Using a Rifle in a Snowstorm

Now, before you look at the title and start thinking, "Oh no, Elder Tibbitts has gone apostate," I will explain... eventually.

We had Specialized Training this week. President Rehm talked about how we need to focus on using more of a "Rifle Approach" instead of a "Shotgun Approach". By that he meant that we need to start focusing on a single family to start teaching, instead of knocking on a bunch of doors or visiting a long list of people in hopes that we will find somebody and that our efforts will be successful. We are meeting with different ward council members to discuss the part-member families and unbaptized children-of-record in the ward, and talking about what active family knows them best and could extend an invitation to them to start meeting with the missionaries.

We went on exchanges with the Spanish elders immediately following that, and I had a fun time sitting in on one or two Spanish conversations. I am pleased to say that I understood almost every part of those conversations. Of course, for the main portion of exchanges, we got hit by a massive blizzard. Shoveling was ineffective because in 10 minutes it would be at the exact same height as before. So, I and my temporary Spanish companion spent a lot of time making phone calls and following up on commitments.

Elder LR and I were asked to speak on Easter Sunday. N, our investigator, came to that, and he sat with the ward mission leader and his family! It was an incredible Sacrament Meeting, and N was intrigued by all of it. He was very attentive when all of the speakers were giving their talks. Afterwards, the ward mission leader invited him over to his house for General Conference. N was very interested in the idea of listening to modern-day apostles and prophets!

I want to bear my testimony that God lives. Jesus is the Christ, the Living Son of the Living God. I know that Jesus Christ stand at the head of His Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There IS a prophet on the earth today, Thomas S. Monson. I know that we have living prophets and apostles, that we have the same organization as the Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. We have the glorious opportunity to hear them speak this weekend, and I am grateful for the counsel they give. When you choose to follow the prophet, you are choosing to follow Christ, who the prophet stands as a representative for. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of the Lord, and I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Until next week, always remember that no matter how kind you are, German children are kinder.

-- 

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

Letting an elderly man push me in his own wheelchair at an assisted living center.

A sign at a member's home.

Meetings! Yay!

Well, this week was filled with a lot of meetings, more than usual. We had some sort of meeting almost every day this week. You know, I don't actually hate meetings. I am almost guaranteed at least one funny moment from a meeting. Every once in a while it gets hard to hold my laughter in, but I have become more skilled in that aspect over time. One of the best was a meeting with our mission president there. It was pretty funny when comments were made that didn't really make sense, and we all could tell we were thinking the same thing as our mission president.

We met with N again. We invited him to be baptized, but he refused. He said he's already been baptized, and he feels like getting baptized again would be trampling on his past baptism. I paused for a moment, then felt impressed to ask him if he could think of it as honoring his past baptism for getting him to the point where he is now, ready to take another step of faith. That obviously affected his whole point of view. He definitely thought about that. He still didn't say yes, but he is now seriously considering it.

During ward council, we talked about Passion Week, or the week before Easter. We talked about the importance of this special week, and how we need to focus a lot more on the last week of the Savior's mortal ministry this week. It was Palm Sunday. We had a great discussion in ward council about how when Christ rode triumphantly through Jerusalem, it was really one of the only times in His entire life that He was treated like the King of Kings He is. Then ensued the hardest week of His whole life, and the last. In many Protestant religions, they will hand out palm leaves to the members of their congregation for Palm Sunday, and it will be a major celebration. We don't do anything like that in our churches, but we can remember the importance of such a special event. This week, I invite you to take some time out of EACH day to stop and think about where the Savior would have been on this day of the week, for the last week of His life. Think of the mounting agony and pain, as friends desert him, as He looks upon Jerusalem with tears. We cannot fully comprehend it all, but as we remember the suffering of the Savior, we draw closer to Him, and we find new life. I also invite you to watch "Hallelujah", a video describing our hope of the Resurrection. I bear my witness that Jesus IS the Christ, the Lamb of God, the Son of the Living God. He taketh away the sins of the world. I leave that in His name, amen.

Until next week, rejoice in Christ, our Lord! Happy Easter! Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! (Happy Birthday, Grandma and Jiji!)

-- 

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

This is a large house (a member's home in their ward).

LDS Tools and Golden Areas

Let me start off by saying I absolutely LOVE this new area. The ward is so helpful to the missionaries. Everybody trusts them without having to get to know them super well. Everybody is excited to fulfill their callings, and they use them to engage in the Work of Salvation.

We met with an investigator by the name of N this week. He is open to meeting with us, but until this week a lot of his reasons for meeting with us were intellectual. He really loved the Plan of Salvation that we taught him this week. We invited him to a baptism that was happening in our district, and he came! Afterwards, he told somebody he was talking to that honestly our Church seems to follow the Word more closely than most other churches he's seen. We hope that is the beginning of a shift from intellectual to spiritual investment.

So historically, in this mission at least, the potential investigator list and media referrals have been less than satisfactory. Well, within 5 minutes of going through our potential investigator list, we had already set up 2 appointments with potential investigators! We also got a media referral, which means that somebody had requested missionaries from Mormon.org. Usually they aren't too great, but the wife answered the door and said they'd love to meet with us, and said she was going to talk to her husband that night about when they can meet with us!

There are a lot  more awesome things going on, but I'll leave it with those miracles this week. My new companion, Elder LR, is AWESOME!

So, funny story for this week: We had ward conference this Sunday, and for the Adult Meeting for 2nd and 3rd hours, part of the time was spent talking about how to use LDS Tools. I knew the inevitable was coming. Unfortunately, the missionary photo I have, which I cannot change, looks like I'm really young. I probably took that picture when I was a few years younger. Anyway, he got to the portion where you can look at the missionaries serving in your unit. Of course, everybody has their tablets and smartphones out to follow along. One member who was sitting right next to me pulls up my information, then looks at me... Then a member sitting behind me pulls it up on her smartphone and shows it to me, with a look like she understood I was in pain right now. My companion and I are trying hard to contain our laughter, as we are sitting in the front row. Then we get a text from a member: "Elder Tibbitts looks like he's 12 in his LDS Tools photo. Are you still planning dinner at 6:00 PM?" With that, we couldn't contain ourselves anymore. Both of us started cracking up in the middle of the presentation, and remember, we are in the front row. I have now decided that the only solution to that moment is for me to flee the area.

My companion and I have been trying to focus a lot more on using the Book of Mormon primarily in our teaching. There is a scripture in 2 Nephi 33:10-11 that says, "And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness."

The Book of Mormon are the words of Christ. If you truly believe in Christ, then you will also come to know that the Book of Mormon is true, for it is the words of Christ, and He will show you the truth of it. I know that the Book of Mormon is true, and I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I also want to let you all know about the new Easter website the Church has put out, #HALLELUJAH (Follow Him). There are several videos on there that talk about our hope in Christ. I testify that the Savior lives, that He was resurrected, and because Christ lives, all shall live again.

Until next week, find hope in Christ.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

Me and my awesome new companion!

6 More Months, 1 New Area

Well, it looks like I'm getting transferred. I will be returning to the Northern Country, known as Castle Rock, this time to the Plum Creek Ward. My faithful companion Elder M will be staying here in Westcliffe to hold down the fort. My new companero will be Elder LR. Don't worry, I'll still have a truck. I will be in the same district as my old area, Lone Tree!

Unfortunately, I didn't leave this area without catching some sort of sickness. I had a cold this week, bad enough that we had to cancel most of our appointments.

We went on exchanges this week, and I stayed in Pueblo. We went to a less-active family there, and somehow got on the topic of Nerf Gun Wars and me playing Humans vs. Zombies at USU. The less-active daughter, who won't even go to a mutual activity, was psyched when we started to set something up. The elder I was with said we'd get a mutual activity together for it, and she said she'd come! As we walked out of that place, he looked at me and said that was awesome. Then it dawned on me what I had done. In geeking out, I had accomplished missionary work! And that is why I'm a nerd, so I can reactivate other nerds.

This Sunday, March 13th, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be launching it's Easter Initiative: HALLELUJAH. It will be employing the hashtag #Hallelujah. I invite you to go onto FollowHim.mormon.org this Sunday and discover the hope and joy that comes from the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because of His Resurrection, ALL shall live again. There is a video that will be part of this initiative, and it reminds us that death is not the end of life. And isn't that the most glorious message ever?! As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall ALL be made alive. Come follow Him, and find new life. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is also creating a beautiful video of an online choir of Handel's Messiah, particularly the Hallelujah Chorus.

On the topic of unique missionary experiences, I want to remind each of you that the Lord sent you to a specific area for a specific reason specifically for you. You have talents, abilities, and a personality that nobody else has. Don't try to be somebody else in order to accomplish something that the Lord has called YOU to do. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Harvest, and He knows exactly who is needed where, and we need to trust Him on that. I pray that we may have more faith in Him and His infinite wisdom, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Until next week, be all that you can be, and don't settle for less.

--

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts