Facebook is weird.

December 16, 2013

Sorry about the short email last week, I had some other matters to attend to, and no Mom, it wasn't facebook. we have the privilege of using that tool from Tuesday to Saturday, but it is mandatory to use it 1 hour each day in that time frame. So facebook doesn't interfere with Pday at all. But dang, I've been working really hard to get my facebook cleaned up for Zone conference this Friday and dang. I have a lot of photos! I think I'm only half way through! It's going to take a lot more work, but it's worth it. we've already seen some benefits from using it already. The ward is getting kinda pumped about it too :)

Wow, I don't even know where to start. Last week was nuts. With the facebook stuff it takes out a lot of time that I would normally get to spend doing other things which can make our schedule rather packed. We could really use a second set of missionaries in this ward. There's sooooo much work to be done and simply not enough time in a week to get it all done. That doesn't mean that miracles aren't happening though!

 Canby 1st ward is doing pretty good. We seem to ebb and flow between our less active work and the investigator work. After we had fasted and prayed for new investigators, we found a few! It was awesome! but then we found out yesterday that the most progressing one of them might just be excommunicated. That was a little discouraging, but it doesn't mean that he still can't come back! it just means that we can't count him as an investigator at church and etc. The funny part is he doesn't ever remember joining the church! ha ha. The less active work is really where it's all going at this point. C. is having her interview with the stake pres tomorrow for re-baptism, and there was another miracle! The heart of her husband (who also took his names off the records) is being softened. He told C. that he would like to join in on the lessons just to understand more of what she's feeling, and also told her that if she needs him to come with her, that he's willing to move forward with her if needs be! It's the first time in my entire mission that a family member has ever joined in on the lessons of someone that we were already teaching. It was a miracle for sure to hear him say to us "I want to thank you guys for coming over and meeting with my wife. You are making her really happy. Would you mind if I sat in tonight?" It was heart melting

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday. It was awesome! I found out when the kids acted out the nativity that angels are like Fonzie and that one of the shepherds was actually the Baby Jesus' body guard. OH! and the star that appeared in the east was so noticeable because of it's blue coloring :) It was so funny. We brought a guy who hadn't been to church in over 10 years and he said it was the best church activity he had ever been to. His name is D. We've been working on recording a version of "Come thou Fount" with him and a couple of the YSA missionaries that cover our area as well. D. is awesome. You should hear some of the stuff he can do with his recording tech. He made a dubstep version of "I am a Child of God" and it's just about one of the coolest things I've ever heard.

Well, I love you guys. That much hasn't changed. ha ha. I hope that you all are having a wonderful Christmas season. Christmas eve always was my favorite holiday. I still remember when we played Jenga with all the brothers and then Josh lost and had to jump into the snow with just shorts and a t shirt on. It was awesome. Merry Christmas. I hope you can all feel of Christ's love for you this season.

Love

Elder Lloyd

mini mission blast in 3 minutes or less!

December 9, 2013

So this last week was totally nuts!

We found a new guy to teach this last week and we taught him 4 times in a single week and he wants to get baptized by the end of the month! It has been incredible to see how much a connects the Book of Mormon and the Bible together. The Spirit is truly with him. His name is B. and he's in the later stages of his life. He came to church this Sunday! It was awesome! It's been incredible to see what happens when a member is willing to open his mouth at a store. B. has truly been prepared by God for this moment in life.

Also, in other news we've now been approved to use facebook.

Love you all, gtg. Sorry for the short one this week.

Elder lloyd

Thanksgiving = needing bigger pants! Inbox x

Ok, so you know how I told you I had gained some serious weight in my last area. Well it was no different when I came here. Only when I got here I wasn't doing the olympic weight lifting at the Farnbach's that I used to in West Linn. So my weight has slowly been creeping up on me. I was over 191 lbs two thursdays ago and Thanksgiving didn't help ANYTHING! We had two thanksgiving dinners except we had pizza and pie at the first and then we had chicken and chicken, ham, and pie at the second. So somehow I ended up with a turkeyless dinner, but eh, whatever. the food was SOOOO good anyway I had no complaints. Sunday though my pants were getting so tight that I talked to a family to see if I could get my waist taken out in my pants. they told me to get it to them the next night when the dad came out with us to teach C. I woke up yesterday and looked in the mirror and told myself "No! You've never had a problem with weight gain before, just keep working out and it'll come." So that's the goal. I want to go my whole mission without having to alter my pants. I think I can do it. It's just going to take some dedication on my part. It's way different from when I used to be dancing 4-12 hours in a single day like in college.

Anyway, that's my little side note to begin. 

So, there's been another recent development since I've been with Elder Hendrickson. I officially eat, breathe, and sleep missionary work. I eat it when we talk with the members at dinner about the gospel, I breathe it every moment trying to testify of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and  I sleep it because for the last 6 weeks I've been sleep missionary-ing. There was one night I had a dream about going on a split with one of the ward members and his non-real white kids and apparently I was sitting up in bed talking with the member. My companion recognize that I was asleep still so he tried to egg it on by asking where I was and what I was doing. I woke up in the middle of it answered his questions and told him I'd finish talking to him in the morning. There was another night that I woke up sitting up and in mid sentence teaching about the atonement and bearing my testimony of it's reality and use for our lives. Then there was another night that I specifically remember being in bed talking to my companion being super exhausted from the day's work and then falling asleep under the covers. I woke up that night at 2ish AM kneeling by my bedside praying. It's ridiculously funny.

This last week was fun. We taught C. with our mission President and his wife just because he wanted to come teach with us. They both loved it! He told us it made his day, his week, his month to be there for that lesson. ha ha, Pres. is funny like that sometimes.

Went on 3 different exchanges with missionaries in the last week. It was nuts. It was a lot of fun though. Had to make sure to get those in before the end of the transfer. It's nuts trying to fit everything in. I feel more like I think a dad would feel. You know that you have TONS of stuff you can do, but you only have a limited amount of time in each day to try and get all of it done. So there's a lot of stuff that falls through the cracks, but you've got to just keeps focus on the most important things first and moving forward. It's been interesting to look at how priorities change even in missionary work when you know you're responsible for over 20 other missionaries and reporting to the stake president, and, and, and... the list never stops it seems. But planning ahead is the LEAST we can to to try and stay on top of the waves coming at us.

I feel a lot of confidence in God and the future. I feel like a lot of my concerns were overridden by promises made to me in my patriarchal blessing and also in my journal writing. I know God commanded me to start using my journal more, but I didn't know just how many different things can be addressed and resolved just by using a journal. I hope all of you use journals because they really give you a perspective that you never would expect. Especially when you read from past entries and look where God has taken you from and lead you towards. It Helps you to see where God wants you to go in the future.

Anyway, I know that Christ lives and that he loves us. He never will let us down when we come to him honestly with all that we have. He does work through time though. Time is one of his best tools in helping us to progress. Its incredible.

Love you all. I hope you got the chance to reflect on the blessings that God has given you.

Love,

Your Elder Lloyd

More Miracles

November 19, 2013

 

Wow! We have truly seen miracles this last week! Again our success has come from teaching the same few people multiple times during the week and the progress of those people has been showing. The one that we are the most excited about is C., a nurse by profession. She's so awesome. You just feel welcome around her. She is someone who has taken her names off the records of the church because she has 5 children and 3 of them are either lesbians, gay, or transgender. It's been a really hard thing for her to cope with and it has led to her name removal along with some other challenges that she's had. But she has let us in and allowed us to start teaching her. The lessons are a lot more tailored to her needs than the straight up Preach my Gospel lessons, but the Spirit is always felt and she's been making huge steps. We invited her to church last week and she said that would not happen. Then the next day we got a text from her saying that she talked to her husband, who also took his name off the records with her, and he had given his blessing to her to go back to church and she came with her 8 month old granddaughter. It was her first time in 18 years. It was amazing! She received such a WARM welcome. She has really been studying and praying on her own, and has refound her connection with God through her first sincere prayer. She just wants peace, so we've been continually teaching about the atonement. It's been so wonderful to be able to teach her. Yesterday, she was bawling nearly the entire lesson because she knew that she was receiving answers to her prayers. She really was studying the chapters that we gave her to try and answer her questions and she went above and beyond what we gave her and started answering some of her own questions from verses in the Book of Mormon. That's a huge thing for someone who was Mormon, went athiest, and then starting to question matters of the soul again. Honestly, we've been trying to help her find peace, because even though she says that she's been happier out of the church for the last several years, she told us that she's been looking for the peace of mind and comfort that she used to feel when she was a member. Coming to church was a huge thing for her. Teaching her has been some of the most tender and precious parts of my mission up to this point. There have been select few other teaching opportunities that have made this much of an impact on me and my testimony of Christ. I know that Christ lives. I know that he loves us and wants to give us peace. His call is and forever will be "come unto me and I shall give you rest."

We've also been working with a couple of other investigators who are moving a little slower but have definitely been progressing at their own speed. It took us three appointments in one week to teach a lady, G., about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She's really been internalizing the gravity of each scene of history and seeing how a prophet could really bless her life. She told us, "what happened to all the people after the apostles died!? I think that would be such a scary time to live in." It sounds like she knows the importance of listening to and following the prophet as well. I can't wait to teach her tomorrow and start the Plan of Salvation. She's going to be so excited!

This last week I've been learning a lot about perspective and preparation and living in the moment that you have. Some YSA age less actives invited us over to make some music with his new recording equipment. It's soooooo legit. It's built for doing dubstep music but we started recording our own stuff. It got me a little excited about all the projects that I put on hold back home. They'll be fun to get to, but God has something else in store for me. I started reading through my journal from a year ago and I started really seeing how I've grown. So many thoughts of "why was I so stupid back then," kept running through my mind. ha ha. As if I was SOOO smart now, right? ;) But reviewing the past really helps you see the Hand of God in your life and opens a new vision for what he needs you to be for the future. There's no way to prepare for the future but by experience. I am here to "labor while it is day" because "the night" will come "when no man can labor." I love my mission so much. I wouldn't give it up for the world. I love my companion too. He is a very real, physical manifestation of my Savior's love for me.

I love you all, and I hope you will write me soon. I love the pictures!!!!!!

Your Elder Lloyd

Hoops, there it is!

13 November 2013

Man! where does the time go! It's been 3 1/2 weeks in Canby and I STILL haven't had time to move in! It's very fast paced here. there's always something to be doing. I love the members here in Canby though! they are all VERY willing to help out with the work. We had a member give us 3 referrals last night and the missionaries have been in fairly constant contact with him for years! I think it's honestly because the ward trusts the new string of missionaries here.

There have been so many miracles this last week.

On Tuesday night we were stopping in at the church for a bathroom break at 8:30 Pm and we found a less active priest there with 3 of his nonmember friends playing basketball. so after we relieved ourselves we took off our jackets, rolled up our sleeves, loosened our ties a bit and played some ball for a little while. MAN can Elder Hendrickson play ball! I can't play hardly at all and they made me guard him. ha ha. It was so much fun though. We've been trying to get that priest to come out with us for a while, and he loves hanging out with us now.

We had a less active couple that we've been working with accept to have us come over twice a week now. Once to read from the Book of Mormon and try to understand it better and once for the regular lessons. this last sunday the parents received a calling as ward missionaries and they are pumped! they are really stoked about getting to go through the temple together to be sealed sometime in the near future. Their last name is L.and they are on fire. They seem to be our connection with every young person in Canby since they've been here since childhood. that's one thingI've noticed about oregon... people don't move around very often. They kinda just stay in one city for most of their lives. It was even more so that way in west Linn it seemed.

We set a date with the husband of a less active member for December 7th and he came to church! It was huge celebration because he came by himself and the kids. His wife works on Sunday, and his parents are ministers at a 4 square church near West Linn so there were some hesitancies in his choice to come to church. His wife is also on fire! She told us this last week that she feels like she never wants to put the Book of Mormon down because of the way it makes her feel. That's the best thing a missionary could ever hear :D

This last week was full of meetings... tons of meetings, but all of our organization really paid off. I think the stake presidency was positively influenced by how detailed our presentation was at SPC yet simple at the same time. I learned from my last area and started using charts to present the data. It was great.

I love this work with all my heart! I hope that I can always do missionary work because I couldn't imagine my life without being able to share the gospel with the people that I care about. It has blessed my life so much that I just can't contain it.

I love you all! gtg!

There it is!!!!!

October 29, 2013

 

Oh man, I love being here in Canby. The work is great. We haven't had a chance to slow down yet. I'm still not even unpacked. We've been on the go for the entire past week. I love it. The ward is super supportive here. The ward mission leader does his job really well. He asks members of the ward to come to every appointment that we have and he doesn't stop until he's found someone. I've never seen a ward mission leader magnify his calling like that. Missionary work is just part of the ward here. This is good because of the nature of Canby. There's a church on nearly every corner here and they are all different denominations. Most of them preach anti-mormon material across the pulpit as well. You know what though, that's okay, because I've felt the spirit more actively in the last week with Elder Hendrickson than I have I think in my entire mission. It's been so amazing. I've seen some true miracles here in just a matter of a week.

So we're teaching a guy named E. He was born in Iran but raised in Canada. He's a graduate in religion and is currently searching for a job at a hospital as a chaplain. He's a really smart dude. also really short. we just had a really good discussion on the Atonement this morning for about 2 hours. He's got some interesting ideals, but we got him to commit to come to church this week for sacrament meeting and he also wants to meet up again later in the week. When we teach him, he likes to get things complicated sometimes, but the beauty of teaching the gospel is that it's simple. Every time we break it down in it's simplicity the Spirit fills the room and I think that E. can really feel that. The best part is that our member that we brought with us needed no coaching what so ever in what to do with being E.'s friend rather than just a fellowshipper who shows up to a teaching appointment. He got his number and they're going out to breakfast later this week! Got to love Brother Taggart!

We also got to go over and visit a woman who hasn't been to church in a really long time. She wants her baby to be blessed in church this next week and she offered to feed us authentic mexican food! Lucky us! (I love spicy food :) We asked if we could leave with a spiritual thought as it was just a drop by visit, and she said yes. Elder Hendrickson immediately whupped out 2 Nephi 2 and started teaching the atonement. But L.'s son A. is 6 and hasn't ever been to a church. This was a great exercise in learning to teach simply. When I asked him if he knew who Jesus and God were and said no to both of them I really had to think hard about it. It's been a long time since I've taught someone who has no conception about Heavenly Father. But as I opened my mouth almost befuddled the Spirit filled my mind and heart with the things that I was supposed to say. We applied it to his level of learning and then taught him how to pray. As we prayed we specifically asked for a blessing to be with the 27 year old mother who had left activity in the church long before. We asked Heavenly Father to let her feel how much He loves her and to feel of how great worth that she is to Him and you could just feel the Spirit come down like a nuke and fill your heart. Elder Hendrickson said that he raised his head to see L. and he said that he could tell that she was feeling it. It was possibly one of the best moments of my mission so far.

We also had a lesson with a woman finding her way back into the church. Her husband died a year ago and she wants very badly to be sealed with him in the temple. We are stoked for this goal! Her only thing is that she is addicted to coffee. She used to drink 4-5 cups a day. But she had whittled herself down to one. As we talked to her about the principle of obedience and light and truth and grace and the Atonement and the importance of keeping all the commandments, not just some of them, a thought entered into my mind. I didn't really think much of it. It seemed like common sense to me. If her goal is to quit coffee to be sealed to her husband then why not fight the temptation with her motivation. I suggested that she put a picture of her husband in front of the the coffee pot so that every time that she wanted to drink coffee that she could see him and know why she needs to stop. We called her a few days later and she said that she was going strong and that for the first time she hadn't drank coffee for a few days straight. :) It was sweet.

So elder Hendrickson is awesome!!!! He's 22. He's from La Habra CA and he's a competitive swimmer. He's also a surfer. He's about 6'1'' and he's probably one of the nicest guys that you will ever meet.Super funny too. His story is similar to my own. He wanted to serve a mission but he had no idea whether or not the book of mormon was true. Through the ways that we teach as missionaries he was able to gain a very strong conviction that the Book of Mormon is true. Every time this man talks  in lessons the Spirit just oozes into the room. We get along great! In fact it's hard for us to not talk to each other sometimes. It's a really nice break from the stress of being around younger missionaries. He came out a transfer after I did, but he also trained as soon as he was done being trained. It was incredible to watch that happen. I've seen him around the mission every now and again, but I've never really known him.He's a spiritual giant. I'll have a hard time not loving him.

On another note I've been learning a lot more about the difference between the authority of the priesthood and the commission of the priesthood. God send his prophets in days of old not just to sit there and have the ability to baptize or seal a couple, but to do something about it. When he sent Jesus to the Earth, he didn't just give him the authority to organize God's church, but he sent Him to organize it and to help the entire world to come back to Heavenly Father through the Atonement. He DID something with that authority. He magnified his calling by healing the sick and raising the dead. He didn't have to do the good works on the side, but He did because he loves us and understands that he was sent to USE his priesthood authority. Every Priest in our church has been charged with a commission to baptize. If we truly understand that we have been sent by God to USE that authority and not just have it, then we will actively seek for the welfare of others physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We are told that we MUST be actively engaged in a good cause. To be active we have to do something about it. We can't just know how to build muscle, we have to work out!

I love you all. I have to go.

Your Elder lloyd!

One thing leads to another

Last week was quite the eventful one! wow!

We've really been seeing a lot more support since we've done our presentation on how we can improve the missionary efforts in the West Linn ward. Members were popping out left and right to be able to come out and teach with us, and their fire for the work was evident in their faces! I love it.

We got G. all set and ready to go for her baptism on Sunday. She's had to overcome some serious obstacles. G. is 10. She was never baptized when she was 8 because her biological dad was a nonmember and an athiest who hates Mormons. I wish I could meet more athiests who were indifferent about religion rather than hostile, but that doesn't seem to be the norm here in the Godless Northwest. After the Bishop took him out to lunch and became best friends with the dad he got permission from him to have the kids baptized. He was still very opposed to it, but he would let them do it if they wanted to. that's a really tough situation for a kid to be in, either please your dad or please God. It's not easy. It's something I've dealt with my entire mission though, and every time, It's worth it after all is said and done. G.'s baptism was great!

Unfortunately, I don't have any more time to email you. But in brevity. Last week was fantastic and I got transferred to Canby 1st ward after 9 months of being in West Linn. It was crazy. In the 9 months I was there I had a total of 7 Baptisms.4 of those were in the last 3 months of me training Elder Christensen. I will miss D. (my 24 year old basketball playing recent convert) dearly. He's like a brother to me. I have nothing but good to say about my new companion Edler Hendrickson! He's a beast!

Teaching to the understanding of men

September 30, 2013

 

Miracles, miracles, where do I start!?

There's so many to choose from!

I'll tell you this little tid bit though.Every pday we have to wash our car. So today we washed our car by hand... in the rain. We used a hose. How sad is that!?

So I went on an exchange with Elder Harker last week and when we went to library to do some research in our hour on lds websites I talked to a man that I had felt impressed to give a restoration pamphlet to a week ago. You have to understand that I've seen this guy consistently at the library every week for the last 8 months I've been here. He's a rather gruff/mean looking dude. He wears old ratty sweat shirts, his face is always got a mustache and stubble on it and big thick glasses to match his thick personage. I thought it was a weird prompting to give a pamphlet to someone because I never give pamphlets to people before I teach them. When I started talking to him I learned that his name is Robert. I had to go, so my approach went something like this.

"Hey Robert, I'm Elder Lloyd! I've actually seen you lot here over the last 6 months or so. You here to research stuff?"

"Yeah" (his voice was totally soft and you could tell that his demeanor did not match his personality. He's the hugest softy EVER!)

"Cool, well do you know many mormons?"

"A few, but I'm lutheran"

"Awesome, well I've got to go, but would you mind if I left this pamphlet with you?"

"Sure go ahead."

"Awesome. The message that it has has changed my life for the better and I am so happy because of it. See you around!"  Really awkward right? I was just doing what I had been prompted to do.  Later that week he told me that he liked it and if I had anything else for him to read he'd read it. So this time I brought a book of mormon and a plan of salvation pamphlet and when Elder Harker and I talked to him on that exchanged he just gushed out his entire life story! We're meeting with him tomorrow at the Visitor's center. I really hope we can share something that will uplift him. His life is about to fall apart and he can see it.

We also picked up a muslim investigator from Syria this week. He's our next door neighbor. We met him one night when we had to wait in the parking lot of our apartment for an ambulance. month and half later we got him to come in to the visitor's center and had one of the best lessons ever!

I've been learning a lot about teaching from the absolute ground zero. When teaching Ayman we had to teach the whole concept of the Atonement very simply and completely. There comes a lot of power when you are more concerned about the investigator's understanding of what you're teaching rather than getting through the lesson material. At the end he said he totally believed us because he could see the Book of Mormon in front of him in Arabic. The use of scripture for Ayman was crucial, much less teaching at the visitor's center where we had almost any resource we needed at our fingertips. I feel like he truly understands and because of that his desire to read the Book of Mormon in Arabic was very engrained in his demeanor. It was incredible to be able to teach by the Spirit to his understanding rather than just hoping that he would feel the Spirit and know what it means. A lot of miscommunication happens when you assume someone already knows about a concept.

We also picked up another new investigator that's living with an excommunicated member. Yesterday we reviewed the restoration, committed both of them to baptism and then taught the law of chastity from several bible passages about the severity of the sin. When I asked Bill straight up if he would live the law of chastity from that day forward he looked down, and then at his girlfriend. I've never seen such a hardened criminal,who claims that he has no room for compassion, look at a woman with so much tenderness. She was embarrassed because he was getting so gushy on her. He never said a word to her. After about 5 minutes of pure silence he said yes he would, but he wanted to talk things through with Ilene. I asked him when we could come back and immediately he responded "the day after we get married." Elder Christensen and I were so stoked to see someone's faith move them to action! Bill working at the stake president's counselors house has really effected him. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't be teaching him right now. Miracles happen when you merely open your mouth. God always promises that it shall be filled Doctrine and Covenants 33:8

I really have to thank Travis Scott for all the technical skills that he has taught me with construction and remodeling! I have used those skills soooooo much on my mission! If anyone is planning on serving a mission, you need handyman skills! trust me! you can get in a LOT of doors that way and you can build a LOT of trust with the members! Will someone get me his email please? I haven't heard from him or about him since I've been out.

Other than that I've seen a ton more miracles this week, but I've got to go. I love all of you and remember that organization and thinking ahead weeks and days in advance will ALWAYS relieve stress when you simply communicate your needs to yourself and those that you need help from. It's only been by organization that we've been able to see so many miracles in the last couple of weeks!
 

Missionary SMASH! And, oh yeah, a baptism as well!

Woah! I can't believe last week happened. I cannot tell you everything about last week, but I'll try to tell you the best of the best parts.

We picked up 5 new investigators last week. two are brother and sister and now have a baptism date for October 19th the third is T., an Episcopalian sports mom, and a mom and daughter ex-Muslim family from Iran. We also taught a few other people for the first time, but they technically aren't new investigators yet :) the West Linn Ward is really catching on fire. I was a miracle this sunday when I was able to turn in a progress record to the ward council with one page front and back with investigators and the second page front and back with less actives/excommunicated/ recent converts on it. I remember when I got here 8 months ago and we only had 2 investigators and maybe 3 less actives and no recent converts. I cannot wait to see what happens this sunday when we get to do our presentation on missionary work during the third hour. The bishop is calling the youth, the Relief society, the Elders quorum and the High Priest Group to all attend this meeting. This is truly the Work of Salvation. I can't wait to see this new program in action starting next Monday. The Bishop and Relief Society and our ward mission leader are all excited too!

So just as it happens, I've now attended my first leadership training meeting and it was exactly what I needed, and yet no necessarily new information at the same time. I came away from that meeting being very dedicated to the work. A single day in the mission field is SOOOO short! I cannot see why missionaries would want to spend an extra half hour at dinner appointments. You know how many people I could talk to in a single half hour? It depends on how far away they are from each other, but at least 3 on my list to be able to set up an appointment for later. Why would I want to do anything other than preach repentance? Why would I want to waste my time? Why would I want to hold others back from the blessings that God has in store for the people I may come in contact with? Honestly I wish it wouldn't get dark in West Linn because sun light seems to say to these people, yeah I've got time. Dark says, stay indoors, get ready for bed, even when it is 3 pm. Gosh I just love this work so much I can't even express it. I feel so blessed. I can't wait to see what the next month with Elder Christensen has in store.

Because of that meeting and research on my own part, plus a lot of learning by the Spirit I feel like I now understand what it means to be a leader and not just a missionary that other people report stats to. I'm starting to see how I can help other people understand and apply doctrine as missionaries and not just as investigators.Everyone has an amazing potential, it's whether or not they see it in themselves!

So I got an email from Rachelle and Josh for the first time in months. They both talked about seemingly unrelated topics but as I thought them through the way that the Lord works in us seemed to become apparent. Josh talked about the 3 different levels of obedience (obedience, sacrifice, and consecration) and rachelle talked about how a mission doesn't make you someone new, it just makes you who you always were inside. The thoughts in my mind were about repentance and how that changes you.

Think of it as uncovering buried treasure. The level of obeying because you know you have to changes you, but not as much as it does when you sacrifice to obey the commandments. think of this as digging for gold with a shovel. You'll find the gold, but only after a lot of hard work. When we give up something for the promised blessings of the commandments we change as well. think of this as using a wheel barrow to aid your self in the process. A lot more work can be done and we see more progress faster when we use more tools. Consecrating everything we do for our Heavenly Father's purpose is like using a CAT or a back hoe to dig out an area. In fact the easiest way in the end is Consecration. Obedience and sacrifice usually ends up in an individual becoming frustrated or angry because they cannot see the purposes of God in their lives. When they give their will to the Father, the treasure that they uncover is in themselves and in the Lord. But the important thing to note is that it is a PROCESS not and ACHIEVEMENT. The longer you work at it, the more results you can see. Why not give it all up to God so that he can refine you into who you are meant to be? Love you! got to go!

Oh yeah, Shatta got baptized.

I'm German, I used my muscles!

This week was AMAZING! there were so many miracles that happened this week and I don't think I can write them all. It was so cool to see the week and the work unfold bit by bit. but first a few questions

So President gave us a challenge to look through our area book and to go see all of the former investigators from them. We took one afternoon to try and contact people and 3 of the sets of former investigators invited us to come back. On top of that we received 3 new investigators this last week and one of them has a baptism date for October 12th, the week after General Conference.

That guy's name is W. He's 21 and never grew up with religion but he has been wondering recently about what the whole point of life is. He works 4 jobs just to support himself. He has no support from his family and he has insomnia. He's pretty much constantly stressed out. Even though his fists are registered weapons, he's one of the nicest and kindest guys I've ever met. He's a double black belt in Krav Maga and Moi Thai. He's awesome. His prayers are the most sincere prayers I've ever seen. He never used to pray before he met the missionaries, but he really just talks to God. He feels like God has really shown his hand in his life. He's found purpose in the Gospel. He came to Sacrament meeting this last week and the ward just swarmed him with support. A bunch of the kids and teenagers in there he's taught martial arts to, and a few families invited him to come to dinner with us. It was awesome. He's not even a member, but the ward here merely heard that he was in need and they wanted to lend their support. It's super cool. We're meeting with him tonight and we're going to teach him how to tie a tie.

The next cool thing was F. S. and his wife. F. wasn't initially too interested in the Book of Mormon. We gave him and his wife 3 Nephi 11 and beyond to read a few weeks ago and the wife loved it. When we came back we talked to them about the Book of Mormon and where it came from. When F. learned that the book of Mormon was written in Egyptian and arabic orginally he locked in his attention. I guess he thought Joseph Smith wrote it originally. They really want to go to the Portland Temple Visitor's center and go into the Atrium inside the temple. I'm excited for them because I honestly feel like I've done nothing. Them reading the Book of Mormon and seeing how it goes hand in hand with the Bible gets them really interested to learn more. I think that's the coolest part about missionary work. All I have to do is give people the chance to read the book of mormon and they can find out for themselves.

Next awesomeness (and the whole reason behind the title for the week) was the following. When I first got here I followed up with a lady that Elder Udy had tracted into with Elder Adam Manwill (who I went to High school with). She told us to come back in 6 months. We did and we never could find her at home until just this last week. When we saw her she was outside doing yard work. We offered to help. She told us that we weren't dressed for the occasion and I told her "We wear these suits for 2 years. We honestly look for opportunities to get them dirty." and she let us help. In the course of the conversation we found out that she has a sick horse and that she just kicked her alcoholic husband out of the house for good last week. We asked her what her background in religion was and she told us that she's searched for a while, but nothing ever felt right. We started to finish up the leaf raking and weeding and what not when she told us her vision for what the house was going to look like. It was wayyyyy more work than she could do by herself. We told her we could come with an army of helpers on Saturday and get the hill on the side of her house dug out and put up a rock wall. And we did. Saturday was one long day of physical activity. We went non stop from 6 AM till 5 PM on nothing more than 2 bagels and a half a cup of rice. It went Olympic Weight lifting, sports with the City/ the people we're teaching, service cutting blackberry vines at G.'s with Machetes and then digging at J.'s. It was crazy. I've never dug so hard in my life and I've done a TON of digging on my mission. J. was really impressed with how much we got done. She got to meet some of her neighbors that she's never met, we all laughed, worked hard, and sweated a ton. We asked her at the end if she got a chance to read the Book of Mormon and if she'd like to learn a little more about where the Book of Mormon came from. SHE SAID YES! It was the biggest miracle I'd seen all week because she is such a shy person I don't think if we hadn't done service that she would've said yes to that question. She is EXTREMELY soft spoken. I can't wait to see what happens when we meet with her this week :)

D. was the happiest I've seen him in months this last sunday. It really good to see him like that. He deserves happiness for sure. School has been really good for him and keeping him busy.

That's only half of the stuff I saw this last week. God's hand is in this work for certain. there's no way any of this could've happened without his Spirit directing my Mission President and us. The crazy thing is seeing how much of it simply comes from being super organized and then just doing what comes to your mind. Often the Spirit can speak to you that softly. When you pray about something before you start and then just buckle down you can bet your buckets that God will be there helping you to have the ideas that He knows will work. 2 Nephi 32 talks about that in the bottom right hand column of the first page. I can't tell you the verse off hand. God's hand is often imperceptible at times, but when you look back, hind sight is 20/20. I love that. I love you guys. Stay zesty!

Some spiritual experiences for you

August 26 2013

This was one heck of a week. It was awesome. It was full of digging, cinder blocks, sand, and heartfelt discussions of the gospel. Between the service and the Olympic weight lifting I am constantly sore. I can see the stretchmarks on my legs and my legs definitely fill every inch of available space in my pants now. I'm still a good 185-190 lbs though.

We were able to teach S. twice this week. The first lesson finished up the Plan of Salvation going from Christ's Atonement to the Three Degrees of Glory in Heaven. Gigi was worried the entire time though. She told us about her crazy childhood. I told her I wouldn't tell people about a good chunk of it, but suffice it to say that she's been on her own since she graduated high school when she was 15. She later in life would become the first woman to umpire for a pack 12 men's baseball game. Now she's reffing for volleyball and softball and renting out her house to make money. She's an incredible lady with a lot of faith. G. was worried about her kids though. The next day her ex husband was going to be having the two daughters (S. and A.) be babysat by someone she didn't trust at all. A member brought up that we could give the kids a blessing. Shasta didn't want one, but after we offered the second time A. wanted one. It was a short and simple blessing, yet profound in it's promises. After that, we asked S. again if she wanted one. She shook her very shy head very vigorously in the affirmative.ha ha.That blessing was just different. I could feel it. I didn't feel like I was searching for things to say. It was a much more in depth blessing. And it really put G.'s mind at ease. A member texted us that night who had been there for the blessing. She told us that when I had acted as the voice for the blessing that she actually heard two voices and mine was the second echoing the first. I asked who she thought the first was and she said it was definitely the Holy Ghost.

At our next lesson with S. we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith in Christ, Repentace, Making and keeping covenants ie baptism, receiving the holy Ghost and enduring to the end) and Shasta said her very first prayer out loud with her Mom's help. It was amazing! We've been trying to help her feel comfortable with saying prayers for the last month! It was a very good stepping stone. The best part was that nothing happened to the girls while they were with the shady baby sitter.

We also taught a lady named St. It was our second time teaching her, but the first time was very brief. It was actually really funny. I remember our conversation going a little like this:

"I consider Joseph Smith to be a false prophet."

"Oh, really? Why's that?" ( was flabbergasted that that was what she opened with)

"I don't really believe in organized religion. I've experimented with all the different religions. It's more of a spiritual thing for me than anything else."

"Well that's the great thing about our church actually, because we invite everybody to have a spiritual experience for themselves. We don't want you to take the missionaries word for it. There's actually a promise in the back of the Book of Mormon about how we can know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. The promise was given by the very last prophet who wrote in the record. His name was Moroni. Go ahead an read Moroni 10:3-5." she read it and then we explained what the book of mormon was. That is was a spiritual journal per say of some of the people who traveled from Jerusalem to the American continents just like the bible is a spiritual journal/record of the Jews.

"Well that makes sense."

"Would you be willing to read a little bit of the Book of Mormon and pray to have your own spiritual experience to know if it's true?"

"Yeah, sure."

"If you do, I can promise that you will come to know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, cause he's the one who translated the whole thing. If the Book of Mormon is an actual record of an actual people and if Joseph Smith was a prophet then this church is Christ's church restored on earth today. Mind if we come back some other time and just talk about what you've read?

"Sure, next week."

So we did. She had read "a few passages." She told us that it felt good. We then asked her if she'd be okay with us sharing the first of 4 lessons that we teach and she said sure. So we taught the first lesson. It went great. She ended up telling us that she suffers from depression and she hasn't had a job in a long time. She told us that it was during the lesson that she had felt the best all week. (side note here: It's a peculiar thing how many people just tell you their entire life stories when they first meet the missionaries. I'd say it's weird, but it's not. When people feel the spirit they just want to off load everything that's getting them down. Happens every time) We told her if she felt good with us, it's ten times better in church. She told us she couldn't make it this week, but she'd try next week. It's really amazing getting to see people experience happiness for the first time in a long time. You can see the instant difference. It was really funny because St. hugged Elder Christensen for praying for her at the end and he had no idea what to do. It was funny. I've never seen a man more conflicted in my life.

Other than that we've been working on the Holmes's garden with them. It involves digging every time! it's great. I sweat my guts out every time. I try to follow D.'s and Travis's example by never stopping until the job is done.

I love you guys. I know that this is the Lord's work and that there is something that everyone can do to help it along, even if we think we don't know anybody who isn't a member. You don't have to be best friends with someone to share the gospel with them. All you have to be is merely friendly. Mosiah 2:41 whether or not you want it, you're a missionary, a representative of this church just by the way you live. :)

August 19, 2013

 

This week has been awesome! It seems as one gets baptized it generates more momentum for the rest of the work. We always make it a goal to bring as many investigators to baptisms as possible. When they go they really feel the Spirit. It's the same thing with taking them to the Temple Visitor's center. If we can do both we know that that person is usually locked in for a baptism at some point in the near future. It's awesome.

So we've continued to teach S. (Gi.'s 10 year old daughter) and whereas in past lessons when we brought up baptism she was really hesitant, this time she was all for it. We helped her to recognize the Spirit telling her in her heart "the truth of all things." She's accepted the date for September 21st.

That same night we baptized Br. S., the rather wealthy and Biblically knowledgable jaguar salesman. It was an incredible event. Bradley's wife (S.) used to be a flight attendant, and made the baptism look more like a wedding than any baptism that I've ever seen. It was crazy. There were plants, pictures, soup, icecream cake, gingerbread, pears, giant bottles of San Pellagrino's, and a whole slew of other items that were quite different from most baptisms that I've been to. They asked Elder Christensen and I to sing at the baptism, so we did. But I'll tell you this. When Br. came up out of the water, I have never seen a happier man in all my life. You could see it in his eyes. He looked out at the people as soon as he came up as if to say "Look I did it!" He was feeling the redemptive power of Jesus Christ's Atonement in his whole body. He looked about ready to cry tears of joy. He was on cloud 9 that entire night. He told us later that he felt like he could stay up all night! When we saw him at stake conference the next day, he still had that sparkle in his eye. It was pure confidence. He knew that what he had found in the church was forgiveness, acceptance, love, and the true doctrine of Christ. He has seen real and dramatic changes in his life that can only be found in the baptism of repentance.

Earlier that week he had told us about his two kids that live in the city. He told us "go get them!" I laughed so hard when he said that considering his attitude toward missionaries when we went over to his house the first time, which was somewhat indifferent and more than a little hesitant. I really love Br. He's a great guy and a good man. His 17 year old daughter came to his baptism, she wasn't so interested though. We'll see what happens though.

In the midst of district meeting and then weekly planning the next day and taking in what I've learned from all the companionships in the district, Elder Christensen and I prayed for revelation on how to develop the ward mission process and came to a conclusion. We talked it through, presented it to the Zone Leaders, the Mission President, the Bishop, the Ward mission Leader, and the Relief Society President all within 24 hours of the idea being born. They all LOVE it and can't wait to start. It's going to start this next Sunday and we present it to the ward in a fireside with the Bishop presenting the majority of it. If this system works, we plan on moving it to the stake. If it works there, then we plan on moving it mission wide. We are honestly soooo stoked for this, and honestly Stake conference only backed up what we are doing since they were focusing on member missionary work. I'd explain it, but it takes too long to write out. I'd have to scan in the diagrams that I drew out for the ward council and I don't have them with me. If we can pull this off though, the West Linn ward will never be in short supply of people to teach!

I came to a realization of exactly what being a trainer and also a district leader actually is during stake conference. In the midst of Elder Richards sharing what the gospel does for families who strive to have the spirit in their home the Spirit told me of some of the feelings that all 4 of the 8 new missionaries in my district may and probably are feeling, and that I needed to step up to the plate and be the kind of leader that the perfect father is. I need to let them know that I care about them as more than just missionaries who report to me statistics. They are people who have needs just like me or Elder Christensen. Whereas I don't need to get as personally involved as their companion I can see what my role as a leader truly is. As I've taken an active role in getting involved with each companionship I have been able to discover needs that they haven't told anyone that should have known. I never thought that the mission could actually be a preparation to be a father for the future, but I can totally see the role of a father for the first time in my life, and I see the wisdom in teaching correct principles and letting them governing themselves. It's been a huge eye opener. I love it.

I can tell you all honestly of the redeeming power of Christ. That it is He and only He who can give us the relief from the feelings of pain and guilt that we naturally inflict on ourselves. Bradley has felt it, and so have I. I believe and know that God is my Heavenly Father, and is more of a Father than most people think He is. He wants us to be happy and has revealed the way for that to happen in all of our lives. It is only though obedience to his laws, which are eternal truths like those of physics and chemistry, that we can find true peace of mind and security in our homes. When we obey we feel the consequences, which I call blessings or gifts from God. When we disobey we feel the consequences, which are usually natural consequences that don't feel very good in the long run. Because he knew that we would mess up he provided a Savior, even Jesus Christ to help us along our path. Without him I would never be motivated to try again. Without Christ's Atonement, I would never be the happy chipper guy that I feel that I've become on my mission. Without him my confidence would be weak. But with Him, I am strong. With Him, all things are possible. With Him, I have confidence in my future; even past this life. I believe that this world is not the last place of existence and I have felt the aid of those who have passed on on my mission. That is why I believe. I believe because it feels right. I believe because every time I ask I can feel the Spirit. I believe because every time I enter into the Temple I feel complete and utter peace. I believe because I've tested what this gospel has to say and I've seen the exquisite benefits that come from obedience to eternal truths that I call religion or "The Word of God." I also believe that anyone else can find out for themselves. That's why I'm out here. To help others feel the extreme joy that comes from knowing freedom. Freedom, just like in the Revolutionary War, was bought with a price. The person who paid that price was Christ. Just ask him in sincere prayer if He loves you and I promise you will know of His true love for all men. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

12 August 2013

 

This was a different week for me. It was spent the majority in meetings and training and being with D. to help calm him down. He was feeling a lot of stress this week as family who he hadn't seen for years were all coming into town just for 3 hours to see him get baptized and leave, much less the girl that he's pseudo dating came in from Arizona. It's a long and complicated story, but suffice it  to say we spent some time with him pretty much every day. The day before the baptism was when he felt it the hardest. He ended up calling us just as we were about to say a prayer for dinner with some members and begging us to open the church gym right then and there so that he could play some basketball. He was having a anger melt down. We told the members that D. was having a crisis and we booked it out of there and opened the church for him to blow off some steam. He told us that he had done the same thing as us. He was sitting down with his significant other and extended family during dinner at a super fancy restaurant and excused himself and called us. After sweating and a few more tears he told us a 6 PM that he was just going to go get some Z-quil and hit the hay and not set his alarm clock for the morning.

The next day was a bit stressful getting everything prepped for the baptism with getting keys  but it all worked out in the nick of time. When we saw D. for lunch he was much more calmed down and happy in fact!

sorry not much time today.

August 5, 2013

 

Okay, so this week was just plain awesome! We split the two wards and then we taught just as many lessons in West Linn when we had both wards together! It was amazing. Most of them were the same two investigators multiple times, but that's not a problem. As soon as they get baptized someone else will replace them. I'm sure of it.

So D. had a very interesting week. High highs, and low lows. On Saturday we had his baptism interview. When we showed up I could tell something was very wrong because he had the same look on his face when his dad called him up to tell him all the reasons not to join the church. We talked after the interview and found out he was having some relationship issues with a girl he wasn't even dating and having a super hard time understanding what was going on. It got to the point of tears on multiple parties parts. He asked me to give him a blessing of comfort and counsel. So I did. It was a very odd blessing for me because this time I actually saw something as I began. You could call it a vision of D.'s future if he reacted negatively to his circumstances. I'll never forget that. We talked about the blessing afterward, more tears ensued, and D. came to his own conclusion that he was going to stay in West Linn this next week instead of going back to his apartment in Forest Grove to prevent bad things from happening. He told us later that night that he had been contemplating going back to the college town and drinking his sorrows away and returning to the life he once lived. That's why he chose to stay in West Linn, so he could be surrounded by people who made him feel good about himself. We continued to tell him about how bright his future looked, and as we did, he received a series of texts that explained the whole situation that was causing him so much anguish. It was amazing to see how patience can solve so many of his trials. Every time he has a big thing come up, it's always patience and understanding that is required. It helps me to know that I need to be just as faithful and hopeful when my own trials hit. Without those attributes, it makes life so much more dreary and bleak. D. bore his testimony in sacrament meeting. It was powerful. He talked about the time that we split the wood together and how he wanted to be like Ammon and have those he was serving turn out towards others and serve other people above and beyond the call of duty.

B. is progressing very well as well. His wife continues to try and make us gain 15 lbs every time we come over. She ALWAYS has dessert when we come over and she always eats twice the portion that she gives us. Yet she's the skinniest person I've ever seen, especially at her age. It's crazy. He's been gearing up to get baptized. He's overcome all the Detoxification effects of living the word of wisdom and packed away his coffee maker. I'm so proud of this guy. The word of wisdom was one of his biggest concerns because he LOVED his wine and coffee. Realizing his answer to whether or not this gospel is true just gave him all the motivation he needed. God is definitely working some miracles in both B. and D.'s lives.

We got to take G. to the Visitor's center with her daughters who are investigating the church. This is another one of those miracle stories that are just to much to believe it's coincidence. At church, G. nearly canceled our lesson that day and tried to set up for a couple weeks out. So a  pair of the visitor center sisters called us an hour before our lesson there and told me that they had a young single adult guy who lived in West Linn who could get a ride out to the VC but not a ride back. They asked me to get him a ride with someone. So I called around and couldn't find anyone. We taught a lesson with B. After coming out of the lesson we got the call that G. still wanted to do it that day at the Visitor's Center. Then we left immediately to the VC. On the way there I  called Hans (the RM from Argentina). He said he'd come right then. When we got there with G., the sister's introduced me to the guy, W., and then continued with their lesson. Then Hans showed up and stayed with him for the rest of his lesson with the sister missionaries. Turns out they know each other! Then on their way out, G.'s best friend Sister K. stopped W. on his way out. Apparently W. teaches her kids kickboxing. They caught up on small talk and then she asked him what he was doing there. He answered just saying that he was checking it all out, that he's always heard people ragging on Mormons, but that he never believed it because of how happy and nice his mormon friends were. He asked her what she was doing there and she said "This belong to this church!" It was a  great moment. After he left, having met two of his close acquaintances and finding out that they were Mormon, the sisters told me that at that lesson (his first) that they had set a baptism date with him. They told me that all throughout their lesson he kept telling them that it all made sense! If all of that wasn't the hand of the Lord I don't know what is. I know that He works through us as his tools on earth to answer the prayers of those around us. Things like that happen way too often to just be coincidence. It seems like every week something like this happens. It reminds me of Doctrine & Covenants 84:64-75.

I love each and everyone of you. I'm so sorry that I don't get even more chances to write more of the miracles that I see, because these are in every moment of my life these days. I can feel the spirit directing and guiding my thoughts as I'm training Elder Christensen. I can't tell you how many times the Holy Ghost will bring back a scripture or passage in preach my gospel that he needs to hear. It's wonderful. I'm completely exhausted though! ha ha. Missionary work is work for sure! Plus we also get to do Olympic power lifting every morning with Hans and his dad and brother. Plus also I can't tell you how many holes I dug this last week. I'm so glad I wore gloves because other wise my palms would be one giant blister right now. It was a lot of fun though for sure!

I pray that you all can see the hand of God in you lives. I promise, if you look for it, you will find it.

Beasting It!

July 22, 2013

So this week was amazing to say the least. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to tract at all for the last 4 weeks straight, but we've picked up 7 new investigators anyway in that time, and 3 of them were just this last week.

One of them is a former investigator that has been coming to church with his member wife and kids. He struggles with the word of wisdom. He loves his wine. The elders a year ago apparently never answered any of his questions to his satisfaction. On Sunday we just went over with his home teachers and we asked him if he'd like to continue with the lessons. He responded "What would we do different?" I blanked, but my companion jumped right in and said sometimes we just need to hear the gospel from a different perspective before it makes sense to us. Different missionaries, different flavors of perspective." We set up a lesson after that. we could tell he wasn't totally enthused but he still had some interest. We went over and started answering questions a few days later. His wife had kept a email list of all of his questions over the years and gave them to us after our first visit and having answered three of his big questions right then and there. That perked his interest in having us over again, because he was finally getting the answers that he was looking for.  After our second lesson and being able to show him in the bible about everything he was hesitant about he was visibly changed. He's taking the invitation to pray to know and be baptized much more seriously now. It was amazing to see his countenance change over the course of the week. I felt truly endowed with power. It was the coolest thing to not be able to ask anyone but myself and my companion what we could possibly pull from the scriptures to show as an evidence. I can feel my knowledge of the scriptures starting to explode because everybody we teach keeps asking fantastic questions. The great thing is being able to have the faith that I can find the answers even though I may not have them right here and now. Every time I am validated in what I've been teaching. Every time I find the scriptural doctrine behind what we do. It's not just something that Joseph Smith made up. It's God's truth.

In another instance we were able to continue to teach A. (the part time minister) the plan on salvation. It was crazy. She'd keep throwing out our scriptural references as void or not concrete because her NIV (simplified bible translation) bible says something different and then we'd share another couple of scriptures that she couldn't refute and she was astonished. There were a couple of references that we used that it backed up our point more in her bible than in ours. I was so happy about that. It's cool to see the wall of resistance in her heart being slowly torn down brick by brick. She doesn't think that we're Christian still. I don't know how. She still thinks that we differ from Christianity. Not sure how. I love to see her gears turning. I also love knowing that I will never be lost in a lesson with her.

D. is an ANIMAL. Just so you know. At 6'7" he towers over you physically, but his conversion is even bigger. I dare say that he has a stronger testimony than 80% of the missionaries in my mission (yes still in the Oregon Portland Mission, same mission pres and everything, nothing has changed for me other than now we can listen to EFY music. Maybe if you could load some of that on the USB as well when you send it back, that'd be awesome!) There is a reason why D. has seen visions as a part of his conversion. In every way D. is the perfect leader. I have done nothing in his conversion other than be there to teach doctrine, he did all the actual work by himself. He would make a fantastic stake president someday, if not something more.

In our lessons he teaches us just as much as we teach him. He is like Travis, just more athletic, as was evident in our chopping wood two days ago. We thought it'd be a fun idea to invite him along to serve a few members. Little did we know that we brought the energizer bunny in lumberjack form. He chopped EVERY LAST LOG/STUMP there was. Even the wood that they were going to save for a few weeks later to dry out cut cleaved into pieces. I thought he would need a chain saw in many cases, but he just used a splitting maul for even the thickest portions of stumps. Sometimes a stump was so big that we would take 5 or 6 swings in less than 10 seconds and the stump would then be in 7 or 8 wood stove sized pieces. He's amazing, and he really made a good impression on the family that we served. Apparently we did too. I guess this family has asked missionaries to come serve with them in the past and the missionaries just wouldn't show up. I was baffled. I find that more than rude, but a critical failure. You don't just do that. When you say you're going to do something, then you show up and do it until the job is done. Which is what D. did with us.

I've loved being here. I hope I get to stay. Transfers are coming up this weekend and I've been here for 6 months already. We'll see what happens. I love you guys, and I know this work is true. I would dare even say that the truest form of conversion is how much the people around you learn from you when you are not speaking. love you gtg!

I rubbed the bottle and Jeanne came out... and then proceeded to be baptized

Ok, not gonna lie, each week I sit down and I'm having a harder and harder time actually remembering what happened this last week. I swear I'm losing my long term memory on some things.

To answer your question mommy, I study as much as I can. I read through it as part of personal study and also when I study at lunch and also after we finish daily planning at the end of the day. There's not enough time to get everything in so I have to take it where I can get it. That talk was given to us in hard copy form at a dinner with a member who works in the temple. He thought we could benefit from reading it. I dug into it as much as I can. It gave me a lot of good scriptures to use for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think I'm going to ask him for another talk when I see him next. We also have an hour each week to use church websites to further our teaching skills. I spend a lot of time on Mormon.org and also Speeches.BYU.edu It's good stuff!

Before I go into what happened this last week, I forgot to tell you, two saturdays ago I cut the Bishop's sons hair. This is the 3rd time I've cut hair on my mission and it actually looks pretty good. He wanted it short enough that he could just wake up and go in the morning so it was pretty easy, but I still tapered it in the back. It's just like sculpting, except with hair instead of clay. Don't ask me to thin a girl's hair though, I still have no idea why anyone would A) want that and B) how thinning actually makes sense to the cutter. I guess I just haven't watched anyone do it before though, so I don't know how to do it... yet.

So we had 3 new investigators this last week. We had 2 people from the area book from years and years ago that were still in the potentials section finally make time for us to come over and start teaching them. It's a son, Z., and his mom, Di. Z.'s been going to a Christian High school for the last 3 years and found a relationship with Heavenly Father there. He's looking to move at the end of the summer to North Dakota to play football as a wide receiver. He's really toned. He also plays baseball and a bunch of other sports, but we'll see if we ever get to play with him. Hopefully we can get him and Du. together for basketball. Di. has had the missionary lessons when she was his age in college, and she really respects the missionaries, but it's hard to schedule lessons with them because she's a flight attendant and is constantly out of town. The first lesson went great. We had a member family at the lesson who they've known from years past from Z. playing against their kids in football. It was kind of a stretch of a connection, but it worked for the lesson! Di. doesn't want to be baptized, and Z. said he couldn't see getting baptized right now, but if he finds out it's true maybe after he moves to college. We'll work on them. They say that they just really want a good understanding of what we believe. I can work with that. They were both able to identify the spirit very well that night, so I have high hopes for Z.

The other new investigator is a former investigator. We were able to give him a blessing with a member there. This will be the 3rd or 4th time for V. having the missionaries teach him. hopefully we can answer some questions that he's always had in the past. He even came to church, which according to the teaching record, he's been pretty bad at, so that was awesome. He wants to take us out for as many pday activities as he can while we're here. He's a big believer in seizing the day and taking opportunities that are out of the norm. I love V., he's a hoot!

Other than that, the baptism with J. went super well. Not a flaw in the program. We had a bunch of investigators and less actives from both wards come to the baptism. It was good! We taught the first lesson while J. was getting dressed. It was good because J.'s son and granddaughters were there to support her. We'll see if we can get some of them on board here in a while. I got to confirm J. the next day in church. It was a rather simple blessing, but as we sat back in the pews I'm pretty sure I saw J. wipe a few tears away as we sang the sacrament hymn. I'm stoked to see what the Lord has in store for J.. And to imagine that we never would have found her if Elder Udy hadn't actually told me about her. She was nowhere in the records and Elder Udy didn't even mention her until we were together for about 2 months. crazy!

So we've officially started up a dual ward Saturday morning sports activity for the whole family! It went awesome last saturday. We had a potential investigator there and a less active as well as two full teams for volley ball. It was awesome! next week we'll be playing kickball and hopefully even more people come. We've designed this activity for three purposes. 1)for the investigators and less actives to develop relationships with the people in the wards 2)so that people can invite their non member friends and hopefully develop referrals from it. 3) so that the West Linn and Willamette wards can actually meet each other and develop friendships that might help them come closer together as a city rather than just individual wards. Both Bishops thinks it a fantastic idea.

Been learning a lot about myself. Heavenly Father has brought to the forefront of my mind some of my weaknesses. The specific one that I'm working on right now is trust. I know that in my past a lot of the problems in my life comes as a result of not trusting people. I've felt for some years now that people always had a second motive for talking to me. I've felt like a lot of people didn't trust me and/or they were trying to manipulate me into doing what they wanted me to do. It's hard to do when you've been backstabbed so many times, but that's not the point. Trusting is a part of Charity. When you truly love the people around you with a Christ like love and actively choose to trust them without hesitation life becomes so much better. I've felt a lot of spiritual healing from getting on my knees and asking for the strength to trust. IT feels better than being in the temple at times. I can start seeing everyone around me in a new light when I try and choose to trust. It also eliminates fear, stress, and worry. It also motivates you to cut out harshness and all things unkind. It's a beautiful thing. Try this out for yourself. I promise the same blessings.

 

I got to have dinner with J. and W. Friess last night! J.'s brother is in the stake presidency here and they were having a big shin dig. It was a lot of fun to see them again (mostly W. because Canyon kept J. busy pretty much the entire time). I found a few of W.'s concerns about the gospel and showed her some scriptures in the bible about the Book of Mormon and a few other things. I'm going to stay in contact via snail mail with them. I love them so much. It was also cool to meet the whole family and formally meet B. Friess who taught a couple of my ballroom classes my first year at BYU. As soon as I came over he said "You look familiar!" It was funny. Yeah Melissa, that's the guy who you catered his wedding. I love the whole Friess clan. I feel a really strong connection to them. I can't wait to see what happens in their lives.

Other than that we've received a few referrals from the members. One kid actually came up to us during church and told us about three of his friends that he wanted us to go see! I think we may be earning some member trust. I can tell, not just because of that but because our dinner calendar is absolutely full until halfway into august. It's crazy, but I'm glad, because we can't do this work without them. By the way, when you guys (and I include those of you in Utah in this statement) WHEN you have the missionaries over next 1) make sure there's a non member or less active there and 2) give the missionaries the left overs of the meal. Everyone seems to think missionaries want the desserts more than the food. It's the opposite. Leftovers for lunch the next day are the BEST! But seriously, I would challenge you all to take to heart the teachings of "The Work of Salvation" broadcast and website and find someone in this next month that you can invite over for dinner with the missionaries. I promise you that if you do the Spirit will flood into your souls and fill your mouth with the right words to say at the right time. You will also see the Spirit touch the relationships between the family. I promise it. I take Alma 17 to be a promise:
9 And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the  traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.
10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted.
11 And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.
12 And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.

If you obey the commandments with faith and pray for the spirit to be with you, He will comfort you and give you courage to do what needs to be done so that your friends can share in the great blessing of true joy that this gospel brings. I can promise you that you can do this! I have found that on my mission, it's not because I knew more about the gospel, or how I taught it that converted the people.

When I spoke the Spirit did the converting. It was the Spirit that had to the hard part. I merely opened my mouth and sometimes I found my mouth testifying of truths I didn't realize that I had such a strong testimony of. Remember, "when two or three are gathered in my name, as touching one thing, there I am in the midst of them." That a promise from our Savior.


Love you guys!

Your Elder Lloyd

Working on the Bishops

Jun 24, 2013

So this last week was mostly a blur for me. I'm trying to remember the majority of the things that happened, and there's only a few noteworthy things.

J. is getting baptized this Saturday at 1 pm. I would say that you guys should come, but that's kind of a no-no. Ha ha. We're really trying to push people to come to her baptism because she came to Gigi's baptism and it was PACKED that night. There's only one problem. G.'s was a sunday night and G. had come to church for 3 months. J.'s been at church for 3 weeks and she's getting baptized on a Saturday afternoon. It's a lot harder to fill a room at that time and day. When people heard in sacrament that J.'s getting baptized the guy behind be literally asked,"so who is this woman?" gahh... ha ha. It'll be good I'm sure of it.

Teaching N. went fine. I don't think she sees the need for a savior. I wish we had left Alma 42, but we left 3 nephi 11 instead. Going from believing in reincarnation to resurrection will only be made possible if she's the need for a Redeemer of the world. At least she still believes in a God. ;)

C. went to the temple with us on Thursday night. It was absolutely great! We were able to answer some questions on why the priesthood is necessary (again. Seems to be a thing with investigators for some reason. I'm not sure why. jk) Brother F. put things into perspective for everyone that night. He told the story of a Seventy who went on a mission tour somewhere in Africa. He asked how many baptisms they had had. the answer was around a 1000 in a year. He then asked how many of those were not Christians before their conversion. 3. He then told the missionaries that God still works through other religions and tells them to do what they're doing for a reason. If it had not been for the missionaries from other churches for centuries coming over to Africa and teaching the people they would have had only 3 baptisms for an entire year. Instead, God has plans for his children and provides a way that as many people as possible can be brought back to his fold. Again, we do not claim a trump card on having all truth, but we do know that God has told us, with a  sure promise, that if He has a will on a certain subject, He will reveal His secret to His servants the prophets. God will continue to inspire all the people around the world, he just provides clearer communication to those who purify themselves enough to have the blessing of the power of the priesthood, not just merely the authority of it. President Monson is such a man that has done just that.

Taught Abraham 3 to GR. on Saturday. gahhhh... We had no idea what was in there before we gave him that reading assignment. That chapter expanded and stretched my mind like taffy on a puller. Dang. It was good though. We had a seminary teacher that had already taught that chapter last year come with us, and he kept pulling out video after video and more references. I hope one day to be able to teach like that. I have a hard time just focusing on only one principle in half a verse and teaching about that for 20 minutes like seminary teachers do.

So we had a special meeting with our ward mission leaders this last week trying to train them on how the ward mission process SHOULD be run. The west linn mission leader was gung ho with it, and when we met with our bishop he was rather pleased with it. The only problem is that the bishop has to be the running force of all of it and that bishop has back issues. So bad that he wasn't in church on sunday because of the pain. He's considering back surgery. Pray for him please. He could use the help. His name is Bishop G. We haven't been able to talk to the bishop in the other ward about it yet.

One thing that we're starting up is a combined two ward saturday morning family sports time. We thought it could be something to get people to actually get outside themselves and meet other people. We thought it'd be great for our investigators and less actives. They need the friends in the church for sure.

Not really much else to report. We hope to teach a new family tonight. We've been trying for 4 1/2 months now and this is the first time we've ever had an appointment for. Fortunately, they actually have the desire to know already and they just happen to know a couple families in the ward. Their son just happened to be with us on splits when we contacted them the last time. Coincidence? again... there's no such thing. Everything we have comes from God, even the little things.

I love you guys. I hope all is going well. I have some questions though. First off are we related to a Gregory Lloyd from back in Civil war times? If so, then we might be related to a family in the west Linn ward. Also, are we related to a Mary Whitehead and Jospeh Chadwick from about 1847. If so, I'm related to a potential investigator in the willamette ward that comes to church nearly every week.

Read a really good talk and studied how it applied to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we teach it. "A Disciples Journey" by Bruce C Hafen. You can find it onSpeeches.byu.edu it's fantastic. Some parts I found a no brainer, but others were super insightful. Check it out if you have 20 minutes. I've also been learning about Consecration. particularly learning about how consecrating our lives in total surrender to the Master's will, which includes doing the things that would otherwise be sins of omission. Consecration is the only totally surrender that is also complete victory. The hard part is applying all of it. Fortunately God gave us time so we can focus on one thing at a time and practice till we get better at some things till we can add on other parts. In this the scripture Ether 12:27 really stands out to my mind. My weaknesses are definitely being made known to me. Now I've got to DO something about it. dang... ha ha :)

What Happens When an RM Comes Home

June 17, 2013

This week was awesome. We were able to get in contact with so many people. Not all of them were new investigators last week, but hopefully they will be this week. We got in contact with C. again (a former that Elder Udy and I met in the grocery store my first transfer here). He says he wants to go to the temple with us this week and also that he'd love to attend a baptism. He says, and I quote "You guys don't need any help from me, I can see it in your eyes. You guys are sic with the spirit!" Ha ha. I can't wait for him to go to the Atrium in the temple and feel the spirit there. Hopefully progress with him will be made after that and he'll come to church again.He's just a little stubborn. It sounds like he has a testimony, he just doesn't want to commit. Coming to J.'s baptism and going to the temple will hopefully influence him for the better!

Another miracle happened. A returned missionary came home 2 weeks ago (Hans, yes he's German in decent), and he came with us to visit C. since his dad had been at the lessons in the past. After we tried C. the first time I asked him if he'd like to join us to contact another potential. Turned out the potential (J.) was his good friend from high school, and his girlfriend (E.) used to work with Hans' mom last year and knows all about his family. They would love to hear our message they said. So we're going to try and organize a split lesson with the Zone Leaders because they are over the YSA ward. Never would have happened if the Hans' dad hadn't had to cancel on us. Coincidence? I've seen way too many of those to believe in them anymore.Seems like "coincidences" are all I ever seem to write home about. My mission has been one giant coincidence after another.

We have been making good headway with J. Haha, this next part is funny! We had dinner with her and a ward missionary and J. apologized to us. We said "what for?" and she told us about all the times that we had knocked on her door and she didn't answer before she started investigating. She said she knew it was us because I have a very distinctive knock. She would even tell her granddaughter, R., not to answer the door when we knocked. ha ha. The really funny part is that R. commented to J., "I don't get it grandma, I thought you didn't want to see those two guys and now you're with them all the time!" Haha. J. really does love being in the church. She's only been twice to church, but she knows without a doubt that she wants to be baptized. It just feels right to her. She also told us that she's made more friends since she met us than in the last ten years living where she does.She loves the community aspect of it all.

We also got to teach a referral for the first time. She's been coming to church on and off for over a year, and just now felt comfortable taking the lessons. Her name is M. She was raised with no religious background, so we have to teach her Christianity from the ground up. We can't just refer to Jesus as the Savior and she understand it. She's 21. She's dating a premissionary who's going to Iowa Spanish speaking at the end of the summer. She has a date for July 13th, but we'll see if she gets and answer before then. I know she will :)

Oh yeah, so we were working through a "lost sheep" aka last known address list of less actives and found a guy and his girlfriend who want to have us over. Here's the thing though. She's a Scientologist! How awesome is that? I found out that there's a lot more to scientology than I thought, and also that Scientology advocates its disciples to have a faith in another church. It's more like a life style of trying to balance all your different aspects of life rather than an actual religion, or so it sounds. Kinda interesting. R. is less active only because his ex-wife stopped going to church and wouldn't let the kids go. He didn't want to go without his family. Understandable I guess. N., born and raised in Scientology wants to find out if Mormonsim his her "8th aspect." We're going to teach them again tonight. We'll see how it all goes. They are really easy to get along with.

I do know that our mission president was inspired to put my companion here at this exact time. D., our investigator, got a phone call from his dad that he hasn't heard from in 23 years telling him all the reasons why he shouldn't join the church. He says what hurt the most was his dad admitting that he was a horrible father and trying to excuse himself by saying, "but look at my other 4 kids, they turned out fine!" Elder Harker really could relate to that. Apparently he had an abusive father who said the same things before his mission. We taught D. about priesthood blessings and after a few hours he called us over to give him one, and asked Harker to do it because he could relate. The blessing was simple, but EXACTLY what D. needed to hear. He told us that he just had the really calm feeling that everything was going to be okay. I love the gospel, and I thank my mission president for being sensitive enough to the spirit for sending Harker here, because I had no way to relate to D. in that circumstance.

So crazy thing! I went into the Willamette ward (which is the second ward that I attend every week) and I was stinking exhausted from the rest of the week, so I started to write in my journal to prevent myself from feeling tired. Right before the sacrament hymn a girl from the ward walks in late holding this guys hand. I can only see the back of his head, but the thought running through my head was "dang, he looks just like Rick Buck from the back side." he turned around and faced forward and I said quietly, "Rick!" he looked over and we acknowledged that the other person was there. His girlfriend asked him" wait, how do you know the missionary?" he said at pretty much the same time I told my companion "That guy was in my comedy improv group!" It was the weirdest thing because I couldn't say anything for the next hour until after the meeting was over. After a throng swarmed him, because everybody wanted to meet Brittany's boyfriend I finally got to give him a giant hug and catch up on what's been going on in And Go!'s life. They've apparently moved back into the Murray theater and picked up a few more improvers. Rick ended up meeting the girl in the ward through online dating/ the show "Mormon Bachelor." ha ha, so they've been having a long distance relationship for months and I had no idea until he shows up for sacrament and then flew back to Utah as soon as it was over. Crazy! It seems like a dream, but I have the pictures to prove it. I'm not trunky, but I am glad to know that And Go! survived it's homelessness that was going on when I left. I hope to jump right back into that as soon as I get home in over a year.

I love you guys and remember the key to enduring to the end and becoming a true disciple is in Moroni 10:32-33. I know without a doubt that this is God's church that he has established at this time. I know he oversees all of the work that goes on in his vineyard, especially in the temples. I know that enduring to the end is not just possible, but enjoyable. At the same time I also know that as we try to come closer to Christ we will be made more aware of our weaknesses. When we experience hardship and trials, it is not necessarily that we have done something to deserve it, but because our Heavenly father wants us to understand Christ's love and perfect compassion better. He trusts that we are in the right place to learn of true discipleship. Gravitate to Him who is mighty to save and he will heal you. He will bring you to Him, if you let him.

Your Elder Lloyd

 

Rick Buck and me from And Go!