January 13, 2014

mom I thought you would get a kick out of this haha this was on a tub of fake butter I bought

cathedral!

Hannah's baptism

Sooooooo holy cow.... I know I always say this but I have learned sooooooo much this week.... on an insane level... I'm going to tell you about my week first then a story and tie it in :) wish me luck!! haha

 

Hannah was baptised!!!! Yesterday was one of the most spiritual days ever... Hannah is so inspiring and I love her to bits. She asked some really special people to talk and it started the day off with such a strong spirit.. she asked Everest to speak on baptism and he gave one of the most beautiful talks.... I'm getting chills thinking about it but he put a lot of effort into it and he did such a good job... then she asked Katy to speak on the gift of the holy ghost :).. spiritual giants :) I love this place so much!!! The church is so true!! ha, we had a few investigators at the baptism and I dont know how everyone else was feeling, but the spirit was so strong you could cut through it... I looked around at everyone and I saw some of the biggest smiles I have ever seen. Hannah is such a choice spirit and her faith is insipiring.. after she was baptised and she was drying off we had a small testimony meeting... beautiful testimonys given.. we were talking to one of our investigators  after and he said he wanted to get up and express his feelings but he was scared he wouldn't be able to hold in his emotion. haha, who does that sound like? but the people visiting loved it :)

 

sooo hannah asked me to confirm her... I was really nervous because I wanted her baptism day to be such a special experience.. and I have given quite a few blessings but I have always had a hard time with feeling like I said what God wanted me to say.. so in preparation to this I fasted and prayed... and I asked God to help me :) when I placed my hands on her head I felt nothing but pure love... and I know I siad what God wanted her to hear.. the spirit was there so strong! she was crying, I was crying. haha! But she told me after that she had questions she needed answered and she told me that blessing did that for her... so again my testimony that God is real and he will help us with our rightious desires... fasting and prayer!!! I litterally feel like my mission has completely changed in this last week.. as I go on you will see

 

interveiws were this week... i was really nervous but I feel like we really bonded. I shared with him my honest feelings and he shared with me his.. it was great :) 

I have been reading a lot about obedience and what it means.. I had success in the past but I'm not living up to my potential!!!! I was still in the JR year of my mission!! ha (wrestling comparison). I read a bunch of scriptures about it and thought about the stories I already know.... obedience :) thats what separates everything pretty much.. so I have some goals that are going to be in place very soon..

 

But my story......

 

so an 18 year old boy had just gotten out of high school and was loooking for a job.. since he lived in a huge forest and all of his ancestors had done it, he wanted to become a lumber jack.. or a choppy tree down guy, ha! He knew it was a hard job and that he would have to get strong. So he could work really hard and be one of the best workers on the site.. he practiced chopping down trees in to practice and he found he was quite good at it... when one day someone asked him to come and work for them! He was so excited!! He had saved up his money and bought a brand new axe for this job.. he made a promise to his boss that he would be one of the hardest workers out there.... with that his boss told him to go out and get to work. the first day he came back and told his boss that he had cut down 18 trees! his boss was impressed because that was far better than a lot of other men that had been working on the site for a long time.. but he wanted to wait and see how long it would go on.. he sent him out again the next day.. and the boy came back and told him he had only cut down fifteen trees.. he worked just as hard but he didnt do as good as he did the first day. He just thought it was becasue he was sore and he knew he tried his best.. the next day he only cut down twelve.. and the next day only nine... each day was a decrease but he couldnt find out why... he woke up at the same time every day.. he swung his axe as hard as he could and worked just as long as he always had.. and the end of the day he came back to his boss and with a face full of guilt and told him he had only cut down nine trees.. his boss asked him why he had not cut down as many as when he first started.. he told him he didn't know and his boss asked for his axe... he felt the sharp end and noticed that it had big dents in it and it was so dull he would have been better off using a hammer...when the boy asked what was wrong he told him he found out why he had been working so hard but not as effective as he could be, he told the boy to go home and sharpen his axe.. so thats exactally what he did.. he went home and he sharpened his axe till it was as sharp as it was when he first purchased it.. the next day he woke up excited to try out the shapend edge of his axe... he woke up at the same exact time as normal and went out and went to work. as he returned and reported his work to his boss for the whole week he had gone all the way back up to 18 and sometimes even 20 or 22 trees! his boss asked him what had happened that helped him work so much harder.. the boy told him that every night when he would go home he would take some time out and sharpen his axe..

 

Now I only heard a condensed version of that so I tried to put some Elder Wiser creativity in there, haha! but in the story.. the boy/girl. represents us :) we have been sent down here to work and the axe is our testimony... there is a lot of ways you could make this story huge by doing the things your boss asks to sharpen your axe.. obedience :) many things like that! but when I heard this I thought it was amazing because as missionarys we wake up and do what were supposed to do and finish the day.... but if we take the extra time to sharpen our axe.. how much more effective we will be :)

 

I may have explained this bad but I feel like I grew from it :)

 

I love you guys so much and im really happy :)

make sure to have a  great day!!!

love elder wiser

 

Shince she is a seeker :) sounds sorta scary but what that means is well this is her story...she has been in lincoln for 3 years at the beginning of this year she prayed and asked God to help her strengthen her relationship with him.... the day we met her she said that she had prayed five minutes before we met that she really wanted to strengthen her relationship with God :) and she met us!! and we shared a message that can definitely help her with that haha! man I have so many blessings we have seen. 

 

with transfers... I love elder higham.... I hope we stay together for this next one. I'm praying we get to stay for another one because we have become such good freinds :).. ah man.. I feel so different... i'll keep you guys posted on my progress.. 

Here is a really great message our Mission President sent out:

In Preach My Gospel we are challenged “to rise to a new sense of commitment to assist our Father in Heaven in His glorious work.” Recently, a missionary asked how he could rise to a new sense of commitment.

If we are not mindful, the reasons that limit or reduce our commitment may go unnoticed. Making unwise choices, casual observance of sacred covenants and responsibilities, or spending too much time in giving first-class devotion to lesser causes are a few examples. When our commitment is less than it should be or has diminished for any reason, part of the solution is repentance. Commitment and repentance are closely intertwined.

For us to rise to a new sense of commitment, we must be willing to look closely at our conduct and actions. Only then will we truly know and feel we need to change. C. S. Lewis asserted that Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness; but until people know and feel they need to change, Christianity does not speak to them. He stated, “When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor.”

As missionaries, we are expected to keep the commandments, to obey mission rules, and to follow the counsel of our leaders willingly. As we do, we will know and feel what is needed “to rise to a new sense of commitment.” As we obey, we increase in faith, knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection, and freedom. We rise to a new sense of commitment. Let our commitment be to complete obedience.

The First Presidency promises that “the Lord will reward and richly bless you as you humbly and prayerfully serve Him…and more happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among His children.” Surely the Lord loves, more than anything else, an unwavering commitment to obey His counsel. May His blessings continue to be with you as you honor your commitments! Thank you for your tremendous commitment and for all your righteous endeavors.

With much love and appreciation,

President Rasmussen.