Elder Joshua Christensen: Week 2...And the Work Shall Go Forth

Hello guys!!

This week was pretty good, just like last week. It had its struggles, but relying on my Heavenly Father has helped me so much. In the MTC you have TRC investigators who are members who act like they are investigators or sometimes you have people who are real investigators. You don't know which is which, but our TRC appointments went well. But we also do a thing called progressive investigator. This is a role play where our teacher Brother Woolf acts like an investigator named Chris, and we take it about as real as we can. The first lesson we taught with him to weeks ago was not good. Me and my companion were on two different pages. So it was just confusing. The second lesson we got him to pray and start praying. He felt the spirit and it was as great experience. But the 3rd lesson is about when the problems started coming. The lesson was going really well, and at the end we committed him to be baptized, and he said they he had already been baptized. I was searching through my scriptures for a scripture to help him, but he needed to leave right after that. So my companion was just a bit discouraged from not having the investigator understand why we need to be baptized by the priesthood authority of God. I told him we were ok and we would now know that we needed to teach him about the apostasy and the restoration.

That next lesson we got a couple min into it, and I was explaining the apostasy. I did a terrible job at explaining it, and I asked Chris if he understood. He said yes, but he really didn't, he said that because he didn't want to feel inadequate about not knowing the answer. So we stopped the role play right there, and the teacher explained a better way of teaching it. My companion was still just a bit discouraged from this, and he thought that we lost all trust in the investigator. I was beginning to feel a bit discouraged as well because I felt like I was just a terrible companion. I love him so much, and I wanted to help him so bad, but I did not know what I could do. I prayed for how I could help, and asked for help in making our companionship more united. After getting things figured out, I told my companion that we needed to find what we were going to teach. A lot of Elders here kept saying that we just need to follow the spirit, and not to follow any plans on what to teach. But really what needs to happen is you find out what you need to study, and then you study that. When we do this the spirit will be able to help us remember those things that we have studied. And this is what has really helped me and my companion.

The next appointments with Chris were going well, and he was understanding and believing the things that we were telling him. And they went well not because we were teaching, but because the spirit was there. And then on Monday was our last chance to meet with Chris. In the morning I was reading The Book of Mormon in Alma 31. And I would encourage you guys to read this because it was so cool. It talks about Alma and one of his missions to preach to the Zoramites. And this story is so cool!! Alma, Amulek, Zeezrom,Ammon, and two of Alma's sons. Talk about the dream team of the The Book of Mormon!!! And they were being discouraged and saddened because of the wickedness of the Zoramites. And Alma offers a prayer to Heavenly Father. Start reading in vs 25 and keep reading, he is telling the Lord how the people have hardened there hearts. But vs31 he is praying to be strengthened, and to help strengthen his fellow brethren. And then 37-38 are absolutely awesome!! And they did take no thought for themselves or what they would eat or drink, or what they should put on. They were able to forget themselves and go to work. The Lord does bless us when we pray. After I read this, I shared it with my companion, and we both felt the spirit. We then talked for a bit, and then went on to teach Chris after this. The spirit was so strong, and at the end of the lesson, I asked Chris, " Chris, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" And he said he would!! Now this may have just been a role play, but it felt as real as could be. It was an amazing experience.

I love this gospel so much, and I am so excited to go out and serve my Heavenly Father. I leave tomorrow early in the morning, but I am ready to go and teach the people of Houston, and I know that the Lord has and is continuing to prepare people to be taught, I just have to listen to the spirit, and have that spirit as a constant companion!! I am excited, and I look forward to seeing this work go forth, because the Lord is hastening His work!! (D;C 88: 71-75)

wish you all the best week!! And thank you guys for the support!!