Familia!
What a week, man time is flying. I can't believe that Dalt is home...crazy stuff. Elder Oscarson and I usually try to go on about two exchanges per week, and this week we got to go to COOLIDGE! Man, I love that place. Coolidge will always be my second favorite area, right after the area that I am currently serving in haha. It was awesome to be able to go back and remember all of the miracles that I was able to see there. The miracles that happened in Coolidge truly were a direct result from the members getting involved in the Work of Salvation. As I was there we were able to visit some members who are still working on the Family Mission Plan that we started about 6 months ago. It was awesome to see as they talked about the many opportunities that they have had. They have even taken a random family who just lost their home and opened up their own home for them to live in. The members in Coolidge truly have lost themselves in our Father's work and it is amazing to see how many families they have brought into the church.
While I was there I was also told about a family that I had taught who had just been baptized. I was able to reflect on a few months earlier when Elder Myler and I had been walking down the street. It was about 8:45 and we were about ready to head home for the night when we decided that we were going to walk down the street to try and talk to a few people. As we got to the end of the street, we were just standing there talking and I said, "That house right there, there is a family that is going to get baptized." Not thinking much more of it, we continued on our walk and headed home for the night. A few days later we were going to eat dinner with a member who lived on that same street. As we pulled into the street, the family who lived in "that house" was standing outside washing their car. We got out of our car and walked up to meet the Salsgiver family. We talked for a few brief moments, and set up a lesson to return. Our first lesson with the Salsgiver family, we found out that the husband was a less active member and that the family had been taking lessons in Utah several years earlier. As we continued to teach them, the husband was hesitant to reactivate, and the family wasn't too sure if they wanted to come to church. However, when we started involving the members, all of that changed. The members completely wrapped their arms around the Salsgiver family and about a month ago the father was able to baptize his wife and three of his children. The thing that I love about this work is the change is literally visible in those who start living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only has this change taken place in the lives of the converts in the Coolidge area, but the members are truly the ones who are benefiting the most. As we become lost in the Work of our Father, we become exactly who we need to be. I hope that some day I have the opportunity to serve in Coolidge again.
Being in Coolidge for a day was great, but then it was also awesome to get back to my own area. The YSA wards on Campus are awesome. This week we had the Cowboys and Angels activity that turned out to be a huge success. Essentially it was a giant country dance haha. There were TONS of non members that came, two of which were legit cowboys. They had come from Kansas on a cow run to pick up some cattle in Arizona. While they were walking through the mall at the beginning of this week, a random person walked up to them and gave them an invitation to the party and said, "Trust me, you two will love this." So, they figured, why not and decided to come. They told us since it was a free party they thought, "Man, we should be nice and at least bring a couple cases of beer." ....luckily they didn't haha. They loved it though. They had never even heard of a Mormon before, but we are going to start teaching them on Facebook back in Kansas and see where it goes.
I love this work. I know that there truly is nothing else that brings more joy than sharing the Gospel. I hope you are all doing well!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Week 64: The Genius Idea
Familia!
Man life is good. That about sums up the week. Lots of awesome experiences and lots of miracles.
With the new online proselyting that we are doing as a mission, Elder Oscarson and I have been trying to figure out ways that we can involve our ward more. Especially serving in a YSA ward, EVERYONE our age has a facebook/twitter/everything else, so we wanted to take advantage of this great tool. This last week we started up an "Online Proselyting Class" to show members what we are doing online as missionaries and how they can do the same. It was awesome to see as members saw the vision of sharing the Gospel online. We helped each of them set specific goals on how they are going to start their own "Online Proselyting Mission." It will be great to see as this spreads to all of the members.
As well, this week I had a GENIUS idea. I was on facebook one day trying to figure out how I could reach out to more people. As I sat there, one of the elders mentioned that his girlfriend joined a group on facebook called, "I'm waiting for my missionary." Hahahaha. Who would've thought that they have groups like these.... anyway, when he said that, a genius idea came to my mind. I thought, "Man, all of these people are super devoted to 'their missionaries' so if I can motivate them to do things for 'their missionaries' things will explode." So, since these groups were private I had to join to post on their walls. So I joined a group of like 2,500 girls and a couple other groups of 300 & 200 and this is what I posted.
"Hey Everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! Right now I’m serving in the Arizona Tempe Mission and yesterday I had an awesome idea. I’m not currently waiting for a missionary, but I do know what it is like to be out on a mission. While your missionary is out serving, nothing would excite/motivate them more than to hear the experiences that you have had sharing the gospel. A couple months ago, my mission became an “online mission.” Now I spend time daily sharing the gospel online. I wanted to join this group so I could help each of you have these amazing experiences to share with your missionaries. If you have any friends that maybe aren’t interested in meeting with missionaries in your area, but have questions, shoot me a message. I can help. As well, if you have any other questions about how you can share the gospel, I’m here for that. I know that sometimes this life gets difficult. We all have trials, it is true. But I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help us feel peace, love, and eternal joy even in the darkest of situations. I have seen this Gospel transform my life, and time and time again I have seen miracles take place in the lives of those whom I have had the opportunity to teach. Experiences to share the gospel surround each of us, so lets witness some miracles :) As well, if you aren’t a member of the church and have questions about what your missionary is teaching, send me a message and I can help!"
Genius no??? Well, I got kicked off of the groups.... pretty lame, but it was a great idea I thought. Just because I'm not waiting for anyone....haha. I have gotten quite a few friend requests though, so I'll have to see if somehow I can get some missionary opportunities through all these girls haha.
Other than that, we have had some awesome lessons with a few of our investigators. First off with Kealani. She decided that she wanted to be baptized the 21st of January. Forever away! However, this week we were able to teach the restoration again. As we taught the Restoration she had a ton of member friends around her baring testimony of how it has blessed their lives. We asked Kealani if she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she replied instantly, "Yes." We extended a baptismal invitation for the 30th of this month and she accepted.
As well this week we met with one of our investigators Gabe. Gabe has struggled lately accepting the fact that Jesus Christ truly can Atone for his sins. He believed that Jesus was the Savior of the world, he just felt like he was excluded from that great sacrifice. We challenged Gabe to read and pray every single day between our appointments. As we met, we asked him how that had been going and he said, "I don't know how to tell you guys. I have been reading every day and praying and for some reason everything has just been easier. I think that I'm ready to be baptized." Can't complain about that comment! So, as well we extended a date for Gabe to be baptized the 23rd of this month and he accepted.
I love this Gospel. I know that it truly does give us the guidance and direction that we need in this life. Just as Kealani and Gabe were able to see, I know that as we put our trust in Jesus Christ, everything will fall into place.
I love you all! Con amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Man life is good. That about sums up the week. Lots of awesome experiences and lots of miracles.
With the new online proselyting that we are doing as a mission, Elder Oscarson and I have been trying to figure out ways that we can involve our ward more. Especially serving in a YSA ward, EVERYONE our age has a facebook/twitter/everything else, so we wanted to take advantage of this great tool. This last week we started up an "Online Proselyting Class" to show members what we are doing online as missionaries and how they can do the same. It was awesome to see as members saw the vision of sharing the Gospel online. We helped each of them set specific goals on how they are going to start their own "Online Proselyting Mission." It will be great to see as this spreads to all of the members.
As well, this week I had a GENIUS idea. I was on facebook one day trying to figure out how I could reach out to more people. As I sat there, one of the elders mentioned that his girlfriend joined a group on facebook called, "I'm waiting for my missionary." Hahahaha. Who would've thought that they have groups like these.... anyway, when he said that, a genius idea came to my mind. I thought, "Man, all of these people are super devoted to 'their missionaries' so if I can motivate them to do things for 'their missionaries' things will explode." So, since these groups were private I had to join to post on their walls. So I joined a group of like 2,500 girls and a couple other groups of 300 & 200 and this is what I posted.
"Hey Everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! Right now I’m serving in the Arizona Tempe Mission and yesterday I had an awesome idea. I’m not currently waiting for a missionary, but I do know what it is like to be out on a mission. While your missionary is out serving, nothing would excite/motivate them more than to hear the experiences that you have had sharing the gospel. A couple months ago, my mission became an “online mission.” Now I spend time daily sharing the gospel online. I wanted to join this group so I could help each of you have these amazing experiences to share with your missionaries. If you have any friends that maybe aren’t interested in meeting with missionaries in your area, but have questions, shoot me a message. I can help. As well, if you have any other questions about how you can share the gospel, I’m here for that. I know that sometimes this life gets difficult. We all have trials, it is true. But I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help us feel peace, love, and eternal joy even in the darkest of situations. I have seen this Gospel transform my life, and time and time again I have seen miracles take place in the lives of those whom I have had the opportunity to teach. Experiences to share the gospel surround each of us, so lets witness some miracles :) As well, if you aren’t a member of the church and have questions about what your missionary is teaching, send me a message and I can help!"
Genius no??? Well, I got kicked off of the groups.... pretty lame, but it was a great idea I thought. Just because I'm not waiting for anyone....haha. I have gotten quite a few friend requests though, so I'll have to see if somehow I can get some missionary opportunities through all these girls haha.
Other than that, we have had some awesome lessons with a few of our investigators. First off with Kealani. She decided that she wanted to be baptized the 21st of January. Forever away! However, this week we were able to teach the restoration again. As we taught the Restoration she had a ton of member friends around her baring testimony of how it has blessed their lives. We asked Kealani if she believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and she replied instantly, "Yes." We extended a baptismal invitation for the 30th of this month and she accepted.
As well this week we met with one of our investigators Gabe. Gabe has struggled lately accepting the fact that Jesus Christ truly can Atone for his sins. He believed that Jesus was the Savior of the world, he just felt like he was excluded from that great sacrifice. We challenged Gabe to read and pray every single day between our appointments. As we met, we asked him how that had been going and he said, "I don't know how to tell you guys. I have been reading every day and praying and for some reason everything has just been easier. I think that I'm ready to be baptized." Can't complain about that comment! So, as well we extended a date for Gabe to be baptized the 23rd of this month and he accepted.
I love this Gospel. I know that it truly does give us the guidance and direction that we need in this life. Just as Kealani and Gabe were able to see, I know that as we put our trust in Jesus Christ, everything will fall into place.
I love you all! Con amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Week 63: Ipads!
Familia!
iPads. Are. Amazing. I remember when dad first got his iPad he said, "You can quote me on this. One day missionaries all over the world will have these things."....something along those lines. Well Dad, your prophesy came true. It is amazing all of the different things that we can do now. Our planner, area book, and the entire gospel library fit right into our hand. In our lessons now we are able to use videos, and now we can teach over Skype. So, get finding! I want to teach member present lessons with each of you :)
With all of the iPad training that came up, we were pretty busy traveling around the mission getting everyone lined up with their new devices. From Monday to Friday we were traveling the mission to do the training. On Monday we met here in Tempe with the entire Mission Leadership so that they would already be trained as we went to each of their zones to train later in the week. Elder Kleopfer had pneumonia, and so clearly he wasn't feeling too great, so I took him to President and Sister Toone's house so that he could get some rest while his companion was receiving the training. It was awesome to be able to sit with him for a couple of hours and just reminisce on the time that has gone by. Its cool to see how present God's hand is in our lives as we look back on the past. I owe so much to Elder Kleopfer and all of the friends that I had around me while I was growing up. I think its amazing to see how God put us all together so that we could help one another stay strong in the Gospel. Now, many of us are serving missions and helping people all over the world come to know the Restored Gospel of Christ. It is amazing to be a part of this great work, especially with my great friends.
Throughout the rest of the week, we spent a lot of time traveling throughout the mission and ended up down in Yuma where we finished the last training. Our mission became the 5th mission in the world to be completely electronic... pretty awesome.
Also while we were in Yuma I was able to cross off three huge things off of my mission bucket list. 1)Stay in a Hotel 2)Go to California 3)Go to the Sand Dunes where they filmed Star Wars, The Scorpion King, ect. It was SICK! The Dunes were just like dunes in the Sahara. I will send some pics.
As well, this week Elder Oscarson and I had some pretty awesome experiences. It was our first full week on ASU and so we were finally able to get the hang of things a little and get to work. One day as we finished up a lesson at the institute we figured that we would go walk around campus and talk to people. As we walked out the door, one of the first people we saw got a huge smile and walked right up to us. Being right by the institute I though, "Awesome, we will get to know this member and then get on our way." He walked up to us, introduced himself, and said, "What are you two?" haha. Definitely not a member. We took him on a tour of the institute and he signed up for a bunch of classes and activities. It is amazing how God places those who are willing to listen right in our paths. I know that this is His work. I know that He guides and directs each and every one of our lives. As we allow him, He will guide us to do what we need to do, and become exactly who we need to be.
Also, I'm teaching people in Ghana and the Philippians :)
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
iPads. Are. Amazing. I remember when dad first got his iPad he said, "You can quote me on this. One day missionaries all over the world will have these things."....something along those lines. Well Dad, your prophesy came true. It is amazing all of the different things that we can do now. Our planner, area book, and the entire gospel library fit right into our hand. In our lessons now we are able to use videos, and now we can teach over Skype. So, get finding! I want to teach member present lessons with each of you :)
With all of the iPad training that came up, we were pretty busy traveling around the mission getting everyone lined up with their new devices. From Monday to Friday we were traveling the mission to do the training. On Monday we met here in Tempe with the entire Mission Leadership so that they would already be trained as we went to each of their zones to train later in the week. Elder Kleopfer had pneumonia, and so clearly he wasn't feeling too great, so I took him to President and Sister Toone's house so that he could get some rest while his companion was receiving the training. It was awesome to be able to sit with him for a couple of hours and just reminisce on the time that has gone by. Its cool to see how present God's hand is in our lives as we look back on the past. I owe so much to Elder Kleopfer and all of the friends that I had around me while I was growing up. I think its amazing to see how God put us all together so that we could help one another stay strong in the Gospel. Now, many of us are serving missions and helping people all over the world come to know the Restored Gospel of Christ. It is amazing to be a part of this great work, especially with my great friends.
Throughout the rest of the week, we spent a lot of time traveling throughout the mission and ended up down in Yuma where we finished the last training. Our mission became the 5th mission in the world to be completely electronic... pretty awesome.
Also while we were in Yuma I was able to cross off three huge things off of my mission bucket list. 1)Stay in a Hotel 2)Go to California 3)Go to the Sand Dunes where they filmed Star Wars, The Scorpion King, ect. It was SICK! The Dunes were just like dunes in the Sahara. I will send some pics.
As well, this week Elder Oscarson and I had some pretty awesome experiences. It was our first full week on ASU and so we were finally able to get the hang of things a little and get to work. One day as we finished up a lesson at the institute we figured that we would go walk around campus and talk to people. As we walked out the door, one of the first people we saw got a huge smile and walked right up to us. Being right by the institute I though, "Awesome, we will get to know this member and then get on our way." He walked up to us, introduced himself, and said, "What are you two?" haha. Definitely not a member. We took him on a tour of the institute and he signed up for a bunch of classes and activities. It is amazing how God places those who are willing to listen right in our paths. I know that this is His work. I know that He guides and directs each and every one of our lives. As we allow him, He will guide us to do what we need to do, and become exactly who we need to be.
Also, I'm teaching people in Ghana and the Philippians :)
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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