His Prayer Was So Simple And So Amazing

HELLO!!!

Its great to hear from you!!! Every time i get these pictures it reminds me of how much i love the mountains!! you have no idea how excited i am just to see mountains! Its crazy. But it looks like you all had a great week this last week. Its cool to hear of all the fun things that you all are doing. haha i like the picture with Dad and jaxsen. If dad gets his other bike fixed up and i was there and they tried to take that picture, i would probably be clear in the back rolling down the hill or something. I cant tell you how weird it is to get back on a bike. I never crashed but when i got here i was so bad at riding a bike! It was so weird. Its cool to hear a little about what ali is doing. She is in the same part of the world where Elder Winuea is from. I have heard a lot about that area of the world and it seems amazing.

This week was another week of miracles! I think the coolest thing that happened was when we found this lady named B--. So she called the mission office and was looking for some help with her yard. The mission office got a hold of some bishop in kennewick and he got a hold of us and said this lady needs some help with her yard and its even a chance to teach. So we rode our bikes to her house and talked to her. She showed us what she needs help with and we made a plan to go back monday to do it. We asked if we could share a message of Christ. She said she would love that. So we sat down outside and taught her. She is so awesome! She just took it all in. She said she was excited to read the book of Mormon. That she hasnt read her bible in the last few months and wanted to start reading it again so now she will start this. We Invited her to be baptized and she said yes! We invited her to be baptized on July 29th. It was a great lesson. We finished up and got on our way. We got a few blocks away down the hill and the thought came to me that we forgot to invite her to church. So i called to Elder Winuea and we decided we should go back. So we turned around and rode our bike back up the hill and invited her. She said she would love to come. She dosnt have a car so we said we would help her get a ride. So we got a ride and she came to all 3 hours of church and just had a great time! She said all the people were so nice. It was super awesome. It was a huge miracle how it all happened. 

We had a few lessons with M--. He is doing really good. The last lesson we had with him he took some huge steps. He was excited to show us what he read in the Book of Mormon and he found a journal and took notes! His prayer was so simple and so amazing. He said something along the lines of thanks for having the missionaries come back over to teach me. Thanks for the Book of Mormon. I will keep reading it and i will make you happy, Amen. When he finished the spirit just hit me and elder Winuea and we just kinda looked up and it took a second before we could say anything. It was an amazing lesson. He is also living the Word of Wisdom!! He said that he use to drink a lot. Then a few months ago he felt like he should read the bible one day so he did. Then he felt like he should stop drinking,  so he did. Right there. It is amazing to see how people are prepared little by little to receive our message.  It happens so much and its cool when we get to see just a little of how it works. 

we have been in contact with L--. She has had a few concerns come up. But she is still willing to meet with us and wants to learn.She is really hard to find home with all her treatments. Those keep her out of the house a lot. Then she never knows how she is going to feel after. 

Thank you for that quote. I really like it and really know that it is true. It is super awesome to be able to see in your life. I have been able to see it a lot this transfer and there is no way of explaining how amazing it is. 

I hope you all have a great week! I love you all!

elder Mortensen

sorry for no pictures this week. We are at the mission office because we had to talk to some of the office missionaries and try to get everything figured out for elder Winuea after his mission and there are lots of flash drives in the computer and i dont want to mess anything up. But next week! there will be some. 

Did Jesus Send You?

Hello!!! 

Wow! what a letter!! thanks for the letters each week. It always is fun to get them. It sounds like you are all having a lot of fun down there in Utah!! and i guess Ali in Samoa. I am sure it would be awesome to be on that trip even just on the Island. If you want to see a weird looking island look at one called Tarawa.  It is where Elder Winuea is from! a member was looking it up on his phone so it was kinda cool to see pictures of it. All the cool camping trips/youth conference look like a ton of fun. Its kinda weird that summer has started and all that kinda of stuff is already happening. It looks like a lot of fun.

This week was awesome! We got a lot of time to work! M-- is doing pretty good. we had a lesson planned but he ended up having to work. He just got a new job. But we go over and talked with him here and there. We also saw him riding our bikes down the road and stopped to talk to him. So He is doing pretty good. He has read a little bit in the Book of Mormon. We saw him yesterday and he said he would read that night and also tonight when we have a lesson with him tomorrow. So we are pretty sure he will get a little more reading done. He is just really humble and will do what he says he will.

We had a super cool Miracle this week. We were out knocking doors and looking for some part member families. There was one on this certain road we felt like we should go find right now. So we went and it was a duplex and we didnt know what one it was so we just knocked the first one. after a little this lady walked up behind us and said,  Who sent you here? We were like oh no, what is she going to say. We told here who we are. then she said, Did Jesus send you? then she told us we needed to come in. So we came in and she sat down and we talked to her. Her name is L--. She told us about the things that are happening in her life. She has Kidney failure and her son has this bone disease where his bones are super weak. the first time he broke his back was at the doctors when they asked him to touch his toes. He right now has it broke in 2 places. She said that she just doesnt know what to do. we talked to her about how the Gospel can bring peace into her life and how God, as we follow what he tells us, can bless us more then we can imagine. We taught part of the restoration also. As we were talking the spirit was so strong. She started crying. She said she has been praying for a sign of what she should do and she takes us coming that night as a sign. We invited her to be baptized. At first she was a little hesitant. We talked about how what she is feeling is the spirit and its how God talks to us. We talked more about why it is important and she later accepted to be baptized. It was such an amazing experience. Just to see God was leading us even when we didnt know it. That we were right where we needed to be right when we needed to be there.

Also knocking doors we saw this lady walk out and before we said anything she just went off on the crazy things that have been happening to her in her life. She has had a crazy last couple of months. Long story short, Her husband went crazy and attacked her with a knife. Her son saved her life and now she is disabled and has like 11 rods in her back. It took like 40 minutes. After she just looked at us and was like, So who are you? We told her we are missionaries, Then we shared a message that will bring her peace and comfort. She said that she could really use that. She said that her mom and some of her friends she works with were talking about how they have been meting with missionaries lately. how she is actually really interested in what we share. We were headed to another lesson and were already late so we didnt get to teach her much but she seemed really sincere. It was cool to see what just listening can do. We are going back tomorrow or the next day to teach her.

This week has just been a week of miracles! Its amazing to see what happens when you put some faith and hard work together to see all the things that can come from it. I feel like i have already grown a lot from being here. I have seen more of how the Lord really does lead us when we go out and try to do what he would have us to. In the morning we have been praying and telling God we are ready to listen, to help us be willing to follow what we feel. And we have seen a lot of miracles because of it.

The ward here is really good. It is pretty small though. We dont really fill the chapel hardly. We didnt eat much with members this last week because the list didnt get passed around, but this next we have one for everyday. so it will be good. The Bishop here is awesome! He is for sure a business man. That is how like half the ward is. There is a lot of money in this area. It is actually kinda crazy.

Well i really do hope you all have a great week! I Love you all!!!

Elder Mortensen

One more thing.  The ward mission leader of the Elders we lived with in Hermiston is planning on going down to Lehi.  He was dropping off a package for Elder Goebel, another elder than lives in Lehi.  He said he could bring one down for me.  So The Teegardens should be calling or stopping by or something.  I gave them the address and your phone number.  I'm not sure when they will be going down but soon.  There are two boxes full of journals and books and cold weather stuff.  So be wataching for that!!  Thanks!!

Elder Taylor, Elder Mortensen and Elder Shumway. I dont know where Elder Goebel was.
We had a lot of fun in that apartment in Hermiston!

Missionaries getting transferred out of Hermiston!! 

Elder Mortensen, Elder Shumway and T--, an investigator we were teaching in Hermiston.
He wanted a picture he could remember us by. So we took a great one!

Haha!  Being in a walking area get you pretty tired!

The day before my birthday Elder Goebel made cookies and instead of celebrating turning 20 we celebrated the last day of being 19 because that was the candle we had and the day we had time!

Elder Anderson Came To Visit The Mission

Last week was so crazy i forgot to write about Elder Anderson coming to visit the mission! it was super awesome! Its cool to see an apostle in a different setting than General Conference because its less formal and you get to see more of who they really are. He is so awesome!! He is for sure an apostle and knew just what we needed to hear. He said he didnt really know what he was going to say but the morning of in his prayer he received all that he planned on saying. he talked a lot about finding. He said he is not worried on the way that we teach, he is more worried on the way we find. So right now that is a focus in the mission of how we can find more people to teach! he said right now it isnt going to be through the active members of the church. It will be through the part member families, the less active members and the youth. Also that we have to do more personal finding. So I am really excited for the focus on finding. We have been doing a lot of work with the part member families.

Washington Kennewick Mission in Front of the Columbia River Temple

Can you spot Elder Mortensen????  Third row from the back, third from the right!

It's Amazing To See What The Lord Can Do If There Are Just People That Are Willing To Put Some Faith In It And Go To Work

Well hello!! 

its good to hear from you again! Well the least i can say about this week is it was crazy! It is super weird getting moved into a new area. It was actually super overwhelming. But i have worked my way into it. For some reason with a big change like this i feel like i should be completely worked into it like the first or second day, i dont know why, i guess i am not super patient. So i had to remind myself that it was going to take a little time. But i feel like i know what i am doing now. But its still crazy. So here i am in a walking area, well i guess we have bikes to, so kinda a biking area. Its been weird. The first day we got here and i unpacked some of my clothes and we headed out. We were going to find our Elders quorum president. It was at the top of a big hill. our area is long and skinny North to South. The ward is the Southgate ward. For the Boemans, it covers most of canyon lakes Loop. We live in some apartments called the highlanders. The address is like 3030 4th ave i think. I am not to sure about that though. Then it goes a little more north than us. There is a super wealthy area then a normal area. Lots of the members are pretty well off so they live on the south end of town up the hill where it is hard to get to.

So we actually didnt get doubled in. They said we were but Elder Winuea was actually here last transfer too. he is super awesome and super humble. He is from a island called Kiribati, It is kinda a part of the Marshal islands but not really. He says its close to Fiji. He has been out for like 20 months. Him and his grandma are the only members of the church in his family and his mom and siblings are taking the lessons right now! They will probably get baptized he said. He had to learn English but knows it really good. So ya we are in English work.

The missionary that i took his place it was his last transfer and he really didnt want to work. he was ready to go home. So coming here there wasnt to much stuff going on. We set a goal as a companionship to baptize at least one this transfer. On Thursday we went looking for a new member family that just moved in to the ward. We found a man named M--. He is not a member. growing up his parents never wanted him to believe in God and never really went to church. We had a great lesson with him and invited him to baptism. He said that he is starting work this Sunday and thinks that he is going to have to work every Sunday. But that he would like to be baptized.  So we didnt put him on date yet. We invited him to church though. He came! Later that day we went back to his house to introduce the Book of Mormon and help him know how he can know its true and why that is important. It was a really good lesson. He is now on date to be baptized on July 15th. It was such a miracle! Its amazing to see what the Lord can do if there are just people that are willing to  put some faith in it and go to work. So the area is already doing better than it was. I am super excited about that. That was the best thing that happened this week.

The Birthday was great. I really liked the package you set. Thanks for that. I didnt do much celebrating other then getting out to work! I guess there really isnt anything better to do than go find people who need the gospel. so thats what i spent the day doing and the day before and the day before that and the day before that and tomorrow and the next day. So i guess everyday is great!

Its awesome to see all the fun things that you all are doing back at home! they all look exciting! Its crazy to hear everyone going on missions! especially Kyle going to China. Thats crazy!

Thanks for the quote. That is something i really love because its something i really rely on. Without the Holy Ghost being with me i really cant teach. It doesnt work well. One of the things that i have learned on my mission that will effect me the most is i have learned to recognize and follow the prompting of the Spirit. It helps me everyday and it is the only way really any effective missionary work gets done. Its super exciting. Well i hope you all have a great week this week! I love you all!!

Elder Mortensen

Sorry for not having pictures. I cant put my card into the computer like the last one and i didnt bring my cord. But i will next week!

At The End He Prayed And Asked God To Help Him Find An Answer If This Is All True

Hello family,

Wow! Its good to hear all about your last week!  Jaxsens Ragnar sounds like a ton of fun.  If i was in shape i would do one of those.  It looks like it is going to a hot one for all of you!  that is crazy. That is way too hot to do much in.  That is about what it is going to be here.This last couple of days were colder.  There was actually thunder and lightening! Usually the clouds for some reason go right around Hermiston, even the tri-cities too.  So that was pretty cool.  Alis St George trip sounded like it was pretty fun! I remember the senior trips i went on and they were a blast.  They were a little different.  We went up the mountains and played in the dirt.  its good to hear that Dad is feeling good enough to at least run a few miles, Even if he shouldn't! It sounded great. 

Well guess what!! I am getting moved! i cant even believe it. At first it threw me off and i wasnt too excited about it. Once the initial shock went away i am actually kinda excited, but still really dont want to leave. I am getting doubled in and i am SO excited about that one. i love doing that. I dont know how to spell my companions name but it is something like Winawaya. He is from some island that i cant remember. I only met him once. But i am no longer a Zone leader. Thats to bad it was really fun and kinda different, but president said that when Elder Winawaya goes home they will likely want to put him in leadership sometime in his life and wants me to teach him how to be a leader. So i will be a district leader. President said that when i go home that he might keep Elder W there and make him the District leader. So that will be cool to help him do that. 

This week was so great! that is part of the reason i dont want to leave. We found three awesome new investigators! Also had lots of other good lessons with people we have been teaching. C-- and C-- have been doing better. We had a lesson and helped them understand why they are reading the Book of Mormon. Also the importance of coming to church. That is going to be their big thing. C-- doesnt like organized religion. They are doing better and better though. G-- was in Portland. Her mom past away. So she was down there for a few days so our lesson had to get pushed back with her. We didnt teach T--. her life is crazy and she is running around a lot so that is going to be a hard thing, just catching her with time to teach her. For the last lesson we had at the end she said that that was the longest she has just sat in her living room for the last year. Her situation is really hard. She is doing good though. we found a new guy named A--. he is really cool. In the past he has read all of the Book of Mormon and he is just trying to figure out how he can know if Joseph Smith is a prophet.  So that is what they are going to be helping him with. He is awesome and super humble too. We taught T-- again too. He is doing good. We also explained why he is reading the Book of Mormon and how he is going to come to know it is true. At the end he prayed and asked God to help him find an answer if this is all true. It was really cool. 

So this week i will be headed off to Kennewick! i have never been there. So happy Birthday to me! i will be in a van headed up to the tri-cities! i am actually excited it is going to be awesome. I hope everything is great for all of you! have a great week! i love you all.

Elder Mortensen

Well there was a super awesome sunset a few days ago. Its always better in person though.

Haha also we were trying to take a picture of the lightning and a cop came and talked to us.
It was all good they just though we were broke down. Its a funny picture though.