Hello all!!!
Its a beautiful day in Eagan! Just wait till winter time!!! haha
Here is a hilarious quote i got from my zone leader: "Service is like peeing your pants. Everyone can see that you did it but only you can feel the warmth!"
hahahahaha! that one made me laugh my head off!!!! He told us that when we were helping someone move.
So it has been such an amazing week! First off President Clements challenged us to invite EVERYBODY to baptism (even if its right when we meet them out in town). We want to invite 1000 people to baptism this week. That means being EXTRA BOLD. When I first heard this, I was thinking: This is going to scare off the people! But now as I think deeper, I think the Lord is telling me as well as the other missionaries that we NEED to be more bold in our teaching and in finding. Jeffery R Holland talked about this. Ill paraphrase but he basically said that this is not something to be taken lightly. This is eternal life that we are talking about. We must be bold and let them know how important this message is. It was a powerful statement. I have made it a goal to be more bold in my teaching AND finding.
This week it got REALLLYYYY hot! In the heat index, It got up to around 120!!! That's including the humidity. I learned that there is no end to the sweating. hahaha But I'm still keeping my color so that's a plus! but i do have what they call the missionary tan: so i have a really bad tan on my collar. Half of my neck is tan and half is pure white. haha I am also getting a watch tan. lol. So its pretty hot! Thankfully not too many mosquitoes. Give it until September my companion told me.
The work is going AMAZING!!! We got the approval from President Clements to baptize Dylan this Saturday!!! we are sooooo excited for him!!! We completed the baptismal interview and we have the program all set up. It's a done deal! It's a miracle! We have been trying to meet with the Rodriguez Family, a part member family, for a while now and we finally got a hold of them. The father is less active and is a priest we think. The mother is also a member. They have 3 kids: Felix (14), Kalvin (11), and Cassie (8). They are about to have another baby soon! Here is a miracle that happened before we met with them: when we met with them, they said that their youngest daughter Cassie just asked them if she could be baptized. They want her to do it. In the meantime, they also have a goal to be sealed in the temple. We were so happy for them to come back to the light. It will be a little bit difficult but we are praying for them. We want Brother Rodriguez to baptize Cassie but he doesn't think he can in due time. He feels guilty. We are working with him and will do our best to prepare him for that day to baptize his daughter. We taught Sister Briggs again last Wednesday. Again she has been a less active member for 40 years. She has been coming to church every Sunday since I came into Eagan. She still doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith even after fasting. Right then, the gift of discernment came to me and Elder Baker. I felt impressed to ask: "Did you faithfully ponder about those things that you have prayed about?" She replied no. I had no idea what she needed but at that very moment, I knew that the Spirit really knew her needs. To preach with the Spirit means to preach with understanding. The Spirit was so strong at that meeting and her faith was strengthened as well as mine as I bore testimony of the Savior almost in tears. It was amazing. We taught Monika and Ravi last Friday. They are Indian parents of a 4 and 2 year old. They are Hindu. We were going to have a former Hindu who was converted to the gospel come to teach with us. Her name is Priea. She couldn't come. We really needed her there because she is the bridge between Hinduism and Mormonism. We did our best to help them feel the Spirit but they have no desire to change their faith. So I feel that we shouldn't go back until we can get Priea there to bear testimony of her conversion from Hinduism. Other than these people, we have received a lot of referrals this week! When we fasted last friday, we fasted for a new investigator. We are praying that these new referrals will be interested and receptive to our message and to the Spirit.
Here is my spiritual thought of the week: President Ezra Taft Benson once said: "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." I have seen the blessings that come from being exactly obedient on my mission because God blesses us with the power to resist temptation, to be valiant, and to constantly progress and to constantly strive to become more like the Savior. I testify that if we make obedience a priority in our lives that we will be so happy, that we will enjoy the blessings that come from following the Lords counsel, and that we will find peace in this dark world. Keep choosing the right that the Lord will be with you 24/7. Thank you and may the Lord continue to bless you all!
Love,
Elder Mower
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Elder Mower Letter #7
Hello all!
Another great week in Eagan!!! The work is moving along great, I am learning ALOT in personal and companion study, and the first month in the mission field have been a blast! So me and my companion, Elder Baker, started something for our studies called "the ten days of truth". It is when you read the whole Book of Mormon in ten days! Within 3 days we are almost in the Book of Alma. IT IS INTENSE!!! but its a big testimony builder. It strengthens your testimony of the Book of Mormon soooo much. However, we put it on hold for a while because it was distracting us from learning the missionary lessons. To teach with the Spirit means to "teach with understanding", as said by Elder Holland. With that understanding we need to constantly be studying the missionary lessons because that is how we understand them. I have discovered that when you have not studied that day, no matter how well you know the gospel principle, you CANNOT teach with the Spirit if you don't prepare by faithful study. I thought I had the lessons learned pretty well. So I started the ten days of truth. Not long after, I saw myself completely blank as I was attempting to teach a lesson. So Elder Baker had to bail me out quite a bit. But its a valuable lesson that i learned. you can NEVER learn enough regardless of how well you know it.
So here is the scoop on the work in Eagan and Rosemount: We finally met with Dylan. I extended the invitation to be baptized on July 30th. He accepted but was still hesitant due to probation. So I talked with President Clements about this and we came to the conclusion that because his cause of probation was only a misdemeanor, he can still go about a normal baptismal interview and be baptized on July 30th. We completed the interview and He is all set!!! We are sooooooo excited for him! We met with the Nelson family once but we never got around to a lesson. Ray Nelson (the father) is less active who really wants to come back to church. Unfortunately, because they don't want to deal with taxes, Ray does not want to get married to his girlfriend, Trudy, quite yet. But their kids are able to be baptized. So we are extending the baptismal invitation this week!!! We met with our investigator, Mary Helan last Tuesday and she LOVES the Church. She is a Roman Catholic yet she believes a lot of things that we do. We want to take her to see the St. Paul temple soon! We are working with her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know of its truth. We had a new less active member recently this week move into the area. Her name is Rosina O'Conner. We met with her and she has been through ALOT of things. since 1993, she was married to a drug dealer who was abusive to her. She was baptized in 1993 as well. She went on and on to tell of her stories and I cant remember them all but she said that she knew that the Lord was always there helping her press on. After 18 years of marriage, she couldn't handle the pain anymore and she left her husband and is now filing for a divorce. She now wants to come back to church! She ended up coming!!! It was a miracle! The Atonement really does work through people's lives! I know it through hearing about the experiences of Rosina. We had companion exchanges with the zone leaders on Wednesday so that we could do Dylan's baptismal interview. I was with Elder Bowen and we taught Sister Briggs about eternal marriages, temples, the plan of salvation, and about fasting. The fasting portion of the lesson was powerful. We had a special fast for her to receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. She also committed to fast! We haven't met with her yet so we will see what happens this Wednesday!
I'd like to share my spiritual thought for the week now because I'm running out of time. In Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5, It reads: "Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—;Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life." If we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ, then he will bless us with His everlasting grace. His grace is a gift that he truly desires to bless us with. All we have to do to receive it is to have faith in Him. He will support you in all that you do in His name. I know that this church is true and I love sharing this message of happiness. Thank you all for your support, I love you, and may the Lord bless you all!!!
Love,
Elder Mower
Another great week in Eagan!!! The work is moving along great, I am learning ALOT in personal and companion study, and the first month in the mission field have been a blast! So me and my companion, Elder Baker, started something for our studies called "the ten days of truth". It is when you read the whole Book of Mormon in ten days! Within 3 days we are almost in the Book of Alma. IT IS INTENSE!!! but its a big testimony builder. It strengthens your testimony of the Book of Mormon soooo much. However, we put it on hold for a while because it was distracting us from learning the missionary lessons. To teach with the Spirit means to "teach with understanding", as said by Elder Holland. With that understanding we need to constantly be studying the missionary lessons because that is how we understand them. I have discovered that when you have not studied that day, no matter how well you know the gospel principle, you CANNOT teach with the Spirit if you don't prepare by faithful study. I thought I had the lessons learned pretty well. So I started the ten days of truth. Not long after, I saw myself completely blank as I was attempting to teach a lesson. So Elder Baker had to bail me out quite a bit. But its a valuable lesson that i learned. you can NEVER learn enough regardless of how well you know it.
So here is the scoop on the work in Eagan and Rosemount: We finally met with Dylan. I extended the invitation to be baptized on July 30th. He accepted but was still hesitant due to probation. So I talked with President Clements about this and we came to the conclusion that because his cause of probation was only a misdemeanor, he can still go about a normal baptismal interview and be baptized on July 30th. We completed the interview and He is all set!!! We are sooooooo excited for him! We met with the Nelson family once but we never got around to a lesson. Ray Nelson (the father) is less active who really wants to come back to church. Unfortunately, because they don't want to deal with taxes, Ray does not want to get married to his girlfriend, Trudy, quite yet. But their kids are able to be baptized. So we are extending the baptismal invitation this week!!! We met with our investigator, Mary Helan last Tuesday and she LOVES the Church. She is a Roman Catholic yet she believes a lot of things that we do. We want to take her to see the St. Paul temple soon! We are working with her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know of its truth. We had a new less active member recently this week move into the area. Her name is Rosina O'Conner. We met with her and she has been through ALOT of things. since 1993, she was married to a drug dealer who was abusive to her. She was baptized in 1993 as well. She went on and on to tell of her stories and I cant remember them all but she said that she knew that the Lord was always there helping her press on. After 18 years of marriage, she couldn't handle the pain anymore and she left her husband and is now filing for a divorce. She now wants to come back to church! She ended up coming!!! It was a miracle! The Atonement really does work through people's lives! I know it through hearing about the experiences of Rosina. We had companion exchanges with the zone leaders on Wednesday so that we could do Dylan's baptismal interview. I was with Elder Bowen and we taught Sister Briggs about eternal marriages, temples, the plan of salvation, and about fasting. The fasting portion of the lesson was powerful. We had a special fast for her to receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Joseph Smith. She also committed to fast! We haven't met with her yet so we will see what happens this Wednesday!
I'd like to share my spiritual thought for the week now because I'm running out of time. In Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5, It reads: "Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—;Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified; Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life." If we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ, then he will bless us with His everlasting grace. His grace is a gift that he truly desires to bless us with. All we have to do to receive it is to have faith in Him. He will support you in all that you do in His name. I know that this church is true and I love sharing this message of happiness. Thank you all for your support, I love you, and may the Lord bless you all!!!
Love,
Elder Mower
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Elder Mower Letter #6
Hello everybody!!!
Sorry about another P Day on Tuesday. We had specialized training yesterday and we met our new mission president, President Clements. He is way cool! he is from Utah, loves golf, and his ancestor is Wilford Woodruff, 4th president of the Church!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!! I think its pretty neat, but the most important part is that he is a man of God, called to lead this mission and I'm grateful to serve with him as my leader.
It is sooo nice to talk to all of you again!!! So unfortunately, this week has been a pretty difficult week. First off, I'd like to talk about all the fun that Elder Baker and I have had, fixing our bikes! haha I discovered that my chain has not been lubricated or cleaned in a long time. The elder that had this bike before me took POOR care of it. So i cleaned it and my gears the best i could and with about 20 dirty rags, it is still not even close to being clean. Also when I came back from companion exchanges this week, I was told that my back tire was flat. Not a big deal, so I buy a new tube and I put it in. The next day, my front tire goes flat, so I buy ANOTHER tube. But this time as I was filling it with air, I didn't quite put it in the tire tread all the way so then it POPS! so then the next day I buy another tube and right as we were about to go out, my brakes start giving me trouble, so then I stop and fix that. Then right as we went down the hill from our apartment, Elder Baker crashed pretty bad on his bike in the middle of the T intersection. I couldn't help but laugh my head off. He got a new tread for his tire and there were no studs on the side of the tread so his back tire slipped out from under him and he fell. So then we spend about an hour just fixing him up from a pretty bad road rash. You could see his vein popping out from the road rash. It was pretty gnarly. But all is well now. With the trial comes the blessing afterwards!!!
So I got to go on companion exchanges last Tuesday with my district leader, Elder Berns. I went to his area, Redwing. It is pretty much on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin but I didn't get to go into Wisconsin unfortunately. :[ oh well. So he was a pretty good contacter on the streets. We had a lot of quality gospel discussions. We gave out a Book of Mormon. But unfortunately no one was willing to let us come back. We also visited a less active member. I don't remember his name but he was a upper aged man who has kids but was divorced. He lives alone and he said he would come to church if he had better shoes. His church shoes do not fit him anymore. Elder Berns and I tried to show him that all you need at church is your BEST attire. If the best you have is street clothes then thats absolutely fine! But he didn't want to come. Kind of makes me sad but i pray that he'll come around soon. I get to go on another exchange with our zone leaders, Elder Bowen and Browning, tomorrow! I think we will be in Cottage Grove or Hudson but I'm excited!
As far as missionary work in Eagan/Rosemount goes, the last few days were very disappointing for us. 3 investigators dropped us, Hannah, Kelly, and Timothy. Timothy was a referral and he still dropped us. We have had lots of potentials but they never follow up. :[ Elder Baker and I are planning on fasting this week for a new investigator. I'm not supposed to ask family and friends back home to fast so please don't do it by the way please! Thanks! So we will see what happens this week. We got in contact yesterday with a less active family, the Kirks. We actually found out that Brother Kirk was once excommunicated, then came back and was sealed in the temple with his wife, but now he found out that one of his sons might have an alternative lifestyle and he doesn't want the church to judge anybody so he refuses to come back. Because he won't come back, we have to drop him. It's really sad but we are allowed to visit every now and then. We will keep them in our prayers. But later today we are inviting Dylan to be baptized on July 30th, depending if his probation ends by then. He's still a little bit sketchy about Joseph Smith but we are teaching him about the restoration today! We know that he has received a testimony of the gospel so we know that he will for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He reads and prays everyday so he's looking good! We are also teaching the Nelson family. Ray Nelson, the father, lives with his fiancee but they are postponing their marriage till who knows when. This is because they don't want to pay for more taxes. How silly is that??? So if his wife wants to be baptized, then they need to get married. There was a story that i once heard where some missionaries were teaching a couple who wasn't married and they accepted the invitation to be baptized. So one of the elders makes a wrong turn as they are headed home. The other asks where he was going. He responds: "To pick up their marriage papers. We need to get them married right???" So then the couple was married 10 days later and was baptized. hahaha Its funny but it also shows that we should be bold in preaching the gospel. Maybe not to this degree but definitely BOLD. We got sister Briggs to come to church again. We meet with her tomorrow and we are hoping that she receives that personal witness from the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true and that it contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. That is her status so i will announce what happens next week. We are still trying to meet with Jennifer. Like I said before, her husband committed suicide last February. She is going through a lot of pain. We know how much the gospel will bless her life. We aren't giving up on her at all. She almost came to church. She committed but overslept. We meet with her this Thursday at 1 so we hope that the message of this amazing gospel will bring her happiness and peace in her time of need. That is the missionary work of Eagan and Rosemount in a nutshell.
Well I have to go so here is my spiritual thought of the week. In Mosiah 2:41, it reads: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out cfaithful to the end they are received into dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."
Many people wonder why Latter day saints are so happy. This scripture tells us why. its because we do the things the Lord asks. Many people think that freedom will bring them happiness. It may temporarily but not eternally. It is through following the Saviors teachings that we may be happy both temporally and eternally. I know that this church is true and i wouldn't rather be anywhere else than out in Minnesota serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. Thank you all for your encouragement and love for me. Keep up the missionary work wherever you are!!!
Love,
Elder Mower
Dear family:
Thank you for all of your love and support. Keep it up because I'll need every last bit of it.
So to answer your questions mom: The food is surprisingly VERY GOOD! No meat loaf w/ ketchup yet. haha We had quite average food! A lot like your food! Lots of chicken casseroles. A few times we got to eat RIBS! :D There are lots of members that take care of me! One has a son that is a rapper that is going to BYUI and serving a mission soon!!! I did get my pants today and they fit perfectly. surprisingly I do not need to get them hemmed! I didn't get the pull up bar yet but I'll get back to you on that one next week. Can't wait to see what you sent me because you ALWAYS send me some pretty awesome stuff! Thanks mom! :] Tell Brother Noble that he's gonna have to show me his 360 magic on the wake board when i come home! :b Tell Jay to keep trying because he has a 2 year head start and after that, ITS ON! hahaha Many times with members I mentioned how much we love Lake Mead. Can't wait to go back but the humidity makes me feel like I'm there even if its only 90 degrees out! lol We have a car but we also bike. We can only use 1100 miles in a month. The elder before me that had the bike took POOR care of it so now i am afraid that i will learn everything about a bike. hahaha but its alright!!! its good for me! The new mission president is sooooo cool!!! He is from Utah, loves to play golf and interesting fact about him: his great great great...(idk how many greats) grandfather is Wilford Woodruff!!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! I think its pretty awesome. But more importantly, he is a great man and i cant wait to serve with him.
All is well and its about my time to get off the computer so I'll talk to you later. Each of you will get a personal letter soon! love you all SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! :]
Love your son, brother, and missionary,
Sorry about another P Day on Tuesday. We had specialized training yesterday and we met our new mission president, President Clements. He is way cool! he is from Utah, loves golf, and his ancestor is Wilford Woodruff, 4th president of the Church!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!!! I think its pretty neat, but the most important part is that he is a man of God, called to lead this mission and I'm grateful to serve with him as my leader.
It is sooo nice to talk to all of you again!!! So unfortunately, this week has been a pretty difficult week. First off, I'd like to talk about all the fun that Elder Baker and I have had, fixing our bikes! haha I discovered that my chain has not been lubricated or cleaned in a long time. The elder that had this bike before me took POOR care of it. So i cleaned it and my gears the best i could and with about 20 dirty rags, it is still not even close to being clean. Also when I came back from companion exchanges this week, I was told that my back tire was flat. Not a big deal, so I buy a new tube and I put it in. The next day, my front tire goes flat, so I buy ANOTHER tube. But this time as I was filling it with air, I didn't quite put it in the tire tread all the way so then it POPS! so then the next day I buy another tube and right as we were about to go out, my brakes start giving me trouble, so then I stop and fix that. Then right as we went down the hill from our apartment, Elder Baker crashed pretty bad on his bike in the middle of the T intersection. I couldn't help but laugh my head off. He got a new tread for his tire and there were no studs on the side of the tread so his back tire slipped out from under him and he fell. So then we spend about an hour just fixing him up from a pretty bad road rash. You could see his vein popping out from the road rash. It was pretty gnarly. But all is well now. With the trial comes the blessing afterwards!!!
So I got to go on companion exchanges last Tuesday with my district leader, Elder Berns. I went to his area, Redwing. It is pretty much on the border of Minnesota and Wisconsin but I didn't get to go into Wisconsin unfortunately. :[ oh well. So he was a pretty good contacter on the streets. We had a lot of quality gospel discussions. We gave out a Book of Mormon. But unfortunately no one was willing to let us come back. We also visited a less active member. I don't remember his name but he was a upper aged man who has kids but was divorced. He lives alone and he said he would come to church if he had better shoes. His church shoes do not fit him anymore. Elder Berns and I tried to show him that all you need at church is your BEST attire. If the best you have is street clothes then thats absolutely fine! But he didn't want to come. Kind of makes me sad but i pray that he'll come around soon. I get to go on another exchange with our zone leaders, Elder Bowen and Browning, tomorrow! I think we will be in Cottage Grove or Hudson but I'm excited!
As far as missionary work in Eagan/Rosemount goes, the last few days were very disappointing for us. 3 investigators dropped us, Hannah, Kelly, and Timothy. Timothy was a referral and he still dropped us. We have had lots of potentials but they never follow up. :[ Elder Baker and I are planning on fasting this week for a new investigator. I'm not supposed to ask family and friends back home to fast so please don't do it by the way please! Thanks! So we will see what happens this week. We got in contact yesterday with a less active family, the Kirks. We actually found out that Brother Kirk was once excommunicated, then came back and was sealed in the temple with his wife, but now he found out that one of his sons might have an alternative lifestyle and he doesn't want the church to judge anybody so he refuses to come back. Because he won't come back, we have to drop him. It's really sad but we are allowed to visit every now and then. We will keep them in our prayers. But later today we are inviting Dylan to be baptized on July 30th, depending if his probation ends by then. He's still a little bit sketchy about Joseph Smith but we are teaching him about the restoration today! We know that he has received a testimony of the gospel so we know that he will for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He reads and prays everyday so he's looking good! We are also teaching the Nelson family. Ray Nelson, the father, lives with his fiancee but they are postponing their marriage till who knows when. This is because they don't want to pay for more taxes. How silly is that??? So if his wife wants to be baptized, then they need to get married. There was a story that i once heard where some missionaries were teaching a couple who wasn't married and they accepted the invitation to be baptized. So one of the elders makes a wrong turn as they are headed home. The other asks where he was going. He responds: "To pick up their marriage papers. We need to get them married right???" So then the couple was married 10 days later and was baptized. hahaha Its funny but it also shows that we should be bold in preaching the gospel. Maybe not to this degree but definitely BOLD. We got sister Briggs to come to church again. We meet with her tomorrow and we are hoping that she receives that personal witness from the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true and that it contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. That is her status so i will announce what happens next week. We are still trying to meet with Jennifer. Like I said before, her husband committed suicide last February. She is going through a lot of pain. We know how much the gospel will bless her life. We aren't giving up on her at all. She almost came to church. She committed but overslept. We meet with her this Thursday at 1 so we hope that the message of this amazing gospel will bring her happiness and peace in her time of need. That is the missionary work of Eagan and Rosemount in a nutshell.
Well I have to go so here is my spiritual thought of the week. In Mosiah 2:41, it reads: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out cfaithful to the end they are received into dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."
Many people wonder why Latter day saints are so happy. This scripture tells us why. its because we do the things the Lord asks. Many people think that freedom will bring them happiness. It may temporarily but not eternally. It is through following the Saviors teachings that we may be happy both temporally and eternally. I know that this church is true and i wouldn't rather be anywhere else than out in Minnesota serving the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. Thank you all for your encouragement and love for me. Keep up the missionary work wherever you are!!!
Love,
Elder Mower
Dear family:
Thank you for all of your love and support. Keep it up because I'll need every last bit of it.
So to answer your questions mom: The food is surprisingly VERY GOOD! No meat loaf w/ ketchup yet. haha We had quite average food! A lot like your food! Lots of chicken casseroles. A few times we got to eat RIBS! :D There are lots of members that take care of me! One has a son that is a rapper that is going to BYUI and serving a mission soon!!! I did get my pants today and they fit perfectly. surprisingly I do not need to get them hemmed! I didn't get the pull up bar yet but I'll get back to you on that one next week. Can't wait to see what you sent me because you ALWAYS send me some pretty awesome stuff! Thanks mom! :] Tell Brother Noble that he's gonna have to show me his 360 magic on the wake board when i come home! :b Tell Jay to keep trying because he has a 2 year head start and after that, ITS ON! hahaha Many times with members I mentioned how much we love Lake Mead. Can't wait to go back but the humidity makes me feel like I'm there even if its only 90 degrees out! lol We have a car but we also bike. We can only use 1100 miles in a month. The elder before me that had the bike took POOR care of it so now i am afraid that i will learn everything about a bike. hahaha but its alright!!! its good for me! The new mission president is sooooo cool!!! He is from Utah, loves to play golf and interesting fact about him: his great great great...(idk how many greats) grandfather is Wilford Woodruff!!! HOW CRAZY IS THAT?! I think its pretty awesome. But more importantly, he is a great man and i cant wait to serve with him.
All is well and its about my time to get off the computer so I'll talk to you later. Each of you will get a personal letter soon! love you all SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! :]
Love your son, brother, and missionary,
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Pictures from the MTC!
Elder Mower sent home his memory card today! We finally have some pictures!!! I don't know who or what they are, but we have some! Looks like he is happy and doing well!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Elder Mower Letter #5
hello from a beautiful day in Eagan Minnesota!!!
Sorry i couldn't email yesterday...the library was closed for the 4th of July so that means no computer. ha ha. Everything has been going pretty awesome here!!! I absolutely loved to celebrate the 4th of July!!! Me and Elder Baker were able to go to the parade in Eagan with 2 other Elders who are serving in Farmington. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Fathers love and support for the Founding Fathers, who were truly God-inspired men determined to find this choice land prepared by our Father in Heaven. I'm so thankful that we have the freedom of religion in this country because it allowed for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come to pass. It allowed Joseph Smith to bring forth our Heavenly Fathers work and glory upon the face of the earth before the Saviors Second Coming. Such a blessing that we all have in our lives, to live in this wonderful nation given to us by our Father in Heaven.
Anyways, I'm starting to be able to approach people a little bit better. I'm not perfect by ANY means though. ha ha. In fact just yesterday, there was a lady about 20 years old. we knocked on her door and she opened...lets just say her outfit wasn't the most modest of all clothes. lol so i was so embarrassed because i wouldn't look at her because of her outfit. I was sweating up a storm (the humidity didn't help of course). I kind of had no idea what to do so Elder Baker took over and thankfully, she is now a potential investigator. So I'm glad the Lord blessed me with a companion to bail me out whenever i mess up due to inexperience. ha ha I'll get used to it and I'll get better at it, but talking to people is so much harder than i thought because when people reject the gospel in a rude manner, it's sad. These people are saying no to something that I KNOW will bless their lives. but I'm praying for them. I'm also praying for myself that i will know what to say to people when i am finding them.
Unfortunately, the work is still moving pretty slow and I found out that it is because the last elders somehow abused the trust of the members and now its my responsibility, as well as Elder Baker, to get that trust from the members back. It is so key to have the trust of members because a good chunk of the people baptized are from referrals from members. So we are struggling with that. But the Lord has blessed us with at least one potential investigator everyday since last Thursday. But there are ALLLOOOTTTTTTT of Lutheran and Roman Catholic people up here. I think I officially despise the statement: "Sorry. I'm Catholic/Lutheran. I'm happy with that faith." Its soooo frustrating because we're not trying to take away that faith that they already have in Jesus Christ, we just want to strengthen it and add some more truths to the ones that they already have!!! but it's their agency and we are always here to help them if they ever need any help. We met some Jehovah's Witnesses and surprisingly, they were VERY nice to us. Elder Baker said that they usually get pretty nasty with missionaries. So we haven't met with Dylan yet because he is still with his dad. I believe we are meeting with him on Thursday so ill let you all know what happens. We haven't met with the Nelson family, Timothy, or Jennifer yet either. Not a lot of people actually follow up with us unless they are actually trying to come closer to Jesus Christ. However, we did have a few lessons! First was for Sister Orvela Hampton. She is an upper aged African women who is a less-active member in the Church. She lives in a nursing home due to Crones disease. She had just a couple of problems. First off, her granddaughter is sadly starting become a lesbian. :[ We taught her about the Atonement and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End). Just as I was bearing my testimony of repentance, she also mentioned that she had some Word of Wisdom issues. We are working with her to come to Church again, to read the Book of Mormon, and to apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ in her life. She said she appreciated my testimony and it brings me SOOOOOOOOOOOO much joy that i am now touching people's lives in behalf of the Lord. I can't even begin to explain the pure happiness that it gives me. Next, we taught a less-active family, the Schweigert family. They have 2 little kids and a dog. I don't know their names yet (there are soooooo many names to remember in the mission!) so bear with me. The father REALLY wants to receive the priesthood to bless his family. So we are working with him to reactivate them to full activity in the church so that they can enjoy these blessings as well as their desire to go to the temple to be sealed for all time and eternity. Finally, we are teaching a less active member named Kathy. She is a unique less active member. She doesn't believe in Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon but she believes in the Doctrine and Covenants. We committed her to pray about these things last time and she said that she'd do it. So we will see what happens when we meet with her tomorrow and help her receive that personal witness from the Spirit that these things are true. So that's all that has been happening in the area of Eagan other than LOTS of tracting! haha
So last Friday, there was ALMOST A TORNADO!!! IT was a HOT HUMID DAY (about 105 degrees with 90% humidity) but then it got cloudy around 7 and then the skies turned green!!! It was sooooo crazy!!! we were pretty excited. lol. It turned out to be a VERY severe thunderstorm. Lightning was constantly lighting the sky. haha unfortunately there happened to be a tornado in a different area. it did some damage but nothing too major. There was a part-member family whose driveway was covered with trees. The very next day, their branch came to help them clear the trees and after that, the father of the family was so impressed with their self-less service that he said that he wanted to be baptized after 10 years of investigating the Church. That is an amazing miracle. There are miracles in this mission everyday and they are all amazing!
So I'm sorry that i forgot to provide a spiritual thought last week so to make up for that, i found a very touching quote from President Boyd K. Packer for those who feel that all is lost in their life or that there is no hope: "Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the Atonement of Christ...there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the Atonement of Christ." Brothers and Sisters I know that this is truly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ not only because i see it working in my life but also in the lives of those that i come in contact with. I know that it has the ultimate enabling power to heal us of any inner wound or struggle that we have in our lives. That is why we should never give up, no matter what! there is always hope in ALL of the lives of God's children. Find someone who is struggling and share this good news of hope with them. I love you all and ill talk to you in another week! YOUUUUUU BETCHYAAA! ;]
Love,
Elder Mower
Dear Family:
Thank you soooooo much for the sweet letters and notes that you wrote to me. I want each of you to know individually how much i love you! You are the ones that matter most to me. As i take on the most challenging, yet best, 2 years of serving the Lord in my life, you are my biggest fans and encouragers. It is through your love that helps me press on in the hard times. Every time the adversary attacks with anything, I hear your sweet voices shout for joy exhorting me to carry on! and I find that the hard times are not defining my mission, they are refining it. They are making me stronger. I know that its not easy but I do know that it will be absolutely worth everything. Next P-Day I WILL set some time aside to write each of you a personal letter to each of you. Mom, thank you soooooo much for sending me all of that stuff. I know I ask for a lot sometimes but you so willingfully do it for me. I'm so grateful for that. Dad, Thank you for sharing your mission experiences! They helped remind me that the hard times are only for a short time. I love you all MORE THAN ANYTHING! <3333333333333 Ill talk to you soon! :]]]
Love Your son, brother, and missionary
Elder Mower
Sorry i couldn't email yesterday...the library was closed for the 4th of July so that means no computer. ha ha. Everything has been going pretty awesome here!!! I absolutely loved to celebrate the 4th of July!!! Me and Elder Baker were able to go to the parade in Eagan with 2 other Elders who are serving in Farmington. I am so grateful for our Heavenly Fathers love and support for the Founding Fathers, who were truly God-inspired men determined to find this choice land prepared by our Father in Heaven. I'm so thankful that we have the freedom of religion in this country because it allowed for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to come to pass. It allowed Joseph Smith to bring forth our Heavenly Fathers work and glory upon the face of the earth before the Saviors Second Coming. Such a blessing that we all have in our lives, to live in this wonderful nation given to us by our Father in Heaven.
Anyways, I'm starting to be able to approach people a little bit better. I'm not perfect by ANY means though. ha ha. In fact just yesterday, there was a lady about 20 years old. we knocked on her door and she opened...lets just say her outfit wasn't the most modest of all clothes. lol so i was so embarrassed because i wouldn't look at her because of her outfit. I was sweating up a storm (the humidity didn't help of course). I kind of had no idea what to do so Elder Baker took over and thankfully, she is now a potential investigator. So I'm glad the Lord blessed me with a companion to bail me out whenever i mess up due to inexperience. ha ha I'll get used to it and I'll get better at it, but talking to people is so much harder than i thought because when people reject the gospel in a rude manner, it's sad. These people are saying no to something that I KNOW will bless their lives. but I'm praying for them. I'm also praying for myself that i will know what to say to people when i am finding them.
Unfortunately, the work is still moving pretty slow and I found out that it is because the last elders somehow abused the trust of the members and now its my responsibility, as well as Elder Baker, to get that trust from the members back. It is so key to have the trust of members because a good chunk of the people baptized are from referrals from members. So we are struggling with that. But the Lord has blessed us with at least one potential investigator everyday since last Thursday. But there are ALLLOOOTTTTTTT of Lutheran and Roman Catholic people up here. I think I officially despise the statement: "Sorry. I'm Catholic/Lutheran. I'm happy with that faith." Its soooo frustrating because we're not trying to take away that faith that they already have in Jesus Christ, we just want to strengthen it and add some more truths to the ones that they already have!!! but it's their agency and we are always here to help them if they ever need any help. We met some Jehovah's Witnesses and surprisingly, they were VERY nice to us. Elder Baker said that they usually get pretty nasty with missionaries. So we haven't met with Dylan yet because he is still with his dad. I believe we are meeting with him on Thursday so ill let you all know what happens. We haven't met with the Nelson family, Timothy, or Jennifer yet either. Not a lot of people actually follow up with us unless they are actually trying to come closer to Jesus Christ. However, we did have a few lessons! First was for Sister Orvela Hampton. She is an upper aged African women who is a less-active member in the Church. She lives in a nursing home due to Crones disease. She had just a couple of problems. First off, her granddaughter is sadly starting become a lesbian. :[ We taught her about the Atonement and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End). Just as I was bearing my testimony of repentance, she also mentioned that she had some Word of Wisdom issues. We are working with her to come to Church again, to read the Book of Mormon, and to apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ in her life. She said she appreciated my testimony and it brings me SOOOOOOOOOOOO much joy that i am now touching people's lives in behalf of the Lord. I can't even begin to explain the pure happiness that it gives me. Next, we taught a less-active family, the Schweigert family. They have 2 little kids and a dog. I don't know their names yet (there are soooooo many names to remember in the mission!) so bear with me. The father REALLY wants to receive the priesthood to bless his family. So we are working with him to reactivate them to full activity in the church so that they can enjoy these blessings as well as their desire to go to the temple to be sealed for all time and eternity. Finally, we are teaching a less active member named Kathy. She is a unique less active member. She doesn't believe in Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon but she believes in the Doctrine and Covenants. We committed her to pray about these things last time and she said that she'd do it. So we will see what happens when we meet with her tomorrow and help her receive that personal witness from the Spirit that these things are true. So that's all that has been happening in the area of Eagan other than LOTS of tracting! haha
So last Friday, there was ALMOST A TORNADO!!! IT was a HOT HUMID DAY (about 105 degrees with 90% humidity) but then it got cloudy around 7 and then the skies turned green!!! It was sooooo crazy!!! we were pretty excited. lol. It turned out to be a VERY severe thunderstorm. Lightning was constantly lighting the sky. haha unfortunately there happened to be a tornado in a different area. it did some damage but nothing too major. There was a part-member family whose driveway was covered with trees. The very next day, their branch came to help them clear the trees and after that, the father of the family was so impressed with their self-less service that he said that he wanted to be baptized after 10 years of investigating the Church. That is an amazing miracle. There are miracles in this mission everyday and they are all amazing!
So I'm sorry that i forgot to provide a spiritual thought last week so to make up for that, i found a very touching quote from President Boyd K. Packer for those who feel that all is lost in their life or that there is no hope: "Restoring what you cannot restore, healing the wound you cannot heal, fixing that which you broke and you cannot fix is the very purpose of the Atonement of Christ...there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the promise of complete forgiveness. That is the promise of the Atonement of Christ." Brothers and Sisters I know that this is truly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ not only because i see it working in my life but also in the lives of those that i come in contact with. I know that it has the ultimate enabling power to heal us of any inner wound or struggle that we have in our lives. That is why we should never give up, no matter what! there is always hope in ALL of the lives of God's children. Find someone who is struggling and share this good news of hope with them. I love you all and ill talk to you in another week! YOUUUUUU BETCHYAAA! ;]
Love,
Elder Mower
Dear Family:
Thank you soooooo much for the sweet letters and notes that you wrote to me. I want each of you to know individually how much i love you! You are the ones that matter most to me. As i take on the most challenging, yet best, 2 years of serving the Lord in my life, you are my biggest fans and encouragers. It is through your love that helps me press on in the hard times. Every time the adversary attacks with anything, I hear your sweet voices shout for joy exhorting me to carry on! and I find that the hard times are not defining my mission, they are refining it. They are making me stronger. I know that its not easy but I do know that it will be absolutely worth everything. Next P-Day I WILL set some time aside to write each of you a personal letter to each of you. Mom, thank you soooooo much for sending me all of that stuff. I know I ask for a lot sometimes but you so willingfully do it for me. I'm so grateful for that. Dad, Thank you for sharing your mission experiences! They helped remind me that the hard times are only for a short time. I love you all MORE THAN ANYTHING! <3333333333333 Ill talk to you soon! :]]]
Love Your son, brother, and missionary
Elder Mower
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