On Wednesday, we were biking to an investigator. Along the street, we had someone yell at us to believe in Jesus. Check. A shirtless guy in a truck honked and flipped us off. Then, a guy on a parked motorcycle beckoned us over and said he was a member who had just moved here, and needed the address to the chapel. At least one of those things were productive. Our investigator, Midamyr is from Puerto Rico. She's super sweet and soft spoken but prefers English. It has been such a blessing to be able to know her. When we got to our appointment with her, we talked about faith in Christ and how vital it is. We talked about the trials we face and how faith helps us conquer our struggles. We then asked her if she would be baptized when she knew these things were true, and she accepted. We didn't go into the lesson thinking we would ask her that, but it felt right.
On Thursday, we went to UAP, which is usually uneventful, but there was a mouse inside one of the bins we use to transport goods. None of us wanted to touch it, but one of the workers there named Jeremiah grabbed a sticky trap and courageously caught it. He was so funny about it saying, "He's been got." I attached a picture below. We named him Lil' Jawn. When we went home, Elder DeVroom and I were texting and calling our investigators. We texted a guy named Cason who we have been having sporadic lessons with. He texted back and told us to come over which was a first. We went to his home and taught him about the Holy Ghost and how much of a blessing it is in our lives. He really wanted that gift so we asked him if he would prepare to be baptized on June 2nd and he said yes. That feeling we get when someone commits to changing, whatever it is, is indescribable.
Nicolas was baptized on Friday night and confirmed on Sunday! It was a long process that saw the date moved back a few times, but it all worked out. I was able to be one of the witnesses which was a cool experience. It's an amazing to see his growth through the past weeks. His dad gave a great talk on baptism and it was full of the Spirit. They are an awesome family and I will miss them.
These stories make it seem like baptism is what we are trying to accomplish here as a companionship but it's not. We are trying to bring others closer to Christ. Members or not, we just want people to be happy, and we have a testimony that receiving the Holy Ghost after baptism is one of the ways to come closer to Christ.
I talked about how I was going to miss Nicolas and his family. I also emailed earlier that my address was changing. Here's a little preface about our area because I can't remember if I've talked about it before. We are in the University Park ward which is just East of Orlando and covers the campus of UCF. We have two sets of Elders in the ward, an East and West, and we are the West Elders. The East Elders are Elder McArthur and Elder Williams. President Clark gave us a call on Saturday. He told us that he would be shutting down UPK West and there would be one UPK area. Elder McArthur will stay and train a new missionary, while Elder Williams, Elder DeVroom, and myself will be transferred.
Elder Williams is going down south, while both Elder DeVroom and I are whitewashing an area in Apopka, Florida. I will let you know of my address tomorrow. It came as a huge shock. The one good thing about this transfer is that Elder DeVroom is staying with me.
It was really sad news however. I've grown very close with the ward members. There are so many families that I love and it was so hard to say goodbye. I love the kids in the families. They are so fun and so pure. I could talk about the families in depth about how much they mean to me. I've also grown really close with Elder Lester and Elder Cruz who are staying in the Valencia area. On Saturday, we went to visit Roberta. We've been visiting her every week and she loves having us come. We brought her M&Ma's which are her favorite candy and told her that we were leaving. She almost cried because she didn't want us to leave. Walking out of the assisted living community, I started to tear up because of how much I'm going to miss all of the members. They have a special place in my heart.
Moroni 8:17 "And I am filled with charity, which is everlasting love; wherefore, all children are alike unto me; wherefore, I love little children with a perfect love; and they are all alike and partakers of salvation."
Last night, we had dessert with the bishop and his family. They are the epitome of the perfect family. I love them so much, and the last hug I gave the bishop was emotional. I'm going to miss them.
I know I didn't talk much about doctrine, but this whole email covered the most important thing: Love. Love is so important. I was here for six weeks and loved the people more than I thought I would. It is such an amazing blessing to have people in your life that you can love.
Just like the people here, I love you all. Remember what I said about not saying things I don't mean? Yep. My emotions of love and joy are being broadcasted through this email, I hope you can feel it. Have an amazing week.
2 Nephi 4:21 "He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh."
Much love,
Elder Poulsen
Elder Poulsen
The bishop and his family
Roberta. She said her hair looked bad but I said she looked great.
Nicolas after he was baptized.
Jeremiah being Jeremiah
Biking in the 407
