Hola. So this week was another crazy/weird one haha. Let's start with Monday: It was zone p day. We all went out to Steak n Shake (so good). One of the sisters passed out while she was eating hahaha. It was unreal. I went to pay for my food and looked over and she was just laying on the floor, out like a light. The paramedics came and helped her and stuff. It was definitely an experience haha.
That same day was Elder Moore's birthday/Valentine's Day, so Gramps took us out to this restaurant on the Halifax River called Aunt Catfish's. It was SO good. Seafood.
Friday wasn't too good. We had an appointment with Mildred...and we had to drop her. We retaught her the Restoration using visuals so she could comprehend it more. Then after we asked about her baptism and she said she still hadn't decided (even though a month ago she committed to it). We read from 2 Nephi 14 and explained how there are only 2 churches: the church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil. We told her that if she didn't get baptized into the church by someone who holds the authority of Christ she would NOT receive the fullness of joy that the Father has. She said she knows the church is true, Joseph Smith is a prophet, the Book of Mormon is true, etc. So we explained how by having that knowledge and not acting on it she is basically condemning herself. She just wouldn't accept to be baptized. She wants to get baptized in the ocean and all this other stuff. We told her that we can only present it to her and it's up to her to accept it or not. We had to tell her that we wouldn't be coming by anymore and if she ever wanted to get baptized to call us. I cried. I had so many mixed emotions. I was feeling like I did all I could but at the same time wondering if I had. We had prayed and fasted for her so much and she just still wasn't accepting it. It was also our last investigator so my heart just dropped to the pit of my stomach. We worked with her for 5 months and became close with her. When the Spirit told us to drop her I got so sad because she KNOWS it's true and just won't do it. This is eternal life. I'm no one to judge her, only God can do that. It was just a biggg bummer. I was so sad about her. I'm trying to have the faith that she will one day accept it.
Saturday was good though. Earlier in the week, we had tracted into a former investigator named Vernita. We taught her on Saturday and set a date with her for March 19th. That was a spiritual war. She doesn't want to become a member of a church because she knows that it means she is obligated to do things and people would be bugging her about it. We resolved all her concerns and the Spirit won the battle for us :) haha.
Saturday night we had a church tour with the Kinney family and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. It was great and they committed to come to church the next day. Sunday rolled around...no one at church. Again. 3 weeks in a row! Ugh haha. This week though! This week...yep. Expecting people to come to church and then having them not come is the most depressing thing on the mission I think haha. Because you're SO excited to have them there and thennnnnn..............nothing. Hahaha.
So that was my week. Another interesting one. Much love from Florida!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
February 14, 2011
Hey Familyyy!
First of all...Dad...I can't believe you called and texted us. You are crazy haha. But I still love you.
So happy Valentine's Day! Hope you have a great one. I got your package this morning. Thank you! Those treats look so yummy. Speaking of packages...I never got the iPod. I don't know if it got lost in the mail or what but it never came.
This week was alright. I think the Lord is testing us haha. It was one of those weeks where we felt like a lot of things went wrong. No one came to church again. Javier stopped answering our phone calls. I think I'm having a mid-life crisis hahaha. Just kidding. Everything is good. Sometimes I just wonder if I'm doing something wrong. And I see some other missionaries who are baptizing like crazy and it's a bummer. But this is the path I'm supposed to walk out here, I know it. Everything happens for a reason. It just makes me want to work harder anyway.
We had zone conference this last week which was SO good. A lot of things are continuing to change in the mission. We are cracking down on PMG and trying to stay focused on the essentials: finding, teaching, and baptizing.
We also went to the doctor in Orlando on Wednesday. My companion should be getting a call back from them soon.
We had a great lesson with Mildred this week too. We taught her all the commandments. We were worried that it would be hard for her to accept the word of wisdom. I guess we should have had more faith because she accepted it right away. She had a cup of tea on the counter and after the lesson we said "So what are you going to do with that tea?" hahaha. And she just straight up said "Well I guess I'll throw it away. I don't have to drink it." It was so cool. I love that lady. We're still trying to help her leave her church right now though. She just has so many friends over there. It's a very slow process with her. It's a spiritual battle every time we go over there haha.
So today is zone P- day. We're all going out to eat and then we'll play some sports or something. Then we're watching Space Jam! Welcome to the space jam, here's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jammmm...alrighttt :) That's about it for now. I hope you both have a great week! I love you!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
First of all...Dad...I can't believe you called and texted us. You are crazy haha. But I still love you.
So happy Valentine's Day! Hope you have a great one. I got your package this morning. Thank you! Those treats look so yummy. Speaking of packages...I never got the iPod. I don't know if it got lost in the mail or what but it never came.
This week was alright. I think the Lord is testing us haha. It was one of those weeks where we felt like a lot of things went wrong. No one came to church again. Javier stopped answering our phone calls. I think I'm having a mid-life crisis hahaha. Just kidding. Everything is good. Sometimes I just wonder if I'm doing something wrong. And I see some other missionaries who are baptizing like crazy and it's a bummer. But this is the path I'm supposed to walk out here, I know it. Everything happens for a reason. It just makes me want to work harder anyway.
We had zone conference this last week which was SO good. A lot of things are continuing to change in the mission. We are cracking down on PMG and trying to stay focused on the essentials: finding, teaching, and baptizing.
We also went to the doctor in Orlando on Wednesday. My companion should be getting a call back from them soon.
We had a great lesson with Mildred this week too. We taught her all the commandments. We were worried that it would be hard for her to accept the word of wisdom. I guess we should have had more faith because she accepted it right away. She had a cup of tea on the counter and after the lesson we said "So what are you going to do with that tea?" hahaha. And she just straight up said "Well I guess I'll throw it away. I don't have to drink it." It was so cool. I love that lady. We're still trying to help her leave her church right now though. She just has so many friends over there. It's a very slow process with her. It's a spiritual battle every time we go over there haha.
So today is zone P- day. We're all going out to eat and then we'll play some sports or something. Then we're watching Space Jam! Welcome to the space jam, here's your chance, do your dance at the Space Jammmm...alrighttt :) That's about it for now. I hope you both have a great week! I love you!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
February 8, 2011
Hello my beloved family :) I loved those pictures you sent me in the email. I miss you all so much. And I love you all more than I can express in writing. I am so excited to give all of you giganticoramously HUGE hugs in a year. Absence makes the heart grow a whole lot fonder. I'm a living testimony of that haha.
Anyway...this week was a pretty weird one. A lot of ups and downs. We started out the week great. We set a date with this elect lady named Dashondra for March 5th. Working hard and enjoying it. Before I say anything else let me just tell you that my companion has MS. Before the mission he got an infusion of medicine every month and it was doing wonders for him. It's a miracle that he's on the mission. He came out fully active. To make a very long story short, he has had some complications with the doctors here so he hasn't been able to get an infusion since he's been out. So on Friday we were biking and I noticed he was dragging a bit. He just didn't seem like he was doing good. So we decided to go back to the apartment. Some of his symptoms are coming back and he's pretty worried about it. PLEASE KEEP HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS. He needs it. So since Friday we just stayed in the apartment because we couldn't bike. I have learned SO much from him. He sacrificed so much to be here. He's an inspiration to me. I love the kid. We have an appointment on Wednesday morning down in Orlando to consult with one of the doctors. But it's not to get the infusion. Things are just crazy for him right now. Please please please throw up some mighty prayers for him.
Then at church on Sunday none of our investigators came to church. And Dashondra basically dropped us because she said it is causing problems with her atheist husband. Church was just a big bummer. But we're keeping our heads up and looking forward. This week will be good because we'll have the car.
But heyyyy thanks for the Hump Day package! I loved the shirt and the camel haha. I'll probably send you my memory card soon so you can see all the pictures I've taken recently. I can't believe I've passed my year mark. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone pharrell. Fastest year, hands down. It feels like last week that I was saying bye to you at the MTC hahaha. So weird.
I'm so sorry to hear about Brother Hill. That's no good. Let the family know that I love them. But I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to use the word "die" anymore. Because people don't really "die". They just "change". Brother Hill just put his body down for a little bit. He'll get it back. And it will be "Brother Hill millenium status". Looking fresh in his brand new perfect form. Spirit is eternal. He's still chillin' right here on the earth. And he'll be watching over his family. Just in another state of being. I love the knowledge that comes from the Gospel. I love you! Talk to you next week :)
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Anyway...this week was a pretty weird one. A lot of ups and downs. We started out the week great. We set a date with this elect lady named Dashondra for March 5th. Working hard and enjoying it. Before I say anything else let me just tell you that my companion has MS. Before the mission he got an infusion of medicine every month and it was doing wonders for him. It's a miracle that he's on the mission. He came out fully active. To make a very long story short, he has had some complications with the doctors here so he hasn't been able to get an infusion since he's been out. So on Friday we were biking and I noticed he was dragging a bit. He just didn't seem like he was doing good. So we decided to go back to the apartment. Some of his symptoms are coming back and he's pretty worried about it. PLEASE KEEP HIM IN YOUR PRAYERS. He needs it. So since Friday we just stayed in the apartment because we couldn't bike. I have learned SO much from him. He sacrificed so much to be here. He's an inspiration to me. I love the kid. We have an appointment on Wednesday morning down in Orlando to consult with one of the doctors. But it's not to get the infusion. Things are just crazy for him right now. Please please please throw up some mighty prayers for him.
Then at church on Sunday none of our investigators came to church. And Dashondra basically dropped us because she said it is causing problems with her atheist husband. Church was just a big bummer. But we're keeping our heads up and looking forward. This week will be good because we'll have the car.
But heyyyy thanks for the Hump Day package! I loved the shirt and the camel haha. I'll probably send you my memory card soon so you can see all the pictures I've taken recently. I can't believe I've passed my year mark. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone pharrell. Fastest year, hands down. It feels like last week that I was saying bye to you at the MTC hahaha. So weird.
I'm so sorry to hear about Brother Hill. That's no good. Let the family know that I love them. But I've come to the conclusion that I don't want to use the word "die" anymore. Because people don't really "die". They just "change". Brother Hill just put his body down for a little bit. He'll get it back. And it will be "Brother Hill millenium status". Looking fresh in his brand new perfect form. Spirit is eternal. He's still chillin' right here on the earth. And he'll be watching over his family. Just in another state of being. I love the knowledge that comes from the Gospel. I love you! Talk to you next week :)
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Sunday, February 6, 2011
January 31, 2011
Hey! Thank you so much for that watch. It's so sick! Pharrell. I love it. Did you get it in Hawaii? I am going to take some links out of it soon so I can wear it. That tie was sweet too. I wore it on my birthday. For my birthday it was just a normal day. But Gramps took us out to Red Lobster. And I realized that I didn't even take one picture on my birthday hahaha. I was just busy with missionary work haha. It slipped my mind. So...sorry.
But we had a great week! Pam got baptized on Saturday. She was so happy! I loved it. Lots of people showed up and the talks were awesome. We set two baptism dates. One with a 20 year old guy named Javier. Super cool. He came to the baptism and church also. He'll get baptized February 26th. Then guess who else we set a date with...drum roll please.......................................................MILDRED!!! For February 26th!!! She came to church too. So great! After we had the lesson with her and set the date we got into the car and I just screamed to the top of my lungs. We were so stoked. We had her pray again and ask SPECIFICALLY if the 26th was the day she needed to get baptized and we asked her if God TOLD her that she needed to do it she would. And she said "well if God told me..." So she prayed and the Spirit just swarmed the room again. God loves her so much. It's insane how much He loves us ALL. Now we just have to make sure it happens. So please pray for her to be baptized on that day. Thank you.
We had a great day at church yesterday. We had 1 confirmation, 3 gators (2 with a baptism date), and 1 less-active guy there. Daytona's movin'! We have the Daytona 500 coming up on the 19th. That will be crazy. We can hear the cars practicing like all day haha. It's a loud buzzing noise. The "Bike Week" will be the first week in March. If you don't know what that is, look it up haha. It will be psycho. Anyway that's about it for now. But I love you both so much. You both are way too tan haha. Lookin' fresh. Byeeee!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
But we had a great week! Pam got baptized on Saturday. She was so happy! I loved it. Lots of people showed up and the talks were awesome. We set two baptism dates. One with a 20 year old guy named Javier. Super cool. He came to the baptism and church also. He'll get baptized February 26th. Then guess who else we set a date with...drum roll please.......................................................MILDRED!!! For February 26th!!! She came to church too. So great! After we had the lesson with her and set the date we got into the car and I just screamed to the top of my lungs. We were so stoked. We had her pray again and ask SPECIFICALLY if the 26th was the day she needed to get baptized and we asked her if God TOLD her that she needed to do it she would. And she said "well if God told me..." So she prayed and the Spirit just swarmed the room again. God loves her so much. It's insane how much He loves us ALL. Now we just have to make sure it happens. So please pray for her to be baptized on that day. Thank you.
We had a great day at church yesterday. We had 1 confirmation, 3 gators (2 with a baptism date), and 1 less-active guy there. Daytona's movin'! We have the Daytona 500 coming up on the 19th. That will be crazy. We can hear the cars practicing like all day haha. It's a loud buzzing noise. The "Bike Week" will be the first week in March. If you don't know what that is, look it up haha. It will be psycho. Anyway that's about it for now. But I love you both so much. You both are way too tan haha. Lookin' fresh. Byeeee!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Sunday, January 30, 2011
January 24, 2011
Hello fellow Floridians. At least for a few more hours. I'm glad that you enjoyed the cruise. It sounds like it was a pretty busy one. I'm so proud of you both for talking to people about the Gospel! That's great. I'm glad you made some good friends on your vacation too.
Thanks for the happy birthday wishes. I got your package. Thank you! I haven't opened the present yet, don't worry. And I appreciate you sending me the iPod and speakers. The iPod you sent me was one of my old ones that is broken. Sorry about the confusion. If you could send me the little all black one that I sent home near the beginning of my mission that would be great. It has all of my churchy music and stuff on it. Gracias.
Sooooo...PAM IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY! Yayyy. She got her cast off last Tuesday and we met with them on Friday to set up the baptism program. She got so excited while we were doing it haha. She asked me to baptize her and Elder Whitworth will confirm her on Sunday. It's going to be so awesome. She's so devoted. Reads church materials all the time. I love working with people who see the importance of obeying God's commandments.
Tonya is doing good also. Reading the BOM every day. She keeps it right by her side 24/7. She read it from 9 to 3:30 one day this last week while she was at work haha. We'll have to move her date back a little because of a few things that came up that will hold her back just a bit. But she can do it. Keep her in your prayers.
Nay is kind of falling away from us because it's so hard to get a solid appointment with him. He's always out "helping people", which is great, but it holds us back from teaching him about the truth so he can repent.
We met with Mildred on Thursday for 3 hours! We watched The Testaments with her at her home first. She was awake for 5 minutes of it. Literally. She's so funny haha. And then we read in Alma 34 and talked about how she's procrastinating the day of her repentance for 2 hours. It was a really good conversation. She's really getting the message now. We invited her to be baptized in February but she said she wasn't ready to commit yet. At the end of the lesson we asked her to close with a prayer and ask God if she needed to get baptized on February 20th. We also said that when the prayer was over we were just going to be silent and listen to the Spirit. RIGHT after we all said amen the Spirit swarmed the room. Mildred felt it so strong. We were just sitting there for probably 7 minutes just listening. And every once in a while Mildred would make a comment about how strong she felt the Holy Spirit. She also said she could see the Spirit through our faces because our countenances had changed (we thought that was pretty cool). It's the strongest and most recognizable time that I've felt the Spirit my whole mission. I literally felt like the Holy Ghost was inside of my chest. It was so great. How can people not want to feel that!?!?! They just don't understand. It's sad. But I'm so thankful for it.
So this week starts a new transfer. Elder Whitworth and I will stay together for at least another 6 weeks. Elder Parsons is leaving though and Elder Brown will be coming up with Elder Moore in our apartment. This transfer went by so fast. It's crazy. But I love you both and hope you have a great Spirit-filled week!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Thanks for the happy birthday wishes. I got your package. Thank you! I haven't opened the present yet, don't worry. And I appreciate you sending me the iPod and speakers. The iPod you sent me was one of my old ones that is broken. Sorry about the confusion. If you could send me the little all black one that I sent home near the beginning of my mission that would be great. It has all of my churchy music and stuff on it. Gracias.
Sooooo...PAM IS GETTING BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY! Yayyy. She got her cast off last Tuesday and we met with them on Friday to set up the baptism program. She got so excited while we were doing it haha. She asked me to baptize her and Elder Whitworth will confirm her on Sunday. It's going to be so awesome. She's so devoted. Reads church materials all the time. I love working with people who see the importance of obeying God's commandments.
Tonya is doing good also. Reading the BOM every day. She keeps it right by her side 24/7. She read it from 9 to 3:30 one day this last week while she was at work haha. We'll have to move her date back a little because of a few things that came up that will hold her back just a bit. But she can do it. Keep her in your prayers.
Nay is kind of falling away from us because it's so hard to get a solid appointment with him. He's always out "helping people", which is great, but it holds us back from teaching him about the truth so he can repent.
We met with Mildred on Thursday for 3 hours! We watched The Testaments with her at her home first. She was awake for 5 minutes of it. Literally. She's so funny haha. And then we read in Alma 34 and talked about how she's procrastinating the day of her repentance for 2 hours. It was a really good conversation. She's really getting the message now. We invited her to be baptized in February but she said she wasn't ready to commit yet. At the end of the lesson we asked her to close with a prayer and ask God if she needed to get baptized on February 20th. We also said that when the prayer was over we were just going to be silent and listen to the Spirit. RIGHT after we all said amen the Spirit swarmed the room. Mildred felt it so strong. We were just sitting there for probably 7 minutes just listening. And every once in a while Mildred would make a comment about how strong she felt the Holy Spirit. She also said she could see the Spirit through our faces because our countenances had changed (we thought that was pretty cool). It's the strongest and most recognizable time that I've felt the Spirit my whole mission. I literally felt like the Holy Ghost was inside of my chest. It was so great. How can people not want to feel that!?!?! They just don't understand. It's sad. But I'm so thankful for it.
So this week starts a new transfer. Elder Whitworth and I will stay together for at least another 6 weeks. Elder Parsons is leaving though and Elder Brown will be coming up with Elder Moore in our apartment. This transfer went by so fast. It's crazy. But I love you both and hope you have a great Spirit-filled week!
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Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
January 17, 2011
What's up fammm? I hope you're having a great time on the cruise. It sounds like you are so far. You're on your way to helping someone learn about Christ in the Americassss. Pretty sweet. I knew you would be up to it ;)
Things here are wundafool. We had a leadership training in Orlando on Wednesday. Brother Watson and Brother Woodruff from the missionary department came and spoke to us. It was about 6 hours of pure training. It was SO good. Brother Watson has been in the missionary department for 30 years. He's amazing. Brother Mark Woodruff saw my tag and talked to me because he knows Uncle Bobby. They worked together a long time ago with some sort of fundraising thing I think. Small world.
So we learned a lot from them and a lot of things are going to be changing in the mission. They introduced a new contacting approach to us that's going to do a lot. The culture of the Florida Orlando Mission is to state that we are representatives of Jesus Christ first thing when we contact people. But they told us about this mission that gets return appointments with 75% of their contacts. The way they do it is start with a thought-provoking question or a question that can open up a conversation about the Gospel. For example something about families or where they see themselves in 10 years or other things like that. It's a good way to not come off intimidating and just start a normal conversation. So Elder Whitworth and I are trying to think of good non-threatening questions to ask people. Could you help us out with some? We'd appreciate it. What would you want to hear someone ask you if they came to your door? Thanks.
Then on Thursday we met with Tonya and the member that referred her to us, Sister Stuart. We watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and then set a baptismal date with Tonya for the 12th of February. She's so cool. She said the BOM hasn't left her side since she got it. She's been reading it a bunch. Then Friday we went to the Temple with Gramps. We did initiatories and an endowment session. It was so good to do initiatories again. I haven't done them since I got endowed. There are a lot of really great blessings that I had forgotten about.
So those were the highlights of my week. Hope you have a grrrrrrrrreat week! Don't have too much fun on the cruise if you know what I mean. Ha love you!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Things here are wundafool. We had a leadership training in Orlando on Wednesday. Brother Watson and Brother Woodruff from the missionary department came and spoke to us. It was about 6 hours of pure training. It was SO good. Brother Watson has been in the missionary department for 30 years. He's amazing. Brother Mark Woodruff saw my tag and talked to me because he knows Uncle Bobby. They worked together a long time ago with some sort of fundraising thing I think. Small world.
So we learned a lot from them and a lot of things are going to be changing in the mission. They introduced a new contacting approach to us that's going to do a lot. The culture of the Florida Orlando Mission is to state that we are representatives of Jesus Christ first thing when we contact people. But they told us about this mission that gets return appointments with 75% of their contacts. The way they do it is start with a thought-provoking question or a question that can open up a conversation about the Gospel. For example something about families or where they see themselves in 10 years or other things like that. It's a good way to not come off intimidating and just start a normal conversation. So Elder Whitworth and I are trying to think of good non-threatening questions to ask people. Could you help us out with some? We'd appreciate it. What would you want to hear someone ask you if they came to your door? Thanks.
Then on Thursday we met with Tonya and the member that referred her to us, Sister Stuart. We watched "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and then set a baptismal date with Tonya for the 12th of February. She's so cool. She said the BOM hasn't left her side since she got it. She's been reading it a bunch. Then Friday we went to the Temple with Gramps. We did initiatories and an endowment session. It was so good to do initiatories again. I haven't done them since I got endowed. There are a lot of really great blessings that I had forgotten about.
So those were the highlights of my week. Hope you have a grrrrrrrrreat week! Don't have too much fun on the cruise if you know what I mean. Ha love you!
--
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
January 10,2011
Mom! Dad! What's up!
I'm glad that the big meeting in Phoenix went so well. You both did a lot of driving it sounds like. I'm glad you got home safely. It's weird that you're both going to be in Florida this weekend haha. So close but so far away. No sneaking up to Daytona hahaha. Sorry Dad.
Tell Kathryn and Matt I say congratulations on their new baby! That's great. They're going to be busy with those little ones haha.
So things here are going great. A lot of things have been starting up lately with new investigators and whatnot. The Lord is definitely runnin' his bizzz up in hurr. We are doing all we can to get these people baptized so the rest is up to Him. Pam will have to wait at least another week to get her cast off. We gave her a blessing of healing so please keep her in your prayers. The Lord works miracles according to our faith so we're throwing up some mighty prayers so she can get baptized and confirmed this month. We taught Nay the Plan of Salvation this week. He loved it! When we talked about the spirit world and the kingdoms of glory he would stop us for a minute and just sit and ponder. Then he would say "Ooooh eeeee! I just learned something!" And he just kept saying "Ooooh eeeee!" Haha he's so funny. He even talked about "becoming a Mormon". He's so solid. Oh and remember Tonya? The lady that we gave a blessing to in the hospital. We taught her this week and it went really well. We went with a member, Brother Button, and had planned to teach the Restoration but when we got there the Spirit told us to teach the Plan of Salvation. We started talking to her about how she is mourning over the loss of her baby and the Plan of Salvation really focuses on the Atonement of Christ so we thought that would be a better thing to talk to her about. And it was. It went great. She'll probably come to church this Sunday. We also taught this other family of 5 (all over baptism age...sweet) and they were supposed to come to church but didn't. Too bad. But we will meet with them again this week. They're really cool too. Today at 4 we're watching Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with Mildred. I'm pretty sure I've told you all about her so I won't explain again. We taught her this week and talked about the sealing power that was promised to Peter in Matthew 16, how it was lost after the death of the apostles, and how it was restored to the earth, and how we use that power in the Temple. She finally said she's starting to get it. So today will be good cause she'll understand more about the history of the church. Then we're going to the Temple Friday morning with Gramps cause he's working there that day. We'll probably do a couple sessions and then weekly plan. Friday is our weekly planning day so I don't think there would be a better place to receive revelation for our investigators than at the Temple! It'll be awesome.
So I'm going to invite you to do something:
I'm studying the Doctrine and Covenants right now and this morning I was reading in Section 15 where the Lord is telling John Whitmer what his duty is concerning the work. John Whitmer was just a normal man living a normal life. What the Prophet Joseph Smith was doing was just introduced to him. He felt that it was important so he wanted to know the Lord's will about what he should do. The Lord revealed Section 15 through Joseph Smith and verse 6 reads "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen." Out of ALL the things that John Whitmer could have been told, Christ told him that declaring repentance and bringing souls unto Him would be of most importance. As I pondered this I was thinking of the duty that it is for EVERY member of Christ's church to help bring souls back to the kingdom of the Father. I want to invite you to take two copies of the Book of Mormon on your trip to Florida and the Caribbean to give to two separate individuals or families. You asked me to pray for you to find some people to help recruit into the business. I definitely will. I'll aslo pray that as you take on this venture to share the Book of Mormon with some of God's children you will be blessed with the opportunity to find people to recruit into the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. As an ordained minister of this Gospel and as a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I promise that if you exercise your faith and pray for an opportunity to give these books away, you will be blessed with such a privilege. You may feel like you’re going into a dark room with little or no sight. But if you muster up some courage and take a step of faith into that room, God will turn the light on.
I love you!
–
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
I'm glad that the big meeting in Phoenix went so well. You both did a lot of driving it sounds like. I'm glad you got home safely. It's weird that you're both going to be in Florida this weekend haha. So close but so far away. No sneaking up to Daytona hahaha. Sorry Dad.
Tell Kathryn and Matt I say congratulations on their new baby! That's great. They're going to be busy with those little ones haha.
So things here are going great. A lot of things have been starting up lately with new investigators and whatnot. The Lord is definitely runnin' his bizzz up in hurr. We are doing all we can to get these people baptized so the rest is up to Him. Pam will have to wait at least another week to get her cast off. We gave her a blessing of healing so please keep her in your prayers. The Lord works miracles according to our faith so we're throwing up some mighty prayers so she can get baptized and confirmed this month. We taught Nay the Plan of Salvation this week. He loved it! When we talked about the spirit world and the kingdoms of glory he would stop us for a minute and just sit and ponder. Then he would say "Ooooh eeeee! I just learned something!" And he just kept saying "Ooooh eeeee!" Haha he's so funny. He even talked about "becoming a Mormon". He's so solid. Oh and remember Tonya? The lady that we gave a blessing to in the hospital. We taught her this week and it went really well. We went with a member, Brother Button, and had planned to teach the Restoration but when we got there the Spirit told us to teach the Plan of Salvation. We started talking to her about how she is mourning over the loss of her baby and the Plan of Salvation really focuses on the Atonement of Christ so we thought that would be a better thing to talk to her about. And it was. It went great. She'll probably come to church this Sunday. We also taught this other family of 5 (all over baptism age...sweet) and they were supposed to come to church but didn't. Too bad. But we will meet with them again this week. They're really cool too. Today at 4 we're watching Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration with Mildred. I'm pretty sure I've told you all about her so I won't explain again. We taught her this week and talked about the sealing power that was promised to Peter in Matthew 16, how it was lost after the death of the apostles, and how it was restored to the earth, and how we use that power in the Temple. She finally said she's starting to get it. So today will be good cause she'll understand more about the history of the church. Then we're going to the Temple Friday morning with Gramps cause he's working there that day. We'll probably do a couple sessions and then weekly plan. Friday is our weekly planning day so I don't think there would be a better place to receive revelation for our investigators than at the Temple! It'll be awesome.
So I'm going to invite you to do something:
I'm studying the Doctrine and Covenants right now and this morning I was reading in Section 15 where the Lord is telling John Whitmer what his duty is concerning the work. John Whitmer was just a normal man living a normal life. What the Prophet Joseph Smith was doing was just introduced to him. He felt that it was important so he wanted to know the Lord's will about what he should do. The Lord revealed Section 15 through Joseph Smith and verse 6 reads "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen." Out of ALL the things that John Whitmer could have been told, Christ told him that declaring repentance and bringing souls unto Him would be of most importance. As I pondered this I was thinking of the duty that it is for EVERY member of Christ's church to help bring souls back to the kingdom of the Father. I want to invite you to take two copies of the Book of Mormon on your trip to Florida and the Caribbean to give to two separate individuals or families. You asked me to pray for you to find some people to help recruit into the business. I definitely will. I'll aslo pray that as you take on this venture to share the Book of Mormon with some of God's children you will be blessed with the opportunity to find people to recruit into the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. As an ordained minister of this Gospel and as a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I promise that if you exercise your faith and pray for an opportunity to give these books away, you will be blessed with such a privilege. You may feel like you’re going into a dark room with little or no sight. But if you muster up some courage and take a step of faith into that room, God will turn the light on.
I love you!
–
Elder Austin Gable Engemann aka dubEE fresh
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