The Three Amigos in Paradise

This is my first trio that I've served in (not including the week that we dropped another missionary off at the mission office for most of the day). We've had a lot of fun. Elder A will be finishing his mission on Thursday, and when he saw how awesome this area is, he kept saying he wished it wasn't his last area that he'd only be in for a week. I love this area so much.

L was baptized this week! His dad baptized and confirmed him. The Spirit was very strong there! Our ward mission leader unfortunately wasn't able to make it to the baptism, and the member of the bishopric who was supposed to conduct was running late, so I ended up conducting the baptismal service.

G was at the baptism with his daughters! Then he came to church the next day! That's three times in a row now! We met with him this week, and we committed him to get back to the temple. He is going to meet with the bishop to discuss what it will take for him to get back to the temple. There isn't really anything now that would be holding him back, that we know of. He has no problem with tithing, and he keeps the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity.

Then we met with G and her family. They are a new investigator family that we started meeting with last week. She explained her journey, and it was almost identical to Joseph Smith's! We asked her what she believes about the Book of Mormon, and she believes it is the Word of God, and that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. She wasn't quite ready to accept a baptismal date, but she knows what she needs to do, and I have no doubt she soon will.

I was asked to teach the Gospel Principles class this week, and at the end we opened it up for questions. A new person there asked the question, "Is God's love unconditional, or do we need to do certain things to earn His love?" This is a question that a lot of people have in this world. I want to testify to all of you that God loves us no matter what. There is nothing we can do to have Him stop loving us. Jesus Christ loves us unconditionally. He suffered for every sin we'd ever make, regardless of whether or not we would repent. THAT is love. God loves us because we are His children. Nothing can change that, and nothing can change His love. And that is one of the many reasons why I have faith in Him. As it says in 1 John 4:19, "We love him, because he first loved us." I testify that God is love, that He will never leave us. I know He is real. I know Jesus Christ lives, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Until next time, make your momma proud!

-- 

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

L's Baptism!

2 for 1, Still More Miracles

So Elder P is getting transferred out. Don't worry. I'll see him around. He's my zone leader. This zone and Springs Zone just got combined into one zone, mostly to free up more people to train. The mission almost doesn't have enough missionaries to train the new ones coming in in the next few transfers. In fact, there's a possibility that some might be double-training.

I am in a trio, so I traded one companion for two. One is part of my MTC group, but he will be flying home in about a week or so from now, Elder A. The other is Elder N. He has been out for 4 1/2 months now. I'm going to see if I can trick him into thinking I've still got 4 1/2 months left, and then one day I'll just tell him I've decided to go home early. I'm going to see if I can get the mission president in on the prank.

There are going to be some ward boundary changes in the stake on Sunday, and I suspect our ward is part of it. However, I believe we'll just be taking more land.

We met with G again this week. He shared some experiences from his mission, and he started crying. He felt God's love pretty strongly. He knows what he needs to start doing. The Lord is working on him in some pretty powerful ways. He came to church again, and he sat with a member he had connected with pretty well last week.

Then we went to a less-active couples home who we've been visiting with for a while. K, the husband, has been pretty uninterested in changing for a while, and we weren't sure what else to do with them. Last week we decided to just have a lesson about the Atonement, and he teared up. This week, during our lesson, he stopped us, then went off on an experience he had that week with prayer. Then, out of nowhere, he blurted out, "I'm coming to church this week. I'll walk if I have to." Elder P and I were speechless. And lo and behold, there he was at all three hours of church! He hasn't been to church in ages! God truly is a god of miracles.

We had a coordination meeting with our ward mission leader right before church, and he brought up D, a recent convert of about 4 months who hadn't been to church in a while. We said we've called and texted him, but he hasn't responded. Not kidding, less than two seconds later, the phone beeps, and it's Damien! He texted and said he is walking to church right now, but would love a ride. We quickly end coordination meeting with a prayer of thanksgiving and quickly organize a ride for him. He is such an awesome guy. He is currently without home. The comments he made in Gospel Principles class make him seem like he's been a member his whole life. He was quoting scriptures and making profound statements. He wants to get back on track with church again.

There are many more miracles that happened this week, that I don't have time to bring them all up, but things have been going great here. We have a baptism this Saturday, and we'll probably have one two weeks after that! On top of that, there are a lot of people that are getting a lot closer to full activity and going to the temple. Good thing my home is so close to this mission. I can come back and go to the temple with them!

Something I've learned a lot on my mission is that this is truly the Lord's work. We put in all our work, and yet without the Lord, it's never enough. It doesn't matter how good we are at finding or teaching, without the Lord, it'll always come up short. All these miracles I just told you, did they come because of my own ability and talents? Did they come because I've been doing this for 23 months? No, it was the Lord and His miracles. I couldn't get people to be converted if I wanted to. I can't convert people. Conversion is between them and the Lord. And ultimately, that's all missionary work boils down to, inviting others to come unto Christ, just inviting. We are merely instruments in His hands. It is the Spirit who speaks truth and brings people to a knowledge of it. It is the Savior who saves them from their sins and the burdens of life. It is the Father who answers their prayers and orchestrates the beauty that is their life. And who am I. A child of the Father, sent by Him to proclaim the everlasting Gospel and help others on their own personal journey. I testify of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I know They are real. I know They love us. And I know this is true. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Until next week, be all that you can be.

-- 

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

Just Get Them to Church...

Just before I came to emails, I got to do a little fishing, and as a result, me and my companion both caught little fishies. We are eating good this week!

E has been a little stressed about coming to Sacrament Meeting, so we decided to do a building tour. She and her son were picked up by a member of the ward, and E had a wonderful time. She kept commenting on the paintings of Jesus. The member who brought her offered to give her a ride to church every week, and she is also a Family History Consultant, which is awesome, because E is interested in doing family history work.

Then G showed up to church randomly. He had told us he isn't ready to make that step yet, but there he was. Elder P and I had been asked to speak, so we jumped off the pulpit right before church started and talked to him. He just wanted to stay in the foyer, but he ended up coming to all 3 hours of church! He absolutely loved Gospel Principles, and he and our ward mission leader had a blast talking to each other. He didn't want to come to Priesthood, but we convinced him, and he had an awesome time there as well! Our ward had a linger-longer afterwards (which I thought was weird for a regular family ward, but we are pretty transient, so I guess it makes sense), and he talked to a recently moved-in member for most of the time. Everything just clicked together so perfectly for him at church! I am so glad he decided to come! He has also been immersing himself in the scriptures since we invited him to start reading them again. I am so happy for him! He is addicted to the scriptures now!

We live in an incredible time of the world, where technology and science are improving rapidly. This is part of the dispensation of the fullness of times. The Lord is inspiring people to create inventions that are revolutionizing our world and making it easier to share the Gospel. We should, however, be careful that we do not waste time on things that have no eternal significance as part of this great revolution. Now not to say that anything besides the Book of Mormon, Gospel Library, and LDS Tools apps should be shunned and treated as a work of the devil, but we should always be seeking to improve. Some technologies and apps give us the opportunity to connect with others around us and possibly share the Gospel. Others give us the opportunity to make exercise fun. But when we spend too much time catching Pokemon and not enough time connecting with the people around us that are doing the same, such technologies become a detriment instead of a help, Instead of improvement, misuse or overuse of certain technologies can lead to atrophy.

I love technology. As a missionary, though, with such a limit to it, I've learned that it has a lot more use in the Lord's work than I ever thought possible before. I am grateful that the Lord of the Vineyard has brought forth such things for us to progress and grow, and I know that He is the Lord of the Harvest, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Until next week, gotta catch 'em all! (Or as one member adapted it, "Gotta dunk 'em all!")

--

The Lord's Soldier,

          Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

St. Mary's Fall

I caught a fishy!

Baptismo!

Well, I had my first convert baptism this week! T is an absolutely golden member. He is going to be incredible! His baptism was fantastic! There were a lot of non-members there, as well as the mission president and his wife. The Spirit was really strong there!

We got to participate in a Fourth of July Parade yesterday with the rest of the missionaries in Colorado Springs. I had a blast being so patriotic.

I don't have too much time today, so I will list a few miracles that happened this week:

First, T's baptism.

Second, a street evangelist, JJ, who I met before, came to the baptism, AND to all three hours of church!

Third, after Sacrament Meeting, a lady approached us and said she wants to start being active in the church, and she has a 10-year-old who wants to be baptized!

I am studying my patriarchal blessing this week as part of My Plan, a program for missionaries to transition to post-mission life. I have learned so much this week by TRULY studying my patriarchal blessing. I've learned more about my purpose and what God wants from me. I invite you to earnestly study your patriarchal blessing. I know you can find more direction from it, and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Until next week, remember who you are and what you stand for.

-- 

The Lord's Soldier,

                      Elder Jacob C. Tibbitts

T, the man, the myth, the legend.

Our mission president, looking pretty epic with his awesome hat.

America!!!!!

Marching in the parade!!