week 103

Another week has passed, and boy has it gotten cold quickly again. The first part of last week was high 70's or low 80's, and it quickly cooled to the 50's. It looks like my last week in Pennsylvania is going to be a cold one. At least it still is warm enough that a sweater is all that I need. The weather has been very strange this past year, warm when it supposed to be cold and cold when it is supposed to be warm. Everything seemed like it started at least a month late weather wise.

This past Saturday we had a mission conference where Elder Robbins came to address the mission. Apparently mission conferences don't happen very often, but I had two on my mission. For example, before my first one the previous one happened over ten years before. Elder Robbins spent most of his time discussing the difference between "to do's" and "to be's". He taught us that "to be's" is much more important than "to do's" and our "to do's" should reflect what we have on our "to be's" list. He then taught us that we need to have Christ like attributes on our "to be's" list.

I will be going to the Philadelphia Temple this Wednesday. It is going to be an early morning, but it will still be fun. We are going to have two other elders spending the night with us because neither of them drives. We also have to go down to Broomall on Tuesday for our departing interview. How strange it is to be at the point when I will be having my departing interview!

This coming week is my last week. It is strange to think that my time is almost up. I hope I can fill this last week with wonderful memories.

Elder Bjerregaard

week 102

It looks like I spoke to soon about the weather. For the next couple of days it is going be at least mid-seventy's, just when I was starting to enjoy the weather too. It seems like Mother Nature can't decide if it should be cold or hot so she is giving us both. At least it should cool back down later this week.

Well, it finally happened. I just had my last zone conference which meant I had to give my departing testimony. One change from President Anderson is that President Randall had missionaries who were going home in the following transfer also give their testimonies. If President Anderson were still here, only the missionaries who were departing this transfer would give their testimonies. What made it even stranger is that it was the same chapel that I gave my testimony as a new missionary at a special training for Goldens (used to be called greenies) and their trainers. It seems only yesterday that I did that, and now I have given my testimony that marks the point where I am almost finished with my mission. Time really does fly as a missionary.

To top off the fact that I gave my departing testimony, I also received my travel itinerary for my flights back home. It’s starting to get really real that I don't have too much time left. Only two weeks left before I fly home and remove my missionary name badge, and it seems so strange. All good things must come to an end though.

Jing and Yao are progressing in the gospel. Jing seems more willing to believe and trust what we are teaching him. Yao is asking really good questions about different parts of the gospel. She is asking about things that we cover when people want to know more about the gospel at a deeper level then just Joseph Smith. For example, there was a talk on tithing this Sunday, and she asked what tithing was. We simply explained what it was. At some point we will discuss it more at length, but it is encouraging to hear her ask questions about important gospel topics.

Elder Bjerregaard

 

week 101

It is starting to feel like fall around here. At the start of the week, it was nice but now it is cool enough to make wearing sweaters worth it. It is weird that I only have this little time left that I have to wear a sweater before I go home, but it also feels right because I started my time in the field having to wear one. I have grown to love wearing a sweater with a dress shirt if it is cool enough.

At the beginning of the week, we were wondering if we were going to get any rain from Hurricane Matthew, but it seems like it kept to the east of the mission. It is sad to hear how so many people lost their lives, but we need to remember that we do have a Heavenly Father that loves us and everything has a reason for happening. In the end, anything that is wrong will be made right and all of our sufferings in this life will be replaced with joy and happiness. This is especially true for those who have lived God's commandments so they are able to have all the promised blessings they can receive.

Things have been uneventful recently. We are not currently teaching too many people, so our days are filled with trying to contact new people trying to find someone to teach. It is not easy, but we are really limited on what we can do right now. We are doing what we can. This work is never meant to be easy, even when you been out for twenty three and a half months.

Elder Bjerregaard

week 100

I can't believe that it is October. There were a few milestones that I passed during last week. First, on September 27 I turned 21 years old. It was the one hundredth week of my mission; I can't believe it been that long. I also hit twenty-three months out and as of last Saturday, only one month left to serve. My mission is coming to an end, and I am having a hard time believing that it been long enough to get to this point. I am excited and ready to come home, but at the same time I don’t want to leave my mission and the people that I have come to love.

This past week was a wonderful conference. I feel like it was a call to action for missionary work, and also for self-improvement through the grace of our Savior. I really liked Elder Oaks’s talk about how members can get involved in the missionary work. I hope regular members will be able to apply principles from his talk and help bring people into the fold.

Elder Bjerregaard