Familia!
It was so good to see you all on Christmas. Google+ was definitely a good idea. It was awesome to see all of the nieces and nephews and then all of our family. It just made me realize how truly blessed we are to have the family that we have. I am so glad that we have the gospel in our lives to know that we will be together for eternity, and nothing can separate us.
This week was extremely slow. We didn't proselyte Monday or Tuesday because of Christmas, and then the rest of the week was full of lessons that fell through. It is just frustrating sometimes. The last four days we had almost 15 lessons fall through. It is tough because I have come to love the Gospel so much and know how much it will help these people's lives. They tell us how hard their life is and we have the key to make it better, but then they don't take advantage of it. It's difficult, but we just keep pushing through finding the elect. I know that everyone I talk to, I talk to for a reason, and who knows if what I say will affect them today or 10 years from now. All I can do is my part and then hopefully they will listen.
Even though this week was tough with lessons that fell through, we had a pretty awesome experience. About two weeks ago we talked to this lady, Rosa, out in the street. She told us that she was a member of the church but hadn't gone to church for over two years. She asked us if we would stop by some day to bring her a Book of Mormon because she lost hers. So, about a week ago was the first time that we met with her. The first lesson we had with her was very powerful. We talked about our Savior and the things that he has done for us. Elder Hernandez and I both bore our testimonies about how he lived his entire life for us. Everything that Christ ever did was out of service for everyone who will ever come to the earth. After we talked about all of these things she started crying. She told us that she knew she needed to go back to church, she was just embarrassed and scared. She was embarrassed because she hadn't been in over two years and she thought that if she went back people would judge her, and then she was scared because she only worked on Saturdays and Sundays and knew if she lost the job she would lose her house. We talked about how really, it doesn't matter what others thing of us, it is what God thinks of us. After we did that, we committed her to talk to her boss about getting work off.
So, last Sunday Rosa talked to her boss. Her boss told her she either worked Sunday or she lost her job, so Rosa told him bye. The faith of people...It is just incredible sometimes. She is trying to support her family and help her daughter through college. She knew without this income she would lose everything, but yet she put her life in the hands of God and said do with me as you will. Yesterday was the first time that she came to Church. The whole time she was there she was so excited. She said she knew that she was supposed to come back yesterday and that everything that had been talked about was exactly what she needed. She was no longer scared for the future because she knew what was important. She knew that she was doing what was right, and by doing so, God would take care of her. Rosa has some of the most faith that I have ever seen and has truly opened my eyes to a lot of different things. Life is short, and it really doesn't matter what we have. All that matters is that every day we are coming closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As this becomes a priority in our lives, and eventually, becomes our life, we will be taken care of. God knows our needs. He knows what I, his son, need to make it through this life. I know that as I do my part in this life and change my attitude from "I want this" to "Thy will be done" not only will I become happier, but things will become easier.
It is weeks like these that I think mean the most in your mission. Sometimes baptisms come easy and we have a lot of success, but I know we learn the most through our trials. This whole week I have been thinking to myself, "Why did that lesson fall through," and "Why is nothing working out." However, I know that although those were good desires of mine to have lessons, they were personal desires. As I submit my will to God I know that it will still be tough when weeks with little success come, but I know that I will be doing what God wants me to be doing, and that is all that really matters. Trials will arise in life, but as long as we have the attitude that God's will be done instead of ours, things truly become easier.
I love this work. The Gospel truly does bring joy that can be experienced no other way. I love you all and hope everything is going well.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Monday, December 31, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Week 18: Merry Christmas
Familia!
Christmas in Tempe is WEIRD. I keep seeing all these houses covered in Christmas lights and its 70 degrees outside. Just doesn't feel right, but hey I can't complain.
This week was a pretty good week. We had Evelia's baptism and it was a super awesome experience. We have a lot of support from the spanish ward, and they instantly accepted her into the ward. There was a lot of support at the baptism and it was just an all around awesome experience. It was kind of just a miracle baptism that just fell into our laps. She is already so converted to the gosple and is planning on leaving on a mission within a year. It is truly humbling to see how this is the Lord's work, and he is going before us finding people and preparing them.
We have also had a few lessons with an in-active member of the church. Her name is Rosa and we just ran into her while we were walking on the street. She said she has really wanting to go back to church, but she is embarrassed because she hasn't been for two years. We were able to have some really powerful lessons with her. She is really nervous because she only works on Saturday and Sunday and knows that if she loses this job she will lose her house. We testified that the Lord will not give us a commandment that he will not prepare a way to accomplish it, and yesterday she talked to her boss. I'm not sure how it went, but I should know fairly soon. I have truly been able to see how the Lord really does make a way for us to accomplish all of the commandments, especially on this mission. I have never seen his helping hand so much in my life as I have these last few months. I know that he truly will bless us as we strive to do our part to come closer unto him.
Anyway, I better get going. We are going to go play basketball with some youth from our ward. I'm stoked to talk to you all tomorrow! take care and love you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Christmas in Tempe is WEIRD. I keep seeing all these houses covered in Christmas lights and its 70 degrees outside. Just doesn't feel right, but hey I can't complain.
This week was a pretty good week. We had Evelia's baptism and it was a super awesome experience. We have a lot of support from the spanish ward, and they instantly accepted her into the ward. There was a lot of support at the baptism and it was just an all around awesome experience. It was kind of just a miracle baptism that just fell into our laps. She is already so converted to the gosple and is planning on leaving on a mission within a year. It is truly humbling to see how this is the Lord's work, and he is going before us finding people and preparing them.
We have also had a few lessons with an in-active member of the church. Her name is Rosa and we just ran into her while we were walking on the street. She said she has really wanting to go back to church, but she is embarrassed because she hasn't been for two years. We were able to have some really powerful lessons with her. She is really nervous because she only works on Saturday and Sunday and knows that if she loses this job she will lose her house. We testified that the Lord will not give us a commandment that he will not prepare a way to accomplish it, and yesterday she talked to her boss. I'm not sure how it went, but I should know fairly soon. I have truly been able to see how the Lord really does make a way for us to accomplish all of the commandments, especially on this mission. I have never seen his helping hand so much in my life as I have these last few months. I know that he truly will bless us as we strive to do our part to come closer unto him.
Anyway, I better get going. We are going to go play basketball with some youth from our ward. I'm stoked to talk to you all tomorrow! take care and love you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Monday, December 17, 2012
Week 17: Blessings from Trials
Familia!
So, I'm not sure how I forgot to put this in my email last week.... but Elder Cook came to our mission along with the presiding Bishop and a member of the presidency of the 70..... Ya, I'm not sure how I forgot to write about that. A lot has been on my mind, so don't judge me... haha. It was an incredible experience though. I was able to get a lot of my questions answered. For example, before I came to Tempe another general authority came. Each mission has a standard of excellence, which is what missionaries goals should be in that certain area. He told us that our standard of excellence for the Tempe Arizona Mission was to baptize weekly. When I got here and heard of that I was a little surprised. I knew that there would probably be a lot of success in this area, but I didn't realize that should be our goal. I have struggled a lot to believe that I could reach this goal on my mission. One of the questions that I had going into this meeting was how I would develop the faith to baptize weekly. A lot of things came into mind throughout the entire meeting. I know that through faith miracles happen and as I have this faith to baptize weekly, the miracles will come. However throughout this entire meeting I realized that having the faith to baptize weekly doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen. In missionary work there are two parts, the missionary who teaches, and the person who accepts or rejects the message we bring. No matter how much faith I have, no matter how hard I work, people will always have their agency. Agency is something that our Heavenly Father will never take away from us. Throughout this meeting I learned that I just need to do my part every day as a missionary, to really strive to fulfill my purpose, and as weeks come and go that people are not baptized to not get discouraged. As long as I am doing my part on my mission, that is all that is asked. All in all it was just an amazing meeting. I am more thankful for the mission every day.
So this week has been a little rough. We have been working on getting Nichole to baptism. We have taught her nearly every lesson and she has told us that she knows it is true. She wants to be baptized, there is just one problem. She can't quit smoking. I know trails take time to overcome and this isn't just one that can happen over night (usually) but I we have been trying to help her overcome this addiction. She hasn't been to church yet, and we have kind of gotten the vibe that she is just scared to walk over there alone. We took her to a baptism for someone else on Saturday and then after told her that we would meet her at her door to walk over to church together. So Saturday night comes around and we go to bed. All throughout the night I couldn't sleep. I ended up getting a really bad cold and couldn't really breathe. As the alarm went off Sunday morning at 6:30 I didn't want to get out of bed at all. I had hardly slept and I felt terrible. However, I knew that if Nichole was to go to church I had to as well. So I got ready, we show up at her house, and she didn't answer.... it was very frustrating. I could have been resting in bed, but instead I decided to go so we could help her out. So since we were there, we went to church anyway. We stayed throughout all of our English ward and then at the beginning of our Spanish Church I told Elder Hernandez that we should probably go home after sacrament meeting if none of our Investigators showed up. Well, none did, but a little miracle happened. One of the members brought her sister, who was a non member. She had taken the lessons before and she wanted to be baptized years ago, but her mom told her she couldn't until she turned 18. Well, she is 18 now and her sister came to us and told us she wanted to be baptized. It was a little confusing at first because I had seen this girl in church a couple times before, and so I figured she was a member. We ended up having a lesson with her right then. She told us that she wanted to be baptized as soon as she could because she wanted to leave on a mission next January...WHAT? haha ya she was prepared. So, we extended a date for her to be baptized this Saturday the 22nd. She was very excited and accepted. I know that if I wouldn't have gotten out of bed yesterday morning because I didn't feel good, we would have never had this lesson with this girl and put her on date. I knew that there was a reason that we should stay to church, and because we did we had this lesson that otherwise we wouldn't have had. God is incharge of missionary work. As we listen to him he will guide us. He will place those who are prepared in our way, so that we can find them and do our part as missionaries. I know that this is the Lord's work. I know that he is the head of our church today, and I know that there is a specific plan for each and every one of us.
Take care fam, I look forward to speaking with you soon over skype. Love you all
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
So, I'm not sure how I forgot to put this in my email last week.... but Elder Cook came to our mission along with the presiding Bishop and a member of the presidency of the 70..... Ya, I'm not sure how I forgot to write about that. A lot has been on my mind, so don't judge me... haha. It was an incredible experience though. I was able to get a lot of my questions answered. For example, before I came to Tempe another general authority came. Each mission has a standard of excellence, which is what missionaries goals should be in that certain area. He told us that our standard of excellence for the Tempe Arizona Mission was to baptize weekly. When I got here and heard of that I was a little surprised. I knew that there would probably be a lot of success in this area, but I didn't realize that should be our goal. I have struggled a lot to believe that I could reach this goal on my mission. One of the questions that I had going into this meeting was how I would develop the faith to baptize weekly. A lot of things came into mind throughout the entire meeting. I know that through faith miracles happen and as I have this faith to baptize weekly, the miracles will come. However throughout this entire meeting I realized that having the faith to baptize weekly doesn't necessarily mean that it will happen. In missionary work there are two parts, the missionary who teaches, and the person who accepts or rejects the message we bring. No matter how much faith I have, no matter how hard I work, people will always have their agency. Agency is something that our Heavenly Father will never take away from us. Throughout this meeting I learned that I just need to do my part every day as a missionary, to really strive to fulfill my purpose, and as weeks come and go that people are not baptized to not get discouraged. As long as I am doing my part on my mission, that is all that is asked. All in all it was just an amazing meeting. I am more thankful for the mission every day.
So this week has been a little rough. We have been working on getting Nichole to baptism. We have taught her nearly every lesson and she has told us that she knows it is true. She wants to be baptized, there is just one problem. She can't quit smoking. I know trails take time to overcome and this isn't just one that can happen over night (usually) but I we have been trying to help her overcome this addiction. She hasn't been to church yet, and we have kind of gotten the vibe that she is just scared to walk over there alone. We took her to a baptism for someone else on Saturday and then after told her that we would meet her at her door to walk over to church together. So Saturday night comes around and we go to bed. All throughout the night I couldn't sleep. I ended up getting a really bad cold and couldn't really breathe. As the alarm went off Sunday morning at 6:30 I didn't want to get out of bed at all. I had hardly slept and I felt terrible. However, I knew that if Nichole was to go to church I had to as well. So I got ready, we show up at her house, and she didn't answer.... it was very frustrating. I could have been resting in bed, but instead I decided to go so we could help her out. So since we were there, we went to church anyway. We stayed throughout all of our English ward and then at the beginning of our Spanish Church I told Elder Hernandez that we should probably go home after sacrament meeting if none of our Investigators showed up. Well, none did, but a little miracle happened. One of the members brought her sister, who was a non member. She had taken the lessons before and she wanted to be baptized years ago, but her mom told her she couldn't until she turned 18. Well, she is 18 now and her sister came to us and told us she wanted to be baptized. It was a little confusing at first because I had seen this girl in church a couple times before, and so I figured she was a member. We ended up having a lesson with her right then. She told us that she wanted to be baptized as soon as she could because she wanted to leave on a mission next January...WHAT? haha ya she was prepared. So, we extended a date for her to be baptized this Saturday the 22nd. She was very excited and accepted. I know that if I wouldn't have gotten out of bed yesterday morning because I didn't feel good, we would have never had this lesson with this girl and put her on date. I knew that there was a reason that we should stay to church, and because we did we had this lesson that otherwise we wouldn't have had. God is incharge of missionary work. As we listen to him he will guide us. He will place those who are prepared in our way, so that we can find them and do our part as missionaries. I know that this is the Lord's work. I know that he is the head of our church today, and I know that there is a specific plan for each and every one of us.
Take care fam, I look forward to speaking with you soon over skype. Love you all
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Monday, December 10, 2012
Week 16: Miracles Happen
Familia!
This week has been pretty good. Tuesday we did my first splits. Elder Hernandez is district leader and so we are going to be doing a lot of them this transfer. Usually new missionaries can't drive until they are two transfers in, but since we live with the Assistants I got hook ups. You have to get a TIWI card....they are super lame. We have a box in our car and every time you drive you have to swipe your TIWI card so it can report if you are being a bad driver or not to Salt Lake. I thought the purpose of this life was to make our own choices.... man....haha. No, but either way I'm super happy to be driving again. We have a 2012 Malibu, its pretty sweet. I'm guessing that Cory, Darin, and Brad probably all had the same car on their mission.
Anyway back to the splits. So I was with an English missionary, and all we had set up that day were Spanish lessons. I was a little nervous, but they ended up going pretty well. We found a solid new investigator and so hopefully all goes well with her. It was actually pretty cool to see how much Spanish I have learned. It was nice to have the pressure all on me so I was forced to teach all of the principles. Usually when I don't know how to say certain words or things like that I can turn to Elder Hernandez for help, but this time I had to figure out different ways to explain it if I wasn't sure how to say something. It helped me out a ton and so I am excited to go on more splits.
We have still been working with the members hoping to get more help from them. We have presented the Family Mission Plan that we came up with the several families and we are going to continue to do so. This morning we saw a little bit of success from our efforts. One of the ladies in our Spanish ward set up a lesson for us with one of her friends. It went really well and she seems really open to the gospel. We are hoping that we have tons of experiences like these. The lord has prepared so many people that the members know and as they become more missionary minded the work will progress so much faster.
We have been teaching a family, Shannon and Marshall, the entire time that I have been on my mission. They have had a really rough life. They want to be baptized, but Shannon is still married. They were in a little bit of a rough situation because her "husband" was dying, and so they didn't want to file a divorce to put more on his plate. However, now he has been getting better, so they finally filed the divorce. Before we got to this area, other missionaries had taught them all of the lessons. They had been taught about tithing, and had committed to live it. About a month and a half ago on one of our first lessons with them Shannon lost it. She said, "We have been paying our tithing, we have been going to church, I even quit drinking my coffee. We have been promised so many blessings if we do these things and nothing has come our way. We don't even have enough money to make it by this month." She continued to say that she was done with all of it and she was tired of all the efforts she had to put forth and never getting any blessings in return. As she said these things I felt like I should tell her that the blessings would come. If they kept doing these things for just a little bit longer, so many blessings would come that they wouldn't have enough room to receive it. I was a little sceptical of promising her this, because I didn't know if it was just a promise from me, or if God really wanted me to say this and promise this to them. I continued to feel as if I should say this and so I did. We were able to get her calmed down again and they said that they would continue living the commandments for a little longer. Well, the blessings came. Last night we had a lesson with them. This week Shannon got a new job that pays her better and has better hours. Also, they were looking through their mail and there was an anonymous card with a $600 gift card to target. Plus to add to it, one of the members got all the sizes of their kids and is buying them all clothes. God truly does recognize when we put forth our effort to live the commandments and he will bless us. Marshall is one of the most humble respectable people I know. He has never doubted the things that we have taught him and he has always had faith in God. He works a rough schedule (sometimes up to 97 hours in a week) but yet he is the first one to volunteer for service. He is always the first one to introduce himself to an investigator that we bring to church and he is just an all around good man. God recognizes these things and he blesses people that are trying their hardest. He knows our desires and he knows our needs. As long as we are doing our part we will never have burdens that are more than we can handle. That is what is so great about this life. We have trails to push us, we have trials to help us grow. However, it is a promise from God that as long as we are living as he would like us, these trials will never be more than we can handle. If we live as we should it is a promise that God will always be helping us. This knowledge brings me so much comfort. I know that I will have trials in the life, and I know some of them may be super difficult. However, if I continue to live the commandments like Marshall and Shannon did, the necessary help will come. I love this gospel and the opportunity that I have to share it. It truly does bless the lives of all who live it.
I love you all, Take care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
This week has been pretty good. Tuesday we did my first splits. Elder Hernandez is district leader and so we are going to be doing a lot of them this transfer. Usually new missionaries can't drive until they are two transfers in, but since we live with the Assistants I got hook ups. You have to get a TIWI card....they are super lame. We have a box in our car and every time you drive you have to swipe your TIWI card so it can report if you are being a bad driver or not to Salt Lake. I thought the purpose of this life was to make our own choices.... man....haha. No, but either way I'm super happy to be driving again. We have a 2012 Malibu, its pretty sweet. I'm guessing that Cory, Darin, and Brad probably all had the same car on their mission.
Anyway back to the splits. So I was with an English missionary, and all we had set up that day were Spanish lessons. I was a little nervous, but they ended up going pretty well. We found a solid new investigator and so hopefully all goes well with her. It was actually pretty cool to see how much Spanish I have learned. It was nice to have the pressure all on me so I was forced to teach all of the principles. Usually when I don't know how to say certain words or things like that I can turn to Elder Hernandez for help, but this time I had to figure out different ways to explain it if I wasn't sure how to say something. It helped me out a ton and so I am excited to go on more splits.
We have still been working with the members hoping to get more help from them. We have presented the Family Mission Plan that we came up with the several families and we are going to continue to do so. This morning we saw a little bit of success from our efforts. One of the ladies in our Spanish ward set up a lesson for us with one of her friends. It went really well and she seems really open to the gospel. We are hoping that we have tons of experiences like these. The lord has prepared so many people that the members know and as they become more missionary minded the work will progress so much faster.
We have been teaching a family, Shannon and Marshall, the entire time that I have been on my mission. They have had a really rough life. They want to be baptized, but Shannon is still married. They were in a little bit of a rough situation because her "husband" was dying, and so they didn't want to file a divorce to put more on his plate. However, now he has been getting better, so they finally filed the divorce. Before we got to this area, other missionaries had taught them all of the lessons. They had been taught about tithing, and had committed to live it. About a month and a half ago on one of our first lessons with them Shannon lost it. She said, "We have been paying our tithing, we have been going to church, I even quit drinking my coffee. We have been promised so many blessings if we do these things and nothing has come our way. We don't even have enough money to make it by this month." She continued to say that she was done with all of it and she was tired of all the efforts she had to put forth and never getting any blessings in return. As she said these things I felt like I should tell her that the blessings would come. If they kept doing these things for just a little bit longer, so many blessings would come that they wouldn't have enough room to receive it. I was a little sceptical of promising her this, because I didn't know if it was just a promise from me, or if God really wanted me to say this and promise this to them. I continued to feel as if I should say this and so I did. We were able to get her calmed down again and they said that they would continue living the commandments for a little longer. Well, the blessings came. Last night we had a lesson with them. This week Shannon got a new job that pays her better and has better hours. Also, they were looking through their mail and there was an anonymous card with a $600 gift card to target. Plus to add to it, one of the members got all the sizes of their kids and is buying them all clothes. God truly does recognize when we put forth our effort to live the commandments and he will bless us. Marshall is one of the most humble respectable people I know. He has never doubted the things that we have taught him and he has always had faith in God. He works a rough schedule (sometimes up to 97 hours in a week) but yet he is the first one to volunteer for service. He is always the first one to introduce himself to an investigator that we bring to church and he is just an all around good man. God recognizes these things and he blesses people that are trying their hardest. He knows our desires and he knows our needs. As long as we are doing our part we will never have burdens that are more than we can handle. That is what is so great about this life. We have trails to push us, we have trials to help us grow. However, it is a promise from God that as long as we are living as he would like us, these trials will never be more than we can handle. If we live as we should it is a promise that God will always be helping us. This knowledge brings me so much comfort. I know that I will have trials in the life, and I know some of them may be super difficult. However, if I continue to live the commandments like Marshall and Shannon did, the necessary help will come. I love this gospel and the opportunity that I have to share it. It truly does bless the lives of all who live it.
I love you all, Take care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Monday, December 3, 2012
Week 15: Tempe Life
Familia!
That's so awesome that Brad got in, I like the idea of Florida....I wouldn't mind another Florida Christmas when I get back. Where ever they go though will be awesome for sure. That's way exciting news.
So this week has been a little lame, probably one of the harder weeks so far on the mission. Its tough to see people reject the blessings that the gospel has to offer. We are teaching this Spanish family who was really interested in what we were teaching, and then all of a sudden they just decided that they didn't want to change a few things. They said that "They were comfortable with what they had and didn't want anymore." Its tough because I know how much God really can help us. He promises us with the things we need as we decide to live the commandments. Every time we go over to visit them they say how tough life is and they wish that there was an easier way. The Gospel is the easier way of life, and it is hard when no matter what you do, no matter how you explain it, they deny it. Trinny (The Mother) had a daughter that was killed. It pains her to even think about, as I'm sure it would for me as well. We taught her that she could live with her daughter again, she could see her daughter again. She just kept saying no over and over again. The Gospel brings hope of more, and with this hope it turns to knowledge of more. I know that she will see her daughter again, just right now she has no desire to learn about it. Right now they are "comfortable" and don't know the joys that the gospel brings. It is sad, and I know that my mission will be full of many more experiences like this. Its crazy how attached you get to these people. You want to help them so much, and you know how you can help them. It is just all up to them and how they use their agency. You know they can be blessed so much more, but when they chose to stay in their "comfortable" ways and deny the blessings of God, it is hard. Along with that, this week we had several more appointments fall through. Its all good though because I know everything happens for a reason. When appointments fall through we try to look for people in the area to teach, because God has prepared people, we just need to find them.
In the State wide Stake Conference Arizona had a couple of weeks ago Elder Holland really stressed the importance of missionary work with the members. He said that the time of knocking doors and finding success is over. There is a better way, and the way to do missionary work is with the members. I know this to be true. All of the solid investigators that we have are from the members. They already have a friendship, a bond with members from the church, and when someone that they care about bears testimony of things they know to be true it has so much more power. Since our area hasn't really done much the past couple weeks since we have been here, Elder Hernandez and I decided to change things up. We came up with a Family Mission Plan and are going to introduce it to all of the members in our ward. Hopefully by doing this, the work picks up. I know that there are people here that are ready to accept the gospel, to accept the blessings it brings, and if members are helping us find them, it will go so much better.
On a plus side to this week, I finished the Book of Mormon again. It never ceases to surprise me how no matter how many times you read it, if you take Moroni's challenge at the end (To read it, ponder it, and pray about it) no matter what you will be able to feel the spirit testifying of the truthfulness. I think when I was in high school I didn't really realize the full power that the Book of Mormon had. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon is the most true book on the earth, and by and through it a man can come closer to God than through any other book. When we have questions, when we desire to feel the spirit, if we read the Book of Mormon we are guaranteed to find our answers and to feel of the spirit. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I know that a man truly can come closer to God through it because I have seen the power that it has had in my life. The Book of Mormon has literally made me the person I am today. I have seen miracles as people have read it and the changes that they have made in their life because of it. I know that the messages inside are true, and that it truly is the Word of God.
I hope all is well at home, I love hearing from you all. Take Care and hopefully the cold isn't treating you too bad.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
That's so awesome that Brad got in, I like the idea of Florida....I wouldn't mind another Florida Christmas when I get back. Where ever they go though will be awesome for sure. That's way exciting news.
So this week has been a little lame, probably one of the harder weeks so far on the mission. Its tough to see people reject the blessings that the gospel has to offer. We are teaching this Spanish family who was really interested in what we were teaching, and then all of a sudden they just decided that they didn't want to change a few things. They said that "They were comfortable with what they had and didn't want anymore." Its tough because I know how much God really can help us. He promises us with the things we need as we decide to live the commandments. Every time we go over to visit them they say how tough life is and they wish that there was an easier way. The Gospel is the easier way of life, and it is hard when no matter what you do, no matter how you explain it, they deny it. Trinny (The Mother) had a daughter that was killed. It pains her to even think about, as I'm sure it would for me as well. We taught her that she could live with her daughter again, she could see her daughter again. She just kept saying no over and over again. The Gospel brings hope of more, and with this hope it turns to knowledge of more. I know that she will see her daughter again, just right now she has no desire to learn about it. Right now they are "comfortable" and don't know the joys that the gospel brings. It is sad, and I know that my mission will be full of many more experiences like this. Its crazy how attached you get to these people. You want to help them so much, and you know how you can help them. It is just all up to them and how they use their agency. You know they can be blessed so much more, but when they chose to stay in their "comfortable" ways and deny the blessings of God, it is hard. Along with that, this week we had several more appointments fall through. Its all good though because I know everything happens for a reason. When appointments fall through we try to look for people in the area to teach, because God has prepared people, we just need to find them.
In the State wide Stake Conference Arizona had a couple of weeks ago Elder Holland really stressed the importance of missionary work with the members. He said that the time of knocking doors and finding success is over. There is a better way, and the way to do missionary work is with the members. I know this to be true. All of the solid investigators that we have are from the members. They already have a friendship, a bond with members from the church, and when someone that they care about bears testimony of things they know to be true it has so much more power. Since our area hasn't really done much the past couple weeks since we have been here, Elder Hernandez and I decided to change things up. We came up with a Family Mission Plan and are going to introduce it to all of the members in our ward. Hopefully by doing this, the work picks up. I know that there are people here that are ready to accept the gospel, to accept the blessings it brings, and if members are helping us find them, it will go so much better.
On a plus side to this week, I finished the Book of Mormon again. It never ceases to surprise me how no matter how many times you read it, if you take Moroni's challenge at the end (To read it, ponder it, and pray about it) no matter what you will be able to feel the spirit testifying of the truthfulness. I think when I was in high school I didn't really realize the full power that the Book of Mormon had. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon is the most true book on the earth, and by and through it a man can come closer to God than through any other book. When we have questions, when we desire to feel the spirit, if we read the Book of Mormon we are guaranteed to find our answers and to feel of the spirit. I know the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I know that a man truly can come closer to God through it because I have seen the power that it has had in my life. The Book of Mormon has literally made me the person I am today. I have seen miracles as people have read it and the changes that they have made in their life because of it. I know that the messages inside are true, and that it truly is the Word of God.
I hope all is well at home, I love hearing from you all. Take Care and hopefully the cold isn't treating you too bad.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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