I Feel Like I Did Here What I Was Sent Here To Do And That Is All I Could Hope For

Well Hello again!  

Its kinda weird to think that this is my last time emailing back home! Its weird to think that i am all packed up and ready to go to the mission home later today. When people ask what its like to go home and how i feel. I always tell them i am really excited but I am not ready. That I am going to be a terrible normal person. So i guess that we will see how it all goes. Earlier this week it really hit me that i am actually going home but right now it doesnt really feel too much. Its so close and i am packed but it doesnt really feel real.

This last week was a pretty good one. We didnt end up teaching M-- again. They were never home! the wife was there a few times and the older sons were. But i guess they went to Spokane so they will have to find them later. But yes Elder Winuea is staying in this area and he is going to be the district leader! He is not too excited but he is going to do really good. We had a last lesson with B-- and said bye. Her surgery got pushed back to this week so this week she said that she is going to have a lot of time to read in the Book of Mormon. She is really solid for baptism. She is on date for August 19 the same day as her mom who lives in Richland and they want to be baptized together. They are both working together now to to quit smoking! She is so awesome! M--'s mom has been in town and he doesnt get to see her much so we had a lesson or two with him but he wasnt able to come to church yesterday. He is still doing really good though. He still wants to be baptized. We found a new investigator J--! her kids were going crazy and she was super frustrated. It was one of the hardest lessons to teach. We just wrapped it up fast and we set a time to come back tomorrow after her kids are in bed! so it will be really good for them.  It is awesome to see how this area in the last transfer has changed so much. I am glad that we were able to work hard and get a lot done. I feel like i did here what i was sent here to do and that is all i could hope for.

Well I am super excited to see all of you here soon!! I am also excited to hear about all the fun things you guys have been doing and also to just have a great time with you. sorry if I am weird when i come back!

I love you all! It is going to be weird to be home but it is going to be good. sorry it is so short! but i guess i will just have to tell you more when i get back. So there isnt to much to complain about i guess!

See you all!!!

Elder Mortensen

Saturday we had a bunch of gift cards and went to dairy queen! 

We come back to our apartment and traded some ties then we celebrated! 

It was such a great transfer! i loved it here.

Kennewick District

 Service Project

Elders serving in Kennewick

It's Amazing to Think That A Guy While Growing Up His Parents Taught Him To Not Believe In God, Now Is Having All These Experiences And Know There Is A God

Hey again!

its crazy to think i am where i am with my mission. It has been really amazing these last few weeks and lots of good things have happened. Its weird to think how close it is to ending and its even weirder to feel it. I love my mission.

This last week we had another lesson with M--. It was a lot better than the first. The first time there was a ton of distractions but this time the only distraction was a car crash right in the middle of the lesson! we were out side and we couldnt see it but it was just around the corner. Its crazy to see how many times there is a distraction right before you talk about Joseph smith and the first vision! It seems like its almost every time! But it was a very good lesson. The spirit was for sure there. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would. We invited him to be baptized to a date but he said he would like to talk to his wife about it first. That he usually likes to talk to his wife about things like this. It was kinda funny. But we invited him to share the Restoration Pamphlet with his wife and he said he would. We had a time to come back and teach them both this last Sunday. We got out of dinner late, then we had to walk to their house. So its was later and they weren't home. So we are going by sometime this week to teach them. I am really excited for that. We had a great lesson with B--! We taught her the first half of the Plan of Salvation and she really liked that also. She did find her Book of Mormon! and she only read a little bit in it. We rode our bikes up to her house friday and went to invite her to church and read a little of the Book of Mormon with her. She was not doing very good. She has blocked arteries in her legs and she said that she has like no energy and she is short of breath. So we didnt teach her because she has just been spending time in bed. She has had a headache so she hasnt been reading. She said she was going in to the ER Tuesday if she doesn't feel better. So we are going to get in contact with her again today and she how she is doing. She is awesome just her health is not so great right now. M-- is doing awesome! So he was supposed to be baptized this week but he needed to get married first. Last week he was set on getting married and baptized. The last few weeks i have just been thinking i dont know how it is going to happen so fast. But he wants it so we will work with him towards it. He has been praying to know if he should get married right now then get baptized. But he felt he needs to wait. He is praying a lot and has been reading. He says whenever he reads and prays he feels something come into his heart then hears a voice. he said it makes him feel clean. he was praying if he needed to do this right now and he said he heard the words "wait my son, your time will come". he said it felt good but he still wanted to be baptized. He wanted our help to know if it was from God or Satan. We talked to him of how he felt and taught him how to recognize it as the spirit or not. He said it felt good and he was comfortable with that answer. It was really awesome to share that experience with him. The spirit was for sure their as we were talking about it. We talked about not pushing his baptism more and more. that it needs to happen and he understands that. He is just so solid! Its amazing to think a guy that growing up his parents taught him to not believe in God, now is having all these experiences and know there is a God.

So if your cant tell there is a ton of miracles happening and it was a super awesome week. Church was really awesome. In sacrament someone said one little thing and my thoughts just kept going. I was reading a talk this week called The answer is the Doctrine By Elder Bednar and it kinda blew my mind. During sacrament it just made sense and i understood it! i know there isnt lots of details in that, but for me it helps me know how we are cleansed by the spirit because we partake of the sacrament and how that allows the spirit to teach us more and more. how some things can only be learned b the spirit.

Well back home looks like there was a ton of fun stuff going on this last week! 4th of July we came in early at 6. We went and hungout with the other elders in our district and before you knew it stuff was flying everywhere. I guess they have some new nerf guns that shoot little balls so we had a major battle for the night. It was a good last holiday here!

I love you all!

Elder Mortensen

PS: thanks for always writing mom! you are the best. And yes you answered right for the indoor soccer! i will be a little rusty, but i guess thats alright.
 

I dont have any pictures of me, but here are some pretty cool pictures of the river!!

I Have Learned What The Spirit Feels Like And Have Lived In A Way To Become More Sensitive To It

Hello again!  

This week was also an awesome one. We did meet with B-- and M-- again! They are both doing really awesome! B-- has a son that has mental disabilities and he went and put her Book of Mormon away for her. So now she hasnt been able to find it. She said she didnt look too hard though. She has been reading the gospel Principles book and has really liked the things in that. We for sure want her to read the Book of Mormon so we said we would give her another one but she wanted to look for hers first. So we are going back probably like tomorrow to see if she found it. We taught her the first half of the Plan of Salvation. She really likes how all we do is centered on families. She is just doing really good. She believes all the things that we have taught her and is really excited for it all. She didnt come to church because her step brother was getting his leg looked at to see if they were going to have to amputate it and her mom wanted her to be there with her. So i guess that is an alright excuse. M-- has been doing really good also. He has read a little bit and has been praying! He believes the things we have taught him are true and is learning how the holy ghost feels for him. He says he really likes the way it makes him feel. He had to work this Sunday so didnt come to church, but he wanted to. He is going to be able to come next week he said. He is just doing really good too. We found this guy named M-- this week. He was a former investigator and really likes the things we teach. It was a pretty good lesson there were just lots of distractions. We are going back this week and plan to teach him more after. It was a good week of a lot of finding. That is what we are needing to do more of and find new people to teach. Its been really good the last couple of weeks. the area has changed a lot and we have seen lots of miracles. 

An answer that answers all three of your questions kinda come to the same answer. The biggest change, the thing that has made the biggest impact on my life and also the thing that strengthens my testimony all come back to learning how the Spirit talks to me and following it. I think this is the most important thing that anyone could learn. If we want Gods influence in our lives, that is what we must do. If we want to learn what God wants us to learn, thats what we have to do. If we want to be a tool in Gods hand, that is what we must learn. I have learned what the spirit feels like and have lived in a way to become more sensitive to it. I have also learned to always follow the first prompting. Lots of the time its hard to know if what comes to mind is from the spirit or just your own thoughts. But it doesn't matter. If its good, it is of God! In Elder Rasbands last talk he quoted Joseph Smith. It says something like if we follow the first prompting we will be right 9 times out of 10. so i have learned just do what feels right and to try to do it as soon as possible. From trying to do this i now know more of how god loves me and wants to be present in my life. If there was anything that i would tell someone to best prepare them for a mission or really for life, it would be learn how the spirit speaks for you. also to learn how to receive revelation especially through the Book of Mormon. There are a lot of things that have impacted me, but that is one of the biggest things. 

It is awesome to see all the things that have been going on this last week! It really is awesome how great of a experience Ali had. I think that is super awesome all the things that she has learned and even more awesome the things she has felt. It will always be a great thing for her in her life. 

The plans you talked about sound great. It will be a good time to be up there with all of them. Also on Sunday, those sound great also. I wont have much time to prepare a talk, but no worries, I was planning of winging it anyways!!! haha no, that dosent worry me. It will be enough time. I am excited to see you all. It is going to be a big change and really weird, but it will be good. I dont know how i am going to be at not being a missionary and trying to be a normal person, but i guess we will see. 

Thanks for the email!! i love you all!! I hope you have a great week!

Elder Mortensen

Elder Mortensen and Elder Winuea

Kennewick District.  We have logs of fun!