This week for us here in Avalon, was a pretty good week. It's still a great area and I'm starting to learn the area better now! I don't get to drive that often because Elder Lee doesn't trust my driving. Every time I get to drive is when he's tired (did I tell you about this?) and he's always half conscious when I'm driving because he's asleep. Anyway he freaks out over things when he semi-wakes up. So all in all he has no say because he's not all the way conscious. :) I am a good driver trust me.
We were able to reach the mission standard of total lessons (20) which was a good thing for us. We had a good number of Less Active lessons, but it didn't reflect on the number of LA's at church, which was a bummer. An investigator that we had at church was a daughter to an active member. We haven't been able to set something up in the past while because of custody issues during the holidays with her divorced parents for her but we do have an appointment set up now that she was at church and we were able to talk to her dad who is the member. Our investigator Stephine didn't come to church.... and she smoked... She was doing great for a while but then went to a Steelers party for the playoffs and smoked there which was a bummer to hear about. She totally needs new friends. It's been a long struggle with her and hopefully we'll be able to work with her more. We're planning on giving her a blessing to help her stop smoking. It's something that we've really wanted to do, but keep on forgetting about it. That's our step and hopefully it will work.
That's way exciting that Steve can put in his papers so early!(We just found out you can submit your papers 4 months before your birthday now) How cool is that? That's a whole extra month before his birthday than I was able too. I'll probably be hearing about his call sometime is August right?
Well it snowed a lot this week and we have shoveled many-a-walkways! The old ladies in the ward call us to go and shovel. Also this non-member lady that we work with at the place where we do service (a Alzheimer care unit) asked us to and we went over there. She wasn't home at the time so we just did it anyway. She called us up that night and told us that she got a message on her machine from her neighbor telling her that "there were two guys shoveling your drive way in dress shoes"! That's us! We do everything in those dress shoes :)
Reading the Book of Mormon so fast has been really cool! Right now I'm in mid-Mosiah I think. And it's really cool to see how the story flows. The only bummer part is I can't really stop to study any cool passages I come across. I just have to make a little red dot by it and continue on. King Benjamin's address is so classic! I think I talked about this a couple months ago when I decided to study it on my own. How awesome! The Book of Mormon is true!
Well I think that's all for this week. Not too many exciting things happened. No dogs thankfully, only nice ones :)
Elder Benjamin Serrano
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Avalon Week 4
Yup yup! I've been out for just over 11 Months now! Isn't that crazy? How does the day counter you have for me look? Just about half way full right? Haha! Sweet!
It's been pretty chilly out here too! Our 60 degree days are over. It's not too bad all I gotta do is just layer up and I'm good for the most part. Last night we went to go and try a referral that a member gave us for their neighbors and this guy comes out and wants to talk to us. Well it turns into an "argument" he was just saying that we were wrong, and that we didn't believe in Jesus, etc. All completely ridiculous things, anyway! We sat and chatted with him for 15 minutes or so, but halfway through the conversation I was shaking like crazy! It was so cold! It felt like we were out there for an hour! That was fun, the guy was stubborn and really didn't care for a word that we said.
Oh and another crazy story! I was bit by a dog!
So again we were out trying a referral that we got from HQ and so we knocked on the door to her house. Her house was an absolute wreck by the way! We looked in through the window and there was garbage everywhere and there were probably 100 totes outside surrounding her house that were full of who knows what. Anyway she wasn't home, and so we tried her neighbors to see if they knew anything about her. So we walk up to this house that is faced perpendicular to the street so the side of it is along side the street. The doors then, were on either side of the house, so we tried the one on the left side of the house and no one came to the door. So we tried the door on the right side of the house and as I was walking up the steps to get to the door I look up and see the doors are open and I hear voices. So as I'm rounding this bush I look up and see this dog, and it just howls at me! It didn't even bark, it just screamed like a wild banshee!! I ran up to me, eyes wide like it's seen a ghost, and it stops a foot away from me just screaming at me. All this happened so fast I really didn't get a chance to react much. Then it lunged at my knee! It bit it! And by that time I realized that the cord that was on the dog wasn't keeping it back at all. So I high tailed it out of there and just booked it down those steps because I didn't know how long it's leash was. I made it down the steps and turned around to see it turning it's wheels trying to get to me, but the leash kept it back. By that time the owner was out and reeling it in like a fisherman. Then when she got the dog she slapped it across the face! Good riddance. Anyway, we didn't really learn much about the referral. The neighbor really wasn't any help. As we were walking back to the car, we had a good laugh. Good thing I was wearing my long-john-thermal garments so the mangy mutt couldn't break through that wonderfully holy fabric. I only had a little red mark that looked like a light scratch of a nail. (if you took your nail and press it lightly to your arm and slide it, it makes a red mark, but it's nothing big at all) It was a wonderful day! haha! This happened on Saturday.
So! Stephine finally came to church! we weren't able to set her with a baptismal date yet, she's a little scared to. Whenever we set her with a date she gets nervous for some reason, when it come up and starts up smoking again. So that's a bummer. We were able to teach Michael and Marcia again, and they are totally awesome! They had a lot of questions, and they also kept their commitment to read the book of Mormon. That was really awesome! They didn't come to church which was a bummer, they'll make it one of these days, they've gotta!
The mission has set out a goal for all the missionaries in the PPMission to start and finish the Book of Mormon by Feb 18th! It's been great so far! I love the Book of Mormon so much! The words that are contained in that book are so amazing. I just read 2 Nephi 9 this morning, and it is incredible! I suggest that chapter for your next study/read. The Book of Mormon is true, no matter what anyone says. Most, if not all, of the time, those who bash on it, have never even read it. Like the guy I talked to last night, he said that a friend told him that it wasn't true, therefore to him, it wasn't, and he wouldn't even accept a free copy to read it for himself, but he wanted to rely on the lies of his friend who hasn't read it either. It's too bad that he didn't want the fountain of spiritual nourishment that flows from it's pages.
Well I think that's it for this week, that was exciting! It was a pretty eventful week :)
11 months has gone by so fast, it's incredible. Mothers day will be here in a flash :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Serrano
It's been pretty chilly out here too! Our 60 degree days are over. It's not too bad all I gotta do is just layer up and I'm good for the most part. Last night we went to go and try a referral that a member gave us for their neighbors and this guy comes out and wants to talk to us. Well it turns into an "argument" he was just saying that we were wrong, and that we didn't believe in Jesus, etc. All completely ridiculous things, anyway! We sat and chatted with him for 15 minutes or so, but halfway through the conversation I was shaking like crazy! It was so cold! It felt like we were out there for an hour! That was fun, the guy was stubborn and really didn't care for a word that we said.
Oh and another crazy story! I was bit by a dog!
So again we were out trying a referral that we got from HQ and so we knocked on the door to her house. Her house was an absolute wreck by the way! We looked in through the window and there was garbage everywhere and there were probably 100 totes outside surrounding her house that were full of who knows what. Anyway she wasn't home, and so we tried her neighbors to see if they knew anything about her. So we walk up to this house that is faced perpendicular to the street so the side of it is along side the street. The doors then, were on either side of the house, so we tried the one on the left side of the house and no one came to the door. So we tried the door on the right side of the house and as I was walking up the steps to get to the door I look up and see the doors are open and I hear voices. So as I'm rounding this bush I look up and see this dog, and it just howls at me! It didn't even bark, it just screamed like a wild banshee!! I ran up to me, eyes wide like it's seen a ghost, and it stops a foot away from me just screaming at me. All this happened so fast I really didn't get a chance to react much. Then it lunged at my knee! It bit it! And by that time I realized that the cord that was on the dog wasn't keeping it back at all. So I high tailed it out of there and just booked it down those steps because I didn't know how long it's leash was. I made it down the steps and turned around to see it turning it's wheels trying to get to me, but the leash kept it back. By that time the owner was out and reeling it in like a fisherman. Then when she got the dog she slapped it across the face! Good riddance. Anyway, we didn't really learn much about the referral. The neighbor really wasn't any help. As we were walking back to the car, we had a good laugh. Good thing I was wearing my long-john-thermal garments so the mangy mutt couldn't break through that wonderfully holy fabric. I only had a little red mark that looked like a light scratch of a nail. (if you took your nail and press it lightly to your arm and slide it, it makes a red mark, but it's nothing big at all) It was a wonderful day! haha! This happened on Saturday.
So! Stephine finally came to church! we weren't able to set her with a baptismal date yet, she's a little scared to. Whenever we set her with a date she gets nervous for some reason, when it come up and starts up smoking again. So that's a bummer. We were able to teach Michael and Marcia again, and they are totally awesome! They had a lot of questions, and they also kept their commitment to read the book of Mormon. That was really awesome! They didn't come to church which was a bummer, they'll make it one of these days, they've gotta!
The mission has set out a goal for all the missionaries in the PPMission to start and finish the Book of Mormon by Feb 18th! It's been great so far! I love the Book of Mormon so much! The words that are contained in that book are so amazing. I just read 2 Nephi 9 this morning, and it is incredible! I suggest that chapter for your next study/read. The Book of Mormon is true, no matter what anyone says. Most, if not all, of the time, those who bash on it, have never even read it. Like the guy I talked to last night, he said that a friend told him that it wasn't true, therefore to him, it wasn't, and he wouldn't even accept a free copy to read it for himself, but he wanted to rely on the lies of his friend who hasn't read it either. It's too bad that he didn't want the fountain of spiritual nourishment that flows from it's pages.
Well I think that's it for this week, that was exciting! It was a pretty eventful week :)
11 months has gone by so fast, it's incredible. Mothers day will be here in a flash :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Serrano
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Avalon Week 3
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Happy Birthday! |
awesome ties, a sweater, and then I went and bought a new pair of shoes at the Macys. They're a good pair! Waterproof, good traction, and fairly durable, they are the Timberland brand, so they'll do pretty good from
what I was told. So anyway after I did that.... Nothing really much that was really exciting happened haha! we just went to the apartment and relaxed a little bit. That was way nice! It sure was a good birthday! Nothing really different than any other day really. So yeah it was good.
New Years eve, I was on exchange with a couple of new missionaries in our zone, we had to be in by 6 to the apartment, so that we weren't out proselyting when there were crazy drunks everywhere. So we went over to
a members home and played some games with them for about an hour, then went back to the apartment. I didn't stay up to the new years because, 1. I was so dead tired anyway and didn't want to waste 2 hours of sleep,and 2. it's part of the rules that we retire to bed at 10:30. It was a great night anyway.
The exchange the next day went really well though! We were able to pick up a couple new investigators to work with. They are a really cool couple! Their names are Michael and Marcia. During the lesson they mentioned that they were searching for the truth, and that was a super awesome heart pumper! As we were explaining that Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites in the Book of Mormon, Marcia had some questions about the resurrection and how that worked with Christ being able to appear places with a physical body. So we were able to explain about the resurrection and the doctrine behind it. It was a really cool lesson! As for Bailey, I don't know what's happening with her. Hopefully things are going fine.
So as Zone Leaders we go to a meeting called the Zone Leader Council. It's a meeting where all the zone leaders in the mission gather together with President Summerhays and discuss the things of the mission and howto improve the mission. It was really cool to be able to discuss ways that we as the leaders of the mission can help to further the work that's going on in the mission. We discussed things like being good examples and helping to motivate missionaries using the scriptures and what not. It was a really cool meeting.
Love,
Benjamin
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Avalon Week 2
From Sheryl: We got to skype with Elder Serrano for 30 minutes on Christmas day, plus have phone time. It was great seeing him! He looks great! He was happy and laughing and having fun. He really likes his new companion and his new area. The ward members are great and love the Elders. That, too, is a change from the southside. I've attached pics that ward members e-mailed me from Christmas. Here is the e-mail we got the following Monday. Short, because we had just spoke.
Hooray for Christmas phone calls! That was so fun to hear your voice and to see you over Skype! That was great! Thank you for the Christmas presents! I failed to bring my camera chord to the library to send you pictures of me opening them. So next week for sure I'll send pictures of Christmas and birthday! It'll be great!
Well lets see. Yesterday our investigator didn't come to church which was a let down.... She promised she would but didn't because of her Boyfriend. Satan is working extra hard on her for some reason. She's totally awesome and I hope to see her baptized and everything!
We're going to that mall today so I can pick up some things for my birthday. Thanks for that card!!! I laughed when I saw the names attached to the animals in the Card! They totally fit exactly!! Dad's made me laugh the hardest! The cat with that big ol gut! Then someone drew the belly button on which was awesome! haha! We'll I don't have too much planned for my birthday today so we'll see what happens. It's been a great day so far!
Well I think that's about it. Not much has happened with in the last day.
Love.
Benjamin
Hooray for Christmas phone calls! That was so fun to hear your voice and to see you over Skype! That was great! Thank you for the Christmas presents! I failed to bring my camera chord to the library to send you pictures of me opening them. So next week for sure I'll send pictures of Christmas and birthday! It'll be great!
Well lets see. Yesterday our investigator didn't come to church which was a let down.... She promised she would but didn't because of her Boyfriend. Satan is working extra hard on her for some reason. She's totally awesome and I hope to see her baptized and everything!
We're going to that mall today so I can pick up some things for my birthday. Thanks for that card!!! I laughed when I saw the names attached to the animals in the Card! They totally fit exactly!! Dad's made me laugh the hardest! The cat with that big ol gut! Then someone drew the belly button on which was awesome! haha! We'll I don't have too much planned for my birthday today so we'll see what happens. It's been a great day so far!
Well I think that's about it. Not much has happened with in the last day.
Love.
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| Christmas Eve with the Suiter Family |
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Avalon Week 1
Holy Smokes Christmas is on Saturday! And I get to talk to you! I remember back in May that I was thinking that it was going to take forever to get to December so that I could talk to you all again! But to be honest I can't really believe how fast that went by, it's crazy!
Yeah so serving as a Zone Leader. It's pretty cool! My companion Elder Lee is great. He's an awesome missionary and we get along really well! It's a total relief, I'll tell ya what! And yeah Wexford really isn't that far from the outhside. I pulled out my mission map to outline the boundaries of my area and I was like, woah, I really didn't go that far! haha! I just went to the neighboring zone, it was pretty funny. Yeah, there's totally a Steeler (Chris Hoke #76) in my ward here. Although since it's during the season we hardly see him around because he's so busy with practices and what not. And about watching practices on p-day, that would have had to happen when I was in the Southside... Their practice field is in that area. It's a bummer because I never got to go there and see it! oh well. Maybe sometime in the future. I think I'm just going to talk about Zone leader stuff when you call, then I'll have more of a solid understanding of all the things we're supposed to do. I'm still a baby zone leader :) Elder Lee is about 10 inches taller than me, and 10 pounds less than I am! haha! oh while we're on the subject of weight... so when I left Johnstown I was at 175, and when I left The southside I came to the Avalon (that's what the area is called) apartment and weighed myself and.... I'm now at 160!!! hooray! I lost 15 pounds in South Side!!
Okay so I just found this out from the Assistants to the President. So it is okay for missionaries to use Skype to talk to the family at home, for Christmas!!! The only rule is though that we get 30 minutes of that, and we can call for... however long. :) So when I call on Christmas we can arrange stuff so we can see each other on live video feed! That would be so much fun! We should do it! So go get one and we can arrange things on Christmas okay? yay!! :) Sound good? :)
So we also have a pretty cool investigator her name is Stephine (stephanie) and she is going to be baptized within the next couple weeks. She just had a problem with smoking. We're going to break her of that habit though and we'll be able to baptize her. She's about 20 years old and way cool.
It is so nice finally being in an area that has a car! It keeps me warm in the freezing winter months. I got out of Southside just in time :) oh yeah we get to cruise around in a 2011 Chevy Malibu. We're privileged. :) Well, That's all for now! I will talk/see you on Saturday! :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Serrano
Yeah so serving as a Zone Leader. It's pretty cool! My companion Elder Lee is great. He's an awesome missionary and we get along really well! It's a total relief, I'll tell ya what! And yeah Wexford really isn't that far from the outhside. I pulled out my mission map to outline the boundaries of my area and I was like, woah, I really didn't go that far! haha! I just went to the neighboring zone, it was pretty funny. Yeah, there's totally a Steeler (Chris Hoke #76) in my ward here. Although since it's during the season we hardly see him around because he's so busy with practices and what not. And about watching practices on p-day, that would have had to happen when I was in the Southside... Their practice field is in that area. It's a bummer because I never got to go there and see it! oh well. Maybe sometime in the future. I think I'm just going to talk about Zone leader stuff when you call, then I'll have more of a solid understanding of all the things we're supposed to do. I'm still a baby zone leader :) Elder Lee is about 10 inches taller than me, and 10 pounds less than I am! haha! oh while we're on the subject of weight... so when I left Johnstown I was at 175, and when I left The southside I came to the Avalon (that's what the area is called) apartment and weighed myself and.... I'm now at 160!!! hooray! I lost 15 pounds in South Side!!
Okay so I just found this out from the Assistants to the President. So it is okay for missionaries to use Skype to talk to the family at home, for Christmas!!! The only rule is though that we get 30 minutes of that, and we can call for... however long. :) So when I call on Christmas we can arrange stuff so we can see each other on live video feed! That would be so much fun! We should do it! So go get one and we can arrange things on Christmas okay? yay!! :) Sound good? :)
So we also have a pretty cool investigator her name is Stephine (stephanie) and she is going to be baptized within the next couple weeks. She just had a problem with smoking. We're going to break her of that habit though and we'll be able to baptize her. She's about 20 years old and way cool.
It is so nice finally being in an area that has a car! It keeps me warm in the freezing winter months. I got out of Southside just in time :) oh yeah we get to cruise around in a 2011 Chevy Malibu. We're privileged. :) Well, That's all for now! I will talk/see you on Saturday! :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin Serrano
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Pittsburgh Week 18
12/13/10
I am doing well and I am working on keeping my spirits as high as they can go! It's really cold, and there really aren't that many people out walking the streets and if they are they don't really want to stop and talk to us in the freezing weather. The advent calendar is really fun and I always can't wait to wake up the next morning and open up another little pouch! I gobbled up the raspberry sticks in about 2 days, they were delicious!! :) Baily is doing great and we are still seeing some improvement and we are seeing some opposition that the Adversary is giving her. She asked us on some advice on how to handle people that are opposed to her joining the church, and we were able to help her out on a few things. We're still waiting on her boyfriend to move out and find a job.... strike that, reverse it. So that's basically the only thing, sadly though I won't be able to see her baptized.
And if I'm being transferred.... Yes i am!! I don't know where I'll be going, but Elder Hurley and Shipp will be staying in the Southside for another transfer together. It's been a long 4 months here in the Southside but it's been a great learning experience and what not! And guess what else is happening? I'm getting assigned and made to Zone Leader! Meaning I'll have more responsibility. President Summerhays called me up last night and asked me if I would serve as a zone leader. I asked him, Are you sure? (because naturally I don't feel adequate for really any calling) and he said, "Yes! Thus spake the Lord!" Well I couldn't argue with that. So tomorrow I'll be made Zone Leader and the shipped off to another area to be there for a couple weeks and then Christmas is here!! :)
Well I'll tell you what happened on Thursday. We had a Mission Tour with Elder Eduardo Garvarrett from the Quorum of the Seventy. It was way cool because he taught us a lot of things and shared his testimony about missionary work and what not. So 3 missionaries were chosen out of the many zones which were there and he interviewed them, and it just so happened that one of those missionaries was me! I was chosen to get interviewed and was told that I would be before the Mission Tour. So needless to say, I was extremely nervous for that to happen. So yeah that was way cool, I got to sit one on one with a general authority and talk to him. He shared some mission experiences with me, and we talked about my family, and also I got to ask him some questions and what not. It was way awesome! I could literally see something in his eyes that made him different, he truly is a special witness of Jesus Christ. It was an amazing thing!
Well as for the memorization of the Living Christ:
"As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
He was the great Jehovah of the old testament and the Messiah of the new. Under the direction of His Father, he was the creator of the earth. "All things were made by him, and with out Him was not anything made, that was made." Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He went about "doing good" yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow his example. He walked to roads of Palestine healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our pre-mortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.
He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all that would ever live upon the earth.
We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem, nor concluded on Calvary. He was the firstborn of the Father, the only begotten Son in the flesh, the redeemer of the world.
He rose from the grave to become the firstfruits of them that slept. As risen Lord he visited among those he had loved in life. He also ministered among his "other sheep" in ancient America. In the modern world, He and his Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fullness of times"
Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: "His eyes were as a flame of fire;t the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters; even the voice of Jehovah saying:
I am the first and the last. I am He who liveth I am He who was slain. I am your advocate with the father"
Of Him the Prophet also declared, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all which we give oh him, That He lives! For we saw him even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the only begotten of the Father, and that by him and through him and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."
We declare in words of solemnity that his priesthood and his church have been restored upon the earth "built upon the foundation of... apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone"
We testify that He will someday return to the earth "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" And he shall rule as king of kings and reign as lord of lords and every knee what bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before him. Each of us will stand to be judged of him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
We bear testimony - as his duly ordained apostles, that Jesus is the Living Christ, the Immortal son of God. He is the great king Immanuel who stands today on the right hand of his Father. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the Matchless gift of His divine son."
(This is "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" published in the year 2000 by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
Impressed? All from memory :) I think I got it all, probably not the the commas in the right places but I think all the words are correct. I just need to memorize the scripture references. But I got it.
I am very excited to be able to go to another area and to serve there amongst many more wonderful people. I will tell you asap what my new address is so no worries. You'll be able to get those packages off to me in time. But as for that that's all for me this week. I am way excited to be able to talk to you in a couple weeks! Hooray!!
Love,
Elder Benjamin
I am doing well and I am working on keeping my spirits as high as they can go! It's really cold, and there really aren't that many people out walking the streets and if they are they don't really want to stop and talk to us in the freezing weather. The advent calendar is really fun and I always can't wait to wake up the next morning and open up another little pouch! I gobbled up the raspberry sticks in about 2 days, they were delicious!! :) Baily is doing great and we are still seeing some improvement and we are seeing some opposition that the Adversary is giving her. She asked us on some advice on how to handle people that are opposed to her joining the church, and we were able to help her out on a few things. We're still waiting on her boyfriend to move out and find a job.... strike that, reverse it. So that's basically the only thing, sadly though I won't be able to see her baptized.
And if I'm being transferred.... Yes i am!! I don't know where I'll be going, but Elder Hurley and Shipp will be staying in the Southside for another transfer together. It's been a long 4 months here in the Southside but it's been a great learning experience and what not! And guess what else is happening? I'm getting assigned and made to Zone Leader! Meaning I'll have more responsibility. President Summerhays called me up last night and asked me if I would serve as a zone leader. I asked him, Are you sure? (because naturally I don't feel adequate for really any calling) and he said, "Yes! Thus spake the Lord!" Well I couldn't argue with that. So tomorrow I'll be made Zone Leader and the shipped off to another area to be there for a couple weeks and then Christmas is here!! :)
Well I'll tell you what happened on Thursday. We had a Mission Tour with Elder Eduardo Garvarrett from the Quorum of the Seventy. It was way cool because he taught us a lot of things and shared his testimony about missionary work and what not. So 3 missionaries were chosen out of the many zones which were there and he interviewed them, and it just so happened that one of those missionaries was me! I was chosen to get interviewed and was told that I would be before the Mission Tour. So needless to say, I was extremely nervous for that to happen. So yeah that was way cool, I got to sit one on one with a general authority and talk to him. He shared some mission experiences with me, and we talked about my family, and also I got to ask him some questions and what not. It was way awesome! I could literally see something in his eyes that made him different, he truly is a special witness of Jesus Christ. It was an amazing thing!
Well as for the memorization of the Living Christ:
"As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.
He was the great Jehovah of the old testament and the Messiah of the new. Under the direction of His Father, he was the creator of the earth. "All things were made by him, and with out Him was not anything made, that was made." Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He went about "doing good" yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow his example. He walked to roads of Palestine healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our pre-mortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.
He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all that would ever live upon the earth.
We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem, nor concluded on Calvary. He was the firstborn of the Father, the only begotten Son in the flesh, the redeemer of the world.
He rose from the grave to become the firstfruits of them that slept. As risen Lord he visited among those he had loved in life. He also ministered among his "other sheep" in ancient America. In the modern world, He and his Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fullness of times"
Of the Living Christ, the Prophet Joseph wrote: "His eyes were as a flame of fire;t the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun; and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters; even the voice of Jehovah saying:
I am the first and the last. I am He who liveth I am He who was slain. I am your advocate with the father"
Of Him the Prophet also declared, "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all which we give oh him, That He lives! For we saw him even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the only begotten of the Father, and that by him and through him and of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."
We declare in words of solemnity that his priesthood and his church have been restored upon the earth "built upon the foundation of... apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone"
We testify that He will someday return to the earth "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" And he shall rule as king of kings and reign as lord of lords and every knee what bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before him. Each of us will stand to be judged of him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.
We bear testimony - as his duly ordained apostles, that Jesus is the Living Christ, the Immortal son of God. He is the great king Immanuel who stands today on the right hand of his Father. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the Matchless gift of His divine son."
(This is "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles" published in the year 2000 by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)
Impressed? All from memory :) I think I got it all, probably not the the commas in the right places but I think all the words are correct. I just need to memorize the scripture references. But I got it.
I am very excited to be able to go to another area and to serve there amongst many more wonderful people. I will tell you asap what my new address is so no worries. You'll be able to get those packages off to me in time. But as for that that's all for me this week. I am way excited to be able to talk to you in a couple weeks! Hooray!!
Love,
Elder Benjamin
Pittsburgh Week 17
12/6/10
The Advent calendar is really fun! Thank you so much for sending it to me! I got the Christmas Tree, ornaments, the star, the cd, the hand sanitizer (much needed BTW), and the bar of soap today. We put the Christmas tree up on one of our old fireplace mantles in the study, and put a couple gifts next to it the we got from the ward! It was a pleasant surprise when the Ward Mission Leader came up and handed me and my companions a bag for Christmas! yay! So we have a couple presents.
As for transfers, I'm not exactly sure, but rumor is that I may be getting transferred. But that's just a guess coming from the Zone Leaders, so who knows. It's up in the air every time. But just to be safe, we'll play it like I'm getting transferred. I kinda get the feeling that I will be. I'll be sure and let you know asap!
My investigators are doing fine! Baily's living situation is starting to work out! She told us that her boyfriend has a couple job offers that are out of town and they seem pretty promising. She was way excited to tell us about that and we were ecstatic to hear about it! We don't quite have a baptismal date for her but once her boyfriend moves she'll be getting right in the water for sure! Our new investigator, Justin is pretty cool he didn't come to church this week or to any of the events that were happening this weekend (a baptism and a Christmas program put on by the singles ward). Which was a bummer, but we'll be working with him continually this week and help him to understand the gospel.
I'm as so excited to be able to talk to you! It seemed like it was not too long ago when I talked to you on Mothers day and thinking it was going to take forever for Christmas to come and lo and behold it's right around the corner! I cannot believe how fast these past 7 months have gone by! It's kinda scary how fast. Anyway I am was excited to be able to talk you the family! Ya! Anyway, this week. Not much happened that was outside of the ordinary.
This coming week though there is a "Mission Tour" happening and Elder Eduardo Gavarrett is coming from the quorum of the Seventy! So that will be exciting! Something also which is pretty cool, is: whenever there is a mission tour the General Authority that is coming will personally interview 3 or 4 elders one-on-one from the mission, and guess who was chosen to be one of them?? You guessed it! Me! So I have the opportunity to sit in a room with a Special Witness of Jesus Christ and talk with him about the mission. Wow. Intense. I'll let you know how that goes next week. Wish me luck.
Oh another thing that is cool. I started memorizing the church document, The Living Christ, put out by the First Presidency and the 12 apostles back in 2000. It's about one page; 2 columns; size 10 font. It's really awesome I have about 3/4 of it memorized. By next week I'll have all of it down! But until then that's about all for this week! 19 more days until Christmas! :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin
The Advent calendar is really fun! Thank you so much for sending it to me! I got the Christmas Tree, ornaments, the star, the cd, the hand sanitizer (much needed BTW), and the bar of soap today. We put the Christmas tree up on one of our old fireplace mantles in the study, and put a couple gifts next to it the we got from the ward! It was a pleasant surprise when the Ward Mission Leader came up and handed me and my companions a bag for Christmas! yay! So we have a couple presents.
As for transfers, I'm not exactly sure, but rumor is that I may be getting transferred. But that's just a guess coming from the Zone Leaders, so who knows. It's up in the air every time. But just to be safe, we'll play it like I'm getting transferred. I kinda get the feeling that I will be. I'll be sure and let you know asap!
My investigators are doing fine! Baily's living situation is starting to work out! She told us that her boyfriend has a couple job offers that are out of town and they seem pretty promising. She was way excited to tell us about that and we were ecstatic to hear about it! We don't quite have a baptismal date for her but once her boyfriend moves she'll be getting right in the water for sure! Our new investigator, Justin is pretty cool he didn't come to church this week or to any of the events that were happening this weekend (a baptism and a Christmas program put on by the singles ward). Which was a bummer, but we'll be working with him continually this week and help him to understand the gospel.
I'm as so excited to be able to talk to you! It seemed like it was not too long ago when I talked to you on Mothers day and thinking it was going to take forever for Christmas to come and lo and behold it's right around the corner! I cannot believe how fast these past 7 months have gone by! It's kinda scary how fast. Anyway I am was excited to be able to talk you the family! Ya! Anyway, this week. Not much happened that was outside of the ordinary.
This coming week though there is a "Mission Tour" happening and Elder Eduardo Gavarrett is coming from the quorum of the Seventy! So that will be exciting! Something also which is pretty cool, is: whenever there is a mission tour the General Authority that is coming will personally interview 3 or 4 elders one-on-one from the mission, and guess who was chosen to be one of them?? You guessed it! Me! So I have the opportunity to sit in a room with a Special Witness of Jesus Christ and talk with him about the mission. Wow. Intense. I'll let you know how that goes next week. Wish me luck.
Oh another thing that is cool. I started memorizing the church document, The Living Christ, put out by the First Presidency and the 12 apostles back in 2000. It's about one page; 2 columns; size 10 font. It's really awesome I have about 3/4 of it memorized. By next week I'll have all of it down! But until then that's about all for this week! 19 more days until Christmas! :)
Love,
Elder Benjamin
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