Monday, January 24, 2011

Elder Bolliger - San Bernardino, CA Week 22: A Very Spiritual "Spirit Finding" Experience!

Well this week is gonna be a good email.
A very spiritual "spirit finding" experience.
This past tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Mitton, the south area's junior companion. We were in our area and after 3 pm we were going to go see a less active that lived in a rest home next to our apartment complex. But while I was walking outside and inbetween our apartment complex and the rest home/ medical center or whatever you call it, I had the prompting that it wasn't the right time to do that and that we should go tracting a little north of our apartment which we started too but stopped. So for a minute I sat there and did nothing, hmmmm I thought to my self, I feel like it would be better to go tracting over there, so I followed the prompting not knowing what would become of it. But putting my trust in the lord and following the spirit, although unreluctantly. So we set out and skipped the quadraplex that last time we knocked and went straight into the next one. The first door we knock on, a lady answers , she has a little boy who inquires what our names are and after a couple minutes can't stop saying missionaries missionaries... etc. We talk with her for a couple minutes about our message to strengthen peoples faith in jesus christ and she tells us that she has talked to missionaries before but it was about 5 years ago and wants another "Finding Faith in Christ DVD" so we get down her information and she tells us that we can come back this next week and talk with her. Sweet me and elder mitton thought, like 10 minutes into finding and we already have a new investigator! So we knock on 2 more doors and the 3rd one a girl answers and we can see her family in the background but we continue with our message, and at the end of it we ask if this is something her family would be interested in, because of the family in the background usually people aren't so accepting of us coming back and talking but she accepts and we are going over there to teach her family later this week. Me and elder mitton look at each other and are amazed that she accepted and that we know have 2 investigators and we have been only out 20 minutes.
We move onto the next quadraplex and an older lady answers the door, we talk on how the plan of salvation allows us to know where we came from, why we are here and where we are going after this life. (One thing that elder Hall taught me was to go pamphlet finding, to pull out a pamphlet and explain while going through what its all about.) So we proceed to give her a pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation, and she tells us that she already has one and she loves the picture on the front of Jesus Christ rising from the tomb. In my head the spriit was kind of pre-empting me that we would end up giving a book of mormon to her but I really didn't trust it as much as I should. So we proceeded to go to the restoration of the gospel and how the gospel of jesus christ was needed to be restored more than just reformed, and all the while we teaching her about the restored gospel her thirst for the truth was visibly increasing, she wanted to know more and more and was excited for us to come back and teach her. I can't wait to teach her more. After giving her a book of mormon and testifying to her that like the bible, the book of mormon can change her life we also gave her a restoration pamphlet and also talked to her son who is interested in coming out to our friday night finding basketball activity we put on every friday night.
By this point me and elder mitton are looking at each other, holy cow we just found 3 new people in like 7 doors. This never happens and it is most definitely spirit finding.
So we proceed to the next door because we feel like there is still another person who is waiting to her our message. The next door over from the one spoken earlier an older lady answers and is initially a little cold. We go on and talk about our message and she also says that missionaries have talked to her before and were going to get her a KJV smaller bible because someone came in and stole hers. We talk to her and learn that she is very very sick and goes to a lot of different doctors but wants to know more regarding the gospel of jesus christ.
So after this 4th new investigator we are just amazed, by following the spirit we were lead to 4 new people and we stood there and both got the feeling that we had found who we needed to find and that was all we were supposed to do. That day we ended up only tracting for about 45 minutes and found 4 new people. After getting back to our apartment we said a prayer of gratitude for this amazing experience and are so greatful for doing that, neither him nor me had ever experienced such finding on our missions, he has been out 8 months and me now 6! And knew that it was the spirit that led us to those people.
Also I got a letter back from a recent convert family that I confirmed their son while serving in the colton ward, I baptized/confirmed her son marcos when I was serving in colton and now I got the word that I can baptize her daughter, veronica the sister of marcos and is the little girl in the photo that I included in this email. Sweet news! I love having a positive influence in peoples lives and knowing how much the gospel of jesus christ can help them in almost every way!
Also here are the 3 ways to stay active in church. And to recieve personal revelation.
1. Pray Often
If you pray often you open up yourself to our father in heaven and share with him your problems the good and the bad and thank him for all that you have in this life, its brings calmness and peace into your life. It also allows you to pray and ask for forgiveness about things that we have done and starts the repentance process.
2. Study the Scriptures
If we study the scriptures and hearken unto their counsel they bring a special spirit in our lives that you really can't get any other way. If we are doing what we are not supposed too he will smite us with the rod of his mouth. ( a figurative expression form D&C19:15, which means the iron rod = the word of god). Pretty much you won;t be able to read it without things popping out at you smacking you in the face.
3. Attend Church
When we attend church we show our committment to god and his commandments and worship him. It gives us a spiritual boost in our life and allows us to refill both physically, mentally and spiritually for the upcoming week. This is one of the best ways to recieve revelation for yourself and serenity.
If we follow these ways we will stay active in the church and its so simple yet profound.

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