August 31 - Sept 6, 2011: "He took my pain"

Hey!

Such a crazy week it has been! There have been some amazing and powerful testimony building experiences that have occurred as well. I love the update on the trip to Dingle. I can only imagine those lush green hills, willows, and streams, oh and cool temperatures. It's been a warm one here the past couple weeks. Maybe that's why the surgery happened when it did.

I'll give you a day-by-day of the past week.

Tuesday, Zone Leader Council. I got permission to attend from President and Sister Taylor and I was so excited. Don't get me wrong I love the James', but I can only handle so much being cooped up inside. Zone Leader Council was good. It was good to have Elder Buttars there. After Zone Leader Council they dropped me off at the James' again for one more night...I had a pretty awesome experience that night. I don't know why but for a couple weeks I have been struggling with certain things, things that have to do with my testimony, why some things happen, how to feel the spirit and recognize the promptings, etc. All my life I've never really struggled with spiritual things. I don't show it much but I've been doing a lot of praying and studying to solidify my testimony and be able to bear testimony so sincerely that it brings me to tears. I've felt that for awhile I've taken my testimony for granted, and been bearing it just to bear it. I used to cry my eyes out every time I shared my testimony. I can't even remember the last time I really shed tears from bearing my testimony. I've asked myself questions quite often, "what does it mean to truly know?" "How strong really is my testimony?" Tuesday night, I couldn't sleep. These thoughts were plaguing my mind once again. I grabbed my Book of Mormon and began reading a few pages. Peace and comfort came and it dropped me to my knees. As I prayed a very powerful yet subtle feeling came over me. Tears began to flow and as they did my mind was caught up with thoughts of experiences that have occurred in my life ever since I was very young, experiences that I didn't even think at the time were spiritual. I remembered receiving a comforting feeling on the baseball field that everything was going to be ok, that Heavenly Father protected us following what should have been a fatal four wheeler accident. I saw other points in my life when I didn't think Heavenly Father was guiding me but that He was there the entire time. I remembered promptings from the spirit to slow down because there were deer in the road ahead. The soothing feeling was topped off with the powerful witness that I was the recipient of a miracle and that I would be back in the mission field the very next day. My testimony was left stronger than ever and I can say that I "truly know" that the Book of Mormon is true. I shared some of this experience in district meeting on Friday.

Wednesday I had my post-op appointment. The doctor just wanted to make sure everything was good. There were no infections, bruises, bleeding, swelling, pain, anything! He told me that was pretty nuts. I still have to wear the sling for four more weeks and start doing physical therapy immediately. I told him my scenario: About how I had been staying in a member's home for the past week and how I live with three other missionaries in an apartment. He told me that it would be fine to go back to the apartment. I just need to be careful about getting it bumped hard and what not. Following the appointment, I had Brother James drop me off at the transfer building for another leadership meeting. I walked in a few minutes late because it started at ten but it was cool to have such a warm welcome from missionaries like Elder Nelson (my son (trainee)), Elder Cichy (my father (trainer)), Elder Buttars, Griessmann, Birch, Johnston, and all the others... I think Elder Nelson is going to be called up to be a Zone Leader this transfer which is awesome!

Here is a "posterity" picture (me, Nelson, and Cichy).

The meeting went really well and afterwards we went to the James' and picked up my stuff and went back to the apartment! Once again I think it's amazing how close you can get to people in only a week! It was hard to have to say bye to Mike and Paula and Billy and June. I love that family with all my heart! Billy almost got teary eyed when he heard I was going. He told me that I forgot to ask his permission. He calls me his adopted son. We spent a lot of time looking at his awesome pictures of fishing, hunting, and one of his properties he used to own on a river in Colorado. It reminded me so much of the Elbow. We said our goodbyes and got out to work. It was such a good feeling to be back! It has literally been a miracle to have no pain. When I told President Taylor the news, he said that they had already all made plans to have me be an office elder and work on transferring a lot of the mission files to a new program. Even the office staff heard that I was coming! Because the recovery was so quick, there was no need of even being in the office. I love the priesthood.

Goodbye recliner!!!!

Thursday and Friday we went to three district meetings. Yes this week was stacked with them... Friday was amazing. Elder Johnston, who is now home as well, held a testimony meeting for the entirety of the meeting. It was awesome to hear each missionary stand up and bear testimony. I thought in my mind what I would say. I remembered the last time I hugged each of my family members. How overwhelming that was! I specifically remember that last time I hugged my mom. This time, tears flowed. I was a mess! I hadn't cried like that in a long time. This was the powerful experience I had been praying for though. I thought about the moments after saying goodbyes at the MTC, when I put on the name tag for the first time. I've always had a love for seeing my personalized name on a jersey, or sweatshirt, video game, knife, etc. It just made me feel like it was mine and I wanted to take care of it that much more. Each of these personalized things didn't come close to how awesome it was to see my own personalized name with the title of "Elder" in front of it and the Savior’s name right below. I remembered the scripture in Helaman 5 where Helaman is telling his sons Nephi and Lehi the reason he gave them their names. He told them they were named after their forefathers and that they needed to live up to their names. There is nothing better than wearing the name of a family I look up to so much and also the name of my elder brother Jesus Christ. I talked about how that has helped me through my mission in so many ways. I shared the experience of my testimony being strengthened from the miracles I've seen and the recovery I've had. I remembered the one line I wrote in my journal when I got off the pain killers three and a half days after the surgery: "He took my pain." What a powerful feeling. I know this church is true! At the foundation of that knowledge is my testimony of the Book of Mormon. More than ever to I know without a doubt in my mind that it is the word of God. I love that book with all my heart. I hope to one day be able to listen to someone read one random verse and tell them in which book and chapter it is located.

Saturday, Elder Birch wanted to go do a temple session for his last real day in the mission. We did so and it was another powerful experience to be able to sit in the Celestial room and pray about the experiences I've had the past week. Once again, solidified.

Sunday, Thomas Hughes Jr. was baptized into the Country Gables ward. We worked with him the entire time I was there and finally he was given permission from his mom. Elder Johnston baptized him the last day of his mission. What a great experience!

Yesterday we taught the FHE lesson in the YSA. We talked about the relation between needing all the ingredients in cooking a meal to receive the desired final result. We talked about Amalickiah and Lehonti in Alma 47 and how Satan can sneak in "by degrees" and get us if we do not have all the ingredients to a spiritual life. It was fun only having a few minutes to prepare too. haha

Transfer news came today. As you know Birch is gone. Elder Buttars is my new companion. Big transfer! Fun stuff!

Well I love you. I'm so thankful for all that you do.

Love you!

Elder Colton Matthew Mouritsen