Familia!
This week I learned a really important lesson. I think that it has been a lesson that I've recognized many weeks throughout my mission, but it was especially prevalent this week. Life is both easier and harder as you forget about yourself and focus on others. Its something that doesn't make a lot of sense, but I have found is absolutely true. Its awesome to be able to go to an area where you don't know anyone and be able to create an immediate connection with them. I know that the connections we make in this life are eternal and I'm so grateful for them. This week was difficult in the fact that Eric's baptism is going to have to be postponed once again and one of our investigators absolutely knows the Book of Mormon is true but has pretty much called it quits after receiving that witness. Both difficult aspects, but both things that can be overcome.
But, who likes to focus on the difficulties, this week was FULL of miracles :) This week was one of the best finding weeks we have ever had. It was amazing. The last few days we have just had referral after referral fall into our laps. One of which is a YSA spanish speaking family. Ya, incredible. Elder Oscarson and I have been talking for the past 4 months about how awesome it would be to serve in Mexico City in a YSA ward, and now we are teaching 19, 20, and 22 year olds from Mexico. We received a referral for this family and so we went over one night to contact them. We had a short conversation on the doorstep and they invited us in. The rest of their family lives in Mexico and they moved up here to go to school. As the conversation switched from casual to spiritual we asked if we could have a prayer. I offered to say it and asked if there was anyone in their family I could specifically pray for. The oldest, Yadira, broke down crying and said, "You couldn't have come at a better time." She proceeded to tell us of the difficulties that their family is currently having. We said a prayer and a short message about Christ's Atonement. The next day they had to leave to mexico to be with their family during this difficult time, but I am so grateful for opportunities like these. Its just a testimony to me of how aware God truly is of us. As our Father, He knows exactly what we need and when we need it.
Its so amazing to be serving on ASU campus. There are so many people who are searching for the restored Gospel. This week we had the baptism of Alli, and once again she just came out of no where. She was taught by the missionaries about five years ago and knew it was true, but because of some trials in her life at that time she didn't want to continue going to church or meeting with the missionaries. Well, about three weeks ago one of her good friends got home from her mission. As they talked, Alli knew that she needed to be baptized and so the following week she came to church with her friend. After that great step of faith for her, everything else just fell into place and she was baptized this last Saturday. There are over 70,000 students currently enrolled at ASU and there is no way we are even getting close to reaching all of them. Another example of this is a girl named Rikki. About a month and a half ago we posted our ASU Mormon Missionary Profile Videos. The videos reached around 10,000 people. One day as I was going through and looking at all the people who had liked my video there was a girl named Rikki who's name just seemed to stand out. I clicked on Rikki's profile and saw that we had a mutual friend and so in the most normal/not awkward way possible I started up a chat on facebook with her. For the next few days we just got to know each other and then I asked if I could share one of my favorite scriptures with her. From then on the conversation turned to a Gospel Centered Topic. That Monday I invited her to Family Home Evening at the institute and she came and loved it. Tuesday she came to Michelle's baptism, and Wednesday she accepted a date to be baptized. This was all about three weeks ago, and this weekend Rikki is going to be getting baptized. There are so many people around us who whether they know it or not are seeking for truth and know not where to find it. As we pray for these opportunities, constantly sharing our testimonies, conversion will deepen not only in our own lives but in the lives of all those we come in contact with.
This Gospel is true. It changes lives, and it has changed mine.
I love you all! I hope this week is incredible!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Week 77: Ask and You Shall Receive
Familia!
Well, here we are yet again. We're finally in to February, that time of year when all of the flowers and trees start to bloom, and we finally break out of the cold spell and get up to a nice and cozy 75 degrees. Man January was rough!
This week we had a pretty awesome opportunity. Every once and a while Elder Callister in the Presidency of the 70 comes down to have some meetings with the local members of the 70. As he was here this week he wanted to spend some time to meet with the mission presidents in the valley and their assistants. I was able to learn a lot from that meeting and am thankful for opportunities like this.
This week as well, we've had a lot of opportunities to work with the members and our recent converts. This week we were able to go to the Gilbert Open house twice; once with Jasmine and her friends and once with Michelle and her friend. It has been awesome to see Michelle's progress in the last few weeks. Ever since her baptism she has been so excited to share the gospel with everyone. Its incredible to see as others experience the blessings that the gospel brings an instant reaction is to turn outwards and share it with those that are nearest to them. Eric's baptism was supposed to be this weekend but was postponed just for that reason. Many of Eric's friends and family would not have been able to attend his baptism and so he wanted to postpone it another week so that they could be there. He told us, "It would be awesome to have all of the members there to support me at my baptism, but more than that I want my family there. When I'm up there baring my testimony I don't want it to just be to members, I want my family to hear it as well. I want them to understand where I have come from and how I came to know." True conversion is not only bringing yourself to Christ, but helping others along the path as well.
It has been such a blessing to be serving in this area. There aren't many places in the world that you can visit two different temple sites that are only 30 minutes apart. It has been key for our investigators to go to such a sacred spot and to feel of the spirit that is present in the House of the Lord. Wednesday and Thursday we were able to have some pretty special experiences with one of our investigators, Jasmine. We have been meeting with Jasmine for the past two months and she has been one of the most awesome people I have had an opportunity to meet with. Her desire is true, and the efforts she is putting forth to know is incredible. For quite some time now we have had a reservation to the Gilbert Temple Open House scheduled for the 6th of February. Jasmine has been diving into the Book of Mormon and so we thought it would be a really cool to have her past 3rd Nephi 11 by the time we went to the temple. We promised Jasmine that if she did, she would come to know that the Book of Mormon was true. So, there was a lot relying upon this trip, but we had faith and knew that miracles would happen. Wednesday she had read through 3rd Nephi 11 and we went to the Visitors Center at the Mesa Temple. There we watched the Testament so she had both read the coming of Christ to the Americas, and then seen it. After that we went through the family walk through they have that talks about sealing families together for the eternities. After which, we talked a little bit more about temples and their purpose. The next day we went to the open house which was an awesome experience. Elder Oscarson and I had a couple of meetings that we needed to get to later that afternoon, and so we started getting ready for those when Jasmine sent us a message. She told us that she had gone back to the Mesa temple because she was trying to figure things out and wondered if we could come and talk to her. We had a pretty booked afternoon, but we moved everything around and headed over. When we got there we asked Jasmine why she had gone to the temple again and she said, "It was a place I knew I could come and get answers." For the next hour and a half we talked about a lot of different things, but the most memorable part was how powerful the spirit was. That day, Jasmine made a ton of progress and I'm excited for the things to come.
I'm so thankful for the Holy Ghost and the power that it has. There is no greater witness that we can receive than the Spirit of God communicating directly to our spirits. In that line of communication, there is no error. I'm thankful for the promptings that I receive on a daily basis. I truly know that as we ask, answers come.
I love you all, thanks for everything you're doing!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Well, here we are yet again. We're finally in to February, that time of year when all of the flowers and trees start to bloom, and we finally break out of the cold spell and get up to a nice and cozy 75 degrees. Man January was rough!
This week we had a pretty awesome opportunity. Every once and a while Elder Callister in the Presidency of the 70 comes down to have some meetings with the local members of the 70. As he was here this week he wanted to spend some time to meet with the mission presidents in the valley and their assistants. I was able to learn a lot from that meeting and am thankful for opportunities like this.
This week as well, we've had a lot of opportunities to work with the members and our recent converts. This week we were able to go to the Gilbert Open house twice; once with Jasmine and her friends and once with Michelle and her friend. It has been awesome to see Michelle's progress in the last few weeks. Ever since her baptism she has been so excited to share the gospel with everyone. Its incredible to see as others experience the blessings that the gospel brings an instant reaction is to turn outwards and share it with those that are nearest to them. Eric's baptism was supposed to be this weekend but was postponed just for that reason. Many of Eric's friends and family would not have been able to attend his baptism and so he wanted to postpone it another week so that they could be there. He told us, "It would be awesome to have all of the members there to support me at my baptism, but more than that I want my family there. When I'm up there baring my testimony I don't want it to just be to members, I want my family to hear it as well. I want them to understand where I have come from and how I came to know." True conversion is not only bringing yourself to Christ, but helping others along the path as well.
It has been such a blessing to be serving in this area. There aren't many places in the world that you can visit two different temple sites that are only 30 minutes apart. It has been key for our investigators to go to such a sacred spot and to feel of the spirit that is present in the House of the Lord. Wednesday and Thursday we were able to have some pretty special experiences with one of our investigators, Jasmine. We have been meeting with Jasmine for the past two months and she has been one of the most awesome people I have had an opportunity to meet with. Her desire is true, and the efforts she is putting forth to know is incredible. For quite some time now we have had a reservation to the Gilbert Temple Open House scheduled for the 6th of February. Jasmine has been diving into the Book of Mormon and so we thought it would be a really cool to have her past 3rd Nephi 11 by the time we went to the temple. We promised Jasmine that if she did, she would come to know that the Book of Mormon was true. So, there was a lot relying upon this trip, but we had faith and knew that miracles would happen. Wednesday she had read through 3rd Nephi 11 and we went to the Visitors Center at the Mesa Temple. There we watched the Testament so she had both read the coming of Christ to the Americas, and then seen it. After that we went through the family walk through they have that talks about sealing families together for the eternities. After which, we talked a little bit more about temples and their purpose. The next day we went to the open house which was an awesome experience. Elder Oscarson and I had a couple of meetings that we needed to get to later that afternoon, and so we started getting ready for those when Jasmine sent us a message. She told us that she had gone back to the Mesa temple because she was trying to figure things out and wondered if we could come and talk to her. We had a pretty booked afternoon, but we moved everything around and headed over. When we got there we asked Jasmine why she had gone to the temple again and she said, "It was a place I knew I could come and get answers." For the next hour and a half we talked about a lot of different things, but the most memorable part was how powerful the spirit was. That day, Jasmine made a ton of progress and I'm excited for the things to come.
I'm so thankful for the Holy Ghost and the power that it has. There is no greater witness that we can receive than the Spirit of God communicating directly to our spirits. In that line of communication, there is no error. I'm thankful for the promptings that I receive on a daily basis. I truly know that as we ask, answers come.
I love you all, thanks for everything you're doing!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Monday, February 3, 2014
Week 76: A Week of Blessings
Familia!
Man, what a week. I have my voice back, its a miracle!
At the end of every month we have our Mission Leadership Council. Its the meeting where all of the Sister Trainer Leaders and the Zone Leaders come in and we talk about our mission and figure out a game plan for the next month. Its a pretty important meeting and this last week it was scheduled on Wednesday. Tuesday night I didn't have my voice still, but when I woke up on Wednesday it was back. So now I can finally talk to people again, something fairly important in missionary work.
This week has been awesome in our area. We have made a lot of progress with the investigators that we have and then we were able to find quite a few new ones. One of which is named Sharuz. Sharuz is from Turkey and came to the United States two years ago for an education. He just moved to Arizona a month or so ago and he was walking down campus and talked to two elders....who those elders were, I'm not sure because campus is covered by Elder Oscarson and I and 6 sisters...so, we still aren't sure on who it was that talked to him haha.
As he talked to the missionaries he said that he felt something and he wanted to learn more. He stumbled upon the institute building and remembered the name and so he went in to figure out how he could learn more. He got our information, contacted us, and we set up a lesson. Sharuz is awesome! He doesn't have a lot of religious background, but he told us, "I have two beliefs. One is that there is a creator. I look at people and I just know. The second is that there is another place out there. I don't know what it is, I don't know what it consists of, but I know it is there." And then he proceeded to tell us that he just wants to learn more. I find it amazing how the spirit guides and directs people. I have such a strong testimony that if we allow Him to, God will direct every step of our lives. If we are searching for answers, for guidance, or whatever it may be, as we allow Him to take charge He will lead and guide us directly where we need to be.
As well this week we have been working with Jasmine. We have taught Jasmine 3-5 times a week for the past month and a half, and last week she told us that she wanted to be baptized, she just didn't know if it was God's will for her. She is so close and is earnestly searching for answers, and it has been awesome working with her. As Elder Oscarson and I sat in companionship study yesterday trying to figure out what we could talk about to help Jasmine in her conversion to Christ, we couldn't seem to figure it out. As we continued discussing we finally came to the subject of the role of prophets and really diving into apostasy and the restoration.
So, yesterday being Sunday we planned on seeing Jasmine at church and seeing if we could set up a time afterward to meet with her. As we got to church we found out that our Bishop was getting released the following week and he had asked to meet with our investigators before he left. So, we set up an appointment with Jasmine, him, and us, and we went into his office. As we sat there for a while talking about many different aspects of the Gospel, it didn't really seem like it was getting anywhere. Then our bishop stopped talking for a few moments and then said, "Prophets. Jasmine, what is a Prophet?" and then continued to talk about everything that Elder Oscarson and I had previously discussed that morning.
For the next hour we dove into the scriptures and talked about the Apostasy of the church of Christ and the necessity for a Restoration. It was probably some of the most bold things I have heard anyone say, but it was done in a way that was completely led by the spirit and was exactly what Jasmine needed to hear. Its awesome to see that we hadn't even talked with Bishop Beus about this concern, but as he followed the promptings of the Spirit, he was able to identify exactly what she needed. Once again, I know that our Lord leads and guides this work and as we are willing to participate in it, He is willing to reveal to us what to do.
I honestly think that this whole week was just a blessing, but I think the highlight of the week happened on Tuesday night as I was able to baptize Michelle Hartman, one of our investigators. Michelle has been meeting with the missionaries for quite some time and has wanted to be baptized for 7 months and 18 days....she kept count. The only problem was her parents were completely against it. For quite some time Michelle has tried to talk to her parents and they wouldn't listen. She tried getting baptized 3 months ago and they told her that if she did they would disown her. So, needless to say, the past 7 months have been very difficult for Michelle. It has been awesome to see though as Michelle dove into the scriptures how her faith increased and lead her to action. Michelle's birthday was this last Tuesday, and about a month ago she told us that she was going to get baptized on her birthday. She said, "This is something that I know I need to do and I will become homeless before I don't get baptized." I am so thankful to be around people with such a strong desire to follow Christ. I know that Michelle's desire to follow Christ is something that is not only going to affect her life, but will affect her entire families life and the life of those around her for the eternities.
I'm so grateful for this gospel, it truly is the way to return back to Father. I love having the opportunity to share it with everyone I come in contact with. I love you all! I hope everything is going great!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Man, what a week. I have my voice back, its a miracle!
At the end of every month we have our Mission Leadership Council. Its the meeting where all of the Sister Trainer Leaders and the Zone Leaders come in and we talk about our mission and figure out a game plan for the next month. Its a pretty important meeting and this last week it was scheduled on Wednesday. Tuesday night I didn't have my voice still, but when I woke up on Wednesday it was back. So now I can finally talk to people again, something fairly important in missionary work.
This week has been awesome in our area. We have made a lot of progress with the investigators that we have and then we were able to find quite a few new ones. One of which is named Sharuz. Sharuz is from Turkey and came to the United States two years ago for an education. He just moved to Arizona a month or so ago and he was walking down campus and talked to two elders....who those elders were, I'm not sure because campus is covered by Elder Oscarson and I and 6 sisters...so, we still aren't sure on who it was that talked to him haha.
As he talked to the missionaries he said that he felt something and he wanted to learn more. He stumbled upon the institute building and remembered the name and so he went in to figure out how he could learn more. He got our information, contacted us, and we set up a lesson. Sharuz is awesome! He doesn't have a lot of religious background, but he told us, "I have two beliefs. One is that there is a creator. I look at people and I just know. The second is that there is another place out there. I don't know what it is, I don't know what it consists of, but I know it is there." And then he proceeded to tell us that he just wants to learn more. I find it amazing how the spirit guides and directs people. I have such a strong testimony that if we allow Him to, God will direct every step of our lives. If we are searching for answers, for guidance, or whatever it may be, as we allow Him to take charge He will lead and guide us directly where we need to be.
As well this week we have been working with Jasmine. We have taught Jasmine 3-5 times a week for the past month and a half, and last week she told us that she wanted to be baptized, she just didn't know if it was God's will for her. She is so close and is earnestly searching for answers, and it has been awesome working with her. As Elder Oscarson and I sat in companionship study yesterday trying to figure out what we could talk about to help Jasmine in her conversion to Christ, we couldn't seem to figure it out. As we continued discussing we finally came to the subject of the role of prophets and really diving into apostasy and the restoration.
So, yesterday being Sunday we planned on seeing Jasmine at church and seeing if we could set up a time afterward to meet with her. As we got to church we found out that our Bishop was getting released the following week and he had asked to meet with our investigators before he left. So, we set up an appointment with Jasmine, him, and us, and we went into his office. As we sat there for a while talking about many different aspects of the Gospel, it didn't really seem like it was getting anywhere. Then our bishop stopped talking for a few moments and then said, "Prophets. Jasmine, what is a Prophet?" and then continued to talk about everything that Elder Oscarson and I had previously discussed that morning.
For the next hour we dove into the scriptures and talked about the Apostasy of the church of Christ and the necessity for a Restoration. It was probably some of the most bold things I have heard anyone say, but it was done in a way that was completely led by the spirit and was exactly what Jasmine needed to hear. Its awesome to see that we hadn't even talked with Bishop Beus about this concern, but as he followed the promptings of the Spirit, he was able to identify exactly what she needed. Once again, I know that our Lord leads and guides this work and as we are willing to participate in it, He is willing to reveal to us what to do.
I honestly think that this whole week was just a blessing, but I think the highlight of the week happened on Tuesday night as I was able to baptize Michelle Hartman, one of our investigators. Michelle has been meeting with the missionaries for quite some time and has wanted to be baptized for 7 months and 18 days....she kept count. The only problem was her parents were completely against it. For quite some time Michelle has tried to talk to her parents and they wouldn't listen. She tried getting baptized 3 months ago and they told her that if she did they would disown her. So, needless to say, the past 7 months have been very difficult for Michelle. It has been awesome to see though as Michelle dove into the scriptures how her faith increased and lead her to action. Michelle's birthday was this last Tuesday, and about a month ago she told us that she was going to get baptized on her birthday. She said, "This is something that I know I need to do and I will become homeless before I don't get baptized." I am so thankful to be around people with such a strong desire to follow Christ. I know that Michelle's desire to follow Christ is something that is not only going to affect her life, but will affect her entire families life and the life of those around her for the eternities.
I'm so grateful for this gospel, it truly is the way to return back to Father. I love having the opportunity to share it with everyone I come in contact with. I love you all! I hope everything is going great!
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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