Monday August 29, 2011

I was debating over whether or not I was going to email you.  I was thinking about freaking out the family.  So I've enclosed a few pictures of me.  I hope this will satisfy you for now.  President Belliston spoils our chances for a good prank.  I would have stood outside and said it was cool being in a hurricane if it had actually been more impressive.  This wasn't impressive at all.  Uncle Bart telling Twas the Night Before Christmas in the donald duck voice was more impressive than that.  Have I mentioned how "unimpressed" I really was yet?  Because I wasn't impressed at all. (Now that I've said it God is probably going to intensify the storm and loop it back at us again)

Did the young women do well?  Send me exerts of of talks that are given back home.  This means that you need to take notes in sacrament meeting.  Elder Holland said in this last General Conference. "If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance."  Kadee is an amazing young woman.  Kadee.  Remember to seek the Holy Ghost in all that you do and say.

I'm happy for Tank (Thats what Elder Heywood and I refer to him as). Good job pal  Good job to Les and the OA boys as well.  I want pictures of that too.  There are going to be a lot of us gone from 3rd ward.  I'm surprised that so many of us are out right now or leaving.

President did so awesome on the talk show.  He stuck to his testimony very well.  He never wants to do it again.

                                                       (I am guessing this is Tiffany's family)

                           
Things are going well with Tiffany.  Her mom is getting married tuesday night here at the church.  Thats also the night of Tiffany's baptismal interview and her baptism is on the 4 of september.  Happy early birthday mom!  I remembered!  I'm so proud of myself.  I haven't pulled out the calendar is so long.  I was going to try and send birthday cards to all the cousins while out, but its pretty difficult.  We went to the DC Temple Visitors Center on Saturday and right after that we went to This is the Place Book Store and Tiffany bought a quad for seminary and church.  She's had her nose burried in it since.  She's a smart kid.  Ever since she found out that Elder Nelson is a heart surgeon she's been set on becoming one.

I am proud of you for starting your profile.  I'll have to check and see if its up yet.  Sometimes it takes a while.  I FOUND IT!!!  I typed in Spanish Fork Utah and found your FACE!!!  HA HA HA!!!  I feel 9 feet tall.  Like Matt...or the Jaredites...whichever one you want to go for.  Now to get dad on it...  Where is that old man?  Tell him that if he wants to beat me up for that comment he has to come out here to do it and its a violation of the White Bible to come out here.

                  (If I had to guess, I would think this is a Hot Dog from the Baseball Stadium)

Well I think I'll close for now.  I know this church is true and that a Prophet leads and guides us today.  His guidance and direction are valued and important.  I bear this simple testimony in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Elder Christofferson

"Feed my sheep..."

3rd Update

Dear Missionary Parents,

 

All is well back here in the Maryland Baltimore Mission!  The missionaries are all safe and well.  The storm impacted a few areas with flooded basements, fallen trees and power outages, but for most of the missionaries, it was not too much different from some of the storms we have here.  The power has been out at the mission home and several other areas since the middle of the night.  The Annapolis, Baltimore and Columbia Stakes cancelled all of their meetings, however the meetings were held in the other Stakes.

 

Thank you for your faith and prayers, and for the support and encouragement you provide for your missionaries!

 

Warmest regards,

 

A. Brent Belliston

Maryland Baltimore Mission

2nd Update

Dear Missionary Parents,

 

All of the missionaries are doing well!  The storm is reaching our mission now.  As you probably know, the Hurricane is now a category 1.  It is forecast to have 3-5 inches of rain in the Annapolis and Baltimore areas with winds around 45 mph.  Church has been cancelled in the Annapolis, Baltimore and Columbia Stakes.  We don't have any of the missionaries in lower areas where flooding is likely.  Officials only required evacuation in one area where we had one companionship.  By tomorrow morning, the worst of the storm should be over.  We don't anticipate anything for you to be overly concerned about, but continue to appreciate your faith and prayers in behalf of these wonderful missionaries.

 

Warmest regards,

 

A. Brent Belliston

Maryland Baltimore Mission

 

1st Update

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are closely monitoring the path of Hurricane Irene.  We have notified the missionaries of safety precautions.  We want to assure you that we will do all we can to protect them from any harm or danger.  Many of the missionaries are further inland where the storm will not have as much of an impact. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns.  We will update you as the storm progresses via email.  It is amazing that we had an earthquate and now a hurricane in the same week.

Thank you for sending us such wonderful missionaries!  Please continue to support them with your faith and prayers.  Our mission has been blessed with some remarkable success as a result of their faith and diligence.

Warmest regards,

A. Brent Belliston

President, Maryland Baltimore Mission

Monday August 22, 2011

Well well well.  King and Queen huh?  I'm going to have to email Colton and chew him out for not emailing me about everything.  I'm just kidding.  I wasn't the most faithful writer while he was on his mission so I guess I should expect the same.  I'm so proud that Leslie kept it together.  It seems like yesterday that she was telling Colton and I all the Book of Mormon Stories and how excited she was going to be for us to grow up and make a difference in some one's life.  Now one of her boys is married and out the door and the next one will be right behind him on a mission.  She'll be an empty nester soon.

Let me work on finding someone who will be home all day to take delivery of the ugly steaks.  It might take me a little bit, but I will find someone.  You'll probably have to overnight me a few of them.  Some for the family receiving them and for my companion.  I'm going to see if I can convince them to cook them for us for dinner.  Maybe I can get Bishop Castle to do it and just have them sent to his work place.  Or Brother Gossert.  He owns a floral shop here in town.  I'll see what I can do.

I'd email pictures today but I left my camera back at the apartment so I won't be able to till next week.  Send me a flash drive every six months or so with new pictures on it.  People ask me for pictures and I always give them whatever pictures I have of me with the family.  My supply is running low.  I talk about the family so much that that's what I like to give them.

I don't think we have an ice cream factory near by.  I'm pretty sure that we live next to the sewage treatment plant in town.  It always smells horrible around our apartment at night.

Felicia didn't come to church.  We are still teaching her though.  We have an appointment for this week with her.

So this week President Belliston was interviewed on talk radio.  It was really exciting so we spent our companionship study listening to him and praying for him.  The interviewers were really awesome and did their homework.  They asked President Belliston all about the Articles of Faith which he did a very good job explaining.  Things were going awesome.  Then this lady calls in and while maybe not directly saying it made the claim that Latter-day Saints are not Christian because of our scriptural based view of the Godhead and our open cannon of scripture.  President Belliston handled it very well, but in his weekly email told us that he never wants to do it again.  After presenting the official statements of the church concerning her concerns she goes on to attack the temples and telling us that all we did was rip off the Free Mason's.  Then the interviewers backed up President Belliston and the church by saying that such topics were too sacred to discuss on the radio or even in person.  It was awesome

This week in our Area we had a miracle.  Friday morning we get a media referral for this girl wanting a Book of Mormon while we were listening to President Belliston being interviewed on the radio.  We had a recently return missionary coming over and one of our appointments for the morning cancelled so we were going to send him home, but then I remembered about the referral so we went over to give her the Book of Mormon.  We met Tiffany.  Tiffany is 15 years old and is in an advanced education program at school.  We found out that her mother was baptized in 2002 and that Tiffany had spent several years going to church with her mom.  Tiffany's mom (Alisha) went inactive when Tiffany was 8 years old.  Tiffany would have been baptized when she was 8, but she was afraid of being held underneath the water.  Alisha had been talking to Tiffany recently saying that she was going to call the missionaries and go back to church, but she didn't feel worthy of it.  So Tiffany got on mormon.org and requested a Book of Mormon without telling her mom.  A couple of days before we showed up Tiffany told her mother about it.  When we knocked on the door we were in shock because they let us in with no arguments (Something that doesn't happen in Hagerstown).  We sat down and listened to Tiffany's story and were able to share the message of the Restoration with her.  At the end of the lesson we committed her to be baptized on September 17.  Tiffany's sister Delany (13) was also listening and muttered something.  She wanted a Book of Mormon also.  We committed Delany for baptism also.  We also invited them to church on Sunday.  The next day (Saturday) Tiffany and Delany came to see the Baptism of a man who was taught by the missionaries in the neighboring area.  What we didn't know (until we got there) is that Tiffany and Delany brought their friend Richie (16) with them.  After the Baptism we took them to the ward picnic at Pen Mar Park (Beautiful place)  where the ward members greeted them and took them in and made them honorary members of the ward for the day.  They all three hit it off with the youth and youth leaders in the ward.  Then Tiffany shocks us all even further when she asks us if she can go to Seminary.  We pull over Sister Castle (The Bishops Wife) who is the Seminary teacher and she tells her all about Seminary.  Sunday rolls around and they come to church.  Delany had to go back to her dads house in Falling Waters West Virginia.  So we see Tiffany, her mom Alisha, Tiffany's 6 year old brother Bryce, Alisha fiance Jason, and Richie all walk in to church.  After Sacrament we make sure Tiffany, Richie, and Bryce get to their necessary classes then head off to our own class (Which we teach once a month) with Alisha and Jason.  At the end of Class we head off for Priesthood and Relief Society where Alisha and Jason were both welcomed very warmly.  After church is over we're pulled aside by Jason who tells us that he loved church and how warm and welcoming the people were with him.  We teach him a quickie restoration and commit him to be baptized the same day as Tiffany and Delany.  He accepts.  That night after our dinner appointment we go over to see them and they are just glowing.  They're SO happy.  We talk about things of the church and put some of their very few and very minor concerns to rest and Tiffany and Richie (He's still hanging out) talk about how excited they are to go to Seminary.  We plan to go to the temple visitors center on Saturday and they want to know if they can get quads while they're there.  We told them about This is the Place Bookstore just around the corner where they can pick them up.  So they're excited to go.  Richie wants his mom and dad to meet with us now.

The Gospel works in mysterious ways.  It moves the hearts of those who are prepared.  The subtle promptings of the spirit have re-activated a mother, lead two girls, their mothers fiance, and one of their friends to investigate the church.  I know this work is true and that people seek it out.  Of these things I testify in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Elder Christofferson

"Feed my sheep..."

Monday August 15, 2011

I've been reading from my Patriarchal Blessing at least once a week.  Its amazing how much more you can learn from it when you study it often.  A woman who was converted to the church and raised her family in the heart of the Mission Field refused to read her Patriarchal Blessing because of a promise that was in it.  It said that if she was faithful to the church she would see the day her parents would be baptized.  The promise terrified her.  When her daughter returned from her Mission her was able to teach the Missionary Lessons to her grandparents and invite them to be baptized.  When they were baptized it took this return sister Missionary's father and brother in the font to do it because of how frail these two elderly family members were.  They were sealed in the temple a year later and they passed away a short time after that.    Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have amiracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to bclaim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?  For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; and they who have faith in him willacleave unto every good thing; wherefore he badvocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens.  And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have aangelsceased to minister unto the children of men.  For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of agodliness. (Moroni 7:27-30)   I'm glad to hear that Bart is doing well.  That's great he's been released back to work.  He's a tough one.  I'm sure he'll continue to improve and do well.  I hope he's carrying around pass along cards to hand out as he's on the road.  You should too.  Have you made your mormon.org profile yet?   Colton.  That little punk.  He hasn't emailed me in a long time.  I keep pestering him, but I haven't heard a response.  I did get the wedding anouncement though.

I'm sure Kadee is depressed about summer ending.  She'll handle it like a champ though.  She always does.  I'm so proud of her.  Now to just get her on a Mission (Not likely to happen, but thats my goal).  NEW SUGGESTION!!!  No getting into serious relationships with nonmembers unless they take the Missionary Lessons.  Nonmembers don't have to get baptized, but they have to take the lessons.  Just so they know a little more about her and her beliefs.  Sounds fair to me.

 

I'm glad that Dal was able to take grandpa out.  Has Dal stepped up to help out with him more often?  I'll do what I can for him when I get home too.  I know that there are several church members out here who would like the help of family to get to church.  The only downside is that either they're the only members of their family who are members of the church or they're family is so far away that nobody can help them.

 

Have fun in Six Flags.  Dont forget your testimony while you're out there.  Tell Kerry happy birthday for me.  Don't worry about taking me with you.  I'm having lots of fun out here.  Besides.  In two years it'll be my turn to show you around.  Maryland is awesome.  And of course the men will get to go to the Winchester Rifle Company in West Virginia (Its in our mission boundries).  There are a lot of awesome places out here even if we don't have a lot amusuement parks.  We're near the Antietam Battlefield also.  Its a battle that affected the entire world.  I also found out the origin of sideburns.  Long story.  Tell ya some other time.

I'm sure Kadee is depressed about summer ending.  She'll handle it like a champ though.  She always does.  I'm so proud of her.  Now to just get her on a Mission (Not likely to happen, but thats my goal).  NEW SUGGESTION!!!  No getting into serious relationships with nonmembers unless they take the Missionary Lessons.  Nonmembers don't have to get baptized, but they have to take the lessons.  Just so they know a little more about her and her beliefs.  Sounds fair to me.

This week we were able to find a new investigator named Felicia.  She's an avid reader of the Bible and when she was given a Book of Mormon (The Spanish Missionaries found her) she just ate it up.  We went over to see her last night and we went through 1st Nephi 1 with her.  She wants to come to church on sunday.  So we gave her all the information she needs.  I've also discovered that people love the Gospel Art Book.  I carry it around everywhere we go teaching now.

 

 

The gospel is the greatest thing ever.  Its simple enough for children, but deep enough for a scholar.  Joy can always be found within it.  I testify that these things are true in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

"Feed my sheep..."

 

Elder Christofferson

August 8, 2011

Okay.  Here's a photo.  That's all you get this time around because I still need to take lots more.  I should have some by next Monday since its Mormon Night at Camden Yards this Friday.

 

Questions first.  The tie thing is progressing slowly.  I got this tradition from Chase that when you get a new companion or on holidays you give them a tie.  It prevents a build up of very ugly ties.  Then by the end of your mission you have 1 ugly tie to 5 good ones.  Very intelligent.  However missionaries are still inclined to collect ties.  Lots of them.  Other than garments.  Its the only thing they change.  I don't have a whole lot yet.  Still to come.  Gabriel Brothers sells name brand ties for $4 a tie though.

 

On a plus note I've only paid about $40 on hair cuts throughout the course of my mission and am not likely to pay anymore for them either.  That's why you buy clippers.  Cut your own hair.  Reduce an expense.

 

This next week Elder Schwicht and I plan to make helmets out of carved out watermelons.  You know.  Just to do something fun for a change  Today we're going to Antietam Battle Ground.  We taught a crazy lady this week.  She was a minister from the Church of the Brethren.  She doesn't understand what the fullness of the everlasting gospel concept.  Then again she has early onset of dementia.  She asked me where I'm from four times.  I told her Utah, Kansas, South Dakota, and Ireland...in that order.  She also said that she spent a year in voluntary service in Malibu then changed her answer to Jamaica.

 

Its been pretty warm.  Some days we get about 100 and then Hagerstown gets hit by a storm or two.  I remember reading somewhere that the heat does that to the weather.  Lots of bike rides in the rain.

 

I've developed a liking for Chinese buffet and legit Mexican food.  We've found a couple of places that are awesome.  I like some vegetables.  I eat them for members just so they don't feel bad or get on my case about it.  That's usually the plan.  As soon as they ask once I go and get a double serving.  Word of Wisdom issues about eating vegetables.  I still repent over that one daily.

 

I need Peanut Butter Bars, Ugly Steak, and Zubs Pizza.  Anyway you can get me those?

 

I will get better at writing letters.  I promised myself this morning when I got out of bed that I would.  I did get a letter from a girl last week.  She's from Orem.  Her name is Shayna Penrod.  She's Elder Allen's friend from Karate.  Looking forward to writing her too.

 

So this week we were able to teach an unbaptized 13 year old daughter of a member.  She's enrolling in christian school this year and her aunt told her that its impossible for a Mormon to go to a christian school because we're not Christians.  So we went over and taught Joyce (13 year old's name) the restoration and that not only are we christian but that we're Christ's Church.  She accepted baptism for August 27th.  Hopefully she'll be able to follow through on that one.

 

We are very much Christian.  Many people claim that because we have an open cannon of scripture and that we don't accept the doctrine of the Trinity that we're not Christian.  This isn't the case.  God talks to his children and anything he tells us is part of scripture or revelation.  Whether recorded or not.  We can claim that we have other books.  If you compile every conference talk given we'd have several.  All are revelation from god.  Everything we do.  Every decision we make marks us as Christian.  But more than that it marks us as Saints in these Latter Days.  Are we Christian?  You bet your life on it.  I bear my testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ.  Amen.

 

"Feed my sheep..."

 

Elder Christofferson