Hello there Mouritsen family!
Sounds like a good week! There is a member in the YSA here who got a job up in Draper and has
volunteered to take a package home for me. I'm trying to get some stuff
together to send. That way I won't have to spend $30-$45 next month trying to
send a bunch of stuff through the flat rate process. I will give him your
number and he will probably come by sometime next week.
Not much has happened this past week. We had a neat experience with
setting a baptism date with Kolt. I've never taken the route that we took
before. We have been putting a large focus on strictly teaching the doctrines
of Christ in all the lessons. Whether it be the Restoration, Plan of Salvation,
or Commandments - the Doctrines of Christ are the main focus, and the other info
is just to show HOW we can strengthen faith, repent, prepare for
baptism/confirmation and endure to the end. Even though we had been over it
before with Kolt, we felt like it would be good to just go over those five
principles in more detail. As we did, the spirit was very strong in helping us
to know where to take the lesson. Elder Brothers still has those
"new-missionary jitters" (Leah those "jitters" are just a way of life, remember
an experience of getting to the plate might just be preparing you for future
"jittery" experiences that you will know how to conquer) and thinks that he has
to focus strictly on our lesson plan, as opposed to focusing on the needs of the
person. I'm a firm believer in creating a plan for the lessons, but then going
away from those plans as the concerns and questions come up. We came to the
principle of baptism. I was reluctant to commit him to a date because we had
invited him in each lesson for the past two weeks. We didn't want him to feel
like we were pressuring him into it (though we know it's necessary) and then
lose interest all together. Oddly, I felt like the spirit told me to commit him
to another date. We prepped him regarding the baptismal interview that he would
need to show him that he would even be ready for baptism. Though he has felt
that he needs to read the entire Book of Mormon before being ready for baptism,
we let him know that all he really needs to be able to do is answer the
baptismal interview questions. I looked at him and said, "Ya know Kolt there
will actually be a missionary holding a baptism interview on April 1st, would
you prepare yourself to be interviewed on that day?" He responded yes. I then
ripped out the sheet from my planner that had the questions on it. I handed it
to him and told him to look over it. If there was anything he didn't understand
we would teach him about it in the coming weeks so that he could be ready. The
only question he had was regarding tithing. I felt like he finally realized
that he really didn't really need to know that much doctrinally, but just needed
a testimony of the gospel. I noticed his countenance change as he came to that
realization and said, "Kolt, we will be holding a baptismal service on the 7th
of April. After being interviewed, would you prepare yourself for that date to
be baptized." His response came after a few moments of pondering with, "Well, I
guess I'm getting interviewed anyways. So why not?" There is no greater sight
than that of watching someone change in just a few weeks because of the gospel
of Jesus Christ. It is a very visceral feeling, to put it in Mark Coleman's
words.
Yesterday we had a cool experience in our ward council meeting with the
Sahuaro Ranch ward. We have been really struggling to find, teach, and of
course baptize in that ward. As of right now we have one investigator. We have
put a huge focus on working with the members, mainly the less active and part
member families, to find those who are searching. When we got here, the ward
had a list of about 8 people who were still living in the ward that were part
member families. In our efforts to seek them out, we now have a list of 33 part
member families. Many of which don't want much to do with the church but the
bishop was extremely happy to see that we had helped him find them. We have
also really cleaned up the roster in an attempt to develop trust with the active
members and help them in reaching out to the less active. Each week we come to
the meeting with names of those we have found that have moved out of the ward.
I know it sounds bad, but it has made them very happy to find out. Next, we
"geo-coded" the ward. The clerks haven't really known how to go about doing
that so when they heard that we had already done it they were happy to receive
all our information and plug it in to MLS. Yesterday, the bishop vocally
thanked us in front of the entire ward council. He said that he had actually
emailed what we had done to help him to the missionaries that were serving from
his ward. He said that they should do the same to help the bishops that they
are serving. In just two months, we have really felt a big change in the ward
in regards to missionary work. When we first got here, we did not feel welcome
and frequently got the cold shoulder from members. They also asked us if we
could take the entire meeting on Easter to speak about the Atonement of Jesus
Christ, and then on the crucifixion/resurrection. My topic is the atonement. I
see that as evidence that they are beginning to trust us and desire to help us
with the work. Bishop has also expressed interest in having meetings with us to
give us names to go and visit. The sad thing is that the names he gave
yesterday, were names that we already knew a lot about. They don't have much
desire in progression. We hope and pray that the work will pick up soon. We do
have one investigator, a nine year old from a less active family. She actually
came to church by herself yesterday. I'm amazed at how strong she is. Youth
will need to be that strong if not stronger to be able to forge through the
persecution that will come in the coming months and years of their lives.
Thanks for all that you do. If you have any cool stories that involve the
atonement they would be greatly appreciated. I have some ideas, but more info
is always needed!
I love you all! Have a great week. Get prepared for conference!
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
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