The Lazarus Principle

Do you have a favorite zone conference topic or talk?

I taught institute earlier this week (it was awesome to be with a group of returned and prospective missionaries!)

I told them a little about the Lazarus principle. That was one of my favorites. My epiphany after my temple visit and just prior to speaking was that we should never ask for something unless we are already doing everything we can to make it happen. And sometimes, that's the answer to our prayer. Not that the thing is wrong, but that we aren't doing all in our power yet to make it happen. One thing I learned on our mission, I hope you did, too, is that we are capable of so much more than we think especially when we are pursuing the right course.

Know. Feel. Do!

AMM alum make the New Era conference cover!

Still working miracles!

And still the best missionaries in the world no matter where they're transplanted! 

Elder Jorgensen and Elder Miller formerly of the AMM and now serving as Assistants to the President in the New Mexico Farmington Mission. Look at those smiles. I love it!

And two shall put their tens of thousands to flight

 Doctrine and Covenants 133:57-59

“And for this cause, that men might be made partakers of the glories which were to be revealed, the Lord sent forth the fulness of his gospel, his everlasting covenant, reasoning in plainness and simplicity—

“To prepare the weak for those things which are coming on the earth, and for the Lord’s errand in the day when the weak shall confound the wise, and the little one become a strong nation, and two shall put their tens of thousands to flight.

“And by the weak things of the earth the Lord shall thrash the nations by the power of his Spirit.”

Welcome Home!

14 missionaries made it home today. They started checking in with president around 1:00. (We still haven't heard from a few.) Being close to his home town, we were able to surprise Elder Matsunaga. Miracles continue. We love you all and wish we could have been at each of your homes and met your families. Thank you to the Matsunaga family for their hospitality and graciousness, but especially for their son. We love him.

If you have tips for the transition back, we'd be glad if you'd share!

Make the Green Grow

From Elder Gleaves, a zone leader in Phoenix

"This week has just been amazing! We have seen so many miracles come from working hard and diligently especially with the "making the green grow" project. We have seen an elevated level of excitement in the Elders, and I really feel like it has unified us as a zone. It reminded me a lot of this past Christmas when we were all excited to hear about baptisms, where we were at and how many more we coming. It's the same thing now, but just with the TTI's (TTI is an acronym for Teach, Testify, and Invite. We use it to refer to street contacting). The Elders are excited to get feedback, and they worked harder than ever. Not only did we reach our goal, but we soared past it making a new recod in the zone of 1790 TTI's. And now that everyone did it, we all reached the goal of 140 TTI's per companionship, we know that we can do it every week. 

It was something really cool to see that the number of lessons didn't decrease, it actually continued to go up. We are teaching more, and seeing more people come to sacrament meeting. I believe that it is due to our efforts of talking to EVERYONE that we see. We were definetly able to see how God was able to prepare the way for us in giving us enough time to do everything. Just a quick example, yesterday we actually had the chance to have Elder Isom with us, and in that day we only had 2 lessons planned. So in the begining we were just trying to make contacts and visits, and not too much worked out. We we continued to work diligently even when we weren't teaching and the Lord did bless us. We ended up that night with 6 lessons, and 30 TTI's. Looking back, I dont even know how we did it with only 2 lessons planned. But the Lord prepared his children to be there in their homes at the right time so that we could visit them. And a lot of the people that we visited yesterday are on their way towards baptism in the next couple of weeks. We have been so blessed here to find those prepared to accept the gospel."

The Livingston's

The office staff went to The Godd Egg for breakfast just before the Livingston's finished their assignment. It was an opportunity to poke fun at Elder Livingston one last time. Although he loves chocolate, he doesn't eat it EVER (willpower!). The enjoyment on their faces is when they realized that book was a chocolate gone crazy type cookbook. The second prank was a plate full of bananas-something he refuses to eat on purpose. Who would be crazy enough to eat a banan on purpose?

We love you both. We hope you make it home...eventually, but remember part of you will always stay here with us. We love you!

Some things should never change!

AMM Sisters are the best in the world! Full field or VC, it doesn't matter. Beautiful. Virtuous. Faithful. Diligent. Focused. Strong. Everything Sister Beck encouraged women to be during General Conference. They're fantastic, and we love them all.

Look for the photo of two sisters talking to a young man sitting on the lawn outside the temple. Sister Fonbuena and Sister Bustillo were heading to the Udall building for a prepartory meeting with the elders. Their role was to give a few reminders to the missionaries and encourage them to fill their hearts with faith. On the way, I saw as they stopped to talk with this young man. I took a picture and went on to the building. When they caught up with me, they were excited to let me know they'd just had a top box...in Spanish. Sister Fonbuena is an English speaking missionary and only knew the little bit of spanish she had scribbled on a card. It was enough and then some. They were so happy when I told them I thought I had a picture of them in action. (See, sometimes having the camera around is a good thing!)

Updates and More

I have some super cool news. I graduate in May (not the cool news, but still good), so I decided that I was going to move back to Orlando so that I could teach RS in my old singles ward (the RS presidency wanted me to, and I LOVE teaching RS!). I had been thinking about this decision for a while, and made the decision to do it for sure on saturday. Well, the next day was the sunday before conference so I fasted (mistakingly thinking it was fast sunday). I fasted to know that my decision to move was right, and that I would be in the place where I could help the Lord most effectively. After Sacrament, a member of the stake called me into the office and issued a calling to be an Institute Instructor teaching Mission Prep. I just stared at him blankly, in silence. Had he REALLY just offered me my DREAM calling when I had just decided to move?!?! HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN!!! In the awkward, staring silence- he said "did you ever think you would be an institute teacher?" I didn't know what to do! I felt good about moving to Orlando! I thought about it during gospel doctrine and decided that it was the answer to my fast. I am going to have to commute every week (1.5 hours) to teach this class... but I am SO stinking excited!!! I am under the direction of the CES Institute Director and I will have a key to the building and everything (SO official)! I LOVE missionary work! I can't wait to share that love with prospective missionaries. I really hope that I can help those who are bordering on "not going" to fall on the side of "I CAN'T WAIT TO GO!" I've been home 18 months. Do you know how long the stake counselor thought I had been home? TEN (because of my behavior)! Now THAT'S a complement if I've ever heard one! I found out that two of my friends who took the first lesson a month ago (see my other post of "Two Birds with One Invite"), were each approached by a family member who angrily interrogated them about their visits with the Mormons. They each told me of their responses and I was AMAZED at the nearly perfect first lesson each of them taught to their accusers. Even though they didn't want to proceed with the lessons, each of them shared what they knew with others. They defended the LDS church with all that they had learned. What a sweet experience. Currently, I have been talking with one of my friends who is going through a "spiritual rehab". She is very in tune with "the universe" and very gay. I have a deep personal love for those who struggle with same gender attraction, but I am always very careful and hesitant when I want to share the gospel with them, knowing what they would have to sacrifice. However, I KNOW that they need these blessings, and I KNOW that it is my responsibility to share it with them. Today I was able to share a little bit about the church with her as we had lunch. Before we ate, I said "excuse me, I need to bless my food". I bowed my head and said a silent prayer. Afterwords, she smiled and said "I need to do that! What did you say?" I was able to share with her how to pray, and to tell her some of the things that I prayed for. She responded "I like that!". I don't know how far this will go, but I DO know that she needs to see the life of a Latter-day Saint who actually lives the gospel. Homosexuals rarely get to see "the good" aspects of the church, so I'm glad that I can be there. We had a very spiritually uplifting conversation. Did I tell you about the Jew I met while I was donating platelets and plasma? She has become my favorite phlebotomist! She is a jew who actually practices her religion! She speaks fluent Hebrew and everything. We talked about temples and some other gospel topics. I told her that I wanted to learn more about Judaism and she told me that she wants to learn more about the LDS church. I'm going to go to the synagogue with her on some friday. How could anyone NOT love missionary work!

Well this past Sunday we had some amazing miracles both having to do with church attendance. We are teaching Juan, who has a baptism date. We have taught him for maybe a month now, and he is already in the book of Mosiah, and he started from the beginning. So that's cool, but he had a problem with being able to go to church every week due to his schedule. Then, just out of the blue, without us even asking him to do it, he asked for Sunday off, and like that he got it. There was no conflict, or problem what so ever. It was amazing. So we are excited to get him prepared to be baptised.

Then the next was a couple, who we have been teaching for about 2 transfers now. They had a date but couldn't make it because the husband always worked on Sunday. Just recently we had a church tour with them. Then his wife asked if he could drop her of at church on his way to work, so we had it planned that she would go while he went to work. But when they got there on Sunday both were there to go to church. We asked him if he was going to stay and he said yes, because the night before some one called him and told him that he had Sunday off. It's amazing. So we are really looking forward for these people so that they can continue progressing and soon be baptized.

But these are just some of the miracles that Elder Staton and I have received.

 

Elder Gleaves

President,

...Will you please forward this section to sister bassett as a miracle?

This week, we were biking around, our appointment fell through, our three backups for the hour all didn't answer the door, and we were without plans. We were just contemplating what we should do, when I saw this guy walking by a street away. I felt like I should go talk to him, and as I got ready to go, he turns the corner and starts walking toward us. I felt REALLY urged then, so we talked to him. It was just after a District meeting about questions of the soul, and I asked him a question. He completely opened up, and said how he would like to learn more about why he's here. It was a really neat experience to me, how God had put us in the right street at the right time to talk with His child. Every soul is precious in His eyes.

Elder Morgan

From Elder Gomez:

So you know the challenge you issued at zone conference?  We gave it a shot.  On Saturday we attempted to contact as many former investigators as we possibly could.  We got a couple that might be worth following up on.  So we were thinking... where is this person who is ready for the gospel that Sister Bassett promised us?  We had a baptism that night, which by the way was amazing, and the sister of the baptizee (is that a word?? :) ) really felt the spirit and decided that she wanted to learn the gospel as well.  So there you go, your faith was not in vain.  We did find somebody who is ready for the gospel... even though we didn't exactly find them the way we would have expected.

Dear sister bassett

 

First, last Friday Elder Parkin and I were feeling a little discouraged because we haven't found any one in a while.  We had two potentials in the area book. So I took the time to get down on my knees and say a prayer. I talked with the Lord. "We are talking to a lot of people. We are trying to do as you wish but where are the blessings?" The answer I received was to wait. The Lord has his time. So being pacified, the next day we had a baptism for our investigator named Amy, which is a miracle in and of itself. Low and behold one of our members brought their friend to the baptism and she wants to learn more. How sweet is that.

 

See you Thursday

 

Love Elder Thomas 

Well the baptism of the family Parra was one of the most amazing services that I have attended. Not only because they were getting baptized, but also when I got there I saw a kid named Christian, whose family had been less active for years. When I was with Elder Salazar we had tried going by so many times, and just could never get them to church, but now their son got baptized, and their other son is thinking of going on a mission. It was amazing to see. I couldn't believe it. I sent a picture of the baptism of the Family Parra, so hopefully you get it. But also it was really cool because the brother that gave the talk based it almost perfectly on what Pres. Bassett talked about, with baptism just being the door that we can enter to start on the path towards God. He gave an amazing heartfelt talk.

Well thanks Sis Bassett for everything, especially your talk in stake conference.

Elder Gleaves

Sis Bassett

Well I have some amazing miracles, and one of them was the fulfilling of the promise that you made to us in ZLC, about the former investigators. We went through them and found a couple that we wanted to visit. The first one, Alma and Juan accepted us in their house, talked very highly of the missionaries prior, and we were able to teach the first lesson. It was amazing how much easier it was because they were already familiar with it, but also how willing they were to do things, such as read or pray. It looks like with the change in economy, they now don't work on Sunday and will be able to go to church. Also through other experiences they see more of a necessity to be baptised and come closer to God. It was amazing to see how just a few months later, so many changes can come into someone's life to make them more receptive to the gospel. Thanks so much for leaving that commitment with us, I know that we wouldn't have found them again if we weren't looking through the formers of our area book. It's been great to see the excitement in their eyes. 

 But, one of the biggest miracles and one of the best things that I have heard on my entire mission is that the family Parra, who Elder matsunaga and I were teaching back in July/August, now will soon be getting baptised. They were living on the streets, and the bishop found out and put them in a hotel, the relief society provided breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday for 2 weeks, and we passed by just about everyday, and at the end, the mom Margarita had a baptism date. But they had to leave, and lost contact, they got some other apt. and I never heard of them. I kind of felt that those 2 weeks were just wasted. But, then I heard that some sisters in Pioneer zone had found them and were teaching them, and now, the mom and son are getting baptized, and I get to baptize the son! When I heard that it was literally one of the most tender moments of my mission. It put to life the section of Preach My Gospel that says "No effort is wasted"  And I know that it was through the amazing help that they received through the ward relief society/bishop that their hearts were touched, and the spirit was able to enter their hearts, and now, they will be getting baptized. It's amazing. I just can't believe it. It's just really interesting how people get put in the right place at the right time. 

 

Elder Gleaves

Put the Lord First

I have a friend that has been trying to come to a temple tour for about a year now, but due to different interferences she has not been able to attend. This last weekend she told me that she was really going to go this time so I packed up and drove an hour and a half to Orlando on Friday night so I could attend the tour with her on Saturday. Little did I know that our horses had torn down a portion of the fencing and my father and I would be spending all day saturday and some of sunday getting the "ox [out of] the mire". When it came time to leave for the temple tour I had been working on the fence all morning; I was freezing, exhausted, stinky, and there still was a lot of work to be done and I felt horrible at the idea of leaving my dad there to do it by himself. I teetered back and forth to decide if I should stay and help my dad, or go to the tour with Emma. I decided that I would choose to build up the Lord's Kingdom first. Even though I felt guilty about leaving my father, I knew that he would continue to work regardless and progress would be made. I went to the tour a little ashamed of my appearance, but trying to focus on my friend and the words being spoken by the "tour-guide". After the tour, the missionaries invited us into the foyer of the temple and began to talk to us about the tour. Because I had chosen to put the Lord first, I was able to witness my friend accepting to be baptized into Christ's true church.

Dear Sister Bassett,

               On monday we were out contacting a potential investigator in an apartment complex.  We were getting out of our car, and we heard a voice say, "Hello!"  We looked around and asked "Hello?"  Then we heard a voice from the balcony above us say, "Hello!"  We looked and it was a woman.  We said hi, and she replied "Are you the new management?"  We told her no, but that we were the missionaries.  She said "Oh, that's great.  My sister is a missionary for her church."  We visited with her for a bit, and she said we could come back.  We taught her on Wednesday, and then we set a baptismal date with her on Saturday!  Her name is Sarah.  She told us at church on Sunday that the reason she yelled out to us, was because she had a plumbing problem and thought we were the managers.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  She told us last night that she knows that the Lord sent us to her.  I love this work.  It is of God, and He will make miracles happen if we just have faith, and do our best.  Thank you for all that you do Sister Bassett.  We will see you soon.

Sincerely,

Elder Christensen

Well we have seen our fair share of miracles, one of the which Elder Staton mentioned in ZLC, which was truly amazing. We walked into this house for a lesson with a lady named Maria, and when we got in and sat down, her husband came out fairly excited and just told us, (now you have to know that we have never seen, nor talked to, nor met this man before) but he said, "I have been reading in your book, I like it, and we want to go to church with you next Sunday." We had only taught his wife Maria one time, and left her with the Book of Mormon. He, the husband Antonio, found it in his house and had read through the introduction and the testimonies on the witnesses and of Joseph Smith. We taught him the first lesson, which was also a good review for Maria, and as we left he was excited to continue reading. It's amazing to see how many people really do have the question that Joseph Smith had, "Why are there so many churches? and which one should I join?" And it's so comforting to me to know that we have the answers, and that everyone can know for themselves. 

But that was just one of our miracle lessons this past week. 

 

Elder Gleaves 

Hello again Sister Bassett

 

Here are some more miracles.

 

Yesterday was interesting. I had become a little discouraged because it seemed I wasn't having much success with TTIing people. Seemed like a lot of people just didn't want to hear from us. We had to make copys, and we like to walk that part to talk to more people. There was a man sitting on a bench. I didnt want to talk to him but the spirit told me to. So when I actually opened my mouth and listened to him everything just flowed and just from there on I didn't have a problem talking to people. We actually had gotten a great contact for the missionaries that cover central ward Phoenix that day.

 

Another miracle is with the sisters in our district. For a ling time they were struggling to TTI. Not because they were scared but because there was no one to talk to but then all of a sudden their TTI numbers skyrocketed and have been high ever since. Before they have been lucky to get 40 a week but now they have been getting about 80 to 90. I asked what was it that they changed and they said it was because they have been praying and making TTIs the deepest desire of their hearts.

 

One more miracle. Yesterday we taught a lesson to a young man. He has some smoking and some drug problems but this past week since we set up a plan to help him quit he has been taking off. Also when we taught him, his girlfriend (who we are teaching and also has a baptismal date) left for a sec to the bathroom. We continued to teach and when she came back he explained everything to her clearly and simply. It was awesome. I was so proud of him.

 

Time is short.

 

Love Elder Thomas

February Departure Dinner/Breakfast

We love you!

Sister Chagdgaa, Elder Diaz, Sister Farnsworth, Elder Gardner, Sister Hales, Elder Moffitt, Sister Reed, Elder Thornton, Sister Tomoser, Elder Wood, & Elder Woolf

Elder Diaz saying good-bye to the mission and hellow to family

Our part of the missionary farewells usually ends with loading up the vans, a parting hug and waving goodbye as missinoaries head off to the airport. Today when we arrived at the airport to pick up the new missionaries, Elder Diaz was still there waiting for his flight home. The bad weather in Michigan gave us one more chance to say goodbye to this great Elder and to wittness his hello and goodbye to three of his aunts that live in the area but were obedient and stayed away during his missioanry service. My favorite picture is the last one-using his Aunt's phone to say hello to his mother. Beautiful!

Dear Sister Bassett,

Here are a few miracles for this week.

1) Last Saturday we had a baptism (btw that's 2 baptisms in a transfer. That's something that hasn't happened in a long time and we have more on the way.) for an investigator named Chris. He was very prepared and very solid. Coming close to the baptism his Mom was nervous about him being baptised because it was so fast. She wanted to wait for a year, but she realized Chris is 18 and should choose for himself. So planned the baptism, but the day before we heard that his Dad had to work that day and couldn't be there. Never the less, Chris wanted to do it. While getting everything prepared, low and behold there is his dad at the baptism. That was cool.

2) last night because we were so far from our apartment and because we didn't have a dinner that day, we ate at burger king. Trying to keep everything cheap.A group of teenagers walked in and ordered their food and also applying for work. Then one of them started asking some questions. She had a belief in God but did understand the bible. We explained that God loves her and has rules that he wants to bless us with. Specifically she was asking about lesbianism. After her questions, her friend came over and started talking to us and said he really wants to change his life around because he now has a daughter (he is 19). He had some concerns, but we told him that he has the agency and God will help him. Then we committed him to meet with the local missionaries. By the end of our conversation with him he seemed to have a better understanding and some questions of the soul answered.

Time is short and only enough time for those 2 miracles but know we are seeing many miracles.

Love Elder Thomas

Hey Sister Bassett!

   This last week has felt like a miracle to me, so I just wanted to tell you about it...Sister Brox and I found 7 new investigators this last week and I know its because of our commitment to talk to at least 20 people a day. I'm not sure if on a normal day we even see 20 people during the time that we are in our area, so we had to pray for many more people to come into our path. We were blessed with tons and tons of people to talk to! It was incredible to me that we actually were able to get over 140 tti's for the week. So anyway, we found 7 new investigators, which I don't think I've ever done in a week before. I believe that it is a direct result of trying to talk to everyone. It is the best feeling when Heavenly Father really does pour you out a blessing that you don't have room enough to receive-actually I know that Heavenly Father is always pouring out blessings upon us, we just have to want to receive them.

                       Love, Sister Dorius

B

Sister Bassett,

 

We had a great miracle this past week that I wanted you to know about! This past week Elder Woolf and Elder McBride and I were at our church building taking care of a few things. While the other elders were busy, I took a quick break on the couch in the foyer. I pulled out a payday (it was bad I know) and started eating it. I looked out the front doors and saw a red van drive by slowly. Then I felt an impression that the person in that van wanted to come inside. I put the candy bar away and waited. A Native American lady came up to the front door, and I opened it for her. She then Introduced herself, "Hi, my name is Debbie Scott. I have been meeting with Elder Weight and Elder Tolman in Mesa and feel that I should come over here to this ward. I really want to meet with the Elders and be baptized." I felt the spirit really strong. Then Elder McBride and Elder Woolf came up and we talked to her for a few minutes. We set up a lesson with her for later that night. While we taught her, we set a baptism date for  the end February. She then came to church this past Sunday.

 

This was just one of the many that we saw this past week!! Thanks for all you do.

 

Elder Imlah

Two Birds with One Invite

Today I had a great missionary experience. I took one of my friends to Steak and Shake after our test, and she told me about how the guys on campus were handing out bibles again (lots of churches do that at UF). She told me that she almost asked one of them if they had a Book of Mormon! She wanted to know more about the Book of Mormon. I reached around behind her and grabbed a copy of the Book of Mormon that I keep in my car seat for such occasions. I put it on her lap and said "here ya go". Then I grabbed a "Purpose of Life" pass-along card from my console and said "and here's our website so you can learn more". We talked a little more in the drive through and I told her that she should meet with the missionaries to learn more. She said that she didn't want to "become a mormon or anything" she just wanted to LEARN about it. I then told her that one of our mutual friends wanted to learn too! And that they should just do it together! I had asked that mutual friend (Linda) to listen to the missionaries before Christmas. She wanted to, but we never were able to set anything up and I have been PRAYING for opportunities to reinvite her. I called Linda up and put her on speaker phone right then and told her that Kasey wanted to learn about the Mormon church too and that we should all do it together! They loved the idea and figured out what day of the week is usually best for the both of them. Now all we need is an actual date!! I'm SO excited!!

Dear Sister Bassett,

 

Here are a couple of miracles that are happening.

 

It's a miracle how many investigators we had show up to sacrament meeting. We have never gotten 5 people and now this last Sunday there were exactly 5 investigators. Including 1 that I didn't expect to show up whose name is Emmanuel. He is 9 years old, nearly 10. His Dad is a convert but is having some struggles with his testimony but he came to Church. It was great.

 

Another miracle is yesterday after our lesson with an awesome investigator named Chris, (He has a baptism date for the 6th of February) I had accidentally lost my keys. After searching for a few minuets, we decided to pray. 1 min latter my companion found them. It showed Chris just how much God is willing to help us even if it's as simple as praying for some lost keys.

 

Hope you re doing well.

 

Love Elder Thomas

From Elder Jenkins:

we expect miracles.

after all we are the miracle mission. we baptized 1203 people this  

year, a 32%increase from last year. it's great. our  

mission is very unified and we share our miracles because there are  

hundreds of them every day.

so back to our miracle.

we had been praying to find someone who was prepared to receive this  

gospel. we were in much need, considering we were left with 5  

investigators when we got here. we are up to more now, but we still  

needed the lord's help. we asked a member if they knew of anyone we  

could go visit two weeks ago, and he told us a name. we went and  

visited them with him and only the guy, kyle, was there.

kyle's wife is a member but less active. we sat down like every  

other lesson, and as usual we got to know him and things. then we  

asked him what he expected to get out of our visits with him, (one  

of the skills learned in ZC) much to our surprise, he literally said,

"i would like to be baptized the middle of next month, then

eventually be sealed in the temple to my sweet wife."

if we had not asked him we would have never known.

i am thankful for inspired leaders and the lord preparing people for

us.

he tells us

"and i will go before your face..." he did. and he prepared kyle to

hear this gospel. not only that, he already knew he needed to quit

smoking, and he was already planning on it. GOLDEN!

we set a date for his baptism feb 13th. he already had a book of

mormon, and he reads it regularly.

i dare you to tell me miracles don't exist, because your wrong if

you think they don't.

love forever

elder jenkins

mas miracles

Sister Bassett 
     This weekend was amazing. We had a marriage/baptism in our branch of Juan Carlos Ocampo. Also the same day I had the chance to go down to Mesa and baptize someone, Juan Rameriz, who I was teaching. Both have amazing stories.
1st. Juan Carlos Ocampo. He got married and baptized. His wife didn't really listen; she wasn't too interested. But something happened. She has seen big changes in her husband, and really felt the spirit at the baptism. Now she wants to meet with us. She already said that she wants to go to church every Sunday. With the support that she will get from her husband, there will be nothing stopping her from being baptized shortly, just her own will.
2nd. Juan Rameriz just got baptized. He is one who I have seen the biggest change in. When Elder Matsunaga and I were togeather, we TTIed him, and started to teach him. That was in July. He was progressing well, with a baptism date and all, but then shortly after moved to New York to work in the apple orchards. He said that he would return in December, and I just thought, "Well, whoever the missionaries are when that comes around, sure will be lucky." For me, that seemed like forever away. But when december rolled around, I was still there, in the same area We found him again, started to teach him, and he now has an amazing testimony of how the gospel has blessed his life. I have never seen someone so happy, or so giddy. It's truly amazing.
These are just two from this past week. And both people should be talking at the next charla foganera.
Elder Gleaves

Dear Sister Bassett

This week's miracle is from last Sunday. We were having a hard time finding people to teach. We set a goal to teach a good number of lessons. We didn't know what we could do, becasue it was Saturday morning. Most of our investigators weren't home. Then at church, 3 of our investigators showed up. One wanted a lesson right after church. Then we taught two other investigators, because their ride was staying later then expected. Then later that night, we taught another one more person. By the time we went in that week, we were only 1 lesson short of having our goal. Thank you for encouraging me to tell my district about these.
Love Elder Thomas

We Expect Miracles

This is an excerpt a missionary shared from his last letter home:


We expect miracles. After all we are the miracle mission. We baptized 1203 people this year. Our mission is very unified, and we share our miracles because there are hundreds of them every day.
So back to our miracle.
We had been praying to find someone who was prepared to recieve this gospel. We were in much need considering we were left with 5 investigators when we got here. We are up to more now but we still needed the Lord's help. We asked a member if they knew of anyone we could go visit. That was two weeks ago, and he told us a name. We went and visited them with him and only the guy was there named Kyle.
Kyle's wife is a member but less active. We sat down like we do in every other lesson, and as usual we got to know him. Then we asked him what he expected to get out of our visits with him (part of our zone conference training). Much to our surprise, he literally said, "I would like to be baptized the middle of next month. Then eventually be sealed in the temple to my sweet wife."
If we had not asked him we would have never known. I am thankful for inspired leaders and the Lord preparing people for us. He tells us, "and i will go before your face..." He did. And He prepared Kyle to hear this gospel. Not only that, he already knew he needed to quit smoking, and he was already planning on it. GOLDEN!
We set a date for his baptism on Feb 13th. He already had a Book of Mormon, and he reads it regularly.
I dare you to tell me miracles don't exist, because your wrong if you think they don't.
love forever
elder jenkins

A White Christmas

January 2009, ZLC

We had such a great group of zone leaders. They were so diligent, obedient and all full of faith. I watched as they discussed possible goals for the year. I remember how bold they were. They set a goal to help find the 1200 prepared people out there and help them make their way to the waters of baptism. It was a lofty goal, a significant increase from the previous year, but they knew the Lord would help them do it. And I watched. All year long I watched.

We've always had great missionaries, and I watched as they grew and built on the faith of the missionaries before them. We went through training blitz. We practiced teaching skills and learned together how to better develop Christlike attributes.  The mission as a whole began to better at accounting for the goals they were setting. We worked at making sure we were teaching people/not lessons and preparing them to understand the significance of the baptismal covenant. And we prayed. We prayed, and we prayed. And we worked. Things started changing in a miraculous way. Our transfer standard of excellence was to help 140 people every 6 weeks make those baptismal covenants. That was a stretch, but then people started popping up everywhere; people that had heard of the restoration and wanted to know more; people that had met with missionaries a year ago or two or three and now were ready; members' hearts started to be touched. Eventually that 'standard of excellence' wasn't something to stretch for, it was happening, consistently. By summer, we were finding 100's of people and many of them were progressing. Every transfer from that time forward was in excess of 160 people. We were getting close to realizing that goal from so many months before.

(insert slide show here...I need pictures of people who were baptized! Send me some please!)

3 Months before the end of the year, we were close to being on track to reach our goal, but Christmas is a very busy time in our mission with the added responsibilities of Christmas Lights at the temple. We met with the Zone Leaders again.  Their faith led them to set a new goal for the end of the year to help us stretch even farther. The goal they were talking about reminded me of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Realizing this goal would let each of them know it could only have been accomplished with the help of the Lord. There was no way we could do it alone. They decided to hold a mission wide fast. We were asking for miracles. We were working for a White Christmas in the desert. Instead of snow, 100's of people dressed in white. Our gift to the Savior. Wether it was the white of baptism or the white of the temple, we were going to find all those the Lord had prepared and help them come closer to Him. What does a White Christmas look like?

I wish words could explain it to you. We fasted and prayed, then exercised our faith through obedient and dedicated service to the God we love. We testified of Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement. We invited people to come to Him. And together, we watched for miracles. We talked about them and shared them with each other. And the more we began to acknowledge the hand of God in our work and lives, the greater the strength of our vision.

At the end of the year, over 1200 people entered the waters of baptism. Many others renewed their dedication to Christ with new commitments to serve Him and prepare to go to the temple. And we know that we have only scratched the surface.

January 2010, ZLC

Knowing the power of God and understanding the work to which we have jointly been called, the zone leaders set a new goal. A goal that will continue to stretch the missionaries that serve here. One that will bless them all their lives. But more importantly, one that will restore 1500 children of God to a knowledge of who they are, who God is and allow them to draw closer to Him each day through covenants.
We love ALL our missionaries, those that serve with us now, those that will come shortly, and especially those who have completed their service here and gone home to continue their life long missions to return to their Father. We love you all and are forever grateful for your faith and patience and love. And prayers. May you continue to do those things that will help you feel close to Him. Have a wonderful New Year, where ever you are all over the world.
President & Sister Bassett

Beautiful Awkwardness

I went to the distribution center yesterday to get some garments. As I approached the glass doors I saw a HUGE arm! And I thought "wow, that huge arm must be attached to a HUGE man!!". Sure enough, it was indeed attached to a huge man inside. He was about my age and was with a woman who looked like his mom. He was wearing a thin white shirt, so i could tell that he was not endowed. It APPEARED to be a mother who was lugging her inactive son with her to the distribution center just so she could get him on Temple grounds. I heard them talking and realized that he was a football player for the Florida Gators (where I attend school). I spoke to him for a moment, bought my garments, then left. About 15 ft outside of the door, I stopped and thought "if he's inactive at UF, I need to invite him to church." I tromped back inside in all my glory, got out a sticky note and wrote my name and number on it (PURELY for missionary reasons, seriously, not interested). I then said "John. What's your number". All of the old distribution worker ladies started going "ooOOOOOooOOOOOoo". And the mother-figure said "are you going to convert him"? My initial defensive reaction was "no" which was immediately followed by "well, maybe" as soon as I realized what she had said... and that he was not a member. He said "I'm already there". I gave him my number and said "John, you should come to our ward. It starts at 10 at the institute building". He replied "oh yeah? We go to Gainesville 5th ward". I persisted "you should really come check out the singles ward. We could use you and it's really good". Once again very nicely and sheepishly:"we go to gainesville 5th ward". We parted ways because I had to work at the temple that night. As I left the Dist. Center it finally clicked that he had said "we". Then I vaguely remembered hearing the mother-figure talking about people receiving their endowments. That's when it hit me... I think he was engaged to a member. That's why "WE" attended a family ward, and why he was "already there" in terms of conversion. So, basically it looks like I just totally hit on a football star who was already engaged. Not only that, when I got out of the temple that night I had a message on my phone from the Dist. women telling me that I forgot my bag of garments!! HAHAHA! I had left them, and they used the sticky note I gave that guy to call me. The note was in my bag when i went to pick them up today. hahahaha. Oh man. Good times. At least the Lord knows He can trust me!!!

Sister Bassett,
So Sunday came around (yeah it starts out like the last story), and we still hadn't found any new investigators.  We had some spare time in the evening. We decided to try to contact one of our referrals.  We met Maria at the door, and she told us that her daughter was interested in learning about the church because she had many friends that were LDS.  We met the father of the family also and their 4 kids.  We invited all of them to sit in and participate as we taught the message of the Restoration.  We taught simply and with many questions so they all would understand and enjoy the teaching.  We also watched the Restoration DVD, and they understood everything.  Tonight we have a follow up lesson where we will read the Book of Mormon with the family.  We will certainly soft commit the whole famliy to baptism and with any luck we'll have 4 more with a date before the end of the week.  The Lord is very merciful and if we are faithful, he will make up for our inadequacies by providing miracles.
Elder Jeffrey Gomez

Hey Sister Bassett,
          At the beginning of December, Sister Reed and I had been trying to think of pictures that we could take and send home on our Christmas card. We decided in front of an orange tree would be a lot of fun since citrus doesn't grow like that back home in Utah.
      Near one of our recent convert's home are some nice orange trees.  When we were there for an appointment, we got out to take a few quick pictures. Well none of them were working out like we wanted them to, and I felt like we were wasting time. So I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father that we were sorry and asked Him to help us take a good a good picture so that we could get back to work. Just as I said those things, a car pulled up and the passenger hollered "Hey, are you the missionaries?" We went up to the car, not quite sure what to think, and said yes. He then said his name was Kevin, that he just moved into the area and wanted to know what time church started so that he could go. We asked him if he was a member and he said no but he has talked to a lot of missionaries before and wanted to go to church to see what it was all about.
      Kevin wasn't able to make it to church that week but we began meeting with him. Within that week, we set a baptismal date with him in our third visit with him while teaching the plan of salvation. He came to church the following two weeks and is scheduled for baptism on this Saturday, the 16th.
      Oh and when he pulled over he also asked what we were doing. We explained we were trying to get a good picture to send home for our families for Christmas. So he offered to take it for us, and we got the best one out of the bunch. I love how Heavenly Father answers some of the simplest of prayers.
See you tomorrow at Zone Conference!
Love you!
Sister Tara Morton

Somebody's Counting on You

Here's a letter I received from a missionary who is a recent convert himself. He's been on his mission almost a year, and has been a member for almost 2 years. He shared his conversion story at a missionary fireside Sunday. He has a powerful testimony and is a living, walking example of how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ can change and bless lives. His work here is helping to change the lives of families all around him, and from this email-hopefully the family he cares most about, his own:

"I saw a miracle today. A member of my parent's bishopric emailed me and said that my parents, since talking to me on Christmas have thought about taking the lessons. That's so awesome!!!"

That makes my heart so happy. We have so many missionaries that are here blessing other people's families. They work so hard. They are so obedient. They understand that obedience is the way to stay close to the Lord and that's how they can have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to assist them as they teach others. They know their own personal obedience has a direct effect on how they can bring knowledge of the restored gospel to others. They understand those people are counting on them. And I know, that as they diligently take care of others for these 2 years, the Lord will take care of their families in ways they can't. It may not always be obvious and led directly to the temple, but one day they will understand and see what a difference it really did make.
_____
*January 19th
I received news from the missionary that his sister wants to attend BYU-I

Everyday we have amazing testimony building experiences

Dear Sister Bassett,

We had an amazing miracle yesterday! On Sunday one of our bishops came up to us and said that he got a message from a woman who said she was an investigator. She said that she has been taking lessons for a while now, and wanted her son to start taking the lessons. She just moved into our area, and wanted to know where the church building was. Our bishop said he would get back to us on it. Then yesterday while we were in Zone Conference we got a text referral for a woman named Kara. A member from Mesa referred her. The referral said that Kara was a former investigator who was very interested. I am a little slow, so I didn't make the connection right away. So we called the member, and she told us a little bit about Kara, and we started to realize that this could be the same lady that contacted the bishop. We called Kara and left a message. She called back a bit later and said that she really wants her son to be baptized and that she needs help quitting smoking so she can be baptized! We met with them last night and they are awesome! We were amazed! Another miracle! We are so blessed to be a part of this work. We have the opportunity everyday to have these amazing testimony building experiences. I really have come to know that this is The Lord's work and that He will make things happen if we have faith, work hard, and remain obedient. I love it!

Thank you again for everything,
Sincerely,
Elder Christensen

I Feel My faith Growing

Dear President and Sister Bassett,
I have been so blessed to recognize miracles that we have been experiencing in the work in these past weeks.  I feel my faith growing in that the Lord is preparing people to receive the restored gospel, and that I can live worthily so that the Spirit can teach and invite people through me.  Zone conference is coming soon for us, and we are so very excited and anxious for what we will learn there.  I wanted to share with you one of the many miracles that we saw this week, and especially because it has to do with what we will be training on during the conference.  Two days ago, we were driving to contact a referral, and I felt prompted to stop the car (I'm getting better at stopping the car).  In the area we stopped, there were a couple of potential investigators and referrals, and I thought that I was being prompted to visit a particular family, so we started heading in that direction.  On our way across the street, however, I saw a man standing outside the home of yet another referral, and went to speak with him.  It turned out to be the son of a man that we had talked with who was, let's say a little less interested.  We talked with the young man and eventually his father came outside, too.  I tried to focus on teaching and testifying of the Restoration, and they invited us into their home, "just for a little while," they said.  What then happened was incredible, because we tried to apply what we are going to be training, and tried to understand their religious background and their expectations for our visit.  We then gave a brief overview of what we were going to teach (the Restoration) and bore testimony that what we were going to share would help them, addressing specifically the doubts and questions they expressed.  The lesson was simple and powerful, and felt so happy as I felt the Spirit.  The father's attitude and questions changed, and we could feel a great difference in the atmosphere of that humble home.  All I could say after we left their house following a kneeling prayer with their son was "wow."

Thank you for all that you do.  I pray for you and for your family.  I know that you will be blessed for your tireless and selfless service.  I love you.
-Elder R

Dear Sister Bassett
We have had a lot of miracles. We have been working hard, and we have been blessed immensely.

Yesterday, we had an appointment with a single woman named Ernestina, and we needed a 3rd male. Our problem was that the person who was going to join us was out of town in California going to a funeral. So we called a lot of people everyone said no becasue they were busy with something else. Then we got the idea to call another member named Scott. We called him, and he was very willing to help us.

Another thing that God has blessed us with is during the day yesterday we had a goal to TTI (street contact) at least 25 people. We had no apointments for a few hours so we decided to bike from our apartment on 20th street and Campbell to the Ashland building at approximately 3rd street and Thomas. Typically a 1 day ride one way. Talking to everyone that we saw, we talked to about 21 people. Continually, I was praying that we could accomplish our goal. After the bike ride back to our apartment, we didn't get anymore TTI's for a while. After a few appointments, we had arrived back to our apartments at about 8:00. We knowing this (that they would arrive at their apartment earlier than normal), had planned to walk from our apartment to the church building and back which in total is about 2 miles. It was night so there weren't many people. We got to 24 TTI's and with only a few feet until we were to cross the street to make the last turn. I prayed that we would just talk to 1 more person. I turned and I saw a man wearing a black jacket. In the dark, we couldn't see him before, but then we saw him. We TTIed him and there the Lord helped us accomplish our goal.

Also, I think you should know another story. Shortly before the temple excursion, my friend was telling me that she was going through a really hard time. She was getting help, but was still struggling. I prayed that in the temple I could receive the knowledge of what to tell her. During your talk shortly befor we entered in to the temple, you said something along the lines of "Hope is doing the correct thing now believing that things will be made right latter." I was strongly prompted to tell her that. So I wrote it down and latter I wrote her and told her what you said. Followed by my own testimony about how I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is meant for families and how I came to that knowledge. The next week, I got a message from her thanking me for sending her that quote from you and sharing my testimony, becasue that is exactly what she needed to hear. You were inspired to say that and thank you for not being hesitant to say what it is that you needed to say.

Thank you for all your family's hard work.
Love Elder Thomas

Sister Bassett,
We had another miracle just last night. We went out with our ward mission leader to go teach Manuel and Stephanie. They have a baptism date for the 16th, but they aren't married. So we went over, and we were going to teach them about the plan of salvation, with a focus on eternal marriage. When we asked him if he would get married he just kind of sat there not saying anything. Because he is only 18 years old, he is a little worried about it, he is pretty nervous about making a desicion so big. So we just started to try to explain it, which sometimes can be hard, because I never have been married, but I was able to use the example of my parents, and the testimony that I have through their example, and some where along the course of our discussion, something changed. He said yes to getting married, but he was also excited about it. He had questions about how it was going to be, or who would do it. It was so amazing to see the change within just a few minutes.  And what made the diffrence, I don't think that it was anything specific that we said, but it was just pure testimony that was able to help him feel comfortable about the desicion of being married, and also baptized. It was really interesting to see how the spirit can work on some one in such little time. It will be really exciting to have that baptism on the 16th.

Elder Gleaves