Hey Everyone

 

Sorry that I'm not going to be able to get a post off this week. I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and don't forget to "Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." So long until next week!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

"Fence" Post November 15, 2010

Hello again!

 

To start off, WOW! What a week. It was incredibly busy but spiritual in the extreme.

 

As we approach the end of the transfer, we had the opportunity to attend a temple session with President Beck. It was the first time I have gone since July (too long if you ask me). I cannot fully describe the amount of love I have for the temple. It was an incredible session...I left feeling very much edified and spiritually charged for the upcoming transfer rush.

 

Apart from that, we just saw the hand of the Lord in the work. We found five new investigators this past week that have a ton of promise. One of them came from a MEMBER REFERRAL, a family from the area book and one from our own personal finding efforts. We are very excited for the potential they are showing and know that as we involve THE MEMBERS things will turn out great.

 

As a part of the spiritual week, we had an Arizona state wide stake conference broadcast yesterday. President Monson was presiding. We had the opportunity to listen to Bishop H. David Burton who spoke on Gratitude, Sister Barbara Thompson who spoke on the power of the Book of Mormon, Elder Quentin L. Cook who spoke on Enduring Trial, and President Monson who spoke on MEMBER missionary work. It was a very good conference. I left feeling very edified and ready to go teach the people.

 

All in all we may not have had the best statistical week but in level of spirituality...it was one of the best.

 

I have been pondering on the power of simplicity the past couple of days and look forward to studying the topic through the course of the week. Understanding that this post is pretty small, I would direct you to President Hinckley's talk " Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep". Sharing the gospel is not a hard thing to do. All it takes is to open our mouths and talk. the return missionaries who read this blog know the important role of the MEMBERS. For example, there is a stake in our mission who will have baptized about 140 people by the end of this year...with about half the number of MEMBER referrals. NOW, just imagine what would happen if the number of MEMBER referrals doubled. Pretty incredible isn't it. :)

 

Brothers and Sisters, this gospel work is true. It is the most important work on the face of this earth. We are dealing with a lot more than temporary earthly happiness. We are dealing with eternity! Everyone deserves a chance to hear the gospel. Just open your mouths and "they shall be filled." Have a fantastic week!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

 

PS. Enjoy the pictures! The turkey's name is Gallipavo and the turtle's is Stuart. About the picture with me...There are just times where you get excited on P-day. :)

Hello Friends!

 

I love the gospel and for the opportunity I have to share it. This week, like that past 2 other weeks, were filled with meetings but I was able to have some pretty incredible experiences. To start with a brief explanation, the Spirit is the most important thing that must be present in a lesson. Without, missionary success is impossible.

 

We attended several Specialized Training meetings this past week. We discussed the importance of consecrating our minds on our work (D&C 4:2) and being obedient to overcome the natural man (Mosiah 3:19). In the afternoon, the zones broke out into individual zone meetings and addressed those topics important to their zone. One meeting really stuck out to me. They did a testimony meeting, zone discussion, etc. All centered around the Book of Mormon. This zone has a rich history of using the Book of Mormon in all that they do: Teaching, finding, extending commitments...truly they understand the role of the Book of Mormon in a person's conversion. As I sat in that meeting, I started to ponder on my own testimony of the Book of Mormon and was inspired to turn to 2 Nephi 33:4-5. As I read those verses the spirit bore witness to my soul that the Book was indeed true and, like Elder Holland stated two conferences ago, was written under the inspiration of God.

 

I've pondered some pretty interesting topics this past week that, I feel, have really helped my deepen my understanding of my purpose as a missionary. One experience I would like to summarize really captures that Idea. We felt inspired to visit a part member family that had canceled their appointment the night before. We knew what we wanted our product to be as a result of the visit...but the way we arrived there was completely different than what we expected. I won't share the details of the visit because the experience is very sacred to me but I will go to say that the spirit was the teacher. As I was writing the experience in my journal I could remember word for word the discussion that occurred during the visit. To explain the situation, the family has been on and off active for the past 2-3 years or so. However, the mom became pregnant a little over the year ago and hadn't come to church since then. Her 13 year old daughter, Savannah, wants to be baptized but we knew that if we were to baptize her quickly she would fall away. We knew that we had to get the mom active again and the dad to lead his family on the path of righteousness. I am humbled to say that, because of our visit this past Saturday, Hna. Arellano went to church for the first time in over a year...and stayed for all three hours. It was an incredible experience.

 

I know that this gospel is true. I have no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father, or God, and his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that he was called to be the prophet of the Restoration. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Nobody can convince me otherwise. The gospel of Jesus Christ, his Atonement, is the only thing that can heal a wounded soul. It is the only thing that will bring true and everlasting happiness. I know that life is tough...that we face difficult challenges but our Savior has passed beneath them all and knows how to support his people. I am humbled to be his representative. I carry his sacred name every day to proclaim the love that he has for each one of us. That is my testimony in the name of his holy name, even Jesus the Christ, Amen.

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

November 1, 2010

Dear friends,

My time is short this week so this will be brief. I wanted to bear my simple testimony of the truthfulness of Alma 37:6-7. I had the opportunity this week to see the full effect of Heavenly Father’s hand in the work. We started off in a massive battle against the powers of Satan. It caused us to lose the one baptismal date we had and our investigator pool shrinking at a scary rate. By Tuesday night we knew we had to make a change or we would be left in a terrible state. We got down on our knees and committed with Heavenly Father that we would “Go where he wanted us to go” and do what he wanted us to do. We set a window of heaven during our tracting time the next day. Result: We found a family of six. We dedicated more time and thought to our Progress Record. Result: The ward took it and ran with it. We started contacting every referral that we had or lost contact with. Result: We found a new family of seven. Miracles from the hands of our Heavenly Father.

Obedience is not a hard thing to do. We learn from Alma 41:10 that “wickedness never was happiness.” Missionary Work is very dynamic. There are many different branches and methods but…the best method is the one that the Lord has set apart. It’s found in Preach My Gospel. It is found in the Scriptures. It is found in the words of our modern day Prophets and Apostles. It is found in humbly kneeling down in prayer and supplication from our Heavenly Father to ask for help…for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to lead you to those people whom he has prepared. Then, last but not least, consecrating yourself….your mind, your energy, and most importantly your heart to the work. My friends this gospel is true and is the living water that Christ spoke of. The doctrine we teach is His doctrine. It is the only thing that will bring eternal life, eternal happiness to the sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Now, as the Doctrine and Covenants says, “Shall we not go on in such great a cause?” Open your mouths and they shall be filled. Talk with your friends. Share with them what has brought you happiness. I know that as you do so Heaven’s blessings will descend upon you and your hearts will be filled with the Savior’s love. This is my humble testimony and I give it in the sacred name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

October 25, 2010

Hello all!

 

Talk about a fast and furious week. I couldn't believe how fast it went by! But, I was able to learn some pretty awesome things. Here's the scoop.

 

We had our quarterly Zone Conferences this past week and we focused on Receiving Revelation through prayer. Even though we heard all the talks three times and sat through 3 days worth of practice teaching I still learned a lot. I just want to share a couple of insights I had and expound on them a little bit.

 

1-When we pray too much for guidance we are shirking away from our Personal responsibility to study it out in our mind. As a result our spiritual growth slows.

 

This idea was really interesting to me. Sister Beck taught us about Decision Prayers and Petition Prayers. Petition prayers are those where we ask for help (eg. "Please Bless..." or "Please help me to..."). In these prayers we are seeking for guidance and are depending on the Lord for him to help us. The second prayer, a Decision Prayer, is one that is offered Post-made decision. It is a prayer in which we go to the Lord with an answer and ask him to confirm or reject it by the Holy Ghost (See D&C 9:7-9). These are really important because they allow us to use our agency, grow by study and faith, and really understand how the Holy Ghost communicates with us.

 

2-Prayer is a process of trial an error. When we pray we have to have a certain level of humility in order to receive an answer. This also goes back to the decision prayer. We cannot be afraid that Heavenly Father will say no or we will not receive an answer, rather, we will not be in tune enough to recognize it. Elder Bruce R. McConkie (I think that's how you spell his name) said, "Revelation is the natural inheritance of the faithful. Are you listening?" As we begin to humble ourselves we become as the Savior in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are able to say, "Thy will be done."

 

These are just a couple of thoughts I've been pondering on over the past few days. I hope that they have enlightened your minds and have given you some insight.

 

The rest of our week was pretty fast and furious. We went on 4 separate Leadership exchanges this past week and worked all over the mission. I had the opportunity to go back and work in South Phoenix for the night. It was a great experience! All and all things are going well. We have an investigator with a baptismal date and have some good investigators that we are teaching right now. It's going to be a bit of a time/waiting/powerful lesson process for them but things are looking positive.

 

Well, I hope that you all enjoy the blog and have a great week. Know that each of you is a daughter and son of God and that he loves you very much. Also, doubt not, fear not. Open your mouth and share the blessings you have from the gospel with your neighbors. They want the happiness you have too!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

October 18, 2010

Here we are again! I had some pretty awesome experiences this week…but time is short. I’ll do my best to summarize.

Over the past few weeks it’s been a real struggle to find new people. We would have some good contacts that would seem to have promise but when we went back they either weren’t there or simply didn’t open the door. We’ve been doing our best to convert to an “escalator” approach to the work meaning that we baptize weekly but we still have a full teaching pool. Neither one has happened so far but we have made some progress.

I have a strong testimony of the power of fasting. I know that it is a powerful and necessary tool in the Lord’s work. It is because of it that we found four spectacular people this past week:

-Daniel: Father of 2. Let us in after knocking on his door, shared a little bit about the Restoration and responded, “When can you come back? I’m actually interested in this.” We have an appointment today

-Dulce and Vianey: sisters currently living with each other. Dulce was a referral from the English missionaries. We had our first sit down lesson last night and, by the end, could tell us the whole story of the Restoration AND the things they needed to do in order to know if it is true. Accepted a baptismal commitment.

Victor: 12 year old kid that is living with our Hombres Jovenes Secretary. I’ve only met a one other kid like him…and he got baptized. Wants to start coming to church and going to mutual to make something of his life. His mom is starting to show some interest as well.

It was so powerful to see all of these people just ready for the gospel. I know that we were lead to talk with them and that they are those the Lord has prepared to hear the gospel.

That was the biggest break through we had this past week. In other news, I had the chance to go with Elder Bingham and work up in Prescott on Saturday with the two Spanish missionaries we have up there. It was beautiful. Mid 70’s, cool breeze, fresh air, mountains…It was nice. We had a good day and found some…interesting people. We didn’t find too many Hispanics sadly but we did find this family that showed a lot of interest. The most interesting however was our contacting experience around the Prescott courthouse (don’t worry, we didn’t go on the courthouse grounds…just walked on the other side of the street and talked to people). It was quite the experience…One I wouldn’t mind doing again. All in all, it was a good experience and an awesome opportunity to see another side of the missionary work in our mission.

Well, that’s about all for this week! I hope that every has a safe week and success in all that they do. Know that you are loved by a Heavenly Father and that there are those waiting to hear the gospel. Doubt not, fear not and open your mouth to share the gospel with others! Enjoy the pictures as well!

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

 

 

Pictures:

Prescott Valley, Prescott, Thumb Butte, Prescott Lakes, and other wonderful shots of the Northern Territory of the Arizona Phoenix Mission