Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Appleton heatwave!!

 
It has been a SCORCHER this week! Temperatures nearing 100 degrees and humidity nearing 100% have combined for an absolutely miserable week. Lucky for us we had set up a good amount of appointments so we were able to stay out of the sun... It was literally too hot to even work. We did spend some time in the library on LDS.org and Mormon.org trying to prepare for various lessons. It actually got SO hot that Elder Vaj and I couldn't sleep so we moved our beds into the living room where our AC is... I've never slept so soundly!! Overall, it turned out to be a sweaty-good week, but I'm getting very very tired of all the same foods that I eat week in and week out. Tuna, quesadilla, grilled cheese, oatmeal, repeat. Thankfully there are a few member dinners sprinkled in here and there so I don't lose my sanity altogether!
 
 There is a sister, Sister Kleiner, in our area from Germany who (on her first day in Wisconsin) 4 months ago rolled her ankle. The ankle hasn't been getting any better, so the doctor says she has to go home for surgery. We were all shocked to hear this, and we felt so bad for her. She called us later that night and asked to meet us in a quiet park next to the Fox river to give her a blessing. Me, Elder Vaj, and the English elders in our district all met together and drove down. As we approached the area where we saw the sisters sitting together, a quiet calm came over all of us. Sister Kleiner asked one of the English elders to give her the blessing, and in that quiet, secluded area of the park, the spirit of the Lord was abundant. The blessing was given and the calm continued throughout the rest of the day. The Lord gives us trials, but he gives us ways to overcome them as well. I'm so glad that the preisthood is on the earth again, and I'm glad that I have the same power to heal and give comfort as Jesus Christ. This already has been a huge blessing not just to me, but to others on my mission, and I will strive to make it a part of my life when I return home as well... I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The Ammon Project

 
Hey all!! We have had a very exciting, physically taxing week! I'll start at the very beginning... which actually was a few weeks ago. We were at a district meeting when one of the companionships in our district said that their cousin had been having trouble finding investigators, so they started what they called "The Ammon Project". Like the title says, this project is all about acting like the Book of Mormon hero, Ammon. When Ammon went to go teach the Lamanites, he was captured and made to watch a flock of sheep for the lamanite king. When a group of baddies tried to scatter the sheep, Ammon defended them. When the king called on Ammon to ask why he fought for him, the same king who made him his slave, Ammon was nowhere to be found. The other slaves told him that Ammon was preparing his chariots like he had been asked to earlier. What we take from this story is that Ammon had an immense amount of charity. He wasn't necessarily looking for an opportunity to teach the king, but that was simply a result of his devotion and dedication to doing what he could for another child of God. "The Ammon Project" is all about this. We asked EVERYONE if there was any amount of service that we could do for them. Just in the past week and a half, we were able to preform 8 individual acts of service. I was shocked to find out how much we could help people, just by asking if we could. We have established ourselves as missionaries that are willing and ready to serve. The blessings from this service, while again, not what we were searching for, have been innumerable. We feel that we have given a real boost to this ward, and in return, we have found that they are much more willing to trust us with their friends, giving us more referrals than ever. We are so glad to be here in Appleton, and we are so blessed to have so many opportunities to serve.... While my back aches from moving families, cleaning houses, ripping out carpet, among other things, I can't think of a better reason to have an achy back... LOVE YOU ALL, BE GOOOOOOD!!!

Monday, July 8, 2013

Baptism!.... Doesn't count...

A family in our ward has an 8 year old daughter who was baptized this past week. She was able to share her testimony, and it was a really really neat experience... As good as it ended up... There were a few funny little hiccups along the way. First of all, it was never made clear to anybody whose responsibility it was to fill up the font. My companion and I decided to go about an hour and 15 minutes before the baptism to help set up chairs, pass out hymnbooks etc... Nobody was there, and the font was empty!! The font usually takes about 3 hours to fill to a regular height so we turned it on full blast and waited... THEN as this girls father, who was to baptize her, tried on his baptismal pants, they didn't fit, so we scrambled around to find him a new pair. Once that was settled, we found out that the primary president who was supposed to be there to welcome her to primary was out of town, so again we scrambled and found her teacher who, luckilly, could be there. And finally (this was more just a sting to me personally) I was giving the opening prayer, and on the program it was spelled Lawson... HUH?! Okay, okay, the last one didn't matter that much... but c'mon. Anyway, she was able to be baptized, even though she had to be dipped lower than was normal. I, as well as everyone else theree, felt the spirit very strongly, and I can't wait to have a baptism of my own investigator!

Another cool experience happened to us just yesterday. One of our investigators, Mathinoe (pronounced Mateenoh) has been having missionaries over for years and years and years. Elder Vaj and I challenged him and his wife (a member) to read the book of mormon and pray together every day. He got up yesterday during our fast and testimony meeting and with tears in his eyes and a frog in his throat declared that he knew the Book of Mormon was true, and is the word of God. He thanked elder Vaj and I for challenging him to read it and pray about it. He continued by talking about an experience he had with the holy ghost while praying. He said he stopped in the middle of his prayer and just listened. He said he started to cry because he felt God's love.

All is well in Appleton, and I hope that everyone has a fantastic week. Until next time...

Elder Meej Mom.

p.s... Ask me anything you want to know, and I'll answer in an e-mail!!

Friday, July 5, 2013

SORRY SORRY SORRY

FROM JULY 1st:
I feel so bad, but I forgot to write the whole family today!! I was too distracted watching 2 new mormon messages... But I will give you a quick referral to them because they are probably my favorite little messages that our church has put out there... Watch and share this with family and friends please!!

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/origin?cid=HPL2P10W02012&lang=eng


https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013?lang=eng#2013-06-010-enduring-love

I promise... it is really worth it! Everything else is going fine, except I miss you all, and sometimes have dreams about you... seriously... LOVE Y'ALL