Elder Mower Letter #18

How are you all doing?!

Before i start, if any of you have written me a letter within the past 2-3 weeks, I apologize for not writing back yet. I have been VERY busy lately and I'll do my best to get back to all of you if i can!

I'm SO EXHAUSTED because of such a busy week. We taught 6 lessons this week with one of them being with another member! We also received 3 new investigators! But before i get into that Here's a really neat miracle that happened last Wednesday. So Elder Black and I were walking around in downtown Eagan and just as we were walking out of the parking lot, a man drives up next to us and says: "Hey are y'all Mormons or Jehovah's witnesses?" We told him who we were and then he said "Alright. Do you guys happen to have a Book of Mormon? I've read most of it already and i have like 40 pages left but i can't find mine. Could i get one from you guys?" We immediately gave him a Book of Mormon and our contact information. He never called but we know where he works since he was in his work uniform. The church is so true and God is truly a God of miracles. It's undeniable.

So here are the lessons that we taught this week. Just last Monday night, we planned on stopping by a less active member named Jayme Nolan who lives with a non member, Brad Nivala. We stopped by and Jayme wasn't home but Brad was. He doesn't make the best choices in life and he is going through a lot of financial trouble right now but he expressed his deep appreciation for the Church's fasting program that allowed him to be fed when he didn't have the money to buy food and pay for mortgage. He even said that even when him and Jayme get married and their financial situation slows down, he might even become a member of the Church. MIRACLE! Thus, He became an investigator. We are meeting with him again tomorrow! On Tuesday, we taught 2 lessons. First we taught Victor. He is still jobless and has been for the last 3 months. We promised him that if he is baptized, that he will find a job. We extended a baptismal invitation and he declined nicely by saying that he's a Catholic and he'd like to keep it that way. Leaving that lesson i was VERY disappointed in Victor. I was disappointed because our time as missionaries is VERY short and we can't waste it by comparing religions and letting our meetings go on and on and on without making any progress. Elder Black feels prompted to go back and give him one more shot but after that its a do or die for Victor. Later that day we met with a former investigator named Julie Happy (she LOVES being called Sister Happy). Could've guessed why right?! haha. This lesson was definitely one of the most Spirit filled experiences this week. She has been having some health problems, especially with her back and, as a result, was prescribed some Vicadine to help with her pain. Because the pain was intense and continued to worsen, she took more and more and eventually became addicted to it. As she was explaining this to us into tears, she expressed a desire to get off of it. She said that we called her at the perfect time. We offered a Priesthood blessing for her and she accepted. I had the wonderful opportunity to give her the blessing. I remember after the lesson, she said that she literally felt like "crap" physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But she also said that Every last bit of it went away after we gave the blessing. Even the physical pain vanished. She was extremely grateful for this Priesthood blessing. I think she is GOLDEN and may have the potential of all our investigators to be our next baptism. She is SO ready to receive the gospel after we help her through her struggles and help her come to the light. Last Thursday we taught Paul and Barb. Unfortunately they dropped us but there is a remarkable seed planted. We taught about the Plan of Salvation and they love that heavenly Father is a loving Father in Heaven. We also talked about how they can know all these things are true through reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. Brother Anderson (a member) came with us and bore a powerful testimony in tears that he KNOWS that he will again see his 2 grandchildren who have passed away and he knows that they are in the hands of a tender, loving Heavenly Father. Barb started to get emotional and the Spirit was VERY strong but when they asked our purpose in meeting with them, they said that they have no intentions of being converted. But they promised to read and pray sincerely about the Book of Mormon together as husband and wife. We will miss them. Last Friday we taught another former investigator named Angela. She has EXTREMELY WEIRD ideas. I don't even think i should share these ideas. We are going back one more time to reinforce our purpose as missionaries. That will be either a drop or it will turn out very good! Later that day we taught a referral that we received named Sasha. Her mom is a member. We taught her the restoration. She was willing to listen but EXTREMELY shy. She was committed to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. We'll see how things go with her. Those were our lessons this week!

General Conference was amazing! For my spiritual thought, I would like to share a powerful experience that i saw with the Burnsville missionaries and one of their investigators watching general conference with us. This investigators name was Kristi. Remember that one of her main concerns is that she feels that God doesn't even care about her and that she is worthless in the sight of God. We were watching the Saturday Morning Session. She liked it all. She loved President Monson's humor! But then the last talk given that session was President Uchtdorf. He said something that struck her hard (and I as well); he simply but powerfully said (not in exact words): "If you are feeling worthless, insignificant, lonely, or forgotten, know this: YOU MATTER TO GOD!" What a statement! I looked over and Kristi wasn't crying, she was balling. Her concern had been fixed by a general authority. That is a witness to me that the general authorities of the church ARE INSPIRED! God inspired President Uchtdorf to say this because He knew that Kristi truly needed to hear that. I bear witness that these men, who are the leaders of our Church, are inspired of God. They are His true servants called to lead and guide us. I'm grateful for their counsel and boldness to me that has compelled me to become a better missionary and disciple of the Lord. I testify that President Monson is a prophet called of God! He is today's mouth piece of the Lord. I invite all men to heed his counsel, for it is from God. I promise that as you do this, your lives will be improved and you will find joy and know that when you are following his counsel, you are following the Lords counsel. I know these things are true and i bear witness of their truth as an instrument in His hands, and i do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love Elder Mower