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