Week 45: Galatians 5:13-14

I listened to a talk by President Russell M. Nelson.  He talked about "The Living Christ" and how some people don't take advantage of it, or even know it exists.  I took his challenge to read and ponder it.  The last two paragraphs hit me hard.

"We testify that He will someday return to earth. “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5). He will rule as King of Kings and reign as Lord of Lords, and every knee shall bend and every tongue shall speak in worship before Him. Each of us will stand to be judged of Him according to our works and the desires of our hearts.  We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

I don't really need to add much to this.  I know my Savior lives, and if I'm here for anything, it is to serve and follow Him.

Elder Poulsen

Week 44: #RIPElderAdair

We finished off Elder Adair's last week as a missionary.  It was atypical but that's only fitting for a missionary seeing as that's how every week is.

We started the week off by calling our families on Christmas.  It was a stress reliever that we both needed.  It was great to talk to them and open presents together.  It's good to have a little "normal" time.  Our President was nice enough to not give us a time limit on calls, so I got to spend most of the day with my family.  I can't believe that I've already called home twice.  Time flies.

On Wednesday, I was getting dressed while Elder Adair was just getting out of the shower, and our power went completely out.  We were super confused as to what happened and after some investigation, we realized that the rest of the surrounding area had power so it was just our house.  We went about our day and made some phone calls to get it fixed.  We went over to Larry and Fran's house, the sister of the Mission President in the Washington D.C. South Mission.  We shared a Christmas video with them and talked a little bit about our church.  They didn't seem extremely interested but they were very nice.  We are going to stay in touch with President Caplin and keep Larry and Fran on our radar.  The power was still out at this point, and because all of our appliances are electrical, we had no way to eat, so we treated ourselves at the "Fenney Grill".  We had no power for the rest of the night, we might as well have been camping.  We made the most of it though.

The next morning at about 7, we got a call from an electrician who said he would be there at 8.  We did our normal morning routine and got calls for the next 4 hours saying he was "on his way".  We couldn't leave our house because he said he was close, but showed up at 12:30.  He walked in, worked his Orlando Magic, and the power was back on.  He said he'd been doing electrical work for 25 years but had never seen a breaker quite like ours.  That's the latest episode in the saga of "The Sumterville Bungalow".

Friday was Elder Adair's departing temple trip.  We drove down to Orlando in the morning and saw the beautiful white building in the morning sky.  All the missionaries going home this week went through a session with President and Sister Clark... and the Assistants.  I'm not really sure why they were there, they literally had no purpose, but I guess that's just a perk of being in the high chair.

Saturday, we had a really cool lesson with a woman we've been teaching named Donna.  She's always a great listener and loves reading the Book of Mormon.  She has struggles committing to one church, so its hard seeing her getting baptized, but she sure does love the Savior.  We went over and she seemed to be having a harder time than usual.  She was tearing up talking about a lot of the struggles she's been going through recently.  There's a particular picture of Christ from the Church's Bible videos that she loves.  We've always wanted to get her a copy.  I have an awesome friend back home who made a crafty little thing with that picture on it.  She told me that I should give it to someone because "giving is always better than receiving".  It couldn't have been any more divine.  Donna loved it and burst into tears.  It was exactly what she needed.  I've never seen anyone so grateful for something so small.  She thanked us and thanked my friend.  Even though my friend is in Utah and doesn't know Donna, she made her day, and impacted her immeasurably.  

“You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley

Elder Adair is pretty much packed up.  He's ready to fly home and continue on with his life.  I'll miss him a lot.  He's been a great companion and a great friend.  However, as for me and the Sumterville area, the work moves on.  I'll be getting Elder Taylor.  He's been out for about a year and a half.  He was actually trained in Viera 1 so that will be something to talk about.  I've met him a few times and like what I've seen.  I'm super excited for this next chapter of my mission.

My heart is full of love and gratitude because of the mercy God has for me.  I know that without Jesus Christ, I would be nothing.  I owe every breath that I breath to Him.  Growing closer to Him these past few months have been the most rewarding thing of my life, and I'm excited to continue on this path.

Have a great week.  Love y'all!

Elder Poulsen

Last District Pic

Treat Yo' Self

"Campfire Song Song"

Orlando Florida Temple

Donna & Elder Adair

Jar Jar Binks

Week 44: 2 Nephi 2:8

Something that I've been pondering a lot and had a great conversation with another missionary about is tribulations and the blessings that come from them.  We often times think about the negative effects that come from trials and how if we can just get over the hump, we'll be good.  Sometimes we need to look at the positives of trials.  Easier said than done, but when we recognize the purpose of our hardships and see them as opportunities to grow closer to Jesus Christ, we will be happier.  We come out stronger and with a better vision of life.

Paul said "And [the Lord] said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

My hope is that we can all look at how our trials have blessed us.  I hope to get to the point where I can always be grateful for my trials just as Paul was.  They truly offer contrast in our life and help us appreciate the Savior and His Atonement.

Elder Poulsen

Week 43: I'll Be Home for Christmas... If Only in My Dreams

What an interesting week it's been.  Not super memorable but it was still a good time.  We didn't have a lot of time to find this week.  We stopped by a few members and shared a Christmas message.  We are really trying to encourage the ward to share the gospel, but they tend to shy away because they've grown older and are tired.  We'll get there though.

We had our exchange with the District Leader this week.  I went up to Belleview to be with Elder Blomstedt and Elder Moore.  The first night, we were stopping by a few dots in our area book.  It was getting dark about the time we were heading into the more country part of this area.  There was a dirt road and at the end of it was a house.  Someone that had contact with missionaries before lived there.  We were driving on fairly hard dirt and all of the sudden, we hit a patch of sugar sand and our car was stuck.  We tried to get it out but it was in vain.  We called President Clark and told him.  We could hear Sister Clark laughing in the background.  It was funny but we were sort of stressed.  We had the Elders in the other side of Belleview come pick us up and take us home.  We left a note on the car saying we'd come back in the morning.  We finally got our car back after a long process.  There's really no point of me telling this story but it makes life interesting.

We had our Christmas Devotional this week.  It was really great.  We had half the mission like we always do for Zone Conference but we heard uplifting talks from President and Sister Clark, heard musical numbers, and sang Christmas hymns.  It was super spiritual.  My favorite mission meeting we've ever had.  President Clark quoted something super profound.  I can't remember what it was from, but it says, "Despite external circumstances, Christmas, like the kingdom of God, is within you."  I loved this a lot.  It goes along with Luke 17:20-21, "And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:  Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."

We were blessed with 3 referrals this week.  One of them was from the Mission President in the Washington D.C. South Mission.  We called President Caplin and his wife.  They were super loving and wanted us to go see his Sister in The Villages.  She said she'd love to have a Christmas message shared with her.  We are going over on Thursday.

"And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal." (Helaman 8:15)

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:10-14)

That's about it for this week folks.  I love you all and want you to know that your Savior loves you.  Have a great week and Merry Christmas!!

Elder Poulsen

Elder Blomstedt and Elder Moore

Car got $tuck

Getting the car fixed

Ma Boi Elder Pottle

Pic from last week

Week 43: Luke 2:1-14

President Clark quoted 2 Corinthians 3:3 during our Christmas Devotional.  It says "Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart."

I love this scripture.  As Christmas comes to us tomorrow, I've been thinking about my testimony of the birth and divinity of Jesus Christ.  I can write, say, and think I have a testimony, but where true testimony is written is in the "fleshy tables of the heart".  Our experiences and acceptance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ allow us to truly feel our testimony.  To know with a surety that He was born, died, and rose again.  There are many things I do not know, but one thing is written in the fleshy tables of my heart.  That is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of the Living God, that He was born to Mary in Bethlehem, that He died for our sins and afflictions, and that he conquered death on the third day.  Nothing can make me deny that.  I know it to be true because of the experiences I've had.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Elder Poulsen

Week 42: G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South)

This week was strange.  It was one that felt like an eternity during the day but when I look back, it feels like a few seconds.

I feel like we talked to a lot more Southerners this week.  Specifically Florida natives.  It's a different world when working with those people.  They are very proud of their Southern heritage.  I've heard things like:  "The Northerners are taking over.  We gotta go find somewhere else to live." and "Only Northerners sweeten their grits." and yes, even the very cringey "Did you know the South actually won the Civil War?".  It's been really interesting but funny.  Oh, and I've actually become very fond of grits.  Tasty stuff.

We had a few lessons with Mark this week.  For the first one, we taught him the Word of Wisdom and the temple.  He was really receptive and it was really powerful.  He talked about marrying his girlfriend and getting sealed in the temple.  It's really cool to see his desires change over time.  The second lesson was pretty dang spiritual.  We were planning on teaching the Law of Chastity but when we showed up to the chapel, he looked different.  He looked tired, stressed, and annoyed.  When we sat down, I instantly knew that we needed to focus on scripture study and prayer.  He had a few rough experiences and wasn't feeling great.  The lesson was exactly what he needed and it was a huge testimony builder for me.  I know God is aware of Mark and his struggles.  He touched us so that we would teach exactly what we were supposed to.

Saturday, we had our exchanges with the Zone Leaders.  Elder Watteyne came down to Sumterville to be with me.  We had a really great time.  Elder Watteyne is super personable and always has a smile on his face.  We talked a lot about pride and how it impacts our lives.  We also of course talked about eternal families.  (We are focused but still hyped for marriage).  It was really cool to get someone else's perspective on it.  We also had a cool finding experience.  We were in a neighborhood in Wildwood and prayed for guidance to a specific person.  We stopped by a few potentials, formers, and knocked a few doors.  Nothing.  We had about 10 minutes until we had to leave for dinner, so we prayed again and then decided to stop by one more potential.  While we were walking there, we saw a guy walking his kid in a stroller.  His name is Jason and he was really friendly, which felt good cause everyone earlier was standoffish.  He has a faith in God but has many questions.  We told him about the Book of Mormon and he said he wanted to check it out at the library.  We told him we would bring him one on Thursday.  It was really great because we felt like we were supposed to meet him, and everything we did earlier led us to that point.

One more experience that we had during the week.  We had a few lessons that fell through and we didn't have any idea what we were going to do.  We prayed about where to go and we got a specific prompting to go visit a less-active family.  I felt weird about it because we had tried many times before but they were never home.  We decided to give it a try.  We went by and she was on her porch.  She said that she wasn't even supposed to be home at that time.  She was really nice and was grateful that we stopped by.  She hadn't seen anyone from the church in a few years.  We are going to go over and meet with her kids who aren't baptized yet.  It truly was a tender mercy from the Lord.

Thats about it for the updates.  Today we went fishing in the Lecanto area and then went all the way out by Crystal River to see the Gulf.  Not very many missionaries can say they've seen the East and West coast of Florida on their mission.  It's good down here in the FOM.

That's about it for this week.  Love y'all.

Elder Poulsen

Phatty

Family Pic

 #BonesOnTheBeach

I don't remember posing for this picture

Week 42: Alma 7:10-13

This week at Sacrament meeting, we sang "Away in a Manger".  I've heard this song a hundred times but I've never focused on the words, especially the third verse.

"Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,

The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;

The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

"The cattle are lowing; the poor baby wakes,

But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.

I love thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky

And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.

"Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay

Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.

Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,

And fit us for heaven to live with thee there."

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior.  This time of year is wonderful.  It reminds us of our Lord and the duty we have to serve others, not only during the Christmas season, but throughout our lives.

Elder Poulsen