Another Term In The White House 2-22-16

So for transfers I will be staying here with Elder Nimmer again.  The next transfer won't be the normal 6 weeks, it will be 7 weeks because of the MTC transfer changes in March.  So I am looking forward to serving here some more with these awesome people.  So this week the weather got pretty nice.   I was able to wear my short sleeves again.  So my ponderize scripture this week was 2 Nephi 4: 31, "O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?"  So this is Nephi saying a prayer to God.  These words are definitely something that we can incorporate into our own personal prayers.  I thought it was interesting how in the scriptures it talks about Nephi being large in stature and he is super righteous and obedient to the commandments and seems to have no fear or doubt, but this great man was praying that he will be scared of sin.  So much that he wanted to even shake at it’s appearance.  I just wonder how that would affect us if we truly asked for that as Nephi did.  We may pray about it, but I believe that it will only come to pass if we truly want it and have a desire to act upon it.  This is just something that I thought was cool and something that I could apply into my own life seeing how in today's world, I am surrounded by sin that has been growing stronger since Nephi's days in 500 B.C.

Monday was P-day and we had an awesome lesson with the Cousins about the Book of Mormon and how it can bring even more happiness into our lives.  We also got much needed haircuts.

Tuesday we got soaked again.  It was just a steady drizzle for most of the day.  We had a lesson with Roger and he has been reading the Book of Mormon and he believes it is true.  He definitely is so close to getting a testimony that it is true.  We then had a lesson with a less-active member and his son about faith, prayer, answers to prayers, and the Book of Mormon.  I shared a thought towards the end of this conversation that just came out and I don't know where it came from, but I thought I would share it with you.  It isn't the exact wording, but it is along these lines:  Faith is something we act upon, even if it is just a sliver of faith.  Just to have the faith to act, to get an answer to our questions.  We all have questions that we want answers to and God is the one that can answer all of them.  In order for us to receive these answers, we have to have a sincere desire to know the answer, no matter what it is and no matter how long it takes to get it.  God may answer your question immediately, or He may say, "I want to see how faithful and desirous you are to know the answer to your question." He wants to see if we will search diligently, pray continually, and have faith that we will get our answer in His time.  We also may feel like we are just talking to a wall, but even if we think that, we still must pray and act on the faith we have and trust that He hears us.  I know He listens to every prayer.  I know He will always answer our prayers.  I know that He will never leave us on our own.  If it seems that way, just know that He is always there and look to Him for guidance. 

Wednesday we held a funeral at our District Meeting for a dying sister missionary.  After that we had only 1 lesson during the rest of our day which is a bummer.

Thursday not too much happened either.

Friday we got to go to the temple in the morning.  It was really cool.  There were a bunch of missionaries there.  It was a very spiritual experience like it always is.  We also planned for the next week.  Later we had another lesson with Roger - we wanted to see where he was at.  He said that he is almost there to know that it is true.  He also said that this is something that he wants to do.  He even said that he is leaving town soon for a couple weeks and that he was wanting to go to church where he will be staying.  He even knows where the church building is down in that area which was really cool to hear. 

Saturday we had been invited a couple weeks ago to go to a Seventh-Day Adventist Church so that's what we did.  After the service they invited us to go eat lunch with them.  All of the food was vegetarian, but there was a lot of good food.  I liked everything I had except one, so that was good.  Too bad there wasn't any meat though.  We didn’t have any luck on lessons, but luckily it was warm.  We also got transfer calls at dinner as well.

Sunday was an interesting day. President Anderson came down and went to Ward Council with us.  Then we got a new bishop counselor, so we got to hear a lot of great testimonies.  President and Sister Anderson gave their testimonies and so did the Stake President.  It was an awesome Sacrament.  We also got 2 referrals and one of them is a 12 year old girl that has already said that she wants to be baptized.  Later that evening we were trying to contact less-actives that were a bit farther away since we have the miles for it this month.  We drove almost to the Kentucky border.  We met a guy who doesn't believe in the Jesus story.  He is the first one I have met like that out here in the Bible Belt.  We then knocked on another less-active’s door and they apparently moved a couple years ago and the guy we were talking to was really nice.  He said that he does the musical ministry at a church in town and he asked if he could pray for us before we left and we said sure.  So we said a prayer on his front porch.  It is always cool to me when people just ask if they can pray for us no matter where we are. 

Well that was my week. Roger is hopefully getting baptized this Saturday so that is going to be really cool.  The weather looks like it is going to start getting warmer now, which I am excited for.  I am so grateful to be a missionary and to serve in the best mission in the world.  I am grateful for all of you and your support.  Keep up the good work wherever you are at this time in the world.  Just remember always that your Father in Heaven loves each of you individually.  More than we can comprehend.  We should never turn our back on him, but always remember that his hand is outstretched and will always be there for whenever we are ready to trust Him and grab on.  I know that Jesus Christ lives and that through His sacrifice we can be made pure and cleansed from sin.  I am eternally grateful for Him and to know that I can get strength and help from Him in my times of trial.  I love you all and miss you.  I love this gospel and I love my Savior and Heavenly Father.  Have a great week everybody.

Elder Ellison