Familia!
Life is good and time is flying. Less than two weeks and I will be on my way to Tempe. I am so stoked. I feel like the MTC helped me progress much farther than I would have the first couple weeks if I was actually in the field because I was able to have help from a teacher, but now I am to the point where I feel like I will progress much faster in the language out in the field. I love the MTC and I have been learning a lot, I just feel like I would be learning a lot more every day if I was speaking to native speakers. We have covered all of the grammar principles and now I just need to master them. I am so ready to get to Tempe and can't wait to teach real investigators.
I had a pleasant surprise today, Bryce came to the temple. It was way good to see him and it made my day. I am so glad for the family that I have been placed in. Each one of you has been huge examples to me and I know without your guidance and examples I wouldn't be the person that I am today. I am so thankful for all you have done and I can't express enough how much I love you all.
Other than that, things have been fairly normal in the MTC. We have been teaching and learning every single day. Gym times are greatly looked forward to. My district is all pretty close and we all try to stay together as much as possible. Every other day we switch between soccer and basketball for gym. Surprisingly, I am getting pretty good at soccer. I have actually had a few hattricks. Ya, I know nobody in the MTC can play soccer anyway, but hey, a hattrick is a hattrick, so I am proud of it. There are quite a few basketball players that are pretty good too. We usually get a pretty good game going on. I've decided that I am going to talk to President Brown and have him schedule a scrimmage between the BYU team and the MTC All-Stars. Pretty sure we could win haha.
I have been learning a lot here and it really is such an amazing opportunity to be here. Each day we have so much time to study and strengthen our testimonies and I am so thankful for it. The past few days I have been thinking about our family a lot. We have been so blessed to be members of this church. As members of the church, we have the knowledge that we can live together for eternity, and literally nothing brings me greater joy. I can't imagine a life where I thought I would never see those that I love most after we pass on. As missionaries, Obedience is stressed so much, and at first I have to admit I was a little tired of hearing it. However, as I have learned more about obedience I am so thankful that they stress it so much. In life we are faced with difficult times. In life there are times where we may feel overwhelmed and that there is no way we can do all that we need to. However, we are promised that nothing will be placed in our life that we can't handle. Obedience is key to this promise. When we are obedient, we are promised to have the Lord as a constant companion in our lives. This is how we get through all of our trials. This is how we accomplish all that we need to. I have been told that the mission is one of the most difficult things that you will do in your life, and every day I learn more and more how true this is. A mission is hard, and sometimes it seems overwhelming. However, I know that as I am obedient the Lord will provide the way through these difficult times. I know that there are people in Tempe Arizona that the Lord is preparing for me to teach. I also know that unless I am 100% obedient, I won't be able to teach all of these people that have been prepared for me. As I have been thinking about our family the last couple days and how important you all are to me, It has hit me harder than ever that I have the opportunity to share this joy with all those that are being prepared for me to teach. I have to opportunity to show people the way that they can live with those that they love for eternity. If I am not 100% obedient, I am taking this blessing away from their lives. I never realized how important this work truly is. President Monson once said something along the lines of if you don't magnify your calling, you will be held accountable for those that you could have saved, had you done your part. I have heard that as you move on from this life you will be greeted by those that you helped in this life. You will be greeted by those who's work you did in the temple and I am sure you will be greeted by those that you helped share the restored gospel with. As I have thought about this quote, I am pretty sure that we will also be greeted by those that we could have helped had we been 100% obedient, and I am sure that they will ask why we just didn't try a little bit harder so that they could have experienced this joy earlier. I want to look back on my mission/life and know that I did all that I could. As I have been thinking about all of these things, I have definitely felt a little overwhelmed. However, I know that the Lord will never expect more than our best. As long as we are trying our hardest to do our best, the lord will make up the rest. 100% obedience really isn't that difficult, it is just a matter of deciding to do so. I am so thankful for this opportunity to help others. I am so thankful for this opportunity to show others the steps to live with those that they love forever because these things have been such a blessing in my life.
I love you all and hope that you are all doing well. It is always great to hear from you and I hope life is treating you well.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Week 6: Life is Good
Familia!
Each week I get more and more excited to go to Arizona. Only a few short weeks away and I will be there. The Spanish is coming along surely but slowly. Each week we have an opportunity to teach a TRC, not sure what it stands for but we teach a member a lesson. This week was our first 40 minute lesson with a member. At first I wasn't sure how we were going to do because it was such a long lesson, but Elder Nelson and I came up with a fairly good lesson plan, prayed about it, and felt good. Going into the lesson we felt pretty good about it and just hoped that we did a good job. It turned out to be one of the best lessons that we taught. We actually ran out of time. It's awesome to see the hand of the lord in my life. As missionaries he truly does strengthen us. He wants what is best for us and he will always be there with his hand out stretched. There is no other place in the world that a 19 year old boy could come to, spend six weeks, and then have a full conversation in a different language for 40 minutes. I love it here and I am more and more thankful every day to be here.... although I absolutely can't wait to get to Arizona.
I keep finding more and more pleasant surprises here at the MTC. Last week it was a black widow, this week mice..... Its great. We have killed two and then the other day Elder Nelson saw one run across our floor while he was sitting at his desk. It's awesome how they truly prepare you for the worst so when you get out to the field nothing surprises you... haha. No, I truly do love it here and there are plenty of awesome facilities, just a few pest problems, but all is well.
I get to go to the temple every p-day, it is an awesome experience. The past few weeks we have felt rushed in the morning to get there on time for the 7 a.m. session, so this morning we woke up at 5:45 so that we would have plenty of time. We left the MTC at 6:25 and got to the temple at 6:35, so we had 25 minutes to spare. I pulled out my recommend to get checked in and the Elder Nelson realized that he forgot his....Got to love him haha. So, we set off back to the MTC and ended up not making it to the 7 a.m. session. Maybe we will have to wake up at 4 a.m. next week just to be sure that we make it on time. We teach at least one lesson a day to our "investigators" and all are doing well. It is cool how even before we enter the actual mission field we are able to teach so many different types of people. I have said it before, but they have been stressing a lot on teaching people, not lessons. I have always known that it was important to develop the lesson around the specific person, but I didn't realize how truly important it was. Being able to teach so many different types of people has shown me that everybody needs different things in their life. A message for one person may be life changing, but to another the same message may just be a message. At some points, it gets a little stressful because you want to be teaching to the best of your abilities, however I know that the spirit will always be there, guiding us what to teach and what to do. I have learned a lot about promptings from the spirit while being here. Elder Bednar says that as long as you are doing what you know to be right, the decisions in your life will be guided by the spirit. No matter how small a decision, as long as you are doing all you can to be the best person that you can be, the spirit will guide us in our lives. I have found this to be so true and am so thankful for the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.
One of my favorite quotes has always been that of Thomas S. Monson's "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." I have had many opportunities to experience this in my life. One of the most recent was at college when I was called to be Elders Quorum President. Before I accepted the call, I was pretty overwhelmed. There were tons of young men in my ward that were so much better qualified for this calling than me. I felt inadequate and felt as if I was going to do as good of a job as one of them would do. Before I accepted the call, I prayed harder than I had prayed in a long time. I wanted to know if I was ready for this calling and if it was truly for me. As I finished my prayer, a warm feeling of comfort came over me and I knew that I truly was called by the Lord for this calling. I knew that the Lord would always be there for me qualifying me for what was ahead. Yesterday in a devotional the speaker said this quote by President Monson. As I thought more about this quote I realized something that I never had before. Even though the Lord promises to qualify those he calls, we need to qualify ourselves for his help. The decision I made to serve a mission was definitely a start. The Lord recognized that I was making a big sacrifice to serve him for two years. However, even though I have chosen to serve a mission, that alone does not qualify me for the Lords help. I must make a conscious effort daily to be more like him. I must give it my all, and even though there will be tough times ahead, as long as I am doing my best the Lord promises to do the rest. This life can be tough, but it is one of our callings. We came to this earth to progress and prove ourselves worthy to live with God again. There are bumps along the way, but as long as we are striving to do our best daily, the Lord will be there to help us. I am so thankful for this Gospel and the joy that it brings to my life. I can't express enough how much I love this work and I can't wait to be able to share this light with those in Tempe.
Take care, I love you all. Try to do your best every day and the Lord will always be there to help you through.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Each week I get more and more excited to go to Arizona. Only a few short weeks away and I will be there. The Spanish is coming along surely but slowly. Each week we have an opportunity to teach a TRC, not sure what it stands for but we teach a member a lesson. This week was our first 40 minute lesson with a member. At first I wasn't sure how we were going to do because it was such a long lesson, but Elder Nelson and I came up with a fairly good lesson plan, prayed about it, and felt good. Going into the lesson we felt pretty good about it and just hoped that we did a good job. It turned out to be one of the best lessons that we taught. We actually ran out of time. It's awesome to see the hand of the lord in my life. As missionaries he truly does strengthen us. He wants what is best for us and he will always be there with his hand out stretched. There is no other place in the world that a 19 year old boy could come to, spend six weeks, and then have a full conversation in a different language for 40 minutes. I love it here and I am more and more thankful every day to be here.... although I absolutely can't wait to get to Arizona.
I keep finding more and more pleasant surprises here at the MTC. Last week it was a black widow, this week mice..... Its great. We have killed two and then the other day Elder Nelson saw one run across our floor while he was sitting at his desk. It's awesome how they truly prepare you for the worst so when you get out to the field nothing surprises you... haha. No, I truly do love it here and there are plenty of awesome facilities, just a few pest problems, but all is well.
I get to go to the temple every p-day, it is an awesome experience. The past few weeks we have felt rushed in the morning to get there on time for the 7 a.m. session, so this morning we woke up at 5:45 so that we would have plenty of time. We left the MTC at 6:25 and got to the temple at 6:35, so we had 25 minutes to spare. I pulled out my recommend to get checked in and the Elder Nelson realized that he forgot his....Got to love him haha. So, we set off back to the MTC and ended up not making it to the 7 a.m. session. Maybe we will have to wake up at 4 a.m. next week just to be sure that we make it on time. We teach at least one lesson a day to our "investigators" and all are doing well. It is cool how even before we enter the actual mission field we are able to teach so many different types of people. I have said it before, but they have been stressing a lot on teaching people, not lessons. I have always known that it was important to develop the lesson around the specific person, but I didn't realize how truly important it was. Being able to teach so many different types of people has shown me that everybody needs different things in their life. A message for one person may be life changing, but to another the same message may just be a message. At some points, it gets a little stressful because you want to be teaching to the best of your abilities, however I know that the spirit will always be there, guiding us what to teach and what to do. I have learned a lot about promptings from the spirit while being here. Elder Bednar says that as long as you are doing what you know to be right, the decisions in your life will be guided by the spirit. No matter how small a decision, as long as you are doing all you can to be the best person that you can be, the spirit will guide us in our lives. I have found this to be so true and am so thankful for the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.
One of my favorite quotes has always been that of Thomas S. Monson's "Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." I have had many opportunities to experience this in my life. One of the most recent was at college when I was called to be Elders Quorum President. Before I accepted the call, I was pretty overwhelmed. There were tons of young men in my ward that were so much better qualified for this calling than me. I felt inadequate and felt as if I was going to do as good of a job as one of them would do. Before I accepted the call, I prayed harder than I had prayed in a long time. I wanted to know if I was ready for this calling and if it was truly for me. As I finished my prayer, a warm feeling of comfort came over me and I knew that I truly was called by the Lord for this calling. I knew that the Lord would always be there for me qualifying me for what was ahead. Yesterday in a devotional the speaker said this quote by President Monson. As I thought more about this quote I realized something that I never had before. Even though the Lord promises to qualify those he calls, we need to qualify ourselves for his help. The decision I made to serve a mission was definitely a start. The Lord recognized that I was making a big sacrifice to serve him for two years. However, even though I have chosen to serve a mission, that alone does not qualify me for the Lords help. I must make a conscious effort daily to be more like him. I must give it my all, and even though there will be tough times ahead, as long as I am doing my best the Lord promises to do the rest. This life can be tough, but it is one of our callings. We came to this earth to progress and prove ourselves worthy to live with God again. There are bumps along the way, but as long as we are striving to do our best daily, the Lord will be there to help us. I am so thankful for this Gospel and the joy that it brings to my life. I can't express enough how much I love this work and I can't wait to be able to share this light with those in Tempe.
Take care, I love you all. Try to do your best every day and the Lord will always be there to help you through.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Week 5: September 19th
Familia!
Week Five.... So crazy. Time is FLYING. Not a whole lot has gone on this week. The MTC is usually a pretty mild place, not too many crazy things happen, but I love it here.
The Spanish is coming along slowly but great as usual. This week Elder Nelson and I taught five different "investigators" which was a little bit of a challenge. Teaching so many people has really shown me how much Spanish I actually know. There really isn't too much time to plan lessons, so we just go in with a general idea of what we are going to teach and hope all goes well. During a couple of the lessons we felt like we should completely switch up what the original plan was and surprisingly it went pretty well. We were able to express all of our ideas completely and make sure that each person we were teaching had a solid understanding of what we were saying. I am so thankful for the help that I have been getting to learn this language. Without the constant help of the Lord and the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, there would be no way I would be progressing in this language this fast. The Lord truly does help his missionaries.
One of our "investigators" that we have taught for a while has been Miguel. Miguel is one of the most stubborn people that I have ever met. He has taken the missionary lessons for three years and has no desire to be baptized, but he keeps inviting the missionaries back weekly. It makes no sense. Elder Nelson and I were getting pretty frustrated because it didn't seem like anything we said was important to him. Nearly every lesson that we taught we were kicked out of his house in some way. It has been stressed a lot that we need to teach people, not lessons, and so we took this pretty seriously this week. We prayed a lot to know what to teach Miguel and we both felt like we should talk about challenges in this life and why they are important. We talked about how to gain knowledge in this life there are three steps that we need to go through. First, we must have faith. Second, we will have a trial. Third, we endure the trial, and then finally we are blessed with knowledge or blessings in our lives. We based this off of Ether 12:6 (I think) which talks about how you won't receive a witness until after the trial of your faith. We both prayed a lot about this specific lesson plan and both felt really good going into it. Surprisingly, Miguel listened the entire time. We talked about how when trials really are a blessing in our life, because we are promised that when we endure them, we will grow. It was such a testimony builder to me. I know that Miguel is just a person played by one of my teachers, but none the less, the Lord knew it was important to Elder Nelson and I to know what to teach him. I am so thankful for this opportunity to be on a mission. It is so comforting to know that answers are just a prayer away. My testimony of this has been strengthened so much. I know that God wants us to know what to do in this life. He wants us to feel of his love and guidance. God is waiting to give us blessings and answers. All we have to do is pray and have faith and they will come.
Yesterday I was talking with some elders and found out that they were going to the Marshall Islands. I said that my best friend Elder Mickelsen was there and one of the elders that was there was from the Marshall Islands said that Dalt was the Zone leader over his home area and he knew him pretty well. He said that Dalt was an awesome person and he had made a big impact on his life. It's awesome how missionary work has spread across the entire world. Its awesome that because of missionary work, a young man from Rupert Idaho can play an impact in someone's life that is all the way across the world. I know that I am only going a couple states south of Idaho, but I know that there are people there that I can help. I know that there are people that need to hear the message specifically from me, and I am so thankful for this opportunity that the mission has given me.
Sunday we watched a devotional from a couple years ago by David A. Bednar. He talked about the Character of Christ. He talked about how when we sin, or when we are selfish, we are turning away from Christ and looking towards ourselves. He talked about he importance of caring for others and how the way that we can become like Christ is through service. I have been spending a lot of time studying about Christ and the more I learn, the clearer it is to me that Christ's entire life was really just for us. He was a perfect being and the way to return to live with His Father in Heaven was set. However, He didn't want to be the only one to experience this miraculous joy. He lived his life, so that we could all experience these same blessings. He truly satisfied the demands of justice for us so that even though we make mistakes, we can be perfect through him. The reason why I am on a mission is getting clearer and clearer every day. We make decisions for four reasons: out of fear, for a reward, because it is a duty, and because we truly have a desire. I always knew this mission was a duty. Every young man has been asked to serve a mission. However, each day I am out here it turns more into a desire than a duty. I love this Gospel and it has changed my life. This message truly is a message of joy and I cannot wait to share it with the people in Tempe
I love you all, Take care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Week Five.... So crazy. Time is FLYING. Not a whole lot has gone on this week. The MTC is usually a pretty mild place, not too many crazy things happen, but I love it here.
The Spanish is coming along slowly but great as usual. This week Elder Nelson and I taught five different "investigators" which was a little bit of a challenge. Teaching so many people has really shown me how much Spanish I actually know. There really isn't too much time to plan lessons, so we just go in with a general idea of what we are going to teach and hope all goes well. During a couple of the lessons we felt like we should completely switch up what the original plan was and surprisingly it went pretty well. We were able to express all of our ideas completely and make sure that each person we were teaching had a solid understanding of what we were saying. I am so thankful for the help that I have been getting to learn this language. Without the constant help of the Lord and the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, there would be no way I would be progressing in this language this fast. The Lord truly does help his missionaries.
One of our "investigators" that we have taught for a while has been Miguel. Miguel is one of the most stubborn people that I have ever met. He has taken the missionary lessons for three years and has no desire to be baptized, but he keeps inviting the missionaries back weekly. It makes no sense. Elder Nelson and I were getting pretty frustrated because it didn't seem like anything we said was important to him. Nearly every lesson that we taught we were kicked out of his house in some way. It has been stressed a lot that we need to teach people, not lessons, and so we took this pretty seriously this week. We prayed a lot to know what to teach Miguel and we both felt like we should talk about challenges in this life and why they are important. We talked about how to gain knowledge in this life there are three steps that we need to go through. First, we must have faith. Second, we will have a trial. Third, we endure the trial, and then finally we are blessed with knowledge or blessings in our lives. We based this off of Ether 12:6 (I think) which talks about how you won't receive a witness until after the trial of your faith. We both prayed a lot about this specific lesson plan and both felt really good going into it. Surprisingly, Miguel listened the entire time. We talked about how when trials really are a blessing in our life, because we are promised that when we endure them, we will grow. It was such a testimony builder to me. I know that Miguel is just a person played by one of my teachers, but none the less, the Lord knew it was important to Elder Nelson and I to know what to teach him. I am so thankful for this opportunity to be on a mission. It is so comforting to know that answers are just a prayer away. My testimony of this has been strengthened so much. I know that God wants us to know what to do in this life. He wants us to feel of his love and guidance. God is waiting to give us blessings and answers. All we have to do is pray and have faith and they will come.
Yesterday I was talking with some elders and found out that they were going to the Marshall Islands. I said that my best friend Elder Mickelsen was there and one of the elders that was there was from the Marshall Islands said that Dalt was the Zone leader over his home area and he knew him pretty well. He said that Dalt was an awesome person and he had made a big impact on his life. It's awesome how missionary work has spread across the entire world. Its awesome that because of missionary work, a young man from Rupert Idaho can play an impact in someone's life that is all the way across the world. I know that I am only going a couple states south of Idaho, but I know that there are people there that I can help. I know that there are people that need to hear the message specifically from me, and I am so thankful for this opportunity that the mission has given me.
Sunday we watched a devotional from a couple years ago by David A. Bednar. He talked about the Character of Christ. He talked about how when we sin, or when we are selfish, we are turning away from Christ and looking towards ourselves. He talked about he importance of caring for others and how the way that we can become like Christ is through service. I have been spending a lot of time studying about Christ and the more I learn, the clearer it is to me that Christ's entire life was really just for us. He was a perfect being and the way to return to live with His Father in Heaven was set. However, He didn't want to be the only one to experience this miraculous joy. He lived his life, so that we could all experience these same blessings. He truly satisfied the demands of justice for us so that even though we make mistakes, we can be perfect through him. The reason why I am on a mission is getting clearer and clearer every day. We make decisions for four reasons: out of fear, for a reward, because it is a duty, and because we truly have a desire. I always knew this mission was a duty. Every young man has been asked to serve a mission. However, each day I am out here it turns more into a desire than a duty. I love this Gospel and it has changed my life. This message truly is a message of joy and I cannot wait to share it with the people in Tempe
I love you all, Take care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Week 4: September 12
Hola Familia!
Man, Time is flying by. Already a month in...it's so surreal. I got a letter from Keane about his new companion, it's so crazy how things work out. Small world. I'm sure that Keane will be prepared enough and have his call changed to Spanish speaking in a month so he can be my Senior Companion. Haha not really, but it would be sweet.
Everything is going great here. The language is coming along and I am learning more and more every day. It is still really frustrating how I can't say all that I want, but every day it gets easier. We have two "investigators." One is Paco who is really receiving of our message. We asked him to be baptized and he said that he would if God told him to. We challenged him to pray to find out if he should and the next time Elder Nelson and I taught him he told us that he had received his answer and knew that baptism was the path that he needed in his life. It was funny because right as he said that Elder Nelson and I got the biggest smiles on our face. I know that these investigators aren't real, but it brings me so much joy when they progress in the Gospel. Our other "investigator" Miguel is completely the opposite. Most of the times we have taught him we have been kicked out of his house in some form or another. He loves the message that we bring, but any time we mention The Book of Mormon he gets really mad. Elder Nelson and I have prayed about what to teach him next and we feel like families and the plan of salvation is the way that we need to go for our next lesson. Hopefully it turns out better than our others.
Yesterday morning as I was walking out of my room to class, a giant pitch black spider ran across the hallway. I hadn't really seen a spider like this before, and I thought that it might be a black widow. We got a water bottle and put it in there and sure enough, it was. I took it to the building manager and he was very surprised and said that he would take care of it. I think that they are trying to get us used to all of the crazy things that we will see on our missions. That way when black widows pop up in our apartments out of the safety of the MTC we will know what to do. I am so glad that the MTC teaches you how to handle all parts of your mission......haha.
I love how spiritual the MTC is. Each week we have the opportunity to have two devotionals and then watch a previous talk from a general authority. In one of the talks that we listened to, the speaker gave a poem that I really liked.
I'm not sure exactly how it goes, but it went something along the lines of this.
"Come to the edge," He said.
I said "No."
"Come to the edge," He said.
I said "No."
"Come to the edge!" He said.
I walked to the edge, and He pushed me, and I flew.
Sometimes in our lives we are asked to do difficult things. This mission that I am on is no exception. Not a day goes by that is not difficult in some way or another. However, I know that as I make an effort to go to the edge, with a little shove from our Savior Jesus Christ, I can fly. Obedience is stressed so much in the mission field, and at first I have to admit, I was somewhat tired of hearing about it. However, as I have come to find the miracles that result from exact obedience, I am so grateful for how much it is stressed. The quote that Garth Crane gave me before my mission "Obedience brings blessings, but exact obedience brings miracles," has never been as prominent as it is now. There is no way that I would be progressing in the gospel/language as fast as I am without miracles happening. I know that I am never perfectly obedient, but I know that as I strive to be so, the savior will help me to fly. I love this Gospel. I love this work, and I am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to be out here as one of Christ's soldiers. We were told that there are three type of people in this world. The Lambs, the Wolves, and the Shepherd. I have never thought of myself as a Shepherd, but I know that because I have the fullness of this gospel, I truly am a Shepherd. There are lost lambs out there and I am going to do all that I can to save them from the wolves and bring them back into the strength of the fold.
Take care, I love hearing from you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Week 3: Life in the MTC
Familia!
It still doesn't make any sense to me how days can be so long, yet so short. Time is seriously flying by, in a slow way, its weird, but I love it. This week was fairly normal, but definitely amazing. Once I got my immunization records I had to take them to the Immunization center. When I got there, they saw that I hadn't had a flu shot, and so no matter how many times I said that I didn't want one, they still tried to convince me to get one....so I finally fell for it and got one. Two weeks before I was in Walgreens picking up my prescription for my wisdom teeth problems and they offered me a free one. Thinking that I wouldn't have to get one I said that I didn't want one and then went on my way. So back to the MTC. I sit down, get my shot and grab my stuff getting ready to leave and the tell me that it is a $14 shot with a $7 injection fee.... $21. That is 42 tacos at Jack in the Box (Josh knows my pain.) You would think if walgreens offers missionaries a free shot, the church would be all on that as well. Shows what I know. Plus, I could've saved myself $7 and just given it to myself...The joys of the MTC.
I really do love it here though and I have learned so much. We have had a little bit of a messed up schedule. Like I said earlier because of school starting at BYU our teachers changed, and then both of our new teachers went out of town. We have had six teachers in the past two weeks, so it has been a little difficult to get settled down and get to work with all of the changes, but none the less, I have learned so much. Each lesson we teach I am surprised at how much I can actually say. Last Friday, I set a goal for my district to Habla Su Idioma (Speak your Language) all day. I think it really helped us and was sweet to see how we could all communicate fairly well. Another thing that I love about the MTC is we have the opportunity to go to the Temple every Preparation day. Today was a little bit of a different experience. I went through for "The Night Killer" that was his name ha. When I first saw it I was a little scared/nervous/surprised, not a name that you usually see. I am so thankful for the temples though and the work that can be done inside them. I am so thankful that I can do the work for people such as The Night Killer so that he can have a chance to be with his family forever.
Every Sunday and Tuesday we have MTC devotionals, and they are always amazing speakers who somehow know exactly what I need to hear. Yesterday it was a member of the 70, I forgot his name, from Germany. He spoke about how for a missionary to testify with conviction, he had to know, without a doubt, what he was saying was true. The missionary needed to experience emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually what he was testifying about. He then went on to speak about the power of Repentance, and when a missionary feels of that power he will lose the fear of teaching others about the amazing gift that repentance really is. I am so thankful for Repentance in my life. I am thankful for the sorrows that I feel when I make mistakes so I can feel the miraculous joy when I have repented for those mistakes. The Atonement has been one of the most powerful tools in my life. I can't fathom the love the Christ had for us. He didn't need to take upon the sins of the world, but he loved us so much that he did. He wants us to take advantage of this wonderful gift, and during those tough times when we are repenting, who better to help us out than Christ himself. He is always there for us, and he is always willing. Nobody has been a bigger influence on my life than Christ. In times that I can handle, Christ is always by my side. When times become unbearable, he is there to pick me up and carry me through. I am so thankful for him and his perfect love for me. I am so thankful that for the next two years, I get to help people realize that they too have this miraculous gift. Missionary work is amazing, and I honestly can't express how glad I am to be on this mission. I know that this is where I am supposed to be. I know that there are people in Tempe that need my help and I am going to do all I can to be there for them.
I love you all. You are all such amazing examples to me, and I am so thankful to have you in my life.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Week 2: August 29
Hola Familia,
It's insane how fast time is going. I can't believe that I have already been here two weeks.....well when I look back it seems like ages ago that you dropped me off, but each day flies by. I have learned so much and am so thankful to be here.
It was a little bit of a bitter sweet week. The oldest district in our zone all headed out to their fields earlier this week and I'm going to miss them for sure. They were all amazing misisonaries that had their mind set on the mission. They knew why they were here and were ready to get out there and serve. I became really good friends with a few of them, so it was tough to see them leave, but I am excited for them. Before they left we had a testimony meeting in their room with the entire zone. It's incredible how powerful simple testimonies can be when you testify with all of your heart. That's the main thing that I have learned while in the MTC. Even though I struggle with the language, when it comes to testifying of things that I know to be true, the spirit is always present. The other day we had a work shop where a guy from France came and told us about his conversion story. He said that he was converted by a missionary who had just left the MTC. He said that he had absolutely no idea what the missionary was telling him because his French was terrible, but the missionary testified with his heart. This misisonary knew what he was saying to be true, and even though there was a language barrier, this man felt Christ's love through the missionary. I am so excited to get to Tempe and serve. I know that I will not be anywhere near fluent with the language, but I know why I am out here. I know the message that we bring is true, without a doubt and I hope that through the spirit, my investigators will be able to feel the truthfulness of what I say.
This week with school starting at BYU, most of the teacher's schedules had to change. This made it so Hermano Finley and Hermana Contreas were not our teachers anymore. They were both amazing teachers, and so we all weren't too excited about the whole switch. Our new teachers are Hermano Jarmen and Hermano Anderson. They both have extreemely different styles of teaching than our previous two, but I'm sure that I will be able to learn a lot from them either way. Hermano Jarmen is from Arizona. He said he knew Bryce from somewhere as well, but I can't remember where he said.
The language is coming along, surely but slowly. We finished teaching our first "invetigator" last week, and so this week we are teaching two completely new "invetigators." One of them is Miguel, and he is insane. His wife and children are members, and he said that he knows everything about the Gospel and thinks its good. The only problem is he absolutely hates the Book of Mormon. He is extremely difficult to talk to, but I'm thankful that I am getting this experience here in the MTC so that when I'm out in the field I will hopefully know how to handel situations like this better. Teaching is still very frustrating. There are so many things that I want to say at certain times in the lesson that I dont know how. However, I know that with time the language will come. Yesterday we were walking back from lunch and two sisters stoped us. Their teacher was having them practice street contacts, and so they practiced on us. After, one of the sisters saw that we were speaking Spanish, and she was fluent, so she asked us to bear our testimonies. I was surprised on how much I could actually say. I went on for almost 5 minutes on things that I knew, and was surprised at all I knew how to say. I know that I am being blessed here at the MTC, especially with the language. It is frustrating at times, but I know that it will come.
I can't express how glad I am that I am on a misson right now. The Gospel brings me so much joy and I am so excited to share this joy with the people I meet. I have learned and grown so much in these short two weeks that I have been here and I can't imagine where I will be two years from now.
I love you all and look forward to hearing from you all soon.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Week 1: August 22
Hola Familia!
I love it here at the MTC. I have learned and grown do much already and am so thankful for the opportunity that I have to serve the lord. The first few days were rough. Our teacher, Hermano Finnlay only speaks spanish to us, so it was a little rough not being able to understand him. It's incredible how powerful the gift of tounges really is though. So much has come back to me that I learned in High School. I now find myself being able to understand almost everything that people say in spanish, I'm still just not sure how to respond. The days are long and full of classes. I never though I could be so exhausted, but its a good exhaustion. Everything has started to get better though and I am more used to the schedule and how things work around here.
My companion is Elder Nelson. He is a stud.....but a little different haha. I love him though and have learned so much from him. He is from Henderson, Nevada, but his dad is in the military, so he travels the country. This summer he lived in DC, so he has had a lot of experiences in different areas. I have honestly learned so much from him though. He has such a strong testimony, and its always nice to have him around. He also has diabetes (not positive about the spelling) so we have a fridge in our room....kinda nice, we can keep things fresh you know? haha.
So far we have taught three lessons in spanish. At first they were very rough, but they have gotten better each time. Our "investegator" is Sandra, and she is Jewish so we have been teaching her about Christ and His love for her. We pretty much wrote out a script our first lesson, and it went well until we realized we were done and had only been in there five minutes. We asked her if she had any questions about Christ, which may not have been the smartest thing to do because even though I could understand the questions I had no idea how to answer them in Spanish. Even though our language isn't as great as it will be in the futures, its still an amazing opportunity. No matter how terrible our language may be right now, when we testify of the things that we know to be true the spirit is so strong. Even though there is a language barrior between us and Sandra, she can feel things when we testify. Its crazy how excited I get about teaching her. I know that she is a member and already knows everything that we have been telling her, but when her character grasps a concept and has a desire to learn more it brings so much joy in my life. I can't imagine how pumped I will be once I'm in Tempe teaching real investegators.
We have also had the opportunity to have several devotionals. Last night we were able to hear from Elder Neil A. Anderson. He answered a lot of my questions that I have had about my mission. He gave us a list of 10 things as missionaries we should do. My favorite was #10. He told us that we needed to testify of Christ, everywhere we go. I know that this is why I am out here. Our purpose as missionaries is to bring others closer to Christ by Faith in him and his atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Christ is central to this plan. I know that he is my brother and my savior. I know that because he chose to walk the path alone, I don't have to and no matter what he will be walking beside me and carrying me in my times of need. We also were able to listen to a talk given by Elder Holland entitled "Missions are Forever." He told us that we truly are apostles with a lower-case a. I know this to be true. I know that I am a full time servant of the Lord and I am so excited for these next two years. Even though from my point of view now two years seems so far away, I am thankful for the opportunity I have to have these two years in my life.
The second day here I was put in as District Leader. I was a little nervous because I didn't want it to take too much time away from my studies, but it actually hasn't taken much time and has allowed me to get to know my district much better. My district is full of studs. Just like when I met my companion I was a little unsure about how they would be, but as I have gotten to know them I have gotten so close with them. Elder Duffy is one of my favorites. He is from northern Idaho and had the opportunity to play football for Utah State, but broke his back so he couldn't play anymore. His companion is also a stud, Elder Crompton. He his also from Henderson Nevada. Elder Morgan and Elder Wilcox are a companionship as well and they are two awesome guys as well.
I am running low on time... its a timed 30 minutes of email, kinda lame, but I would like to leave you with my testimony
I know that this church is true. There is no doubt in my mind of the trueness of this church. I know that I am here for a reason. There are people in Tempe, Arizona that need to hear the gospel from me, and I am so excited to share this Joy that I have with them. I am so thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I would not be anywhere near where I am today with out his atoning sacrifice. I will never be able to pay him back for all that he has done, but I know that a mission is a start. I am so thankful for all of you. I am convinced that I have been raised in the best family in the world. I'm not sure what I did in the pre earth life to deserve it, but I am so thankful for everything you all have done.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
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