Hey everyone! So it has been quite the week! Many of
you may remember how last week I told you I was getting transferred! Well I
found out this last Tuesday where I was going! Turns out I am back in College
Park!! It is so crazy to think! I left college park about 1 year ago, and I was
there for about 9 months. I was so excited to hear I was going back to this
ward!
When I was hear last time we had so many great things going on, and the
trust with the members was amazing. But I guess after I left over the next
several month the missionaries and members didn't work as closely together and
so the ward wasn't feeling that same missionary excitement, but things were
still going really well! The companionship that was here before me and my
companion( By the way we got white washed into the area, so we are trying to
get everything figured out.) did a great job and bringing and bond back between
the members and the missionaries. So things are really beginning to pick up in
this ward! This week alone we have been able to see so many miracles!
It has been a crazy week, but so good! Because we are new to
the area we went around to all of the different auxiliaries, We met with Bishop
Dowdle. Him and his family were really excited to see me again, and I was
excited to see them. We met with bishop 3 different times this week to discuss
the needs of the members and places he needed us to stop and and visit. So
already we have gained his full trust, and we are seeing amazing things
happening!
We also met with the Elders Quorum president and the relief
society President, and the High Priest group leader. and so on. So we have been
able to get alot of information this week about the ward and the needs of the
ward. We are so excited to be here in the ward and to just work as hard as we
can!
In addition to that we had a baptism this last week, we got
to the area and then found out there was a baptism. So this week we met with
the investigator and finished up the lessons with her. Her name was Juany. We
had an incredible lesson with her this last week at the Jensens home. The
Jensens are the ones who found Juany. They saw here and her roommate trying to
unload furniture out of a moving van up 3 stories of stairs. They offered to
help, and brought members from the ward to help, and little by little over the
last 3 weeks it lead her to investigate and decide that she needed to be
baptized.
She has an incredible story. She comes from a rough background, and
as she learned more and prayed to know, she said the spirit came to her so
strongly and she knew that she needed to be baptized! So as I said we had a
great lesson with her. We taught the laws and ordinances lesson with her and
talked to her more about how she was feeling about her baptism. We also covered
the restoration of the priesthood and family history and temple work! Her
understanding of the gospel is incredible everything we taught she understood.
And one question I love to ask while teaching about family history is, "
Have you had any ancestors on you mind lately?" Now this sounds like
a weird question to ask, but so far on my mission every time I have asked this
question they have said yes, and it has been a relative that has passed away.
And we then explain the reason for why they are thinking of them. We will reference
to the promise found right at the end of the book of Malachi, where he
prophesies about how Elijah will be send and the hearts of the father will turn
to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.
We told Juany
the reason why she was thinking of them was because her ancestors have accepted
the gospel, and they are fully ready to take that next step, but on there own
they can not. That is why baptisms for the dead are so important as well as any
other temple ordinance. And after teaching about this the spirit was so
strong and Juany knew it was true. And that only made her that much more exited
to get to the temple and start doing family history work! So just a great week!
It took quite some time though to get everything ready for the baptism. There
were so many details that we had to get figures out, but we were able to
finish! It was a great baptismal service, and she even brought her room mate,
and she felt the spirit so strong also! So hopefully we will begin to be able
to teach her!
And to finish the
week, I had a wonderful experience at church! I was able to greet all of the
members and see how they were doing! So many of them were so excited and they
want us over in there home to teach them and there families! It is so amazing.
But Sunday evening we got a late phone call from the assistants, and they
wanted me to come down to the temple that evening and give one of the tours of
the temple grounds! I gladly accepted and we went down to the temple grounds
that evening!
We had so many people again! Alot of the groups were bigger than
last time! We can see the Lord hastening his work. The group I helped tour last
time was about 35 people. This time around I did the full tour on my own, and
then the group was around 64 people just in my group. These tours are amazing!
So many people have there visions raised and are wanting to work towards
getting to the temple so bad!
We brought a part member family from the college
park ward. And the husband isn't a member, but you would never expect it! He is
so awesome! But their whole family came to the tour and was in my group! And
after they started asking more questions! So in two weeks we are going to start
meeting with them! The spirit is so strong while we were walking around and
talking about the temples! When they hear about all the parts of the gospel of
Jesus Christ that were restored back to the earth, the spirit can easily
testify to them that it is true! They can feel that peace on temple grounds!
Such a great
And to finish the night we met with different members and we
just talked about missionary work and so many members are beginning to be more
open to looking fore missionary opportunities. This week alone we have seen so
many miracles. And then this morning we got a call from our bishop. And he has
asked us what we did this week! He was so excited because he got and email from
the Part member family we were talking about and the wife wants to get a
limited use recommend for the temple and start doing our family history. And
the ward has been working with this family for a little while! So we just see
how much the Lord is guiding his work right now! It really is amazing!
And one more miracle to add to that we are in our office
emailing right now and like 15 min ago someone I met while I lived in this
complex walked in and started talking to me! He said after I left he met with
some missionaries and then for a while he stopped. But now he wants to start
meeting. And he said I need to be baptized so we can start working towards
that! What is going on! I just again know and testify that this is the Lords
work. He stands at the helm and leads us each and every day! And as each of us
as members and missionaries come together we can assist our Father in Heaven in
His work! I know this to be true!
I hope all y'all have a great week!
Elder Joshua V. Christensen
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