🇱🇷THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE MEN AND WOMEN WHO GAVE UP THERE LIVES SO WE COULD HAVE OURS. WE THANK YOU AND WE LOVE YOU🇱🇷
Hey everyone! Transfers are today. Elder Ray is leaving and I'm staying. Happy fourth of july! I apoligize for the length of this letter I figure it'll be a bit lengthly but it's not my fault so many AWESOME things keep happening!
Monday we had p-day...surprise surprise...we went bowling as a district (pictures in a diffrent email) then we went out and worked. We had 2 lessons planned but they both fell through but then found 2 families to teach so yay! 2 in all. Our first lesson with Jonathan was at six and it happened through a prompting. We have been trying to contact them forever and after pday we just felt like we should go by so we did and they were home! The lesson went great she is a less active member and he is a nonmember but they have recently gone through things and he is ready to take the step of baptism. He is on date for the 23rd of July! We also had a lesson with a couple who are both nonmembers and I feel like they kinda want to stay that way haha. She just kept pulling out her interesting version of the bible. She would bash with what we said but she didn't really know what she was
saying she was just going off what she heard once. It was cute in the T-Rex waving kind of way.
Tuesday we had a district meeting and 4 lessons! 3 with recent converts one of which was baptized last transfer and she is already going to the temple and doing baptisms for the dead! WHAT!! Super awesome convert! And she already knows how to apply the book of mormon to herself! Im impressed i still struggle. The other lesson was with Adam who has been constantly progressing and has is on date for Saturday!
Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Austin in my area. This is were the letter gets lengthy. That morning I had texted an less active we are working with if we could meet the next day and he said sure but for whatever reason I didnt text him what time I just thought I'd do it later. So we went to the apartments and started trying to contact a few people. It was hot (as usual) and I thought lets go by that guy, set up a time, and get some water. So we went to his apartment and we knocked. It was the WRONG door! It was the door beneath the guy I
knew. Anyway a man opened the door and we started talking and he started saying how he and his girlfriend we trying to become more active in the church and this was a sign for him and an answer to his prayers. So we set up a time to come by the next day. Then we left that apartment and headed towards another, completley forgetting to go to the first guys apartment. As we left I realized that and so we turned around and went up to the third floor and knocked. After the first knock the door next to his opened. An older teenager was coming
out with a trashbag and a backpack. So we talked to him. We talked as we went down the stairs and as we hit the last couple stairs we started teaching the four minute restoration. We went to the trashcan and talked there for a couple minutes. When we finished we shared our testimonies of what happened to Joseph Smith and then asked what he was feeling. He said, "honestly...nothing. But I am pretty interested in what you guys were talking about but I have to go pick up my sister. So we closed with a prayer. Our bikes were where he was walking to and its always awkward saying goodbye then walking in the same direction. So we walked the other way. We saw a Tongan man walking kind of towards us. So...we talked to him (haha you might notice a pattern of us seeing people and then talking to them...everyone). He was nice and boy we tried to have a good conversation and ask him questions but I'll be darned if I understood a word that was comming out of his kind mouth. Bless his heart :) he was trying so hard. I understood when he said missionaries but I couldn't tell if he was saying if he'd been taught by missionaries in Tonga for 15 years or if he saw missionaries a lot in Tonga. We asked if we could share a message with his family #PrayingForTheGiftOfTongues. And he led us to his home. His wife spoke a bit more English and we found out they were members so we talked for a couple minutes then shared a message with them and let him pray in Tongan for us and we left. That is just the first half of the day...the night was hectic,
mainly because we had a lesson with a new investigator I'd picked up last week on exchanges and needed to teach the restoration to and put on date and at the same time we had a potential investigator we needed to teach. We went out with two ward mission leaders and went to work. Elder Austin did a spledid job teaching and inviting to baptism and resolving concerns. He is a great missionary and I wish I could have taught with him. I had a great lesson too. We helped her understand the need of the great apostasy and a new prophet Joseph Smith, to restore God's kingdom on earth once again. When I invited her to be baptized after sharing the first vision and helping recognize the spirit she paused. It felt like forever and the whole time i was just praying,
"please nobody say anything just wait for her to speak first" I repeated that about 10 times lol and thank goodness no one said anything. She said yes! I feel that this is all true and I'm beginning to understand the I importance of Joseph Smith more. I was so excited! Then I invited her to prepare to be baptized on July 23rd. She said I don't know because I'll be in the hospital from coffee withdawls. Haha She already knew about no coffee. But at first she was hesitant. So I taught her the Word of Wisdom and invited her to follow it. She said
yea but can I finish the pot that's in the kitchen first? It was interesting because I felt impressed to say, I want to say yes but as a representative of Jesus Christ I have to say no because this is what Heavenly Father is asking you to do not me. But he has given you agency so you can decide weather you finish it or not but I promise
you if you don"t you will have more strength to completley overcome it. I'd never said it that way before. Cool. She said in a joking way, "nooooo don't say that and guilt trip me haha" then I invited her whether she finished the pot of coffee or not to obey the Word of Wisdom starting tonight. She said yes!!! And she didn't finish it!
Thursday we finished our exchange with a chess match during lunch! Wow I have lost my skill. I can't remember any tactics or anything. Anyway it was a great exchange. We met with Jordan and Trish (less actives from Wednesday) had a great lesson with them! He has been wanting to come back for a while but she actually had a cool expirience. She was thinking about church one day and she saw some missionaries from her apartment balcony but she was trying to get up the courage to talk to them. By the time she mustard some up they had disappeared. Sadness...but WAIT! She saw them again. So she rushed down the stairs to talk to them and...they were gone again. That was a day or two before we came by so I have no idea what missionaries were trying to
poach from our area but THIS IS MY TURF 😡 I WILL NOT HAVE IT 😋 that was my initial thought but I think it was actually us haha. But then she said she'd come home and Jordan was telling her that we stopped by and they are both feeling the spirit telling them it's time to get active and receive these blessings again.
Friday we met our new mission president. President lancing. I am excited but come on everyone misses the Chambers. But I hope the Lancings feel loved as they begin serving in the absolute best mission in the world!
And then we taught Adam and Jonathan Friday night.
Saturday ADAM GOT BAPTIZED! Yay! His wife, Sunday's, parents were there. It was a great day. We also had a lesson with a less active lady that we were led to last week at the same exact time the Bishop was led to her. We taught her about the restoration. Her father passed away a couple weeks ago. She wanted to know where he went and what he was doing. I testified of the plan of salvation. It is perfect and it perfectly shows Heavenly Father's love for each one of us.
Sunday I confirmed Adam in Sacrament meeting! It was a great experience and opprotunity. A less active we have been working with since I got here and since Elder Ray got here 4 1/2 months ago who has had a horrible drinking addiction for a while came to church today for the first time in forever. It was fast and testimony meeting and one of Sunday's sisters got up and bore her testimony and said she has only shared her testimony 3 times in her life but she felt strongly impressed to get up today. She shared her love for the gospel and out of no where started talking about how the church's AA meetigs (12step program) have helped her so much and she testified to the blessings of that. I was amazed and crying. She didn't know that there was someone who had met with the Bishop a week and a half previously and who was giving everything he's got to get better and through her Heavenly Father told him what he needed to do. It made me think (I literally looked around) how many people in this ward alone are struggling and we can't even see it? Who is going through a trial that is eating them up that is putting there life in risk or anything and nobody knows. We NEED to follow every prompting we have. Heavenly Father trusts us and he needs us to help his children who are stuggling. Here was my other thought. Adam had been taught by missionaries before. He had a slightly rough life. He wasn't ready at the time to be baptized even though he had a baptisimal date a couple times. FINALLY, the day he has been prepared by the Lord and our Heavenly Father also HAPPENS to be the exact day this less active man went to church for the FIRST time in 10+ years bringing him and someone else together who has already gone through EXACTLY what he is going through NOW.
I give you each my representative witness that we have a loving Heavenly Father. He is VERY MUCH aware of us and our situations. Don't you ever think He has left you, that he doesn't care about you. He does and He is constantly preparing a way for you to feel His love and rejoice in the many blessings He has in store for you, in this I so testify in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Kremer
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