Well last week we had Michael come to church and he LOVED it again!!!!! It was awesome. Our other investigators have all been on spring break so it's hard to get in contact with them. But we are still trying. Anyways so just a heads up, we had zone conferences all week and it's spring break so campus is dead, so there's nothing new to report but I will try to give you a good rundown.
Mon- We had our meeting with President and talked about all the Zone Conferences. Following that meeting we had FHE with the branch and guess who came? MICHAEL!!! He enjoyed it and even has some fantastic fellow-shipping going on right now. He seems to be progressing very well and is willing to keep meeting.
Tue- We traveled down to Bloomington for what would probably be my last Zone Conference there. The focus of the conferences was to apply everything Bro Donaldson counselled us to do. We gave training on the use of the pamphlet in teaching the new way that Bro Donaldson showed us. It was cool though because I learned something new about prophets. If prophets were called to teach and baptize with the priesthood, proclaim the gospel, AND testify of the coming of Christ, then don't we need them now? Of course we do. Think about it. Christ said He would come again and it is recorded in the Bible, too. Surely most religions can't deny the Bible. Therefore, if Christ is coming again, then it is needful for a prophet to be called once again to testify of Christ's second coming and proclaim His gospel once again. It just makes sense :) So that was a cool revelatory experience for me. After zone conference we drove back and got ready for the next day's conference.
Wed- We met in the Indy Stake and I got to be with my good friend Elder Pau'u for his last zone conference :( He is leaving the mission and going back to California!
Zone conference went great. Again lots of revelation and cool things learned during the zone conference. I learned a great term called merism. What's a merism? Well it's pretty much when we sum up an event by using the lowest part of the range and the highest part of the range as a contrast. For example, "He searched high and low."
When we hear that phrase, we take it to mean that he looked everywhere, so this merism includes everything high, everything low, and EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. It's actually a literary device used in the Bible. For example, Paul talks about how by Faith we are Saved. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End unto Salvation. So, yes, it is true that Faith is the first step, and being Saved is the last step. But we must also do everything in between!!!! People get that confused all the time and don't think Repentance, Baptism and the rest are necessary. So when I started to read the New Testament more I realized it's packed with these. Like Alpha and Omega. Christ is the Alpha and Omega, which means He is also everything else in between. Look for that as you read the bible. You can understand why there are so many mix ups. But it just reaffirms my testimony of the Book of Mormon which helps clear up misunderstandings and questions.
Thur- We had what is probably my last zone conference in Lafayette. Same training. But again we can always learn something new. I learned how much more humble I need to be in order to continue to progress. It's not the situation that always halts our progression. In fact that's rarely the case. We have our own agency to choose to be happy or to be depressed. To listen to the Spirit, or to try to give it a go on our own. Following that conference we had dinner with some members and then headed back home to finally rest a bit. Because next Mon-Wed is the constant grind again haha!
Fri- We had nothing to do that day so we decided to help with the office and elder Breck. We also set up a couple lessons in which one was with Michael. After doing the office work we went and taught Michael the restoration. We did it the way Bro Donaldson told us to, and it worked again. Michael is now pursuing the date of April 22nd for his baptism. He is sincere and loves the church. Now we have to help him better understand scripture. Michael is from Nigeria so he isn't really fluent in English but he is learning. It was great! We also had dinner with a member that night and went home.
So the week wasn't all that exciting but still good none the less. I'm pretty excited to go back out to the field, but I don't know where I'm going for sure yet till like next Thursday.
Here is a little message you could share with the family!
Dear Heimuli Family!
It's your favorite Elder Heimuli in the mission field! Things in Indiana are going great and time is ticking down to the last drop. I've studied a lot in the Book of Mormon, but from the very beginning. It's funny how it seems that whenever we decide to do one of those Book of Mormon challenges we'd cruise through 1st Nephi, skip the Isaiah chapters, and if you're me I'd skip everything till the war chapters in Alma! Am I right?
Last week I was really down on myself. I literally thought I was the worst missionary in the world. For some reason everything negative came flooding into my brain. I prayed to God to help me. I received a distinct impression to open up the Book of Mormon and read it from the beginning. I did. And honestly, what I felt was peace. I calmed down, and as I read I didn't just read to read. I slowed down and I applied everything I could to me.
For example:
Verse 1- I was born of goodly parents, and they were born of goodly parents as well. Grandpa Peni raised the wonderful men and women we have today in our family. The gospel is applied to families, and when we apply it to families we can know of the great goodness and mysteries of God as said later in the verse. Now that's just one verse, however, I spent a good hour on 1st Nephi chapter 1 and 2. It's amazing what information the Book of Mormon has, and especially what feelings we have when we are willing to read and ponder and pray. Why? Again, the only way for us to connect with our Father in Heaven is through prayer. The Book of Mormon is a testament of Christ and contains the fullness of the Gospel. The very Gospel intended to give us peace, happiness, and joy. The same feeling I feel when I read this book. I hope you all do the same and take time out of your busy day to read it. Read it, pray about it, ponder it, internalize it. Make it a part of who you are and not just some words on pages of paper that we can read. Do it, and I promise the knowledge of heaven will unfold before, and the Spirit will aid you in your search. Love you all and may God bless you as you continue to come closer to Him :)
That's about it mom! I love you! Ofa Lahi Atu!
Elder Heimuli
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