May 7,2017 Praying brings the Spirit

This week was a awesome week. There wasn't a lot going on but it was still a good week. A lot happened in church and hopefully the efforts towards member missionary work will change over the next few weeks too. Some things that happened this week were Gopal quit smoking, we found John, and we had a good church count. 

So this week was a good one. We had quite a few lessons and are getting super close to setting some baptism dates. We have a lesson set up with Jimmy and Carol who we haven't been able to see in a long time. It is exciting. I am looking forward to that lesson because they are always so filled with the spirit. In lessons, something that really invites the spirit is praying. If you are in a place or need a little more of a spiritual boost, say a prayer it works! 

So Gopal has been an investigator for 3ish months. He has improved a lot from before not talking to us at all. He now has open discussions and understands why we do what we do. He is wanting to overcome smoking and he has such a strong desire. He is getting rid of all of his smoking equipment because he uses a pipe thing. He said he wants to give it all to our Branch president because he got him patches. He is so awesome. I am glad that he is willing to work towards giving up his smoking habit and becoming free from the chains of smoking. 

John is one of our newest investigators. He is so awesome. He is a guy we met while knocking doors on Saturday night. He works at the prison and goes to a church that is around 1 hr. away so quite the drive. We praised him on his dedication and asked if he would do the Book of Mormon Challenge. This is where you take a Book of Mormon and flip to any page and read it. You then underline the references to Christ. Lots of people are shocked on how much the Book of Mormon speaks about Christ. We gave him a book and he started flipping through it as if he were looking for something. We asked what he was looking for because that isn't the purpose of the challenge. He said that he wanted to find something that applied to him. We lead him to Alma 32 and he read a scripture he liked that talked about humility. He marked it and we started discussing it. He said he thinks the Book of Mormon is true and that it will bless him. He wanted to read it so we gave him a copy. He said we can come back and share more. It was such a spiritual experience. There is so much power in the Book of Mormon. If your not reading it, READ IT!!!

So we are doing a count on the grounds at church. If we get enough people attending, we will be able to be made a ward. We had a lot of people at church this past Sunday and so I think the count is going well. There was a lot of good food after as well because we did a break the fast. It was super awesome. We have invited a bunch of people and even though we didn't have anyone we invited show up, we did have other people there. It shows how the lord has a plan even if its not what we think it will be. Our job is to invite and strive to get people to attend church and accept the gospel. The Lord knows who is ready and will make things happen as we work. WORK YOUR HARDEST AND YOU WILL SEE MIRICALS!!!!!! 

I love you and hope you all have an awesome week! Keep working hard and doing your best! I appreciate all of you and I love hearing from you. Thank you for the emails and letters. They make even the worst day better! Love ya!

New Knife

Coins

Peanut butter started by my Uncle Sheldon Bartholomew

 

April 30, 2018 My Testimony

This week was good. We didn't have much going on besides we did find 4 investigators. We had a goal this past week to invite people to church we had a goal to invite 7 people a day. It went really well. As we invited everyone we had tons of success even though people didn't come to church. On Saturday we went to a Krishna Temple because we were invited by a guy we met. We went with our ward mission leader and the people there were super nice. I enjoyed the people and they were super kind towards the "Mormons". It was super cool to learn more about their religion.

Sorry for the short letter but I just want to conclude with my testimony of the Church and the blessing it is to be a member. People in this world are confused. There is a lot going on and a lot of people are led astray by the world. To know what we know in the gospel, to have knowledge of Eternal Life, to feel the power of the Atonement, to have a personal relationship with Christ.... Is such a blessing. Every single day I see people who are confused and are miserable. I am so grateful for The Book of Mormon and its power. I love my testimony and the things it helps me get through. I am grateful for prayer and the spirit I feel as I look to my Heavenly Father for guidance and strength. Testimony is what gets me through day to day. I pray that all of you will do what you can each day to strengthen your testimony. It is so essential. I love you all and hope your weeks are great! Make Christ the center of your life!  Keep the Faith

eggs glorious eggs

wood with a cool pattern

Rubik's cubes

cooking 18 eggs

Elder Hansen Dog Whisperer

Chillin with the members

Elder Hansen and Elgaaen

Beautiful flower

Cool Lizzard

Lord of the Rings Money

Jacob Selfie

More Lord of the Rings Money

 

April 23,2018 New Companion Elder Hansen

Hello!!!!!!!

This has been a great week! I have received my new companion and he is super awesome. He doesn't like germs and does a lot of weird things but he loves basketball and he is super nice and happy. This week was an eventful week. There was a lot of good things that happened this week and the work is moving along. This week we had a lot of weird things happen. One thing in particular was when we were teaching Bob and Glenda It was going good. We were having a great time teaching her. we said a prayer and were asking if we could share a video. Glenda was going to move to a different chair because the one she was in was a wood stool and there was a recliner open. She stood up a little and was shaking her coffee. I thought she was shaking it to spill some for her dog to drink because he was standing right in front of her. She spilled it and the dog continued to stand there. She started bending over, continued to spill the rest of her coffee and started falling to the floor. It was weird so I asked if she was okay. She went limp and was in a super uncomfortable looking position. After a minute she told us she wanted help up because the position she was in hurt. We asked if we should call 911 and bob said no. We helped lift Glenda into a chair and she lay limp for a few minutes before she started to move. It was a weird experience. I learned that service is awesome. We need to serve others and help them. It makes us experience joy as well as helps others. We latched a Mormon message called Lift. It is super good. I want to share my testimony about service. Jesus Christ went around serving everyone. He never complained or did anything for himself. it was all about others and he did it out of love. I know that as we serve others and help them in every way we can, we will magnify Christ more fully in each of our lives and be an example to all of those around us. Please take time this week to serve. It will bring such blessings and help us to become more like Christ. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Thank you for everything you do. I learn so much from each of your examples. Keep the faith and keep and keep smiling! 

 

April 16, 2018 Transfers

This week was transfer calls. I am staying in High Springs and getting a new companion Elder Hanson. It is going to be exciting.... I hope! haha This week was also our Stake Conference and we had one of the 70's come and speak to us. It was super cool. We removed a huge tree from a neighbors yard and got 3 new potential investigators from that experience. We had a couple good lessons and all in all it was a good week.

Transfer calls were a day early because President Lee was asked to speak in our Stake conference. I was fine with anything happening. I am going to be the senior companion and will be staying in High Springs so my address is the same. I am excited and hope to move the work along. I also hope to try some things that Elder Gibby was against that will make missionary work more enjoyable and hopefully bring some good success. 

At our Stake Conference, we had some good talks and the spirit was strong. They focused a lot on ministering and doing it one by one. It was good to get more on the changes and have them better explained. The organist during the adult session on Saturday night was crazy! He was playing like he was in phantom of the opera. He was moving all over and playing in a flat key and putting a bunch of extra notes in. It was super funny and really brightened the mood. The messages were very powerful and one that I really liked was about looking to children as an example and ministering in a loving way. There were many different ways we can minister that were discussed. A few were.... Church callings, In our home, Neighbors, Sick and afflicted, less active... It was cool to hear some stories of how we can better minister. Miricals will happen as we implement the gospel into every aspect of our lives and use it to bless and be an example to everyone around us. What are some ways that you can implement ministering this week in your every day activities? 

 

On Saturday, we cleaned up and removed a huge tree. I sent a picture last week of it. It took about 3 hours but out of it we found an potential that was walking down the street. Also the neighbors that had the tree fall asked how they could repay us and we said invite us into their home and learn why we do what we do. We should meet with them in the next week or so. Its awesome how miricals happen as we serve others. Later that day, we got asked by another non-member if we could help her move her couch to the 3rd floor of her apartment and she also wanted to repay us. Boom another potential! Haha. While helping her move, we met one of her coworkers who was a member and has been less active for a few years. Another miracle! 

This week was super good and the main message I got out of it is that as we serve and love those around us, the Lord will bless us in so many ways. I challenge all of you to find one way to serve/minister this week in some way or another. I can promise that you will recieve blessings as you do so. I love you all and am greatful for all that you do! Thanks for the letters, emails, and encouragement that you give! Love Ya!

 

Once I set God loose on somebody, it's on!

-  Stephen Lillard, High Springs Florida

$3 dollar bill

$30 pure silver coin worth $600

Chess game we were given for doing servie

Fireworks

Jacob being crazy

New pants and tie for Easter

Large tree we helped clean up

weird caterpillar

 

 

April 9, 2018 Tradeoff's and Teaching

This week was a good fast week! Not much went on because we had 2 tradeoffs so I was only in my area with Elder Gibby on Thursday. We had a good time on tradeoffs and got some good finding in. On Thursday, we had a great lesson with Jimmy and Carol. On Friday and Saturday I was in Gainsville on a tradeoff with Elder Sorenson and on Saturday we did farm share.

I was first with Elder Carter (District Leader) on Tuesday and Wednesday on a tradeoff in our area and it was good. We had our scripture class where 2 mission bound young men were there. They went on a exchanges after with us which was good. On the exchanges, we were able to heart attack a bunch of doors of members and investigators. After we did that, we knocked a few doors around the area and talked to some awesome people. It was super fun. We finished our tradeoff and traded back Wednesday afternoon. On the tradeoff, we found a potential investigator and had a really good time.

 

On Thursday, we were able to go out with a member to a lesson with Jimmy and Carol. Ralph has been spending a lot of time in a different area and working so we haven't been able to meet and continue teaching him but something has really opened up his mom and her boyfriend and they are anxiously investigating. It is very cool to see how much they love to feel the spirit and how they are so engaged and willing to listen and learn. We have felt the spirit so strong in their home as we go there and as we teach them. They have such a desire and we are doing all we can to love and help them come to Christ. 

 

On Friday we traded off again and I spent the day with Elder Sorenson. We had a good time and spent a good time cleaning their appartment because it was super dirty and unorganized. We also did some family history and we found some names to take to the temple which was super fun and always brings joy. If you haven't done it, try it! Its awesome. We had to trade back super early in the morning because we had Farm Share.

 

Farm Share was super fun. We bagged food and other donated materials and then handed the to people in cars that would drive up. It is all donated food and it is awesome to serve and give it to people in need in the community who don't have food. There were a bunch of first responders there serving as well which was super fun. Defiantly a blessing to serve. They gave us a bunch of "Breakfast boxes" that have different foods and treats in them because they had extra and it was starting to rain. It was fun! I am glad that I was able to serve.

 

This week was super eventful and I am glad that I was able to serve those around me. We can all serve and do our best to help those in need. I know that as we look for opportunities to serve we will bless those around us and be blessed as we do so. I am greatful for the spirit and the comfort we can feel as we strive to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion in our lives. This week I challenge all of you to serve someone around you and to also strive to have the spirit with you each day! I know you will be blessed as you do so! I love you all and am greatful for your support and love. Have an awesome week! Love Ya!

Handle to fix member's car

Selfie

Fixing car in the dark

Lady Viping?

Rain

Fallen Tree

 

April 2, 2018 A Prophet of God for Sure!!!

This week was such a good week. The highlight, was defiantly General Conference! We also went on splits for the first time in my mission, Had interviews by President Lee, had an awesome game night, and met a cool guy who was from Ghana.

I will save the best for last so I will tell about Splits! Splits are where the 2 missionaries in a area split up and go with 2 members. The 2 members we went with were 2 soon to be missionaries. I went with Jeff Jacobs and Elder Gibby went with Colt Mills. We decided to do some tracting which was unusual especially for going with others. We have some events coming up at our church for a 4 week counting so me and Jeff decided to invite people to church. In about 1 hr., we invited over 20 people to church. It was a good experience for Jeff to get to talk to people and get out of his shell in a way. I remember taking to people being one of the hardest things to do and it still is. We defiantly felt strength from the Lord as we went out of our way to talk and invite people. It was awesome! 

 

Once a transfer, President Lee will interview all of the missionaries and make sure they are doing good. Our district has 16 missionaries and interviews usually go from 5-20 min. After 2 hours, we were just starting on the 6th missionary! It was going so slow. We started our district meeting at 11:00 and finished around 4:00! It was such a long meeting and to make it even better, I got to give a training. I think it went well even though thoughts were a little scattered. I trained on why Members of the Church need Investigators. There are so many blessings from doing missionary work and Investigators give us the opportunity to receive those blessings and feel of the spirit more in our lives. One quote from power of every day missionaries that is talking about balancing Church Callings and missionary work said: 

 

"I decided to search the Doctrine and Covenants to see what guidance it might offer our ward and stake leaders for balancing these trade-offs to achieve proper focus. We found that the Doctrine and Covenants, as the instruction that God gave us for building the kingdom of God in the latter days, is filled with remarkable promises that God has offered to those who accept His call to share the gospel. Far from putting the kingdom out of balance, if our ward and stake leaders were to focus on leading their members to share the gospel, many of the other problems that fester in our hearts and homes, and in our wards and stakes, would resolve themselves through the blessings that come from accepting the call that God has given each of us to be missionaries"

This really stood out to me as why missionary work is so important. We all except the call to serve the Lord as we are baptized. Do we fulfill that call every day? I know that as we do, our problems in our day to day life will in time solve themselves and decay into nothing. It is so important to do missionary work. Also, we are able to practice teaching what we are living and practice the gospel more fully as we teach it to others. Lets all make missionary work the focus of our every day lives and I know our lives will dramatically improve and flourish

 

On Thursday, we had our 2 monthly game night. It had around 30 people and it seemed as if everyone was having a great time. We only had 1 investigator there but we had a lot of members who got to know each other better which is always good. It was a fun time and I almost memorized how to completely solve a crazy 12 sided Rubik cube. 

We met some people from Ghana as we were going to a dinner appointment. We were 2-3 minutes early so we started talking to this guy and his wife. They were moving apartments within the apartment complex because their old apartment flooded. They had just finished moving all of their stuff over so we weren't able to help in that way. We got talking about something and it lead to talking about wood work. He mentioned that he was trying to find a space to set up his machine shop and get some wood working done. This guy was really into lathe work and so we got talking. He had built his own lathe and made a living from making chair legs and vases. It was cool to get to know him and talk about a common interest. He invited us back to come talk with him any time we are in the area. Awesome experience! 

So, last of all General Conference was so spiritual. For me the most spiritual part was the sustaining of the Church Leaders and The Prophet. As I stood and sustained the Prophet, the spirit hit me so strong like a huge wave. At that very moment, I had gained a witness from Heavenly Father that Russell M. Nelson is called by him to lead the church today. The spirit was so strong. It was probably one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I have a testimony of Latter day Prophets. President Nelson is a Prophet and I sustain him with all my heart. I hope you all were able to feel a similar spirit as you sustained President Nelson. There defiantly is a sweet spirit that comes from General Conference and I know that as we study and ponder the talks given throughout our daily lives, that we will find power and peace as we live by the council of the Prophets and Apostles of the church given to them by the Lord himself. Please heed the words of the Prophets and keep them alive in your hearts and homes. They will bless you and your family in every aspect of your lives. I know this to be true and leave you my testimony In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

 

I love you all and hope your weeks are full of the spirit. Keep pressing forward and working each day to be the best you can. That's all the Lord asks.

Quote of the week:

"Look after the man behind the one in front of you."

- Harold B. Lee

caterpillar

Fat Dog

Fat Dog 2

 

March 26,2018 Almost Conference!

This past week was a great week! We had a lot of opportunities to serve and help which in my opinion is one of the best aspects of missionary work. I also had the opportunity to listen to a few General Conference talks each day leading up to the upcoming General Conference. This week we also saw some tender mercies and miracles. But one of the best things was we got a little bit of bacon and also we started a new "challenge" of how to read the Book of Mormon. :)

And the best thing was we had great church attendance and a great lesson with Ralph, Carol, and Jimmy 

One thing I have grown to love more and more on my mission is serving others. This past week, we had a lot of opportunities to help some people. We helped Brother Luthie pack up some things and get ready to make the drive to Utah. We also got to help Brother Barber a lot. I had been wondering how I could best use my talents and abilities to serve those around me and hasten the work. This week as I prayed for opportunities, I was given many. A few opportunities I had were fixing Brother Barber's car window that was rolled down and wouldn't go back up. On his other car, he broke the handle off and I helped him get it apart so when he gets a new handle we can put it back on. I helped him change his battery, helped him load some fire wood in a guys car, did other small things... but most importantly, I was able to help give him and his grand daughter a blessing. As I prayed for opportunities to serve in greater capacity, I was given many opportunities. Some things I have been reminded of is as we pray for things, God will provide. As we serve with no desire of reward, we get the greatest reward of Joy and many other blessings. Imagine if everyone took 1 hour a week to serve someone else with no desire of reward. The world would be a better place in just 1 hr.! 

Now about General Conference... I wanted to better prepare for the upcoming General Conference so I decided to listen at least one General Conference talk a day. As I have done so, it has been such a good opportunity to renew and increase my spirituality and better have the words of prophets on my mind. Something that I have recently been able to practice and learn is that as we put in the effort to study and prepare for messages given to prophets and apostles by God, we will get a lot more out of what is shared and said. Also as we continue to study and apply what we learn, we will receive blessings. If we put in the effort to show we care about what the Lord wants us to learn and know, he will enlighten our hearts and minds and bless us even more. 

This week was filled with tender mercies and miracles. Some weeks as Missionaries, life seems like it is just falling apart. We can't seem to get anything to go right no matter how hard we try. We invite 15 people to church and 0 show up, we have 8 set lessons and they all fall through. This week was an odd week when things just worked out. We had a bunch of different lessons happen, and it was super good. We started inviting people to have a question and read a chapter from the book of Mormon while praying and writing inspiration to Receive answers for themselves. We met with an investigator who hadn't been contacted for months and had an awesome lesson with him. We set up a lesson to meet with Ralph and it fell through twice! It was very sad but he said he would be at church with his Mom and her boyfriend. And miracles happened! He showed up to church with his whole family. They loved it and had a great time. Our mission leader had a good chat with them before they left and set up an appointment for that night around 6. We went at 6 and had an amazing lesson with Ralph. He said he wants to be baptized and is willing to put in the work to make it happen. He was smiling the whole time we were having the lesson with his mother (Carol ) and her Boyfriend (Jimmy). You can tell he was filling the Holy Ghost which was something he loves. The lesson we had was super powerful and the spirit was so strong. Carol and Jimmy could defiantly feel the spirit and many tears were shed. 

 

Last of all, Sister Grieve gave us some bacon. We were expecting a box or 2 of the 12 piece bacon you buy for campouts. She ended up giving us a 10 lb. bag of bacon! We can now eat bacon every day for every meal and never run out! Haha. The members here are super awesome! 

 

I hope you all have an awesome week and continue to prepare for General Conference and be open to inspiration and prayerfully ask questions. I know you can Receive answers as you do so. I love you all and appreciate all you do for me! Make this week the best week yet! Love ya!

 

“Success isn't given, it is earned. On the track, on the field, in the gym. With blood, sweat and the occasional tear.”  

- Nike

Apartment Sunset

Bacon Donated by Member

Driving home from church

Elder Gibby?

Bowl and Marble Slab from Tongan Temple

Protein