Elder Bolliger - Adelanto, CA Week 60 - 63:

No Letter - Week 60

Hello Family, Week 61
(non-blog) Lessons in Following the Promptings of the Spirit - Blessings and Baptisms.

Hello family - Week 62

Hello family from Adelanto,CA after a long week of people cancelling we had some really good lessons with some of the people that we have been working with, right now we are teaching a 'lost former area book investigator' and she has some really good examples of what being lds can really be to her family and doesn't have any misconceptions. Also one of the recent converts in the ward named Michael is doing missionary work already after being baptized 3 weeks ago. Tonight actually we are teaching his friend with him and I can't wait to do that actually. Its going to be awesome.

I am starting to get a grip on this ward and the people and its starting to pay off now but things are just moving slowly. This weeks email is no where near last weeks but next weeks should be a lot better progress. Sorry for the lameness but it rained up here and snowed in the mountains too!

Elder Bolliger

Well I am still in Adelanto, CA. - Week 63

The work here seems to take a step forward and a step backward at the same time, it changes often as in missionary work this is not uncommon, but is the life of being a missionary. Its not the most consistent thing in the world, and honestly I am amazed I can be so flexible when it comes to missionary work, because every time you think its going to be set in stone, people cancel, different people are there than you were wanting and other events happen that throw a lot of wrenches into everyone's plans. But over the course of the mission I have learned to trust in the spirit and to follow what its saying and what we should be doing. Its weird to think that I was more stingy about being flexible before as now its common to expect being flexible and I am grateful that I could learn such a skill.

Also this past week on Wednesday we had a really, really good day. We met with one of our main investigators and taught her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she is someone that has very good LDS friends that are good examples to her and a good example of what the Church can really do. It was really good and in the lesson me and my companion got the same prompting to give her a blessing of comfort and counsel. We weren't expecting to do this at all and in my mind the spirit said again 'she needs a blessing of comfort' but to myself I thought that this was crazy and giving a blessing on the first lesson. I was hesitating saying it and then suddenly my companion said it and I was like, yup that was a prompting and he said it before I could, we both got it at the same time. And after the blessing her demeanor completely changed from one of a sullen, depressed to a joyful happy one, and that's what the gospel does for people, it makes them genuinely happy and feels good in their life when they are following the gospel.

That day was not over yet, it turned into a very different one than we were expecting and than what we had originally planned. It was a good day though and the spirit was helping to guide me along through out the day on who to go see as we had nothing planned for dinner, but the spirit said 'go and see [these people] and they are going to get need priesthood blessings'. And the spirit was right once again, as we went over there and didn't saying anything other than being there supportively and talking and having a good time with them and then it wasn't until the husband said ' thank you for coming over' then I knew that the spirit was right. And they both asked for priesthood blessings and one thing that I have noticed as I have been giving them, every times is a learning experience, every time I give a blessing I learn something new myself. Whether it be how to give one, how the blessings are manifested, how sometimes the spirit gives more direction than others, and you can pronounce blessings without sometimes being specific as its what they feel sometimes rather than what you are actually saying. Its just a learning experience and like following promptings its a precept upon precept learning curve.

Then over time you can really start to see how far you have come.

But since then its been a little slow in terms of missionary work as this week wasn't the fastest one.

But I am curious to see how transfers will go now, and if I stay, my companion stays or one of us goes.

Elder Bolliger

Sister Bolliger - Returning With Honor Oct 2011

We attended the AMAZING missionary farewell fireside at the mission office on October 16th. As we waited to see Sister Bolliger, several other people gathered too. I think we overwhelmed her a bit as she seemed pulled between realizing that it was nearing the end, crying in the car listening to a song her mission president played for the sisters departing, and seeing her parents and others waiting there. We got some fun hugs and then off we were to listen to a very spiritually rich fireside. Sister Bolliger recited the mission motto for all the missionaries to rise and repeat. Each missionary invited 1 person they worked with to share their testimony. Siser Bolliger invited Chuck but he was out of town on a family matter so he was not able to speak.

The others that shared their testimonies were amazing. The spirit was awesome!

Later in the program she bore her testimony. She mentioned how much she's loved the people and how she's developed a love for the gospel beyond an intellectual knowledge. She shared how seeing the atonement work in her life, the life of her companions, and those that she served was wonderful. The mission president spoke for the last 30 min. giving a stirring talk about doing God's - His work and being on God's - His team! Photos and hugs followed. It was such a special night.

The next morning we arrived to pick up Sister Bolliger. We put her things in the car and were invited in to a final prayer with the mission president, his wife, and all the missionaries departing. I cried through the prayer. It reminded me of being in the temple. We all kneeled in their family room. There was so much love, faith, devotion, and willingness to serve in that room. I LOVED it! It is a precious memory for me!

The Assistants to the President took the others to the airport and we drove over to the temple to visit. It was great. Later we went back to the mission office to get see Sister Jackson from our home stake arrive from the airport and take a photo. Sister Bolliger also got to see Sister Biasayl from Mongolia, Sister Croft, and others. It was a sweet treat though a bit misty eyed for Sister Bolliger. It was hard to leave and talk about completing her mission.

Saturday morning the family went to our Stake President's home so that Sister Bolliger could give her report, talk to him, and be released. She didn't like taking off her name tag right away. It was hard. She loved being a missionary and could feel the mantle of love it brought to allow her to see others and love them the way that God does!

Sister Bolliger spoke about the atonement the next day in church - her "homecoming!"

Favorite thoughts I jotted down from her talk:

Read Scriptures - it's a handbook of life - Book of Mormon

Faith is not just believing - but acting
Gospel challenges us to be converted to do and become who He wants us to become.
Atonement - God takes us wherever we are at and makes us better.
God knows us personally.
The atonement is for all of us!

The Holy Ghost is like a GPS - if we are not understanding the directions....
maybe the volume is down.
maybe we are in a place where we cannot get reception.
When we choose to NOT follow the instructed course, we hear "recalculating."

Pres. Gelwix taught "Keep on Keeping on!"
"If you knew the final score of the game, would you switch jersey's mid game?"
"We do know the final score!"

"Which team are we going to play for?"

Pres Gelwix also taught "Repentance is like weeding the garden. If you go to the root - everything is gone"
She shared about people she'd taught like Andres that prays wherever and whenever he can.
She shared about Chuck that studied and learned and hungered for the gospel.

Finally she shared about helping a companion that struggled to love herself and learning it is not our pace but the direction that we are going that matters! We are all imperfect people trying to follow Christ! 2 Nephi 31:20 "Press forward in steadfastness in Christ..."

Christ revealed himself in his perfect form so we could have a perfect hope in him.

Again, she shared how she intellectually bought into the atonement before leaving to serve a mission. But now she feels it too!

She concluded with her testimony in Spanish.

It was a beautiful day.

This concludes the weekly updates on the mission of Sister Katalin Bolliger

Gratefully,

Sister Bolliger - the Elder :)

ps.

She's now a nursery leader working with the 18mo old - 3 years olds in our ward. Awesome!