Week 16: Christmas in the Springs

Well, this report is going to be a half-week one, seeing how my last email was on Wednesday. Christmas was fantastic! I got to see my family and Skype with them. It made me a little trunky, but only for a second. I know where I am supposed to be, and that is in the service of the Lord.

For Christmas Eve, we got to read the Christmas Story with a family, as well as play a mean game of And It Came To Pass. On Christmas Day, we had a wonderful dinner with a Hispanic family, and we played Presidente (Scum). There was somebody there who had been baptized but had left the Church. He only spoke Spanish, and was frustrated that not all the missionaries spoke Spanish. I had to have a translation, but I understood most of what he was saying! It was hard to carry a conversation, though, and one of the other members cut it short, seeing that it was going nowhere anyway. We got to watch The Lego Movie, and let me tell you, even after the second time, everything is awesome! It was Elder H's first time seeing it.

 

I got to give a talk on Preparing for the Second Coming in Sacrament as my first Sacrament Meeting in the area. Fun, right? I loved church that day. It was just one of those Sabbath days where you wish there was more time in church. Best feeling ever on Sabbath.

We were able to talk to a member family about how to raise their children in today's world. I know, I must be an expert in that area, with my vast amount of experience, right? But despite being only a 19-year-old boy (I mean, man), I was able to provide some insight on how to live the Gospel as a family, with a large amount of help from the Holy Spirit.
 

I know that Christmas is come and gone, but that doesn't mean that we should forget about Christ now. I want you to picture this in your mind. Imagine you were Joseph, Mary's husband, and you came across this stable where the Son of Man would have to be born. Imagine your heart dropping as you look across this lowly area, with flies buzzing around, and all sorts of smells that aren't fit for a motel, let alone a mansion. Imagine thinking that you were trying to provide the best place for the Savior of Mankind to be born, and this was the best you could do. I bet Joseph's heart broke at that very instant. There was no room for the Redeemer of Mankind in the world. That is why we must make room for Him in our lives. Is your life ready to receive the Master? Is it in the best order it can be? I challenge you to remember that everyday, and to prepare yourself to receive that great Emmanuel, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Until, next week, keep Christ in your heart and remember:

The Church is true, the Book is blue, and Moroni is still on the ball.

 

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

Here's me at the top of the Incline in Manitou Springs. Much much funs, after hating my companion for making me climb it.

 

 



Here are a few pictures from our Christmas Skype session :)

 

Week 15: ET, Phone Home

This title fits so perfectly! I got ET'd (emergency transferred) into a new area, and I'll be Skyping back home tomorrow!

 

Everything has been very hectic this week. After ETs happened on Sunday, we took the elder that was going home to the airport. It made Elder H, my new companion, super trunky, but we helped him get over it.

 

(Note from Mom: I checked the Church website to see where the ward is he says he is in now and it is in Colorado Springs.)

 

We are moving around a lot this week, because the member home we are usually staying at has their extended family staying over. There is a lot going on, and the whole week feels pretty hectic to me.

 

We had an 8-year-old  baptism yesterday, and after that we met with a non-member family that are neighbors to the ward mission leader. The missionaries have done a lot of service for them before, but this time the ward mission leader invited them to take the discussions. He showed them the He is the Gift video, as well as The Nativity Bible Video, and bore a really powerful testimony. He then gave them a hard-back copy of the Book of Mormon with his testimony of it inside as a Christmas Gift and invited them to take the lessons and learn more about our Church. They agreed, but they told us of a bad experience they had in Utah with the "Mormons". As we listened, we realized that it was a break-off group of the LDS Church, and we explained to them that the Church does not affiliated itself with them, and reminded them of the good experiences they've had with the LDS Church. But what a wonderful Christmas gift!

 

I am out of time, but always remember the reason for the season. Jesus Christ subjected himself to mortal flesh so that He could save us all from sin. He is the first gift of Christmas.

 

Until next week, stay strong and Mormon on!

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

PS: I got to go to zone conference again because of ETs. (Meaning, I got to see Santa AGAIN!)

 

Another note from Mom: Here are some pictures he sent. He gives no description of the pictures, so your guess is as good as mine :) I need to have a strongly worded talk with him about this.

 

 

 

 

 

Ho, ho, ho, Have You Been a Good Missionary?

We had my first zone conference this week. It was an incredible experience. I learned a lot about increasing my faith. All it boils down to is hard work, and remembering that you don't really deserve anything from the Lord because you are forever indebted to Him. There is no magic formula that leads to an increase of faith. It is just working your hardest always.

Santa came to the zone conference. One of the missionaries sat on his lap and asked for a dragon. He said, "Ho, ho, ho, that's stupid. Ask for something else." He then asked for a pony and he said, "Ho, ho, ho, too bad," and handed him a picture of the Denver Temple in a stand. (I always knew Santa was a member...)

 

We have been scheduling more appointments with active member families now. One of the members owns an eye care center, and some missionaries a while ago placed a Book of Mormon there in the reading rack. He saw somebody reading the introduction and told them he knew how to get them a free copy, but then they clammed up and said no. We did some role-plays with him at his house to help him next time somebody that comes in reads it while waiting.

 

We taught G again this week. I don't know why I didn't do this before, but we invited him to start reading the Book of Mormon again, and he committed. I wanted to slap myself for not inviting him before.

 

We had a baptism on Saturday. There was a girl who was being taught by the Walsenburg missionaries that got married to somebody in this ward. She decided to be baptized into this ward, so I got to witness my first convert baptism! The other elders in the ward took charge of all of that. 

 

I am now singing in the ward choir in preparation for the Christmas program next week. I love singing! I was a tenor in college, well for the two times I practiced with the YSA ward choir, but I'm a bass here. It was a lot of fun!

 

Christ's apostles once asked the Lord to increase their faith, to which he gave them the parable of the unprofitable servant. At first glance, we may think that the Lord dodged the question and changed the subject, but in reality, He gave the answer to increasing our faith. We should never stop serving the Lord. We don't deserve a rest, because we've somehow earned it. We can never repay the Lord for what He's done for us. Even if we keep all the commandments, including the one to be perfect, we still fall short of repayment. If we ever think that we should rest from our service because we've "done enough", we need to remind ourselves that we are forever in His debt, and we should always follow His example, no matter the consequences. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego proclaimed that they would never worship idols, and that the Lord their God would protect them, but if not, they would still follow the Lord. It is that kind of faith that moves mountains, literally.

 

Until next week, stay strong and serve the Lord in all things.

 

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

Zone Conference

Week 13: Mi Companero Neuvo

So my new companion is Elder M. He is a Spanish speaking missionary. I didn't even realize they placed English and Spanish missionaries together. Finally, my kindergarten level of Spanish learned from 4 years of high school and 2 years of fast food have paid off! Our area really needs a Spanish missionary.

Note from Mom: I asked him why they put them together and how it works as far as teaching people, meaning will they teach both English and Spanish and Jacob just won't talk when they're teaching Spanish? Here is his response which I loved. "We are trying to meet with some people that mostly speak Spanish, but we also have English appointments. I may contribute a little, with my limited Spanish, but he'll do most of the talking with the Spanish people. Bottom line, he is here in La Junta because the Lord sent him here. The mission president is merely the conduit in which the Lord's will is vocalized. President Rehm and Sister Rehm are already praying about next transfers in January. Spanish and English missionaries get placed together sometimes. The reasons vary, but we usually don't know what those reasons are until they are manifest."

Right after transfer meeting, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings (sponsor!) in Pueblo. Elder M decided to take the Blazin' Challenge, which is 12 wings drenched in Blazin' Sauce in 6 minutes. I decided to take it as well, as well as one of the new missionaries fresh out of the MTC. I didn't realize sauce could hurt so much. I wasn't able to complete it in 6 minutes, but Elder M went through it like it was nothing! He finished in about 5 minutes, then asked for more Blazin' wings! We asked him if he was joking, but he said it wasn't even that hot. Who is this guy?! One of the waitresses felt bad about teasing us about not finishing it, so she gave us one of the t-shirts anyways. That's nice, something to make me feel even more guilty for not finishing it. Oh well, it will be a great conversational item. "Wow, you completed the Blazin' Challenge?!" "No." These challenges always are stretched out over two days, though.

 

We now officially completed all of the missionary lessons with S, the unbaptized 8-year-old. I think she is getting more and more excited about baptism. Her mom told us something that really excited us. Her brother has had a drinking problem for a long time, and she's never given up on him. He's never been interested in the Church. A few days ago, he came to her and told her that he wanted to be baptized! We know that there are a lot of things that he needs to fix in his life before he can partake of this sacred ordinance and enter into a covenant with God, but he has a desire and a goal, and that is the first step. I am so excited to help him make the steps necessary to change his life around and follow Jesus Christ!

 

In his talk titled, "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep", President Hinckley said to never give up on somebody if there is even the slightest desire to change. S's mother never gave up on her brother, even though it seemed hopeless, and she did it because he is her brother. Well, everyone you see around you is your brother or your sister. Never give up on them.

 

Until next week, stay strong and never lose hope.

 

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

Transfer meeting.

Jacob and his new companion, Elder M. Nice face Jacob :)

Jacob has always loved the Armor of God.

 

 

Week 12: The Death of a Trainer

So tomorrow I "kill off" my trainer, Elder S. He is leaving the field tomorrow and going home on Thursday. I have now officially completed my training. I am glad that we were able to have such a productive week for his last week in the field.

 

So we had Thanksgiving with a member family and B's family. B has been coming to church with this member family for 2 Sundays now, and he is very interested in the good values we teach. After Thanksgiving "lunch", we taught a lesson about eternal marriage and The Family: A Proclamation to the World. He was very interested, and liked the idea of being married for time and all eternity. After that, we watched Frozen for our PG movie that we get to watch on Thanksgiving. My companion and most of the people there have never seen Frozen, and so they were all very excited to see it.

 

We finished all but 2 of the missionary lessons with S, the unbaptized 8-year-old, and she should be ready for interviews with the bishop, next time she comes to church.

 

We talked with N, a prospective elder, and explained to him what the Melchizedek Priesthood really is. Until that point, he just knew that he was working toward the "higher priesthood". The Spirit was really strong there, and we have seen him make great progress toward receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood.

 

We finally got E to say yes to coming to church! Before she was very adamant in her belief that Sabbath should be on Saturday, as the Jews had it in Bible times, and no matter how much we explained why it is now on Sunday, she wouldn't listen. The Spirit was much stronger that day than usual speaking with her, and we discovered the real reason for her not coming to church. She said she will come if her daughter comes with her, who the other elders in the district are working with. Before a couple weeks ago, she hadn't really been progressing at all for the past few years, but we are seeing some major changes and progress now! We also got her to pray vocally, with only a small amount of guidance from us during the prayer. I was afraid we were going to have to drop her, but it's possible that the problem was us all along.

 

Sometimes we think that it's other people who need to change, when in reality it is us. Sometimes we are looking through "dirty windows". Before you start judging somebody, make sure that it's not actually you that is the problem.

 

Until next week, stay strong and hold on to the promises of the Lord.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

I acquired many new ties this week.





Elder S's last district meeting.

 

Week 11: He is the Gift

This week we had a few bumps in the road, including losing our phone. We should be getting a new one this next week. My companion will be heading home next week, and I'll be ending my training.

B., who came to church with a less-active family two weeks ago, came again this week. He seemed very interested in the good, wholesome values we teach at church, and the instruction we give in discussions on how to raise a child in today's world. He invited us over to Thanksgiving dinner! We'll be eating at the less-active family's house, and he and his family will be there. It is so exciting!

 

The Church is coming out with a new missionary initiative, and it is called "He is the Gift". They will be taking over all the advertisements on YouTube on December 7th, and there is a new part of Mormon.org launching at christmas.mormon.org. We will be getting new pass-along cards, and I encourage each of you to check out the site. I am so excited for it!

 

Sorry this email is so short. I've got a limited amount of time today with all the other things I need to do.

 

I testify that Heavenly Father gave us the gift of His Son, and that that gift is available to all mankind, regardless of location, social class, race, gender, or time period. Everybody has the chance to partake of this beautiful gift, whether in this life or the next.

 

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

 

I guess this is Jacob's reminder to us all :)

Other Sheep Among the Wayward Lambs

I felt pretty snowed-in this week, though it was mostly just the cold combined with sickness. Elder S got sick on Thursday. Long story short, don't buy Mega-Fruit chewing gum from candy dispensers. We had to stay in all Thursday. All the Elders in my district gave Elder S a blessing, and he recovered enough to head out to dinner with a family in Fort Lyons, which I hadn't been to until now. The roads here aren't paved as well as they are in Utah, and so I couldn't drive at 65 miles per hour going along the highway. Driving feels like an adventure here. It requires careful driving and reduced speeds. The car has drifted a little from time to time, but I am driving carefully enough that control is regained very quickly.

We taught S about the 10 Commandments and the Word of Wisdom. It was a blessing to have the non-member there that was there last time. We had to place special significance on "Honour thy father and thy mother" to this rowdy bunch of little kids, and we challenged all of the little ones, especially those approaching or just entering their teens, to find some way this week to serve their mom.

 

As we started talking about addictions with the family, we showed the Mormon Message "The Savior Wants to Forgive", followed by the Bible Video "Go and Sin No More." I then bore my testimony that the Savior wants to help us, and that we should never give up on ourselves or those around us who are struggling. I made eye contact with the non-member neighbor as I was bearing my testimony. I could tell that he could feel the Spirit testifying of the truth of it. I hope that he wants to continue coming over for the discussions.

 

Just before we went to S's house, we dropped by G's to see how he was doing. He was asleep, but his non-member mother wasn't, and she let us in. We talked about 30 to 40 minutes. She asked some basic questions about how our Church is organized, and we and her started sharing our beliefs. She shared hers and we shared ours. As I was listening, all I could think was that she is so very close to the fullness of the truth, except for her belief in reincarnation (which isn't so uncommon as you might think, though it is still generally uncommon). I don't think she's ever really looked into our church, but she is a wonderful lady.

 

Church meetings were cancelled this week, due to snow that had fallen the night before and the large amount of cities that our ward covers. It felt like a Monday on Sunday. :)

 

I want to testify to all of you that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of mankind. As Elder McConkie once said in his final conference talk, just 13 days before his death, "... salvation comes in and through His Atoning Blood, and in no other way. God granted all of us a walk in the light, as God our Father is in the light, so that according to the promises, the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will cleanse us from all sin. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."

 

I add my testimony to his. He lives, and He has saved all who will come unto Him and take His Name upon them.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

Here is a picture of my zone from the mission tour with Elder Baxter of the Seventy.

 

Week 9: The Fires of Elder Baxter and the Snows of November

Ok, so the title is a bit of a misnomer. Elder Baxter of the Seventy was actually very nice. We had our mission tour on Monday. Also the library was closed on Tuesday, so we have a very historic Wednesday Preparation Day!

I witnessed small continuing miracles this week. I can't give too many details, in order to protect confidentiality, but in short, there are many members who give their all to the Church and the Gospel when they have so little. I come across many people who say they can't make it to church or pay tithing because of their financial situation. But these people have less than all of them and they still work to find the means to pay a full tithe, drive 20 miles to church every Sunday, and magnify their callings. It brings tears to my eyes to know that they are doing everything they can because of the great faith they have. They remind me of the Mormon Pioneers and the sacrifices they made to defend their faith and hold "True to the faith".

 

I write in my journal every day, and I am now a third of the way through my missionary journal's pages, and only a 12th of the way through my mission. It appears to me that I'm going to have to buy more journals eventually.

 

We made great progress this week. We finally extended a firm, solid invitation to attend church to one of our less-active members, G, and we finally got to see him at church! Another less-active family showed up, along with a non-member and his kid who live with them! As he was sitting with us in Melchizedek Priesthood meeting, I could tell that he was very interested, and he even contributed to the conversation near the end (the lesson was about In the World, but Not Of the World). He sounded like he'd be very interested in coming again to church!

 

We finally got E to pray vocally! It took some prodding and encouragement, but she finally prayed with our guidance! Hopefully next time we meet she'll be willing to pray vocally on her own.

 

Now the awkward part. We had to teach an unbaptized 8-year-old about the Law of Chastity as part of the missionary lessons to prepare her for baptism. We discussed how to proceed with it quite a bit before we had to give the lesson. It requires the PERFECT amount of information. It actually went quite well, and it was all conveyed well and in the right amount.

 

The mission tour was incredible! Turns out Elder Baxter lives in Centerville back home, too! He taught us a lot about teaching with the Spirit, and just how essential it is to have the Spirit with us. Progression with investigators and less-active members won't happen unless they feel the Spirit. He actually talked directly to me for what felt like ten minutes, though I wish it was longer. I could really feel the Spirit, and the Holy Spirit spoke to me and gave me a powerful insight into what sacrifice really means. I will tell you at the end of the letter what He told me. It meant a lot to me to have him focus on me for just a short time out of the 100+ missionaries there. President Rehm also gave some beautiful C. S. Lewis quotes, which I'll also share.

 

It began snowing on Monday here in La Junta, and I love it, especially realizing all the wonderful service opportunities that will come from having snow on the ground. I've heard that winter time is wonderful for missionaries, because people are more willing to open their doors during this season.

 

So, the Spirit whispered this to me (though I don't think I have it down exactly as I heard it): In Old Testament times, you sacrificed animals. You raised the animal up yourself. You grew with it. You bonded with it. You loved it like a child. Then you were required to offer the animal as a sacrifice and you were required to kill this animal you had come to love on the altar yourself. Nowadays we aren't required to shed the blood of an animal. Instead we are required to throw ourselves upon the altar, so to speak, and sacrifice everything that is ourselves. We give up our heart, mind, body, and soul. While we in old times had to shed the blood of animals, we now give up what that blood is symbolic of, meaning our lives, in the service of God and in remembrance and reverence to the Atoning sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Now the C. S. Lewis quotes: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

 

"Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle."

 

Never forget that the bravest of all, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent to the most difficult of all posts, even that great Atonement in the sacred Garden of Gethsemane and that awful cross on Calvary, and He did it with far less help than any of us ever thought was possible. And because of that, He is there for all of us, so long as we let Him.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

Here are some pictures from this week!

 

 

And the morning weather report :)

 

 

Week 8: Halloween...

So not much happened this week either. We were never able to get many appointments set up, but fear not, next week we are going to have many, MANY appointments!

 

We had a ward Halloween Party and Chili Cook-Off on Wednesday. All the little ones got to go and knock on all the doors in the church to get some candy, and the chili was delicious. Elder S was probably dying inside, though, because Halloween is his favorite holiday and he can't dress up for it as a missionary.

 

Halloween was... fun. We can't do much as missionaries on Halloween, because we had to be in earlier than usual. All we could do is play some games once inside, although I cooked a pretty mean lasagna (Don't worry, it came frozen and store-bought. I didn't magically gain super cooking powers on Halloween, though I did use an oven.)

 

I guess I didn't plan too well again, because I nearly ran out of food again. However, because of that, I was able to see the Lord preparing me for such a thing beforehand. A family we visited gave us some eggs and bread just a few days before, though I didn't see the need then. Another bought us breakfast last Monday, and it really helped.

 

I used many different materials while out tracting. To you missionaries out there, don't neglect the materials given to you. Besides the basic lesson pamphlets and the family history cards, I've also given out some "The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith" pamphlets, as well as "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" pamphlets. I also gave out an Articles of Faith card and several other things. They are there for a reason.

 

We went on exchanges, me with Elder F, one of the missionaries that came out into the field with me, and we found great success. We were driving by a family lifting furniture, and I opened the window and asked if they needed help. They thanked us and said yes. When we were done helping them, we introduced ourselves as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and they said they have been trying to find out more about what we believe because they have some Mormon friends. They told us that they heard a lot of stuff, and they knew that there was some misinformation about us. We helped clarify some things, such as the fact that we don't practice polygamy, and that we do believe in grace, but that we also believe that Christ expects us to work for our inheritance. Grace saves us, not works, but effort is required. Imagine if we had just driven by and not said anything! We almost did!

 

Well, I guess I lied at the beginning of the email when I said not much happened. Sometimes you have to just look back at your week and realize just how much more God has blessed you than you thought.

 

My spiritual thought this week is this: Sometimes, when you have truly repented of something, whether it is an addiction, or it is becoming better at a virtue, you may look at it like you are worse off than before. Don't listen to that thought. It is of the devil. I like to think of it in video game terms. When you get to the next level, you have to start off at the beginning of that level. That doesn't mean you lost the game (lost the game ;)) and had to start over, it just means you are at the next level, which means higher difficulty, but greater strength in overcoming that level. Sometimes the Lord will help us let go of our past selves, and then reveal to us in greater light how we can work better on something. I have always considered myself very good at understanding people and their points of view, and loving everyone, but since being on  my mission I felt like I was lacking in that. It wasn't until last night that I truly realized that I was good at that, but that the Lord had revealed to me the parts I NOW need to work on. It is a beautiful thing.

 

Until next week, stay strong, and let Christ help you out.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

Week 7: We Preach Truth, Not Knowledge

So last week we got a referral from the bishop's wife from a man who was visiting the church. We met with him on Tuesday in the park. I was rather discouraged the whole time teaching him because he was just taking notes. It was very apparent to me that he was learning this for knowledge, not to discover the truth and join the right church. We told him many things, and left him with a Book of Mormon, which he agreed to try and read, so at least we have planted a seed there.

During ward coordination last week, the ward mission leader asked us to write down on sheets he had typed up information on who we know no longer lives in the ward. We ended up filling two sheets, about ten to twenty people. During ward council this week, the ward really tried to start implementing the Idaho Initiative a little bit better, which basically is just praying about people we should work on, and praying for them individually at night. I hope great things will come out of it.

 

While we were working on a member's farm this week, it came to our attention that we need to have another adult male present with us at any lesson with a female living alone. We thought it was alright to have any member present for that, but unfortunately we had to cancel an appointment, not only because of that, but because Elder S was feeling under the weather and did not want to get this person, who is dealing with pneumonia, sick.

 

We taught a wonderful lesson about families and talked about "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" with G. I am really starting to see the benefits of using all the pamphlets and materials we have. There are so many different ones, and I plan on starting to use all of them.

 

There wasn't too much that happened this week, but we have great plans this coming week. Until next time, stay strong in the faith, and leave Babylon behind you.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

Here are some pictures from the MTC that one of the Elders out here just sent to me.

 

 

Week 6: Members Rock!

I get to start a new missionary planner this week!

 

So to start off my week, I had a fun experience with tech support. All of the mission vehicles have this fun little device called tiwi. Tiwi is hooked up to your car, and tells you if you are following the rules of the road and being safe, and it docks you if you don't follow the rules, so you have to be safe to keep your driving priveleges. Me and Elder S were driving down a 45 MPH zone, going 45, and tiwi started saying, "Check your speed." If we were to continue and it said it again, it would mark us. So we pulled over and called tiwi tech support. An automated voice said, "You are now first in line, thank you for your patience." Yay, right? Wrong. For 13 minutes we sat there listening to phone wait music, hearing the occasional, "You are now first in line." Finally, Elder S looked over at me and said, "Oh yeah, it's Columbus Day." We were probably waiting for an empty office to pick up for 13 minutes. So we decided to drive slowly down the road till we could get to the next place.

 

P dropped us this week. He told us that we should probably stop visiting because there are things going on in his life right now. That is unfortunate.

 

It finally happened. Somebody finally called me and my companion young and indoctrinated. Sometimes you just have to hold your tongue as a missionary to avoid further conflict, even though you can sometimes clearly see that they are exactly seeing 20/20.

 

Let me tell you, members at lessons are AWESOME! We met with V, a newer investigator, and we had the Relief Society President and the bishop's wife come with us. Members can help bring the Spirit to a lesson like you wouldn't believe. The testimonies they have and the personal experiences they tell can help investigators so much. On top of that, they can help answer questions they might have, and develop a bond with them. We had another lesson with G, and had it at a recent convert's house. Same result. It was incredible.

 

We also taught a less-active family with an unbaptized 8-year-old. Elder S, with my direction, made the most incredible looking Plan of Salvation. He is a gifted artist. It is beautiful. We made a copy of it and gave it to the family.

 

I ate dinner at the bishop's house. I thought it was going to be nerve-wracking, but we had a wonderful time.

 

We had stake conference, and we got to here from Elder Bednar and Elder Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve! Remember the beautiful gift of prayer we have been given, and that our religion requires the sacrifice of everything worldly in order to be of any worth.

 

We also got a member referral from the bishop's wife. We are going to be meeting with him at the park on Tuesday!

 

For those of you who are struggling, hold on. This life requires sacrifice and endurance to be of worth, but the price we pay is insignificant to the reward our Father in Heaven will give us. Till next week, stay strong!

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

Jacob and Elder S :)

Elder S's drawing of the Plan of Salvation

Week 5: Rollercoaster Ride

There were several things contributing to the title this week. The week had a lot of bad turns at first, but turned out great. First of all, we have been trying to get into contact with N, a potential investigator, for a couple weeks now. This last Monday, when we visited her house, her mom told us now wasn't a good time. We asked if there would be a better time, and she basically told us that N needed some space for a while. It is really sad, because when we first talked to her, it made her happy to hear our message, and we KNOW that the message we bring can change her and her family's life, but we cannot force this knowledge upon her, so we are going to wait a few weeks before returning. I'm very anxious to go back so that she can come to know of the joy and hope this gospel brings.

 

The next thing is that when we were visiting a less-active member, we discovered that her husband had died 3 weeks ago. She wasn't too sad, though, and she told us that it was because she has a firm knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the eternal nature of marriage, truths restored in these latter-days. As we drove to the next less-active member, we basically said to each other that we hope that they haven't lost anyone either. As we were walking up to them, they said they didn't want to talk to missionaries right then, that they had just lost a daughter the night before. It made us sad. I know that the Lord placed us there, though, so that we could inform other members of the ward about these members that hadn't been to church in over 15 years that probably needed comfort. Ward members and leaders quickly found time to visit and ask them if they need anything. Hopefully they will see that we truly do care and are there for them.

 

After that, the week went pretty well. We met with a new investigator, V, and taught her the message of the Restoration. We were able to help out two member households through service, found two new investigators, saw the ward put on an excellent community event about Emergency Preparedness, and saw ward council really start to shift into gear toward helping less-active members.

 

I also received a care package from home with my iPod with lots of church music downloaded to it, my temple dedication handkerchief, and a large bag of my mom's homemade caramels (DELICIOUS!)!

 

I am so very grateful to be out here on my mission, bringing the happiness of the restored gospel to the lives of those who need it.

 

Till next week, stay strong and trust in the Lord!

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

Soldier's Log - Week 4: Rations Running Low, Conditions Severe

So I discovered last P-day after finishing email that I was completely out of money on my mission card, and I'd have to wait till next week to get food. I present two lessons to you here, brothers and sisters (or for you missionaries, Elders and Sisters): Have a food storage and spend money wisely. I ran out of food halfway in the week, because I both did not save up back up food, and I wasn't quite so thrift in my spending on food. Don't worry, I ate, through a use of my own peanut butter, milk, Pop-tarts, and Mac and Cheese, as well as the mercy and pity of the other missionaries in the district. I wasn't the only one in the boat, however. Many of them used their personal money to buy food.

Later that day, I experienced my first Colorado rainstorm, and boy, was it just that. Lightning, thunder, fierce winds, hail and rain combined against us, and yet we prevailed. Ok, so it wasn't life threatening, as long as you stayed indoors, but we did watch our neighbor's fence gate nearly get torn off, and we ran out foolishly to try and put it back in the middle of the storm. All this happened because ONE of the missionaries in my district, who shall remain unnamed, decided to fast the day before for rain.

 

We talked with P this week, and it doesn't sound like he was truly trying to quit tobacco, but more like he was waiting for the Lord to suddenly just hit him with motivation and willpower. I don't know if we explained that that's not how it works very well, but we left him with an addiction recovery booklet. He never showed up to General Conference, but it was because he got called in to work.

 

We got to see the new Church-produced movie, Meet The Mormons, a week before it comes out in theaters, and I highly recommend you go see it, especially if you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It helps dispel some of the myths surrounding Mormons. Go see it even if you are, because it is an awesome show that has both serious and funny moments in it.

 

There is a depressing part of the week. N, a girl we've been trying to get into contact with after our first visit with her, has not been home when we've knocked, and we've knocked almost every day. Finally, we noticed her driving by with her mom in a car we noticed drive by before, and we realized that she has probably been practicing driving for a driving test, and so she's probably noticed us knocking a lot. We decided to stop knocking for a while. I really want to visit with here again though, because I know the message we bring will change her life for the better forever.

 

We met with E and gave her a large-print Book of Mormon, so now she has no reason to not read it, I believe she will start to read it now. She never came to any of the session of General Conference, even the Saturday session that she wasn't opposed to, but it is alright.

 

Anyway, that is my week in a nutshell (although I'm sure you are thinking I could have made the nutshell a little smaller. ;) ) Till next week!

 

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

Week 3: You Asked Me to Change the World

I can't believe it's been a month since I left my home. It seemed to go by so quickly. I am already a 24th of the way done!

Me and Elder S mixed up roster tracting with regular tracting, and it seemed to be rather effective. We got to meet many wonderful people. There was one I was particularly excited about. She is a girl by the name of N in her senior year of high school. As we started talking with her, we found out that she believes in some sort of higher power, but no firm belief in God. She told us that she is trying to figure things out right now. We testified to her that she has a loving Father in Heaven, and that He wants the best for her. We explained that His Son, Jesus Christ, atoned for all the sins and sufferings of the world, and that He knows EXACTLY what she is going through. We told her of the Great Apostasy and how Joseph Smith didn't know what church to join, and that it wasn't until he prayed that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him and through him, they restored the truths that were once lost. We showed her the Book of Mormon, and how it testifies of Jesus Christ and that it can answer some of the deep questions she may have in her life. We explained to her how to pray, and testified that God would answer her prayers if she prayed to Him. We are going to talk to her again today.

 

We met with one of the less-active members this week again, P, and talked to him about family history. P has been dealing with Word of Wisdom problems, and we have been trying to help him overcome the addictions he's dealing with. He is striving to be temple-worthy, but he hasn't been coming to church because he always gets called in to work on Sunday morning. That definitely concerns me.

 

The other person we are working with is E. She is an investigator, but she doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith or of the Book of Mormon. She believes that because God doesn't change, the Sabbath should still be on Saturday as it was before Christ was resurrected. She has told us that she can't read the Book of Mormon because the letters are too small, and she hasn't gotten reading glasses yet. We looked at her teaching record, and the first time the missionaries talked to her was in 2009, and she had the same concern. She dropped them in 2010, but she was recontacted while tracting in 2014. We ordered a large-print Book of Mormon for her so she can read, but the appointment with her fell through this week. Hopefully we can make an appointment with her before this Saturday, so we can talk to her about the importance of the Book of Mormon and of prophets, then we can invite her to watch General Conference (which is on Saturday as well as Sunday, so she should have no concern with it concerning 7th day worship).

 

As I've been working with less-active members and with investigators, I'm starting to realize that soon me and Elder S are going to have to start asking some hard questions, as well as giving out some hard answers. The road to God and to repentance was never intended to be easy. Change hurts often, and the missionaries are going to make sacrifices just as the people they are working with are going to have to make sacrifices. It may mean giving up friends, giving up your job, and many other things, but it must happen if you want to return to His presence.

 

When Martin Luther was about to be tried and condemned to death for protesting against the practices of Catholicism, thus creating the Protestant movement, his old mentor was cutting his hair. His mentor got angry at him, and scolded him, saying something along the lines of, "How could you? You have upset the Christian world, pitting Protestant against Catholic." Martin grabbed his arm and said, "You asked me to change the world. Did you think there weren't going to be consequences?" Nothing ever happens if nothing ever happens. We can't expect to become better people if we don't let go of the part of us that is bad. That is why baptism by immersion is symbolic of rebirth. We must let the old part of us die, and be reborn as a better person. Change is never easy, but it is worth it. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. Why is it that the greatest people, or the people who brought about the most change for good, were persecuted the greatest? Because the world does not readily accept change, because it is scared. This is why Jesus Christ was persecuted, betrayed, whipped, spat upon, and crucified, and why he had to suffer the pains and sins of the world. This is why reformers like Martin Luther and William Tyndale were killed. This is why Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered, and why he was murdered by an angry mob. As Joseph Smith once said, "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. Persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, and calumny may defame, but the truth of God with go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, until it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, until the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

-

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

 

Jacob gave no explanation for the picture. I'm guessing another one of La Junta :)

Week 2: Fixing the Harvesting Equipment

This last P-day, after we had finished emailing, my district went shopping at Wal-Mart. I saw the clinic there and remember that none of us had gotten our flu shots yet, so I suggested that we all get our flu shots there together. Pretty smart, right? Wrong. Even though none of us got the flu, we all felt under the weather most of the week, effectively decreasing missionary productivity greatly. None of us could go out tracting as long as we wanted to because of it, and one of the elders had a fuzzy mind for most of the week.

Our key indicators were extremely low each day, each one being mostly 0, sometimes 1 or 2, but I am still committed and confident. Me and Elder S tried out a new method of tracting. We know that of the 400-500 members on the ward roster, only about 100 of them are active members of the ward. So we decided to color-code and mark which city each member had their address in, and then we started knocking specifically on those doors. We don't know all of the active member's names, so we mostly just are going through every name on the list. We only get about 6-10 names done each day, because we don't have too much time to tract, as well as the fact that the names are spread out over each city and we are going alphabetically, since the ward roster isn't organized by street. We started to find out who was active and less-active, and if the addresses on the roster are still correct. I like to call this method roster tracting. When we went to our coordination meeting with the bishop and the ward mission leader on Sunday, we explained to them our new method, and they told us to keep a detailed record of each door we knocked on, so that each Sunday we can bring the record to them so they can update and improve the ward roster. Hopefully they'll start adding in a column in the ward roster on who is active and less-active. Also, it will help them know if the addresses they have are correct, and more details, like if we find out whether or not they are a part-member family. The way I see it, the other elders are doing purely harvesting, while me and Elder S are mixing harvesting with fixing and optimizing the harvesting equipment.

 

We also had ward council this Sunday. It really changed my view on the activity of the ward. I had thought that the ward was practically doing nothing missionary related, but sitting in at ward council made me realize just how involved the leaders of the ward are in helping out. The gears and cogs are definitely turning in the ward.

 

We also went to a dear sister who owns an animal farm and we helped her do yard work and farm work. She is incredible. Most of the animals she owned are ones she rescued from abusive owners, though it's hard to tell because she's nurtured the animals back to health so well.

 

We also had the annual barn dance at the bishop's onion shed (there is a lot of farm land here), well, not us elders of course. We can't dance much on our mission. We mostly just helped set up the place and ate the food.

 

Speaking of food, the members here are INCREDIBLE cooks, and wonderful people. The more and more I talk to the members of this ward and get to know them, the more I fall in love with them.

 

I wrote down an impression I had this week that I thought I'd share. For me, I take the idea of being in the Lord's Army very literally, because if you look at another military and look at us, it is strikingly similar. Both require the use of armor in order to be protected. There are punishments for deserting the army we serve in. Missionaries specifically go through a basic training (MTC), but all members receive training. There are many different tools and weapons at our disposal. There is specific protocol we must follow, and we are given several instruction manuals on how to follow protocol. There is a clear chain of command, and each soldier is specialized to fulfill certain tasks. There are dozens of more comparisons. Anyway, the impression I wrote down was this: "Satan's forces are determined to bring us misery. The enemy is committed to their goal. Are we?"

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

* A note from Jacob's mom - last week he said that the mission president wants packages and letters sent to the mission home and not his apartment.  That was a misunderstanding.  Things should be mailed directly to Jacob at his apartment so the office doesn't have to forward mail and packages on to him.  Just don't send anything right before a transfer or he might not get it for a while.  My email address is at the top right of this blog.  If you want his current address, email me and I'll get it to you.

 

This is Jacob's Armor of God necklace he used to wear everyday.  He now carries it with him everyday (he is not allowed to wear a necklace on his mission :)
 

 

 

I'm guessing a view of La Junta.

First Week Out!

This has been a crazy first week out in the field, but I guess that's how it is with every missionary. After leaving the MTC, I got to fly to Colorado Springs from Salt Lake. That's the first time I've flown since I was very little. It is truly a breath-taking experience, to see the clouds below me, with the earth as their background instead of the sky. I could barely take my eyes off of the window.

Once I got to the mission home, I met President Rehm and his wife Sister Rehm. They are so nice, and it is rather easy to pick up on their personalities. All of the new missionaries (24 total, I believe, 2 from the Mexico City MTC) stayed the night at the mission home, except for the 4 sister missionaries, who spent the night at a member home.

 

The next day we all received our area and companion assignment. There was this one trainer in the back that kept popping up whenever a new missionary was assigned to the Pueblo zone, expecting to be their trainer, and he had to keep sitting back down because he wasn't assigned to that missionary. Lo and behold, when I was called up, I was assigned to the Pueblo zone, La Junta I area, with him as my trainer. I was a little scared that day. But Elder S, my new companion and trainer, is actually rather wonderful. I love having him as a companion, and our personalities mesh rather well.

 

The La Junta area is a rather difficult area. As my new bishop said during Coordination Meeting, "La Junta is the Marine boot camp of the Colorado Springs Mission." We've had very little appointments during the week, so we've done a lot of tracting. Elder S has only been in the area for one transfer, so neither of us know the area really well. When I heard that the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission (CCSM for short) was full of people with Christian backgrounds and family values, I thought the Lord had set them up perfectly, but La Junta is full of a lot of people who "know" about the Mormons, and are very "firm" in their religion. I'm still staying positive, though. I know that people have their free agency, and I still placed my first Book of Mormon!

 

I had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting. I should have seen that coming. After church, I saw all the members talking to each other happily, and I was filled with the Spirit. The thought came into my mind along the lines of, "This ward is like a stronghold of light against the forces of darkness." I felt like I wanted to have more people experience this. I almost cried tears of joy when I felt that fellowship.

The Lord's Servant,

                      Elder Tibbitts

 

PS, If you want to send me mail, President Rehm has asked that you send it through the mission office. Here's the address:

Elder Jacob Christopher Tibbitts

4090 Center Park Drive Suite #4

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

 

PPS, I get to drive the car! My companion never got his driver's license, so I get to drive the car everywhere. And he's only got 3 months left, two transfers, so I'll be his last companion since he'll be training me for two transfers.

 

PPPS, Also, I got to eat pig tripe (stomach lining) and Chinese food my first week here, so now my mom can laugh at me thinking I could escape Chinese food.  The pig tripe was actually rather delicious, except the spice they put in it overpowered the rest of the soup. The stomach lining by itself was actually quite tasty.

 

Ok, NOW I'm done.

 

 

MTC group.

MTC group at the Provo Temple.

 

All 24 new missionaries with Pres. and Sis. Rehm in Colorado Springs.

 

 

Jacob and Elder S.

 

 

Pig tripe soup!!

 

Last Week at the MTC!

I got special permission today to email because I am flying to Colorado Springs on Monday in the morning.

 

This week has been a roller coaster ride. One of the sisters in my district went home, and a few days later my companion decided to go home. It has been hard on the district. It is truly unfortunate...

 

There has been a bug going around, so I've been sick for a few days.

 

I am a zone leader, so me and the sister training leaders were responsible for welcoming and orienting the new missionaries in our branch on Wednesday, but because the other zone leader (my old companion) left, and one of the sisters left, the way the new companionships were organized ended up making the whole district greet the new missionaries. They are going to be going to Reno NV and Rochester NY, with one sister going to Oakland CA. It was great fun getting to know all of them.

 

The TRC investigator my and my companion were teaching frustrated us, as much as we love her. She is extremely well versed in the Bible, and she finds that everything we teach her matches up with what she reads in the Bible. She keeps telling us that it all makes sense, but whenever we invited her to be baptized, she said she would when she found out if it was true. We finally told her that we can't convince her with facts, that she has to take that leap of faith and pray to know if the Book of Mormon and what we have taught her is true. I think that was truly the first time in my life that I deeply desired to see somebody make it to the Celestial Kingdom, and had the determination to help them get there. Unfortunately, that was our last meeting with her before we leave for Colorado Springs on Monday. It just goes to show you that all the evidence in the world cannot prove it to you. The evidence you need can't be shared to you by mortal men. It must come in the quiet whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

 

My roommates have quite the amazing story, though. The TRC investigator they were teaching finally opened up and told them everything and that they were the only missionaries at the MTC that she had told it to. At that point they were sure that she was an actual investigator, and not just a member working and the Teaching Resource Center. They told her that God had led her up to this point to meeting them, and that because of what she had gone through, she was holding in her hand a book that she had rejected dozens of times, and that she knew it was true. After their last appointment with her, she stopped them and told them that she wanted to schedule one last appointment with them on her own personal time the next day. Of course they said yes. During that last appointment that the MTC hadn't even scheduled, she told them that the thing she loved more than anything was the feeling the Spirit brought to her when they were there. They told her that she could have that feeling with her everyday if she was baptized. She said she would get baptized. Of course she still needs to take a few more lessons to confirm everything, but she seems ready for baptism. They are going to continue to email her in Colorado. I couldn't be happier for her.

 

I fly to Colorado Springs on Monday. So far as I know, there are going to be 20 missionaries on that plane headed to Colorado.

 

Elder Tibbitts

 

P.S.
My roommates are amazing! They are the funniest group of people I've ever met! I don't think I've laughed this hard in a long time. The amount of inside jokes we have created in the last two weeks in incredible (we counted and we are above 20). I really hope one of them is a companion with me near the end of my mission.

MTC First Week!

Well, I've basically finished my first week at the MTC! It's been incredible! I didn't think you could pack so many spiritual moments into one week, but I guess that's the mission life. It's really weird at first entering into the MTC. You see Elders and Sisters walking around with the experience that makes them seem like they've been there for months, but in reality most of them have only been there for a week!

It has been amazing feeling the Spirit every day and seeing miracles happen on a daily basis. I've already started teaching "investigators" (we don't know if they are members acting a real story or actual non-members with their own stories). I've learned SO much about missionary work. I think one of the most important lessons I've learned is to teach people, not lessons. We aren't there to sell the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, we are there to come unto Christ WITH them. Every person has unique experiences and lives.

My roommates have been incredible. I think we laugh way too much. But we also understand the sacred calling we hold.

I was made a zone leader my first week here. I've never felt like one of the leader types, but as I've been trained how to be a leader in my mission, I've realized that perhaps I have been thinking of the word "leader" the way the world thinks. I really love the last verses in D&C 121 because they show us exactly what a leader should be like.

I also had a few firsts. For the first time in my life, I gave a priesthood blessing of comfort, and the day after I gave a blessing for the healing of the sick and afflicted. I think I may have put a little too much consecrated oil on the elder's head. He kept joking that I put a quarter cup on his head, but he said he was very grateful.

 

Sabbath day was one of the best Sabbaths I've ever had. We watched a talk given by Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve here at the MTC a few Christmases ago. It is called the Character of Christ, and it was life changing. The character of Christ is that when others would turn inward, He turned outward in love and compassion. He had putteth off the natural man that is naturally selfish, and had been naturally selfless, even in His moments of unimaginable anguish. If you get a chance to look up the talk you should. Because that is what we preach as missionaries, a gospel of selflessness.

 

I am so excited for this next week. I know that it is going to be beyond incredible.