God's Culture

So, this past week, we found two new investigators :-D  We're excited for the progress we are making.

We had a Silent Dinner up in Oviedo, which was a Youth activity where they all were unable to talk and had to learn to communicate through writing back and forth or quickly learn some sign that one of our Deaf members was teaching them.  I was able to voice interpret for him that night, and we all had a great time!  We're planning on doing that down in the Hunter's Creek ward.  

I was also able to do some voice interpreting during Sacrament meeting yesturday as one of our Deaf members was asked to speak.  It went really well!  I wasn't nervous through it, but I can't say I remember much of what I said...so hopefully it was the spirit speaking that the congregation heard. 

We've officially announced that the Oviedo Ward and the Hunter's Creek Ward are the central locations for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing church services in the Orlando metropolitan area.  We are excited to get to work to help the stakes and wards and members assist in strengthening the Deaf community. 

Right now, we are working on creating a Vision for the ASL Program.  Right now, we are focusing on "Creating God's Culture" and "Unification".  We continue to brainstorm ideas of what we can do to help our members.  

Another thing we did this week was attend two Zone Conferences so we could give a roundtable training to the missionaries in our area so we could share with them how they can help support the new ASL program.  It was great!  We used the bookmarks that Dad sent me to write our phone number and the two church addresses for ASL church services and hand them out to each missionary.  We are receiving at least one missionary referral each day!  Now we have to work with contacting them!  

We are enjoying ourselves here learning something new each day!  Soon, we'll have to learn how to teach an ASL class... that will be quite an adventure! 

I'm glad you were able to attend Sis. Moore's homecoming.  I forgot she had just arrived home!  I can't believe how quickly time flies by!  Sis. Andrea Nicoll also came home a week or two ago (unless the volcano kept her from making her flight home).  Speaking of time, my email time has come and gone!  Lots of Love!!  Thanks so much for the weekly family updates!  I enjoy reading them!

Lord's Program

Another week has gone by, it seems ... We've been keeping busy driving all around the streets of the Orlando metropolitan area. We've been from Windermere (our apt) up to Sanford, Oviedo, Winter Park and down to Kissimmee and St. Cloud. Our strength of members is focused in Oviedo and Winter Park but right now our focus in teaching is down in Kissimmee and St. Cloud. We are quickly learning how to budget our miles and finding the fastest routes of travel. It's a lot of fun! Also, I'm starting to use the phone more often. I still don't care for referral calls, but I have no problem calling the missionaries to confirm referral information and getting information for our records on the area. We're still trying to figure everything out with our car book, updating potential sheets and member sheets, organizing our area book, etc. Little by little it comes together. One day, I called the office and talked to all of the senior couples - phone being passed from person to person - because we keep making a list of things to be done.

Right now, I'm navigator in the car - I'm sure that makes Mom happy! My records from the Ft. Lauderdale Mission got misplaced so I don't have Orlando Mission approval to drive ... but I get to meet with President this week to seek out that approval. So, Sis. Homer drives while I navigate and it's going well! I'm having a lot of fun figuring out how to use the map and getting us places. In a way, we hope for a GPS, but Sis. Homer used one earlier this week when we were on exchanges and it led her astray - so I'd rather trust a paper map then an electronic device. Soon, I may change my mind ... So, when I get home, I will know Orlando like the back of my hand ... and right now we aren't using toll roads so we get quite creative in how to save miles! Soon though, we'll also add navigation of the toll roads in our skills. It's awesome!

Some other things we've started doing is finding better ways to contact. Just walking around signing isn't quite doing anything yet ... very slow work, especially out in the smaller towns. So, we go on tracting exchanges with Sisters asking for referrals at each door approach, we focus on Downtown Orlando working the Lynx Transit Center and the Downtown Library, and we decided to start visiting the UCF campus each week ... an institute teacher there reserves a booth for the College Park missionaries and we thought it was a great opportunity for us to join and ask for referrals. Now I have to learn to stop feeling awkward about street contacts. I've finally felt comfortable making door contacts, but it still feels extremely awkward to stop a person on the street, parking lot, or campus.

Something that I love is the wonderful members here, both Deaf and Hearing!! They are awesome! So willing to help! Sis. Homer was raised (on the mission) in a Singles Ward, so having so many dinner appointments and visits with families is a huge change for her! It's funny to see her transition into Deaf work. She loves to teach and keep busy, but sometimes it feels a bit slow because we travel a lot and Deaf contacts are few. Doing tracting exchanges and campus contacts are helping a lot so we can continue to teach and take a break from being silent. We made a rule to only speak in the car or when communicating with the hearing. So, we have a lot of silent times just signing back and forth. I love it!

So, all is great here in the Orlando ASL Program. We learn something every day! We can't wait to hear about the new ASL missionaries that will be called to Orlando. The members are already talking about Sis. Lovejoy! We're also curious what will happen when the Mission Presidents change. We look forward to meeting President Hall, and we're curious what the change will do to our new program. It's so funny to hear the ideas we toss to each other every day. We try to guess where our new apartment will be, if Orlando will establish a Deaf Branch while we are on our missions, if we'll ever be able to talk our President into a nicer phone - the members think we need a keyboard phone (blackberry or iphone) because we use a stubby little brick, etc. We're just having fun. We're grateful for what we have been given, and each day we see the tender mercies that the Lord has given the ASL program. He sees our needs and provides a way so we turn everything into His hands and always remember that this is the Lord's program.

The First Week

So, we have officially begun the new Florida Orlando ASL program on April 6, 2010. It has begun with only two Sister missionaries: Sis. Homer and I. It's going great so far! We have contacted a lot of the strong Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing (HH) members in the three magnet wards: Oviedo, Winter Park, and Hunters Creek. We are attending the Hunters Creek ward, but are able to travel during the week to the three stake boundaries to meet and teach the Deaf and HH. It has been quite an adventure so far. We've used a lot of our miles traveling all over the metropolitan area meeting members and trying to contact. There is a lot of trial and error so far in what is effective and what is not, but we are constantly learning and growing with each action we take. The Deaf/HH members are amazing! So willing to help us with anything we need and teaching us a lot about the language.

This Sunday, I was able to do some interpreting in church, which was a lot of fun. Typically, we have a member who interprets, but he is also on the High Counsel and is very busy with work. I'm glad we are here to be able to lighten his load and actually allow him to sit with his family when he is at church. We also have a young woman - a senior in High School - who wants to become an interpreter and is willing to help out for Sacrament meeting. We had five members come to Sacrament meeting, and four were able to attend Sunday School that we hold together in ASL. This week, they left before RS/Priesthood, but they said they'd try to stay the full three hours next time. We then drove up from Hunters Creek to Oviedo for an evening Youth Bishop Discussion where another Deaf couple was teaching about adversity. It was really great to be able to attend. We had hoped to have non-members attend, but not this time. We are working with other events to be able to create fun gatherings for non-members in the area to come together so we can meet them.

Life is going well! I make sure each night to write down something I learned from the members or our experience in the program to remind me of the progress we are making and eventually be able to see the growth that is coming in the program. And of course, I continue my nightly tender mercy also. I am almost ready to get myself a new journal! All is well! Sis. Homer and I are going great! We are excited to see what this next week brings as we apply the things we have learned this past week.

April 6th

Wow, here I am again on another P-Day! This week felt like forever ... but flew by so quickly! Conference was amazing! I really enjoyed it! I had planned to write down my highlights, but I forgot my journal - it's already packed away as I prepare for our transfer tomorrow! Something that stood out to me the most was how most of the talks on both days focused on raising a righteous family unto to Lord. I had so many fun ideas of how to raise my future children - then I realized that doesn't apply to me right now as a missionary ... oops! :-D So, it is my responsibility as a missionary to help our investigators see the importance of raising their children in righteousness.

Something that makes me so excited is that the Florida Orlando ASL Program is starting on April 6, 2010!! Isn't that the best date ever! I love the little tender mercies I see in my life! Tomorrow, we will be talking to President Darrington about the details of our area. We will be living in Windermere (the biggest Sister's apartment - it has two bathrooms ... Pres. Darrington knows that is important for four Sisters to have), focusing on the Hunters Creek Stake (at least 20 miles away from our apt), but also working with the Orlando and Orlando South Stakes. We're excited to see the full extent of our area. It's weird to think that we are starting a NEW area. It's not just going into something already set up, area book present, phone and car there, member and investigator teaching records organized, etc. Nope, this is all new! I'm excited because I love to organize!! Yay! Sis. Homer and I are up for the challenge. We hope all goes well!! Already, we've had missionaries give us deaf referrals and we are excited to see how many more we receive this first week of the official ASL program. We will keep busy meeting the members and contacting the referrals we receive. So much to do, so little time - but with the Lord's time, all will continue forth as He knows it should.

I am so excited to hear that Jeff and Sherry are expecting a baby boy!! Yay!! I'm going to have a nephew!!! I am so jealous. Seriously, the only thing that makes me homesick is not being able to see any nieces and nephews that will be growing up these eighteen months I am gone... send me pictures! :-D Lots of Love!

(Written to Hna. Nori in Argentina)

You reminded me of the Work, Work, Work quote that we recite once a week. In this mission we recite a scripture or quote each day:

• Monday: D&C 88:123-124
• Tuesday: The Standard of Truth
• Wednesday: D&C 4
• Thursday: Work Work Work
• Friday:3 Nephi 5:13
• Saturday:Alma 38:12
• Sunday: Our Purpose

"The Standard of Truth has been erected: no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth, boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every climb, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

"Work! Work! Work! One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work. If a missionary works she will get the spirit; if she gets the spirit she will teach by the spirit; if she teaches by the spirit she will touch the hearts of the people and she will be happy! There will be no homesickness, no worrying about family for all time, talents, and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. That's the secret! Work! Work! Work! There's no satisfactory substitute especially in missionary work!

This week, we start the ASL program on April 6th. YAY!!! I'm senior companion and we will be working with three stakes, but focusing on the Hunter's Creek stake, were there is the greatest concentration of the Deaf. We're excited to get to work!

Have a great day! You will be in my prayers. Hope things continue to go better for you! Yay for missionary work!

Onward and Upward we go!
Sis. Ellsworth