Familia!
5 More days, it is crazy....but I can't wait. I have been looking forward to this day for so long its crazy that it is almost here. Also, I never thought I would say this, but I am looking forward to the Arizona heat. I think I'm turning weird already because I HATE the heat, but I guess I can't complain that I am looking forward to it now because if I wasn't it would be a rough two years.
It has been way nice having all my friends here. Braden lives in the same complex as me so I see him nearly every day for a while. I have seen Casey a few times, and he is doing well, and then I see Garrett Homer everywhere. I also saw Colten Suitter last week which was awesome. It's so sweet to see the dedication that a lot of my friends have to the Gospel. I love it.
Conference was so amazing. I have never listened so intently to a session and I am so thankful that I did because I learned so much. Guys can be 18 and serve missions and Girls can be 19??? what??? It is so awesome how urgent missionary work is becoming. The Lord has helped me out so much in my mission already and I know how much He helps all of His missionaries. I know that no matter what the age, He will be there to guide their actions when they act in faith. Karee said BYU campus is blowing up with all the girls saying they were going on missions, I figured it would. And no worries Bryce I really don't think your dating pool will disappear haha. I know that the sister missionaries will greatly increase, but I'm not sure how much. I know that a lot of my friends that were girls said that if they could go on missions at age 19 they would for sure....now its time, I wonder who will respond. It will be interesting to see in the next couple of months.
This week has been amazing, I really can't describe how grateful I am for everything that has happened. First off, the conference messages were incredible. I learned so much and am so thankful that every six months we have the opportunity to listen to a Prophet of God and his Apostles. Then to add to it, yesterday our devotional was given by Elder Bednar.... ya, I have been spiritually fed more this week that I ever had before. I was really curious as to what Elder Bednar was going to say to us. At the MTC we have the opportunity to listen to quite a few past devotionals and many of them are from Elder Bednar. The talks that I have listened to have been amazing and I have learned so much from them so I was really curious as to what he was going to talk to us about this devotional. When he started out, he said that he was going to do something different than he had ever done before. I got pretty excited because I thought we were going to have some crazy miraculous experience, but then he said that he was going to talk about conference and its importance. I'm not going to lie, I was a little bit disappointed when he said this because I wanted to learn something more that I had never heard before. Elder Bednar has the ability to talk about deep doctrine in such a simple way, and so when he said that he was going to talk about something we heard just a few days before I became a little disappointed. However, this devotional was one of the most life changing things that I have been to. As he talked about conference he said a phrase that will always stay with me. "If we don't recall what the prophet and apostles have said, and if we don't apply what they have said to our lives, it is the same as not believing that they are the mouthpiece of the Lord and that Thomas S. Monson isn't a prophet in these latter days." As I thought about this, I realized that I really haven't taken full advantage of the opportunity to listen to conference twice a year. When the prophets and apostles speak, they are telling us what God wants us to hear. Each talk contains doctrine, challenges, and promised blessings, and if we act on these things we can be so much happier in our lives, we can receive so many blessings. In the devotional before conference, we were told that as missionaries we need to pay really close attention to conference, because we carry this message to the world. In Elder Eyring's talk he talked about pavilions in our lives. He talked about how sometimes we feel as if God is far from us, but in reality, we have just placed a pavilion between us and God. He talked about how the only way that we can remove this pavilion is by becoming fully converted, and submitting our will to the Fathers. I know that in my life there have been times where I have had a pavilion between God and I. The Light of God was blocked, not because God was far from me, but because I built a pavilion. I know that during these times I felt alone, and I felt despair that I never want to feel again. However, as I submitted my will to the Fathers, the pavilion was broken down and I knew that God was in my life guiding me because I felt his presence. I know that there are people in Tempe that have pavilions in their lives. They feel as if God is far, but they don't know that He is just on the other side. As a missionary, I have the ability to help them realize what they need to do in their lives to break down the pavilions. I have the ability to help them feel God and the love of the Savior in their life once again. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I grow more excited every day. President Uchtdorf said something along the lines of God knows our potential, and so he knows what we can become. Why then, would we not place our lives in his hands? For these next two years, and for the rest of my life, my life is in the hands of God. I will do what he asks me and I will go where he tells me, because I want to become the best Kevin Jurgensmeier that I can be. I want to serve others and help them become their best selves as well. I love this Gospel, I love this work and I can't wait to get to Tempe. Only 5 more days...
Hope all is well,
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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