My family amazes me. I love you all!
Please let Grandpa Roger know that I pray for him daily. He is loved and well appreciated down here in Phoenix.
I can't believe Madison got in Lake Fiesta. That is disgusting! I went one time and played some football and I think I was really lucky that I didn't get some major infection. haha. I can't believe how grown up everybody is getting. Those pictures are amazing! When I pulled them up I may have said something under my breath to the effect of, "dang my sisters are grown up..." Little did I know that there were two other missionaries behind me who saw what I was looking at and they responded, "Yeah they are!!" Creeps... haha.
Dad I really appreciate the update and your experience this past week. Thanks for being such an example for me.
This week has been a great week. My eyes have been opened to the reality of the power of the Book of Mormon, atonement, and gospel of Jesus Christ. The power they have to change lives is incredible.
I don't know if you recall me talking about a man I taught in the Country Gables ward by the name of Tom. He was baptized a week after I left that area. He had struggled for years with many of the commandments we teach that the rest of the world doesn't seem to have much of a grasp on. I get the impression that the only reason he was getting baptized was because he wanted to be a good example for his son, but didn't want to make the change in his own life. He "said" he was good with all the commandments, passed his baptismal interview, and went through with the baptism. It was a great event! Still, I felt in the back of my mind that something wasn't right. He was coming to church, saying that he was reading his scriptures (even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't because he knew very little if anything about the doctrine), saying prayers but not taking it too seriously, etc. On the outside it looked like he was doing the right things. But the feeling just wasn't there when we were around him. Because I was one of the missionaries to originally teach him, he grew to like spending his time with me and would call frequently to have a lesson or grab a bite to eat. He was still his same profane, perverted self and I didn't like to be around him. It didn't feel like he had a "change of heart" at all like the scriptures tell us. Months passed. We were pretty sure Tom was still back in his old ways. One night while Tom was watching some of his friends’ kids, the cops showed up at the door. Now I don't know the whole story, but I think I know the gist. No one knows exactly why the cops showed up at his door but regardless, they did. I have heard that Tom had had a few drinks that night and may have acted irrationally by pulling out his pistol he carries with him just in case it was someone else at the door that he would need to protect himself from. When the cops saw the gun, they too went too far and long story short, Tom was lucky to have not received a 9mm bullet wound to the heart. He was hauled off to Lower Buckeye Jail. There he witnessed some of the most brutal, demonic, disgusting things. He said that for the first time in his life he needed to change. He wrote to Salt Lake and asked for some scriptures. They sent him all that they could. Over the next 2-3 months he read the triple combination, twice. He said that while in jail, he was offered many of the substances he was addicted to before but would not give in. He would find himself on his knees praying like crazy many times during the day. Other people in there would mock him and scourge him for being so religious but when it came to the guards, they wanted nothing to do with him. Tom began to teach other cell mates what he had. He wrote to Salt Lake again and they sent more books for the other guys he was teaching. He taught them from the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and the New Testament. His knowledge of the scriptures grew substantially. While he would teach, the guards would come up to him and try to take away whatever they were studying but when he would stand up, he would hold the Book of Mormon out in front of him almost touching the guards’ chest with the cover. When they saw what it was, they literally began to cower and would nearly fall to the floor at the sight. Tom gets goosebumps everytime he tells this story because his testimony of the literal power of the Book of Mormon is so true. The guards wouldn't mess with him. He became the spiritual giant and light for the cell mates during such a time of physical and spiritual darkness. His reputation spread throughout the jail. Many times he thought he was going to be killed by another cell mate. He said he didn't care, because he knew where he was going. He stood firm in the face of affliction. After 3 months, his case was finally reviewed. It turned out that the one of the cops that arrested him, had accidentally left on the mini camera that was on his vest, and it proved him to be innocent. The cops overreacted like crazy. That's all I've heard since. We had several lessons with Tom this last week. He wanted to tell me of his experience. I was in shock. He is a different man with a different spirit. He cut his foot and a half long hair, isn't too vulgar, no more perverted comments, and loves and lives the Book of Mormon. I was amazed at how detailed his descriptions of the stories in the Book of Mormon were. He talked about the Brother of Jared and the barges he built, Nephi and his brothers cowering as the Lord commanded him to stretch forth his hand and shock them. That story reminded him of his experience with the guards in jail. I was nearly brought to tears as I witnessed the change in him. He was one person that I honestly thought would NEVER change in such a way. I'm glad that I was proven wrong. I asked Tom the question, "How has this experience helped you gain a testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon?" and "Do you feel that this experience was needed to help you?" He answered that there is no possible way that the Book of Mormon isn't true, and yes he does believe it was necessary to give him the spiritual kick in the pants to help him change.
I think that often times we are given such adverse conditions to help us realize the power and benefits of the gospel. I'm grateful for trials and the testimony and satisfaction that comes from overcoming them. Just as President Packer said many years ago, we really have no need to fear in this life because of all the knowledge we have. It's such a short time in Father's eyes.
I am addicted to the talk by Elder Holland. I love his forceful way to get his point across to the young men AND women preparing to serve missions. I'm grateful for sisters who are such great examples to me for realizing the fact that "We are at war" and that we "cannot play for the adversary whenever temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple and mission time as if nothing has happened. That... [we] cannot do. God will not be mocked." Leah, I'm so impressed. Not surprised at all, but impressed. Thanks for your example. Madison, thanks for your dedication, persistence, and work ethic. I wish there were more missionaries like you. Bailee, you are so good at magnifying your talents. Remember the scripture to always magnify your talents and go to the Lord with gratitude for them. As you do, He will trust you and give you more that will bless the lives of those around you. Your friends need you and your example for good will not go unnoticed! I promise you that! Hallie, you have always been the hilarious, fun, always get your way by repeating "I'wan'sombody'to'hol'me" over and over again. You have such an ability to make people laugh and smile. Keep that trait! Optimism, happiness, and smiles are contagious. Mom, thanks for being my mom. You remind me of the mothers of the stripling warriors who "could not doubt their mothers knew it." I know it's cliche but seriously thanks for everything. I love and appreciate you more than you can imagine. Dad, thanks for your spiritual power and determination. I have yet to find someone to put themselves through more adverse conditions (Wasatch 100) because they know that the blessings and satisfaction in the end will outweigh what happened during the journey. I brag quite often about my dad and what he does. That goes for my entire family though. I have a photo album of all my family pictures in our apartment and it is being shown quite frequently to those who stay there. That is because I love you all and am so thankful for who you are. You help me to keep pushin' on when things are tough!
I am well, even though I am now on antibiotics because of some random, scary, lumps that are in my armpit of the same shoulder I had surgery. They are quite painful but I think they will be gone in a few days. I hope at least! My shoulder is great. We are actually playing softball today for a zone activity. I don't think I will swing...hard :) but everything else is perfectly fine.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all you do.
Love,
Elder Mouritsen
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
September 27 - October 3, 2011: "Teachin', preachin', baptizin', and seein' miracles right before my eyes"
Dearest family!
Thank you for all your key learnings from General Conference! Dad, I too had a hard time keeping back the tears while thinking that you were in Montpelier watching the exact thing that I was in Phoenix. It hit me while we were all singing the congregational hymn. Also, Saturday morning before the first session, there was a song that kept going through my head. This Time, by Waylon Jennings. I can't even remember the lyrics and I don't know what caused me to remember it but the line "this time will be the last time...this time should be anything like the other times, this time will be the last time" kept coming to my mind. (I don't even know if those are the correct lyrics but those are the words I made up in my head haha). I can't believe that the mission has flown by as quickly as it has. October is my favorite month of the year! You are back home huntin', watchin' the Yanks', girls are dancin', (by that I mean the twins are going to homecoming :/), goin' to corn mazes, haunted houses, and General Conference! There can't be a better time of year! Unless that same time of year were spent teachin', preachin', baptizin', and seein' miracles right before my eyes. "This time will be the last time" continues to haunt me as I say goodbye to the last time I'll see an October. general conference, etc. It's impossible to comprehend. To me, things are the same back home. I even feel like I am the same person. But when I hear things like Uncle Trevor saying that Jessica is looking to move into her own apartment, that is crazy! "You've all changed!!" haha for the better...
Anyway, I absolutely loved the talk by Elder Holland. I also went back and listened to the talk by President Uchtdorf from the Women's conference. That one was amazing as well! I loved how blunt Holland was. I've been waiting for him to throw down on us Priesthood holders. I like how he started by saying, "I'm going to be speaking rather candidly tonight brethren..." The other missionaries and I around all looked at each other and at the same time went, "OHHHHHH!!!!" haha. I also love how chill President Monson is. The first thing he said when he got up to the pulpit on Saturday was, "Hello!" We laughed pretty hard. Can you believe there is going to be a temple in Star Valley, Wyoming!!?? Elder Kennington was at the session when he announced that. He said he about fell off the balcony. And another temple in Provo?! Crazy! It seemed like a topic of the conference was to endure trials because we are definitely going to face them in this life. I think it was a perfect topic. I just wish that every person, member and non member would have watched the entire thing. So many times as we come across people they talk about how there is no way that they can believe that God would allow such hardships and trials to happen to such good people. I just think that often times we don't recognize just how much His hand is in our lives. That is one thing that I can bet that we are going to be surprised about when we have a perfect knowledge of our lives once we return to Him. He knows we go through these certain trials because we are strong enough to make it through and will come out stronger in the end. In every circumstance, I strive to tell myself that something good is going to come from it. Whether it's an untimely sickness, death, loss of job, loss of possession, etc., something good will come. Whether it be a strengthened testimony or something that takes place on the other side that we don't have the mind power to comprehend, something good comes. I thought it was crazy how different Elder Hales looked. I shook that man's hand one year ago! It seems his mortal body is just that, mortal. But his testimony and spirit, immortal. He is a powerful man. He also has extremely soft hands. Dad I too liked the talk by Elder Callister. I wish all the investigators would watch that talk. The concerns of "I think every church is good, there isn't just one that's true" or "All we need is the bible" or "All we have to do is believe in Christ and we will be saved" would all be resolved. Over all I think it was a phenomenal conference.
We taught Nick again about the Plan of Salvation this week. We knew that this one was going to be a tough one for him because of the passing of his dad about five years ago. As we taught, the spirit once again was extremely strong. The Plan of Salvation is my absolute favorite thing to teach. I love it because of the intense focus on families. I can't stop bearing testimony about the fact that I love my family so much and am so grateful for the opportunity to live with them forever. We talked about the creation, pre-existence, earth life, spirit world, and life after death. After a lengthy discussion, Nick looked at us and said, "Wow, you know every doubt that I had at one point has now been eliminated. You guys fixed em' all." It was amazing. I forgot to mention that two days prior to our lesson, we were at our ward FHE activity. During the opening exercises, Nick stood up and said that he has an announcement to make. He told everyone that he is planning on being baptized on October 22nd. Immediately, the entire ward started cheering and clapping upon his announcement. I looked over at Nick with a smile on my face and noticed a few tears slide down his cheek. He is an amazing man.
This week we also started teaching Oscar. He is extremely shy, loves hunting, fishing, and the Book of Mormon. He likes us to come over on a daily basis to help him understand what he reads. Last week he prayed right in the middle of one of our lessons and received his answer that it is true. He is planning on being baptized on October 29th. Hopefully as we go over the commandments he needs to follow this week that he won't have any major concerns and he will be good to go.
Thank you for all your key learnings from General Conference! Dad, I too had a hard time keeping back the tears while thinking that you were in Montpelier watching the exact thing that I was in Phoenix. It hit me while we were all singing the congregational hymn. Also, Saturday morning before the first session, there was a song that kept going through my head. This Time, by Waylon Jennings. I can't even remember the lyrics and I don't know what caused me to remember it but the line "this time will be the last time...this time should be anything like the other times, this time will be the last time" kept coming to my mind. (I don't even know if those are the correct lyrics but those are the words I made up in my head haha). I can't believe that the mission has flown by as quickly as it has. October is my favorite month of the year! You are back home huntin', watchin' the Yanks', girls are dancin', (by that I mean the twins are going to homecoming :/), goin' to corn mazes, haunted houses, and General Conference! There can't be a better time of year! Unless that same time of year were spent teachin', preachin', baptizin', and seein' miracles right before my eyes. "This time will be the last time" continues to haunt me as I say goodbye to the last time I'll see an October. general conference, etc. It's impossible to comprehend. To me, things are the same back home. I even feel like I am the same person. But when I hear things like Uncle Trevor saying that Jessica is looking to move into her own apartment, that is crazy! "You've all changed!!" haha for the better...
Anyway, I absolutely loved the talk by Elder Holland. I also went back and listened to the talk by President Uchtdorf from the Women's conference. That one was amazing as well! I loved how blunt Holland was. I've been waiting for him to throw down on us Priesthood holders. I like how he started by saying, "I'm going to be speaking rather candidly tonight brethren..." The other missionaries and I around all looked at each other and at the same time went, "OHHHHHH!!!!" haha. I also love how chill President Monson is. The first thing he said when he got up to the pulpit on Saturday was, "Hello!" We laughed pretty hard. Can you believe there is going to be a temple in Star Valley, Wyoming!!?? Elder Kennington was at the session when he announced that. He said he about fell off the balcony. And another temple in Provo?! Crazy! It seemed like a topic of the conference was to endure trials because we are definitely going to face them in this life. I think it was a perfect topic. I just wish that every person, member and non member would have watched the entire thing. So many times as we come across people they talk about how there is no way that they can believe that God would allow such hardships and trials to happen to such good people. I just think that often times we don't recognize just how much His hand is in our lives. That is one thing that I can bet that we are going to be surprised about when we have a perfect knowledge of our lives once we return to Him. He knows we go through these certain trials because we are strong enough to make it through and will come out stronger in the end. In every circumstance, I strive to tell myself that something good is going to come from it. Whether it's an untimely sickness, death, loss of job, loss of possession, etc., something good will come. Whether it be a strengthened testimony or something that takes place on the other side that we don't have the mind power to comprehend, something good comes. I thought it was crazy how different Elder Hales looked. I shook that man's hand one year ago! It seems his mortal body is just that, mortal. But his testimony and spirit, immortal. He is a powerful man. He also has extremely soft hands. Dad I too liked the talk by Elder Callister. I wish all the investigators would watch that talk. The concerns of "I think every church is good, there isn't just one that's true" or "All we need is the bible" or "All we have to do is believe in Christ and we will be saved" would all be resolved. Over all I think it was a phenomenal conference.
We taught Nick again about the Plan of Salvation this week. We knew that this one was going to be a tough one for him because of the passing of his dad about five years ago. As we taught, the spirit once again was extremely strong. The Plan of Salvation is my absolute favorite thing to teach. I love it because of the intense focus on families. I can't stop bearing testimony about the fact that I love my family so much and am so grateful for the opportunity to live with them forever. We talked about the creation, pre-existence, earth life, spirit world, and life after death. After a lengthy discussion, Nick looked at us and said, "Wow, you know every doubt that I had at one point has now been eliminated. You guys fixed em' all." It was amazing. I forgot to mention that two days prior to our lesson, we were at our ward FHE activity. During the opening exercises, Nick stood up and said that he has an announcement to make. He told everyone that he is planning on being baptized on October 22nd. Immediately, the entire ward started cheering and clapping upon his announcement. I looked over at Nick with a smile on my face and noticed a few tears slide down his cheek. He is an amazing man.
This week we also started teaching Oscar. He is extremely shy, loves hunting, fishing, and the Book of Mormon. He likes us to come over on a daily basis to help him understand what he reads. Last week he prayed right in the middle of one of our lessons and received his answer that it is true. He is planning on being baptized on October 29th. Hopefully as we go over the commandments he needs to follow this week that he won't have any major concerns and he will be good to go.
Zone Leader Council
Mormon.org activity
Phoenix North Zone
Car inspections.Interviews with the President this week were great. President Taylor is extremely personable with every single missionary. In my discussion with him I told him of my desire to stay in this zone at the least until Christmas. His response: "I will tell you what my mission president told me; 'I am willing to take suggestions, but I will then just turn around and throw them in the trash.'" haha Hopefully the inspiration he receives from the Lord doesn't go against my desires haha I can see it happening though, I think I'm going to be out of the Phoenix North stake for the first time in... well ever. haha
Elder Cichy goes home next transfer. I can't even believe that! He's got less than two weeks left! When he was training me, he was a little over 7 months out! Here's when the next transfers will be just so you know. October 19th, November 29th, January 10th, February 21st, April 3rd, May 15th.
I love you all! Thanks so much for everything you do! By the way, the doctor told me on Wednesday that I can't go running. Little does he know, I ran 3 miles that very morning... Oooooooppsss. Feel great though. Just need to get my strength back. There has been some major atrophy. Oh, and I haven't seen Justin or Melynda in a while! The chiropractor I go to is President Cathcart from the stake that they attend and apparently he went to the lake with Justin and Justin told him to say hi to me, so he did.
Love you!
Elder C. Matthew Mouritsen
Monday, September 26, 2011
September 20-26, 2011: "Sanctify Yourselves"
Hey!
Great email. I love how much you write. All the other missionaries near me barely get to read anything from their families back home. I love to look forward to a nice update week after week!
Well this week has been one of the best yet. That kid who came to church last week for the first time with one of his member friends is probably the most legit person I've been able to teach my entire mission. His name is Nick. He has the most sincere desire to leave his past life and change himself for the better. Our first lesson with him was on Wednesday while eating dinner. As we talked, we found out a little about him. Five years ago his dad died of a sudden heart attack which took a major toll on him. Nick turned to drugs, alcohol, and other commandment breaking to try to get away from the pain. As he told us this experience, tears filled his eyes as he said, "I just want to see my dad again. I want to live a life that is pleasing to him." A few weeks ago he was covering his shift at Subway when one of his best friends walked in the door to grab a sandwich. Tyler (his friend) is also a member of our ward. They had been friends since they were six years old. They played football while growing up on the same little league team and then on opposing teams in high school. After graduation, they each went their separate ways. Tyler went to Tucson to the U of Arizona to walk on to their football program and Nick moved to Phoenix. While Tyler was in Tucson, he received his answer to serve a mission. He did so faithfully in North Carolina and returned home two years later. About two and a half years after returning home, he found himself living in Phoenix, working at a Mexican Tile company on 19th Avenue and Greenway. This brings us to now. Nick worked at Subway on 19th and Greenway just across the intersection from Tyler and had no idea that Tyler worked so close. Tyler just happened to run into him at the Subway a few weeks ago and they were reunited as best friends. That night, Nick committed to stop smoking and drinking, and quit everything cold turkey. One thing led to another (haha) and Nick came to church. It is an amazing story. During the lesson, while Nick was tearing up, we testified to him of the healing power of the atonement, promised him the blessings of repentance and baptism, and his face lit up as we invited him to do so. He was beaming from ear to ear when we asked him if he would prepare himself to be baptized on October 22. Nick is awesome, hilarious, super sincere and emotional. We set up another lesson for Sunday morning where we were going to have breakfast at Tyler's home. We did so and taught him about some of his concerns (which aren't much if anything). We then went to our meetings and met up again at church. After church they asked us to come over for dinner and have another lesson. Yeah, Nick just loves to learn and wants to soak everything in. This time we taught him about the Restoration. He believed it all. Towards the end it turned into one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission. Nick started to share is newly found testimony about how God's hand has been in his life. He talked about his best friend, Tyler, and how if it wasn't for Tyler in his life he would still be doing all the bad stuff and could possibly even be in jail. He asked a question that many faithful members of the church even ask. "How do I know if God is answering my prayers? If I'm seeking answers regarding my career, school, friends, girls, how do I know?" I remembered reading an article earlier in the week about how to receive personal revelation if we aren't too good at recognizing the answers. I shared my experience with my mission call, about how I prayed my heart out up on the mountain but received no answer...yet. Then I went home and realized my answer came through my awesome mom who was so inspired to share with me her learnings from her scripture study. I told him that often times we receive answers in ways that are far from what we expect. And to learn how to receive answers, we have to ask the right questions. First, it would be good to ask Yes or No questions and often times make our best decision and take it to the Lord. Then it can be confirmed to us. Tyler then shared the experience when he found out he needed to serve a mission. Through it all, Nick was in tears. For a while, there was a long pause of silence. I think the spirit touched each of us in the room. Nick broke the silence by looking up, and through his quivering voice said, "I love you guys." We've only known each other a week, but the spirit has bound us together as eternal friends. He stood up and gave each of us a long, drawn out hug. It was a neat experience.
Wednesday we had one of the greatest zone meetings I've ever been to. We showed the video from LDS.org called "Sanctify Yourselves." I would highly recommend you watch it if you haven't already. That set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Elder Buttars talked for 3-4 min about The Power and Authority of Our Calling. Then, Elder Tameilau shared an experience about how he knew that he was sent at the specific time, to the specific place, to a specific person. Next, Elder Hamblin got up and shared his conversion story that I shared with you last week. He is amazing. He brought the spirit so strong. I had prepared a slide that showed the history of the Phoenix North zone. It's been crazy to have been in this zone for the entire year and to have seen where we have been and where we've come. I hope to be here the rest of the year. Over the past couple months the key indicators (investigators at sacrament, members present at lessons, new investigators, and investigators with a baptism date) have all gone progressively down, while baptisms have gone up or stayed around the same. The zone members realized this. We told them that we will be transitioning from being a number-oriented zone and mission to a people-oriented zone and mission. We had each companionship give us two names that they are planning on baptizing in the month of October. They then went out of the room and planned for 30 minutes what they are going to do over the next few weeks to help those specific people get baptized. I think this effort is going to greatly help the work. We've already seen a major attitude change. Several missionaries came up to me after and said, "This was awesome. This was the spiritual rejuvenation that I needed to boost my spirit of missionary work." It made me feel so good. A wise missionary once said, "It takes a really good meeting to beat not having a meeting at all." I think it was one of the best. Following the planning session, a missionary shared his departing testimony. He went around the room, called each missionary by name, and said something about them that he loved and appreciated. After, I got up and shared my testimony about the power of miracles. I talked about my shoulder. It was impossible to hold back the tears. I talked about how this focus of two people per month per companionship getting baptized might seem miraculous. But I know that miracles happen. I am a direct recipient of one. I said, as we sanctify ourselves, are obedient to the promptings of the spirit, and immerse ourselves in the work, people will be immersed in the water. It's such a good feeling to be an influence in the life of another who desires to change for the gospel's sake.
I think back to what Nick said: "I want to see my dad again. I want to live a life that is pleasing to him." He was speaking clearly about his earthly father who has passed on. I say the same thing about you dad, but I think we can all apply this comment to ourselves by constantly living a life that would be pleasing to our Father who is in heaven. We will all see him again, this is true. But how will He see us? I hope that we will be able to lift up our heads, look Him in the eye, and wash His feet with our tears as He speaks; "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
I love and appreciate all that you do! Thanks for having such strong testimonies and examples for all to follow. I hope to receive a key learning from general conference from everyone!
Love,
Elder Colton Mouritsen
Great email. I love how much you write. All the other missionaries near me barely get to read anything from their families back home. I love to look forward to a nice update week after week!
Well this week has been one of the best yet. That kid who came to church last week for the first time with one of his member friends is probably the most legit person I've been able to teach my entire mission. His name is Nick. He has the most sincere desire to leave his past life and change himself for the better. Our first lesson with him was on Wednesday while eating dinner. As we talked, we found out a little about him. Five years ago his dad died of a sudden heart attack which took a major toll on him. Nick turned to drugs, alcohol, and other commandment breaking to try to get away from the pain. As he told us this experience, tears filled his eyes as he said, "I just want to see my dad again. I want to live a life that is pleasing to him." A few weeks ago he was covering his shift at Subway when one of his best friends walked in the door to grab a sandwich. Tyler (his friend) is also a member of our ward. They had been friends since they were six years old. They played football while growing up on the same little league team and then on opposing teams in high school. After graduation, they each went their separate ways. Tyler went to Tucson to the U of Arizona to walk on to their football program and Nick moved to Phoenix. While Tyler was in Tucson, he received his answer to serve a mission. He did so faithfully in North Carolina and returned home two years later. About two and a half years after returning home, he found himself living in Phoenix, working at a Mexican Tile company on 19th Avenue and Greenway. This brings us to now. Nick worked at Subway on 19th and Greenway just across the intersection from Tyler and had no idea that Tyler worked so close. Tyler just happened to run into him at the Subway a few weeks ago and they were reunited as best friends. That night, Nick committed to stop smoking and drinking, and quit everything cold turkey. One thing led to another (haha) and Nick came to church. It is an amazing story. During the lesson, while Nick was tearing up, we testified to him of the healing power of the atonement, promised him the blessings of repentance and baptism, and his face lit up as we invited him to do so. He was beaming from ear to ear when we asked him if he would prepare himself to be baptized on October 22. Nick is awesome, hilarious, super sincere and emotional. We set up another lesson for Sunday morning where we were going to have breakfast at Tyler's home. We did so and taught him about some of his concerns (which aren't much if anything). We then went to our meetings and met up again at church. After church they asked us to come over for dinner and have another lesson. Yeah, Nick just loves to learn and wants to soak everything in. This time we taught him about the Restoration. He believed it all. Towards the end it turned into one of the most spiritual experiences of my mission. Nick started to share is newly found testimony about how God's hand has been in his life. He talked about his best friend, Tyler, and how if it wasn't for Tyler in his life he would still be doing all the bad stuff and could possibly even be in jail. He asked a question that many faithful members of the church even ask. "How do I know if God is answering my prayers? If I'm seeking answers regarding my career, school, friends, girls, how do I know?" I remembered reading an article earlier in the week about how to receive personal revelation if we aren't too good at recognizing the answers. I shared my experience with my mission call, about how I prayed my heart out up on the mountain but received no answer...yet. Then I went home and realized my answer came through my awesome mom who was so inspired to share with me her learnings from her scripture study. I told him that often times we receive answers in ways that are far from what we expect. And to learn how to receive answers, we have to ask the right questions. First, it would be good to ask Yes or No questions and often times make our best decision and take it to the Lord. Then it can be confirmed to us. Tyler then shared the experience when he found out he needed to serve a mission. Through it all, Nick was in tears. For a while, there was a long pause of silence. I think the spirit touched each of us in the room. Nick broke the silence by looking up, and through his quivering voice said, "I love you guys." We've only known each other a week, but the spirit has bound us together as eternal friends. He stood up and gave each of us a long, drawn out hug. It was a neat experience.
Wednesday we had one of the greatest zone meetings I've ever been to. We showed the video from LDS.org called "Sanctify Yourselves." I would highly recommend you watch it if you haven't already. That set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Elder Buttars talked for 3-4 min about The Power and Authority of Our Calling. Then, Elder Tameilau shared an experience about how he knew that he was sent at the specific time, to the specific place, to a specific person. Next, Elder Hamblin got up and shared his conversion story that I shared with you last week. He is amazing. He brought the spirit so strong. I had prepared a slide that showed the history of the Phoenix North zone. It's been crazy to have been in this zone for the entire year and to have seen where we have been and where we've come. I hope to be here the rest of the year. Over the past couple months the key indicators (investigators at sacrament, members present at lessons, new investigators, and investigators with a baptism date) have all gone progressively down, while baptisms have gone up or stayed around the same. The zone members realized this. We told them that we will be transitioning from being a number-oriented zone and mission to a people-oriented zone and mission. We had each companionship give us two names that they are planning on baptizing in the month of October. They then went out of the room and planned for 30 minutes what they are going to do over the next few weeks to help those specific people get baptized. I think this effort is going to greatly help the work. We've already seen a major attitude change. Several missionaries came up to me after and said, "This was awesome. This was the spiritual rejuvenation that I needed to boost my spirit of missionary work." It made me feel so good. A wise missionary once said, "It takes a really good meeting to beat not having a meeting at all." I think it was one of the best. Following the planning session, a missionary shared his departing testimony. He went around the room, called each missionary by name, and said something about them that he loved and appreciated. After, I got up and shared my testimony about the power of miracles. I talked about my shoulder. It was impossible to hold back the tears. I talked about how this focus of two people per month per companionship getting baptized might seem miraculous. But I know that miracles happen. I am a direct recipient of one. I said, as we sanctify ourselves, are obedient to the promptings of the spirit, and immerse ourselves in the work, people will be immersed in the water. It's such a good feeling to be an influence in the life of another who desires to change for the gospel's sake.I think back to what Nick said: "I want to see my dad again. I want to live a life that is pleasing to him." He was speaking clearly about his earthly father who has passed on. I say the same thing about you dad, but I think we can all apply this comment to ourselves by constantly living a life that would be pleasing to our Father who is in heaven. We will all see him again, this is true. But how will He see us? I hope that we will be able to lift up our heads, look Him in the eye, and wash His feet with our tears as He speaks; "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
I love and appreciate all that you do! Thanks for having such strong testimonies and examples for all to follow. I hope to receive a key learning from general conference from everyone!
Love,
Elder Colton Mouritsen
Monday, September 19, 2011
September 12-19, 2011: Thrills, scares, chills, prayers, and miracles
Hey family!
Sounds like it was a great week for you! I bet sacrament meeting was stellar. Megan Leah, I bet your talk was amazing! It sounded good as I read it but I bet your testimony, spirit, and emotion made it so much better. I bet the song was great as well! Madison I can't tell which number it is... You should send me a copy of you singing the words to the song. That would be great :) haha.
I can't believe that it's general conference in two weeks! This is honestly my favorite time of year. The Halloween stuff is already out at Wal-Mart and haunted houses are advertising for their opening days. The regular season of the majors is coming to an end and apparently the Diamondbacks are doing quite well this year and will be making it to the playoffs. Exciting time! This is my favorite time of year. Oh and don't remind me, it's another hunting season where I miss some French dip deer sandwiches in Dingle while watching the Yankees. Good stuff! I guess for me it's been hunting season for the past 16 months and will be for the next 8!
Staying along the topic of the fall season, missionary work has it's thrills, scares, chills, prayers, and miracles. Last week we had some scares with a couple of our investigators. Ryan, who had decided to be baptized on October 8th, who also has quit nearly every addiction imaginable, called us with some bad news. Apparently his mom told his dad that he was going to be baptized into the LDS church and his dad wouldn't have it. He told Ryan that he WOULD NOT be getting baptized, in fact he wouldn't even be going to church, meeting with the missionaries, or even reading the Book of Mormon. Ryan was quite devastated. He said that he has finally started having a good relationship with his dad. His dad said that if he made this decision, there was a good chance he would disown him and never speak with him again. Ryan said that he is going to keep his Book of Mormon so he can read, but out of respect for his dad, he won't be coming to church or getting baptized for awhile. This was heartbreaking for me to hear...
President Beck would always say, "There is no such thing as coincidence, only tender mercies and miracles." The next day would have to be considered a tender mercy. A young man came to church for the first time with one of his friends who is a member and asked us if he could start taking the lessons. We were so excited because it has been so hard to find people that would be considered YSA's. A few weeks ago, he went to a homecoming talk of one of his friends and after the meeting he went up to them and said, "How can I be part of this?" He then went to ward softball and his friends invited him to come to church! We have dinner and a lesson with him on Wednesday. Things are looking good!
Today we were at the chiropractor and one of the receptionists there isn't a member and she is YSA age and has decided to start learning more. Well she happens to live in our stake! We set up an appointment with her as well. I felt that this was another miracle.
Another miraculous thrill was when I received an awesome package from you! That was the best package ever! Thanks! I've needed all those things. I was out of small envelopes, chap stick, deodorant, and I had been debating on buying that sweet pen for like the past three weeks! Literally the exact same pen! It was so good to hear from you as well mom. I really appreciate your letters. You too Halls.
I went on an exchange this past week with a missionary who has been out about two months. He has an amazing story. Seven years before he left on his mission he fell severely away from the church. For those seven years he worked, played, moved around a lot, and lived a very different lifestyle than the one he lives now. While he was living and working in Colorado, he got a random knock at the door. It was the missionaries and he talked to them for a bit about how he was already a member but just didn't have the desire to be active. He thought it was funny that they happened to knock on his door but didn't think much about it. A few days later he moved to Fort Collins for school. Not two days after moving in, there was another knock at the door. Once again, the missionaries were there. This time he was shocked and thought that his mom who was living in Wisconsin at the time had sent the missionaries. Upon their departure, he called his mom and confronted her about the whole deal. She went on to tell him that she would never do that because she wants the decision to be his own and she wouldn't shove it down his throat like that. He moved on with the lingering thought in his mind about why and how they had come by each time. Well that semester went by and in the winter his sister gave him a call (she was living in Florida). She told him that he should take a semester off and go down to Florida and live with her for a few months. He agreed, transferred jobs, and flew to Florida. He got all settled in and once again, not a few days after settling, another knock came to the door. The elders were there and this time he invited them in to talk to him and his sister. He interrogated them on how they knew he was there. They went on to say that they had just felt inspired to tract in that place on that certain day. He told them the story of the other missionaries happening onto him and couldn't believe that it was just coincidence. He started turning his life around and because of this experience with the missionaries both he and his sister are now active in the church. They are the only active kids of the 6 children in his family. He is now serving a mission at the age of 24 and has one of the strongest testimonies I've heard. I learned a lot from this elder. He could look at the missionaries around him, including his trainer who is an arrogant 19 year old, and see them as young kids who haven't had as much life experience as him. Instead, he's humble enough to try to learn something from each person he comes across. He would ask me advice on certain aspects of missionary work and asked many questions about the doctrine. I am far from being a scriptorian so we learned together throughout the exchange. I realized just how much missionary work can affect the lives of those around us, member and non member. I would hope that we wouldn't get caught up in the way of the world and sink to the level of the same. It is amazing how the Lord's hands truly are in all things. This was made apparent to me from the experience I shared with you recently when experiences from my childhood to now flowed through my mind as I prayed to strengthen my testimony. I know that the Lord's hands are upon our heads more than we can know. He's always there!
Well I love and appreciate you and all you do. Please keep safe and don't do anything stupid!
Update on shoulder: it's doing so well that the physical therapist only wants me to have physical therapy once every other week until we can start doing some intense work outs. The range of motion is better than ever.
Love you all.
Elder Colt Mouritsen
Sounds like it was a great week for you! I bet sacrament meeting was stellar. Megan Leah, I bet your talk was amazing! It sounded good as I read it but I bet your testimony, spirit, and emotion made it so much better. I bet the song was great as well! Madison I can't tell which number it is... You should send me a copy of you singing the words to the song. That would be great :) haha.
I can't believe that it's general conference in two weeks! This is honestly my favorite time of year. The Halloween stuff is already out at Wal-Mart and haunted houses are advertising for their opening days. The regular season of the majors is coming to an end and apparently the Diamondbacks are doing quite well this year and will be making it to the playoffs. Exciting time! This is my favorite time of year. Oh and don't remind me, it's another hunting season where I miss some French dip deer sandwiches in Dingle while watching the Yankees. Good stuff! I guess for me it's been hunting season for the past 16 months and will be for the next 8!
Staying along the topic of the fall season, missionary work has it's thrills, scares, chills, prayers, and miracles. Last week we had some scares with a couple of our investigators. Ryan, who had decided to be baptized on October 8th, who also has quit nearly every addiction imaginable, called us with some bad news. Apparently his mom told his dad that he was going to be baptized into the LDS church and his dad wouldn't have it. He told Ryan that he WOULD NOT be getting baptized, in fact he wouldn't even be going to church, meeting with the missionaries, or even reading the Book of Mormon. Ryan was quite devastated. He said that he has finally started having a good relationship with his dad. His dad said that if he made this decision, there was a good chance he would disown him and never speak with him again. Ryan said that he is going to keep his Book of Mormon so he can read, but out of respect for his dad, he won't be coming to church or getting baptized for awhile. This was heartbreaking for me to hear...
President Beck would always say, "There is no such thing as coincidence, only tender mercies and miracles." The next day would have to be considered a tender mercy. A young man came to church for the first time with one of his friends who is a member and asked us if he could start taking the lessons. We were so excited because it has been so hard to find people that would be considered YSA's. A few weeks ago, he went to a homecoming talk of one of his friends and after the meeting he went up to them and said, "How can I be part of this?" He then went to ward softball and his friends invited him to come to church! We have dinner and a lesson with him on Wednesday. Things are looking good!
Today we were at the chiropractor and one of the receptionists there isn't a member and she is YSA age and has decided to start learning more. Well she happens to live in our stake! We set up an appointment with her as well. I felt that this was another miracle.
Another miraculous thrill was when I received an awesome package from you! That was the best package ever! Thanks! I've needed all those things. I was out of small envelopes, chap stick, deodorant, and I had been debating on buying that sweet pen for like the past three weeks! Literally the exact same pen! It was so good to hear from you as well mom. I really appreciate your letters. You too Halls.
I went on an exchange this past week with a missionary who has been out about two months. He has an amazing story. Seven years before he left on his mission he fell severely away from the church. For those seven years he worked, played, moved around a lot, and lived a very different lifestyle than the one he lives now. While he was living and working in Colorado, he got a random knock at the door. It was the missionaries and he talked to them for a bit about how he was already a member but just didn't have the desire to be active. He thought it was funny that they happened to knock on his door but didn't think much about it. A few days later he moved to Fort Collins for school. Not two days after moving in, there was another knock at the door. Once again, the missionaries were there. This time he was shocked and thought that his mom who was living in Wisconsin at the time had sent the missionaries. Upon their departure, he called his mom and confronted her about the whole deal. She went on to tell him that she would never do that because she wants the decision to be his own and she wouldn't shove it down his throat like that. He moved on with the lingering thought in his mind about why and how they had come by each time. Well that semester went by and in the winter his sister gave him a call (she was living in Florida). She told him that he should take a semester off and go down to Florida and live with her for a few months. He agreed, transferred jobs, and flew to Florida. He got all settled in and once again, not a few days after settling, another knock came to the door. The elders were there and this time he invited them in to talk to him and his sister. He interrogated them on how they knew he was there. They went on to say that they had just felt inspired to tract in that place on that certain day. He told them the story of the other missionaries happening onto him and couldn't believe that it was just coincidence. He started turning his life around and because of this experience with the missionaries both he and his sister are now active in the church. They are the only active kids of the 6 children in his family. He is now serving a mission at the age of 24 and has one of the strongest testimonies I've heard. I learned a lot from this elder. He could look at the missionaries around him, including his trainer who is an arrogant 19 year old, and see them as young kids who haven't had as much life experience as him. Instead, he's humble enough to try to learn something from each person he comes across. He would ask me advice on certain aspects of missionary work and asked many questions about the doctrine. I am far from being a scriptorian so we learned together throughout the exchange. I realized just how much missionary work can affect the lives of those around us, member and non member. I would hope that we wouldn't get caught up in the way of the world and sink to the level of the same. It is amazing how the Lord's hands truly are in all things. This was made apparent to me from the experience I shared with you recently when experiences from my childhood to now flowed through my mind as I prayed to strengthen my testimony. I know that the Lord's hands are upon our heads more than we can know. He's always there!
Well I love and appreciate you and all you do. Please keep safe and don't do anything stupid!
Update on shoulder: it's doing so well that the physical therapist only wants me to have physical therapy once every other week until we can start doing some intense work outs. The range of motion is better than ever.
Love you all.
Elder Colt Mouritsen
Leaving the James'!
Monday, September 12, 2011
September 6-12, 2011: The Book of Mormon makes it right
Wow... That's all I can say!
I got emotional reading about dad and Dave. That is unbelievable! Man I bet the feeling of being at that finish line was intense. I want to do that race! Before I never in the world thought I would even want to do something like that but now I think it would be a good, fun, wholesome, slightly insane goal. :)
Who do we live with now? Elder Smith got transferred. His companion, Elder Griessmann, didn't. Elder Griessmann is now training a HUGE football player from Maryland named Elder Miller. He's pretty legit. There were a whole bunch of other changes as well. Elder Tameilau, who was trained by Elder Cichy right before I got with him, is back in the Country Gables/Campbello area. Tameilau is a 6'4" Tongan who played Olympic rugby but gave it up to come on the mission. He is planning to go to Utah or BYU after the mission and play Defensive End. We consider our zone to be "stacked" now. haha Some of the "herbies" were transferred and I am extremely excited! Yes I refer back to that letter you sent me a while ago frequently. So that was transfers.
Wednesday I went to Physical Therapy. There were some questions about which insurance I should use (home or missionary medical). The home insurance would require me to pay a $35 copay each visit which would be a lot of money. Missionary Medical only has a ten dollar copay but I just want to know how many visits I will be able to get. That is the decision I'm left with I guess. I got back there and they asked me several questions. They sat me down on the table and wanted to figure out how much range of movement/flexibility my right arm has so that they will know how far they can go with my left arm. I will have you know that when they were measuring my right arm they asked if I was a pitcher for a baseball team because it was abnormal compared to most. That made me feel reeaaallll good. :) They took the measurements, then went to the left arm. I was lying on my back and she told me to just relax my body and let her stretch my shoulder. She lifted my arm up away from my body so my arm was at a 90 degree angle with my body and started to take it back along side my head. She told me to tell her as soon as I started feeling pain and she would stop and measure the angle. She said normally, two weeks after surgery, people will only be able to go back about 10 degrees from the 90 degree point. Oddly, I felt no pain and she went further, and further, and further making comments like "this is nuts." "This is extremely abnormal." "When did you have surgery again?" until my shoulder was back as far as my right was measured. I felt a little twinge of pain when she took it that far. It was amazing! She then did the other stretches and measurements and the same thing happened. Originally, I had planned to have 2-3 visits a week from week 2 after surgery till the end. Now I will be only having 1 visit a week until I get my sling off or even after. It's a miracle! She even made the comment that I probably wouldn't even need my sling but to keep it on until the surgeon told me to remove it. It's amazing that I have no pain. The priesthood is real, prayers are answered. Nuff said.
We had a good lesson with a former investigator named Ryan Reardon. He was taught a couple months ago but went back to some of his old ways and fell away from the teachings. He committed himself to start doing better and is now wanting to get baptized. He has seriously quit every addiction there is that has to do with the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. He's committed to baptism for October 8th.
Another "elect" person just showed up to our church on Sunday. His name is Gabriel and he is from Iraq. He says he has only been in this area for 5 days and he doesn't know English very well at all. He said he had been researching the church for a while and was just waiting for someone to give him an Arabic Book of Mormon. Wow... We just happened to have one in the truck so we ran out and got it for him while he was sitting in Gospel Principles class. When I handed it to him, he looked at me and said, "This is the best gift I have received in the entire time I have been in the United States!" That just made me smile. He started flipping through the pages which to me looked like chicken scratches and smiled every time he came to a scripture he wanted to finally understand. This is how I want to end my letter. The Book of Mormon is such a powerful testament of Jesus Christ. I swear whenever things are going rough either Nephi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, Abinadi, etc know how to make it right. It truly is the best gift we can receive! It helps one feel the spirit, which helps one gain a testimony, which helps one repent, which helps one to be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. It is true!
Well I love you all. I love this work. I think I will get the package tomorrow when they train the mission on the mormon.org boom that is coming to Phoenix. I don't know if I told you but Phoenix is getting nuked with advertisement starting October 1st so hopefully it boosts the missionary work.
Dad you are amazing. I love your testimony and your determination to endure trials because the end result is so worth it. Through the hard things we learn how to cope with harder things that the Lord would have us do in the future!
Love you!
Elder Mouritsen
I got emotional reading about dad and Dave. That is unbelievable! Man I bet the feeling of being at that finish line was intense. I want to do that race! Before I never in the world thought I would even want to do something like that but now I think it would be a good, fun, wholesome, slightly insane goal. :)
Who do we live with now? Elder Smith got transferred. His companion, Elder Griessmann, didn't. Elder Griessmann is now training a HUGE football player from Maryland named Elder Miller. He's pretty legit. There were a whole bunch of other changes as well. Elder Tameilau, who was trained by Elder Cichy right before I got with him, is back in the Country Gables/Campbello area. Tameilau is a 6'4" Tongan who played Olympic rugby but gave it up to come on the mission. He is planning to go to Utah or BYU after the mission and play Defensive End. We consider our zone to be "stacked" now. haha Some of the "herbies" were transferred and I am extremely excited! Yes I refer back to that letter you sent me a while ago frequently. So that was transfers.
Wednesday I went to Physical Therapy. There were some questions about which insurance I should use (home or missionary medical). The home insurance would require me to pay a $35 copay each visit which would be a lot of money. Missionary Medical only has a ten dollar copay but I just want to know how many visits I will be able to get. That is the decision I'm left with I guess. I got back there and they asked me several questions. They sat me down on the table and wanted to figure out how much range of movement/flexibility my right arm has so that they will know how far they can go with my left arm. I will have you know that when they were measuring my right arm they asked if I was a pitcher for a baseball team because it was abnormal compared to most. That made me feel reeaaallll good. :) They took the measurements, then went to the left arm. I was lying on my back and she told me to just relax my body and let her stretch my shoulder. She lifted my arm up away from my body so my arm was at a 90 degree angle with my body and started to take it back along side my head. She told me to tell her as soon as I started feeling pain and she would stop and measure the angle. She said normally, two weeks after surgery, people will only be able to go back about 10 degrees from the 90 degree point. Oddly, I felt no pain and she went further, and further, and further making comments like "this is nuts." "This is extremely abnormal." "When did you have surgery again?" until my shoulder was back as far as my right was measured. I felt a little twinge of pain when she took it that far. It was amazing! She then did the other stretches and measurements and the same thing happened. Originally, I had planned to have 2-3 visits a week from week 2 after surgery till the end. Now I will be only having 1 visit a week until I get my sling off or even after. It's a miracle! She even made the comment that I probably wouldn't even need my sling but to keep it on until the surgeon told me to remove it. It's amazing that I have no pain. The priesthood is real, prayers are answered. Nuff said.
We had a good lesson with a former investigator named Ryan Reardon. He was taught a couple months ago but went back to some of his old ways and fell away from the teachings. He committed himself to start doing better and is now wanting to get baptized. He has seriously quit every addiction there is that has to do with the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity. He's committed to baptism for October 8th.
Another "elect" person just showed up to our church on Sunday. His name is Gabriel and he is from Iraq. He says he has only been in this area for 5 days and he doesn't know English very well at all. He said he had been researching the church for a while and was just waiting for someone to give him an Arabic Book of Mormon. Wow... We just happened to have one in the truck so we ran out and got it for him while he was sitting in Gospel Principles class. When I handed it to him, he looked at me and said, "This is the best gift I have received in the entire time I have been in the United States!" That just made me smile. He started flipping through the pages which to me looked like chicken scratches and smiled every time he came to a scripture he wanted to finally understand. This is how I want to end my letter. The Book of Mormon is such a powerful testament of Jesus Christ. I swear whenever things are going rough either Nephi, Alma, Mormon, Moroni, Abinadi, etc know how to make it right. It truly is the best gift we can receive! It helps one feel the spirit, which helps one gain a testimony, which helps one repent, which helps one to be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. It is true!
Well I love you all. I love this work. I think I will get the package tomorrow when they train the mission on the mormon.org boom that is coming to Phoenix. I don't know if I told you but Phoenix is getting nuked with advertisement starting October 1st so hopefully it boosts the missionary work.
Dad you are amazing. I love your testimony and your determination to endure trials because the end result is so worth it. Through the hard things we learn how to cope with harder things that the Lord would have us do in the future!
Love you!
Elder Mouritsen
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
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.
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
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
Thursday, September 1, 2011
August 31, 2011: Zone Leader Council (From Sister Taylor)
Mission Leadership meeting – August 31, 2011
Today we had a wonderful leadership meeting with our Zone and District Leaders. It was an honor to be with them for the day. We welcomed Elder Buttars (third from left) as a new zone leader who stepped in to train with Elder Birch while Elder Mouritsen was out with his surgery.
Zone Leader Council – August 31, 2011
We look forward so much to Zone Leader Council at the Mission Home. It is a chance to train and teach and associate with mission leadership. Notice that Elder Mouritsen had his personal miracle and was able to come to this meeting one week after his surgery! He is doing amazing!
Front row: Elders Bird, Mendenhall, Freeman, Turner, Falconer, Perkins, Mouritsen, Henrie, Grady, Geren, Halligan, Farnsworth, Sieverts, S. Johnson Back row: President Morris, Elders Barrett, Allred, T. Anderson, Birch, Juchau, Buttars, Wilson, Cheadle, D. Johnston, Chipman, Miles, President Taylor.
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