Four New Pictures of Elder LeCheminant

Here are a few fun photos that Phillip passed along to his parents recently. The first is with a few of his bunk mates; the second is him wearing a New York baseball shirt on P-Day; the third photo captures him taking a break while on the streets of the D.R.; and the last is a picture taken with his companion and President & Sister Rodriguez!

It was a spirit filled experience and he was very grateful for the opportunity to follow Jesus

Letter from Phillip on November 21, 2011

Mis Amores,

Wow, this week was an excellent week. The big news of the week would definitely be the baptism of Faustino. What an incredible man! He´s a short old guy, about 5’3”, but with a lot of class and style. He´s going on 80 years old, yet more active than the majority of 60 year olds here. Still going strong with his sculptures, and spending time with his family!

I got the chance to baptize him. We had some good support from the ward. The best part was after the baptism when he raised his hands in the air and gave thanks to God. Very evangelical, yet he pulled it off! It was a spirit filled experience and he was very grateful for the opportunity to follow Jesus. We learned a big lesson in the power of service from Faustino. He told us this past week that many years ago someone had given him a Book of Mormon and he lost it. So when he saw us, he felt he needed to ask and read that book.

OK, another sweet part of my week, was that we put a baptismal date with Santa, the wife of Francisco. This lady, is perhaps my favorite Dominican woman. She´s so funny. I hope you can one day meet this woman. Just to laugh along with her. But, she didn´t have any animo for baptism, but after so much time of chatting with us, she´s tentatively accepted a fecha (date).

Angela is doing well. She was going to be baptized this week, but she couldn´t go to Church yesterday, so she´ll be getting baptized in a couple of weeks.

Today at La Sirena, my roommates and I bought gravy packets, stuffing, cranberry jelly, and we´re buying a roast chicken on Thursday. Dia de pavo sera un dia vacanisimo....bueno sin el pavo, pero comoquiera, vamos a gozar (turkey day will be a sweet day, without turkey, but anyway, we´re going to have fun).

I recently saw a high school buddy, Elder T. We hadn´t seen each other the whole mission. Anyway, he´s doing great.

Well, love you all,

Phillip

"I was in the middle of a contact..."

Here are some excerpts from recent emails from Phillip:

“Funny contacting story of the week. I was in the middle of a contact with an evangelical woman, talking about how we have a gospel of peace and love. When all of a sudden, I get pegged by a plank of wood! I look back and see a teenage boy with his hands in the air giving thanks to God. I had no idea what the heck was going on, but the evangelical woman reprimanded the boy in the name of Jesus, and called him 'a shameless vagabond!' The kid left after that, and I went right back into the contact talking about our loving and peaceful gospel. Almost too much for a Thursday afternoon.”

"I think one of the most exciting thing that happened this past week was getting the water fixed and I was able to wash all my clothes in the washing machine. However, I can promise you that my ability to hand wash will come in handy one day."

“Spiritual insights this past week in studying the Book of Mormon. In Alma 46:15. It talks about the true meaning of a Christian. Those that joyfully take upon themselves the name of Christ. After you are baptized you commit to take upon yourself the name of Christ. But only those that take it upon themselves joyfully are really the true followers of Jesus Christ. So, the lesson I gleaned is that we should all take upon ourselves His name even more joyfully, and truly live our religion in the small day to day moments of our lives.”

"My companion, Elder A, is entering into his final week in the mission field. On Sunday, they are picking him up to go to the office for a few days before he is released. You know what, he hasn´t gotten trunky at all. I want to finish my mission just like that. Tranquilo. Like nothing has happened."

Love,

Elder LeCheminant

After 15 days (with only one day of running water)...

Letter from Phillip on October 10, 2011

I´m doing great. Loving spreading the word. We have a bunch of investigators!

The news of the week is that we have the baptismal date for this Saturday for Josefina. She´s an excellent woman and we always have such great spiritual experiences at her house. But she´s been afraid to be baptized. However, she has accepted for this Saturday, but is still partly iffy. I will let you know first thing next week if the baptism went through.

We found this one lady a few weeks ago and were sharing with her a bit. She´s 29, has a 13 year old daughter, and is super nice. We gave her a Book of Mormon and decided to pass by this past week to see how she was doing. She had read up until Jacob and knew everything. However, the biggest challenge we have is Church starts at 8 am. Siempre es un lío. It´s always a challenge to get them to Church.

We have a baptismal fecha with a woman named Angela. She´s a señora. In her 60´s, but loves us and should be getting baptized at the beginning of November.

Marino, the husband of the member is ready for baptism. He has all the desire in the world. He has only one leg, but luckily a member picked him up for Church yesterday. We have to figure out the way so that the members always pick him up, but only a few active members have cars, and they almost all have stake callings. But no worries; the Lord will provide!

Francisco now has all his papers. He should be getting married soon. He´s still fighting with cigarettes, but wants to get baptized. Hopefully soon.

After 15 days (with only one day of running water) the water is working again! It came back yesterday. I filled up the bucket with rain water and showered one day. But they fixed the electricity as well, so I should be doing some laundry tonight.

We played a ton of basketball today for the zone activity. It was great. Then our house of 4 Elders hung out with another house of 4 Elders and it made for a great P- Day.

This last week I read a lot from an Institute Manual about the Old Testament that Elder R. had been given. I learned a lot about the creation, Adam and Eve, and our purpose here in life.

Well, I love you all.

Elder Phil

Santo Domingo Temple and a Football Prediction

Letter from Phillip on September 12, 2011

La Familia Mia,

I just wanted to write ya´ll and tell you about my life down here in La Republica Dominicana. Life is going well.

Here´s the latest update on my life. The Temple in Santo Domingo; perhaps there is no better place on earth. We went on Friday with the Zone of San Geronimo. It was an excellent experience. There´s a definite blessing of hearing nothing but Spanish in the street and house for the past year. The endowment session sounded good to me in Spanish compared with the last time I went. My thoughts in the Temple were these: I felt good; the Lord will give me the strength to have a good year.

We´ve been teaching some excellent investigators. We have 4 investigators that are progressing, and are doing well. Yesterday, we had stake conference in the fancy chapel with air conditioning. They all went and enjoyed it. Their names are Bismaoris, a friend of all the young men. Claribell, a 35 year old woman that is friends with one of the counselors of the stake presidency. Francisco, and Josephina. They all have baptismal dates except for Josephina. But I think that´ll change soon. I also love the other elders I live with. Nothing better than getting back at night and hacer checha (make chitchat).

I got some pants made last week for 550 pesos. I picked them up and they didn´t fit me at all. I took them back and the tailor told me all the things he did to fix the pants. I put them back on and I realize the guy didn´t do a single thing. We were all laughing at the deceiving tailor. Long story short, I sold them to Elder V. for 400 pesos, and lost 4 dollars in the deal.

Best part of the week. Walking around downtown Santo Domingo after the temple and taking the metro in order to get back to los alcs. Good times.

Love,

Elder D.R. Phil

P.S. So the BYU-Utah game is this week? My prediction is that Utah wins 7-3, in what many say was the lamest rivalry game played in years. In 5 years, the rivalry fizzles out completely. And all the Jonny Harline and Austin Collie stories turn into myths lost in time!

P.S.S. The picture is of me at the temple with some of the people from my MTC group. It was good to see them again.

Four Photos of Elder LeCheminant

The Book of Mormon Gives Them the Key to Discovering God’s Path!

53 weeks down. 51 to go. Yes, it´s true, I completed 1 year in the mission. Thursday was the day and we have plenty of pictures of the shirt we burned (a missionary tradition at the 1 year mark). We ate pizza, drank soda and had a good night without electricity!

OK, so this is my report for this past week. I had an excellent week despite the fact that they cut the water off for Los Alcarrizzos, for about 3 days! We had to buy the expensive drinking water to do everything. Shower, wash dishes, etc.

Here is more info about my roommates. Elder A. (my comp) continues to be an excellent missionary. He´s a hard worker. And even though we sometimes drive each other nuts, it´s the good kind of crazy. That really, deep down, comes from amor. Elder R. is from Mexico City. The kid is a character. And I really can´t fully describe him. Super funny. The other day, at 11:15 at night, I felt someone grab my leg. I thought it was my comp, but then heard someone giggling and realized that Elder R. was hiding behind my bed. There are now two Mexicanos in the zone. We´re all sad Cinco de Mayo isn´t coming up soon. Elder V. is a stud that cooks every single day! It´s paradise. The best part is, all his food tastes delicious. It´s rice every day, but the meat and the sauce always changes up. He made some banana bread the other day.

This last week, we´ve been really focusing on commitments. We decided to set the goal of putting 6 baptismal dates this week. We fulfilled our goal. We did it 4 times, in the first appointment. The majority of people realize that if God shows them the path, they will follow it.

We tried to help the people understand that the Book of Mormon gives them the key to discovering God’s path. It seems to be working, and I have less fear of inviting people to be baptized. We found one couple in the first appointment that have a lot of potential. They´re both in their 50s and they both committed to baptism if God tells them the message is true. This was on Saturday, and so they told us they had other commitments this Sunday, but are going to attend next week.

I had a good intercambio with a Dominican Elder F. I am liking the Ward that I´m in here. Oh and tomorrow, we are going to have a conference with 2 other zones with Elder Cornish. It´s all about faith. My companion Elder A. will be conducting.

Have a great week. I know I will.

Elder Phil

Headed to the Big City

Letter from Phillip on August 15, 2011

La Querida Familia Mia,

To everything there is a season, a time and a purpose under heaven. Think of the theme song of the classic 80's show “The Wonder Years.”

So, I assume you're all waiting on the big news. Without further ado, I have 2 words for you all. Saint Domingo. Why yes, I am being transferred to Santo Domingo. I'm going to be in Los Alcarrizo.

I've heard nothing but good things about my area and about my comp so I'm super excited. I've heard we live in a 4 man house but I'm not sure. I think I might be “3 D” which is the American slang that I'll be living with 3 Dominicans. But, I'm stoked to find out. I heard that my companion speaks excellent English. But to tell you the truth, I have no idea what it will be like. I'm leaving tomorrow at 10 in the morning. I'll let you know everything next week.

OK, well we all had a good week. On Tuesday, we watched an episode of “The District 2” for district meeting. I realized that all I need to do in order to have a great mission is watch “The District” once a week. It's sort of like watching “The Office”, except with missionaries. And without Michael Scott. Anyways, it pumped me up to spread the Gospel.

Juan is doing great. He is ready, and I assume that he'll have permission to get baptized. We just have to make sure he has a white shirt to wear to Church on Sundays. Marleny is also doing super well. However she didn't come to Church yesterday, so we'll have to see what happened. Evangelina is still going strong. We found an excellent investigator this past week. His name is Gerson. He's about 27. Just finished medical school in the capital. Is highly interested in the message. I don't know how far he'll progress because he works in the hospital most Sundays, but it's so fun having an investigator that listens to the message, understands the message, and asks excellent questions. It's too bad that I won't be able to see more of him.

To quote Bob Dylan, the times they are a changing. So wish me luck.

Love Elder Phil

The Spirit of God Must Have Touched His Heart

Excerpts from Phillip’s Email on July 25, 2011.

Familia Mia,

¿Que Tal?

First some updated news on the shoes. The other shoes weren´t as bad as I thought, so I wore them a couple times this past week. But a kid in the ward found a guy that did a complete makeover of the old shoes for 300 pesos. Yes, it´s true, I´m still sailing on my old shoes. Except this time with a thick, sturdy sole. My goal: Walk off of the airplane in August of 2012 with my Timberland dress shoes purchased from D.I. over 2 years ago!

Seeing how as my buddies Stephen Jensen and Jared Cowley have now finished their full time service to the Lord, let me say that if God seeth fit that they read this email, I want to congratulate both of them, and let them know that my goal this week is to become less "Haragan" (lazy) and write both of them prontito.

You asked for more info on my companion. I have learned muchísimas things from my companion Elder E. He´s taught me a better way to carry myself among the Dominican people. And carry myself in a way consistent with the sacred nature of a calling as a missionary. He´s highly intelligent. I get along with him. I´ve learned how to cook a mean plate of rice, beans, chicken, salami, and fried plantains (which, I plan to eat frequently after the mission).

And while, he´s not perfect, he´s taught me that a faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can truly change a person’s life. And also, that God will give a spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is the word of God to anyone who reads, ponders, goes to Church, and prays to God with real intent to know if it´s true. Even if that someone is a 19 year old baseball, rock and roll, and girl junkie. So yes, about missionary work in the Dominican Republic, I may look back after the mission and realize that Elder E. taught me a great deal about how it´s done in the Caribbean!

Along the same lines that God is no respecter of persons; the true Gospel of Jesus Christ is slowly but surely being understood by our investigator Juan. The spirit of God must have touched his heart, because there is no other reason that someone would go to Church for 4 Sundays in a row after 65 years without the Church. He is excited for baptism on August 13th.

We had another woman that went to Church yesterday named Marleyney. To be honest, we didn´t see much potential in her. She seemed like your typical 25 year old Dominican woman. A great love of God, but without much interest in our message. Anyway, we invited her to Church and she said yes. We were just about to leave, when I jokingly said, Elder E. have you ever noticed that everyone says yes to coming to Church, but whenever we pass by on Sunday morning, a strange errand prevents them from going to Church. We all laughed, she caught the hint and said she was going to go just to prove us wrong. She did come. She said she truly enjoyed it, and that she´ll see us next week at Church.

Love,

Elder LeCheminant

What an incredible experience the mission is!

[Note: Here are two great reflections from Phillip about his mission taken from his emails over the past two weeks]

I had a good insight about mission work this past week during my personal study. Investigators need a testimony of the Book of Mormon. There are thousands of less active members in this country. Hundreds in my little area alone. And the majority of them don't know what the Book of Mormon is. In order to have a true conversion, the people need to read, ponder and pray about the Book of Mormon. As a missionary, I have the duty to encourage people to read, ponder and pray about this book. I've met people down here with testimonies of the book, and plenty of people without testimonies of the book. And those that read it are the first ones in Church every Sunday and stay strong in the faith!

This past week I realized what an incredible experience the mission is. To come to a different country; invite people to come unto Christ; and do the same yourself; learn from comps; attempt to separate yourself from the world; and learn a language and a culture! And even though it is by far the toughest thing I've ever done, I know it is what God wants me to do!

Love,

Elder LeCheminant

An elusive mystery, that I will always remember

[Note: Phillip’s current mission president, President Almonte, has completed his 3 years of service and goes home this week. His new mission president is also a native of the Dominican Republic. He is coming to Santo Domingo from the northern part of the island where he has been working for the Church Education System.]

I will share a highlight from this past week.

The final conference of Presidente Almonte. It began Wednesday morning with Hermana Almonte giving us some good advice. We have to be happy in the mission. We have to watch what we eat, and we have to clean off the mud from our shoes and iron our shirts.

Then Pres. Almonte gets up and delivers his `Sermon on the Mount`. The best talk I`ve heard from Pte. Almonte. It will definitely be one of my few memories of him after the mission. He went up to the pulpit, said he was going to go by the spirit. He told us to open up D & C 50. He said, “This is the constitution of mission work, you have 35 minutes, study it well.” We read it and then he went back up to the pulpit and explained the section verse by verse. He had some great insights. He said that every church preaches by the spirit, or the light of Christ. But the privilege to preach by the Holy Spirit, the third member of the trinity, belongs to only one church. La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos dias. To be worthy to preach with the Holy Ghost, you just need desire to be better. Ended off with some advice of always choosing righteousness. We all said our final goodbyes to them. My thoughts on Pte. Almonte: A spiritual giant, that I never really knew. An elusive mystery, that I will always remember as my first mission president.

The Best Definition of a True Friend!

The big story of the week! Baptism of William. Saturday morning we had the baptism interview. He came on time and everything went well.

We were just about to leave when we remembered to fill the baptismal font. We opened it up and it was absolutely filthy. Susisimo. With a tarantula crawling around inside! The shirt and shoes came off, the pants got rolled up, and we got to work. We cleaned it all out and it was all good for the baptism.

I got to baptize William. He was ready and it was a great experience and I really felt the spirit. All his ward buddies came which is important. Sunday was the confirmation. He didn`t have clean clothes and was wearing holy jeans and didn`t want to do it. However, his buddies changed their clothes so he could have some good clean clothes. That may be the best definition of a true friend: “Someone that will put on your dirty, holy jeans so that you can wear their clothes and look nice to be confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!”

And that is why one machete in every house is in accordance with mission rules!

Letter from Phillip on May 30, 2011

Hola Hola La Familia Mia!

Well, as we all know, we started up the new transfer right here in La Colonia. And to top it all off, a great baptism will occur this Saturday. William, will be baptized and make a covenant with God which will conduce him to eternal life if he persevera to the fin. He has a lot of animo and is excited to get baptized. More and more I read about the native general authorities, the more I realize that quite a few of them were young men when they got baptized and have stuck with it. William walks a long way to Church every day for Seminary and hasn`t missed a Sunday in a long time. I think he`s definitely prepared to be baptized.

Update on other investigators. Juan: Lots of desire. In the words of Juan, the more he reads the Book of Mormon, the more it amazes him. Juan`s wife, the Haitian cracks me up. They live a street up from our house. We were walking back to the house at night and I had just bought an egg to cook when we got back. My comp bought a lot. She called us back and said to me, what the heck are you doing with just one egg in the bag? That won`t do she says. Before I had the chance to speak she grabbed the bag from my hand, went into the house and came back a minute later with 8 eggs, a bottle of oil and spaghetti. She handed it back to me, and told me: “that’s better!” I sat there flabbergasted. She`s not into the Church, but I really hope she gets baptized one day.

We had a great lesson with a lady named Marta. Moraga and I had a couple excellent lessons with her. The first time we saw her, she introduced herself as an evangelical. Then she said, a lot of people say that those Mormons worship Jose Smith, but I know it`s not like that. So we said, yes, you`re right. We taught her, then invited her to Church. She showed up right in time for Church and enjoyed it. I`ll let you know if anything happens with Marta.

We had a meeting with the zone this past week. President talked to all the zone leaders and they talked to us. He had some great thoughts. He said on the street, we should be tame and meek, like little chickens. However, if robbers come in to the house, we should defend ourselves, like lions! And that is why one machete in every house is in accordance with mission rules!

He taught us that faith in Jesus Christ is the highest degree of faith. This gave me some food for thought. I admit, I had thought before the mission that the Gospel would bring happiness to one and all and that everyone would be lost without it. However I have realized that millions of people seem happy with their own way of living. This thought got me down a bit. But I have realized that there are different levels for everything. For example, I can feel the great power of a waterfall. But there is nothing in comparison to the power of the being who created the waterfall. People can have great joy in families, but when the power of the spirit comes in, the families have greater joy. The faith in Jesus Christ as presented in the Bible and the Book of Mormon is the highest degree of faith that exists in the whole world. And that is why we have such a great responsibility to share it, so that people can receive of the full truth of God on the earth. I have a long way to go before I fully exercise the true faith in Jesus Christ, but the goal is there.

Yesterday my comp had a great phone call home on Nicaraguan Mother’s day.

There are few words to describe the heat of Azua. It`s hot.

P-Day was fun. Played soccer, ate, now emailing home. Getting ready for a good week!

Love Phil

My Shoes are Still Going Strong!

Una Semana Vacanisima, y la que viene sera mejor.

I had an excellent missionary week. Lots of great experiences and strengthened testimony. First off, the transfer has ended. And the verdict is.....Elder LeCheminant and Elder Moraga se quedan. That`s right folks, I`m staying with Moraga one more.

OK, I have to take a couple paragraphs to talk about Juan. I wrote a little about him last week. The white Dominican with the Haitian wife. Monday, we were thinking of dropping him. He always found the Missionary lessons interesting, but in the words of Moraga, I think this guy thinks the Book of Mormon is a fiction story book, fun to theorize about. Anyways, we decided to go back one more time and see if he read and get his thoughts. Turns out that he had read and read and read. He read a bunch and understood everything. He decided to change up his prayers and he felt the spirit. He figured that the Bible had lost a lot of truths and that the Book of Mormon restored the truth. We ended up going every night to his house. He went to Church and told us he`s gonna keep on doing these things. The lessons with Juan are the lessons I imagined I would have before I left on the mission. Anyways, the moral of the story is I got a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon. Those that read it will quickly recognize it as the word of God!

We have another great young man that will be baptized. A Haitian kid that moved here with his parents when he was a child. He`s friends with all the youth of the branch. He`s gone to Church for 4 months now but refused to be baptized until he got a testimony, and he says he`s ready now. He`s a great kid named William. June 4th is his scheduled baptism date.

Just a few side notes. The pants I bought are the best pants I`ve ever owned in my life. I`m a new missionary when I wear them. It`s like Jerry Seinfeld and his suede jacket. And my shoes are still going strong [note: Phillip is referring to a pair of used dress shoes he bought about a year before his mission at D.I.!]. Elder Moraga is calling his family this week for Nicaraguan Mother’s Day.

Another cool D.R. Story. We were looking for a member, but the family told us he was at the Gallerina. Apparently it was right down the street, so we went. We want into this strange building, and ended up in perhaps the most legitimate cock fighting rink I`ve seen in real life or film. There were no cocks fighting at the time and nobody was there. I wish I could explain how cool and random this thing was. In the end, we found the member and had a good day preaching the Gospel.

Have a great week!

Elder Phil

I`m looking forward to a vacana semana!

Hola one and all! How are you all doing?

Great week in the missionary world. I decided to work on two things this week in the world of missionary work and I definitely saw the results. At our night time planning sessions, we`ve started talking about the lessons we had in the day, and what we can do to help the investigators progress instead of just counting the number of lessons we had. We ended up coming up with some great ideas in the planning sessions. That is one practice that I`m going to keep up in my mission which I think will yield some great results.

The other thing that we`ve started doing is improving studying time. It is absolutely incredible how much you can learn in one hour when you focus. I had some great study days and I`ve set some great goals for the mission. In comp study too. My whole mission for comp study all we`ve done is read from Preach My Gospel out loud. In all honesty I dreaded comp study every day. So on Tuesday, I finally said, OK, this is pointless, we`re doing some role play. And that`s what we`ve been doing for comp study. Role play, preparing for the investigators needs and questions. 10 times better!

We set a baptismal date with a great guy Juan. He reads a lot, and loves the message. He loves the Book of Mormon. He needs to come to church. Sometimes, we let him talk a bit too long about nonsense, such as Einstein’s theory of relativity. But we`re gonna keep working with him. We hope good things will come.

P-Day, a whole bunch of nothing today. We did clean the house this morning. Spick and span. It needed it.

I`m doing good and I`m looking forward to a vacana semana. A sweet week. Hope you are too. In the words of my cousin Brian Hubbard serving in Manaus, Brazil, “We be spreading da freshest word anybody eva herd!”

Love,

Elder Phil

“We`re still looking for your polochirt de gringo!”

Familia,

Es Mayo! Yes, it`s May!

OK, about this week, and the same old story of La Republica Dominicana. First off, let me tell you about two great women we are teaching. We convinced the spouse of the first woman to marry her. But this past week, he realized that he was still married to another woman and needs to get a divorce to get married. And she didn`t know about the other marriage! Anyway, we need to wait a bit until we get it all settled.

And the spouse of the other woman backed out after he said he would marry her. So we have to keep working with them. She is a great woman and would be a very strong baptism and a great convert in the Church. Very intelligent and believes in the gospel. Anyway, we all need to pray that the heart of her husband will be softened so that she can be baptized.

I had an intercambio this past week with Elder Kleiner. He`s from Mesa, and entered the mish 6 weeks before I came in. He`s a great guy and a good missionary. We had a lot of fun. We got pizza. 8 months without pizza, then two nights in a row!

Today was a super fun P-Day. We went to a Cascada (Waterfall). We all had a good time. It was a good hike and I saw plenty of Azua that I hadn`t seen before.

Funny Dominican Republic story. There is a T-shirt stand right next to our house. There was a sweet Nike shirt that I was gonna buy for 100 pesos. Anyway, I didn`t have my money when I first saw it, so I told them I was coming back soon. I came back the next day, and we looked and looked for my shirt, but couldn`t find it. Anyway, every time we walk by, all the workers yell out, “We`re still looking for your polochirt de gringo!” Here polo-shirt equals T-shirt in English. Said really fast in Spanish it comes out “polochirt.” I`m not really sure where I`m going with this story, other than I`ve heard the word “polochirt” many more times than I wanted to hear this past week.

I had a good week, we had some great lessons, and I put a baptismal date with a great guy in his 30s. Now we`ll wait for the true test and see if he comes to Church. But I have faith he will!

I love you all, and hope that you have a great week and will talk to you on MOTHER’S DAY baby!

Elder Phil

I welcome you to the city of La Colonia, Azua, Dominican Republic!

City life baby. Sometimes...

I´ll do my best to fill you in on my new area.

First off, my comp is Elder Moraga. I didn´t expect it, but of all my comps I´ve had so far in the mission, he is the most tranquilo. Very chill. He´s from Nicaragua, 21 years old. And is a good guy.

The house at La Colonia is better than expected. It´s big and there is always electricity and water. Count your blessings with having 24 hours of electricity and water. It´s about 19 hours of electricity here. But we get it at night time unlike Sabana Yegua.

There are a few city parts in our area. Which is somewhat like suburban America, but the majority is good Dominican living.

There are more members that go to church in La Colonia. It seems like a good branch. We´ve got some good youth in the ward. One lady named Juana has a son is in the Santiago mission now. She is always giving us food.

We have some good investigators with baptismal dates. And I guess it wasn´t just a Sabana Yegua thing, but a D.R. thing in that everyone needs to get married. But, everyone here is willing to get married. There are 3 women we are teaching with baptismal dates. Their husbands aren´t into the message, but with time, they´ll be brought into the fold.

We are teaching a kid that looks exactly like Jacob from Twilight! Right down to him taking the lessons without his shirt on. His name is Nicholas and he´s a great guy. The only problem is he works a lot on Sundays, but we´re gonna continue to work with him.

My comp loves to cook. And believe me, I don´t complain. We eat some good rice and guandules modos at mid-day. Good, good times.

We have zone conference tomorrow with all the zones from the south. I´m looking forward to it.

There was a wild storm the other night. It rains about once every three months in Azua. It was a big rain storm and I ended up walking back to the apartment in a foot of water. However, the good news is, that it didn´t ruin my shoes and they´re still going strong.

I finished the Acts of the Apostles this week. Paul has some great missionary stories.

Living the dream. Serving a mission. Wish me luck as I cry repentance unto this sinful generation.

Love,
Elder LeCheminant

Phillip’s First Transfer & Memories of Sabana Yegua

The big news of the week: Elder LeCheminant se va! Yes it's true, Elder LeCheminant is leaving Sabana Yegua. And is being switched with another missionary inside the same zone. I'm still in Azua district. I will be in the La Colonia branch! Twenty minutes from Sabana Yegua. I'm still going to come back and visit here on P-Days. I'm going to be with Elder Moraga; a native Nicaraguan.

Since I'm going to La Colonia, and Elder Mejilla, who is in La Colonia is coming here, some time tomorrow morning I'll have a taxi drive us there, and he'll take Elder Mejilla back with Elder Juarez. I've packed up just about everything. The one thing I am disappointed about is the house we're moving into. Sabana Yegua's house is one of the best in the mission. La Colonia's floor is just a step above cement. But at least the electricity is much better in the city. There, when we come back at night, there is always light. So tradeoffs.

I'll be honest, I had my dreams of the Capital or Barahona, but I know that my time will come. At least I get to experience a bit of a city. Paved roads to walk on will be a benefit. I'm going in with a good positive attitude. I've heard a lot of good things about the branch in La Colonia.

Anyways, I thought I would focus my email on a few of my favorite memories of Sabana Yegua.

First day that I arrived here with my trainer, we went to Olvito's and Dionela's house and played with them and the kids. I was as lost as can be. No one understood me, and I didn't understand a word of what they were saying.

My first cambioneta ride into Azua. We hop in the bed of the truck with others while we fly down the highway. I was clutching the truck with fear that I was going to fall out! Also, learning a whole batch of obnoxious Spanish songs; for example, Controla tu Noca (or "Control your Crazy Girlfriend"…Noca equals Novia [Girlfriend] plus Loca [Crazy]).

My first baptism here was legit. It was of Melen. Just a little kid, with the cutest smile you could imagine. He gave me the biggest smile right before I baptized him.

Spending time with the family of Bolivar practically every day for six months. At least a ten minute water break chatting with them. I loved the baptism of Bolivar and Carlito, and I am so grateful that I was here to do it.

I don’t know why, but one of my favorite memories here is when I realized who truly is living the dream. It has to be 15 year old Melbin, who will strip off all his clothes, except his underpants, at any time of day, with anyone around, and jump into the canal right outside his house. Then get out as if nothing had ever happened.

The Christmas baptism of Olvito and Dionela, who had waited 7 months to get married, was definitely a highlight.

The little morenito Alex who always hung out with us is someone that I'll never forget.

I loved sharing a short message at Hermana Santa's house. The lady that goes to the Catholic Church from 9 to 10, and our Church after, and sleeps with her baby goats. Yes, you heard me right, sleeps with her baby goats. I got a great picture of us with her and her chivitos (goats).

Well, I've had some good times here in Sabana Yegua, yet better times are ahead. I look forward to what is ahead; Elder Moraga and I are going to tear it up in La Colonia.

Love Elder LeCheminant

He waited 15 minutes on his knees, and he got an answer!

Antes de nada!

Wow, Mobile, Alabama sounds like a whole other country. All I have to say is, if Mobile is another country, I´m in another world. And these past couple weeks I´ve been so grateful for all the opportunities that I´ve had to learn.

What a week it was. We got the go ahead to teach a great sister in our area. She went to conference yesterday and is doing good. Her kids couldn´t be happier that she is taking the lessons.

I´ve pretty much contacted all of our town, except for some parts of Barrio San Francisco. This week, I actually had a lot of fun knocking doors in the outskirts of San Francisco. I´ve realized that there are truly people in the world without anything. I´m talking houses made from coffee tins with uneven dirt floors. The people love to hear the word of God and we´ve had some good teaching appointments.

I had another great intercambio with Elder Suero. I learned a lot about effective teaching from him this week. He teaches really simply, has a lot of enthusiasm, and gets along with everybody. And he doesn´t talk for too long either. We ended up teaching some good lessons and had some good times at the apartment. He finishes his mission in 3 months and starts med school soon after.

Saturday, was bittersweet. We didn’t get to watch Conference. But our baptism in the afternoon was great! And there is nothing like a good baptism. A baptismal service in our branch generally goes as follows: We plan on meeting at 6 pm. Everyone comes around 6:20 pm. At 6:30 pm we take pictures and a few minutes later, all the people playing basketball are rounded up. And then we have the baptism. The baptismal service is always great.

Christian is a great kid. You gotta love those kids – right? My buddy Nighter baptized him. Nighter is the 18 year old that moved from Haiti a year and a half ago. He learned Spanish like a native in 2 months. Christian´s family all came to the baptism. His Mom loves the message and has read all the pamphlets and gave him a lot of encouragement. All she needs to do is get baptized. One day...

Sunday was conference. It was great. I thought of my cousin Brian Hubbard and the great shout out for the Manaus Brazil Temple during President Monson´s talk. Elder Johnson was in top form. Sister Sylvia Allred talks much faster in Spanish than English, and the Spanish translation voice over finished 4 minutes before her English talk. I understood the majority of the talks in Espanol, but it has a better effect in English.

One of my favorite lines from Conference was from Elder Bednar, correct me if I misinterpreted this (I´m going from memory) but he said something like “many times we receive revelations, without realizing that we are receiving revelations.” I really liked the Joseph F. Smith quote that the Lord gave him his testimony little by little, until all doubt had been purged from his system. I really liked Elder Holland’s talk and appreciated his thought that these Conference talks are celestial messages, from mortal messengers. And I liked him telling about the life of President Monson and his years of service in the work of the Lord - which isn´t easy. It was nice to watch some Conference.

I was bummed this week when one of our investigators rejected us. Even, after a great first lesson! But we then found a great guy who owns a barber shop by the name of Jose. We set a date with him and all systems are go.

We are teaching two super cute kids right now. The boy is 11 and the girl is 8. They have family in the Church and they just wanted to hear the charla. We taught them for the first time. The girl practically had memorized the first page of the pamphlet. She recited it to us. The boy was so disappointed the first day back. He told us, “I prayed and I didn´t feel a thing.” I told him that if he “prayed with all the faith he could muster up, and ask a specific question to God, God will answer you.” He told us the next day that he did just that, and that he waited 15 minutes on his knees, and he got an answer! I wish you could have been there to see how sincere this kid was. He really wanted an answer. If everyone did that, the world would be a better place.

Next week, I´ll have transfer news. Oh and some time when you send a package, I want a head flashlight - like the spelunkers wear. It´s a pain at night time when there is no electricity and you have to hold a flashlight in your hand.

Love, Elder LeCheminant



Pictures below:

Elder LeCheminant & Elder Suero

A Christmas Feast in the D.R.!

It`s always a good spirit at baptisms.

Family,

Que tal? I hope that you are all doing well. It sounds like everything is perfect in the south.

I`ll tell you a bit about my week. To tell you the truth, right now, I don`t have too much time to write. My comp got called up last night by the zone leaders, and he gets to go to the temple today. He wasn`t able to go last transfer, so he and another missionary in the zone are going to the temple today and spending the night in the capital. I`ll have an exchange with Elder Brezack.

Ok, we had the baptism of the deaf girl this past week. Success! She had read all the pamphlets and wrote out a reason that she wants to be a part of the church. According to her, it`s just a really cute church and she wants to be a part of it. I got the chance to baptize her. It`s always a good spirit at baptisms. I felt bad because only her sister came to support her from her family. But, she had some good friend support and lots of the members in the branch came.

This week we are planning on baptizing a good kid. As they say in Spanish, un buen muchacho. His name is Christian. He lives in a house next door to the bakery owned by the Branch President and his family. He`s gone to church a lot and we`re getting him ready. I`ll tell you about the baptisms next week.

We had a great lesson with a woman named Wanda this past week. Super smart, in law school. I`ll tell you if we make any progress with her. We are going to challenge her to baptism tonight. Other than that, it`s going a bit slow right now in terms of teaching. Hopefully we can find some more people to teach.

Me and my comp are getting along well. He´s a good guy. He had a mighty change of heart from the time he was younger. I´m talking the very rough and tough streets of El Salvador. It really is an amazing story. My favorite line from him this past week was when he was talking about the punks of the street that talk big, and the things that come from Satan himself. He told me he was a part of that kind of life, but he let the Gospel back into his life. That is why we have the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Oh, and I had a real breakthrough last night in Spanish. We stayed up while I shared my political theories of the world with my comp. Anyways, it was a good week, and I´m stoked for General Conference. We´re going to have a baptism in between sessions too.

Keep looking for some good missionary opportunities.

And that´s the way it is.

Elder LeCheminant


[We are waiting on some new pics from Phillip. This is a pre-mission photo.]

He showed me his bible that he bought 17 years ago and had the date written inside.

Dear Family & Friends,

Wow what a week. The week was great! But far and away, the big news of the week was…Bolivar and his son Carlito were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Finally! It was actually a miracle. So last week I payed for his passage into the capital so that he could get his final paper. We thought that everything was a go, but we found out on Tuesday that there was still one more paper that we needed to get. It was in the morning and he came by and told us that there was just one more thing. I was about to give him just the necessary 500 pesos, but luckily all I had left was a 1000 peso bill. I told him to bring me the change. When he got there, he said he prayed that this final paper would be taken out quickly. At first it didn´t look good, but then they said with 300 more pesos they could take it out and everything worked out perfect. It was a miracle I gave him a 1000 pesos.

Anyways, everything worked out, and on Friday he was married. Saturday, they got baptized. It was a great baptismal service. I baptized Bolivar, and Elder Torres baptized Carlito. Bolivar couldn´t have been more happy. He showed me his bible that he bought 17 years ago and had the date written inside. He said that´s when he started looking for God. All we gotta hope is that one day the wife gets baptized also.

I don´t know if I told you this, but Olvito had the exact same experience. He went to the capital with his wife in order to OK everything. When he went the third time, they denied him again. I guess I didn´t understand his story until he told it yesterday when we were talking about all these stories. But he sat down in a chair and prayed to God and said if I´m not worthy to be in your Church, tell me now and I´ll get out. And right after that, the woman came back and said, I think we can make this work. And it did. Anyways, I think sometimes we´re all pushed to the edge in life. And that´s when help generally comes!

Transfer calls came last night and the verdict is…Elder LeCheminant is staying in Sabana Yegua for his 4th transfer. Elder Juarez is going to be my companion. I haven´t heard too much about him. Other than he´s a Latino from El Salvador. Should be good. Elder Torres left today. I´m staying with the zone leader Suero tonight. His comp left today too. He tells me we have a family night planned for tonight with a woman that loads us up with American food.

Oh, Yesterday was Dominican´s independence day. Not quite your typical 4th of July like I´m used to, but cool nonetheless. There were kids dressed in crazy carnival masks, with horns, glitter, etc. In crazy suits, whipping the people in the street with their whips. Elder Torres told me that I haven´t seen anything, but need to go to La Vega in Santiago D.R. in order to truly celebrate Carnaval. Second largest Carnaval in the world, rivaled only by Brazil.

Have a great week,

Love,

Elder Phil

The tall white American that doesn`t know the language like his companion

Hola!

How are you all doing this fine week?

News for the week. My boys Hanser and Leito were baptized! Both of them are doing well. I baptized both of them. A bit about Hanser and Leito. Hanser is a super smart kid. He`s studying computers in the university. Hanser, Leito, and Yoann the older brother all live together in one house. All three of them are sons of Confesora. And they all couldn`t be more different. Hanser is the studious type. Yoann is hilarious. He loves listening to the word of God. And Leito has desire and goes to church. He loves to make fun of me. I`m the tall white American that doesn`t know the language like my companion. I really hope that both of them make it.

This Saturday, we`re going to baptize a kid named Roberto. He`s twelve, lives across the street from a super active family with kids his age and knows more than everybody else we are teaching. He`s a really good kid. I assume he`ll serve a mission and be a strong member. I will tell you all about the baptism next week.

We had a great lesson last night in the house of Fledida. My Spanish was in good form. I taught all about the Book of Mormon and the significance of the Book of Mormon. And then Fledida shared her testimony of the Gospel. She told us that she had visited a lot of churches in her day and the most peaceful church that teaches the best values is our church. Then she said a prayer to see us off. It was good.

We`re going to the temple tomorrow. All in Spanish. I`m really excited. It should be a good experience. Early too! We have to be in Azua ready to go at 6:30 am.

In other news, I had 2 new pairs of tailored pants made with money from Grandma Teedie. A dark brown and a pinstripe navy blue. They look dang good!

Love,

Elder Phil

What do you like in your burger?

Well Hello Familia!

Once again, a good week here in Sabana Yegua. Teaching, contacting, baptizing, saving souls, the whole works! We had a good week with lessons. We got 39 “member present” lessons.

Me and my new companion, Elder Torres, get along great. You know how Dad and I, or Mark and I, would argue jokingly over little stupid stuff. That´s how it is with him, only in Spanish. Elder Torres is just a super witty guy. It makes the time in the apartment so much more enjoyable. Just learning the phrase “do you want to bet,” has greatly increased my fun in the mission field. Sadly, I lost just about every bet this past week. Anyway, my point with all of this is that I attribute my increased joking arguments in Spanish as to why I am learning to speak Spanish. I improved dramatically in just one week. It was a miracle.

We started teaching a family that has a lot of good enthusiasm, so everything is going well with them. The baptism of Bolivar should happen in about two weeks. Keep your fingers crossed.

Miscellaneous note: Send me the lyrics of Para Bailar la Bamba via email. It makes a difference when you understand everything, and Torres and I wrote a funny missionary version.

Also, I bought the COOLEST belt off a Haitian for after my mission. A white puma belt with a big pistol and Dollar signs for 100 pesos. I look forward to wearing it in two years.

I discovered a thing called Chimy´s here. The Dominican burger. Full of grilled cabbage and onions and everything else that is good. Tasty!

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Phil

Transfer Calls

It was an exciting week. Full of intercambios [missionary exchanges], conferences and transfer calls.

First off, I had a couple good intercambios. The first was Tuesday, with Elder Suero. One of my favorite Dominicans here in the mish. He's the Zone Leader. He reminds me of Antonio Banderas. Good missionary. Then the next day I had an intercambio with Elder Santos. He taught me some good street Spanish.

Yesterday we had a conference for the Caribbean Area via satellite. President Dieter Uchtdorf and Elder Dallin Oaks spoke. Elder Oaks gave a good talk on the good and bad cultural standards of the Caribbean nations. Their importance on family is good culture. The men leaving the women and not supplying for the family is bad culture. He really emphasized tithing as well. President Uchtdorf gave a good talk on love and loving the people who have fallen out of the church.

Last night, we got transfer calls. Elder Urry is going to Bani. I am staying here in Sabana Yegua, with…wait for it…Elder…Torres! I don't know him, but he was actually Elder Urry's second comp as well. Apparently he's a really good missionary. He comes tomorrow. Tell you more next week.

We are visiting people for P-Day since Elder Urry is being transferred.

Love you all!
Elder Phil

Families, New Years, and P-Day in the D.R.

We asked Phillip how the family who was baptized on Christmas Day was doing.

What follows is his report on that family, New Years and his P-Day today!

The familia is such a great family. The Dad is such a great guy. Always happy, and even happier that he knows his whole family is in the Gospel. He got the Priesthood yesterday and couldn´t have looked better. He bought some nice Church shoes, so he doesn´t have to wear his tennis shoes to Church anymore. He´s in this with everything he´s got. His wife was putting in some hair extensions last night that were a complete different color than her hair. They were out of black...go figure!

The ward had a good activity the other night for New Years. Tons of people came. Sadly we had to leave just as we got to the talent portion. When we went home, Elder Urry and I stayed up to celebrate. But it just ain´t the same without the big ball. However, now I know that before I die, I will celebrate the New Year in Times Square.

P-Day was sweet today. We played some 7 on 7 softball. The Dominicans like their baseball. My mitt was used well today at first base. It´s also a good thing that me, Ethan, Chase and Stephen used to ditch calculus to hit the batting cages, cause I was batting .666 today!

We´re gonna have a family night and do some contacting tonight. Contacting is my favorite part of the mission work.

Well, love you all!

Elder LeCheminant