We basically didn't have our car for the whole week. There was body work that needed to get done that previous missionaries failed to do. So we didn't have our car from Monday to Friday and then with the snow storm, our car was grounded for most of the weekend. Due to our area, we pretty much had to stay in Woodstown the whole time. It is a three hour walk to the closest town. We did do the walk because we wanted to work in that town, and we couldn't get a ride there. After that walk we decided not to do it again because it took so much time. Now that there is snow on the ground, we will be having to walk through the snow.
We knew that the storm was coming about a week in advance, but we didn't know how bad it was going to be. The weather app we use does not give us specifics of what will be happening, only the chances of it. We were told on Thursday how bad it was going to be by President Anderson. The cars were grounded from about six in the evening on Friday until two or three on Sunday afternoon. We didn't get much direction on how to prepare, but as a missionary we are told to be prepared in case we are in an emergency situation. Luckily we didn't lose power during the storm, so the heat stayed on and we didn't freeze. I haven't been told an official number, but from what I have seen, I think we have gotten about two feet of snow. From walking around, it seems like they were trying to keep the main roads clear throughout the storm. The bishop thought it would still be good if he cancelled church yesterday because the residential streets were not being plowed as much if at all during the storm. There wasn't much to do during the storm other then walk around Woodstown helping people shovel their walks and drive ways during the storm so they wouldn't have as much to shovel after the storm. I am hoping that this is the first and only major snow storm this winter. Based on last year, things will start warming up around mid-March and most of the snow will be gone by then. I am looking forward to April and May when I don’t have to worry about the cold any more.
On Wednesday, there was a worldwide broadcast for missionaries that focused on teaching us that as missionaries; the main responsibility is to teach repentance and to baptize converts. We can do other things, but if we are not focused on what we are called to do, then we could be using our time better.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, January 25, 2016
Monday, January 18, 2016
week 63
This has been an interesting week. Elder Lewis had to go to a district leader training on Friday, so he wasn't in the area. It was easier for me to go to the other district leader’s area because they had more lessons and they would have a harder time rescheduling their lessons. The strange part is the the other area is Atlantic City, so I pretty much went back to my old area for the day. It was weird to be there after being transferred to Woodstown because I had just come from that area.
We are not going to have the car until at least Wednesday because it needs to get some body work for a dent in the door and some chipped paint. That basically means if we want to work in another town, that is not Woodstown, then we will need to get a member to take us. The nearest town is about five miles away, and it just not effective to walk there.
Elder Lewis and I were asked to bear our testimonies on Sunday because they didn't have a third speaker. Elder Lewis give a testimony on service, and I gave mine on the Book of Mormon. The other talks were on tithing so our testimonies had very little to do with what the assigned speakers had. We felt that the ward needed to hear our testimonies.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
We are not going to have the car until at least Wednesday because it needs to get some body work for a dent in the door and some chipped paint. That basically means if we want to work in another town, that is not Woodstown, then we will need to get a member to take us. The nearest town is about five miles away, and it just not effective to walk there.
Elder Lewis and I were asked to bear our testimonies on Sunday because they didn't have a third speaker. Elder Lewis give a testimony on service, and I gave mine on the Book of Mormon. The other talks were on tithing so our testimonies had very little to do with what the assigned speakers had. We felt that the ward needed to hear our testimonies.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, January 11, 2016
week 62
My new companion is Elder Lewis. He been out on his mission a little longer then I have. He is originally from Tucson, AZ and has been in Woodstown for about a month and a half.
In Sunday school yesterday, we were discussing the first few chapters of 1 Nephi. One thing that came into my mind is that we can go off of someone else's testimony for a while, but at some point we need to gain our own testimony of the gospel for ourselves. Nephi originally followed his father, Lehi, because he was his father. However, he desired to learn for himself if Lehi was inspired of the Lord to flee Jerusalem, and the Spirit confirmed to him that Lehi was commanded to flee.
We do a lot of volunteering in Woodstown. Three days a week we volunteer at various places. It is good to help the community that I am serving in. The service helps us to learn the area better and people start to learn who we are. That makes them are more open to us when we talk to them later on the street or on their doorsteps. It is also good because we believe "that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
In Sunday school yesterday, we were discussing the first few chapters of 1 Nephi. One thing that came into my mind is that we can go off of someone else's testimony for a while, but at some point we need to gain our own testimony of the gospel for ourselves. Nephi originally followed his father, Lehi, because he was his father. However, he desired to learn for himself if Lehi was inspired of the Lord to flee Jerusalem, and the Spirit confirmed to him that Lehi was commanded to flee.
We do a lot of volunteering in Woodstown. Three days a week we volunteer at various places. It is good to help the community that I am serving in. The service helps us to learn the area better and people start to learn who we are. That makes them are more open to us when we talk to them later on the street or on their doorsteps. It is also good because we believe "that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, January 4, 2016
Week 61
I hope that everyone's New Year has gone well for them so far. A change that is happening to me right at the start of the New Year is that I'm getting transferred. I have been in Linwood for little less than three months and it is already time for me to go. Transfers are being done differently this year, so I already know where I am going. I am leaving Linwood to go to Woodstown, NJ. I am sad to leave Linwood because I have made great friends while I have been here.
This week has been mostly spent trying to find people, and we did run across someone who was interested. His name is Rick. We were looking for another person that Elder Riley and I talked to sometime in October or November, but he wasn't home. Rick was standing outside of his car just about to leave. We stopped him and asked if he knew anyone who would like and need a message about Jesus Christ. He told us that he used to meet with missionaries and is more than willing to meet with us again.
During Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, a non-member got up and gave his testimony about how he feels when he comes to church. At first, it was just to support his member girlfriend, but now he comes because he likes the way he feels. He currently can't be baptized because of his chosen profession, but someday I feel like he will join the Church when he is ready.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
This week has been mostly spent trying to find people, and we did run across someone who was interested. His name is Rick. We were looking for another person that Elder Riley and I talked to sometime in October or November, but he wasn't home. Rick was standing outside of his car just about to leave. We stopped him and asked if he knew anyone who would like and need a message about Jesus Christ. He told us that he used to meet with missionaries and is more than willing to meet with us again.
During Fast and Testimony meeting yesterday, a non-member got up and gave his testimony about how he feels when he comes to church. At first, it was just to support his member girlfriend, but now he comes because he likes the way he feels. He currently can't be baptized because of his chosen profession, but someday I feel like he will join the Church when he is ready.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, December 28, 2015
Week 60--Happy New Year
I want to thank people from my ward who sent gifts and cards to me for Christmas. It is always nice to hear from my home ward!
It is hard to believe that the year 2015 is almost to a close. It been a year of ups and downs, but for the most part, it has been a really good year. I haven't had anyone I have taught enter into the waters of baptism, but I have taught many. I have made great friendships along the way. I am sad to see this year that I fully dedicated to serving the Lord go completely into the past, but I am excited to see what 2016 will bring to me.
At this time of the year, most people look back at what they accomplished during the past year and make goals for the coming year. One of the best ways for the coming year to be better than the previous year is to make a to-be list. A to-be list is harder because we can never check off anything from the list, but it is more rewarding because it gives us goals for what we want to become. I'm personally going to consult with the Lord and create a to-be list of attributes that I want to develop this coming year.
On Tuesday, we had our Christmas Zone Conference. We went over what we were able to accomplish this past year and where President Anderson believes we can be in the coming year. The biggest thing President Anderson stressed is to get people who recently joined the church to do genealogy. Then they can take or submit names of their ancestors, who finished their mortal lives, to the temple so they to can gain the blessings of baptism. Another topic that was stressed was that as missionaries, we are called to preach repentance and to baptize the people who humble themselves and repent of their past sins.
As part of Christmas, missionaries are able to call home. It is one of the two times missionaries are able to talk to their parents and hear their voices. We are lucky today because now most missionaries are able to use Skype, so they can both hear and see their parents instead of just talking to them over the phone. I will only have one more opportunity to Skype my family on my mission and I am looking forward to being able to Skype on Mother's Day. After that, I will not have the chance to talk with them other than emails until I finish my mission and return home. I am thankful that I am able to use Skype because it gives us a chance to be able to see our parents in real time while we are on our missions.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
It is hard to believe that the year 2015 is almost to a close. It been a year of ups and downs, but for the most part, it has been a really good year. I haven't had anyone I have taught enter into the waters of baptism, but I have taught many. I have made great friendships along the way. I am sad to see this year that I fully dedicated to serving the Lord go completely into the past, but I am excited to see what 2016 will bring to me.
At this time of the year, most people look back at what they accomplished during the past year and make goals for the coming year. One of the best ways for the coming year to be better than the previous year is to make a to-be list. A to-be list is harder because we can never check off anything from the list, but it is more rewarding because it gives us goals for what we want to become. I'm personally going to consult with the Lord and create a to-be list of attributes that I want to develop this coming year.
On Tuesday, we had our Christmas Zone Conference. We went over what we were able to accomplish this past year and where President Anderson believes we can be in the coming year. The biggest thing President Anderson stressed is to get people who recently joined the church to do genealogy. Then they can take or submit names of their ancestors, who finished their mortal lives, to the temple so they to can gain the blessings of baptism. Another topic that was stressed was that as missionaries, we are called to preach repentance and to baptize the people who humble themselves and repent of their past sins.
As part of Christmas, missionaries are able to call home. It is one of the two times missionaries are able to talk to their parents and hear their voices. We are lucky today because now most missionaries are able to use Skype, so they can both hear and see their parents instead of just talking to them over the phone. I will only have one more opportunity to Skype my family on my mission and I am looking forward to being able to Skype on Mother's Day. After that, I will not have the chance to talk with them other than emails until I finish my mission and return home. I am thankful that I am able to use Skype because it gives us a chance to be able to see our parents in real time while we are on our missions.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
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| Elder Bjerregaard and Elder Riley with the Higbees |
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| Elder Bjerregaard with Sister Higbee |
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| President Anderson |
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| A few of the Christmas gifts |
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| Skype call picture |
Monday, December 21, 2015
Week 59--Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone! May your Christmas be joyful and your life full of happiness.
This past week might have been one of the best weeks of my mission. We set weekly goals to help us focus on bringing souls to Christ, and we were able to meet most of them. I am not sure what we did differently, but I am going to say it is because the Spirit of Christmas is in the air and everyone is more willing to let us in their homes. Another reason is because we offer to show the video that the church put out for Christmas called “A Savior Is Born.” People love the video because it shows children from many cultures quoting Isaiah and bearing their testimony of the Savior. I invite you to watch it.
This Christmas season I will also invite people to ponder what gift they can give to the Savior this Christmas. What can you improve this year so you can be more Christ like this coming year? You can get some ideas from the Mormon Message "The Reason Behind Christmas", and also be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. As you remember the humble beginning of our Savior, you will be able to feel the Spirit of Christmas and feel of His love for you.
Mom here--click on the links to watch the videos.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
This past week might have been one of the best weeks of my mission. We set weekly goals to help us focus on bringing souls to Christ, and we were able to meet most of them. I am not sure what we did differently, but I am going to say it is because the Spirit of Christmas is in the air and everyone is more willing to let us in their homes. Another reason is because we offer to show the video that the church put out for Christmas called “A Savior Is Born.” People love the video because it shows children from many cultures quoting Isaiah and bearing their testimony of the Savior. I invite you to watch it.
This Christmas season I will also invite people to ponder what gift they can give to the Savior this Christmas. What can you improve this year so you can be more Christ like this coming year? You can get some ideas from the Mormon Message "The Reason Behind Christmas", and also be reminded of the true meaning of Christmas. As you remember the humble beginning of our Savior, you will be able to feel the Spirit of Christmas and feel of His love for you.
Mom here--click on the links to watch the videos.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
Monday, December 14, 2015
week 58
My companion, Elder Riley, gave a talk in sacrament meeting about having a Christ centered life. He chose to focus his talk around Christ like forgiveness. The story shared was about the time when William W. Phelps betrayed Joseph Smith to the Missouri mob. He spoke about how Joseph Smith and fellow church members found love in their hearts and forgave him without asking for any compensation. I thought that was a really good talk over all and Sister Jackson even asked Elder Riley for a copy of the talk.
We didn't teach many lessons last week, but we did talk to a lot of people. We talked to a guy earlier in the week and we scheduled a time to meet with him the following Sunday. When we went by yesterday at the time we previously said that we would, he was asleep. We decided to try to visit a less-active member that lived just down the street. It turns out that the less-active member doesn't live at the address we have anymore. The person we were talking to, Mike, said we can come back and talk to him a little bit about the church. We are planning on meeting with him this coming Friday.
Update on Brother Tomlin: So far he has said nothing about changing his mind. We are going to go through the last couple of lessons we have to teach him this week. We’ll go over the interview questions with him again and he will have his interview next week. It looks like the Sunday after Christmas is a go.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
We didn't teach many lessons last week, but we did talk to a lot of people. We talked to a guy earlier in the week and we scheduled a time to meet with him the following Sunday. When we went by yesterday at the time we previously said that we would, he was asleep. We decided to try to visit a less-active member that lived just down the street. It turns out that the less-active member doesn't live at the address we have anymore. The person we were talking to, Mike, said we can come back and talk to him a little bit about the church. We are planning on meeting with him this coming Friday.
Update on Brother Tomlin: So far he has said nothing about changing his mind. We are going to go through the last couple of lessons we have to teach him this week. We’ll go over the interview questions with him again and he will have his interview next week. It looks like the Sunday after Christmas is a go.
Elder Bjerregaard
#ASaviorIsBorn
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