles. Yeah, each set of missionaries gets a certain amount of miles alotted to them each month, and we have already used 1000 of our 1100, for the month because of all the traveling. So, we are going to have to walk everywhere we go now in the cold, its going to be fun...kinda, but its alright, the Lord will provide!
One of the great blessings of missionary work that I have noticed really strongly this week is that the Lord is always there to help you. As long as you're willing and are trying to do His will, He will help you accomplish your goal. I know this is true and am so thankful for it. And I know that as we put our faith in Christ, that we will be able to work miracles in the lives of those around us. Never doubt that! This gospel is true! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Elder Fitt's Response
Hi Mom,
Man, my heart sunk when I read your email. But then was lifted back up again when you told me of the spiritual strength the family had. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I'm sure he needed Jen and that she was ready to go. I was glad to hear that Troy is dealing with it really well, I hope it pushes him into the church, I'm sure Jen would really love that.
We are so blessed with this fullness of the Gospel that we know what is waiting for us in the next life and that we can look forward to it with joy instead of fear. I think that's one of the amazing things about the church, that it is one of peace and joy, fear doesn't(or shouldn't) exist. And it is because of our Heavenly Father's love for us that we can trust in Him and acknowledge his hand in all things.
Well I love you mom so much, I hope you made it safely back to Utah, tell the family I love them!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Man, my heart sunk when I read your email. But then was lifted back up again when you told me of the spiritual strength the family had. The Lord works in mysterious ways, and I'm sure he needed Jen and that she was ready to go. I was glad to hear that Troy is dealing with it really well, I hope it pushes him into the church, I'm sure Jen would really love that.
We are so blessed with this fullness of the Gospel that we know what is waiting for us in the next life and that we can look forward to it with joy instead of fear. I think that's one of the amazing things about the church, that it is one of peace and joy, fear doesn't(or shouldn't) exist. And it is because of our Heavenly Father's love for us that we can trust in Him and acknowledge his hand in all things.
Well I love you mom so much, I hope you made it safely back to Utah, tell the family I love them!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Letter to Elder Fitt
Hi There Elder Fitt,
I'm writing this at Grandma Ann's table in EDH on Sunday morning. Its been a very different week and I've been thinking for several days how to write this letter to you.
I guess I'll just tell you from the top. Last Monday Bradd and Ann were supposed to drive out to UT for Thanksgiving. I got a call from Julia in the middle of the day telling me that they weren't coming. Jen Gilbert had called Troy at work that morning complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. He told her to hang up and call the paramedics and that he would be right home. When he got there, the paramedics were loading her into the back of the ambulance. They told Troy she'd had a seizure. One of the paramedics stayed at Jen's house with their week old baby, Jake Taylor, while everyone else went to the hospital. Grandma Ann went down to Jen's house to watch the baby while Bradd went to the hospital to be with Troy. A short while after arriving at the hospital Jen was pronounced dead. It was certainly a shock to everyone and it has been a difficult week for all. The autopsy showed that Jen died of a very rare condition called SCAD- Sudden
Coronary Artieral Dissection. Basically what happens is a small tear develops in the lining of the coronary artery. Blood leaks into the lining and creates a blockage that prevents proper blood flow, so although the method is different, the result is the same as a heart attack. This is a very rare condition and happens mostly to women between the ages of 35-40 who are pregnant or post partum. It is rarely diagnosed before death and there is not much that can be done about it. We all feel that Jen was prepared and ready to go and that it was God's will for her. The funeral was on Saturday.
Although it has been a very sad week, it has been filled with spiritual experiences. The outpouring of love and support from ward members both in EDH and in Jen's ward has been amazing. Troy has been literally overwhelmed by the the goodness of church members. He even wanted a blessing when Bradd and Kurt received them and it has been a great source of strength and peace for him. He is really stepping up to the plate and thinking about what is necessary to take care of the girls and the baby. The funeral was a beautiful, moving, spiritual experience. Many thoughts of Jen, of love, of family were shared. I had the honor of helping to dress Jennifer's body at the mortuary. There were about 6 of us there to assist. Before we began, we gathered in a circle and offered a prayer. Will, the spirit was so strong in the room I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe. It was a powerful physical force and it was amazing to experience. I know that Heavenly Father is
aware of Jen and her children and of our family and that He is watching over all of us and that no matter how difficult our challenges may seem, it will all work together for our good.
We all love Jen and we will miss her bright presence in our lives very much. But we are confident that she is still aware of Troy and their children and that she is watching them. Inspite of this tragedy we are sure their lives will be blessed. We are so grateful for the comfort of the gospel which teaches us that God watches over all of His children and loves each one. We trust in His wisdom and look forward in faith towards that perfect day.
Love
Mom
I'm writing this at Grandma Ann's table in EDH on Sunday morning. Its been a very different week and I've been thinking for several days how to write this letter to you.
I guess I'll just tell you from the top. Last Monday Bradd and Ann were supposed to drive out to UT for Thanksgiving. I got a call from Julia in the middle of the day telling me that they weren't coming. Jen Gilbert had called Troy at work that morning complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath. He told her to hang up and call the paramedics and that he would be right home. When he got there, the paramedics were loading her into the back of the ambulance. They told Troy she'd had a seizure. One of the paramedics stayed at Jen's house with their week old baby, Jake Taylor, while everyone else went to the hospital. Grandma Ann went down to Jen's house to watch the baby while Bradd went to the hospital to be with Troy. A short while after arriving at the hospital Jen was pronounced dead. It was certainly a shock to everyone and it has been a difficult week for all. The autopsy showed that Jen died of a very rare condition called SCAD- Sudden
Coronary Artieral Dissection. Basically what happens is a small tear develops in the lining of the coronary artery. Blood leaks into the lining and creates a blockage that prevents proper blood flow, so although the method is different, the result is the same as a heart attack. This is a very rare condition and happens mostly to women between the ages of 35-40 who are pregnant or post partum. It is rarely diagnosed before death and there is not much that can be done about it. We all feel that Jen was prepared and ready to go and that it was God's will for her. The funeral was on Saturday.
Although it has been a very sad week, it has been filled with spiritual experiences. The outpouring of love and support from ward members both in EDH and in Jen's ward has been amazing. Troy has been literally overwhelmed by the the goodness of church members. He even wanted a blessing when Bradd and Kurt received them and it has been a great source of strength and peace for him. He is really stepping up to the plate and thinking about what is necessary to take care of the girls and the baby. The funeral was a beautiful, moving, spiritual experience. Many thoughts of Jen, of love, of family were shared. I had the honor of helping to dress Jennifer's body at the mortuary. There were about 6 of us there to assist. Before we began, we gathered in a circle and offered a prayer. Will, the spirit was so strong in the room I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe. It was a powerful physical force and it was amazing to experience. I know that Heavenly Father is
aware of Jen and her children and of our family and that He is watching over all of us and that no matter how difficult our challenges may seem, it will all work together for our good.
We all love Jen and we will miss her bright presence in our lives very much. But we are confident that she is still aware of Troy and their children and that she is watching them. Inspite of this tragedy we are sure their lives will be blessed. We are so grateful for the comfort of the gospel which teaches us that God watches over all of His children and loves each one. We trust in His wisdom and look forward in faith towards that perfect day.
Love
Mom
Sunday, December 14, 2008
FYI
Hi All,
If you could please keep Elder Fitt in your prayers this week, he has been having a lot of trouble with his eyes. We think alllergies might be leading to infections. He was at the doctor again on Saturday and must go back on Monday. He has been in a lot of pain and can't wear his contacts, or see to drive or do his other duties very well.
Love to all,
Gina
If you could please keep Elder Fitt in your prayers this week, he has been having a lot of trouble with his eyes. We think alllergies might be leading to infections. He was at the doctor again on Saturday and must go back on Monday. He has been in a lot of pain and can't wear his contacts, or see to drive or do his other duties very well.
Love to all,
Gina
December 8, 2008
Hello Everyone!
Man time is flying by. I hope everyone is doing well and that you all were able to attend the Christmas Devotional with your non-member friends! It was awesome, none of our investigators showed up(darn it!) but a less-active came, Ivan Gravatt, the guy with crazy sweet stories. So that was good.
So we got a new investigator this week. Her name is Deby Trap, middle-aged women with a few children. Her husband lives and works on their Ranch in Midland, a ways out of town, so her and the kids live in Pierre during the week for school then go to the ranch on the weekends. We taught her about the Restoration and we brought up how there is prophets today on the earth and she was all jokingly "well the better getter to work then" ...ya, I think they're getting to work lady, haha. But she is really nice and hopefully we when we teacher her next the Spirit will really touch her heart.
We went up to the rez this week, Eagle Butte(In the Cheyenne River Reservation if anyone wants to look it up) because Elder Daly had to do the baptismal interviews for the Waters' family who is getting baptized on Saturday. It was a good trip, but the weather got pretty bad so we had to stay up there for the night, sleeping in the church. Man those floors are uncomfortable! It was good though.
We got to visit a less-active lady, Rachel, for a while. I think I have talked a little about her before, how she is living a lifestyle contrary to church standards and doesn't want to stop because its too much fun. Anywho, we got to read with her from the Book of Mormon...last time we visited she refused to read from it. It was great. When we left we assigned her to read some chapters and she said she would! She's changing and not even realizing it. She really is a nice girl, but I don't think she knows it. Its awesome seeing the Lord work in others lives.
Saw Markata this week too and taught her about prayer...then our next appointment she was missing again, and wasn't home all week. Might be in jail again, oh boy. Crazy people out here, that's for sure, but I hope she's alright, I can tell she really wants to change.
So ya, transfer calls were this week. Elder Daly is being shipped off to Rapid City to be a zone leader, and Elder Nelson will be my new companion, the Elder Nelson from Eagle Butte, who I have served with on exchanges a couple times...kinda crazy. What's crazier is his companion, Elder Schoppmann, has served his whole mission so far in Eagle Butte, for 9 months, and now he'll be training a new missionary there, which usually lasts for 2 transfers or 3 months...so he will have served in one area for a whole year, pretty crazy...but he loves it.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing great. Sorry for not writing back to everyone who has written me letters, I'll get better at that. And since I'm not leaving Pierre my address will be the same:
Elder William Fitt
819 E. Broadway Ave. #B2
Pierre, SD 57501
Alrighty then, have a great week everyone, I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Man time is flying by. I hope everyone is doing well and that you all were able to attend the Christmas Devotional with your non-member friends! It was awesome, none of our investigators showed up(darn it!) but a less-active came, Ivan Gravatt, the guy with crazy sweet stories. So that was good.
So we got a new investigator this week. Her name is Deby Trap, middle-aged women with a few children. Her husband lives and works on their Ranch in Midland, a ways out of town, so her and the kids live in Pierre during the week for school then go to the ranch on the weekends. We taught her about the Restoration and we brought up how there is prophets today on the earth and she was all jokingly "well the better getter to work then" ...ya, I think they're getting to work lady, haha. But she is really nice and hopefully we when we teacher her next the Spirit will really touch her heart.
We went up to the rez this week, Eagle Butte(In the Cheyenne River Reservation if anyone wants to look it up) because Elder Daly had to do the baptismal interviews for the Waters' family who is getting baptized on Saturday. It was a good trip, but the weather got pretty bad so we had to stay up there for the night, sleeping in the church. Man those floors are uncomfortable! It was good though.
We got to visit a less-active lady, Rachel, for a while. I think I have talked a little about her before, how she is living a lifestyle contrary to church standards and doesn't want to stop because its too much fun. Anywho, we got to read with her from the Book of Mormon...last time we visited she refused to read from it. It was great. When we left we assigned her to read some chapters and she said she would! She's changing and not even realizing it. She really is a nice girl, but I don't think she knows it. Its awesome seeing the Lord work in others lives.
Saw Markata this week too and taught her about prayer...then our next appointment she was missing again, and wasn't home all week. Might be in jail again, oh boy. Crazy people out here, that's for sure, but I hope she's alright, I can tell she really wants to change.
So ya, transfer calls were this week. Elder Daly is being shipped off to Rapid City to be a zone leader, and Elder Nelson will be my new companion, the Elder Nelson from Eagle Butte, who I have served with on exchanges a couple times...kinda crazy. What's crazier is his companion, Elder Schoppmann, has served his whole mission so far in Eagle Butte, for 9 months, and now he'll be training a new missionary there, which usually lasts for 2 transfers or 3 months...so he will have served in one area for a whole year, pretty crazy...but he loves it.
Anyway, I hope everyone is doing great. Sorry for not writing back to everyone who has written me letters, I'll get better at that. And since I'm not leaving Pierre my address will be the same:
Elder William Fitt
819 E. Broadway Ave. #B2
Pierre, SD 57501
Alrighty then, have a great week everyone, I love you all!
Love,
Elder Fitt
Saturday, December 13, 2008
A PICTURE!!!
No time to write, i'llwrite a letter to everyone this week. I'll upload a picture of my district though.shown from left to right are : Elder Nelson and Elder Schoppman(missionaries from the rez) Elder Gillette and Sister Gillette(rez senior missionaries) Sister and Elder Moulton then Elder Daly and Elder Fitt.
love ya bye
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
12/1/08 update
Hello Everyone!
Well its been a different week, that's for sure. We did a whole bunch of service. Helped a less-active member with some work who is renovating his home. We cleaned out old insulation in the walls, pretty nasty stuff. Then later in the week we helped Pauletta Carpenter, a member's non-member mom, paint her living room. Kinda nasty since it was a messy room where junk had piled up over the years and we had to clean it all out to get to the walls. But her friend, Rex, said he would pay us 20 dollars each if we helped her...which we said we didn't want so they instead took us out to a steakhouse and made us order the biggest prime rib they had there...oh dang. Man it was good!
We also helped out president Olson a lot this week. Helped him shingle the roof of his shed, frame the front part and sheet it. I'll attach some pictures of that so you can see. It was fun stuff and we got a few dinners/lunches out of it.
One cool thing this week. We were looking through some old investigator's who had dropped the missionaries 3-4 years ago. So we tried to visit some, and the last one, lived in an apartment that is always locked, so we just called her instead. And guess what...she answered, and not only did she answer, but she was excited to hear from us! I was shocked, and kinda didn't know what to say at first, I half-expected her to not even live at the place anymore. Anyway, we're going to see her this week and hopefully it would be good. She was a very far progressed investigator who had read the whole Book of Mormon and knew the church was true, but was having some difficulties with her marriage and kinda stopped investigating.
We saw Markata again and read 1 Nephi 2 with her, we're trying to get her into reading the Book of Mormon, it'll be a strength to her as she tries to stop drinking. We also saw Angelo this week and read with him in 3 Nephi 16. He loved it and commented on how he thought he could literally feel Jesus in the room, telling us what was written in the scriptures. He is way awesome, and we invited him and his family out to the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which he said he'll come to. Ok, everyone, invite your friends, non-members and less-actives around you to it! It is probably one of the most non-threatening things you could bring them to, in my opinion. The Christmas story with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing...what would be better to help get someone interested in our church. So I would challenge each and everyone one of you to bring at least one non-member friend to the Christmas Devotional. Its on Sunday the 7th. Times vary according to
time zone...
Thanksgiving was crazy! We had 3 people invite us over to eat with them...man I was stuffed. I thought I was gonna die if I ate one more bite. But we got a ton of leftovers, so I'm happy. We went to a part-member's home for one of the appointments, and his wife's father was there(an old native gentleman) and he proceeded to talk our ears off for a while. It was interesting. He talked about how the white man stole the country and that its our fault that the natives are so lazy now and how he's going to go visit Obama personally once he gets into office to have him fix the reservations. Ya, crazy guy. But he was nice to us to its all good.
Oh ya, yesterday at church, it was awkward. Kinda glad our investigator didn't show, even though they would've not thought anything about it. But one of the speakers blasted a country song from the Pulpit, the "I'm proud to be an American" song, then proceeded to give a talk on every major war in American history. I know she tried her best to give a good talk, but being in the missionary mindset...none of it seemed quite appropriate for Sacrament meeting, I was squirming in my seat. Oh well, the Church is still True and we need to love and appreciate people where they're at. I know we're all growing and learning together!
Well I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Fitt
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