August 8, 2011
Lakeside Ward/Tucson, Arizona
Hey Family and Friends!!!
How is everybody doing? I'm doing just great!! I am loving life here on the mission. Guess what?! I'm almost fully healed! It’s so crazy but the Lord really does protect his servants. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father knows who I am and what I am doing. He loves me and I love him. I love to get up every morning and pray and read my scriptures. I wish I had done it more regularly. My eye does have some scars on it but its ok, and my elbow is doing wonderful. Sometimes its gives me so troubles but I pray and the pain goes away so that I can do the work. I also am driving now :). We texted our mission president and asked him if in could drive, he asked how my elbow was feeling and I said just fine, he then replied ok Elder Mortimer but make sure when you go over speed bumps go over it with BOTH hands on the steering wheel. VERY FUNNY PRESIDENT!!! We have a Chevy Colorado truck its ok, but at least we have AC and we can listen to music now!!!! It's so great.
SO...some experiences for you...we taught the Cortina’s family, and the mother said she had some great news for us so we were really excited to see what was up. The dad said I quit smoking! Elder Stapley and I were so thrown back, we couldn't believe it. He said he bought an electronic cig. And it is helping him a lot. It was so crazy. It was like a spiritual nuke bomb just went off. But then the oldest daughter looked at us and said I need to tell you something. She said I’m not getting baptized. SPIRIT GONE!!! We just couldn't believe it. We kept asking why, and she wouldn't give us a good answer. She said that it was because her mom kept going back and forth and that she made her decision and she was going to stick with it. Elder Stapley, Elder Bradley, and I were so shocked. So then the dad looked at us and said, I’m not getting baptized either. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! The Lord just blessed him to quit smoking and now he said no I’m not getting baptized. I just couldn't believe it. He said that he still had some doubts and questions about the church. The rule for missionaries is to be back in your apt at 9:30 PM at the latest. We didn't get back till 10 we felt really bad about that because we stayed out so late. Our district leader and zone leaders were worried but we saw them and we explained the whole thing to them. When I talked about it I just started to cry I couldn't handle it. I just felt so bad. I couldn't sleep because of it. We didn't see them for like 2 or 3 days and then we saw the kids and talked to them one on one and they all said the want to be baptized. Even the oldest daughter changed her mind, so that is good. Tears of joy now. So the baptism is set for Aug 19. and we are setting up the interview. We also have a new investigator, a 12 yr old boy, whose mom is less active. She hasn't been to church in 20+ years. He accepted a baptism date for Aug 26. We are really excited about that experience. A couple days after we met with them, the mom has been looking for a job for months and we got a call from her saying she just got a job. She said look at how the Lord is blessing me after I start talking with the missionaries. It was truly a day of strengthening my testimony of the work that I am doing.
A family that we were teaching just dropped us because of the dad. He is a hard core catholic and he only goes to church 2 times a year. He goes to "Mother of Sorrows" (I like the name of the church). We asked her when we could come by again and she said my husband was really mad that she was meeting with us and wanted us to not come by again. Man, that was so disappointing. Something that will give them so much joy in their life and they just shove it away and want nothing to do with it. But oh well, what can you do? We just have to keep on keeping on.
How is everybody doing? I'm doing just great!! I am loving life here on the mission. Guess what?! I'm almost fully healed! It’s so crazy but the Lord really does protect his servants. I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father knows who I am and what I am doing. He loves me and I love him. I love to get up every morning and pray and read my scriptures. I wish I had done it more regularly. My eye does have some scars on it but its ok, and my elbow is doing wonderful. Sometimes its gives me so troubles but I pray and the pain goes away so that I can do the work. I also am driving now :). We texted our mission president and asked him if in could drive, he asked how my elbow was feeling and I said just fine, he then replied ok Elder Mortimer but make sure when you go over speed bumps go over it with BOTH hands on the steering wheel. VERY FUNNY PRESIDENT!!! We have a Chevy Colorado truck its ok, but at least we have AC and we can listen to music now!!!! It's so great.
SO...some experiences for you...we taught the Cortina’s family, and the mother said she had some great news for us so we were really excited to see what was up. The dad said I quit smoking! Elder Stapley and I were so thrown back, we couldn't believe it. He said he bought an electronic cig. And it is helping him a lot. It was so crazy. It was like a spiritual nuke bomb just went off. But then the oldest daughter looked at us and said I need to tell you something. She said I’m not getting baptized. SPIRIT GONE!!! We just couldn't believe it. We kept asking why, and she wouldn't give us a good answer. She said that it was because her mom kept going back and forth and that she made her decision and she was going to stick with it. Elder Stapley, Elder Bradley, and I were so shocked. So then the dad looked at us and said, I’m not getting baptized either. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!! The Lord just blessed him to quit smoking and now he said no I’m not getting baptized. I just couldn't believe it. He said that he still had some doubts and questions about the church. The rule for missionaries is to be back in your apt at 9:30 PM at the latest. We didn't get back till 10 we felt really bad about that because we stayed out so late. Our district leader and zone leaders were worried but we saw them and we explained the whole thing to them. When I talked about it I just started to cry I couldn't handle it. I just felt so bad. I couldn't sleep because of it. We didn't see them for like 2 or 3 days and then we saw the kids and talked to them one on one and they all said the want to be baptized. Even the oldest daughter changed her mind, so that is good. Tears of joy now. So the baptism is set for Aug 19. and we are setting up the interview. We also have a new investigator, a 12 yr old boy, whose mom is less active. She hasn't been to church in 20+ years. He accepted a baptism date for Aug 26. We are really excited about that experience. A couple days after we met with them, the mom has been looking for a job for months and we got a call from her saying she just got a job. She said look at how the Lord is blessing me after I start talking with the missionaries. It was truly a day of strengthening my testimony of the work that I am doing.
A family that we were teaching just dropped us because of the dad. He is a hard core catholic and he only goes to church 2 times a year. He goes to "Mother of Sorrows" (I like the name of the church). We asked her when we could come by again and she said my husband was really mad that she was meeting with us and wanted us to not come by again. Man, that was so disappointing. Something that will give them so much joy in their life and they just shove it away and want nothing to do with it. But oh well, what can you do? We just have to keep on keeping on.
I want to share some things that in learned over these past few months of being on my mission...
1) the Lord really does know who we are. I love telling that to people because I know it to be true. If it wasn't true I wouldn't be here right now.
2) The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ in America. It is his word and his book. An evil man could not write such a book, and a good man wouldn't. Only a man called of God could have done such a thing as translate the Book of Mormon.
3) Without our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are nothing. His Atonement is something so special to me. I hold it so near and dear to my heart. I just love this gospel so much. It means the world to me. There is nowhere in the world would I would rather be than here in Tucson Arizona serving for two years teaching people how to make their way back to Christ.
This is his gospel. I know this to be true. President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet and President of this church. How wonderful is it to know that there is a living prophet on the earth today to let us know what God wants us to do. Man, I just love it.
I love you all so much thank you for all the prayers and letters that you send my way. I love you.
Elder Mortimer
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