A NOTE FROM "THE DAUGHTER"

My apologies to dad and all of his readers for not getting this most recent post up in a timely matter. As a side note, thank you to everyone for your prayers during Grandma Sapp's surgery. For those who don't know, Grandma's arm had broke again and she had to have major surgery on it again the day before Thanksgiving. Mom left the mission for a little over a week to get Grandma through the surgery and is now back and serving the Lord in Oakland/San Francisco. I might get "Sister Heaton" to give us an update on how things went in Phoenix once she gets a little more caught up with all of her other mission duties. There are two new posts that I have put up so keep reading until you've found something you've already read.

Love,

Shell -aka- "The Daughter" :)

Mission update November 23, 2009

Will you please forward to anyone that you think might be interested.

Thanks,

Elder Heaton

November 23, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Time moves on as we approach the conclusion of six months in the mission field. We can no longer call ourselves “GREENIES”. After six months in the mission field, if we were young missionaries we would have been through about three transfer periods and are getting the routine of missionary work down. They all have taught some type of lesson to prospective members, less active members or encouraged members to fulfill their calling as member missionaries. They have been met with disappointment as people break appointments and commitments and deny themselves the blessings of the gospel in the process. But most have rejoiced in seeing progressing investigators and some the miracle of conversion, baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and the joy that it brings to those that receive it. Then they, the missionary, experience that great joy as it is found in the scriptures:
D&C 18: 13, 15-16

13 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!
• • •

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

The blessing of success encourages them to move on to an even greater joy…

16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
More than one fourth of the missionaries that were here when we arrived in the mission field have gone home. To those that thrust in their sickle and labored with all of their strength, they were the ones that realized the great blessing of serving in their Father’s Kingdom and did not want to leave. They are the ones that understand what sacrifice and consecration really means and this great joy that comes from living it. They were the ones that the angels went before them to prepare the way

31 And the office of their (the angels) ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

How wondrous it is, as a missionary, to find these chosen vessels of the Lord and to help our Father In Heaven fulfill His covenant with the children of men.

I have spoken in the past about a group of refugees from Bhutan that were in the camp in Nepal for seventeen years and somehow found themselves here in America. We have been actively teaching about 40 of these good people. Last night we baptized the first two. Moni and Raj Magar. What sweet spirits they and their two young children are and to have survived in such miserable circumstances is truly a miracle in itself. Just before they were baptized Sister Heaton and I went over to their humble apartment to break bread and enjoy the food of Bhutanese cuisine. While there, Raj told us that he had a plan to bring many of these people into the church. He wanted all too now have what he has and to know what he knows. That is the way with the truly converted; they can’t help but share the true gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone that they come in contact with, as the Lord directs. They are truly chosen vessels of the Lord.

I reflect on William Heaton receiving the gospel over in England; he being the very first convert and missionary on my Heaton side, and how much Raj is like him. I reflect on the joy William must be having as those he brought into the gospel of Jesus Christ have met him on the other side of the veil. How he must rejoice in his posterity and the missionary work that they have been involved with and how those that passed on before him have had their work done for them in the Holy Temples of the Lord, and how literally countless numbers have been affected by his choice to hear the word of the Lord and serve as a missionary for the Lord. He was a chosen vessel of the Lord that I will be ever grateful for. Now Raj has that same opportunity to bless his family and countless numbers that he will come in contact with both the living and the dead and how his posterity will call him blessed.

“ And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!”

I cannot express enough the gratitude that Sister Heaton and I have for each and every one of you that have touched our lives. You have given us great perspective and joy in our service here on our mission and you are a great part of anything that we do here. We feel your love every day and we hope that you feel ours for you as well. We have a constant prayer for you all that the Lord will bless and protect you. We also pray that the Lord’s great work; even a marvelous work and a wonder will roll forth until we kneel at Jesus feet and say, “Lord, here am I.” And that He who is all merciful will say, “Well done my true and faithful servant. I have prepared a place for you, enter in”

With all our love,


Elder and Sister Heaton

Personal

Please share this with those that have helped.

Good Bishop, relatives and friends,

I wanted to send a personal note to the leaders and the Saints that have contributed to our mission. I wanted them to know that through their contributions we remain here and that without their help that our contribution would not happen in this area of the missionary effort. So far people seem to be pleased with our effort and we hope and pray that the Lord is pleased and accepts our offering.

We pray for your every blessing. I know from personal experience the blessings that come from assisting missionaries in the field. Most of your burdens get lighter and usually personal matters get better. More importantly you know that what you are doing is the Lord's will. This is such an uncertain time when it comes to money matters that it makes me even more appreciative of those efforts. Tell these great Saints that the Oakland/San Francisco area is now the largest mission in the church. Tell them that the brethren must feel the Lord's guidance as we do his will. That there must be more souls to harvest, lives to be touched and more opportunities to gather the elect here than any other part of the world or why would that be?

We feel the Lord's hand in all that we do here. It is a struggle at times especially for Sister Heaton to sometimes even get up in the morning. Sometimes the nights are long as we receive calls from ailing missionaries or President Wade. The Lord knows our limits and as missionaries he tests our metal I think to see what our resolve is. As we sacrifice all that we have, even every ounce of strength, he continues to show us that with the divinity of our Heavenly Father within us that we can do things far beyond our natural capacity for such things. All we have to do is show the faith and resolve to follow Him.

We have been very frugal with those sacred offerings that we have received. Many of the senior missionaries out here are pretty well off financially and even they feel the burden. This is one of the very most expensive places to live but one of the most rewarding for missionary work. I would like to share with you this scripture taken from the dedication of the Kirtland Temple. Our bodies are temples of the Lord and with our spirits, the Lord can dwell therein. We can be that light shining on the hill as the Oakland temple is. But it takes many to bring that light to shine. You are the ones that help us try to be that shining light.
D & C 109:77-80

77 O Lord God Almighty, hear us in these our petitions, and answer us from heaven, thy holy habitation, where thou sittest enthroned, with glory, honor, power, majesty, might, dominion, truth, justice, judgment, mercy, and an infinity of fulness, from everlasting to everlasting.

78 O hear, O hear, O hear us, O Lord! And answer these petitions, and accept the dedication of this house (or our mission) unto thee, the work of our hands, which we have built (or served) unto thy name;

79 And also this church, to put upon it thy name. And help us by the power of thy Spirit, that we may mingle our voices with those bright, shining seraphs around thy throne, with acclamations of praise, singing Hosanna to God and the Lamb!

80 And let these, thine anointed ones (those that have contributed to our mission), be clothed with salvation, and thy saints shout aloud for joy. Amen, and Amen.


With eternal gratitude for your sacrifice,


Elder and Sister Heaton

Mission Update October 18, 2009

Sorry it's taken so long to get this up dad! By the way, I spoke with mom and dad yesterday and told them their blog could use a little "color" with some photos of their mission. I even taught mom how to use their camera, so everyone please join me in hounding them to send us some pictures!

Thanks!

Shell


Mission Update October 18, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Family and Friends,

Once again we are inspired to write a few lines and relay our love and concern for each of you. Our prayer is that this letter finds all of you well and progressing toward our heavenly goal.

Proverbs 27:10 reads:

Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

This is what we neighbors, friends or members of the church become to each other. We often are closer to each other as members than relatives are. A young man (a convert of about a year) and I have been visiting one of his home teaching assignments, a lady that is bed ridden. Her closest relatives live in the Midwest and she has no one to look in on her. This home teacher rarely misses a Sunday and makes up for it on other days if he does. He suffers from audio and visual hallucinations that are as real as you and I are to each other. He calls them the adversary. Since joining the church his whole life has changed. Before joining the church, he was on the street and a real mess. Today we met with the Bishop to see if we could get the sacrament taken over to this sister and to see if she might be able to receive her patriarchal blessing. His love is unparalleled for this sister and the church. As he reads the Book of Mormon to her, I see her relaxing and gaining more confidence in Heavenly Father. This example gives me great faith that we all have some worth to our Heavenly Father and by living up to the covenants that we make at baptism to lift each up and share each other’s burdens we become more like our Savior and Heavenly Father. We literally become His friend in the process.
Last Sunday we had a double baptism in the Oakland 9th Ward. Tiffany was baptized by Elder Dim Dim as I mentioned she would be in my last letter. I baptized Pearl, a lady that Sister Heaton and I have been taking to church regularly. It was a blessed event. After Tiffany was baptized (Elder Dim Dim is 5’5” and maybe 100 lbs. dripping wet and Tiffany about 6’ and a large woman, it was a struggle for him to get her back out of the water, but he did it) she came straight up out of the water and began to shout and clap. She was so happy and filled with joy that she couldn’t contain it. This reminded our ward mission leader, Derek Flourek, of Mosiah 18:8-11 in the Book of Mormon from which he quoted;

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

11 And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts.

This was most definitely the desire of Tiffany’s heart. Everyone that was in attendance felt that same joy and excitement. The miracle of true conversion humbles us as missionaries to the very soles of shoes as we act as a conduit for the Lord’s will in bringing the elect back to the path that leads to eternal life and salvation. What greater blessing in life is there than to touch others with the Savior’s love for them. We share this love in our families and as missionaries we share it with those that have “ears to hear and eyes to see.”

The Oakland Stake celebrated its 75th year of existence this week with a multicultural food court and display of past years and events. They have a rich heritage. Some of our Bhutan/Nepal investigators brought a rice pudding that was very good. Afterward, Sister Heaton and I met with the head of the house and others and gave a lesson on the dispensations of time and the need for the restoration and a modern prophet to guide the church. He wondered why there were so many different churches. Now he knows that there is just one. We are hoping that they will be the first fruits for this group of people that could lead to many, many more.

There are many, many more things that are going on all of the time. It is virtually impossible to write it all down. My poor journal is about worn out and I suffer from writer’s cramp. You just don’t want to forget any of the daily events as the Lord’s servant. Please share the gospel with all that you come in contact with. It is our prayer for you and them. As my son Joshua pointed out, “it might be the only time this person comes in contact with the church. What you do with it really does matter!”

With our love,

Elder and Sister Heaton

Mission Update 10/07/2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters, Family and Friends,

We are entering our fifth month in the mission field. The Lord has blessed us with health and strength to continue on in His work here in the Oakland/San Francisco area. What a wonderful experience to watch our first General Conference while serving the Lord full time on a mission. We have always paid attention to conference in the past, but it just seems more poignant at this time. Sister Heaton believes that she knows what President Monson’s moniker is going to be. “Love and Service” seemed to be his recurring theme throughout his talks and the rest of a lot of the talks during each session.

I was also particularly impressed with Elder Holland’s talk on the Book of Mormon’s authenticity. Why he would have to direct that talk to us, the Saints, is a little amazing to me. One knows that he must have had to field many concerns from members about the authenticity of the Book of Mormon to be so fervent in his talk. It begs the question, “When are we as church members going grow up spiritually?” I have a hard time believing that we people in the church do not humble ourselves enough to get an answer to the authenticity of this book that is the hallmark for the church and Christianity. I understand that this can be a real challenge for us people that have been born in the church. We take things so casually some times. We sometimes coast along and the reality of the Book of Mormon can be ASSUMED from birth until someone puts a doubt in our heads from some old dog criticism or new found scientific supposed evidence to the contrary. We have not had to work for our membership in the church by living outside of it. Many of us have not seen the miracle that happens when someone reads it for the first time and fervently prays to know whether it is of God or man. When, watching the change in investigators as they follow its precepts and Moroni’s challenge to pray to know puts a whole new light this conversion process and the blessings that it brings. I was at a teaching appointment with Elders Dim Dim (Pilipino) and Folsom ( Japan) teaching a lady by the name of Tiffany. She had already committed to baptism and they were teaching her the law of tithing and chastity before her baptismal interview and subsequent baptism this next Sunday. When we spoke about the Ten Commandments she said, “you mean you believe in the Bible?” She was genuinely surprised that we believe in the Bible. I said, “Elders you have not taught her what the standard works of the church are?” They said, “No, we wanted to emphasize modern revelation and somehow the Bible never came up.” What a testimony to the conversion power of the Book of Mormon! This good woman had prayed about the book to know of its truthfulness even without the Bible and found the answer as all of us can. That it has the whole gospel of Jesus Christ in it. That we really can come closer to our Father in Heaven and His Son by living by its precepts than by any other book, and finally, that it is true, just as Joseph Smith and all of the witnesses and tens of millions of others have testified, that it is. Thank you Elder Holland for your fervent and apostolic testimony to the same.

On another note, appendicitis surgery, Gall bladder surgery, dislocated fingers, bad ankles, dietary restrictions, belly aches of all kinds, acne, bad eyes and occasionally one companion not getting along with his companion threatening to do some sort of bodily harm to him seem to be plaguing the missionaries health along with the H1N1 flu virus. Needless to say, Sister Heaton has more than her share of challenges trying to keep the shoes on the ground and the missionaries out teaching. She was really disappointed when she broke her record of not putting anybody in the hospital with two hospital surgeries within 5 days of each other. Occasionally she gets an opportunity to go out and teach with me or the Sisters. This seems to recharge her and get her head out of all the sickness. She is also in charge of setting up Zone conferences with President Wade and the Stakes. It can get interesting if there are last minute changes made by the Priesthood leaders. Last Zone Conference we had Elder Hinckley scheduled to come and visit and of course he as presiding authority dictates what is going to happen. Unfortunately just days before his arrival, his office secretary called and said that something had come up and his schedule had changed. He would not be able to come. There was a mad scramble and somehow Sister Heaton was able to get everyone on board with the changes.

Missionary life is full of surprises and not too many dull moments. What a wonderful blessing it has been to experience the Lord’s work up close and personal. Our young Elders and Sisters, for the most part, are so magnificent in teaching and finding. Their dedication to the work is unparalleled. Elder Schmutz (from Kanab) and I along with Sisters Tu’ivai (Tonga) and Kaetler (Canada) were over teaching a group of people from our Nepalese refugee investigators. One of the ladies had requested a blessing. We had been trying to get her to go up to the visitors center by the temple but she said that she gets deathly car sick. I as mouth and Elder Schmutz anointing gave her a healing blessing. After that, another lady that had pneumonia and depression requested a blessing as well. I suggested that Elder Schmutz be the voice. He pronounced a wonderful healing blessing as well. Afterward I asked him if he had given a blessing before, “No,” was the response, “not as the mouth of the blessing.” You would never have known that he had not blessed thousands of others. I went back a few days later and this good lady was doing much better. Previously she was resistant to being taught and now the door has been opened. The lady that I blessed however has not had the courage to get in the car and go. Oh well! The Lord’s will be done.

I will leave you with what I hear the Tongan Elders say after they have had a wonderful spiritual experience.

Simply put, “The mission is good! The church is true!”

With all of our love for you and gratitude for your unbelievable support, prayers, concern and love for us,


Elder and Sister Heaton

Mission Update August 30, 2009

Dear Ward Members, Family & Friends,

Time passes way too quickly in the mission field. Transfers are coming up as they do every six weeks and that is how missionaries keep track of time. It is interesting to talk to the missionaries that are on their last transfer. It usually comes with mixed feelings and emotions and the great missionaries finish with a sprint to the end to do as much as they can before their departure. It is sad to see some go home early and you pray for those a little more fervently.
Heavenly Father has been blessing us with good health and enough time to recuperate when we need to. It allows us to perform what is needed of us and more. Recently we have been having success working with a group from Bhutan/Nepal. I may have mentioned this before, but for those not familiar with the situation I will describe who and what they are. About 18 years ago in Bhutan the king decided to crack down on people that were not staying as conservative as he would like. The king is Buddhist and wanted his kingdom not to change. So he gave what he would term radicals (especially Christians) an ultimatum. Either you sign off that you are not a Christian or you lose all you have and have to leave the country. Many were tortured with all kinds of abuses from the government. About 100,000 left the country and headed to India seeking sanctuary. They were met at the border with machine gun carrying Indian Government troops and were told not to unload the trucks. Some were killed as a result. So they headed for Nepal. Nepal is the second poorest country in the world, but they had some inclination to help because many of these people many generations ago were from Nepal. Now comes the interesting part at least for me. After 18 years, the United Nations finally passed a resolution to help those that were in these refugee camps (squalor) who wanted to an opportunity to relocate to a third country. About 60,000 want to.

Shortly after we arrived in the mission field, one of the missionaries got a referral from Elders Gardner & Fisher in Florida. It was for one of these refugees that had been relocated in the Oakland area. Raj Magar is his name. It was a member referral from Manoj Rui who had joined the church in Florida and wanted all of these refugees to have an opportunity to join as well, Raj and his family being the first. Manoj was over about 20,000 people (kind of like a mayor) in the refugee camps and had some influence. I called him for the Oakland Elders to confirm what was going on and to seek some guidance and help and understanding as how to proceed. Manoj said, “Le me talk to them and I will tell them to stop worshipping monkeys and cows and join the church.” With that instruction we went to contact them. It turned out that at exactly the same time, the Sister missionaries Kaetler and Tu’Ivai tracted out another one of these families. We started teaching them but had a great disadvantage with the language barrier. Most understand the Hindi language and the Book of Mormon is translated into Hindi, but not Nepalese. I called Manoj back and asked if he would help if we put him on speaker phone at some of the lessons. He agreed, but it was very cumbersome. We learned that Elder Rimal’s father, Savat Rimal living in the Salt Lake area was from Nepal. Unfortunately his son does not speak Nepalese, but does very well on his Spanish speaking mission. I asked permission to talk to his father and gave him a call. We put him on the speaker phone as well with about the same results. Better than nothing, but very cumbersome. We started teaching more and more refugee investigators so at a district meeting we decided to fast for an interpreter. I found a banker that was not a member referred from a guy at the pharmacy that we use that speaks Nepalese, so we prayed that he might help us or whatever Heavenly Father could do for us. It was tough on some of the elders because they had dinner appointment s with the Tongans and they always put on a great feed. To their credit they agreed. While fasting I did a lot of research and found out that there was a group that wound up not only in Florida and here, but in Salt Lake City as well. And that there were between 300-400 in our area and a boatload more coming. Talking to these people showed me how humble and prepared they are for the gospel. We read in 2 Nephi 1:5-7 that all people are led by the hand of God to this promised land and that they are all entitled to the same blessings as Father Lehi’s family upon conditions of righteousness. It is very true with these people that have washed up on the shores here in Oakland.

Two weeks after our fast, the banker did not call back, but a miracle was in the making. I received a call from Elder Clyde (ironically on a Spanish speaking mission who had tracted into some of these people) who had been serving in this area but had been transferred from Oakland to San Francisco. He said that he had a man by the name of Ramesh Shrestha from Nepal that might be able to help us. I said you’ve got to be kidding. Not only that but he is a member of the church. He gave me his contact information and I called him. Turns out that not only is he a member, but he served a mission to India and then it even gets better. His home town in Nepal is one kilometer from the camps and some of the people recognized him here in Oakland at a McDonalds. Now Ray (Ramesh) has a great conversion story that I will share some other time, but it seems as though not only are these people here, but Heavenly Father keeps dragging us toward teaching them the gospel. 28 had joined in Florida from what the Elders told me. We are actively teaching about 30 with many more interested. We take them up to the temple grounds and the Visitors Center and they just don’t want to leave. Many are attending church which is difficult because none of them drive. Bus fare is $5 round trip and if you have a family it is often out of their budget. So we do the best we can trying to get them to church. Overcoming culture barriers is still going to be difficult, but at least now we are on a level playing field where we can actually communicate with them and know that they understand what they are being taught. We currently have commitments for 5 baptisms and many others on the cusp. Teaching materials in Nepalese is not readily available other than the Gospel Principles manual and a few other items. I would like to ask you all to take the time and pray that the Book of Mormon will soon be translated into Nepalese. It will bless thousands of lives.

Our mission is truly a reflection of the world wide church. Heavenly Father continues to open the doors to missionary work. When one closes He opens two more. I pray that as a people that we are prepared for these opportunities. I have been rereading an article from BYU Studies publication, Volume 47, number 2 2008. In that article, President Kimball’s son, Edward, in researching his father’s declaration on the Priesthood stated that one of the reasons given for the delay was that the people in the church were not ready for it as opposed to the black’s not being ready or worthy. 15,000 African would- be members and thousands more had to wait years to become members because of that. And now look at how the Lord has blessed these people and the church.

May the Lord bless His church and His Prophet with the wisdom and the guidance to continue this great work. We love you all and pray for Heavenly Father’s blessings on you as well.

With Love,

Elder and Sister Heaton