Week 86 Easter Sunday and Conference Weekend were Great!

Hello everyone. This week has been pretty good. The most exciting part about it all was the weekend! So many changes have been made that it's showing the Lord is hastening His work in His time. I love it all, and I'm glad the Church is making these changes because we are learning more and more how to make God’s kingdom on this earth, to prepare for His coming. The news about the new temples is exciting! Yes, Utah will receive another temple. I think they should stop. We seriously have enough. Hearing that one will be in India blows my mind, but what blows my mind even more is that even with Russia being closed down for missionary efforts, they now are allowing a temple to be built in that country. It truly shows that the Lord is softening the hearts of his children more and more, and by small and simple means, brothers and sisters, the Lord is once again bringing a great thing to pass in Russia. I know that because the Lord has granted this temple to be built, Russia will once again open their hearts to us again, and this church will continue to spread throughout the world. Wha-hoo, this is so exciting!!! I learned so much from conference, but I won’t let that take away from my week, so here it is.

Monday

We emailed in the morning. Then we went shopping. After, we drove up to the stake center, and we were going to play volleyball, but once we got there, Elder Hunter gathered everyone to play basketball. So, the volleyball nets got put away, and the one who were sick of basketball, sat and watched them play for the rest of p-day. I'm really not surprised. They did it in Arlington the same way, and everyone swarms to it. That was kind of a waste of a p-day. I feel when we do things like that, I just waste it. I'll be honest, I'm not as good as the other elders, plus they are all like 10 times bigger than me, so I can't do anything because of those things. Plus, it gets really old because I've played it so much on my mission. I just get really sick of it. I mean, come on! We are in Bellingham. There is so much to do here!! After the wasted p-day, we then went home, got changed, and then went and saw some people. We had dinner around then as well but no lessons.

Tuesday

We started the day with seeing some people. We planned our day with seeing as many potentials and formers as we could see. After working for a while, we had lunch and comp study. Then we went and saw a lot of part member families. Later that night, we had dinner and a lesson with the Redelks. We read 1 Nephi 15 with them. After, we had a meeting with Bishop, and then we went home and ended the night.

Wednesday

We had district meeting. Elder Brown instructed on teaching our investigators relating everything to our purpose, the gospel of Jesus Christ. After, we had lunch. Then we ran to go see Edwin, a potential investigator, but he was not home. So, we came back home and did comp study. Then we went to the church. I went on a small exchange with Bellingham Bay, and Elder Mauldwin and I, drove down to Mount Vernon to pick up my prescription from Sister Wilding, while the other elders went to the lessons we had planned. Elder Mauldwin and I had a great time, and Sister Wilding was able to twist some knobs to allow me to get that prescription. (Side note from Rebecca...I think “twist some knobs” must be Jordan’s version of pulling some strings. =)) After getting it, I dropped it off at Rite Aid so that I could pick it up the next day. Then we drove to their apartment and exchanged back. Then Elder Milner and I went and had dinner. After we were supposed to have a lesson with Shane and pass him off to the YSA sisters, but he never showed up. So, we went back home and ended the night.

Thursday

We went by Rite Aid and picked up my prescription. Then we went and saw some people in the morning. We mostly saw people to invite them to watch conference. After, we then had lunch and comp. study. Then we went and dropped some brownies off to Sister Kavah that Sister Masterson made for her. She was so happy to get them. After, we went and had a lesson with the Sibleys. We taught Jessica the Gospel of Jesus Christ and made plans to go see Perry (AKA David) for later that night. David was in the hospital for depression. Now he is out and is doing a lot better. After, we went and saw more people. Then we had dinner. After dinner, we went and saw David with the Sibleys at the hospital. He was happy to see us and told us he would be at the Sibleys house today when we go and see him. After, we then went and saw Justin, our investigator. We just chatted with him. He said he was tired, so he couldn't talk for long. That ended our night.

Friday

We started the day with weekly planning. Then we went into lunch and comp study. After, we went to go see people. We got some return appointments with people and continued to inform people about conference. Later that night, we had dinner and a lesson with Nikki. We taught her about the Book of Mormon. After, we then went and saw the Parker boys. Elder Milner and they talked, and I sat there with my mind confused on what they were talking about. Everything they were talking about was beyond my time frame. It’s that moment when you realize you've been on your mission so long, and your companion who has only been out 7 months starts to quote shows, movies, songs, and other nerdy things you know nothing about, whether it be the graphics and how he describes it, or it’s just him talking about the new things. I never thought I would see that day come.

Saturday

Saturday was amazing! Most people go to conference with a question. I did this time, and I received and answer; however, I cannot tell said answer nor question. We went to the Jones home to watch the first session. It was truly amazing. I love the I am a Child of God talk, and Elder Ballard’s talk as well. So, many good ones. The Joneses also fed us breakfast, I forgot to mention. After the session, we went and had a lesson with Chris. We taught him about the 10 commandments and following the prophet. It went okay. After, we drove up to the stake center and watched the second session. I didn't draw too much from that one. After the session, we then stayed there, did personal study and then had our dinner. After, we watched the priesthood session, and we all got our minds blown with these new changes in the priesthood. After, we went home and did weekly planning for the rest of the night.

Sunday

We went to the stake center for the morning session. I loved this session because it taught me so much about revelations and how to be a disciple of Christ. It was so great!  I felt the Lord answering my question so strongly in that meeting. After the session, we had lunch and then planned the day. Then we watched the last session, and I stand with Elder Holland when he said, "President Nelson, stop giving us these revelations. We can barely keep up. We have weak hearts, but I guess you could help us with that too." I love that! Even though I love everything that has been given to us by the Lord, I do feel that it was given all too quickly. But what better way for the Lord to give His council. After the session, we went home and had comp study. Then we went and saw people. Later that night, we had Easter dinner with the Devrise. Then we came home and did our personal study for the rest of the night.

Brothers and sisters, I am grateful for the counsel that our prophet has given us this week. I am grateful because this is something the church has been missing for a long time, something I've notice since I was in my first area. Only because as members of this church, we procrastinate too much when we need to serve our fellow men. There are people out there needing a representative of Christ out there right now. Someone needs our help. Yet, as members of the church we don't attend to that person's needs. Too often, we go over to the member’s home and treat our visits like an assignment. Now I know I am guilty of it, but brethren, if you love the people you home teach, and you want to do everything you can for them, why would you wait until the last Sunday of the month to go and see them? If you truly love your ward, why would you wait for so long. I would ask the simple phrase, would Jesus Christ do that? Now being a missionary, I realize how much better I could have been, however, I let my pride get the best of me. Now that the Lord has helped humble me, I will do all I can to minister even when I get home as I have on this mission. To the sisters, you to a marvelos job, however you are sometimes no better than the brethren. There are many in this church that need just a friend, someone to help them whether it be doing dishes or even giving a gentle hug. I believe that God blesses us if we truly help those in need and minister to His children.

I'll end with a story of how my dad ministered to one of the families he was assigned. I will not give the real name of the family, but some of you may know who they are. We would go see this family twice a week. The family consisted of a single mom and 4 kids, one still a baby. The husband left the family for his own worldly choice which we cannot take away. However, this family had the hand of the Lord over them, and she and her family were being protected. One day, we went to their house to teach them a lesson. Before we went into the lesson, we talked for a bit. We found out that she wanted to get her back yard done so that the kids had somewhere to play. My father, understanding what he could do, took the challenge and went to work on her backyard. The ward helped to provide the means for the work to be down. Someone in the stake who owns a drilling and shoring company loaned my dad the equipment that he needed to prep the backyard and landscape it. My dad at the time did not have a job, so he made this his job, and it was way better because he was doing the Lord’s work and serving others. Hour after hour, my dad and I, along with my brothers, would work on that back yard. Me being so young at the time, I could not understand why we were doing this. One of the days my dad needed gas for the machine he was using to landscape the backyard, so the owner of the equipment came and brought his company’s gas truck to fill it up. After seeing the work he had done so far, the man was impressed and told my dad if he ever needed a job, he could talk to him and they could figure something out. Long story short, my dad got a job with the company, but that's not the point. Here is the point. We worked and worked and worked on that backyard, and we got it done. That backyard was so beautiful, I could not believe what we had done. Her parents came the day after we had finished, and because of what we did to help this family out, it made them weep. Now looking back at that experience, I have never had so much compassion and love for anyone on this earth then that family, and every time I walk past their house, I am reminded of them and how much I love them. At the time, my family had no income. We were surviving off our food storage which was not much, and my dad wasn’t having any luck finding a job, but my dad forgot about his problems and what he was going through and just decided to serve. Because we took the time to serve someone who was going through a harder trial then us, being a single parent with four kids, and many other things that great sister had gone through, we were able to feel genuine love for another child of God, and because so he rewarded us, not only with our burdens lifted, but as well with Christlike love for someone else. Brothers and sisters, this is why we minister as members, Missionaries have been doing it for centuries, and many other members as well. However, not all the church has done so. I testify by the power of the Holy Ghost that these are not my words, even though it is my story I tell, I do not tell it to a lot. I tell it to challenge, to testify, and to show my love. May we all do the same, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Hammond

Easter egg care package for Elder Hammond.
Wrapped in heavy duty packing tape for his April Fool's Day trick...