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4/10/17
Hello everyone!
I hope everyone had a fantastic week like we did. We had a pretty awesome week! So many miracles are happening as we open our mouths and talk to everyone that comes within our sight.
Our week started off good last Monday with p-day and getting to email family and friends. Later, while walking around and tracting after dinner, we were able to street contact two new investigators! One named Brandon, that wants to see us in a couple weeks, and then one named "O" (he told us his name, and I was like ,"Oh"...). he was a super nice guy from Chicago that said he would want to see us again in a few days, so we scheduled to see him on Wednesday! It was a great way to start the week!
On Tuesday we held a District Leader Council in the morning and discussed with the District Leaders what is happening in this transfer and what we want to do moving forward. I loved it. Then we went out tracting for the day. That night, we were invited to teach the youth [12-18 yrs old] a "Welcome to the MTC" night. It was really cool! We started with a discussion and explained the book we use to teach investigators with, called "Preach My Gospel". In it are lessons about the gospel, like the Plan of Salvation. Then they all got "mission calls" and had the chance to try and teach an "investigator" that night. We had tons of fun!
On Wednesday we had a district meeting in the morning, and then went to see our new friend, O. We were able to talk with him for a while about some pretty cool things, mostly about the Plan of Salvation and some great questions he had for us. After we answered all his questions, we started talking about the Book of Mormon and coming to know if it is true. It was then that he told us he wasn't interested. It was such a bummer!! But we were glad that we were able to give him some answers to his questions about our church from us, instead of some internet site, that doesn't always have the right information. It was a good visit!
On Thursday, Elder Mork had a doctor's appointment, all the way in Brighton!! So we got to drive through basically the whole northern part of the mission. It was a fun drive and a good trip. When we came back and got to work! That night we met with a guy named Joe, who was baptized a long time ago, but forgot tons of stuff. We talked to him a lot about the Plan of Salvation and drew it out for him. He is progressing very slowly, but after we met with him, he committed to watch President Eyring's talk on the Plan of Salvation (fantastic).
Friday was kind of interesting. Elder Mork, in his last area, was teaching a family who's daughter recently passed away from cancer. He taught them in Brighton, but the daughter lived in Wheat Ridge (very close to us). So Elder Mork and I were given permission to go to the funeral, because it was being held in our zone. (I think it was inspiration that Elder Mork was transferred here.) It was a good service and included a man from Elder Mork's ward in Brighton, who gave a talk on the Plan of Salvation. It was sad, but comforting to hear the words of her father, on where his daughter is now. After the funeral, we came home and started working.
We street contacted and found another new investigator! Her name is Tiffany, and when I first approached her she started telling us about how we didn't believe in Christmas. (Don't you love it when other people tell you what you believe, and it's not true?) We had a good conversation though, and then she said she would come to church with us on Sunday. We got her information and made plans for someone give her a ride to church. After dinner that night, we went and taught a guy named Bryan. Bryan is a really smart guy and lives in one of the richer parts of our ward. We had taught him once before where we talked about the Book of Mormon. That night we found out that he had read all of 1 Nephi and so we had a great discussion on it!! He already feels like the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ [in addition to the Bible]! Then we taught him about the restoration and he said it all made complete sense and agreed with everything!! So we asked him to pray and find his answer about being baptized by the 13th of May. It was an amazing lesson, we felt the Spirit as we talked, and just so much truth was shared. It was an awesome night.
On Saturday, the big event for the day, was driving to a baptism in Aurora, our Stake where Elder Mork and I used to serve. An investigator who Elder Mork used to teach was getting baptized, and Elder Mork was asked to give one of the talks. It was super cool to be back near Cherry and Piney Creek wards, my last area, and to be at a baptism where we could feel the Spirit so strongly! Then that night, we came back and met Tiffany's fiancee, who also wanted to come to church the next day! How awesome is that?
Sunday came! It was Ward Conference, so we had some awesome meetings with the Stake leaders there. The stake president is really, really cool. He is just captivating to listen to, and can quote scriptures and talk like nothing else. Tiffany and her fiancee came to church and went to the Sunday School class that was led by the Stake President. He talked directly to them and taught them about the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost. It was so awesome!! Elder Mork and I were freaking out, because we had only street contacted these people 2 days earlier!! It was awesome! That was probably the biggest highlight of our week!
So, the week was fantastic! We are being blessed so much here. I love it and can feel the Holy Ghost influencing me every single day to share the gospel and watch the happiness that comes from it.
I hope you have a wonderful Easter week and remember that it was the Savior's last week of His mortal ministry. The atonement and death of our Savior was the most important thing that happened on the earth. I know He did this for you and me, so that we could return to Him someday.
I hope you all have a fantastic Easter!! I love you all!
Elder Bird
P.S. Please everyone watch this wonderful Easter Video of our Savior - Prince of Peace
https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_SU_2-4-2017_dPFD_fMORG_xLIDyL1-C_
Also, here are some pictures of Elder Mork and I!
1. Us at the library emailing!
2. Arvada is a no pooping zone
3. Elder Mork and I enjoying some ice cream
4/03/17
Hey everyone!! I hope General Conference weekend was a blast for all who were able to watch it. General Conference is like the Superbowl for us missionaries on a mission, so we enjoyed ourselves and liked all the talks that were given to us.
It was transfer week this week!! Elder Eldredge left Wednesday morning for Aurora, and Elder Mork came up here to Arvada with me! We had a few other changes in the zone with Elders and Sisters moving around. Two companionships were "swept out" where both Elders or Sisters were transferred and the two wards they were serving in were combined. A new set of Elders came in that I think will be able to handle the new change. With the number of missionaries here getting smaller with each transfer, the Mission President has had to combine a lot of wards and shrink some zones down. But I am really excited for this transfer!!
As for highlights of the week, we found some really awesome new people!! Elder Eldredge and I tracted most of his last day, and had a miracle because of it. It was raining outside and we went to an apartment complex with inside hallways right before dinner. We knocked on a door and this guy named Aaron answers and lets us in. So we sit down with him, and his wife Ashley joins us and brings activities for the kids to sit down at the table with us as well!! We start talking to them and they tell us that they have been waiting for missionaries to knock on their door for about a year! Ashley's dad joined the church a while back and they have just been waiting for someone to invite them to come to get into it. They had even tried to flag down a few missionaries in the past with no luck! How crazy is that?? They were so excited to meet us that they invited us back over for dinner....before I even knew their last name! Elder Eldredge was so sad because he was leaving the next day and wouldn't get to teach them. But how cool is that?? This stuff never happens!
On Thursday, Elder Mork and I put together a zone meeting to introduce our new zone to the Church's new Easter video and initiative. It was a great meeting and we got to meet all of the zone! The church has put out a video for Easter time about the #PrinceofPeace. It is super awesome and the missionaries are going to start introducing it to everyone this Easter to try and help everyone realize how much peace the Savior can bring into their lives if they only let him in. Ask your missionaries and check it out!!
On Friday, Elder Mork and I went to a missionary Leadership council for the majority of the day. We got some good feedback on what needs to happen this transfer and what we can do moving forward to best help the missionaries in the zone. It is always fun going to these meetings to hear feedback from the Mission President, but also because we get to see a bunch of our old friends and companions.
Elder Mork and I found another cool investigator at the end of the week. Her name is Jennifer, and we found her by street contacting. She was a bit abrasive at first, but we kept on talking with her, explaining what we do and testifying of the help it can bring to her life. She has some pretty big challenges, but was open to talking more. Then, when I said a prayer with her before we left, she started tearing up and ran inside. It was so cool to see how quickly the Spirit can touch someone you meet on the street.
This weekend was Conference! Elder Mork and I spent a lot of time in the Stake Center (about 10 hours) watching the different sessions. It was so good to hear from the General Authorities! I enjoyed all of the talks, but my favorites must have been Elder Ballard's talk on goal setting (especially applicable as a missionary) and Elder Costa's story of his conversion. I also felt particularly touched by Elder Bednar's talk in the priesthood session about missionary re-assignments. I love how the Lord loves us and knows us that He is able to direct his servants to speak directly to us. I know that these messages are sent from God for each of us and we should keep these talks in our minds as we move forward these next few months. I promise all of you that heeding their counsel will bless your life, and I can promise that by how much it has blessed mine.
So that was our week! We are looking forward to a big week next week with lots of stuff going on and much work to be done!! I hope everyone's upcoming week back home is a blast!!
Much love,
Elder Bird
Easter Video
https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_SU_2-4-2017_dPFD_fMORG_xLIDyL1-C_
3/27/17
Hey Everyone!!
Transfers have come out, and Elder Eldredge is getting the boot! He is going to head down to Aurora South to end his mission as a district leader. He is going to do awesome down there. As for me up here, I will stay and my new companion will be . . . Elder Mork!! He was in last area when I was serving in Piney and Cherry Creek Wards. He is a fantastic Elder, and I am so excited to be serving with him!!
As for the week, it was pretty good! I'll just go through the highlights really quick, because we spent a lot of time freaking out about transfers.
Most of the week was spent tracting and trying to find some new people to teach. We picked up 3 new investigators this week!! Two of them, we found by tracting and were able to teach about the Book of Mormon and share a copy with them. They were both super nice, and interested in us coming back and seeing them again. I am super excited to see both of them again. The third person was actually a guy named Bryan we had found tracting a few weeks ago, but never had the chance to teach. We sat down with him, and he told us he had been taught in the past a long time ago. He really likes our "3 tiered heaven concept" and has no real concerns! We set up a time to come back in a few weeks and see how he has enjoyed some reading we gave him to do, and to teach him the lessons again. I am so excited for him!
We went on exchanges on Wednesday with some elders in the zone. I went into the Arvada 4th ward area with Elder Olsen. We did something different and rode the bus all over Arvada. We had the chance to talk to people on the bus and try to teach them before they got off. It was super fun to talk with everyone there. We had a good time together and are really excited for the transfer moving forward.
We also had interviews with the Mission President this week. It was really fun to have the whole zone there together and to talk with the president in our own individual interviews. We also gave him some suggestions on what we think would really help the zone for transfers. The President is really excited for this transfer, because these are some of his last before the next Mission President comes in. It should be good!
Anyways, the week was pretty standard. I think the biggest highlight for me came when we had a lesson with a YSA [Young Single Adult] guy named Tyler. Unfortunately, the lesson with him went poorly, but I was able to talk with the member who came with us afterwards. Turns out this guy, named Jake, had actually been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes right before his mission. Because of it, he was called to serve in Utah. But, he had to go home only 2 transfers in to it [1 transfer equals 6 weeks] because he just couldn't get his diabetes under control. He had accepted that it was God's plan for him and he was okay with that. As I was listening to him tell his story, I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the blessings I have had of being able to serve a full time mission with my recent diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. I am in a place where I can go out and talk with people everyday that don't have the gospel, and try to teach them. I feel so blessed that God's plan for me is to serve this mission. I know God is watching over me, as he does with all of us, and gives us little miracles along the way.
I love you all so much! Thanks for everything!!
Elder Bird
Elder Eldredge wearing the same tie as the Pres
This is what it's about - the BoM
3/20/17
Hey everybody!!
I hope everyone's week was a good one and you all had a fantastic St. Patrick's Day!! We had a great day and wore green ties that my mom sent us. We were told why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day by a drunk man in Olde Town Arvada!! Apparently, we celebrate it because "St. Patrick was a Christian" :)
The week was really good! Lots of stuff happened, so I think I am going to do the highlights like I did last week.
So on Monday was our zone P-day!! Elder Eldredge and I were in charge! We got everything set up for our Quidditch game and then waited for everyone to show up with their brooms. It turned out to be super fun! And super tiring. Everyone in the zone seemed to really like it and I think it will be pretty memorable for them, so we were happy about that.
On Tuesday, we went on exchanges with the Elders in the 3rd ward. I was with Elder Holtry in the 3rd ward area. We had a really good day together. Elder Holtry is super funny and an awesome guy. We did a lot of walking, because they don't have a car, so by the end of the day if felt like we had done a good days work. That night when the two companionships came back together, we all talked about our day. Elder Edlredge and Elder Wagner had had a good day too, in our ward area, and had set up some good appointments for Wednesday.
On Wednesday, we did a lot of contacting and tracting. That morning, we were able to meet with this really awesome investigator named Less, who broke his toe and now had ample time to meet with us! We taught him about the Plan of Salvation. After seeing him, we held a meeting with the District Leaders in our zone. We talked about things we could do to improve and keep moving forward, and it felt pretty effective. We bought Little Caesars for all of us afterwards and had a quick "lunch party."
The big event on Thursday was at the end of the day, where I actually had my very first baptismal interview! [Someone who wants to be baptized is "interviewed" to make sure they really want to be baptized and that they have a good understanding of our beliefs and will commit to keeping the commandments] It was with a really sincere investigator named Anthony, who had actually already gone through 4 other baptismal interviews, but was unsure of where his testimony stood of Joseph Smith and the current prophet. As we first started talking I took some time to get to know Anthony and see what his story was. Then he brought up his concerns I guess that he always had had. I tried to work with him through all of the questions and save the questions he had concerns over until the end. When we did get to them, we talked a lot about them and I bore my testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet, and of Thomas S. Monson as the current prophet. The spirit was very strong in the room. At the end, we decided to postpone his baptism again until he could receive a more solid answer and a stronger testimony. It was tough to postpone it, but I was super happy with how the interview went.
The biggest event on Friday was again near the end of the night! We taught a guy named Tyler, who is in the YSA [young single adult] ward. We were able to have a great conversation with him about what his concerns were moving forward and were able to set some goals to help him work towards baptism! It was a great lesson!
Saturday was a pretty packed day, but the biggest thing that happened was a lesson we had with the Gabaldon family, who's daughter Julia was scheduled to be baptized next Saturday. We taught them about prophets, and then were trying to set things up with them about Julia's baptism. Well Angel, the mom, told us that she didn't think Julia could be baptized on Saturday! Nooo! She told Julia that she had to be living all of the commandments more in her life, and she thought Julia was struggling being a good sibling and child with commandment number 5 [honoring her mother and father.] We were all bummed, but hopefully this will make Julia work harder towards the commitment of baptism. The other fun thing that happened on Saturday was tracting in (we didn't realize it until later) a retirement community for 2 hours!! We talked to a lot of sweet, but not super interested, older people. They were super fun though! That night, we had dinner at the Chili Bowl for our ward.
Sunday was pretty standard. We were able to see Julia and another investigator at church, who we totally didn't expect to come. We had a solid block of church all the way until 4:30pm, had dinner, contacted some people, then we came home and ended for the night.
Overall, it was a pretty great week! We are super excited for the upcoming week as it is the last week of this transfer.
I hope you all have a fantastic week moving forward! I love you all!!
Elder Bird
Elder Eldredge and I made quick work of the puzzle my mom sent
3/13/17
Hey everyone!!
I hope everyone has had a great week! We definitely did in the "St. Arvada" zone here in Denver!!
We had a great week. My companion and I are trying to get set up for an awesome "zone p-day" today, so I have only a little time to give an update, so here are the highlights!
We had a car fast on Tuesday [this is where they don't use their car for a day]. It was weird to go without our truck for a day, I have gotten so used to it. But we did some good work on our bikes! Elder Eldredge's helmet made him look like a "Goomba" [a character from Mario Brothers].
We picked up and started teaching a new investigator this week! His name is Matt, and he is dating someone in the church. He was a referral that we got from a member in Utah. The interesting thing is, Elder Eldredge and his previous companion had actually accidentally tracted and ran into this guy before he was referred...and he was not interested. And now, we are teaching him because he is dating someone in the church. How crazy is that??
On Friday, we started teaching a guy named Keith that we had tracted and found a while back. It was such an awesome lesson! We were out with him while he was walking his cat around his apartment complex. We walked with him and his cat, and ended up in some "wooded glen". We talked about the Book of Mormon a ton and how it helps us learn about Jesus Christ. He told us not to "spoil it" for him, and so he doesn't know where Lehi and his family will land after thy build their boat (spoiler alert, it is America). It was so awesome!!
On Saturday, our zone volunteered at a city event for St. Patty's day that they asked us to help out with. We went, and were asked to stop people from leaving the event with alcohol (it was good Word of Wisdom work!) It ended up being pretty fun as we talked and laughed with a bunch of people. Some guy was even super nice (he had worked with missionaries before) and gave us some money! We used it to buy some ice cream at the festival, and Elder Eldredge bought a flavor called "Leprechaun Poop." He said it was pretty good!
Finally, the last cool thing was a zone leader meeting that we went to last night. Our Mission President gathered the zone leaders together and we discussed what was going well and what wasn't in the mission. And then what we could do as leaders to help the missionaries. We also talked about the administrative work that we have to do, which was awesome. During the meeting, I was asked to bear my testimony on anything that came to my mind. I felt impressed to speak on humility. I said a few words about how much the Savior could have done with the power he had, but instead had the greatest impact on the human race through his meekness and humility and ministry to individuals, one by one. It has been cool to be a leader in the mission and to see how much we could do with the power given to us, but have to humble ourselves, to be beneath the missionaries we serve, to have a greater impact on them.
Anyway, that was pretty much the big moments from our week! I love it out here and am so happy to be serving and feeling the support from all of you back home. I hope you all have great weeks moving forward!!!
Thanks so much!!
Elder Bird
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