Hi, How are ya?
Sounds like it was an awesome trip to Bear Lake! Man, the girls just takin' on the legacy, that's awesome! There's nothin' like free falling into a pool of water. Such an adrenaline rush!
This week has been crazy! The longest week by far. There was a training meeting Tuesday-Friday for all the District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and trainers so I was paired up with Elder Henrie this whole week to cover BOTH of our areas. Yes, Elder Henrie, the one I went to High School with. How cool is that?! We became really close and actually had one of the best weeks we've ever had! His area was phenomenal and was blessed with 17 new investigators in one week! SEVENTEEN! That's insane. In our area we got 7 which is a ton and for the first time ever (I'm pretty sure) we got the Standard of Excellence which is: 4 investigators at Sacrament, 7 member present lessons (we got 10!), 20 total lessons taught (we had 32), 10 hours of tracting (we barely got that), and 3 progressing investigators (we have 7). Now this all sounds kind of ridiculous, like people are just another number. But when your mission president is a major business man, and he runs the mission like a business, pretty much all he cares about is numbers. Haha. That way he knows you're out working. With hard work and dedication, the Lord finds time throughout your day where you can do what you never would think would be possible. This week has seemed like the longest ever, but when Elder Henrie and I (he's been out only one transfer more than me) had to cover 2 areas on bikes I never thought we'd be able to get as much done as we did, and it turns out that both of our areas had better weeks than we've ever had in the past.
On Saturday Zach Bonnell was baptized. It was so awesome, he's a little ten year old boy and his family has been less active for about a year. It's not that they were doing anything wrong, they just weren't coming to church and doing the other spiritual necessities. We've been meeting with them for about a month and not only were WE shocked to find out that Zach wanted to be baptized, but his parents were even more shocked! Saturday was his big day and there is nothing more special than seeing a family come so close together. In church yesterday his grandfather confirmed him a member of the church and gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost. I talked to him afterwards and he thanked us for the great meeting Zach's baptism was. I couldn't agree more. We got to talking and he asked where I'm from. I told him Kaysville, Utah and he went on to say he's from Idaho. I told him that my grandparents have a ranch in Southeastern Idaho. He said, "where?" I said, "Montpelier." He says, "NO WAY! I grew up there!" I said, "are you kidding me? Well the ranch is actually in Dingle but we just say Montpelier cause nobody knows where that is." He says, "That's where my ranch is!!" HAHAHAHHAHA oh man are you kidding me?? Another person from Dingle Idaho!??! WOW! His name is Brother Dixon and he says their ranch is like the Hunter Ranch up around those parts so ask grandma and grandpa if they know of it. His wife said there is no better mortician than Leonard Matthews and he thinks he remembers the name Mouritsen. How cool is that!? I told him that we needed to stay in contact so I could come visit him when we head up to Dingle after I'm home. We developed a strong friendship after having such a spiritual experience with the baptism of his grandson and then the common ground with Dingle. He's like, "Oh man, what a neet guy you are!" haha See if grandma and Grandpa can contact him or something!!
So Thursday night we had dinner at the Pectols home and afterwards, a correlation meeting at the church which was about a mile and a half away. As we left their home, we noticed that outside was not the usual hot, dry Phoenix AZ weather. Monsoon SEASON!! The rain came and let loose so much water its not even funny. We had to pedal our bikes down 39th Ave to get to the church and I'm not kidding, either that street is built for run off for flash fooding or something was wrong. The entire road was a river and as we pedaled our shoes were underneath the water. It was awesome! I was jumpin' off the curbs, making a wake, while cars flew past us spraying us with the dirtiest, gross water you'll see. haha We. Were. Drenched. But it was so much fun. I have pictures that I'll send hopefully today... When we got to the church we had to take off our shoes and dump the water out but it didn't do much because of how saturated our clothes were. Luckily the Pectols gave us garbage bags that they cut holes out for the arms and head so that we could protect our ties or else they would've been ruined. After the correlation meeting we had a lesson with Charlotte Hurley which went really well and we were still exceptionally uncomfortable from being soaked but it was all part of the experience.
So in part of the first lesson we teach to people, there is a section called; The Gospel Blesses Families. I've always had a hard time with this section in knowing what to say.. . . 'How.. how does the Gospel bless families?' I ask myself. I think that its different for every circumstance. If I've learned anything from this mission thus far, it's that even though I'm several hundred miles away from you guys, in reality I've never felt so close to you. Before my mission I took for granted exactly what family is and why it is the single most important social unit that Heavenly Father has blessed us with. I definitely do not take you guys for granted anymore and it's so crazy that not even being around you for the past few months has helped me to understand how important family is to everyone, but especially how important you are to me. I cannot say thanks enough and at times I feel that I should apologize for not spending as much time as I possibly could before my mission. The gospel truly blesses families. I know that, because I've never felt so much love as I do now. Studying the gospel, seeing the effects and results of messed up family life from people I've come into contact with, and being reminded of the immense love our Heavenly Father has for everyone, has blessed me with that knowledge.
Thank you.
I hope all is going well and make the most of these emails! haha You only get 93 more! hahaha
I love you all so much. Thanks again for everything.
Elder Mouritsen
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
July 13-19, 2010: Kitchen cleaning & Sonoran Dogs
Hi, How are ya?
Another solid week in the State of Arizona. There were some excessive heat warnings this week and with the monsoon season beginning its crazy with the humidity as well. I wouldn't mind sweating so profusely if it wasn't so gross when we entered people's homes. While riding the bike it's no big deal cause it's just like a constant hair dryer on your face and all the sweat evaporates immediately off of your skin. But as soon as you enter an air conditioned home, the sweat begins to pour. And by pour I mean like a bucket of salt, sunscreen, and water just got dumped on your head and soaks everything. It's all part of the experience though! Transfers were this week and nothing came out of it for me and Elder Cichy. We're still stayin' together. Our district got split though and our new District Leader is Elder Otto, Elder Henrie's companion. He's hilarious. There are only four companionships in our district now.
Last week Chris Baird dropped $120 bucks at Deseret Book on a quad (scriptures), scripture bag, and the $25 ten percent off deal for any future purchases. The man isn't even a member yet! haha. That shows some dedication. He knows he has so much to learn and we try to answer all his questions to the best of our ability. He is constantly reading and as of right now he is in the bible dictionary where he is reading it like a book. I never knew there was so much information and good stuff to read in there. We set a date for his baptism and as of right now it is August 28th, four days after the next transfer so hopefully I'll be here! After we committed him to a date, we asked him if he would want to go to the Mesa temple and see the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie on Saturday. He said he would love to so we did just that! We had to have a member come with us so Brother Justice, his wife, and her son Ryan came with us. It was a great time and they had an art exhibit going on there that had a bunch of different types of art that were trying to make the museums in Salt Lake. It was so weird to think that I live in the place where all the paintings and sculptures originated! haha And after we got done they had us vote on our favorite one and the winner would be in the museum. Chris fed us dinner that night and we made some "Sonoran Dogs." Amazing, I'll never forget them and we'll be making them as a family for years to come! What they are: hot dog, wrapped in long strips of peppered bacon and pinned at the ends of the hot dogs. They are then grilled. He also cooked up some caramelized onions, peppers, and other goodies from his garden that tasted pretty good!
A few other cool things happened this week. A young man named Ramiro stopped us in an apartment complex parking lot while he was on his way to work and he was crying very hard. He said that his girlfriend is serious about leaving him and he doesn't know what he's going to do. They also have a daughter together. A few days later we stopped by and he was home alone in an apartment that was a mess. We talked to him for awhile and gave him what advice we could but then we came to the conclusion that what she would love the most is if she came home to a spotless clean house. We frantically began cleaning. While cleaning he went on to tell us that they have been fighting (literally fighting, like violence, punching, slapping, yelling fighting) for the past three years and it just hasn't gotten any better. I noticed that they had a very nice flat screen high def TV and a PS3 but the TV was shattered! He told us that one day he was so mad that he just slammed the TV and has never regretted something so much. haha. Anyway, we got to cleaning. I got the kitchen and I don't think those dishes had been cleaned in months. They were all over the counter with standing water and chunks of food still inside. Mom, at that moment I realized why you had me do the dishes each and every monday night because it taught me how to hold my stomach and keep from throwing up. haha! jk I couldn't stop thinking about that though and I have the feeling that I wouldn't have known how to properly do dishes if it wasn't for you harping on me all the time! Thanks so much I appreciate all you did/do! So I got done with the oodles and oodles of dishes and cleaned and organized the rest of the kitchen. It all looked great. Elder Cichy cleaned up the little girl's room and then we moved into Ramiro's room.... HECK NO! He said he was going to finish that cause it was atrocious. We helped him make the bed though. We knew she would probably love that. On the way out I told him that if she asks who cleaned the house, to tell him that we had nothing to do with it and he did it all himself. We were never there. We're going back over sometime this week to check up and see how things went.
A man from the bishopric in Sedona named Ellis Hyde talked to us while we were at Chris Baird's house on Wednesday (he's Chris Baird's step father-in-law) and he told us a cool story. He said he was on a church tour many years ago in Jerusalem and Legrand Richards was on the tour with him. The man guiding the tour wasn't a member of the church but he held a Book of Mormon in his hands for some reason. They were touring outside the wall of Jerusalem and they came to a "cavity in the rock." Remember where that is? Nephi and his brothers hid in a "cavity of a rock" when they were trying to get the plates back from Laban. The man said that there were some artifacts removed from this cavity which are now in a museum in Jerusalem. They were dated back to around 600 b.c. The man lifted up the Book of Mormon and said, "you don't understand what you have here!" Ellis asked Legrand Richards why that man wasn't a member if he had such a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Brother Richards said that he would lose his job if he joined the church and that he would be a better missionary if he weren't a member and that he'll receive his reward in the life to come.
Do all of us understand, "...What we have here?" Meaning the Book of Mormon? It's amazing to me to think that dozens of years have passed with scholars of MEN trying to disprove the Book of Mormon, but NONE have come up successful. It's true. And because it is true, this Church is true. Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He saw what he said he saw. This book truly changes peoples lives if they will just put it to the test and let its power work through them. It is at the foundation of my testimony and that is where it will stay.
Hope all is going well! I love you all so much and can't wait to hear from you again!
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
Another solid week in the State of Arizona. There were some excessive heat warnings this week and with the monsoon season beginning its crazy with the humidity as well. I wouldn't mind sweating so profusely if it wasn't so gross when we entered people's homes. While riding the bike it's no big deal cause it's just like a constant hair dryer on your face and all the sweat evaporates immediately off of your skin. But as soon as you enter an air conditioned home, the sweat begins to pour. And by pour I mean like a bucket of salt, sunscreen, and water just got dumped on your head and soaks everything. It's all part of the experience though! Transfers were this week and nothing came out of it for me and Elder Cichy. We're still stayin' together. Our district got split though and our new District Leader is Elder Otto, Elder Henrie's companion. He's hilarious. There are only four companionships in our district now.
Last week Chris Baird dropped $120 bucks at Deseret Book on a quad (scriptures), scripture bag, and the $25 ten percent off deal for any future purchases. The man isn't even a member yet! haha. That shows some dedication. He knows he has so much to learn and we try to answer all his questions to the best of our ability. He is constantly reading and as of right now he is in the bible dictionary where he is reading it like a book. I never knew there was so much information and good stuff to read in there. We set a date for his baptism and as of right now it is August 28th, four days after the next transfer so hopefully I'll be here! After we committed him to a date, we asked him if he would want to go to the Mesa temple and see the Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration movie on Saturday. He said he would love to so we did just that! We had to have a member come with us so Brother Justice, his wife, and her son Ryan came with us. It was a great time and they had an art exhibit going on there that had a bunch of different types of art that were trying to make the museums in Salt Lake. It was so weird to think that I live in the place where all the paintings and sculptures originated! haha And after we got done they had us vote on our favorite one and the winner would be in the museum. Chris fed us dinner that night and we made some "Sonoran Dogs." Amazing, I'll never forget them and we'll be making them as a family for years to come! What they are: hot dog, wrapped in long strips of peppered bacon and pinned at the ends of the hot dogs. They are then grilled. He also cooked up some caramelized onions, peppers, and other goodies from his garden that tasted pretty good!
A few other cool things happened this week. A young man named Ramiro stopped us in an apartment complex parking lot while he was on his way to work and he was crying very hard. He said that his girlfriend is serious about leaving him and he doesn't know what he's going to do. They also have a daughter together. A few days later we stopped by and he was home alone in an apartment that was a mess. We talked to him for awhile and gave him what advice we could but then we came to the conclusion that what she would love the most is if she came home to a spotless clean house. We frantically began cleaning. While cleaning he went on to tell us that they have been fighting (literally fighting, like violence, punching, slapping, yelling fighting) for the past three years and it just hasn't gotten any better. I noticed that they had a very nice flat screen high def TV and a PS3 but the TV was shattered! He told us that one day he was so mad that he just slammed the TV and has never regretted something so much. haha. Anyway, we got to cleaning. I got the kitchen and I don't think those dishes had been cleaned in months. They were all over the counter with standing water and chunks of food still inside. Mom, at that moment I realized why you had me do the dishes each and every monday night because it taught me how to hold my stomach and keep from throwing up. haha! jk I couldn't stop thinking about that though and I have the feeling that I wouldn't have known how to properly do dishes if it wasn't for you harping on me all the time! Thanks so much I appreciate all you did/do! So I got done with the oodles and oodles of dishes and cleaned and organized the rest of the kitchen. It all looked great. Elder Cichy cleaned up the little girl's room and then we moved into Ramiro's room.... HECK NO! He said he was going to finish that cause it was atrocious. We helped him make the bed though. We knew she would probably love that. On the way out I told him that if she asks who cleaned the house, to tell him that we had nothing to do with it and he did it all himself. We were never there. We're going back over sometime this week to check up and see how things went.
A man from the bishopric in Sedona named Ellis Hyde talked to us while we were at Chris Baird's house on Wednesday (he's Chris Baird's step father-in-law) and he told us a cool story. He said he was on a church tour many years ago in Jerusalem and Legrand Richards was on the tour with him. The man guiding the tour wasn't a member of the church but he held a Book of Mormon in his hands for some reason. They were touring outside the wall of Jerusalem and they came to a "cavity in the rock." Remember where that is? Nephi and his brothers hid in a "cavity of a rock" when they were trying to get the plates back from Laban. The man said that there were some artifacts removed from this cavity which are now in a museum in Jerusalem. They were dated back to around 600 b.c. The man lifted up the Book of Mormon and said, "you don't understand what you have here!" Ellis asked Legrand Richards why that man wasn't a member if he had such a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Brother Richards said that he would lose his job if he joined the church and that he would be a better missionary if he weren't a member and that he'll receive his reward in the life to come.
Do all of us understand, "...What we have here?" Meaning the Book of Mormon? It's amazing to me to think that dozens of years have passed with scholars of MEN trying to disprove the Book of Mormon, but NONE have come up successful. It's true. And because it is true, this Church is true. Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He saw what he said he saw. This book truly changes peoples lives if they will just put it to the test and let its power work through them. It is at the foundation of my testimony and that is where it will stay.
Hope all is going well! I love you all so much and can't wait to hear from you again!
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
Thursday, July 15, 2010
June 28, 2010: Perspective on a Mission Call
June 28, 2010. This is an awesome story Sister Beck read to us. You can use it in anything: FHE, Home Teaching, Visiting Teaching, talks, etc. It’s kind of the focus I’ve taken for my mission. I think we can apply it to all of our lives. Elder Mouritsen.
Author: Lynne Anne Rutter
The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occurred during Sacrament meeting, and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the Twelve, who was in the meeting.
A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony:
Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream. I knew it was not an ordinary dream. I dreamed I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled with the same excitement and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I’ve never met him in this life.
As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement, my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said:
You have been called to earth in a special time, and to a special land. You will be born into the true Church, and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty, a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America.
My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said:
You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true Church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.
We wept, my friend and I, as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “when we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, come and find me.”
Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes, said, “Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica.”
There is a sequel to this story. About a year after this Sacrament meeting, the Bishop of this ward received a letter from the missionary. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on that sheet, written in inch-high letters were four words:
“I FOUND MY FRIEND”
Author: Lynne Anne Rutter
The following event took place in a ward in Salt Lake City in 1974. It occurred during Sacrament meeting, and was told to me by a Regional Representative of the Twelve, who was in the meeting.
A young man, just before leaving on his mission, stood in Sacrament meeting and bore, in essence, the following testimony:
Brothers and Sisters, as you know, during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting I had a dream. I knew it was not an ordinary dream. I dreamed I was in the pre-existence and was awaiting my call to come to earth. I was filled with the same excitement and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend. He was a very dear friend and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I’ve never met him in this life.
As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter. I knew it was my call to go to earth. In great excitement, my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him and asked him to read it aloud. The letter said:
You have been called to earth in a special time, and to a special land. You will be born into the true Church, and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty, a land of freedom. You will go to earth in the United States of America.
My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call. And while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. The letter said:
You have been called to go to earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true Church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be fraught with political and social difficulties which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.
We wept, my friend and I, as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “when we are down on earth, you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, come and find me.”
Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes, said, “Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call. I am going to Costa Rica.”
There is a sequel to this story. About a year after this Sacrament meeting, the Bishop of this ward received a letter from the missionary. The letter had one sheet of paper in it, and on that sheet, written in inch-high letters were four words:
“I FOUND MY FRIEND”
Monday, July 12, 2010
July 6 - 12, 2010: A 9-year old's first prayer
This week has been swell. It's so crazy how the days just flow together and it feels like you just barely taught lessons earlier that day, when it was several days ago. Truly, days are like weeks, and weeks are like days.
Some fun experiences happened this week: On Friday we were riding down 35th Ave and got to the Thunderbird intersection and passed two guys and a girl sitting on the curb on the edge of the sidewalk and road. One guy, (big tall black guy) seemed to be quite frustrated with the girl who was sitting down and he was standing up talking into her ear. The other guy was just standing up not really paying any attention to them. As we rode past, we asked if everyrthing was alright and the guy said, "yeah everything is fine." So we kept going. As we got up to the intersection where we stopped to cross the street, we looked back and the man had grabbed the girl, put her in a tight bear hug, and was yanking her around. She was repeatedly trying to push herself away by taking shots to his head with her fists. We saw this and turned around to go back to investigate. Nobody should treat a girl like that... We got up to them and again asked, "is everything alright." And you could tell the girl was quite frantic as her language soon disclosed to us. She was using words that shouldn't be used at all as verbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns: You Name It!! Finally he let her go and we were already kinda nervous to be there and the guy let us know that he wasn't afraid of us and they were trying to each explain their sides of the story. It was quite funny. He was calling her unspeakable names and then he would say, "she ma baby's mamma!" "THEN WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO HER LIKE THAT?!?" We stuck around while they worked it out for about 45 min to an hour. The other guy who was with them was a short little 19 year old boxer named Oscar (like 5'2" 170 lbs) and didn't want to do anything to get in on the action. We started talking to him and told him he needed to get in on it, even if it wasn't the "cool" thing to do, it's still the right thing. He was way cool and was like, "yeah man you are right." We started talking about missionary work all of a sudden. He said he was from Oakland, that there is a lot of hope there but the place is just so messed up. He was really interested in our message and said he even wanted to come out to church on sunday. Meanwhile, he pulled out a roll of mary jane and lit up. haha He even told us that he needs to stop smoking cause it hurts his ability to box. It's too bad that he lives out of our area though, otherwise he'd be baptized for sure!! As we got done talking to Oscar, the other two had finally worked out their issues and the big guy (Jordan) came up to us and said, "Thanks guys you just doin' what a good man shoulda done in da' first place." And they went on their way. Oddly, we saw that guy two more times the next day and he was really nice to us and we chatted for quite awhile.
The next day, Tom and his 9 year old son Tom Jr., and their friends Caesar and Tyler, met us at the church for a church tour and lesson on the Restoration. Caesar is catholic, Tom is just kinda crazy, Tom Jr. has an atheist mother so he doesn't quite know if he believes in God and he's nervous to read fromt he Book of Mormon, but Tyler (long haired, spiked ear rings, 17 year old) seemed very interested. Well they all did but him in particular. We got done with the tour and sat down in the chapel to go over the lesson. It's so funny how reverent and respectful people are when in the chapel of a church. Tom's phone went off and he was about to cry because I think he thought he was going to be struck by lightening or something. It's kind of ironic because his ringtone is S.O.S in morse code. (Save Our Souls... get it? haha I just thought about that.) Anyways... we got going on the lesson and it was going really well, God is our loving Heavenly Father... The Gospel blesses families, God reveals his secret to His prophets in every dispensation, the Savior's earthly ministry and Atonement, the great apostasy, and then... The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was my turn to teach the principle (we alternate every other) and as I began talking about Joseph Smith I was reminded of a time up in the Uintahs when we were having a devotional and you (dad) got emotional when talking about Joseph Smith and especially about the first vision. I just about broke down but the composure was held. haha The spirit was unmistakeable though. We are asked to memorize the first vision and as I began to recite it, I could tell from the looks on their faces and their countenance that "something" was telling them that what they were being taught was true. It was so cute to see big Tom with his arm around Tom Jr. and really wanting him to listen and learn about what we had to say. After the lesson, they told us that they were going camping later that night into Sunday so they wouldn't be able to be at church the next day BUT... Tyler was like, "while we're out there, I'm going to go get my own mountain, and do what Joseph Smith did and ask to see if this is true." I couldn't get the smile off my face when I heard that, and then as Tom said they would read as they sat around the campfire. Caesar is the only one who was a little bit skeptical but I think when the others are doing so, he'll come along. As it came time for a closing prayer, we asked Tom Jr. if he would like to pray. He said he had never prayed before and that he didn't know how. We let him know that we would help him through it. He began the most sincere, pure, and inspirational prayer I'd heard in a long time. You could tell he was very nervous and we said: "say thanks for something...." "thanks for these missionaries, thanks for my dad and also my friends..." about a 25-30 second pause then occured which seems like an eternity while sitting in silence in a chapel... "ask for help with something.." "please help me to know what these missionaries have taught is true." another 25-30 second pause. "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." We all said Amen and he looked up and he said that he was extremely nervous and didn't know what it was going to be like but it was so amazing to me to see a little 9 year old boy pray for the first time when he dosen't even know if there is a God, while his proud father sits there with his arm around him just forcing back the tears. It was a very spiritual experience and has helped me to make my prayers better. Tom still can't deny that the Book of Mormon has brought those four...three in particular (Tom, Tom Jr., and Tyler) closer together than they have ever been before. They may be closer along than we think. Tom still has a major drinking problem but nothing the spirit can't help to fix.
Last night we sang in Stake Priesthood meeting as a district. The song was a Joseph Smith medley which I've talked about before but the verses are as follows: 1st and 3rd verses to Joseph Smith's first prayer, 1st and 6th verses to A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, 4th verse of Praise to the Man (without the chorus) which goes right into... "Great is his glory and endless his priesthood." 3rd verse? and then finishes with a quiet... "Ohhhhhhh. How lovely was the morning." Very powerful...
Some fun experiences happened this week: On Friday we were riding down 35th Ave and got to the Thunderbird intersection and passed two guys and a girl sitting on the curb on the edge of the sidewalk and road. One guy, (big tall black guy) seemed to be quite frustrated with the girl who was sitting down and he was standing up talking into her ear. The other guy was just standing up not really paying any attention to them. As we rode past, we asked if everyrthing was alright and the guy said, "yeah everything is fine." So we kept going. As we got up to the intersection where we stopped to cross the street, we looked back and the man had grabbed the girl, put her in a tight bear hug, and was yanking her around. She was repeatedly trying to push herself away by taking shots to his head with her fists. We saw this and turned around to go back to investigate. Nobody should treat a girl like that... We got up to them and again asked, "is everything alright." And you could tell the girl was quite frantic as her language soon disclosed to us. She was using words that shouldn't be used at all as verbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns: You Name It!! Finally he let her go and we were already kinda nervous to be there and the guy let us know that he wasn't afraid of us and they were trying to each explain their sides of the story. It was quite funny. He was calling her unspeakable names and then he would say, "she ma baby's mamma!" "THEN WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO HER LIKE THAT?!?" We stuck around while they worked it out for about 45 min to an hour. The other guy who was with them was a short little 19 year old boxer named Oscar (like 5'2" 170 lbs) and didn't want to do anything to get in on the action. We started talking to him and told him he needed to get in on it, even if it wasn't the "cool" thing to do, it's still the right thing. He was way cool and was like, "yeah man you are right." We started talking about missionary work all of a sudden. He said he was from Oakland, that there is a lot of hope there but the place is just so messed up. He was really interested in our message and said he even wanted to come out to church on sunday. Meanwhile, he pulled out a roll of mary jane and lit up. haha He even told us that he needs to stop smoking cause it hurts his ability to box. It's too bad that he lives out of our area though, otherwise he'd be baptized for sure!! As we got done talking to Oscar, the other two had finally worked out their issues and the big guy (Jordan) came up to us and said, "Thanks guys you just doin' what a good man shoulda done in da' first place." And they went on their way. Oddly, we saw that guy two more times the next day and he was really nice to us and we chatted for quite awhile.
The next day, Tom and his 9 year old son Tom Jr., and their friends Caesar and Tyler, met us at the church for a church tour and lesson on the Restoration. Caesar is catholic, Tom is just kinda crazy, Tom Jr. has an atheist mother so he doesn't quite know if he believes in God and he's nervous to read fromt he Book of Mormon, but Tyler (long haired, spiked ear rings, 17 year old) seemed very interested. Well they all did but him in particular. We got done with the tour and sat down in the chapel to go over the lesson. It's so funny how reverent and respectful people are when in the chapel of a church. Tom's phone went off and he was about to cry because I think he thought he was going to be struck by lightening or something. It's kind of ironic because his ringtone is S.O.S in morse code. (Save Our Souls... get it? haha I just thought about that.) Anyways... we got going on the lesson and it was going really well, God is our loving Heavenly Father... The Gospel blesses families, God reveals his secret to His prophets in every dispensation, the Savior's earthly ministry and Atonement, the great apostasy, and then... The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was my turn to teach the principle (we alternate every other) and as I began talking about Joseph Smith I was reminded of a time up in the Uintahs when we were having a devotional and you (dad) got emotional when talking about Joseph Smith and especially about the first vision. I just about broke down but the composure was held. haha The spirit was unmistakeable though. We are asked to memorize the first vision and as I began to recite it, I could tell from the looks on their faces and their countenance that "something" was telling them that what they were being taught was true. It was so cute to see big Tom with his arm around Tom Jr. and really wanting him to listen and learn about what we had to say. After the lesson, they told us that they were going camping later that night into Sunday so they wouldn't be able to be at church the next day BUT... Tyler was like, "while we're out there, I'm going to go get my own mountain, and do what Joseph Smith did and ask to see if this is true." I couldn't get the smile off my face when I heard that, and then as Tom said they would read as they sat around the campfire. Caesar is the only one who was a little bit skeptical but I think when the others are doing so, he'll come along. As it came time for a closing prayer, we asked Tom Jr. if he would like to pray. He said he had never prayed before and that he didn't know how. We let him know that we would help him through it. He began the most sincere, pure, and inspirational prayer I'd heard in a long time. You could tell he was very nervous and we said: "say thanks for something...." "thanks for these missionaries, thanks for my dad and also my friends..." about a 25-30 second pause then occured which seems like an eternity while sitting in silence in a chapel... "ask for help with something.." "please help me to know what these missionaries have taught is true." another 25-30 second pause. "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." We all said Amen and he looked up and he said that he was extremely nervous and didn't know what it was going to be like but it was so amazing to me to see a little 9 year old boy pray for the first time when he dosen't even know if there is a God, while his proud father sits there with his arm around him just forcing back the tears. It was a very spiritual experience and has helped me to make my prayers better. Tom still can't deny that the Book of Mormon has brought those four...three in particular (Tom, Tom Jr., and Tyler) closer together than they have ever been before. They may be closer along than we think. Tom still has a major drinking problem but nothing the spirit can't help to fix.
Last night we sang in Stake Priesthood meeting as a district. The song was a Joseph Smith medley which I've talked about before but the verses are as follows: 1st and 3rd verses to Joseph Smith's first prayer, 1st and 6th verses to A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief, 4th verse of Praise to the Man (without the chorus) which goes right into... "Great is his glory and endless his priesthood." 3rd verse? and then finishes with a quiet... "Ohhhhhhh. How lovely was the morning." Very powerful...
Well my time is almost up! It's so good to hear from you guys and it sounds like the staycation was awesome! Lunch with Justin was great and he said they added a slide onto the house boat. I bet Cameron's farewell was awesome, what did he speak on? I can't believe his time is already here... He's going to be amazing.
I love you all. Thanks for everything and your prayers are felt daily.
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
I love you all. Thanks for everything and your prayers are felt daily.
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
Monday, July 5, 2010
June 29 - July 5, 2010: A New Zone Record for Baptisms
Hey family!
That is crazy to think about that Aunt Leah's house is no longer in the family. What a change! I bet that they just adore the iPad though. Dingle continues to become more and more of a theme park! Now internet access?! Geez... Tell the family I feel their prayers and I'm so grateful for all they do. I continue to pray for them as well. I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways but whatever that way may be, "come what may and love it." I can't believe it was the 4th of July yesterday! Happy Independence Day! I thought the whole day I would be thinking about what we've done as a family for previous 4th of Julys but it wasn't that way at all! Don't take offense to that because like you said before as soon as Satan gets you unfocused on something that you should be focused on, he wins. It's the whole good, better, best concept and like you said he can even take something good and remove your focus from something "best."
This week hasn't been the most interesting but still the work moves forward. We had interviews with President Beck who is normally a very low key, straight to the point, down to earth, strict kind of guy but when I walked in for my interview he was like all jolly and happy! Just screamin' and hollerin' and asking how I'm doing and how the work is! It was great! I think it was because our zone just baptized a new all time record in a month! The previous record was 24 and had been held for 34 months and we baptized 26! He was so happy and even sent out letters in the mail to each missionary telling them how happy he is and what not. We had a goal of baptizing 4 more in the month of July but it could only end up being one now because one guy (Chris Baird) set his date for the second week in August because the guy he wants to baptize him is going out of town for like two weeks in July. He's amazing though and will be baptized. The other day he called us and I answered. He said, "Mouritsen have you guys been praying for me?!" "Of course Chris! What's up!?" "I'm smoking my last cigarette as we speak and I can tell that you guys have cause I've felt them! I've gone five days without a smoke and now I'm having my last one so that I will be done for good! Have a good day now! Love you guys!" And that was it. We were so thrilled and I hope you will have the chance to meet him someday because he is awesome.
Tuesday night a girl named Charlotte Hurley came over to our Ward Mission Leader's (WML) house and we had a lesson with her. We were on splits that night so Cichy was off at someone else's house and I was with Charlotte. She has been investigating the church since she was 13 years old and was about to be baptized but as soon as she wanted to, her dad said no way. She is amazing, and I think she knows more about the gospel than me. Her dad's girlfriend bought her a Quad (scriptures) and she marks them up and reads them all the time. We watched the restoration DVD and the WML, his wife, and Charlotte all bore their testimonies on how the Book of Mormon is true. After the movie I gave a short ten minute lesson on the restoration. Then I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it is the foundation of my testimony. I shared the experience that I shared at my farewell and of course got emotional. She said she felt the spirit extremely strong that night and that now we are going to make it a habit of having lessons over there every Tuesday. Sunday came along and it was fast and testimony meeting. She got up and bore a powerful testimony and she's not even a member! In the other ward during testimony meeting, Brother Reid got up to bear his testimony. Now, Brother Reid had a stroke about a year ago and he's in a wheel chair and lost the ability to speak but his mind is 100% there. He speaks through a box that has a keyboard on it and he types out what he wants to say and then a computer animated voice sounds it out. He wheeled up to the side of the chapel and since he couldn't get up to the pulpit he just stayed over near the sacrament table. He pushed play on the box and said something to the effect of, "What a special day. I am so blessed to have the freedoms I do. I know the church is true. I'm grateful for the sacrifices people made in this country's behalf. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." As he ended, he began to cry very hard. It was more moans and groans and sobs but as he wheeled away down the aisle of the chapel everybody was extremely touched by it. He's probably in his 70's. It's amazing how far people will go to bear their testimony. I know there is nothing more powerful than Pure Testimony and that if you EVER get the chance to share what you know to be true to not be bashful. Just read the 6th verse of A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. I love that verse so much... he asked if I for him would die. ..... He asked if I for him would bear testimony to his children.... "I WILL!!!"
Well time is short. I'll write some letters if I get the time but it's crazy how insane p-days can be. One thing I've learned this week is just how important effective studies of the gospel are. In preach my gospel we learn that if Joseph Smith would not have performed an effective study of the gospel, the gospel may not have been restored at that time and many generations would have been lost without it. It makes me realize just how important effective studies are in my life and just how much it could affect the future generations of my own family.
Love you all so much.
Elder Mouritsen
I tell myself to "suck it up, we all have problems" all the time I love it!
That is crazy to think about that Aunt Leah's house is no longer in the family. What a change! I bet that they just adore the iPad though. Dingle continues to become more and more of a theme park! Now internet access?! Geez... Tell the family I feel their prayers and I'm so grateful for all they do. I continue to pray for them as well. I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways but whatever that way may be, "come what may and love it." I can't believe it was the 4th of July yesterday! Happy Independence Day! I thought the whole day I would be thinking about what we've done as a family for previous 4th of Julys but it wasn't that way at all! Don't take offense to that because like you said before as soon as Satan gets you unfocused on something that you should be focused on, he wins. It's the whole good, better, best concept and like you said he can even take something good and remove your focus from something "best."
This week hasn't been the most interesting but still the work moves forward. We had interviews with President Beck who is normally a very low key, straight to the point, down to earth, strict kind of guy but when I walked in for my interview he was like all jolly and happy! Just screamin' and hollerin' and asking how I'm doing and how the work is! It was great! I think it was because our zone just baptized a new all time record in a month! The previous record was 24 and had been held for 34 months and we baptized 26! He was so happy and even sent out letters in the mail to each missionary telling them how happy he is and what not. We had a goal of baptizing 4 more in the month of July but it could only end up being one now because one guy (Chris Baird) set his date for the second week in August because the guy he wants to baptize him is going out of town for like two weeks in July. He's amazing though and will be baptized. The other day he called us and I answered. He said, "Mouritsen have you guys been praying for me?!" "Of course Chris! What's up!?" "I'm smoking my last cigarette as we speak and I can tell that you guys have cause I've felt them! I've gone five days without a smoke and now I'm having my last one so that I will be done for good! Have a good day now! Love you guys!" And that was it. We were so thrilled and I hope you will have the chance to meet him someday because he is awesome.
Tuesday night a girl named Charlotte Hurley came over to our Ward Mission Leader's (WML) house and we had a lesson with her. We were on splits that night so Cichy was off at someone else's house and I was with Charlotte. She has been investigating the church since she was 13 years old and was about to be baptized but as soon as she wanted to, her dad said no way. She is amazing, and I think she knows more about the gospel than me. Her dad's girlfriend bought her a Quad (scriptures) and she marks them up and reads them all the time. We watched the restoration DVD and the WML, his wife, and Charlotte all bore their testimonies on how the Book of Mormon is true. After the movie I gave a short ten minute lesson on the restoration. Then I bore my testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it is the foundation of my testimony. I shared the experience that I shared at my farewell and of course got emotional. She said she felt the spirit extremely strong that night and that now we are going to make it a habit of having lessons over there every Tuesday. Sunday came along and it was fast and testimony meeting. She got up and bore a powerful testimony and she's not even a member! In the other ward during testimony meeting, Brother Reid got up to bear his testimony. Now, Brother Reid had a stroke about a year ago and he's in a wheel chair and lost the ability to speak but his mind is 100% there. He speaks through a box that has a keyboard on it and he types out what he wants to say and then a computer animated voice sounds it out. He wheeled up to the side of the chapel and since he couldn't get up to the pulpit he just stayed over near the sacrament table. He pushed play on the box and said something to the effect of, "What a special day. I am so blessed to have the freedoms I do. I know the church is true. I'm grateful for the sacrifices people made in this country's behalf. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen." As he ended, he began to cry very hard. It was more moans and groans and sobs but as he wheeled away down the aisle of the chapel everybody was extremely touched by it. He's probably in his 70's. It's amazing how far people will go to bear their testimony. I know there is nothing more powerful than Pure Testimony and that if you EVER get the chance to share what you know to be true to not be bashful. Just read the 6th verse of A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief. I love that verse so much... he asked if I for him would die. ..... He asked if I for him would bear testimony to his children.... "I WILL!!!"
Well time is short. I'll write some letters if I get the time but it's crazy how insane p-days can be. One thing I've learned this week is just how important effective studies of the gospel are. In preach my gospel we learn that if Joseph Smith would not have performed an effective study of the gospel, the gospel may not have been restored at that time and many generations would have been lost without it. It makes me realize just how important effective studies are in my life and just how much it could affect the future generations of my own family.
Love you all so much.
Elder Mouritsen
I tell myself to "suck it up, we all have problems" all the time I love it!
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