Wednesday, August 21, 2013

51st Epistle from Elder Kaleb Erickson serving in Brooklyn, New York


New Bishop    written August 19, 2013

Yesterday was a glorious day. We finally got a new bishop! Things are finally going to start moving in this ward! Now we just need to get English classes going and we would be unstoppable!
 
Not too much happened this week. We had a number of appointments and they managed to all cancel on us. Not entirely sure how that happened. But that's just mission life. We did manage to throw a semi-successful movie night on Friday though. We had a number of members come and brought a bunch of food. We watched Wreck-It Ralph. I only saw bits and pieces, but it looks like a very cute movie.
 
The coolest part of this week took place part on Saturday and part on Sunday. Elder Goates and Elder Adams had a baptism for a young man named Kevin they have been working with. He is only ten years old, but he is a sharp kid. His mother is a less active member who hasn't come to church in a number of months. Kevin had only been to church a couple of times, but he loved it and wanted nothing more than to get baptized. They had a neighbor who is an active member named Sister Bonilla. Every Sunday since the missionaries first met with Kevin, he has gone over to Sister Bonilla's house every Sunday morning to knock on her door and get a ride to church. He has been showing up an hour early every week because he is so excited to go to church.
 
So the elders taught him the lessons and prepared him for baptism. His mother also wanted him to get baptized. Although she still had not been to church yet. The baptism was on Saturday and the mother came with her sister and her sister's kids who are also less active members. The baptism went well, Kevin was excited, there was lots of food afterwards. On Sunday he was confirmed a member of the church. When I interviewed him for baptism, he asked me how to know if you are feeling the spirit. I told him that was a very good question. I discussed with him how every person feels it differently. It might come as a feeling in his heart or good thoughts to his mind, or he might just feel happy. He would have to figure it out on his own. After sacrament meeting, Kevin came up to me. He told me that after he got confirmed, he was praying to Heavenly Father. And he felt a warm feeling in his heart! He was so excited to tell me that he now knows how to feel the spirit and so now he'll be able to follow the gift of the Holy Ghost when it tried to tell him things. On top of that, Elder Goates talked with his mother, who came to church. She told him that she felt something at the baptism that she hasn't felt in a long time. And she has come to the conclusion that she needs to come back to church. She said that she knows this is where she needs to be. She even paid tithing for the first time in a year yesterday. 

It was just really cool to see things work out for this sweet family. I'm excited to see the two of them in church every week. And we even got an appointment to have dinner with the mother's less active sister this week, so hopefully we'll get her coming back to church soon too.
That's the inspiring story for the week. The church is true and the Gospel changes lives. That's the key to missionary work. It wouldn't work any other way.

Love,
Elder Erickson

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