I can't believe that I hit my eighteen month mark this week, and the sisters that came out with me are on their last few weeks of their missions. Time seems to fly by, especially the longer you are out on your mission. I remember that the first six months on my mission went by relatively slowly, but this past six month period went by quickly, and now I am going to be starting my last six month period. I personally wonder how many new areas and new companions I will have for the rest of my mission. If my average continues, I will have two more companions and two more areas, but we will see.
We went on two exchanges this past week. The first one was with Elder Dean from the Salisbury Ward. He was in my district when I was in Linwood for a transfer so it was fun to be with him around him again. Nothing really interesting happened to us, but Elder Crowther and Elder Larsen found a couple of bedbugs in the Salisbury apartment. They put them in a jar and lit them on fire and recorded it, that was entertaining to watch. (Mom here ~ Boys will be boys.)
The next day I was in Seaford with Elder Weeks, a Spanish Elder. Turns out, he was Elder Covington’s companion in the MTC. I seem to be around a lot of Spanish missionaries that came out with that group. If I remember right, it came to five different Elders. The Spanish elders in Seaford also teach people in English unlike most Spanish areas. Spanish exchanges are fun, but one downside is when they teach in Spanish, all I really can do is to sit there and look pretty, but I really enjoy it.
Elder Bjerregaard
#Hallelujah
Monday, April 25, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
week 76
Things are finally starting to warm up here and stay warm. It has been a crazy winter and early spring, but I think Mother Nature finally told Old Man Winter that winter was over and it is time to start warming up and staying warm. Pretty soon though, probably around the end of May or beginning of June, I am going to think that it is getting a little to warm and ready for it to cool off again. One thing about missionary work, we go out no matter how hot or cold it is.
Last week for preparation day, Elder Crowther and I went bowling with a member of the branch. For most of the time, I was having a hard time getting any good frames, but on the last game I was able to get a little over a hundred and won that game.
We went on exchanges this pass week with the zone leaders. The zone leader I was with got trained by Elder Allred (a former companion). The mission seems so small sometimes. I feel like I know most of the missionaries by now. From what I heard, that is normal when you are around the middle of your mission, but by the time you go home, you don't know anyone again. I don't think that is true because I knew more than half the missionaries when I was about six or seven and a half months into my mission.
We had interviews with President Anderson this past Saturday. This was my last one with him. The next time I have an interview with my mission President, it will be another person. Because it was going to be the last time with President and Sister Anderson, they had us do what they have all missionaries do shortly do before they go home, namely signing their souvenir blanket and giving them our home mailing address and home email.
Shortly after having interviews with President Anderson, Elder Crowther had two baptismal interviews. So all in all, it probably took a hour and a half to two hours because of interviews.
Have a wonderful week. Remember that no mistake is too big that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can't fix. God be with you until next week.
Elder Bjerregaard
#Hallelujah
Last week for preparation day, Elder Crowther and I went bowling with a member of the branch. For most of the time, I was having a hard time getting any good frames, but on the last game I was able to get a little over a hundred and won that game.
We went on exchanges this pass week with the zone leaders. The zone leader I was with got trained by Elder Allred (a former companion). The mission seems so small sometimes. I feel like I know most of the missionaries by now. From what I heard, that is normal when you are around the middle of your mission, but by the time you go home, you don't know anyone again. I don't think that is true because I knew more than half the missionaries when I was about six or seven and a half months into my mission.
We had interviews with President Anderson this past Saturday. This was my last one with him. The next time I have an interview with my mission President, it will be another person. Because it was going to be the last time with President and Sister Anderson, they had us do what they have all missionaries do shortly do before they go home, namely signing their souvenir blanket and giving them our home mailing address and home email.
Shortly after having interviews with President Anderson, Elder Crowther had two baptismal interviews. So all in all, it probably took a hour and a half to two hours because of interviews.
Have a wonderful week. Remember that no mistake is too big that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can't fix. God be with you until next week.
Elder Bjerregaard
#Hallelujah
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| From left to right: Elder Holden, Elder Crowther, Elder Bjerregaard, Elder Lake |
Monday, April 11, 2016
week 75
Has it really been seventy-five weeks already? Time is starting to run out faster and faster every passing week. Last week, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that it was not winter anymore, that or Mother Nature forgot to tell Old Man Winter that it was no longer winter. It has warmed right back to where it supposed to be this time of year.
It was a hard week this week because our investigators kept on canceling, or they were not there when they agreed to be there for us to come over. It is never easy when you have over twenty scheduled appointments and less than seven hold and we were able to teach them the gospel. At the very least that gave us more time to go find the people who will receive us and listen and act on our message.
I find that the hardest part of going out to talk to people, to see if we can find anyone who is willing to listen to our message, is finding people who will listen and act upon the message. Sometimes I feel like the simple commitment to read from the Book of Mormon is like pulling teeth. Some people just will not read it for one reason or another. Without acting on the message we have, they can never know for themselves if the message is true or not. I sometimes wonder why people invite us in, or more importantly back, when they don't intend to act on our message. Without the desire or intent to act, they might as well watch tv. I am sure watching tv is more entertaining than watching two twenty year old boys try to explain why the restoration of the gospel was needed and that Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
My mind just goes back to the need of having real intent. Moroni teaches us in the Book of Mormon that without real intent, we can't receive answers to our prayers. I find that true with the people that I teach. People who has real intent in their prayers are the people who are ready to act on the message. As Jesus taught "If any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself". If anyone does "his will" with "real intent" and with a "fullness of heart" he will "know of the doctrine", and that it what I hope everyone will understand.
That concludes my rant about people acting on my message that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith. Through Joseph Smith the gospel was restored to the Earth and the Book of Mormon is a sure witness that it is true. We can get closer to God as we read the Book of Mormon and apply it to our lives, enter into sacred covenants, and endure to the end.
Now onto my week. We had stake conference this past weekend and it was really good. The first part of stake conference was people giving their testimonies. At least two of them were recently baptized and shared their journey into the church. It was interesting how Heavenly Father prepares his children to receive the gospel, no matter how religious they are currently are. One of them said that her journey into the church started years ago when she meet a guy at school. Through that relationship she requested a bible. She was ready for the missionaries to call asking if they can come and visit with her. The reason why she said yes is because she was told by her friend that they probably would be calling to set up a time to meet with her.
We never can tell how we will influence others to come unto Christ. It might just be something small like being friend to them, or just being friendly to them, or something as big has inviting them to learn about the restored gospel. The point is we should always be ready to do what Christ would do, that way they can come onto Him.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
It was a hard week this week because our investigators kept on canceling, or they were not there when they agreed to be there for us to come over. It is never easy when you have over twenty scheduled appointments and less than seven hold and we were able to teach them the gospel. At the very least that gave us more time to go find the people who will receive us and listen and act on our message.
I find that the hardest part of going out to talk to people, to see if we can find anyone who is willing to listen to our message, is finding people who will listen and act upon the message. Sometimes I feel like the simple commitment to read from the Book of Mormon is like pulling teeth. Some people just will not read it for one reason or another. Without acting on the message we have, they can never know for themselves if the message is true or not. I sometimes wonder why people invite us in, or more importantly back, when they don't intend to act on our message. Without the desire or intent to act, they might as well watch tv. I am sure watching tv is more entertaining than watching two twenty year old boys try to explain why the restoration of the gospel was needed and that Joseph Smith really did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
My mind just goes back to the need of having real intent. Moroni teaches us in the Book of Mormon that without real intent, we can't receive answers to our prayers. I find that true with the people that I teach. People who has real intent in their prayers are the people who are ready to act on the message. As Jesus taught "If any man do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself". If anyone does "his will" with "real intent" and with a "fullness of heart" he will "know of the doctrine", and that it what I hope everyone will understand.
That concludes my rant about people acting on my message that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith. Through Joseph Smith the gospel was restored to the Earth and the Book of Mormon is a sure witness that it is true. We can get closer to God as we read the Book of Mormon and apply it to our lives, enter into sacred covenants, and endure to the end.
Now onto my week. We had stake conference this past weekend and it was really good. The first part of stake conference was people giving their testimonies. At least two of them were recently baptized and shared their journey into the church. It was interesting how Heavenly Father prepares his children to receive the gospel, no matter how religious they are currently are. One of them said that her journey into the church started years ago when she meet a guy at school. Through that relationship she requested a bible. She was ready for the missionaries to call asking if they can come and visit with her. The reason why she said yes is because she was told by her friend that they probably would be calling to set up a time to meet with her.
We never can tell how we will influence others to come unto Christ. It might just be something small like being friend to them, or just being friendly to them, or something as big has inviting them to learn about the restored gospel. The point is we should always be ready to do what Christ would do, that way they can come onto Him.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, April 4, 2016
Week 74
It was a wonderful week, and ended with a wonderful conference.
It was a busy week for us this week. We received a referral from Mormon.org that someone requested a Bible, and of course we were glad to deliver it to her. As we talked, we sensed that she was ready for the gospel, but because of guidance from our leaders and because of our schedule, we were not able to share a "full" message, but we did share the first vision with her. She also had a friend over at the same time so that was awesome. When we were about to leave, we asked if they knew anyone who would benefit from and be interested in hearing our message. They both said that they would invite one of their friends to come over for the next time we meet with them.
Conference was really good in my opinion. There were many good talks, but I’m having a hard time remembering who said what. But I loved the topics; forgiveness, fatherhood, marriage, and family just to name a few. One of my favorite quotes from conference is, and this might not be word for word, "we need to choose the harder right than the easier wrong." In the world today, it is getting harder to choose the right because what is right is becoming more and more unpopular and the wrong is "becoming" right. There are things that the world now deems as "right" that many years ago was considered taboo. I am not going to name examples, but if you look carefully, you will be able to find them.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
It was a busy week for us this week. We received a referral from Mormon.org that someone requested a Bible, and of course we were glad to deliver it to her. As we talked, we sensed that she was ready for the gospel, but because of guidance from our leaders and because of our schedule, we were not able to share a "full" message, but we did share the first vision with her. She also had a friend over at the same time so that was awesome. When we were about to leave, we asked if they knew anyone who would benefit from and be interested in hearing our message. They both said that they would invite one of their friends to come over for the next time we meet with them.
Conference was really good in my opinion. There were many good talks, but I’m having a hard time remembering who said what. But I loved the topics; forgiveness, fatherhood, marriage, and family just to name a few. One of my favorite quotes from conference is, and this might not be word for word, "we need to choose the harder right than the easier wrong." In the world today, it is getting harder to choose the right because what is right is becoming more and more unpopular and the wrong is "becoming" right. There are things that the world now deems as "right" that many years ago was considered taboo. I am not going to name examples, but if you look carefully, you will be able to find them.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
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