Small but Mighty Miracles

Hello all,

 

So we had an okay week. Not much happened until Thursday when we had Zone Conference. It was probably the best one that I have ever had! We talked about the things that we can do in order to help people progress and keep commitments. It seems that the problems that we have been having have also been a mission-wide problem. We have become really good at putting people on-date for baptism, but the mission is having a hard time helping people keep their commitments. So we talked about reading the Book of Mormon and how we can better help people do that. Elder Holland once said that when an investigator tells us they haven't read we need to be devastated. So we discussed how we can be devastated. We also talked about how this year is the year of miracles. Every time we have a miracle we are supposed to text President Larkin. So I'm sure he gets many texts each week. It was powerful and helped me realize how I can better improve as a missionary.

 

We had a neat experience this week. We were tracting on Saturday and met Nick. He was working on his car and told us that he believes in Joseph Smith and in the Book of Mormon. He told us that he has attended Church many times before and that he has met with missionaries in the past and has family members that are Mormon. So we went into the baptismal interview questions and invited him to be baptized. He would like to get baptized soon, but because he wasn't at Church yesterday he won't be able to for at least another week. So we'll see how he turns out. 

 

A few weeks ago the Spanish missionaries met Lona, a less-active member that recently moved into our ward boundaries. She said that she wanted sister missionaries to teach her and her sisters, but they haven't been able to contact her recently. There were many times that lessons and Church attendance fell through. So when we were inviting people to our ward chili cook-off on Friday we decided to call her and she actually came! Our ward missionaries really hit it off with her and when she finally came to Church on Sunday, they were saving a seat for her. This is just another example that members are key in missionary work. After sacrament she said that she had to leave for work, but said that she needed to start to take Sundays off to keep the sabbath day holy because someone talked about that. Really all it took to help bring her back was an invitation to the activity and a friendly "Hello" from a nice member and now she has started her path back. So that was a really great miracle.

 

We also met a lady named Jeanni a few weeks ago. We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and each time we have visited her she has read a little more. We invited her to be baptized if she knew it was true and she said she would. We are planning a Church tour this week.

 

So even though a few things fell through we were still able to see a few neat things this week. Just another testament that the Church is true!

 

~Elder Fetzer

Slushmageddon

Hello all,

 

Call it what you will. It snowed this week - hard. And of course, being Seattle, no one is prepared for it. So that made this an interesting week.

 

By the time Tuesday night rolled around most of the snow had melted, making the streets icy and very slippery. And we thought it wouldn't be snowing much more. But waking up Wednesday morning brought us more snow and ice, making the streets slushy and slippery. The next days brought freezing rain, which covered everything. Friday finally brought us warmer weather, which has now all but melted the snow.

On top of that, I went on exchange with Elder Elison Tuesday afternoon, which ended up lasting until Friday evening because the mission had us park the cars and loss of power in the Fairwood area, where he serves. It was actually quite fun, although by the end of it he was glad to go back to his area.

 

Because of the storms, people were home nearly every day. We were able to find a few potential new investigators, including a woman that has seen problems in the "American Church," including people not practicing what they preach and how church's now are kind of like businesses. So we taught her about the Restoration and now she wants to learn more.

 

I also had a neat experience. We were at an apartment complex visiting a less-active member. After our lesson I thought we should go visit a potential investigator that we found months ago. We asked her if she had looked at any of the information we had given her and she said that she visited mormon.org and thought it was a good site. So we asked her if she would be interested in learning more. At first she wasn't that interested because she told us that she was taking care of her problems by talking to a catholic priest. So we asked her if she had ever read the Book of Mormon. She said that she hadn't so we gave her a copy and explained it to her. She opened up a little bit and asked if there were any parts of it that she could read that would help her family grow closer together. So I thought for a minute and remembered some chapters in Mosiah. I have learned that when the spirit speaks you shouldn't question it, even if it seems strange sometimes. So I gave her some chapters to read. When I got home later that day I looked up the chapter on the Book of Mormon in PMG. There is a section about how the book answers questions of the soul. Under the question about helping families grow closer together those very chapters I told her to read were listed. The spirit truly does speak to us.

 

Other than that, our week was kind of slow. Many of the people we are teaching aren't committed to doing anything we ask them to do. But we'll keep looking because I know that the Church is true!

 

~Elder Fetzer

Walking in a Renton Winter Wonderland

Hello all,

The snow has finally fallen and the people of Renton are staying inside for now. The roads are not-so-well plowed, sidewalks not shoveled, and everything is icy. And the rain will melt it all by Wednesday. But the work still moves on in the Renton Highlands Ward.

Honestly, this was kind of a bummer week. Although we did have many teaching opportunities, we had many others fall through. It's kind of a bummer, but I know that the gospel can and will change all people that apply it to their lives. Sometimes agency is a hard thing. But I feel that the Highlands is one of the most fruitful areas in the mission so I will continue to go out and work.


Our newest investigator is named Levi and he was a referral from our Zone Leaders. He has a long history with drugs and wants to turn his life around and become closer to God. He seems solid and wants to come to Church. So we'll see what happens with him.

Other than that it was a typical week. Tracting, visiting recent converts and less-actives, trying potentials and lots of walking around and through the Highlands. But things are good. Anyways, this letter is short, but hope all is well. The Church is true!

~Elder Fetzer

Changing Little by Little

Hello all,

 

Well this was kind of a slower week, although we did see some miracles. Many of our plans fell through as we tried to meet with Zaria. She is always busy with work and it tends to get annoying when we call to confirm an appointment a few hours before and she isn't there when she said she would be. But she said that she worked a lot from the beginning so I guess that may be expected.

 

Saral is slowly progressing. Each time we visit with her she seems happier. She is more of a long-term project, but she knows the importance of change. She has a lot of trials in her life that have made her very angry, but as we have taught her it seems as though a little more peace has come into her life. I don't know if she is going to make the date of February 11th after our last lesson where we told her what the qualifications were for baptism, but she still does want to be baptized. Although she may not yet fully see that she has changed a bit, we as missionaries do. We know that God "will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more." (2 Nephi 28:30) Sara is learning and there is a long road ahead for her, but we told her as missionaries we would be with her every step of the way.

 

Jayson is golden, although he doesn't live in our area. He lives in a nearby stake, but they use the building. We met with him twice last week. He prayed for peace in his upcoming custody battle. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon and he told us that it was the only thing that could bring him peace as he waited in court for the case. When we passed him off to the other elders we had him sit in on a child's baptism before the lesson. He felt the spirit and accepted baptism for next month in his lesson afterward. I am happy that I got to play a small part in his conversion to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

In the middle of the week we got a text from a member, Helen Kirkham. She is Brother and Sister Kirkham's daughter, the family that we spent most of Christmas with. She said that she had a friend that wanted to come to Church and learn more about it. Helen had given him a Book of Mormon and told him a little bit about the restoration and told us that he was excited to attend. So yesterday we met Adam right before Church. He is 18 years old and, just like Joseph Smith, is looking for the right religion. He loved Church and is planning to come back next week. After Church we invited him to be baptized on January 28th. He is now preparing for that day.

 

So things are going well. I am glad that we have an investigator with solid member fellowship. I am looking forward to the upcoming week because I know that the Church is true!

 

~Elder Fetzer

Happy New Years!

Hello all,

 

Well with all the miracles we have been seeing lately, I guess it is only fair that we had a so-so week. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't the greatest either.

Well it is now 2012 and that is kind of cool. Yesterday (Jan. 1) I remembered my 16 month mark. It is really crazy! I can't believe that I am one of the older missionaries out here! We did find a few new investigators, but the bummer was that we could meet with Zaria only once this week and she didn't come to Church yesterday. She is now off her baptismal date, but I am confident that she will be baptized this month. It is always surprising. People are willing to be baptized and let us in to teach them, but when it actually comes to Church attendance on Sunday, people often back out.

Our ward increased in size yesterday. It was actually fun to look out on the congregation and see us all almost fill the small chapel in our ward building. A few weeks ago the boundaries changed. The Renton Highlands ward had been working a "skeleton crew" for a while and the "same ten people" were doing all the big callings. Our ward is quite transient because of the area and the amount of apartments in the area. There wasn't nearly enough priesthood leaders to effectively run a ward so they increased our boundaries by a little bit, incorporating a few nicer neighborhoods where people would move in and stay. So yesterday we had about 15 people in Elders Quorum, which I think is a new record!

 

With the switch, we got a new investigator, who is now planning to be baptized later this month. His name is Christopher. His wife joined the Church about a year ago and missionaries recently started teaching him. We had a pass-off lesson with the elders that were teaching him. We taught him the doctrine of Christ and the importance of receiving the Holy Ghost after baptism. After inviting him to be baptized, he asked us "well what do I need to do?" He seems pretty solid!

 

Yesterday we met Jayson. He came to Chruch because he wanted to start taking his kids. So when he walked into Gospel Principles and told us he wasn't a member, we got excited. Unfortunately he doesn't live in our area, but he wants to learn more and wants to continue attending. Things are okay right now. We need to help people understand the importance of Church. And even though our plans sometimes fall through, the gospel is still true!

 

~Elder Fetzer

I'll Be Home for Christmas!

Hello all,

 

Christmas time is now past and it's time to start looking towards the new year! Transfers are here and Elder Dale and I are staying right here in the Renton Highlands. And now I can finally say that I truly will be home next Christmas!

 

This week we did a lot of sifting. Although we didn't get many new investigators, we solidified the ones that we already have and realized once again that some people won't make commitments. But the highlight still is Zaria. She is pretty solid. Her 11 year old daughter is in town and she is on fire with the gospel! It is really neat to see. Our second lesson went well. We taught the doctrine of Christ, which she seemed to understand. Her daughter chimed in and unexpectedly taught her the Word of Wisdom and the 10 commandments, but it is really cool to see an 11 year old so engulfed in the gospel, reading her scriptures and studying. She is even reading through the entire Bible.

 

We did have a neat experience this week. We were walking home for lunch and heard someone shout, "hey Mormons," so we went over to talk to the person. We met Taylor. He told us that he moved from Texas about a year ago and took all the lessons there. He said that as soon as he walked into the church there he felt the spirit and knew that it was true. He said he is still planning on being baptized and reads the Book of Mormon, but needs to quit smoking. He knows he can do it with God's help. Unfortunately he doesn't live in our area. But as we were leaving he told us that he wasn't going to talk to us when he saw us, but something prompted him to yell to us. God truly does place people in our path.

 

Christmas was Good. We spent the day with the Kirkhams and with a less-active family the Gaileys. On Christmas eve we had dinner with members and went caroling before an appointment that we had with Zaria.

Well, it's the beginning of a new transfer. Miracles are happening every day. I pray that they will continue to happen. Things are going well and the Church is true!

 

~Elder Fetzer

A Christmas Miracle!

Hello all,

 

Starting out our week in the temple was a marvelous way to start out our week. Many people talk about spiritual experiences that they have in the temple. Quite honestly, until Tuesday, I didn't have one quite like this, but it brought the spirit more into our companionship and truly sanctified our work this week. It truly was a Christmas miracle.

 

Last Tuesday morning we got an MTC referral as we were getting ready for the temple. We were quite excited, as we hadn't gotten a referral in a while, plus this one just felt special. Zaria is a woman from Sierra Leone, in Africa. Her daughter and some of her family recently joined the Church in Utah. She went to Church one time in Utah and wanted to learn more. So we went by Tuesday evening and were let right in and we quickly dove right into the message of the Restoration. After reciting the first vision in Joseph Smith's own words, we asked her how she felt. She described the warm feelings of peace that she had and said that she had goosebumps. We testified that she had felt the Holy Ghost testify that it was true and repeated the first vision to her again. As we ended, she was awestruck and amazed that a young man did actually see God and Jesus Christ. We testified of the restoration of the priesthood and invited her to be baptized on January 7th along with her friend Brima. The spirit manifested itself strongly and it was probably the strongest I have ever felt it before.

 

On Thursday after weekly planning we met with Sara. I think I told you about her a few weeks ago. We have had kind of a hard time meeting with her lately. Some lessons have fallen through, but she apologized. She has many issues, including built up anger, some depression, and lots of stress, but the gospel is helping her. Each lesson there seems to be a little bit of change for the better in her. And Thursday was no exception. We testified about faith and that our Savior has suffered all of our pains and afflictions. That He can lift our burdens if we let him. The Spirit truly spoke through us. It was strong! Sara, along with her friend Valente, have once again agreed to baptism on February 11th.

 

God's promise to place people along our daily path truly does work. There were many small miracles that happened this week. Like when a lady answered her door and was wondering what Mormons believed after seeing the ads around. She is looking for God in her life and we testified that through the doctrine of Christ we can be made whole. We invited her to be baptized in January and she accepted. The only thing is that she doesn't live in our area. We were walking out of our apartment complex. A man asked us if he could have "one of those 'Mormon books.'" We testified that the Lord placed us in his path to tell him about the gospel. He said he was looking for more religion in his life and wanted to feel clean from his past. We invited him to learn more and referred him to missionaries in his area. Every person we talked to we shared the doctrine of Christ. We told them why we were there, to help them develop faith in Christ, repent, and be baptized. As we shared these things people felt the spirit and we were able to find many new investigators.

 

Yesterday our ward increased in size. Our numbers had been small and because of the turnover in this ward there are a lot of transient people here. The "same ten people" were practically running the ward, as Bishop Corder says. But needless to say, we had a great Sunday (even though it rained).  We set up a ride for Sara and her friend Jacob, who met with the bishop before Chruch and received some assistance. In the meeting, Jacob said that he too was planning to be baptized the same day as Sara. And although the hour long meeting with 3 wards was mostly about the split, the spirit was still there and we heard some great messages about change. Zaria and Brima weren't able to make it at the last minute because of work and an emergency situation, but they will be there next week. And because the Lord sanctified the week, we did have the 4 investigators at Church that we were planning on including two non-member husbands that we often teach.

This week truly was amazing. We hit all the standards of excellence. We have 6 people in the area who have a baptismal date, taught 24 lessons, most of them in the "other" category to investigators and those not in the Church, and did have people at sacrament. The Lord did bless our work and is preparing the Renton Highlands for something amazing. New members are in our ward and will only make it stronger, helping those that need extra help in the area.

 

I have learned this week that I truly am nothing in the work of the Lord. I am just an instrument in His hands. None of the miracles that we saw this week were because of us. God trusts us in this area and he is placing people in our path so that we can help them become closer to Him. We are working hard and putting our faith in Him. I feel closer to the spirit than I ever have in my life. The spirit has truly manifest to me that the Church is true!

 

~Elder Fetzer