So, this week was awesome.
We had a few things that kept us from getting really good numbers, but we did have a pretty sweet miracle experience.
Sunday after church and lunch, we were driving and we only had 30 minutes until our dinner but we had planned some time to go tracting in a specific neighborhood. So I asked my companion what he thought. He said, “Yeah, sure, let’s go there.”
So on our way I see this lady; and he felt prompted to go down 63rd street. So I flipped a U-turn and jumped out of the car to talk to the woman. She took a card and had to go. Okay, so we went to 63rd street and I was all gung-ho about just doing work, so I jumped out of the car again and my companion just kind of sat there. So I was thinking, “oh, you want to pray... yeah, Okay let’s pray.”
He offered the prayer and then I was like, “before we go anywhere, I want to knock that door.”
So I knocked the door, and told this lady pretty boldly about the restoration. She was nice but declined our message. Either way the spirit was super strong and she shook my hand goodbye. It was weird because she offered me her hand which I was not expecting.
Anyway, then we jumped back in the car and started driving. My companion said, “We need to go way down this street and tell this lady thanks for giving us water.” As we were driving, we were talking about different ways to contact and how to find the elect strictly by the spirit. Then I started complaining and expressing how I just wanted to see some success. I just want a Baptism. I just want investigators who progress, etc.
Then we get to the house and knock on the door. A sweet lady answers the door and says, “Come in.” We kindly asked if there was a male in the home and she said there was so we went in. Immediately a guys says, “ ELDERS! What's up?”
Then the guy’s friend starts giggling and walks out of the room. Turns out she was giggling because it was so unexpected to have all of these Mormons in her home. Anyway, we had a great conversation and were about to leave when I asked the mother (the lady who let us in) if she was interested in learning more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She said that she was but that she is a super busy lady and works 7days a week but she had our number (from last time). So I told her when she had time to call us. She said “okay”.
As we were about to leave again, I turned to the other girl, Rachel is her name (the one who was giggling) I asked her if she wanted to learn more about the message that we share. She then explained how she is "Christian" and started telling us about her bible study and stuff. Then she went and grabbed a book and showed it to us. Then was like, “So... do think that you would be interested in hearing more about the Book of Mormon?” “Or, like how our message is different from other Christian faiths?”
She said, “Yeah, Yeah... YES!”
Okay sweet, so we started explaining the difference and taught pieces of the Restoration as we answered her questions, then! My companion broke down all of the pictures in the front of the BOM and showed her in the Book of Mormon like all of the different things and history like where it came from and stuff.
Then I opened up to the introduction and showed her the promise, “We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon and to ponder in their hearts the message in contains, then to ask God, the Eternal Father in the name of Christ if this book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its’ truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.” That is just from memory so forgive me if it’s not perfect. We then committed her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and she said YES! Then we started to set up a return appointment and then the member was like, “Oh, I need to be there too, right?” “Yeah.”
So we gave him our number and he is going to set up a return appointment!!!
It WAS AMAZING! A Blessing straight from God! The Spirit was so strong, it was a divine appointment.
I know that the Gospel is true and then when truly sincerely grasped and understood brings innumerable blessings! :) Faith does grow as we nourish the seed thereof just as explained by the prophet Alma in Alma32.
I love being a Missionary and sharing the Gospel with those who are searching for the truth. Some don’t even recognize they are searching for it until it’s knocking on their door or standing in their kitchen :)
I Love you all and thank you for all of your love and support!
Love, Elder McNew
Monday, September 24, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Lesson from an apostle
What's up? You should really tell me what's been going on!
I am doing well! :) The work keeps rolling on. This week was crazy busy and fast! It seems like there is just not enough time in a day to get everything done that you need to.
We had a really awesome experience this week! Elder Paul B. Pieper from the 70 came and gave our mission a conference! It was amazing! My compaion and I actually ate lunch with Elder Pieper, his wife, the mission president, his wife, the stake president and the area assistant. It was great! I was going to sit down at another table and the mission president gave me this look like, "Sit there!" So I did. My companion was already sitting there anyway. It was a great experience to meet with some one who knows the Lord so well. He gave us some wisdom concerning missionary work. He started out by asking a lot of questions and not answering them. Then he gave us a formula to answer the questions. It was kind of like a platform. Let me explain. So you have the "what" of the question, the "why" and the "how". The "what" is the doctrine. Simple, pure truth. The "why" is the principle behind the doctrine. And the "how" is the action that comes from the principle. The way he explained it was really cool. He drew a block diagram and broke it down for us. :) He also talked about agency and repentance, not just repentance, but true repentance. The atonement of course that's like a staple in any doctrine really. Then the other thing that I remember right now, because I don't have my notes, was his testimony. The pure truth and witness of Jesus Christ. If you truly understand what is said; when any apostle or prophet bares their testimony, it is amazing! You could feel the power from his words as he spoke. The Holy Ghosts did carry it to the hearts of those who were listening just as it is described 2 Nephi 33:1. :) Anyway, it was amazing!
We also had a really cool experience on Saturday, I think it was. Elder Fielding and I didn't get out to work untill about 2:00 or 3:00. When we did, we went tracting in this neighborhood. We found a legit potential, went to a semi-less active's house, taught them a lesson found, out that she knew the potential we had just found, and then we used her as a fellow-shipper for one of our investigators that's not progressing. They meshed perfectly; had some of the same life experiences, and they ended up speaking Spanglish to each other for like 2 hours. Then we left a team up and visited our other investigators at like 8:30. Then we had to jam home, oh and dinner in the mix somewhere. It was amazing. Then we found another new potential just down the street from the other.
I love missionary work! I know that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer!
The Church is true and the Book is blue!
I Love you!
Elder McNew
I am doing well! :) The work keeps rolling on. This week was crazy busy and fast! It seems like there is just not enough time in a day to get everything done that you need to.
We had a really awesome experience this week! Elder Paul B. Pieper from the 70 came and gave our mission a conference! It was amazing! My compaion and I actually ate lunch with Elder Pieper, his wife, the mission president, his wife, the stake president and the area assistant. It was great! I was going to sit down at another table and the mission president gave me this look like, "Sit there!" So I did. My companion was already sitting there anyway. It was a great experience to meet with some one who knows the Lord so well. He gave us some wisdom concerning missionary work. He started out by asking a lot of questions and not answering them. Then he gave us a formula to answer the questions. It was kind of like a platform. Let me explain. So you have the "what" of the question, the "why" and the "how". The "what" is the doctrine. Simple, pure truth. The "why" is the principle behind the doctrine. And the "how" is the action that comes from the principle. The way he explained it was really cool. He drew a block diagram and broke it down for us. :) He also talked about agency and repentance, not just repentance, but true repentance. The atonement of course that's like a staple in any doctrine really. Then the other thing that I remember right now, because I don't have my notes, was his testimony. The pure truth and witness of Jesus Christ. If you truly understand what is said; when any apostle or prophet bares their testimony, it is amazing! You could feel the power from his words as he spoke. The Holy Ghosts did carry it to the hearts of those who were listening just as it is described 2 Nephi 33:1. :) Anyway, it was amazing!
We also had a really cool experience on Saturday, I think it was. Elder Fielding and I didn't get out to work untill about 2:00 or 3:00. When we did, we went tracting in this neighborhood. We found a legit potential, went to a semi-less active's house, taught them a lesson found, out that she knew the potential we had just found, and then we used her as a fellow-shipper for one of our investigators that's not progressing. They meshed perfectly; had some of the same life experiences, and they ended up speaking Spanglish to each other for like 2 hours. Then we left a team up and visited our other investigators at like 8:30. Then we had to jam home, oh and dinner in the mix somewhere. It was amazing. Then we found another new potential just down the street from the other.
I love missionary work! I know that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer!
The Church is true and the Book is blue!
I Love you!
Elder McNew
Monday, September 10, 2012
Jennifer Anderson's baptism
Hey! whats up?
This week was amazing! we taught 21 lessons! :) The Valencia family is progressing decently. They didn't come to church, but we did read scriptures with them and we got the mom to pray for the first time while we were there. So that is always good! JR and Monica (part of the Valencia family) are doing okay. They could be moving along better if they would stop stupid habits and come to church on Sunday, Satan is so lame! Why is it so hard for people to just come to church? You don't even have to come for the full three hours. The first hour is most important. It can be very frustrating when you are trying to get people to keep commitments or to just keep the commandments in general. The 4th commandment is Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy. Modern revelation states that this means going to church and rendering service to your fellow saints.
I can now see how this is like being a parent.
"Okay, now Bobby, don't go out in the street because if you do, you might get hit by a car, and I want you to be safe." "Don't you want to be safe?"
"Yeah, I want to be safe"
"Great now stay in the yard and play nicely, can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can"
"Okay, I trust you, now go be safe and have fun."
Then immediately after you get done explaining everything, Bobby looks around and runs out into the street again. Now isn't that frustrating? YEAH.. Yeah it freaking is. Sometimes God's children do the same thing. The difference is, sometimes they completely understand the consequences of their actions and other times they don't. But, either way if the doctrine is taught correctly, it should make sense. Anyway, sorry, I'm just a little unhappy about Satan's efforts to destroy everything that is good!
Other than that though, we did have a baptism :) Jennifer Anderson got baptized! It was a wonderful experience! We had our ward mission leader and his family perform a special musical number, "Come Thou Fount". It's such a beautiful song! After the baptism we had a fellowship dinner at some other members' home. It was a pot luck, so there was a lot of food to choose from. We had an investigator there (Yvonne and her son) and we even found a fellowshipper for her, someone to give her a ride to and from church. It all went pretty smoothly and we got to share an awesome spiritual thought. The spirit was really strong! It was that video by Jeffrey R Holland "Good things to come" It's really, really good. Then my companion and I shared some scriptures and some personal experiences. It was just great!
Our other investigator Lorretta is doing well! She is kind of old, so she has an excuse not to come to church, but she is progressing right along! She has been to church two times and she keeps reading the scriptures and has lots of questions :) She doesn't want to pick a baptismal date just yet, but she is moving in a steady forward direction.
This ward is great, they are supportive and our ward mission leader is amazing. So, the work should continue to roll right along! The longer I am here, the more trust I gain and the better things are going. That is great! :)
Love you all!
Have a great week!
This week was amazing! we taught 21 lessons! :) The Valencia family is progressing decently. They didn't come to church, but we did read scriptures with them and we got the mom to pray for the first time while we were there. So that is always good! JR and Monica (part of the Valencia family) are doing okay. They could be moving along better if they would stop stupid habits and come to church on Sunday, Satan is so lame! Why is it so hard for people to just come to church? You don't even have to come for the full three hours. The first hour is most important. It can be very frustrating when you are trying to get people to keep commitments or to just keep the commandments in general. The 4th commandment is Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy. Modern revelation states that this means going to church and rendering service to your fellow saints.
I can now see how this is like being a parent.
"Okay, now Bobby, don't go out in the street because if you do, you might get hit by a car, and I want you to be safe." "Don't you want to be safe?"
"Yeah, I want to be safe"
"Great now stay in the yard and play nicely, can you do that?"
"Yeah, I can"
"Okay, I trust you, now go be safe and have fun."
Then immediately after you get done explaining everything, Bobby looks around and runs out into the street again. Now isn't that frustrating? YEAH.. Yeah it freaking is. Sometimes God's children do the same thing. The difference is, sometimes they completely understand the consequences of their actions and other times they don't. But, either way if the doctrine is taught correctly, it should make sense. Anyway, sorry, I'm just a little unhappy about Satan's efforts to destroy everything that is good!
Other than that though, we did have a baptism :) Jennifer Anderson got baptized! It was a wonderful experience! We had our ward mission leader and his family perform a special musical number, "Come Thou Fount". It's such a beautiful song! After the baptism we had a fellowship dinner at some other members' home. It was a pot luck, so there was a lot of food to choose from. We had an investigator there (Yvonne and her son) and we even found a fellowshipper for her, someone to give her a ride to and from church. It all went pretty smoothly and we got to share an awesome spiritual thought. The spirit was really strong! It was that video by Jeffrey R Holland "Good things to come" It's really, really good. Then my companion and I shared some scriptures and some personal experiences. It was just great!
Our other investigator Lorretta is doing well! She is kind of old, so she has an excuse not to come to church, but she is progressing right along! She has been to church two times and she keeps reading the scriptures and has lots of questions :) She doesn't want to pick a baptismal date just yet, but she is moving in a steady forward direction.
This ward is great, they are supportive and our ward mission leader is amazing. So, the work should continue to roll right along! The longer I am here, the more trust I gain and the better things are going. That is great! :)
Love you all!
Have a great week!
Good Things to Come
This a great video and "Mormon Message" from Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of the Lord.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
09/04/12
The work here has been rolling right along smoothly even with all of the little things Satan does to distract us away from the work.
Good news is that we have a baptism this Saturday at 4pm at the local chapel :) Surprisingly, the sweet sister who will be baptized has asked me to perform the ordinace :) Of course I will do it!
I'm excited to do some work this week.
Transfers passed and I am still here in Jurupa with my companion, Elder Fielding. One of the Spanish missionaries that we live with is training so I'm kind of exited for that :) I need to be a real good example so it's just a good reason to work even harder :)
The Valencia Family is progressing right along. We taught them three times this week. Jr. and Monica got interviewed for Baptism, as I expected, they have some things to work through but it should be really good for them, when they are ready. I would rather prepare them a bit better now so that we don't have even more less active members than we already do now. However, it will be really good for them to (as Veva Jean said in her letter to me) receive the Holy Ghost to help them through out their lives.
Anyway, so I'm doing pretty well :)
Thanks again for all of the love and support!
Transfers passed and I am still here in Jurupa with my companion, Elder Fielding. One of the Spanish missionaries that we live with is training so I'm kind of exited for that :) I need to be a real good example so it's just a good reason to work even harder :)
The Valencia Family is progressing right along. We taught them three times this week. Jr. and Monica got interviewed for Baptism, as I expected, they have some things to work through but it should be really good for them, when they are ready. I would rather prepare them a bit better now so that we don't have even more less active members than we already do now. However, it will be really good for them to (as Veva Jean said in her letter to me) receive the Holy Ghost to help them through out their lives.
Anyway, so I'm doing pretty well :)
Thanks again for all of the love and support!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Teaching Loretta
What's up?
This week was sick! We taught 20 lessons and we got 2 new investigators! Also, our investigator JR has an interview scheduled with President Smart this Friday. I was so surprised that he said that he was ready. He just wants to get it done with and Monica, his wife, she is going to take a bit longer. But, to be honest, I'm surprised that they are progressing as well as they are.
We also had 2 investigators come to church and we should have one getting baptized really soon. Her name is Jennifer. She comes from a part-member family. Everything is going great! We had a pretty cool experience with this lady named Loretta. I think I mentioned her before. She is an older black lady and she is having us teach her. A member of the Ward's home (they are friends). Well, we taught her the Plan of Salvation last week on Monday. When we taught all about the Kingdoms of Glory, she pointed to the Celestial kingdom and was like, "I'M going there!" She has a husband that passed away and she was all excited that she could do the work for him in the temple :) Man, she is progressing right along! We also asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she said, "that's what I'm shooting for!" :) YEAH!!!
Oh! and we also found this one lady. She was a referral from the Spanish missionaries. She has an addiction that is running her life and she has the desire to quit and she was praying for some help right before we came over and knocked on her door! :) It was awesome! So, unfortunately, my companion is going to be out for a day this week because of a procedure. But, we have some people from the church coming to help us out so that I can go to all of our appointments and stuff. So, that should be good.
Well that is about all!
I just want to close by sharing you all my testimony. I KNOW God is our Father in Heaven that loves us! I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that through Him we can truly have happiness; and all of our burdens can be lifted. No matter what we are going through in this mortal life; mental, physical, emotional, spiritual. Through the Savior Jesus Christ, our loving Father in Heaven can extend mercy, help, and love. When the Savior suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, he took upon himself all of our pains, sicknesses, issues, etc. So that we, through him, can have happiness. As we pray to our Father he can comfort, uplift and even remove pain and guilt. I Know that this is true and I have a strong testimony of it.
I also know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's church; that it has been restored again to the earth today in the FULLNESS. I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and I know that there is a current Prophet on the earth again today. He is one of Christ's successors that is real and true as well. I know that through this church, true happiness can be found and obtained upon principles of righteous actions and desire!
I know this is real and true.
Thank you all for all of your love and support!
I love you!
Love, Elder McNew
This week was sick! We taught 20 lessons and we got 2 new investigators! Also, our investigator JR has an interview scheduled with President Smart this Friday. I was so surprised that he said that he was ready. He just wants to get it done with and Monica, his wife, she is going to take a bit longer. But, to be honest, I'm surprised that they are progressing as well as they are.
We also had 2 investigators come to church and we should have one getting baptized really soon. Her name is Jennifer. She comes from a part-member family. Everything is going great! We had a pretty cool experience with this lady named Loretta. I think I mentioned her before. She is an older black lady and she is having us teach her. A member of the Ward's home (they are friends). Well, we taught her the Plan of Salvation last week on Monday. When we taught all about the Kingdoms of Glory, she pointed to the Celestial kingdom and was like, "I'M going there!" She has a husband that passed away and she was all excited that she could do the work for him in the temple :) Man, she is progressing right along! We also asked her if she wanted to be baptized and she said, "that's what I'm shooting for!" :) YEAH!!!
Oh! and we also found this one lady. She was a referral from the Spanish missionaries. She has an addiction that is running her life and she has the desire to quit and she was praying for some help right before we came over and knocked on her door! :) It was awesome! So, unfortunately, my companion is going to be out for a day this week because of a procedure. But, we have some people from the church coming to help us out so that I can go to all of our appointments and stuff. So, that should be good.
Well that is about all!
I just want to close by sharing you all my testimony. I KNOW God is our Father in Heaven that loves us! I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that through Him we can truly have happiness; and all of our burdens can be lifted. No matter what we are going through in this mortal life; mental, physical, emotional, spiritual. Through the Savior Jesus Christ, our loving Father in Heaven can extend mercy, help, and love. When the Savior suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, he took upon himself all of our pains, sicknesses, issues, etc. So that we, through him, can have happiness. As we pray to our Father he can comfort, uplift and even remove pain and guilt. I Know that this is true and I have a strong testimony of it.
I also know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is God's church; that it has been restored again to the earth today in the FULLNESS. I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and I know that there is a current Prophet on the earth again today. He is one of Christ's successors that is real and true as well. I know that through this church, true happiness can be found and obtained upon principles of righteous actions and desire!
I know this is real and true.
Thank you all for all of your love and support!
I love you!
Love, Elder McNew
Monday, August 20, 2012
We got a Car!
It has been hot here, guess what? We got a car! It is pretty sweet! Actually, it's the oldest car in the mission. A 2007 Toyota Corolla, but it works :) My companion has health issues and this area is huge so we got a car!
This week was pretty sweet though. Our investigators JR and Monica are on date for baptism in September. But, they didn't come to church this week. Maybe you could include them in your prayers? That would be nice! We got some pretty good news this week for an investigator that has been taught for forever. She has an interview with President Smart on Saturday and we have been going over the lessons with her again. Other than that, there is not a lot of other news that I can think of to share,
I love you all, Love Elder McNew
This week was pretty sweet though. Our investigators JR and Monica are on date for baptism in September. But, they didn't come to church this week. Maybe you could include them in your prayers? That would be nice! We got some pretty good news this week for an investigator that has been taught for forever. She has an interview with President Smart on Saturday and we have been going over the lessons with her again. Other than that, there is not a lot of other news that I can think of to share,
I love you all, Love Elder McNew
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