Familia!
So, we got transfer calls last night, looks like my time here in Tempe is done for now. I'm not sure where I am headed, all I know is that I am training, so I guess we will see Wednesday. I'm a little bit nervous to train because I know how huge of an impact trainers have on the first part of a missionary's mission. I was super blessed to have the trainer that I had and then to be living with the elders that I lived with. They have all definitely impacted my mission for the good and I hope that I can just do my part to help this elder out. However, I have learned throughout my whole life that whom the Lord calls He qualifies, and I definitely know that he will be helping me out.
This week was probably one of the best weeks of my mission. I know I keep saying that, but they honestly just keep getting better. This week three of our investigators entered into the waters of baptism. Being able to see people make these sacred covenants really just does make everything worth it. The first person baptized was Brandon. The first time I met Brandon was last Sunday when he bore his testimony in church. I thought that he was a member, but apparently not... Tuesday night we got a text from the bishop saying that Brandon had wanted to be baptized for several years his mother just wouldn't allow it until now. So, Wednesday afternoon we went over to their home and went over the baptismal interview questions (The questions each person is asked before baptism to make sure that the missionaries have taught them all that they need to be taught and then as well to make sure that they have gained a testimony of the key things in the Gospel.) Well, Brandon knew them all, so we told him he as ready for baptism and challenged him to be baptized this last Saturday and he accepted. It is always amazing to be able to meet people who at such a young age are so prepared to accept the Gospel.
Then, the next two people that were baptized were Eugene and Jamie. Eugene and Jamie have grown to be some of my favorite people that I have met on the mission. They have been investigating the church since 1996, and have known that it is the true church for several years, they just haven't been able to join because of their addiction to smoking. The first time that we met them about six weeks ago Elder Niederhauser and I instantly grew to love them. We could see all the potential that they had, and so we prayed to know what we should do to help them progress in the Gospel. As we prayed, we both felt that February would be the month when they would both finally be able to kick the habit and be baptized. We set a goal for the 16th of February about 5 weeks ago. One of the first times we met them we read Either 12:27 which has grown to be one of my favorite scriptures. In the scripture it talks about how when we turn unto Christ, He will make our weaknesses strengths. I have truly been able to see this with these two. The Atonement truly is our greatest gift in this life. Not only does it help bad men become good, but it helps good men become better. It is the strength that we need when we have no desire to continue on, and it is truly what drove Eugene and Jamie to reach the point where they are at now. Six weeks ago they went from no hope, no desire to continue on, to now they are baptized and able to have a member of the God Head with them as a continual guide. They have gone from no faith, to now having a worth priesthood holder as the head of their home. I truly do love the Gospel. It is truly the way to obtain joy in this life.
Also this week I was able to have an experience that I will cherish forever. For my whole mission I have been praying to be the answer to someone's prayer. I know that I answer people's prayers every single day by the message of the restored gospel that we bring, but I wanted to be able to see a miracle happen through me. This week as we were driving to one of our lessons a thought came to my mind that we needed to stop by Mercy, a recent convert's home and visit her. As we headed to her home we passed the street Don Carlos where Frank (my very first baptism) lives. Once again another name popped into my mind. I knew that we needed to go and visit Frank. As we pulled up to his home, the door opened even before we got to the porch. It was not Frank, but his cousin that he lives with. He invited us in and we sat and talked a little about Frank. As time moved on and we needed to head out to our lesson I asked if there was anything that we could do to help him out. He told us that actually he wanted a blessing. He went on to tell us that this past week his job had been cutting several people. Job security was not looking very good and he said he was scared for the future. He told us that as he got home that morning he fell to his knees asking God to bring by someone that could give him a blessing, that could help him out, and then we showed up. It is amazing how aware God truly is of us. We stumbled upon Frank's cousin by not one, but two changes of plans. God truly is aware of us and as we turn to him in our good times and bad, he will bless us with those things that we need.
I am so thankful for this gospel and for the opportunity that I have to share it. It truly does help bad men become good and good men to become better and I am thankful for the person that it is helping me become. I love you all and hope all is well. Take Care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Familia!
Things have been super good in Tempe, and we have been able to have a lot of success lately. We have been staying very busy, so I cant complain about that.
This week was the valentines party for our Spanish ward. I think I have decided that Spanish people know how to throw the parties. They start out with tons of food, and then tons of dessert, and then they dance it off. So, this last party I decided that I would never know the real Spanish experience until I did all three..... so at the end of the party when everyone was dancing to their Spanish music I got up and went in the middle of them and just started dancing by myself right along with them. Everyone stopped and started cheering and whistling and so I just kept going haha. It was pretty awesome until the sisters yelled at me....apparently its a rule you aren't supposed to dance...Either way though it was way fun and I got a lot of member trust out of it. One of the members came up to me laughing and shook my hand and said "In thirty years I have never seen a missionary dance like you." I owe it all to the Quinceanera (Spanish 15 year old parties, I have no idea how to spell it) that I went to with Edgar a couple weeks before I headed out, I learned all my moves that night....haha
This week has also been one of the most spiritually uplifting weeks in my mission. I was able to be a part of some incredible experiences that I will never forget. The first of which was Zack's Baptism (Marshal and Shannon's Son). We have been working with Marshal and Shannon and their family for the past several months. They all have a really strong desire to be baptized and join the church, they just can't because they still need to get married. They have filed the divorce papers, and Shannon's ex-husband is making things very difficult and so they figure that by the soonest they will be married next February. So, we focused our attention on Zack. I have never seen someone prepared at such a young age. When we taught him about some of the commandments he said, "You know when I was younger I thought about that and didn't think it was right to do, so I studied it out, prayed about it, and God told me that I shouldn't do it, so I didn't." That is just the type of person Zack has grown to be. Whenever he has a question, he brings it before God to know what he should do. It has been a miracle for me to be able to work with him and see him be the example for his family and be baptized when they couldn't. I know that he is going to change many people's lives, including his family.
As well this week we had a few appointments fall through and so we were going through our back up plans to see who we should go by and visit. As we were reading over the names, this man who we had met earlier popped into my mind. Not even thinking I said, "Hey, lets go visit Tattoo Man." Now I call this guy Tattoo man because his entire body, face and all is covered in Tats...and because I didn't know his name.... so we head over to his house and knock on the door. His music was blasting inside his house and so we tried to knock as loud as we could and no one answered. We decided that he wasn't going to come to the door and as we turned around to leave, we saw him coming around the corner to his house. He came up to us and to talk to us and said, "Hey I was just wondering when you two were going to come over." We asked him if we could talk for a bit and so he said sure and let us in his apartment. As soon as we got into the apartment he fell apart. He started telling us how terrible his life was and how everything was falling apart. He told us how at a young age when he had nobody to trust, he decided to trust the streets and got involved in gangs and a life that he is not proud of now. He just kept telling us that he was done, done with it all. He said he was sick of this life and just wanted it to end. His family had left him, His friends had abandoned him, and he didn't see a purpose to be living. As we sat and listened to the things he told us, we both started testifying about Christ. How even when we feel these lows, and feel as if no one knows what we are going through, we are wrong because he does. We testified that because Christ stood alone, we never have to. It was an amazing experience to be able to talk with this man and be able to bring the spirit back into his life so that he could see that light that he was searching for.
Then, later in that same day we went to a new investigator's home. His name is Duane. As we walked up to his trailer his door was wide open and he was sitting on his bed holding his scriptures in his hands waiting for us. Once again as we got inside and started talking, he fell apart. He told us that all day he was debating on whether or not he should take his life. He told us that he had put drugs and alcohol over his family at a time that they really needed him and that he would never be able to forgive himself. He told us that he had torn apart his family, and he just figured that the world would be better without him. Once again we were able to follow the guidance of the spirit and testify of things that he needed to hear. The lesson was super powerful and we were able to put him on date to be baptized on the 23rd of this month.
Now, how amazing is it to have the opportunity to help not one, but two people questioning if they should take their life that day. If we wouldn't have listened to the guidance of the spirit to go and visit Ranay right then, we would have never been able to have that opportune moment to catch him and start a conversation and then who knows what would have happened to him. Then, if we wouldn't have listened to the guidance of the spirit to tell Duane the things that God wanted him to hear, not only would he have maybe taken his life later on, but he wouldn't be preparing for one of the most important steps that he is going to take in his life by being baptized. How blessed am I to be serving in the Tempe Arizona mission. How blessed am I to be able to share the Gospel, the light that the world is searching for, to those who are buried in a deep abyss and can't find a way out. And how blessed are we to be able to have a member of the God Head to guide us in this life to help others. I will forever cherish these two years that I have to serve and the experience and knowledge that lay ahead of me.
I love you all and hope all is well. Take care.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Familia!
So good to hear that everything is all good with dad and the wreck. It is amazing how we truly are protected in this life. God truly does watch out for us and it has been something that I have seen more and more of on my mission.
This last week was one of the most successful weeks that I have ever had on my mission. We were able to have 24 lessons, put three people on date for baptism, and then have a baptism. We truly have been blessed the last couple days. I love being on the Lord's errand.
Yesterday we had a pretty awesome experience. As I have been serving in the ward the past couple months I have gained a lot of really good friends. One of them is named Mark. He is a recent convert of 6 months and we hit it off right away. Yesterday Mark was ordained an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood. It was a powerful experience to be a part of. It has been amazing to see people's lives change while being on the mission. I didn't know Mark before he joined the church, but yesterday when I was able to see him receive the power and authority of God to work miracles and bless the lives of others, it truly hit me how powerful of a work I am doing out here. I am here not only to help others come unto Christ, but once they have come unto Christ I am here to help them help those around them. It truly is a blessing being out here.
This week was Lindsey's baptism as well and I was able to learn a lot through it. Her original baptism date was last Saturday, but that day she had a ton of things to do. There was some sort of cheer thing in the morning and then later on in the day she had to figure things out with school and then she had work. Elder Niederhauser and I thought that it would be a good idea to move her baptism back to the 2nd of February and so we did. Later on we found out how big of a mistake that was. As Lindsey was preparing for baptism this extra week, several trials popped up in her life. Several random things came into her life that were really trying her faith. As we met with her and she told us these things it really hit Elder Niederhauser and I how big of a help it would have been if she had the Holy Ghost as a constant companion in her life throughout these trials. The spirit really chastised us letting us know that she was ready the week before, and even though her day was super busy her baptism should have been a priority. It was a mistake that I will never make again. I think sometimes I don't realize how big of a blessing it is to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we literally have a member of the God Head with us guiding our lives. If Lindsey had been baptized a week earlier, she would have had this necessary help in her life through this trial. Even though it was a struggle to push through these trials that came, we were able to do it, and her baptism was something that I will never forget. Lindsey asked me if I would baptize her and so it was an amazing opportunity. It was the first chance that I have ever had to baptize someone and joy is really all that can explain it. When Lindsey came up out of the water she had the biggest smile on her face, and I couldn't help but to smile either. As I went back to the changing room thinking about all that had just happened, I just continued to smile. You know, days like those are what the mission is about. Sure it may be hard getting up at 6:30 every morning, and sure it may be hard having days where we don't teach much at all, but when you see someone enter into the waters of baptism, all of those other things fade away. You truly get to see the importance of the work and how amazing it is to be a part of the salvation of someone's soul. The mission truly is changing my life for eternity and it will be something that I will forever be indebted to.
I truly do love this work, and it is something that I will be doing for the rest of my life. I hope you all know how much I love you and I hope all continues to go well.
Con amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Familia!
So apparently Tempe isn't the desert that I thought it was. For the past four days it has been raining pretty much 24/7. I definitely like the rain, so it has been a good change. It is still warming up though, not sure if I am totally ready for the summer, but either way its coming.
This week was a pretty exciting week. Every so often the mission has a spanish training, and this time it was in YUMA! I have always heard a lot about Yuma from all of the spanish elders, so I was pretty excited to go down there. So, we left on Thursday morning and we drove on the straightest road I have ever seen for about three hours. It was a blast... When we finally got to Yuma, things starting picking up though. We all got together and had a training about how to best work with the Spanish people and how to better us as missionaries. Then we had the branch president from Yuma come and talk to us about how he has seen success in the Spanish culture. It was pretty good and something that I definitely needed to hear. After that, we split up with some members and went out and visited all of the Less Active families in the area. I have never seen so many Hispanics in my life.... No matter what door you knocked on or who you talked to, they spoke Spanish. It was awesome. I definitely hope that I serve there some day soon, I know that it will really help my Spanish. As for now though I love Tempe. I have an amazing area and I know that I was sent here at this exact time for a reason.
The past three Sundays have been some of the best days on my mission. So far on my mission, it has been pretty hard to get the Spanish members in this area to do missionary work with their friends. However, past two Sundays we have had several members bring their friends to church. It has been awesome to see and has really opened up our teaching pool. Especially with Hispanics, one of the hardest things to get them to do is to come to church, so I have been very thankful to have the members helping out. Then, this Sunday 15 minutes after church started we got a call from a random lady who was in the Walmart parking lot and wanted a ride to church....and I thought that our pass-a-long cards with our phone number did no good... so we grabbed a member and went to pick her up. I have never really seen someone as prepared as her. When she got to church, sacrament meeting was pretty much over, so our first class with her was Gospel Principles. We were talking about pre-mortal life and she kept talking about experiences that she had in her life that had lead her to believe exactly what the Gospel teaches. It is always amazing to see how I am not here to prepare, but find those who are prepared like this lady. We have a lesson with her tonight, and I am pretty excited to start teaching her.
Something that I have learned a lot about this week is the potential that we all have as sons and daughters of God. I was reading President Monson's talk about see others as they can become and it had a pretty big impact on me. As sons and daughters of God, we truly do have the divine right to become so much more than we think we can be. In his talk, President Monson shares a story about a missionary. In the story, the missionary had a ton of success. When asked why he was able to relate to people so well and help them while on his mission he said it was because he saw them as who they could be, not who they were. As I thought about the people that I have been teaching, I was able to see how this truly can fit. I have never talked to so many people with addictions or with problems greater than I have ever faced and greater than I hope to ever face, but even they are sons and daughters of God and can become so much more. No matter where we are at in our life, no matter who we are, because of our heritage and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become the person that God wants us to be. When Jesus Christ taught, he gave a commandment which was to be perfect, even as our father in heaven is perfect. We know that we will never receive a commandment that we can't accomplish, and I believe that this is the key, to see ourselves as who we can become. To see ourselves living in the Kingdom of God and then living up to that goal. Of course we will fall, of course we will make mistakes, but that is what this life is about, learning. I know that as we take little steps in this life, someday we will be able to fulfill that commandment that Christ gave.
This week we should have Lindsey's baptism. I'm pretty excited for it. We had to move her back a week because she had a cheer competition that she didn't plan for, and so we are planning for her baptism this Saturday. It is always awesome to teach someone who is so prepared.
I hope all is well at home and I love you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Familia!
So, winter was long and hard to endure, but I think it is over. haha. We have had a week full of 75 degree days, so its been pretty nice. Everyone just keeps telling me how horrible the summer is, so I guess we will so how long I'm loving the weather.
So this week has been pretty insane, well I guess just pretty much one of the days. Fridays are our days to do weekly planning, and so all of our zone goes to the church and we sit there for three hours and plan out the upcoming week. Ya, sometimes it gets fairly long. So, to lighten the mood a little bit I got my plastic water bottle and twisted it so a bunch of pressure was built up by the cap and then I twisted the cap off. It made a pretty loud noise and made everyone jump a bit, but then the crazy part of the day started right after that. So Elder Niederhauser, my new companion, walks over and grabs the bottle cap and just throws it in his mouth (Ya, like a dog playing fetch or something, I have no idea what he is doing, he must have just thought he wanted to chew on it or something haha). So he comes back and is just sitting there and then someone says something that makes him laugh. Right when he starts laughing he sucks the bottle cap down the back of his throat and swallows it....so, at the time I think its pretty funny and I am just laughing, but in reality he is in a ton of pain. He runs to the bathroom and tries to get it out, but can't...so, long story short, I hurry and drive him to the emergency room. When we get to the emergency room he fills out all of the paper work and then we are just sitting there waiting for them to call him back. A lady comes back and starts going around to the patients asking them what their situation is and everything. I think she was just trying to see who needed care the most urgent. So, first she goes to this little kid next to me and asks him what is wrong. He said he has just had some trouble breathing all day and so she said alright, we will be with you in a bit. Then she calls Elder Niederhausers name and he stands up and like yells, "That's me!" she asks what is going on and I'm just sitting there watching him and he says, "I have pain in my chest...my heart hurts... I'M HAVING A HEART ATTACK!" haha apparently he was in so much pain he really thought he was having a heart attack. So, like any other nurse in that situation would do she ran him right to the back haha. I guess its a good way to get immediate service.... So, five hours and a surgery later, Elder Niderhauser is bottle cap free. It was a pretty eventful day I would say.
Other than that, things have been pretty good in our area. We picked up another English ward last week along with a few new investigators. A few of which are Eugene, Jamie, and Barbara. Most of them have been investigating the church since 1996, so just a few years... The first couple times we taught them we could just tell that there was something different about them. They seemed so ready to join the church, to be baptized, but there was just one problem. Smoking. So, we taught them a plan that the church has to quit smoking and gave them all blessings. Well, it is a week later since we started the program and they have gone from smoking several packs a day to just smoking 3 or 4 cigarettes each this entire week. It has been an amazing experience to see and has really strengthened my testimony about the atonement. The first few days, they were 100% cigarette free, but then they ended up slipping up and falling a little bit. The day after they relapsed, Elder Niederhauser and I went to their house. They were all pretty upset with themselves and didn't understand why they were doing so good, but fell. Barbara kept saying that she knew she had enough faith to quit and she was just confused as to why they all fell again. It was something that really bothered me for a couple days. They had such a strong desire to quit, and they had faith that they could, but they ended up making the mistake again. Yesterday at church I was thinking about Christ's life. I thought of the story of Peter walking on water. When Peter saw Christ on the water he said, "Christ, if it is you, let me come out and join you. Let me walk on the water with you." Peter knew that if it was Christ he would be able to walk on water. He had the faith necessary to begin with, and then he acted. We then read that Peter did, in fact, walk on the water. He took the first few solid steps and then he began to doubt a bit and fell. However, the instant he started to fall, Christ reached his hand out to grab him. However, Peter had to grab his hand as well, it was a two way deal. In our life, just like Eugene, Jamie, and Barbara, we all have our trials. We all have obstacles that we need to overcome. Sometimes as we are overcoming these trials, we fall. Sometimes as we are improving ourselves, we slip up. However something that we all need to know is Christ's hand is already stretched out. The Atonement has already been completed. His hand is outstretched waiting for all of us to grab it and he will lift us up onto solid ground. Yesterday, I shared this with these three investigators. It was really neat to see the hope come back into their eyes. I know that we truly can overcome all through the Atonement of Christ, it is just our job to grab hold.
I love you all, I hope all is well at home. I'm loving the time I have to serve out here. It is truly a blessing to be out on a mission.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
Familia!
-20??? Man, that is crazy! I saw ice yesterday for the first time here in Arizona and thought that it was cold here, shows what I know...haha.
So, Transfers were this last week. I was pretty nervous going into them because it would be my first companion change in the field and so I didn't really know what to expect. President Howes likes to keep everything a secret until the day of, so no one really knows except for the APs. So, since I live with the APs they always try to tell me what is going on, but they tell me so many different things that I never have an idea what is truth and what is a joke. The last thing they told me going into transfers was the it was going to be a long 6 weeks for me so I was pretty sure that it was a companion that I would struggle with, but I set my mind that I would make the best of it. So, when they got to the Tempe Area President Howes said, "In Tempe Area number 21 Niederhauser and Jurgensmeier." the whole place just when silent. I have served around Elder Niederhauser for the past three months. He is one of the other missionaries in our Spanish ward and so I have gotten to know him pretty well. If we would've gone to the same school, we would have definitely been close friends and we have for sure gotten very close on the mission. We told pretty much everyone that we were going to be companions someday and so when President Howes announced it nobody could believe it. You could say that I am pretty stoked for the rest of this transfer.
Along with the companion exchange we have had a lot of crazy experiences this past week. We picked up a new English ward, the Alemeda ward, and so now we have to figure out how to spend our time working equally in two English wards and a Spanish. It was a little difficult trying to figure everything out at first, but now I think that we've got it. This week has honestly been one of the most successful weeks of my mission. It was full of tender mercies from the Lord. To start off, Lindsey (The ASU Cheerleader) is doing awesome. It is amazing to see the change that happens to people when they implement the gospel into their lives. It is something that I have seen a ton on my mission and I know that I will continue to see. Then to go along with her, we have a new family that we found and started to teach. They have been taught nearly everything by missionaries before. They know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and another testament of Jesus Christ and they know that all of the things they have learned before are true. They have a strong desire to be baptized, they just have one problem, they smoke. Elder Niederhauser and I were able to get a stop smoking packet from the church and we went over that with them yesterday. They commit ed that they would start it, and so tonight we are going to buy all of the supplies (food, mouthwash, ect.) and take it over to their house and they are going to give us all of their cigarettes and smoking materials. I know that it may be a struggle in their lives right now, but I know that if they do their part, God will provide the means for them to stop. I think sometimes we don't realize the true power in The Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there is literally nothing that we can not overcome. It is something that I grow more thankful for daily. Then yesterday at church was full of even more blessings. We had some members bring four other people that are really interested in learning the gospel. They all loved church and have a strong desire to continue coming.
Before this week started, Elder Niederhauser and I sat down to talk about what our goals were for this area. We talked about how we were going to do all that we could to help this area progress and find those that have been prepared. We made up our minds to go the extra effort to do our part. Its crazy to see how when we truly do our part in life, when we are obedient to the commandments, the Lord blesses us immediately. Whether these blessings be minor things or whether they be something that greatly impacts our lives, they will come. I have grown a strong testimony of really doing the little things, because they are what make the big things happen. When we do the little things in this life, it is promised that we will have the big things in the life to come. We will be able to live with God, Jesus Christ, and our families forever. I am so thankful for this mission and the things that I am learning daily. It is amazing to be a tool in the hands of God to help others and each day, through the good and the bad, I am thankful for it.
Take Care, I love you all.
Con Amor,
Elder Jurgensmeier
