Hey Everybody!

Another day to e-mail home and another week to report on. It was full of changes actually with some pretty cool experiences thrown into the mix. Here's a rundown of what happened.

We found out last Monday that my companion, Elder Jeffs, was being transferred from the area so P-day was filled with packing and happy/sad good-byes. We attended our ward Noche de Hogar so we were able to get all of the good-byes out of the way without lots of travel. Always a blessing in a bike area.

Tuesday was transfer day. And with it came my new companion. There were actually quite a few changes made to the Spanish program. My new companion, Elder Armstrong, and I have actually served in the same ward before so the "get to know you time" was pretty short. He is an incredible Elder with a great drive to work; a necessary quality to have to conquer Montana del Sur. Our ward is at the point of exploding, it is such an exciting time to be here. I am praying that we can reach 30 baptisms by the end of next month. We have about 15 more to go but all three areas have excellent investigators right now. I was talking with our Obispo and told him to get ready for a flood of converts, the start of which he already saw. We had 10 baptisms in 6 weeks. These coming 6 weeks look to have the same omen.

The rest of the week was busy with other meetings, bike issues, as well as serious finding efforts. We re-contacted a family we found about 3 weeks ago and had a great lesson one with them. I remember so clearly how strong the spirit was when I stopped to contact them. They have a couple of different points of view but seem to accept and understand everything we have taught them. We are going to put a huge focus on them in the coming week to be able to get them baptized quickly. We are also starting to work with a couple of great part member families that hopefully will produce some quick fruit. All in all I have no complaints.

For the more spiritual side of things, the past couple of weeks I have been pondering the idea of interruptions; when God decides to change things in our life to carry out his purposes. As I have been pondering the subject I began to realize that our life is full of interruptions. Some of which are caused by our own choices. Many times we look at these interruptions as bothers; things that cause us to feel uncomfortable or disturb our status quo. I know I have experienced my share of interruptions. Life certainly was never meant to be easy but when we begin to blame God for the things that have happened we need to take a step back and look at the things we can learn from these times. We should also take into consideration the protecting power of the covenants we have made with our Heavenly Father. He promises to bless us with those things if we simply keep his commandments and follow the council that he gives us. DO NOT get caught up in the things you cannot control and focus on the things you can. As you do so the path will appear much more clear.

I'm not quite sure I felt inspired to share that but I certainly hope it helps somebody today. I need to head out for now but know that you are in my prayers and may the Lord's choicest blessings fall upon each of you according to your obedience to the commandments.

Love,

Elder Klemme

June 13, 2011

Hey Everyone,

 

Last week was incredible. By lack of time I can't explain everything but I will do my best to summarize the week.

 

Every week that I have been down here I have had an experience that has helped me realize the power of the gospel in our lives. This last week the experience came at our baptism for a part member family that had been investigating since last October. My current companion, who just discovered today that he was being transferred, found them his first week in the area.

 

From the first visit it was an uphill battle to help this family learn to love and live the gospel. The husband, less active at the time, had about as big of a testimony as the rest of the family so, it wasn't easy.

 

The family progressed little by little but would never accept a baptism date. There always seemed to be an underlying doubt that was preventing them to move forward. Until, the husband had a heart attack. The family was humbled in a very extreme manner. The heart attack resulted in a triple-bipass surgery and lots of time bedrest. Unemployment and dependency on others became necessary. And the ward responded like any hero would.

 

The time following the attack resulted in extreme spiritual growth. They started to pray and study the scriptures together, they recognized the spirit more and more in our visits to them, and testimonies started to blossom. It was at that point that the Lord sent me into their life.

 

I take no credit for the things that have happend with that family. There is a part of me that had been prepared to help this family finally make the commitment to live the gospel and accept baptism. I remember so vividly the feeling I had as I left their home following our baptismal date lesson. I knew that the 3 weeks leading up to Friday would be a straight uphill battle. It would not be easy. It wasn't, but it was worth the fight.

 

Veronica, Norma (17), and Susana (12) Munoz entered the waters of baptism and were confirmed on June 10th, 2011. Now they are starting their journey to the temple where they will be sealed as an eternal family. The ward has completely enveloped them in their arms and has not intentions of loosening it's grip. Neither do we.

 

There have been instances on my mission where I have wondered why I was where I was or curious as to what I was meant to do. I have no doubts, zero, as to what I was sent here for. I discover new things every single day. I love the mission. I love it with all my heart and I know that, up to this day, it has been the best decision I have ever made.

 

I appreciate the love and support of all those who have stood behind me over the past 2 years. The time goes by so quickly and, deep down, I really don't want to leave. This city, my mission...it is my home. I imagine this is what heaven is like. I have learned so much....so incredibly much, about the love of our Savior and the truthfulness of the Plan of Salvation. I know that I was sent here for a very specific reason. I have done the Lord's will and know that when that eventual day comes, I can stand resolutely and say, "I HAVE NO REGRETS." Brothers and Sisters, the gospel life is the good life. There is nothing better out there in the world. Those who believe otherwise obviously don't understand what we have. I invite each of you to live the teachings of Christ. Live it and love it. I know I do.

 

Well, I need to leave but know that each of you are in my prayers. I know that this is the Lord's Gospel. This is his church and he is leading and guiding us through life's troubles so we can, one day, obtain eternal happiness. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

Hello All!

 

In short, it was a great week filled with great spiritual insights and awesome spiritual experiences. The Lord blesses us with what we need in order to help us progress. Every day I realize more and more as to why the Lord sent me back to Montana del Sur. I wish I could share with you all the things but I will only have time to identify a few.

 

1-WE HAD A BAPTISM!! (See Picture) This last week our investigator Rosalio left the hospital and told us "Well, I need to get my mind of things. I need to get ready to be baptized this Saturday." So, that is what he did. And he was baptized in one of the most spiritual baptismal services I have had my whole mission. When he bore his testimony during the service he was struggling to speak because he was SOO happy. He is a very special convert.

 

2-Temple Groundbreaking! After three years the church finally broke ground for the Phoenix Arizona Temple. It was so incredible...especially for someone who had to travel halfway across a state to attend the temple. I cannot wait to be able to come back and enter in, knowing that I myself played a role in it's construction. President and Sister Beck were in attendance and had the opportunity to participate in the ceremony.

 

3-Sacrament meeting was huge! There were NO empty seats in our Sacrament Meeting this last week. I began to see the literal fulfillment of the vision I had when I came back to the area. Elder Jeffs and I had 11 investigators at church and the ward did SO well. We couldn't even sit by them because their fellowshippers were there in a heartbeat. I feel like we are only seeing the beginning of great things in Montana del Sur.

 

4-Personal Revelation Rocks. I received some of the sweetest personal revelation of my life this last week. I have no doubt that the Lord is preparing me for great things. I only pray that I will continue to remain faithful to the knowledge I have received so that I may be able to continue to progress towards eternal perfection.

 

Like I mentioned. It was a great week and one that brought about great internal change. I have complete faith and confidence that we will continue to see great things and look forward to participating in them a little while longer. I need to go now but I pray that each of you continue on, putting aside the cares of the world and seeking for more important things. I love each and everyone of you and have a great week!

 

Sincerely,

Elder Klemme

May 31, 2011

Hey Everybody!

 

Another week come and gone. I'm proud to say that I look forward to reading these posts I have written since I have been gone. They have probably been a lot more regular than my journal recently. Sometimes it's just hard to stay on top of some things :)

 

This last week was a little trying. Everything felt a little off but yesterday allowed me to stop and get going again. A lot like stopping a heart and re-starting it again so it beats regularly. Not exactly the most fun experience but WAY necessary. I know that this week will be filled with great experiences and ones that will really shape me into the missionary I can still become.

 

We didn't have any major meetings or events that happened this last week. Just a simple work week with a couple of exchanges. Since my time as an assistant I have reallly learned to appreciate those. There is nothing like being on bike in South Phoenix. It is incredible! I received a letter from a friend a couple of weeks ago who is getting ready to go on her mission. All I could think about was the nervous excitement that I had before I started my mission. OH how I wish I could go back to those days and start over knowing the things I know now. But, that isn't the way it is supposed to work. All I can say to her is to hang on because she is going to learn a lot. President Beck has compared the mission to that of drinking from the fire hose: It comes very fast with a very high volume. Just hang on and learn as much as you can. There is nothing like being a missionary and the best part is, it's only the beginning! The MTC is the training for the training that occurs in the mission field. The real mission field comes after the mission when you can do the REAL finding. It is going to be an incredible experience for the rest of eternity.

 

As a whole the work continue to improves in our ward and in our area. We have 16 baptisms coming up in the next 4 weeks or so. Absolutely nothing to complain about. The ward is quickly changing into a missionary focused ward. I had the opportunity to talk in church Sunday about "2 Teams, 1 Goal". I discussed about the conversion process and how each investigator needs to obtain a testimony (spiritual conversion) and be apart of the church (social conversion). I had SOO much material I wanted to cover but could only talk for about 15 minutes. I guess I just had a lot to learn on the subject. :) Apart from the talk they are allowing us to present a ward Noche de Hogar this week AND we are having some incredible member visits. I feel like we are laying the foundation for some incredible changes down here. To all those parents wondering what advice they can give to their missionary son or daughter, what I suggest is to be PROACTIVE! Attack issues head on and always try to think of new things to do or improve the old method of doing things. There are so many things that one can do to improve the work in their areas. Just go out and get it!

 

Other than that things continue to go well. It has been incredible to be back "home" in South Phoenix and we have found some awesome people. I think we will continue to see great growth. I know I have experienced some of the best and worst experiences of my life since I have been here and look forward to continuing the experience.

 

I hope you all have a great week! Remember how special you are to our Heavenly Father and look at the glass as ALWAYS full!

 

Love,

Elder Klemme