This week, including and especially today, has just been a whirlwind! It's totally flown by, and there's been a ton of things that just pop up and make sure that I stay flexible. It's definitely been an exciting week though, even though I've definitely slacked in the picture taking department so there won't be any of those with this email.
Anyway, on Tuesday we got to help a part-member family put up their christmas lights, so it was a very good thing that Elder Kenison isn't afraid of heights like me. That took a bit of time, but it was a blast, especially since it was freezing cold and we felt kind of bad since Brother Dinges had hurt his knee in the Turkey Bowl, so we had some good motivation to move fast but be careful. Then we got to go around and share "He is the Gift" with a bunch of people, which was just a blast and a good time. I've probably watched that video at least 20 times since it came out… so if you haven't watched that incredible video yet then I'd highly recommend it! christmas.mormon.org just do it now, since you obviously didn't read my email last week if you didn't watch it… Anyway, so last week from Monday night to Thursday afternoon the sisters didn't have their car - which was part of the reason it was an exciting week, so we ended up getting rides all of the place for those few days. So, a quick quote from my studies this week in Preach my Gospel: "Members who share the gospel experience joy and have the Spirit of the Lord more abundantly. As we share the gospel, we appreciate how precious and meaningful it is to us, and we feel a greater love for God and others. " I loved this quote when I read it this week, as it promised some fantastic blessings for those who do missionary work and share the gospel, and those blessings are definitely given to those who share the gift of Christ and his restored gospel this Christmas seasons!
On Wednesday, after we helped out at the Hope Center, we got to share "He is the Gift" with more people, and ended up getting fed randomly by a friend of ours who lives down the street from a member family, so that was delicious. Aside from that Wednesday just included a lot of biking and walking trying to find people to share the gift with and invite to learn more. On Thursday we got to go out with a fantastic brother in the ward and caught a couple people that we hadn't seen in weeks, and one that we had never met! It was awesome because we got to share the gift with them even easier since he was able to download it onto his tablet and just whip it out and show them without having to mess with their technology and such. Quick scripture from my studies this week in Alma 36, verses 24-26: "24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. 25 Yea, and now behold, O my son, the Lord doth give me exceedingly great joy in the fruit of my labors; 26 For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen; therefore they do know of these things of which I have spoken, as I do know; and the knowledge which I have is of God." I have definitely seen the things Alma talks about in these verses in my mission, because I know that because of the word of the Lord, there have been changes in my life, and in the lives of people I've met on my mission that have just been absolutely astounding!
On Friday we had a good district meeting before doing exchanges with the Guthrie South elders, so I was with Elder Hirschi here in Edmond 3rd. The first thing on our agenda was the Hope Center Volunteer christmas party, which had some delicious food and quite a few people there. After that it was raining so we went and grabbed our rain coats before heading out to share the gift and message of the restoration with people and got to have a couple sweet visits with people before an awesome dinner appointment! After dinner we ended up trying to see a bunch of people who weren't home, but ended up feeling like we should knock on a member family's door while we were in a neighborhood and ended up catching them right as they were about to cut the cake for their 3 year old daughter's birthday, so they invited us in and we got to share that memory with them, which was super tasty and pretty awesome - especially since it included watching "He is the Gift" with them! Then we stopped by a less active family that's super awesome… and she ended up being in the middle of making some sort of cookie that was super tasty… so it was a good night ;)
On Saturday we got to spend some time helping Paul pack up some of his stuff, and then had a great discussion with him after doing the rat trap object lesson! Then he took us to lunch at this place called "Johnny's" that was super tasty, before we went to our appointment that happened to be at the same time as the Bedlam game (OU vs. OSU), which is typically a super hard time to find anything to do here… so we were glad Brother Dinges was willing to record the game and visit with us instead of watching it live :) Then we walked around and shared the gift with a couple other people, including the Miller family where the quote from the title came from, before going to dinner out at Sandy's (she's a recent convert that we eat with regularly), which was super delicious. After dinner the Sisters were planning on watching the Testaments with them, and since they were our ride we started watching as well. Luckily, the member we had asked to come out with us ended up being able to (when earlier he had said it wasn't likely), and so he picked us up and we went out and had a great time. Even though nobody was really home or able to visit with us, he was able to share his conversion story with us, which was super awesome. So, it was a pretty sweet day!
Sunday was fantastic, with an absolutely awesome fast and testimony meeting with some super awesome quotes/principles/ideas that I wanted to throw down here:
- It's vital to regain your testimony often (see Elder Andersen's talk from Oct 2014)
- We need to give the Savior of our time this weekend more than anything else
- We don't always know, but God is always there for us and we just have to realize it
- When we make a conscious effort to be obedient, God is able to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon us
- The Lord's tender mercies might seem meaningless to others, but they often have great personal impact
- Answers to prayer come in the Lord's timing, and often uses other people to fulfill his purposes
- Our spirits can do great things!
- The Lord wants, most of all, for us to sacrifice our sins
In addition to that awesomely spiritual sacrament and fast and testimony meeting, we had a great gospel principles class where we talked about the second coming and ended up just having a good time with some memorable quotes. Then in Elder's Quorum this awesome quote from elder Maxwell was shared:
“Does all this mean that in letting go of the world, it will be easy to set priorities? No! It is often harder, for now we choose, not between task A, which is a tainted task, and B, which is good; but now we must allot time and talent between C, which is important and good, and D, which is good and important” (Wherefore, Ye Must Press Forward, 19).
“Just as the Lord was able to summarize His priorities so succinctly that it is his ‘work and … glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39), so we, too, will need to be able to manage our time and talents in such a way that we, too, know our real priorities and focus on them. When we are settled in our hearts on that which really matters, then our talent and time as well as our treasure will be thus deployed!”(We Will Prove Them Herewith, 66–67).
I loved it, so I thought I'd throw it in here for y'all. After church, we got to go to ward choir, since our ride to church is in the choir, so that was awesome :) Then we got to study before heading to dinner with the Evans, which was a blast. After dinner we headed down to where we were going to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which was just fantastic! If you missed it, check it out here: https://www.lds.org/
I hope you guys have a great week! Love y'all!
'Til Next Time,
Elder Jordan Nielson
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