Hey sorry it's been a while since
I've written! I'll try and give you a rundown of what has happened these last 2
weeks...
First of all, shout
out to my cousin Henry for getting baptized this weekend!
Way to go!
We had a great group of missionaries
come in 2 weeks ago. One included Elder Wagner, dad's college basketball
coach's son! He is starting his mission down in Quartzite, AZ down with all of
the snowbirds. Also a missionary that is from St. Louis and that is going to
pitch for Kansas State after his mission came in! I hope I can serve around him
sometime!
This transfer is a zone conference
transfer so it's very very busy.
Because President Snow is a genius, for all of the zone conferences we are
inviting the Stake Presidents to come and train us on what they want from us to
help the missionaries and local and stake leaders and members work more
closely. Is has been a huge success so far and all of the Stake Presidents are
really excited and have gave some great trainings. After they train, I train a stake
on planning. So I take the vision that the stake president gives us and then,
with all the missionaries in that stake, we "set goals and make
plans" to achieve that vision. We had 2 zone conferences (1 in Kingman,
AZ) and also MLC (mission leader conference) this week so I was running on Dave
Faldmo sleep (that means very little).
Training all of these new missionaries! Can you find me in the back?
Elder Sawyer and I trained on
consecration at MLC this past week. We used the story that Coach Squier told my
football team before the season started my senior year. It is about Hernando
Cortez the conquistador from Spain who conquered the Yucatan peninsula in
Mexico and took over the world's largest treasure. What he did was burn all of
his boats so that the only was he and his army would return to Spain would be
on the opponents' ships. It raised all of their level of commitment and they
came out victorious. I'll send you the full story in a different email (below). We talked about how we can't have
any boats out of the mission and need to be fully focused on the now in
Las Vegas! Everyone, think of the boats that are still holding you back from
being a better mom, dad, son, daughter, friend, or disciple of Jesus Christ and
burn them!
So general conference was the best
thing ever wasn't it? Favorite talk for me was Elder Holland's about the divine
calling of mothers. "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating
the pure love of Jesus Christ than the
selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." -E. Holland
It was cool to relate to his talk
because the missionary he was talking about was from one of the wards I've
served in here in Warm Springs, the Las Palmas Ward. Elder Holland's son used
to be the Bishop right before I went to that Ward. Also, to go along with that
talk, my mother Robin aka Rockin' Robin is my hero in all aspects of life. She
is my example for unconditional Christ-like love and I hope my kids can have a
mother just like her! She is one of the biggest
reasons that I'm on a mission. I love
my mom!
Besides Holland's talk I loved how my
boys Elder Foster and Montoya talked right next to each other. They were both
just down in Vegas a few weeks ago for the mission presidents conference here
and are a huge part of President Snow's coalition. I felt honored just because
I was able to transport their bags to their hotel when they came and now was
watching them at conference speak :)
But for real Elder Foster is one of
the coolest guys I've met. He is a really great leader! Go reread his talk,
specifically the story about Pablo. Now, we are applying this to the
missionaries in our mission. We are counseling the zone leaders and district
leaders to let new missionaries know up front what their challenges might be
and tell them to come to us when they run into that problem.
Another talk that I want to talk about
real quick is Elder Christofferson's talk "Why the Church." I get
frustrated when people think they don't need organized religion to be
spiritual. The purpose of the church is to give us, sons and daughters of God,
the ordinances and tools necessary to prepare to return to live with our
Heavenly Father again with our families. Don't forget that we do NOT come
into Christ without His ordinances by His Priesthood. (D&C 84:20-22)
Remember Krysta? I baptized her
almost a year ago. She came to both sessions of general conference on Saturday
and watched it with us! She felt the Spirit really strong during Elder
Holland's talk on mothers and started to tear up and told me after that that
talk was for her. Also, we are teaching a 23-year-old girl who just had a baby
so, Krysta came to a lesson with us and shared her awesome testimony of the
Book of Mormon! It was cool because Krysta was in a similar situation almost a
year ago. These are the blessings of coming back to a stake you’ve already
served in.
My mission is going great! Just a
little too fast right now.
Love you all!
Elder Faldmo
NOTES from training I gave:
1.) In February 1519, Hernando Cortez
set sail on the final leg of a voyage that was to take him from Cuba, a
stopover, to the shores of the Yucatan. He commanded 11 ships, with more than
500 soldiers, 100 sailors, and 16 horses, bound for Mexico to take the world’s
richest treasure. The precious jewels, gold, silver, and sculptures sheltered
on this limestone peninsula had been hoarded by the same army for 600 years.
2.) The quest for these riches began
several years before in Spain. Cortez, already a wealthy man, had heard about
the treasure. For centuries people had tried to take it, to no avail. But
ambitious Cortez knew that he could take it—if he had the right kind of help.
He decided to get more people involved. He wanted to build an army that could
accomplish something that one man could not. So Cortez began to travel around
Spain to talk to people and build a dream in them. Since he was already rich
and successful in their eyes, as he told them of
the bountiful treasure that was
theirs for the taking, they believed him. (Cortez was a practice extender!)
3.) Oh, other people had tried, he
told them. Columbus, Vasquez, DeSoto, Vespucci-all had gone to Mexico seeking
the fortune. And all were ordinary people, just like those Cortez was trying to
persuade.
“They are just like
us,” he said to his listeners. “If they can do it,
we can! And we will
succeed!” This got them excited.
“Let’s do it!” they agreed after
Cortez’s persuasive speech.
4.) Of course, a few said, “I don’t
really believe there’s treasure there,” or “I don’t think it’ll work. But the
majority of the people enthusiastically embraced the idea, and before long,
Cortez’s ships were in place. The soldiers were in position, the sailors were
prepared, and the horses were aboard. And together they set sail for Mexico and
the richest treasure in the world.
5.) But once out on the ocean, it
didn’t take long for Cortez to realize he had a problem. Some who were excited
before the journey, had now turned into whiners. There are always whiners.
Cries of “I shouldn’t have come,”
“This isn’t what I thought it was,” and “I didn’t know we were going to have to
work this hard,” began to circulate among the people. Yet Cortez persisted, in
spite of them, and made it to Cuba, where he took on water, food, and supplies.
After resting his men and letting the quitters get off the ship, he began the
final leg of the journey, formulating an idea that had never been used before.
He created a system to motivate and train his soldiers and sailors that was
unheard of in the history of the military. When
they landed on the shores of the
Yucatan, Cortez began training, coaching, stoking them, even. He would hold
“seminars” in the afternoon and “pep-rallies” at night. They were reminded
constantly of all that they were about to accomplish. Cortez painted a
panoramic picture of the magnificent treasure that would soon be theirs. And as
they marched up and down the beach, honing their skills of warfare, they were
told, “This is just one of the beautiful beaches we’ll be able to walk along
when we get that treasure!”
Oh, but they were
fired up! They were eager, animated, energized, and as they waited, trained,
and prepared for victory, their conviction grew.
6.) But there was one more level of
commitment that Cortez wanted to take them to, and they arrived at that place
on that last, historic day, as they lined up to march inland. Before they would
be allowed to seize the treasure that no army had taken for 600 years, Cortez
would speak to them.
They were probably expecting
something like, “OK, guys, we’re gonna get out there and win today, and when we
do, we are going to par-TAAAY! . . . Oh, and if it gets too tough, we’ll just
meet at the oak tree and come back to the ship.” But that’s not what they
heard.
As they listened, Cortez leaned in
and said three simple words that changed everything: “Burn the boats.”
“Excuse me?” they
must have said.
“Burn the boats,” he repeated,
“because if we are going home, we are going home in their boats.” And he
torched them. He burned his own boats, and by doing so, he raised their
commitment level to new and astounding heights! And an amazing thing took
place: they fought well! For the first time in six centuries, the wealth
changed hands. Cortez’s band took that treasure.
7.) And why did they win? The answer
is very simple. They had no choice! It was “take it or die”—no options. Their
boats were burned. Theirs is the attitude you must embrace in your heart and
mind: you must burn your boats. What are the boats in your life that are
keeping you from accomplishing what you really want? What vessels in your mind are
keeping afloat the fear and doubt and frustration that hold you captive?
Whatever prevents you from achieving your goals and dreams is a boat that must
be burned.
Unfortunately, when the bullets start
flying, we make for the boats. It’s just human nature. Doing anything else
really require a decision on our part. It’s attitude more than anything— A
willingness to work without the net, to burn the bridge—or boat. What boat do
you need to burn? It can only happen one way: by embracing a level of
commitment that sees sacrifice as a positive thing.
So many people think of sacrifice as
something that is taken away, and it’s gone forever. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Sacrifices of time, money, and effort are what we give to the
game. How badly do you want that final result? Are you willing to sacrifice
more than anyone else? If so, then your triumphs will be consistently greater than
anyone else’s. Greatness—your greatness—will always be measured by the
sacrifices that you are willing to make!
Elder Faldmo
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