Merracles

December 11, 2012

This last week was an interesting one to say the least. I almost wanted to say that nothing happened, but then I remembered some of the best things that have happened yet on my mission.

 

So on Tuesday last week, we went on a blitz (where you and they divide your respective companionships so that you can double your finding time because their area is also your area, and both sets of elders are on two different streets getting twice as much work done in the same amount of time) with the Tongan elders. The Tongan elder that I was with is kind of a shotgun missionary. No tact, he just challenges people to read the Book of Mormon using those words exactly. It was interesting tracting with him again. Well, we knocked on yet another door, which we had already been tracting for like an hour, and this lady answered with a kid in her arms. I said,

"Hi, we're missionaries from the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints..." and then she looked at me funny.

"You already know who we are, don't you?"

"Yeah, I'm a member." ("Oh no!" I thought "I've been in this ward for nearly 4 months and I don't recognize her, How could I have done that!"

"Oh you are? Cool. Where do you attend?"

"I haven't been in a really long time."

"Well," said elder Martinsen "we'd love to convince you to come back to church." ("What is he doing!" I thought "She's just going to turn us away!")

"I actually don't know where the church is." she said

"It's just on the other side of Lombard behind the Les Schwab." I said.

"oh, okay. Come on in guys"

Yeah... I was not expecting that. She then told her tale of how she had gotten sick over a year and a half ago for about a month and nobody from her ward had noticed, so she never went back. She's been endowed and still has all of her garments and temple clothes but chose to stop wearing them. Then she moved out here to St Johns, and so she wasn't on the ward records. She also told us that she knew that it was time for her to come back because her teenage daughter that lives in Utah had been texting her for a few days telling her to read her scriptures and pray and then on day 3 we showed up at a time that she's not even normally home. She lives with her Mexican RIPPED boyfriend and his daughter and their new born son. She started to cry when she said that she knew she should go back, but she also knew what she had to give up to do it. We gave a blessing to the new born because he had ring worm in the back of his head. and then left. Later on in the week we texted her and invited her to the ward Christmas dinner and not only did she come, but she brought her kids, her niece and nephew, and her co-worker and her two kids. They filled up an entire table! It was awesome. The co-worker wasn't even a member! It was so cool to witness. After that she told us and the bishop that she wanted to have her son blessed in church and also that she had a good friend that got her active the last time that was moving into the ward within a week!

MERRACLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She will be a fantastic addition to our ward. I'm really glad that we were guided to knock that particular side of the street that day, and also Elder Belo was prompted to send us to that street. It's so wonderful to see the changes that others can make when just the right thing happens in their lives. I know that's what happened to me to get me on a mission, and I'm still making changes to become more fully converted unto Christ. I love you all, and I wait anxiously to hear from you guys each week.

Merry Christmas y'all!

Your Elder Lloyd

Answers to Prayers

December 4, 2012

To answer your question Mommy, I'm pretty sure the whether isn't getting to me as much. But I will say, it stinks to never see the sun. It rains 6 1/2 out of the 7 days. It's crazy.

Ward correlation, Ward council. PEC, whatever the meeting is before church, it is the MOST IMPORTANT meeting that we as missionaries have all week. Especially now that we have a new bishop who is VERY missionary minded and from day 1 has talked to the entire council about how they can use us as missionaries better. Finally this last week we started getting some names of people to go visit. It's been good. this is the meeting where we ask for specific help from the ward. emphasis on specific! The next week the bishop makes a point to follow up on those assignments.

Service opportunities. I've moved 3 different families, re-enfforced a shed wall while it was still standing, pulled weeds, reorganized backyards and junk piles (people in Oregon are all hoarders, it's terrible), sung carols, given food to a hobo investigator that we got from a member that we were never going to eat. The list keeps going.

I'm running out of time, but we had an amazing experience this last week, and it all started with giving a blessing to a girl who was about to move. Because of that blessing, she felt inspired to invite her friend that she just met at the grocery store to church. He came to church and we talked to him, set up an appointment with him and then went on Tuesday. He didn't show up. We tried to find him, but it's hard to find a homeless guy that only told you approximate coordinates. We said a prayer asking in faith that he would call us and meet with us again. The next morning he called apologizing that he didn't make it. He had been arrested the day before. So we met up that day and Elder Belo had the inspiration to teach lesson three of Preach my Gospel first. So we did. As we were talking about baptism, he said, "I don't have that yet... yeah... I should get baptized." It was pretty cool. He then told us his life story. About his heavy drug usage in the past, how when he was past out once that people came to him asking if they could take over his body, because it would be easier for him, how his mother had sold his girlfriend into prostitution back in California, and how he wanted to move up to Canada to start a new life and get away from his family because of what they had done to him. That day we gave him a box of food we weren't going to eat. The next day we taught the restoration, and the next day we taught the word of Wisdom. He accepted it on the spot. Since, he has moved to Washington, but he calls us still and lets us know what's going on. The miracle is, 20 minutes before the girl invited him to church, he had prayed that God would lead him somewhere where he and his dog could have rest and peace.

I love you all!

So hungry, I ate a horse... literally

November 26, 2012

So I forgot to mention to you last week that I've been going on a lot of exchanges with the Tongan elders and we also have a Tongan less active in our ward. Because of that I've been eating some interesting food. One thing is called Tarro root? don't ask me on the spelling. it's Tongan and tasteless, but is similar to a potato. I also ate Tongan sushi, which is REALLY good! Also had chopsui, which is possibly my favorite Tongan dish. oh and this last week I ate horse 5 times between the buckets of left overs that they sent us home with. Horse. Is. Good. Sooooo good. I wish I had more of it. Don't go knocking on it either till you try. I know it's a beautiful creature, but it tastes even better!

This last week has been very good for me. I had been struggling this last week with having memories of life just before the mission. It was very distracting that some of the other missionaries weren't making it easy to forget. Well this last week Elder Belo got me sick, so one night we retired to bed early and watched the remainder of our training videos just a few days early. In the middle of them there was an example of an addiction recovery program in it. I then paused the video and expressed to Elder Belo my frustrations with programs like that in the past and how easy it is to become discouraged and disgruntled my them just by what people are saying and how they are saying it. Then I expressed to him how I got over my addiction and I can say it in the words of Boyd K Packer to the best of my memory. "True doctrine understood correctly changes behavior faster than the study of behavior changes behavior." That is what truly worked for me. Then the most miraculous thing happened to me. I realized that in my journey I had kept my frustration with me and my frustration led to more temptations. It felt like I was wearing frustration like a chinked up piece of armor. I hadn't allowed my armor to be replaced, worked on, polished and made new. In that moment of realization I felt that heavy dysfunctional armor that I had been using for forever fall off. I was free. New. Comforted. Pure. It was the most wonderful feeling. I have had the time to reassemble new pieces of armor together as I study the scriptures and turn to the Lord in prayer. This armor doesn't allow temptation in. It just doesn't come. I feel like I've been given that rest that I've been looking for for the longest time. It's a miracle. One that is only granted through the Atonement of Christ.  I am so grateful for Him doing that for me. I feel loved, and I feel a responsibility to become the person that I can only become by utilizing that great gift that was given to all men. It takes patience and time. And honestly if you're living in accordance to his will, you don't have to try as hard. It will come naturally as you follow the promptings of the Spirit.  God is at the helm when you submit your will to his. He'll give you the armor you need. He'll give you rest. He will give you peace. I know it. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, amen.

Happy Thanksgiving

November 20, 2012

This last week we took R. to the Temple Visitors center and the Atrium inside the temple. We had the sisters do a presentation on the Life of Christ as well as go through the Doctrine of Christ. It was very good despite the hectic wedding photos being taken in the atrium.   R. recognized the spirit and Elder Belo and I helped her associate that same feeling that she had in the temple and while talking to the Temple President with the good feeling that she gets while reading the Book of Mormon and when she prays. She told us that she's started to receive answers to prayer through the Book of Mormon, but she's still iffy on whether or not she wants to be baptized. Elder Belo and I are going to follow up with her on whether or not she's been praying to know if it's true when she gets back from Thanksgiving break. Other than that we just picked up a new investigator last week that has been coming to church for the last 2 years or more. He's really genuine about wanting to know for himself. his name is E. and he's a professional short track speed skater. He's way cool. and super ripped!

Sadly I used my time to reply to you all individually and not in one massive report on what I've done this last week. I stole the above paragraph from my letter to my mission pres. I did just finish reading all the way through the gospel of John and now I'm moving  onto the other gospels so I can learn more about Christ and who he is as a person and not just what he's done for me. I've felt of his love, but I want to know whose love I'm receiving. It's been very addicting reading about him and also watching the bible videos in order. I think that they are nearly perfectly done. I love it.

I love you guys. I hope you don't get sick from all the pie this week!

Happy thanksgiving!