Elder Bolliger, Upland, CA, Week 87: Birthdays and Teaching

Hello family from Upland California,

Well This may be my last week in this area, as transfers are coming up a week from tomorrow. And we will find out who is going and who is staying as early as wednesday/ thursday of this week.

I also turn 21 this week, and that thought is just  Its a strange thought to have been here for 3 months and it has flown by so fast, its so strange.

Anyway, our main investigator came to church yesterday with her husband and they stayed for sacrament but due to other work obligations they were unable to stay for longer. But we will be teaching her today as on wednesday we have a temple trip to the redlands temple, its going to be exciting for sure!

 I am sorry about this email but next week should be a lot more detailed on where I will be going the last 2 transfers of my mission, I can't believe May starts tomorrow and the "jump" to the end of my mission then begins. Its going to be quite a ride.

Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger: Upland, CA Week 86: Referrals and Trainings

Hello family from the crazy weather of Southern Califorina, on Saturday and Yesterday it was in the 90s and hot and sunny, it doesn't help that our AC was broken as well. Oh well, so this morning I wake up to rain around 4am which was very strange but made a little sense. And today is nice and damp and rainy.

This past week there were 2 notable events.
The first was a referral that referred herself to us through Mormon.org and we were going to her house when another member pulled us over and was talking to us. Then the lady who referred herself went to drive away from her house and then drove over to us and started to talk to us. She has lots of friends and family who are members of the church and she has had a large 'spiritual hole' in her life and is looking to see if the church can help fill that gap for her. We taught her a little but we were unprepared for the depth and amount of questions that she was asking us, she really is a prepared person who has some small word of wisdom issues but she is willing and trying to get over them. Its going to be exciting talking to her this next week about the gospel and how much good it can do for her. And also her mother in law got baptized a few months ago so her and her husband are both wanting to learn more about the church. All this next week.
The other big event from this past week was Elder Ballard of the 12, Elder Shayne M Bowen of the Seventy, Elder Whitting of the Seventy and Elder Heim who is an Area Authority.
Here are some notes from the Trainings,
Elder Heim - He Taught us that we have the authority to lovingly correct our investigators in the correct way to pray to our heavenly father and how important this was so that they can feel the spirit and have a personal relationship with god. "Part the veil for those whom you teach"
Elder Whiting,
you have been given the authority but have you done what is necessary to have the power of your calling? Earn the power, it starts with appearance.
Elder Shayne M Bowen
"Many are called but few are obedient".
Covenant People, God deals with Covenant people through covenants, We (missionaries) are the noble and great ones. And you dont recieve more priesthood than you have now, as Jesus Christ organized the world with the same Priesthood, of  Melchezidek.
Don't put on the uniform of the world after your mission.
Elder Ballard
Sacrifice a little for the work. He joked a lot in his talk, one funny thing he said to us was "When I was a missionary you were in the spirit world, and maybe your mission president too and others here". We have every tool necessary to be a great missionary. The World is covered in sin and darkness, lucifier is unleashing everything that hes got to keep people in spiriitual darkness. People don't know who they are, you have got to be really good teachers, A teacher of light and Truth. Trust Him and Know him, and you can go anywhere and be bold and confident in god. And that weak and simple people should confound the wise and learned of the world. Turn over the remainder of your mission to the lord. And then he said how we are the future of the church and this mission is training us to take it over when we are gone. And To have joy have faith in the lord every day.

Fast Foward to Stake Conference Yesterday,
so during Stake Conference Elder Shayne M Bowen of the Seventy had all of us missionaries stand up, he then said "Here is the problem, (pointing out the fact that there are only 12 missionaries in the whole stake), He than said Missionaries can sit down except the one on the end" Which was me... So he first asked my name, and he said it in the right way. He then asked me how long my call is for, I really didn't hear the question and replied 21 months but he asked again, and i replied 24 months, so 2 years, he then proceeded to ask me what my #1 Priority was when I got home. I had a complete brain freeze right then, and was not being as quick as I should have but eventually one of the other missioaries said "The temple" and I repeated that and he wanted a better answer but I now knew where this was going and replied "To Be sealed in the temple to my eternal companion for time and eternity" And that is the answer that he was looking for and had me sit down. He then talked on how these are only the 'part time missionaries' and the full time ones are the members in the ward And went into a good long talk about how important the temple is to members and to less active or inactive members, who he said there was no such thing as if any member really understood the doctrine he would not be less active or inactive.

Well I only have 2 weeks left in this transfer and only 2 more transfers left until i come back home.
Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger Upland, CA Week 85: Thoughts, Really Awesome Lesson & Upcoming Experience, Birthday's Coming

Hello family from Upland California,

Well I am here and it is strange with my birthday coming up so soon, and other things, right now my mind is in a very retrospective attitude as I look back on all the memories that I have made, and people that I have met. It is really a strange thought.

Well this past week the moment that stands our the most is a lesson that we taught on the Doctrine of Christ, which is 2 Nephi 31. It was really awesome as the spirit was really there and taught both the son and the father about the importance of baptism and the sacrament. It was a really a good lesson and it had been too long since I taught a lesson like that.

Well this weekend I am looking forward to Elder Ballard this weekend as he is coming to one of the Stake Conferences down here and will be speaking just to our mission. I can't wait for it to come as it will be really an awesome experience.

So my companion just had his birthday yesterday and my birthday is now in less than 3 weeks away.

Well I hope all yall have a wonderful week ahead!

Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger - Upland, CA Week 84: Starting to Get Warm, Service, Baptism of Tyler, It's a Small World

Subject: Hello family from Upland California

Date: April 9, 2012

Hello family from Upland, California where it is starting to get warm now, and I have less than 4 months now from going home. I am not counting the days but just the months for now.

This past week we spent a lot of time doing service for some members in our ward who were unable to do it for themselves, we have as of recently been able to get into houses that other missionaries have had difficulty in doing so but now we are teaching them and we are again this week. On Saturday we had a baptism of a girl named Tyler who was 12 and it was awesome, we had a great turnout of more than 30 people there including us and other missionaries and tons of family. It was amazing.

And for Katalin, its sure a small world, one of her bishop's parents are serving a mission over there in Rancho Cucamonga and they come and check on our apartment every month, last month they asked me if I had a sister that served in Fresno mission and in Lemoore and I replied in the affirmative.

Well I hope that yall have an amazing week back home!

Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger - Upland, CA Week 83:BBQ, Really Good Day with Service and Following impressions to Do Exactly What We Needed To Do, General Conference

Subject: Some awesome experiences and General conference

Date: April 2, 2012

Hello family from the Upland of California, where I am serving my mission right now.

Well on Monday after emailing we had a BBQ at a members house where he smoked 10lb of brisket and 3 racks of baby back ribs, ooohhh they are so good smoked, we have to smoke a turkey for thanksgiving now!

Tuesday was a really good day as well as we did service for like 5 hours at a part member families house cleaning up the front yard and making it look incredibly better, we then did some other stuff, went to dinner and then after dinner we had the best splits that I have ever had on my mission, we went out with a brother in the ward and I had the thought to visit 2 part member families, well the impression, not just a thought turned out to be exactly what we needed to do. We amazingly got in with both of those families and our member was the perfect man to bring as he could really, really relate to them, and we set up return appointments with the both of them! It’s awesome.

The Next day (Wednesday) we had splits again and we had another wonderful experience at a part members family’s house, it was really good and again.

For General Conference, I loved the Priesthood Session a ton!

Here are some of my notes from it.

Bednar, it was an excellent talk and he talked about how persistent he was with his father who was not a member and how he asked him about home teaching and the lack of it in the ward at church,

Edgely, Approach nonmembers/less actives and give them a responsibility to be a missionary to their friends and go in there assuming they are a member, unique approach.

Uchtdorf, spent time on the Why things are the way they are, Callings called of God. But there was a phrase in there I absolutely love, "Inspired Priorities", and why not use inspired priorities more often in everything that we do? to prioritize our lives, and or goals? And how the applications of the Doctrine change from time to time but the Doctrine does not.

Eyring, The Sealing Power of Elijah, And on how April 3, which is tomorrow, back 174 years ago Elijah appeared and put back the power that puts everything else in the gospel together, The Holy Spirit of Promise

Monson, The Call of Duty, The Priesthood is an Everlasting Principle, " When God calls and man obeys God, man will always be right" or something along those lines. Called as Bishop @ 22 yr old. and being persistent cause eventually it will work, "Do your duty, that is best, leave to the Lord, the rest" And how we need to magnify our callings.

I sure do love you all and I am trying to end on a great note.

Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger - Upland, CA Week 82: Staying 6 more weeks in Upland, Started Splits, Awesome Yard Service, Looking forward to General Conference

Subject: Hello from Upland CA

Date: March 26, 2012

Well hello family from Upland, California where I will be staying another 6 weeks and after this transfer have only 3 months left, tomorrow I hit my 4 months to go mark, and its just picking up speed way too fast! Recently this past week we started to get splits in this ward up and moving and we are already seeing some positive effects of it! We visited the house of a semi-active member and we noticed how the yard needed a lot of work and upkeep, so we went back a couple of days later and did some awesome lawn and front yard upkeep for the house and we are going tomorrow to finish the front yard and hopefully begin to teach her and her family that lives there the gospel. We are also actively inviting members to pray about people to invite to general conference as it is coming up this next weekend and I am so looking forward to it.

I hope that everyone back home has an amazing week and general conference this weekend!

Elder Bolliger

Elder Bolliger - Upland, CA Week 81: District Leader Trainings, Things I've Been Leanrning

Subject: First week being a dl in upland

Date: March 19, 2012

Hello family,

So for the past week from tomorrow, I have been district leader since my other companion Elder Jackson went home for school.

And I had to prepare a district meeting for them, so I decided to do some from the book, Spiritual Roots of Human Relations because it helped me to look at the Restoration and to look at how it really does boil down to the root relationship between God and man.

Example

Question to open it up: Is our enthusiasm for the Restoration and what it can do reflected in our conviction to others? This message is so important and it seems (And even I haven't done this all the time) like our conviction is just boring compared to bold and loving b/c of what it can do for them.

God <-----> Man

Look at the first vision in Joseph Smith History and how it helps out people in relationship

God is Real,

God and Jesus Christ are two separate glorified beings of flesh and bone.

God answers prayers, and is reachable.

God knows us individually and by name, he cares about all of us greatly and wants the best for all of us.

The Heavens are not closed.

This is just what it is in 2 scriptures in JS:H and help everyone out about how they can strengthen their relationship with our Father in Heaven. This is what we need to communicate with our investigators and this is why the first vision account is so powerful, the spirit conveys to the hearts of men the truth of these statements and bears witness of them.

We can then look through the perspective of the spiritual relation between God and man and then looking at all of the lessons can see the love that God has for us and can see how this works for our investigators, then I went on from there on the Gospel Salesman / Gospel Teacher and how we can all improve to aim for becoming gospel teachers, its not an easy thing in the beginning but its the thing that is more worth it in the end. While we were on this topic I was showing how becoming a gospel teacher is building your foundation upon Christ and then one of the sister missionaries shared Helaman 5:12, and then I shared about the experience driving up to Utah, the spirit was here in a very large measure and it was humbling yet edifying for me, also from there we talked about the wise man and the foolish man, its a primary answer to a question much older people ask. But that was last week and I thought it was good, I also brought guacamole and it was tastily delicious. But that was last week and I have already planned a lot for tomorrow and will continue to think about it this upcoming week, its humbling to receive the revelation and direction for District Meetings, also we role played door approaches with this new found focus, which we will do tomorrow and help everyone else to improve and help each other out.

Katie how would that be for a district meeting? I shared that last week.

Another thing that I learned was in D&C 50:22 about the Holy Ghost and how it says 'he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together', but that when the spirit is there during a lesson its there for them as well even if they don't recognize it but that they need to open up their heart to the spirit.

Well we had 2 days of leadership training, where we learned that Elder Ballard is coming to the mission and we will be hearing from him for about 2 hours in April, I can't wait for it.

Also I had some other experiences in this ward in helping them out to improve their organization and missionary work in general.

And last night I re-found why I need prayer so much, in applying some of the things that I learned about it. It was a good spiritual experience as I humbled myself in prayer.

But I hope yall have a good week ahead! And I love yall so much! (only 4 1/2 months to go!)

Elder Bolliger