My
feet are super sore after this week. We
walked everywhere! We need to do a lot
of work to build up our teaching pool. We
are going out and trying to find those people that God has already prepared and
who are waiting for us to come and knock on their doors. There was one thing that I learned this week
that I really liked. We are not just out
here to find people that are being prepared or that need us to prepare them,
but we are trying to find the people that Heavenly Father has already prepared.
I’ve
thought a lot about that and it is a subtle, yet interesting shift in how I see
things out here. It was super cold this
week. I busted out the thermals for the
first time and they helped a ton or else I would have been an icicle. So my ponderize scripture for this week was
Luke 17: 33 "Whosever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and
whosever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Throughout my scripture
studies in the Bible, this scripture has been repeated multiple times so there is
definitely something important to learn. During my ponderizing I thought about it as selfishness.
This is not my work, not your work, but
it is His work. As we seek to save our
life, that is ok to do, but what if God asks us at the end, "How many of
my children did you help?" And we respond with, "Uh no one, but
myself." We are all brothers and
sister and we are here to help each other. It also goes with “putting off the natural
man.” Being selfish can be a very
destructive thing. Throughout my life I have
thought about me too much. Being on a mission
has shown me that when I do that, I will not have success or will not put forth
my best effort. I have had to work on
forgetting myself and just focus on serving my companion and the people I am
teaching. We are promised through this
scripture that if we are forgetting ourselves, we will still be blessed in the end.
I still have a lot to learn and to work
on in regards to this scripture and many of the other scriptures I have
ponderized in previous weeks, but I know the Lord can help me through these
things as I put in the effort.
Monday we cooked our roadkill possum. We had it for dinner. It was surprisingly good. It tasted like beef or a roast in a way. It may have been because we made it in a stew, but it tasted good. So that was our last night as a trio.
Tuesday we went to transfers and I got my new companion, Elder Nimmer. He is from Orem, Utah. He has been out for 18 months and he loves soccer, which is awesome. Too bad it is too cold to play much. I was really scared and nervous for taking over this area for my first time, but so far, the week has gone fairly well. I have prayed for opportunities to help my trust in God grow and well, I got my opportunity now. So be careful what you ask for because it will happen – Haha. And be ready to work for those things you ask for as well. We tried to see a few people and then went tracting. We found 4 “potentials,” which was really cool. We are working really hard to change some things to help this area grow.
Monday we cooked our roadkill possum. We had it for dinner. It was surprisingly good. It tasted like beef or a roast in a way. It may have been because we made it in a stew, but it tasted good. So that was our last night as a trio.
Tuesday we went to transfers and I got my new companion, Elder Nimmer. He is from Orem, Utah. He has been out for 18 months and he loves soccer, which is awesome. Too bad it is too cold to play much. I was really scared and nervous for taking over this area for my first time, but so far, the week has gone fairly well. I have prayed for opportunities to help my trust in God grow and well, I got my opportunity now. So be careful what you ask for because it will happen – Haha. And be ready to work for those things you ask for as well. We tried to see a few people and then went tracting. We found 4 “potentials,” which was really cool. We are working really hard to change some things to help this area grow.
Wednesday we
contacted a referral and will be going back in a couple weeks to see him. I gave a training at our District Meeting on listening.
I was told it went well. Unfortunately, we didn't have any lessons today.
We did meet a guy from Norway or Sweden (or
one of those countries) and he comes from a religion that believes in like
Asgard and those things. I didn't know
that people believed in that stuff, but it was interesting to learn. Also, Elder Wardle The Great, went home today
and was reunited with his family after two years of hard work and service to
the Lord. Sure will miss him. Thank you
Elder Wardle!
Thursday we walked a ton and didn’t have any luck throughout the day, but later we had a lesson with Natasha and Eric. We went over the Articles of Faith. It was a good lesson and we were able to find out where she is at with wanting to learn more etc. He is a member, but she isn't. We then went with Justin to see another part-member family and they are super cool. It was fun getting to know them. We also met a lady whose dad is from Iceland, which was cool.
Friday we walked a super, long distance because everyone is worth the walk, even if they aren't there. We didn’t have any luck today though, so not much to report.
Saturday we had 2 lessons with less-active members. They went pretty well and we had a good dinner with the other Elders and a family in the ward. So we had a pretty good day.
Sunday we had a broadcast for church and got to hear from Elders Hales and Rasban, along with 2 other people. They shared some good messages that were mostly on parenting. It helped me a little to know what to do in the future. We tracted for most of the afternoon and pretty much froze because of the wind. We then went to a youth fireside where they talked about the importance of Family History work.
Well that was my week and I am really glad that the Lord has trusted me to take over the area and for giving me the chance to work on putting my trust in Him more. The White House area is not mine, nor Elder Nimmers, but it is His. So we are working on making sure we are doing His work and being as obedient as we can so that we can receive the blessings the He wants to bestow upon us and this area. We are working on doing our part and we know that if we continue to do that, we will be blessed. Our Mission President has promised us that if we are being obedient and working hard, then we will see others come to Christ and have a baptism every transfer. We are striving to be able to have that promise fulfilled as we do our part and are accountable for it as well. Hope y'all have a great week and new year. I would also like to ask you to look this year for opportunities to be able to bear your testimony to the people around you. This is something that we are asking the members in our ward to do right now and I know if we truly seek them and ask God to give them, they will arise and the Work of the Lord will continue to march forward. I love you all and pray for you often. Until next time.
Elder Ellison
Thursday we walked a ton and didn’t have any luck throughout the day, but later we had a lesson with Natasha and Eric. We went over the Articles of Faith. It was a good lesson and we were able to find out where she is at with wanting to learn more etc. He is a member, but she isn't. We then went with Justin to see another part-member family and they are super cool. It was fun getting to know them. We also met a lady whose dad is from Iceland, which was cool.
Friday we walked a super, long distance because everyone is worth the walk, even if they aren't there. We didn’t have any luck today though, so not much to report.
Saturday we had 2 lessons with less-active members. They went pretty well and we had a good dinner with the other Elders and a family in the ward. So we had a pretty good day.
Sunday we had a broadcast for church and got to hear from Elders Hales and Rasban, along with 2 other people. They shared some good messages that were mostly on parenting. It helped me a little to know what to do in the future. We tracted for most of the afternoon and pretty much froze because of the wind. We then went to a youth fireside where they talked about the importance of Family History work.
Well that was my week and I am really glad that the Lord has trusted me to take over the area and for giving me the chance to work on putting my trust in Him more. The White House area is not mine, nor Elder Nimmers, but it is His. So we are working on making sure we are doing His work and being as obedient as we can so that we can receive the blessings the He wants to bestow upon us and this area. We are working on doing our part and we know that if we continue to do that, we will be blessed. Our Mission President has promised us that if we are being obedient and working hard, then we will see others come to Christ and have a baptism every transfer. We are striving to be able to have that promise fulfilled as we do our part and are accountable for it as well. Hope y'all have a great week and new year. I would also like to ask you to look this year for opportunities to be able to bear your testimony to the people around you. This is something that we are asking the members in our ward to do right now and I know if we truly seek them and ask God to give them, they will arise and the Work of the Lord will continue to march forward. I love you all and pray for you often. Until next time.
Elder Ellison
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| E. Nimmer & I |
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