Memorable last weekend

  Saying goodbye to one of my favourite families ever - the Shoemakers. Bro. Shoemaker is our ward mission leader.

  Zach's baptism

 On our way home, we saw some horses and buggies! Good ol' Amish Lancaster.

 Aaron and Kelsey took Elder West and I to the new stake centre in Lancaster for our stake conference. The Harrisburg and York stake split and the Lancaster stake was created. Our ward (no longer the Lewisberry 1st Ward) is now called the West York ward in the Lancaster Stake. This is us eating our goodies before the conference began.

 Aaron's baptism.

Monday, 25 March 2013

I couldn't sleep last night. Elder West says it was probably anxiety for what was to come. I had pretty much convinced myself that I wasn't going home until I had passed certain checkpoints -  there always seemed to be another checkpoint. Zach's baptism was the last one that was to come to pass on Sunday night. When that was done, I felt a strange emptiness. Time has seemed to mean nothing over my mission. I'm not sure anymore if it felt like 2 years or not. It's definitely been a while. But maybe it hasn't felt like 2 years.

 

Aaron's baptism went really well on Friday. It was so well attended that we thought it better to have the service in the chapel instead of the Relief Society Room. It was also so well attended that the service tended to be a bit noisy, there were young kids in attendance and I was nervous that Aaron's nonmember relatives that came wouldn't have a spiritual experience. I was so worried about that one fact that it probably blurred my vision of what was important, I was definitely not in the right mindset. But all that changed after the baptism happened. Because we were having stake conference that Sunday, our Bishop had suggested that we do the confirmation at the baptismal service. As all the Melchizedek Priesthood holders laid their hands on Aaron's head, his future father-in-law (the father of his fiancé Kelsey) gave one of the most powerful prayers I had ever heard uttered for a confirmation. You could literally feel the Spirit and the love that this family had for Aaron. I think he felt it too.

 

Zach's baptism couldn't have been anymore perfect. Although a smaller group had congregated for his service, the love was definitely there. He asked Elder West and I to give the baptism and holy ghost talks. I was surprised because I thought for sure he would have been sick of hearing from me by now. So after his baptism I spoke about the unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, how it is a foretaste of eternal joy and a promise of eternal life. I spoke of how he would need to continue to "receive the Holy Ghost" throughout his life. I spoke of how we are entitled to receive it as a constant companion but that it will come as he would humbly ask, seek and knock. The Holy Ghost will not always strive with us and sometimes it may be hard to recognize it when it does, but I told him that there was power in such striving, that the central purpose of this life is to seek for lasting joy, which the Holy Ghost helps us find. I reminded him of a comment he made in one of our appointments where he told us that Becky (his wife) was different than the others growing up and there was a light inside of her. I told him that as he would faithfully keep the covenants he had made and follow the Holy Ghost, that light would also be in him.

 

It's been such an amazing week filled with all kinds of spiritual highs. It's made it very difficult to leave this area because I am leaving so many people that have become like family to me. I know that there are great trials ahead but also great joys. But I know that as I apply my own advice to keep my covenants and strive to follow the Holy Ghost, God will always be there with me for he has promised, "there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." (D&C 84:88) And He always keeps His promises.

 

See you all on Wednesday.

 

Love (for the last time),

Elder Low 

Monday, 18 March 2013

It was announced yesterday in Sacrament Meeting that I am in the single digits for how long I have left here in Pennsylvania. I hyperventilated a bit and then some more as they asked me to give a "5-7 minute" departing testimony.

 

It's weird. It doesn't feel like I'm going home. Honestly having Aaron's baptism scheduled for this Friday and Zach's baptism scheduled for this Sunday, it's kept me pretty focused and immersed in helping them the best that I can. It kinda just feels like I'm getting transferred again, which I kind of am, but to the Spirit World. o.O

 

It just so happened that it was our Zone Conference this week as well. It comes for every missionary where he must also give his "departing testimony" to the missionaries as well. Lots of missionaries plan what they'll say their whole mission, they see those missionaries get up and talk about how it all flew by and how much it changed them, wondering if their time would ever come. But the day came for me, as it always does, and the feelings of a departing missionary were awakened within me, they always do. I, on the other hand, had no idea what I wanted to say. I stood up there for what seemed like eternity before I mustered up words to say. All I could think of was the quiet testimony my trainer had expressed almost two years ago in Zone Conference. I echoed those words but they came from my heart. My simple testimony was the truthfulness of everything I had learned and taught for the past 22 years of my life. I quickly sat down among my fellow departing missionaries while they one by one gave eloquent farewells. President Topham then got up and expressed thanks for the wonderful spirit in that testimony meeting. He then talked about how he came out with a lot of the missionaries who just gave their testimonies. He talked about his first week, feeling like an inadequate mission president and one of his first duties was to travel to somewhere called Bedford, PA. There was me, being trained by Elder Zaleski. His reminiscence brought tears to my eyes as I've seen how much we've grown together.

 

And now it's back full circle. Elder West is doing great, definitely a lot better than I was doing when Elder Zaleski was leaving. Aaron actually asked Elder West to baptize him and I think he's becoming more and more aware of the calling and power he has. He will be a great missionary and will continue to blow things up in Dover without me. Yesterday I watched him go around the chapel completely independent of me, greeting many members and investigators of his own accord. He's definitely grown as well.

 

There's a family up in  Dillsburg that we've been working with for a while now. The father has problems with tithing and that has been the supposed reason they haven't been to the temple the whole time they've been members of the Church. As we've started to teach them the missionary discussions again, their testimonies have been slowly growing and their love for the church and the missionaries began to be reignited. We thought that this week would be the week we would battle their concerns head on. We led into a temples by way of the Plan of Salvation, speaking of the essential need for ordinance work for the dead. They agreed and our conversation turned in a direction I hadn't expected, they began to bring up what they felt were their own inadequacies of why they felt impure, unprepared, and unworthy. They acknowledged the importance of going for themselves, but the process of becoming who they wanted to be seemed long and hard. I tried to resolve their concerns, telling them that the Lord looketh not on the outward appearance but on the heart and that to see the fulfillment of those promises and blessings, they needed to take steps of faith first. We committed this good brother to paying his tithing this Sunday. Silence enveloped the room and the Spirit was thick. Then finally, he said, I'm just not ready yet. Another, more awkward, silence filled the room. I just had no words to say. Here was this man, unwilling to take the first steps toward the greatest blessing in his life and I could do nothing to help him see the importance of it. Here I've been isolated from the temple from 2 years, and believe me I've learned to appreciate it, and he was just procrastinating the things he needed to do to experience the true peace of the gospel. It was heartbreaking.

 

I've seen many successes this week and I glory in my Heavenly Father for those tender mercies, especially that Aaron and Zach have been so prepared for these moments, but I've also seen many disappointments. All I can do is carry on and eventually those disappointments are all swallowed up in the grandeur of true gospel joy. For "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

 

Elder Low

Baptism Day and Elders just want to have fun

Monday, 11 March 2013

This week has been a good one again. Everything went perfectly for Katlynn's baptism. It was a tough baptism because she technically lives in the Camp Hill ward but comes up every weekend to go to Church with her grandmother in the Lewisberry 1st ward. Through some very stressful phone calls that involved two stake presidents, two bishops and the mission president, things clicked and we had a wonderful service. Both Bishops are very much in love her and her family now. However in preparing for Katlynn's baptism and actually performing the ordinance myself,  I think that I felt more temptation to be descend below what was expected of me throughout this week than ever before. But yet for some reason after the baptism had been completed, simultaneously the temptation stopped.

 

It was interesting how much Satan wanted me to fall and the whole week was me pitted against him. It all came down to who did I love more. Not just God but if I loved Katlynn too. I've been learning a lot about charity this week and how the true meaning (namely the pure love of Christ) has been so lost throughout our modern day. True charity, true love, endures. And the degree of our charity really determines how we act. Elder Curl (a past district leader) once told me that there was a hierarchy to motivation:

 - That the lowest motivation was to obey or keep the commandments or serve others or whatever because of fear or duty. That perhaps if you didn't do these things, the consequences would certainly be undesirable and so you act to relieve yourself of that kind of tension. Not a bad motivation, but not the purest, he said.

- The next kind of motivation was to act because of temporal reward. That those who keep the commandments might get something out of it, immediately that would bless their lives and make things more comfortable. Yes, the state of those who keep the commandments are blessed and happy in all things (see Mosiah 2:41) but there is yet purer motivation.

- Surely no one would frown upon the motivation of eternal reward, that perhaps if we do the best we can here, we surely will be comfortable in our mansions above. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth," said the Savior, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20) That our stride through eternity and our degree in the Celestial Kingdom would be our motivation to act and serve one another is a good desire. But still there is a purer way to serve.

- "If ye love me, keep my commandments," Jesus said (John 14:15). Truly the purest motivation to be our best selves should be the motivation our Savior had for helping us, namely that pure love, which is charity. Charity for God and charity for our fellow man.

Unfortunately without this love, really nothing else matters, for without charity, Paul said, all our good works "profiteth [us] nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3). I'm starting to see more and more how a pure motivation and love of God casts out any desire to do evil. Satan cannot be where the pure love of Christ shines.

 

I saw this charity in one of our investigators this week. I told you last week about Zack and how he decided to be baptized before I left Pennsylvania last week. We were talking to him this week about prayer and scripture study, about how they were not just commandments but the only way through this dark and dreary world. The iron rod - the communicated "word of God" (see 1 Nephi 11:25) - marks the solitary path that leads safely to where we want to be. We referred to his reasoning for wanting to join the Church and how he told us the previous Sunday that he had been praying about the decision to join while reading the Book of Mormon. Expecting a grand answer of his sacred communications with the Father through this constant recourse of prayer and reading, he surprised us by telling us that in addition to that he saw the example of his wife growing up through high school. He noticed something different about her, a light that she had that he didn't. He says he had no idea how they ended up together but he changed a lot for her - he gave up chewing, smoking, drinking, and now in meeting with us a hardcore addiction to coffee. He knows he wants their home and their family to be like hers and that was very important to him.

 

Can love change people's very nature? Can it change our desires? Can it thwart the very powers of hell?

Absolutely. For charity never faileth.

Elder Low

Monday, 4 March 2013

I  have had one of the best weeks of my mission. It has seriously been full of miracles. Ever since Katlynn asked me to baptize her last weekend I've really felt like I needed to stop fighting God in some things and give my will completely to His. I felt like I needed to be "purified even as he is pure" (Moroni 7:48). Little did I know that as I really tried to be everything my Heavenly Father wanted me to be, He was eager to open the windows of heaven to pour out blessings, so much so that there has been hardly room enough to receive them.

 

I just want to outline some of those blessings that I've experienced recently,

 

1) A member of our ward who had recently moved to the northern part of our area called Dillsburg has been reaching out a lot to the other residents of her retirement home. Last week she brought three of them into Sacrament meeting and excitedly ran over to me. She said, "these are three of my friends and they all want to investigate the Church." As you could probably tell, my jaw hit the floor. Never had any investigator been so easily placed in our teaching pool than Barb and Alyce (two of the ladies she brought). We promptly set up an appointment for a couple days later. At that appointment, they expressed how they had been always searching for a Church that "felt right," and they explained how as they went through all three hours of our Church services, they felt an insatiable pull towards our Church, so much that they knew this was the way to go. They described feeling the Spirit in such detail that we were not hesitant to talk boldly about joining the Church. Both women are in their 60's and both are widows. Alyce in particular told of how she had been married to her husband only 8 months when he passed away. She said she never allowed herself to cry about it, but as she relayed the story to us, she began to weep uncontrollably. We consoled her with the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation - about the answers to what the purpose of life is, where our spirits go after we die, and the sure fact that we would indeed live again. Alyce told me that the moment she met me, she knew I had something to share with her that would make a deep impact on the direction of her life forever. It was stunning for me to hear that and I just thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be a missionary.

 

2) I mentioned last week about a young man named Aaron we're currently teaching. He's been dating a member of the ward on and off for years and they are currently engaged. Ever since he's been in contact with the family of his fiance (all of whom are active in the Church)  they've talked to him about the Church and invited him to come with little success in him gaining a testimony. The Bushey family even gave him a quadruple combination which has been in his possession for 2 years - without him ever opening it. Elder West and I stopped in on the Busheys a couple months ago and asked if we could start teaching him - he agreed and we've been teaching him steadily ever since. He currently has a baptismal date for 23 March (my last Saturday in the mission) and is working toward it like a boss. In our last meeting with him Brother Bushey was joking with Aaron saying that the reason we were meeting with Aaron so much was so that the family wouldn't influence him toward the dark side too much. Aaron cuttingly said back, "well, they've done a better job at getting me to join the Church than you have the last two years."

 

3) During a trying time this week, I asked Elder West to give me a blessing to be strong and faithful. Something just told me to ask him. Surprised at my request, Elder West agreed, and although he had only given two blessings before, I definitely felt that the words he spoke were directly from God. "You Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and are proud of the work you've done. But they need you still. Your investigators need you. This work needs you." His Spirit electrified me and helped me in more ways that he probably comprehends.

4) This last fast and testimony meeting was kind of painful, haha. And to top it off, it was one of our investigators' first time at Church. Zack had previously not been fond of the Church even though his wife, Becky was a fairly active member. We started teaching him about 3 weeks ago with slow progress. He doesn't have much of a Christian background, so the Book of Mormon seemed foreign, almost fictional to him. As I sank in my seat in Church, I wondered how we were ever going to recover from this strange blow to Zack's perception of our Church. But to my surprise during Sunday School he told me, "you know I've been reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it, and have decided on my own that I want to get baptized. And I want to do it, before you leave." I'm sure the look on my face was funny, for Heavenly Father had made up where others, including me and my lack of faith, fell short. His wife was so happy, for she thought he would never come around.

 

Miracles. They happen.

 

Elder Low

February 25, 2013

I've learned so much more about life being on a mission than I ever could have anywhere else. When asked how much strength one should have left when one breaks through the finish line, a coach will always reply with "nothing!" So also as we run this race of life, the prize is not to the swift nor the strong but he who endures to the end. It's not enough for us to passively drift through life, looking for the end on the horizon, for if we do so, we'll waste the day in chasing tomorrow and find ourselves with many empty yesterdays.

 

I think I'm starting to realize why missionaries when they approach the end of their mission they start to dread the thought of coming home for fear that there isn't enough time to accomplish all that we feel needs accomplished, leaving many songs unsung. There is a reason that the great missionary section in the Doctrine & Covenants tells us that only an attitude of having an eye single to the glory of God qualifies him for the work, for nothing short of thrusting in your sickle with all your heart, might, mind and strength will bring salvation and peace of consciousness. Serving a mission is like living life. We may choose to waste our days fulfilling selfish desires and wasting the day away dreaming of our mansions in the future, but the only way to peace in this world and eternal life in the world to come is immersing yourself in service and holding nothing back.

 

I have so many goals for the last 4 weeks of my mission that I wish I would have accomplished a long time ago. And now I may not accomplish them without sufficient time.

 

But we should always appreciate what we do have. You asked about those I am teaching and preparing for baptism right now. Currently a young girl named Katlynn (I think I mentioned her a couple letters ago about how she bore her testimony) is preparing for the 9th of March and we have a guy about our age named Aaron preparing for the 23rd of March. Katlynn actually asked me to baptize her, which I am glad to do. It's nice to always be working towards something. And to know that I will have people working towards baptism up until my last Saturday here will help me be all that I can up until the end. For that is where the race analogy fails, for "they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we [for] an incorruptible.

 

"So run - that ye may obtain." (1 Corinthians 9:25, 24)

 

Elder Low

President's/Family Day 2013

From our puny perspective much of what happens in this life can seem unfair. President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles likened God's plan for us to a grand three act play. Act one is the Premortal Life, Act 2 is Life on Earth, and Act 3 is Life after Death. Because of a veil of forgetfulness placed over our minds so that we may walk by faith rather than by sight, we are like one who has walked into the theatre in the middle of Act 2 upon our arrival in mortality. Many things might not make sense at the time but when considering the entire play, we see the reason and the justice that has and will occur throughout this magnificent play. For the line "and they all lived happily ever after" does not appear in Act 2 but in Act 3 when all the mysteries are solved and the justices all settled. From the scriptures we can gain kind of a grasp on all of the acts and see that no matter what happens God loves His children.

 

Just as a parent disciplines their children so as not to have them get hurt - our Heavenly Father gives us commandments intending to benefit us in the long run rather than have us indulge in the temporarily-satisfying but not lasting pleasure of the moment. And those who disregard those commandments really only hurt themselves - perhaps not physically, but I believe that guilt is to the Spirit as pain is to the body; both mean, "You're hurting me. Stop what you're doing now or you will cause further damage and the healing process will be much harder." Donna and Marty had a lot going for them this week. In the wake of their marriage they were able to buy a car, rent an apartment, and find solid work. Unfortunately the gospel had fallen by the wayside. We were unable to talk to them all week because of how "busy" they were. We even came to the point where we told them that anytime during the next day that they could meet - even if for only a half hour - we would make that possible in our schedule, we would drop everything and make our schedule flexible to theirs whenever that might be. But the call never came.

 

We met with them after Church yesterday and discussed their baptism which was supposed to happen this coming Saturday. Unfortunately they are not prepared and the date must be rescheduled. Don't get me wrong, Marty and Donna are very sincere and want to get baptized more than anything, but for a week they lost sight of what was important and the consequence prolonged what they wanted so badly. Sometimes when we disregard the commandments and want to turn around we expect immediate results. But just as a physical wound takes time to heal, the Great Physician Jesus Christ can only heal us according to our commitment to the gospel. It's very hard to simply pray your way out of something you worked yourself into. But change is possible. The key is to allow the Lord to complete the healing process without reopening the wound. The more I help people become clean from their sins by living the gospel of Jesus Christ the more I can understand how badly our Heavenly Father wants us back, for "the nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 240–41). Marty and Donna are now working toward the 2nd of March for a baptismal date and I know that they will be able to get there. I believe in a God who has such shoulders.

 

As said in the new stunning Mormon Message on lds.org "Earthly Father, Heavenly Father" (and if you haven't seen it yet, watch it now - it's amazing), I am beginning to realize how this all came to be. 

 

Elder Low

 

P.S. It was announced on Saturday that I am not being transferred. I suspected so but it's nice to hear it for sure. I will be spending my last 5 weeks here in Dover with Elder West. Hopefully it'll be the best transfer of my mission! :)

 

Monday, 11 February 2013

I honestly keep wanting to type '2012,' I guess I haven't completely grasped that it's 2013 yet. Maybe I'm just not used to anticipating being in this year. Wasn't the world supposed to end by now or something?

 

Probably the biggest thing to report on is once again, Marty, Donna and Katlynn. Marty and Donna were married on Saturday and it was wonderful to see them be here, at this moment, at this time. They've come so far and worked so hard. So much has changed. And it has all been because of the gospel. If we hadn't run into them at the time we did. They would be somewhere in North Carolina, in a constant tug of war between what they feel like they have to do and what they should do. They feel at peace. To see them look at each other the way they did on Saturday, made me realize how transformative the Atonement can be. Repentance shouldn't be frightening or offensive, but just as Alma described after his repentance, "there [could] be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was [his] joy." (Alma 36:21)

 

I was looking back on my week and honestly it didn't seem like all that much happened. And yet I'm happy. I feel at peace. I feel hope for the future. I'm anticipating a lot of good things happening this coming week. I don't think we have a day where we don't have an  appointment or two in the evening, I feel very busy which is great as a missionary. But I think most of all I feel at peace with God right now.

 

During our Zone Training this week (did I mention that my son, Elder Spohn is my Zone Leader?), our leaders were talking to us about redoing our area books in a new format and alphabetizing potential investigators written in there and for some reason they were making it sound like it had to be done. I threw up my hand and protested about how much time this would take us and they told us it would save a lot of time in the end. I persisted further, "But I don't have that much time left!" My zone leaders just kind of stopped, looking at me sheepishly, not wanting to make me do anything, but still upholding what they had been told in Zone Leader Council. All of a sudden how short my time is has come crashing down on me. And not in a trunky way, but in a "I need to do everything I can NOW" kind of way. Our ward is behind us fully now and we're all working towards many baptisms in the coming week but I feel like there is no time to waste. I'm seeing the need to not procrastinate everywhere, the need for me to "come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto [me]... while his arm of mercy is extended... in the light of the day" (Jacob 6:5). I called my mission President this week because I felt the need to apologize for not being the best that I could in these last two years. I wish that I could have more fully thrust in my sickle with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. But the past has passed and I'm not done yet.

 

But like I said, right now is good. This letter may seem extremely schizophrenic, but it's an interesting feeling that I have. One of hope, one of faith, one of the anticipation of the harvest, just on the horizon.

 

Elder Low

Special Day

Groundhog Day(?), 2013

I was unaware that it was Groundhog Day today. I guess it's just another one of those holidays just to have a holiday. I'm sure it's nuts in Punxsutawney right now.

 

It has been a WONDERFUL week here in Dover. A lot of teaching went on with member and nonmember alike, of which the nonmembers are progressing toward solid baptismal dates. Marty and Donna, who had cooled off for the past couple weeks, are on fire again. All of a sudden they saw how important the gospel was to them. They had become discouraged a couple weeks ago when Satan through some curve balls their way, knocking them from spiritual high ground, despite my warnings to them when Elder West first got here of building that strong foundation upon the gospel and never looking back (Helaman 5:12). Then, as soon as they reached heavenward, our Heavenly Father open the windows of heaven and blessed them four-fold, dwarfing the seemingly insurmountable hurdles Satan had so deviously tried to construct on their ways. The sudden blessings of job interviews, a potential apartment, a convenient and well-manageable car, and progression in their relationship toward marriage, made them realize that God is more powerful than the Devil, all we need to do is reach out, for "his hand is stretched out still" (Isaiah 9:12).

 

Ever since the panacea of that realization, we've been meeting with them and teaching them every other day - their baptismal date now set for 23 February. They worked out the financial problems and are now planning on a wedding day of this Saturday, of which I will be in attendance. It's amazing how much people can change when they want it that badly.

 

Yesterday was probably the most spiritual fast and testimony meeting I had ever been in. As a missionary, fast and testimony meeting can either make or break your investigators' experiences with Church, because you have no idea what some members can say. Usually you just grit your teeth and pray for the best. But it was all different this time. My attitude unfortunately hadn't changed but my environment shook me in my seat, with the Spirit being the catastrophic cause. Backing up to the beginning of Ward Council just before Church started, somebody from the Lewisberry 2nd Ward, came in and handed us two letters that had been sent to the Church's address. They were from someone we had street contacted in downtown Dover and gave them the address of the Church. The member  spoke facetiously but seriously when he handed us the letters, saying, "it's from a fellow you met telling you how wrong you are." The sheer audacity that that member entitled the letter with, made my blood boil. Now the Spirit kept telling me all through the meeting, "don't read that letter, Elder." Somehow I just knew I wasn't going to like what I read. I knew exactly the guy it was from and I knew exactly how the conversation between us had transpired - somehow I just knew I was going to be mad. Despite the constant whispering of the Spirit, I ripped open the letter at the beginning of sacrament meeting, hungry for how I could possibly retaliate and destroy this correspondent scripturally. But of course, he hadn't put on a return address. I sat during the opening hymns brewing, his words kept echoing in my mind, "read your KJV of the Bible and you'll discover the true Jesus, a Jesus that Joseph Smith was warned about going against (Galatians 1:6-8). You'll be glad you did." By now I had completely lost the right Spirit of the sacrament meeting and sat in despair. Nobody likes being told they're wrong - especially in such a cowardly way. It wasn't that I felt doubt about my beliefs, but contention drives the Spirit away (3 Nephi 11:29), and contention is probably the best word you could use to describe my feelings toward this guy.

 

But like I said, I was completely changed by the tone of the meeting. The ward had gone on a temple trip the day before and all the children were flocking toward the pulpit, all desiring to describe the feelings they felt while being around this holy structure. It was touching to see, but what really got me, was when our investigators disappeared from beside us and got up to bear their testimonies. In Donna's testimony, she testified of what great things the gospel had done for her family and that none of those things could have happened had I not asked her what she thought of the Church. She said that no missionary had ever done that before among all the many missionaries going in and out of her Mom's (an active member) house. Donna's 7-year-old daughter Desiree said a few simple sentences of how she was so happy her Mom and Dad were getting baptized, because she was so excited to be baptized herself in a couple months. But perhaps the biggest wave of the Spirit came when Donna's neice stepped up to the pulpit. 12-year-old Katlynn had been attending Church with her grandmother (Donna's Mom) for months and yearned for the opportunity to be baptized. In her testimony she expressed her thanks to me and Elder West for teaching her and how excited she was for her next lesson. She mentioned her mother (Donna's sister) who had passed away a couple months earlier and how excited she knew she would be for her to be baptized as well on 23 February. There was not a dry eye in the whole congregation, and I put my arm around Elder West, with a warm confirmation within my soul of this is what we're here to do. This is why we're here. These are the days of our lives.

 

Elder Low

Monday, 28 January 2013

It's been a slower week this week. No where does Murphy's Law more true than when missionaries are planning. "If anything can go wrong, it will," he penned and it almost is uncanny how something that seems so solid and sure can fall through, only to have us rushing through back-ups that should have been planned the night before. I'm sure I'm going to come home and be that weird RM who asks a girl out for the following week and calls her every day until it is supposed to transpire to make sure that it is still OK; and just to be sure, I'll have a back-up planned for that evening, just in case.

 

I don't remember everybody reminding Elder Zaleski of how little time he had left when he was training me, but perhaps they might have and I just can't recall. It seems everybody feels the need to ask when I'm going home and if I'm excited. My District Leader (who happens to be Elder Gerratt - I was his District Leader when I was serving back in Hershey and he was in Lebanon) keeps asking Elder West if I'm getting trunky just to push my buttons. He said to me at our recent Zone Training, "I haven't ever seen a missionary less trunky than you are, so I have to bug you about it." In our PEC yesterday, my Ward Mission Leader and the Bishop, both knowing of what I was to accomplish whilst serving her, felt the need to announce to everyone that I needed to "get in the water" sometime in the next two months, as if physically baptizing someone were an ordinance I must go through myself. Whatever.

 

It's in this crunch time when I do only have two months left, that I need to make time count rather than just counting time. Ministering has become so much more important to me than administration. Talking to someone to help with their needs seems more worth my time than checking off principles on a teaching record. For the first time I contacted a media referral from Church Headquarters and the result was so intangible that I had no idea how to report it. "Not interested" didn't seem to properly describe it, but nor did the alternative of "New investigator," the result was less systematic than that. The referral was for one Karla Wolfe, the mother of a missionary who is currently serving from our ward in Salt Lake City. The text included this information and asserted a command right at the end - "baptize." Needless to say I was really excited about contacting her and we did so on Thursday afternoon. It had started to snow in York County that day and it was starting to accumulate on the roads and sidewalks. We parked outside of a nice neighborhood and walked over to the designated house. Coincidentally, Karla was shoveling her driveway and we quickly seized the opportunity to help her clear it. We didn't leave her much choice but she caved when she recognized who we were. She said she hadn't had much exposure to the Church since her divorce with her first husband (this missionary's father), but that she wasn't too interested in learning the doctrine for herself. However we continued to talk with her, discussing her son and the few people she recognized from the ward. From our conversation, it was apparent that she didn't understand why her son had chosen to go on a mission nor what he did everyday as an elder. I think when she looked at us she could see her boy, shoveling someone else's driveway somewhere in Utah. In her I think I could see my Mom, worried for her son so far away that she had little contact with and little knowledge of where he was every moment. However, the main difference is that my Mom knows why I'm here while Karla seemed almost lost and deserted, destitute of any hope. I felt sorry for her, how she just didn't understand but yet, didn't want to understand. It was a heartbreaking scene and we assured her of all her worries about us as missionaries. We talked with her as we would a friend rather than a faceless referral. She lingered even after we completed her driveway asking questions about our life and routine. I left her with our number assuring her that she could call us if she needed anything whether that was service for shoveling her walk again or just a question and answer session about missionary work. She graciously accepted and felt compelled to give us something. We assured her that such wasn't necessary but she insisted, rushing into her house with a look of concern at us in the cold, reminding me of a plea my mother once used to say, "I take care of the missionaries because I hope that when they're on their missions, someone will be taking care of my sons."

 

A mother's maternal instinct for a distant son is perpetuated around the world, no matter what their faith is. I'm sure in this longing, we get a glimpse of the divine; a Father ever longing for the triumphant return of His children.

 

Elder Low

Monday, 21 January 2013

So I feel like I have a lot to say but not the words to say them. I guess I could start with what President Topham said in my last interview with him on Friday. Among the doctrinal and logistical questions I asked about everyday missionary work, it came to me that I should ask him how I could stay strong for these last couple of months of my mission. His answer was not profound or obscure but definitely what  I needed to hear. He said, "continue to focus on the work and continue to focus on training your companion." Truly as I am to lose myself is when I will find myself. There's been a problem for some reason that some missionaries lose their vigor and momentum as the last grains of sand begin to fall, which I guess is understandable in a kind of "I've done my two years" bit, but it is not understandable in light of Elder Holland's most recent talk; that despite going home, despite living life, despite being in the world, we are never released from our callings. "Peter," he said in a similar MTC address, "you can't go home...We can't quit and we can't go back." President Topham said that missionaries go one of two ways at the end; either they become a real problem in influencing other missionaries and the work in a negative way, or they can become the best missionaries they'll ever be, "the kind of missionary,"President continued, "that I don't want to send home."

 

As the mission has progressed in the last 21 months, I would argue that the mission - as a whole -  has become more aware and more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. President said when he was being trained in the MTC, that returned missionaries told him that once their mission president "got it" they all started to "get it." I didn't know what that meant at first, but I am willing to bet that as President Topham has grown, we as missionaries in the PPM have grown in a like manner. "It" seems to be (to me, anyways) the Gospel of Jesus Christ itself. Once we realize that missionary work really isn't about tracting or street contacting, or prophets or even the Book of Mormon, but about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, everything else falls into place. The Restoration doesn't mean anything without it, the Plan of Salvation revolves around it, and all the meetings, callings, commandments and scriptures are appendages to the doctrine of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end; becoming cleansed through the Atonement of the Saviour through His grace and mercy, if we but accept it.

 

With this in mind, I don't become as discouraged, especially when trials that impact my "numbers," I need only realize the real purpose of missionary work. Such proved to be the case this week. By Tuesday, it seemed that we had 3 investigators with a baptismal date within the next transfer. But as it always does, opposition presented itself and the choice to arise or shrink came to those three investigators. Mitchell - a good friend of an active family in our ward has been taking the missionary discussions for about a year now and has wanted to get baptized despite his parents' hesitation toward the matter (sound familiar?). When we presented a sort of ultimatum, we asked him to ask his parents what their opinion was on him getting baptized on the 16th of February would be. Unfortunately they preferred him to wait a lot longer than that. On top of that, we hadn't been in contact with Marty and Donna almost all week. We finally decided to stop by on Friday only to find that their faith had been shaken because of a set back with their finances. The marriage was pushed back as well as the baptism.

 

I was heart-broken as I saw them resort to smoking again to relieve stress. But I knew at that time, what they needed was mercy and encouragement, not reprimanding or condemnation. I felt inspired to be understanding with their relapse. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, perhaps I'm finally seeing what my Heavenly Father sees in me when I continue to do things contrary to His will over and over. Fortunately, He is merciful and His Son's Atonement will always be there for the penitent in heart. I know that I need that kind of mercy and understanding when I fall short. For thus saith the Lord, "I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, [and even if] they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them... if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long." How sad it is, when we fall and feel like our Heavenly Father has turned His back on us, for that is never the case. Elder West and I came in contact with a less-active lady from the Hanover Ward while we were using the facilities at a gas station. She had a strange haircut and many piercings. She immediately recognized us and informed us that she was drunk. She went on to tell us how much she hated the Church and was so much happier now that she was gone out of it, but insodoing she told us about how she left because her husband betrayed and left her. She told us how frustrated she was with an unanswering God who would not bend to her pleas. She said she spent many days in the temple and hours on her knees but felt nothing. Nothing we said could change her mind, but I wished I could help her to see God's love. Those kind of experiences can shake or shape us. May we choose the latter.

 

But amidst the darkness, God always opens the windows of heaven, even when it seems a door has closed. Donna's neice Kaitlyn expressed a desire to be baptized and we had one of the most spiritual lessons I've had in a while whilst teaching her the Restoration. We played a fun game with the kids to explain the Apostasy by playing the game "telephone" to illustrate the distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ without the careful stewardship of the Apostles. Hopefully we'll be able to prepare her for a date this coming week.

 

Cheers,

Elder Low

Turkey Bowl, November 2011.

                                                The Harrisburg and York Missionary Zones

Monday, 14 January 2013

I forgot how long it took to drive to Pittsburgh from the east side. I left Harrisburg last week at like 3'00, stopped in Altoona for dinner on the way, and arrived at the Assistants' apartment at 9'00. Blech. But it gave me and the other missionary who was training also a lot of time to talk. We talked about the future and what it held after the mission. Surprisingly that talk gave me more peace than what I had been experiencing. A lot of it revolved around just doing what the Lord asks and everything else will fall into place, can't do much more than that.

 

I picked up my new companion on Tuesday. Being my third time training, you'd think that I'd have this down or something. But I was earnestly seeking revelation just before the meeting started about how I could stay strong for my last two transfers and help shepherd this new young missionary to a lifestyle that won't just benefit his mission, but like in the case of my trainer, it will hopefully benefit his whole life. Such is proving to be the case, for from the first moment I saw my new companion, I knew I would be able to help him. His name is Elder Mat West from Pocatello, Idaho. He's everything that a new missionary should be and a wonderful companion. I was half-expecting President to put me with a struggling missionary for my last two transfers, but I don't think I've had a more humble companion than Elder West. Though he grew up in the Church, a mission was one of the last things on his mind, and a lot of worldly things could have kept him from coming out, but he did, and I'm glad he did. He's probably also the coolest kid I've served with; and when I say cool, I mean cool. He probably would've been on the other side of the lunch room from me in High School, but I've been able to help him learn so much about the gospel that he didn't know. He reminds me a little bit of my naive view of the gospel when I came out, and it was only through the patient and loving teaching of my trainer that I came to love the gospel. I have a feeling Elder West will be one of my favourite companions.

 

The work has been bit trying this week, but we have seen miracles admist the darkness. Marty and Donna continue to amaze me with their faith. I told you last week they decided to get married, but I was disappointed to hear that they were going to move down to North Carolina right after their baptism, a move where they don't know anyone down there, let alone members of the Church who care about them and will help them progress. They surprised us with the notion that they are actually staying in Pennsylvania! We've just been hurrying to help them get everything ready for when they will get married and then baptized the day after! I remember asking Dad when I was serving in Bedford if investigators ever really did get married just to get baptized, because I remember I was working with a couple who didn't think much of baptism and was willing to wait until the next year for their wedding. It's amazing how people can change and are willing to do anything for that taste of the gospel.

 

Love you all,

Elder Low

Monday 7 January 2013

 Greetings from Harrisburg! My companion made the tough decision to go home last week to figure out some health problems and I took him to the Harrisburg airport this morning. I'm hanging out with the Zone Leaders today and actually heading to Pittsburgh tonight. Oh yeah, I'm training again. So hopefully for these last two transfers I'll be able to be the best missionary that I can and finish out strong like my trainer did. I'm also really excited to train without a second set of missionaries in my ward, so I'll feel like I'm the only missionary training him. I've set some goals and hopefully will be able to transform Dover within the next week, with the Lord's help and will of course.

 

We've been able to rock Dover one last time with my companion and I this past week. We actually found 4 new investigators that seem very promising in addition to us continuing to teach Marty and Donna (they are actually considering getting married even before their baptism! Something I thought I'd never see on my mission!). Two of them are former investigators that live next to a very active family in our ward. They've been exposed to much of the Church and missionaries over the years but for some reason over the last two years they haven't had contact with the missionaries. Hopefully we'll begin to focus on Cody, a seventeen-year-old who is starting to become sceptical of God and His love. He doesn't seem to want to listen to his mother any more but when we teach him about God, he seems to listen and I hope to share my love and testimony of the gospel and the reality of Heavenly Father. I see a lot of myself in him actually, just unsure about anything before my mission. But because I went on my mission, the single-most life-changing event that has occurred heretofore in my life, I've come to know so much. Cody's grandfather recently passed away from a painful cancer that was slowly deteriorating him; he couldn't understand why a loving God would make him go through something like that. Hopefully during our next visit with him, we will be able to share the entire plan that God has for us; a view that when considered in full light of where we came from, why we're here and where we're going, may bring a lot of solace and answers to questions. To the faithless Corinthians, Paul told them that, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." We see that everywhere today; people afraid, people unsure, people distraught, people lost. But there is a reason to rejoice, for death is not the end, and man shall live again! "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Corinthians 15:19, 55)

 

My companion's last appoint with investigators last night occurred with a referral that we received and contacted. Adam and Sarah are a young couple that are looking for a Church that their sons could grow up in with good morals and when they were introduced to a member in the York Ward, they jumped at the opportunity to attend the Christmas service and start reading the Book of Mormon. By far the most prepared individuals I've taught on my mission, we breezed through the Restoration of the Gospel lesson, Sarah already familiar with the concept of Priesthood Authority and how it was necessary for revelation in the Church. When we came to teaching about the Apostasy, Adam began to look sad, "So... none of the Churches are right? What can we do?" he asked in a low tone. It was my pleasure to tell them that God had reached out again to His children in love and called a Prophet like in times of old, that He loves us just as much as He did in times past and He will continue to love us forever.

 

Good things are happening, and with the faith of a new missionary coming into the Dover area, I am truly excited to see the reaping that is about to come forth.

 

Love,

Elder Low 

Wednesday 2 January 2013

You're probably wondering why I'm emailing today as I did last Wednesday. Unfortunately, our library was closed on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and unfortunately those happened to fall on P'day. So those of us who email at libraries in the mission have to wait until later in the week to email. Sorry about the wait.

Definitely the highlight this week was Georgia's baptism. It meant a lot for the family and surprisingly I could tell that everyone there, the nonmembers and the less-active family members included, felt the Spirit. It was difficult I think for them because of their situation. The whole family is extremely well-off. The grandfather of Georgia is a very wealthy lawyer who lost sight of what was important earlier in his life. He drifted away from the Church and even his family for a time. As a result, all of their kids are less-active and very confused. Georgia's mom, is probably the most sound of all the kids and she is trying to feel her way back to the Church with the help of loving fellowshippers. It's scary how materialism can make even the most elect stray. If only everyone could apply Jesus' sound counsel of laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven rather than on earth. Our ward mission leader told us that we would look back on this baptism at this time and remember Georgia's grandfather. "Had more money than you could shake a stick at," he said with his unique, but powerful antics, "and lost his family."

On the other hand, I am continually astounded at the meek of Pennsylvania who will humble themselves enough to sit down to be "taught" by two young men proclaiming to be "Elders of Israel" and even emissaries of the Lord Himself. I often wonder if I didn't grow up in the Church if I would be humble enough to have let two missionaries into my home to teach me about Jesus Christ. Donna and Marty are two such people who are meek. They surprised us by coming to Church this Sunday. They haven't been feeling well the past couple weeks and family issues had intensified. But they assured us that they want to be baptized, so in a fun Plan of Salvation lesson we had yesterday, we challenged them with a baptismal date of 19 January, which they are definitely striving toward. 

We're seeing miracles everyday and I am very grateful for that. I thank you all for your prayers.

Love,
Elder Low