Week 25: Mosiah 3:17

On Sunday, we had a member of the Stake High Council speak I'm Sacrament meeting.  His talk was about patience and the importance thereof.  He talked about the story of Alice in Wonderland.  I'm going to paraphrase, but he talked about when Alice asked the Cheshire Cat which way she should go.  He asked her which way she wanted to go and her reply was that she didn't care where she went.  The cat them told her that it didn't matter which path she took if she didn't know where she wanted to go.  It's a fairytale story, but the lesson is salient.

If we don't know where we are going, it doesn't matter what path we take.  I've taken it upon myself to focus my mind on that principle.  I want everything I do to reflect where I want to go and what I want to be in life.  It's something that is so simple and is a no-brainer, but often overlooked.  I invite y'all to do that same thing.

Mosiah 2:41 "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it."

Elder Poulsen

Week 24: 97°F, feels like 110°F

Another week done, another week closer to Winter.

It was a good week.  We were able to go out with our Bishop on Tuesday. We visited a lot of members who don't come to church as often. It was a really good time to hang out with him, he's a good guy.  He doesn't pretend to be someone that he's not and you can really tell that he cares about the members of the ward. However, that doesn't prevent him from making things fun.  I have been very blessed to have good Bishops in my Wards.  We also went out with a few of the Priests.  It was a good time and hopefully we have them a feel for what missionary work is.

It is extremely hot and humid, and I will continue to complain about it because I was not made to be in this kind of weather.  We look for every opportunity to be inside, whether that be mooching off rides from the youth, or going to the store to get a drink.  I think the worst part for me is not being dry.  You are wet from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep.  It's a good time though.

One thing that is difficult is knowing when to politely cut someone off in a conversation.  If given the chance, Floridians will talk forever.  People are nice though.  They usually see our faces dripping with sweat and offer us water.  We run into many people who say, "I've already found Jesus.  You're doing a great job."  It's sad cause we want to talk to them but their support is helpful.

On Friday night, we biked to a member's house to give them a bag back that they gave us.  We knocked on the door and they immediately invited us in.  Before we knew it, we were having dinner with them and went on a walk with the family.  While we were out, I saw someone playing street hockey in their driveway.  I went over and asked him a few questions.  He knew a lot about hockey and we had that instant connection.  While we were talking, his mom came out and said they were going on a run so we couldn't keep talking, but we told him we'd stop by another night.

Early Sunday morning, at 3:31, we woke up and went outside to see a rocket launch.  It was pretty cool because of how long it took the sound to get to where we were.  It was really cool to us because of how tired we were but it was pretty underwhelming.

We have been working hard with the members and we are seeing more and more, the interest they have in missionary work.  They have talked to us a lot about how they can help.  We haven't received any referalls but we have faith that things are going to get rolling.

Hopefully this wasn't a boring email.  I sadly dont have any pictures, but I love y'all and want you to know that God lives.  Have a great week!

Elder Poulsen

Week 24: Psalm 40:1-3

This week I have been trying to focus more on my prayers.  I wanted to make my communication with God a more sacred and meaningful occasion.  I have noticed an increase in joy and peace.  I know that the more we talk to our Heavenly Father, the closer we will feel to Him.  It's a very simple act, but it goes very far.  I invite y'all to pray.  It helps a lot and will bring you more peace in your life.

Alma 37:37 "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

Elder Poulsen

Week 23: You have to grab life by the neck and strangle it to death.

It feels like this week was the most boring week of my mission.  We have continual struggles to find people.  What our mission has done recently and specifically the Cocoa Zone is try to focus our attention on working with the members.  The members are our most valuable asset in finding people to teach because they already have a relationship with those people.  We've also been focusing a lot on using the Book of Mormon with our teaching.  The great thing about the Book of Mormon is if you have a testimony of it, everything else follows.

2 Nephi 25:23 "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

One cool thing is the recent convert in our ward is getting really into family history.  She has a lot of names that she wants to take to the temple and because Elder Pottle was here when she was baptized, we get to go with her!  It will be an awesome experience.

As for stories that are crazy, or anything out of the ordinary, I lack a good quality.  Elder Pottle's year mark was last Tuesday and he burned a shirt which was pretty fun.  The fire grew faster than expected and almost caught up to his hand, so he dropped the shirt.  Hence the mid-air shirt picture.

One day we went to see a member.  Her husband, John, was outside and told us she was on a conference call.  He talked to us for a while about certain trips he has been on.  He's been everywhere from the North Pole to Sudan.  He's an older guy from Britain and has a thick accent.  He gave us lots of advice, but one thing he said that stuck with us was when he said "You have to grab life by the neck and strangle it to death."  It was straight out of a movie with his thick British accent and buttoned down shirt. 

There was one night we were in our apartment getting ready for bed.  I was on the couch and Elder Pottle needed to go to the car to grab something.  I followed him out and stood by the door continuing to play the uke.  A guy on the sidewalk that I didn't see at first, came up to me and said, "Let me show you what you do with that thing."  I nervously handed him the uke and he proceeded to shred on it.  Finger plucking and everything.  It was beautiful and I was surprised he could get that much sound out of a uke.  It felt like my jaw was on the floor.  He handed it back, said "That was  and told me to have a good night and he walked away.  It all happened so fast that I really didn't know what to say. 

As for anything else, the week was pretty mediocre.  It's still hot and humid.  I haven't seen the coast yet or felt the ocean breeze. (There's no such thing)  Enjoy life as it comes.  I've been trying hard to focus on things that only I can control.  When I dwell on things that are out of my control, I'm not as happy as I should be.

Even though times are rough and we go through things that are unfair, God still loves us and is aware of our lives.  We are blessed far more than we realize.  Have a great week! 

Elder Poulsen

I have no words

Floating shirt

Week 23: 2 Nephi 1:15

Elder Pottle and I were feeling really discouraged and bummed out on Saturday.  We've been reporting 0's in every category this transfer and it starts to wear on you.  Numbers don't mean anything and they aren't our focus, but they do help you realize the good you are doing and it's a good morale boost to reach your goals.  It feels good to know you've done something.

We had dinner with the Reagan family on Saturday night and they asked us how our week had been.  I felt like we said it was good and we're positive.  They somehow saw our frustrations on our sleeves and knew we were having a hard time.  Sister Reagan pulled out the Bible and read us a scripture.

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." - Jeremiah 16:16

I won't be able to recount the beauty of her discourse.  She told us that back in the day, there was little preparation to fishing.  Fishers threw over their nets and waited.  The Apostles had caught so many fish that they couldn't pull up the net.  She asked us "How much preparation goes into hunting?".  We named off all of the things you need to do before going on a big hunt.  Even after all of the months of preparation and hours of hunting, you can still come back empty handed.

She related us to hunters, looking in every mountain, every hill, and every hole in every rock.  We may find no one.  We may baptize 0 people this transfer, but if we can pray to God in good conscious, telling Him we tried our absolute best, and had a willing heart, we will be successful.

The Lord requires a willing heart.

Elder Poulsen

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Week 22: Lack Of Hand

Another week gone.  Trying to recollect the week, I fail to find anything extremely entertaining or life changing.

Here is my new address if any of you feel so inclined to send me a letter or a Rolex:

3161 Conservation Place Apt# 102 

Melbourne, FL

32934

A little about our Zone.  I'm in the Cocoa Zone which is just the Cocoa Stake in Florida.  I was talking to Elder Thomas who is one of the Zone Leaders and he said that our Zone has a hard time finding more than any other zone in the mission.  For some reason the area we are at has a low finding number every week.  I'm not sure if it's the people that are here or the what, but it has been very difficult to find people to teach here.  Elder Pottle and I have been going hard in the paint and nothing seems to come to fruition.

I'll tell a few funny stories.  We went over to a families house for dinner one night.  It was a rough day and nothing was going our way.  It was one of those days that you feel like you can't do anything right.  The kids in the house were shooting nerf guns and playing around.  When we walked in the door, I saw a single bullet come from around the corner.  I then proceeded to ask, "Who's shurtin' those nuff guns?"  Elder Pottle made fun of me and it really did explain most of that day.

We went to visit the Castro's, a member family in our ward who are super awesome.  Brother Castro usually gives us mangoes from the tree in his backyard so we stop by a couple times a week.  He recently hurt his hand and had surgery.  It's been really painful for him so we stopped by to give him a blessing.  His son recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood, so he joined in on the blessing.  Elder Pottle gave the blessing.  It was very spiritual, however their dog was jumping around making a lot of noise and it was hard to concentrate.  During the blessing, Elder Pottle blessed Brother Castro to recover from his "lack of hand".  It through me off and I could hear Brother Castro snicker a bit.  It was a great blessing and I don't mean to make fun of it, it was just a funny little thing that happened.  I brought it up to Elder Pottle later and he blamed it on the dog.

I had an exchange with Elder Thomas and he taught me a lot.  We had a lot of good conversations about how to be happy, how to be motivated, and how to not feel upset when things don't go your way.  He helped me a lot and showed me a lot about what a leader should be.

I have been praying hard this week for opportunities to find people.  I know that no effort is wasted in this work.  We have done a lot of ministering to members and I've gotten to know a lot of them.

John 7:37-38 "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 

This scripture has given me a lot of hope and strength through hard times.  Have a great week y'all.

Elder Poulsen

Apopka Boiz

Elder Pottle

Week 22: Joshua 24:15

I've been reading "Jesus The Christ" recently.  It is such a deep and enriching book.  While reading this week, I read an amazing few paragraphs that spoke to me.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” With these words Jesus prefaced one of His most impressive discourses...

...As the Teacher showed, a shepherd has free access to the sheep. When they are folded within the enclosure of safety, he enters at the gate; he neither climbs over nor creeps in. He, the owner of the sheep loves them; they know his voice and follow him as he leads from fold to pasture, for he goes before the flock; while the stranger, though he be the herder, they know not; he must needs drive, for he cannot lead. Continuing the allegory, which the recorder speaks of as a parable, Jesus designated Himself as the door to the sheepfold, and made plain that only through Him could the undershepherds rightly enter. True, there were some who sought by avoiding the portal and climbing over the fence to reach the folded flock; but these were robbers, trying to get at the sheep as prey; their selfish and malignant purpose was to kill and carry off.  Changing the figure, Christ proclaimed: “I am the good shepherd.” He then further showed, and with eloquent exactness, the difference between a shepherd and a hireling herder. The one has personal interest in and love for his flock, and knows each sheep by name, the other knows them only as a flock, the value of which is gauged by number; to the hireling they are only as so many or so much. While the shepherd is ready to fight in defense of his own, and if necessary even imperil his life for his sheep, the hireling flees when the wolf approaches, leaving the way open for the ravening beast to scatter, rend, and kill."

I've tried to pray for the charity that Christ had for His sheep.  Elder Pottle and I have been focusing on trying to care for the individual.  To not look at the numbers but look at the soul.  We have been so much happier when doing this and it applies to every form of life.  Looking at people individually and loving them individually.

Elder Poulsen