Sorry in advance - this week's email will be short. Lots to do today, and we don't have much time here at the library!
As the subject line suggests, we will be losing our car today. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in past emails or not, but someone backed into our parked car a couple of days after Christmas...really unintelligent of that individual, but we forgive and forget, right? Except that we have to deal with not having a car this week while it's getting the small scratches buffed and re-painted at the local autobody shop...and it's below freezing here, all the time now. We'll try and be as productive as possible this week - I'm not letting the lack of a car keep us down! It's actually supposed to "warm up" to the 30s and 40s this week, so for that I am truly grateful. Tender mercies from the Lord help to keep me humble, but most of the time He has to use other means to make sure my pride is in check. =P
We have been busy, since we're technically now over 3 wards...the third ward (Billerica) is only one investigator, but he's getting baptized this Saturday! I'm grateful to be such a small part in his conversion. He's been investigating on and off for 8 years (his wife is a member), but about a month ago he called the elders and told them of his decision to be baptized. He's a great guy and has a lot of faith - we've just been reviewing the lessons with him and helping to prepare for his baptism. After that, though, Billerica will be shut down for a few months.
Most of our zone came down to Lowell a couple days ago, and we did another "blitz" to contact the inactive YSA members here in Lowell. About 95% of them have moved, some are there and not at all interested, and the remaining few (seriously, maybe 3 or 4 out of the list of 500 or so) have agreed to meet with the missionaries again. We're slowly but surely cranking through it!
We had an amazing lesson with one of those YSAs...his name is Raymond, and he opened up to us and told us about the difficulties he's had in his life. We've met with him a few times in the last 3 weeks or so, but this is the first time he's ever really talked with us. He's had a lot of issues in his family, and he cried as we tried to talk to him about it. He eventually told us that he couldn't "do this right now" and asked us to leave. We said a prayer together as a companionship in the car before we left the parking lot, and I think that's the hardest I've ever prayed for another soul. Our prayers were answered - he came to the Church basketball game at the stake center the next day. He's not ready to come to church just yet, but he's on his way.
I'm so grateful to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in this great work. May He bless you and your loved ones in all you do (especially missionary work!). Godspeed!
Love,
Elder Justin DeLong
Monday, January 28, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My 4th time being in a trio. . .
I'll start this week's email with some interesting news - Billerica, a neighboring area to Lowell, has been shut down mid-transfer. Elder Butters and I now have a third companion, Elder Griffin, one of the Elders who was serving there. They have an investigator who is getting baptized in a week and a half, and so we'll continue teaching him and preparing him for baptism. But after that, no more missionaries in Billerica. Nothing bad happened, no missionary was drastically disobedient - an area needed to be shut down to make room for a new position and companionship of Elders serving in the mission office, and after praying about it, Pres. Packard felt to shut down Billerica and that the change should happen immediately. And so, here we are in a trio for the next two weeks. Trios are more difficult than a regular two-by-two companionship for a variety of reasons, even if you enjoy both of your companions.
Lots of exciting things are happening in the mission! I mentioned the new office assignment, and we're getting 66 new missionaries over the next couple of months! To top it all off, we're starting the traveling musical fireside, which I'm a part of, and the first performance is in Weston on Feb. 2nd - I'm really looking forward to this chance to bear my testimony through music.
Last Monday, the weather was PERFECT. Upper 50s, no wind chill...an all-around beautiful day! Then, it got cold. REALLY cold...and it's only getting colder. Wish me luck.
Elder Butters and I had the great privilege to speak to the youth of the Lowell ward this last Wednesday evening at their joint activity. The young women's president invited us to come and speak on how we decided to serve a mission, how we prepared, the things we've learned, and the experiences we've had. It was a wonderful opportunity to bear my testimony to those future Elders and Sisters. I hope and pray that something in what I said will inspire them and instill in them a desire to serve the Lord. My mission has changed me, and continues to change me, and I encouraged each of them to pray and ask our Father in Heaven is they should serve a mission so that they can take part in this "marvelous work and a wonder."
The Elders in the Nashua 1st, Nashua 2nd, Littleton, and Billerica wards came to Lowell this last Thursday, and together, we "blitzed" the city for these young single adult names. We all split up as companionships and were able to contact about 85 people, with another 20 or so that we need to go back and follow up on. It was an exciting few hours, knowing that those Elders were helping us to be more productive than we could ever be on our own. I'm so grateful for their help and for the zone leaders' idea and help in organizing this effort.
The Heritage Park ward has started a mission prep class that meets during Sunday School, and is taught by our ward mission leader. We have people from other wards joining our ward for this pre-mission time, and that's an exciting thing! There are 2 sisters in the class as of now - one with her call already, and another working on her papers. We also have a young man who is joining in next week, who just submitted his papers. It's exciting to have these individuals here in the Heritage Park ward and I'm thrilled to be able to help them prepare to serve!
We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators this last week. She's been investigating for quite some time, and still isn't sure if she's ready to be baptized. The lesson itself was good, but I'll never forget how I felt as our member-present bore testimony to her. It was his first time coming to a lesson with us, and he testified not only of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also of the divine power and authority which Elder Butters and I hold. He testified that we are not only servants of the Lord but also representatives of Him, and that he knew that we were powerful missionaries. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, but especially in that moment. It really hit me right then how sacred my calling really is, and I was humbled to know that he thought so highly of us. I'm glad that our efforts and obedience shows through, but I'm more grateful for the knowledge and witness that came to me from the Spirit, telling me that Heavenly Father is pleased with our work.
Miracle of the week! Story time: Bro. Xiong is a member of the Church from Laos who hasn't been active for several years. He has served in branch presidencies and as the Elder's Quorum President in the Asian branch that used to be here in Lowell. The Elders in this area have been working with him for about 10 years or so, trying to get him to come back. In that time period, he has attended church 3 times, with the most recent time being in 2007...until this week. We've been trying to help him come to a testimony of the gospel again, and something was different this last week in our lesson with him. The change of heart that he had was incredible - and then, he came to church on Sunday! He walked in the doors of the chapel, and my mouth literally fell open. I was so happy to see him there. What's even better is that he came in a nice suit, stayed for all 3 hours, and looked happier than I've ever seen him.
1 Cor. 9:16
Love,
Elder Justin DeLong
Lots of exciting things are happening in the mission! I mentioned the new office assignment, and we're getting 66 new missionaries over the next couple of months! To top it all off, we're starting the traveling musical fireside, which I'm a part of, and the first performance is in Weston on Feb. 2nd - I'm really looking forward to this chance to bear my testimony through music.
Last Monday, the weather was PERFECT. Upper 50s, no wind chill...an all-around beautiful day! Then, it got cold. REALLY cold...and it's only getting colder. Wish me luck.
Elder Butters and I had the great privilege to speak to the youth of the Lowell ward this last Wednesday evening at their joint activity. The young women's president invited us to come and speak on how we decided to serve a mission, how we prepared, the things we've learned, and the experiences we've had. It was a wonderful opportunity to bear my testimony to those future Elders and Sisters. I hope and pray that something in what I said will inspire them and instill in them a desire to serve the Lord. My mission has changed me, and continues to change me, and I encouraged each of them to pray and ask our Father in Heaven is they should serve a mission so that they can take part in this "marvelous work and a wonder."
The Elders in the Nashua 1st, Nashua 2nd, Littleton, and Billerica wards came to Lowell this last Thursday, and together, we "blitzed" the city for these young single adult names. We all split up as companionships and were able to contact about 85 people, with another 20 or so that we need to go back and follow up on. It was an exciting few hours, knowing that those Elders were helping us to be more productive than we could ever be on our own. I'm so grateful for their help and for the zone leaders' idea and help in organizing this effort.
The Heritage Park ward has started a mission prep class that meets during Sunday School, and is taught by our ward mission leader. We have people from other wards joining our ward for this pre-mission time, and that's an exciting thing! There are 2 sisters in the class as of now - one with her call already, and another working on her papers. We also have a young man who is joining in next week, who just submitted his papers. It's exciting to have these individuals here in the Heritage Park ward and I'm thrilled to be able to help them prepare to serve!
We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators this last week. She's been investigating for quite some time, and still isn't sure if she's ready to be baptized. The lesson itself was good, but I'll never forget how I felt as our member-present bore testimony to her. It was his first time coming to a lesson with us, and he testified not only of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but also of the divine power and authority which Elder Butters and I hold. He testified that we are not only servants of the Lord but also representatives of Him, and that he knew that we were powerful missionaries. The Spirit was so strong in that lesson, but especially in that moment. It really hit me right then how sacred my calling really is, and I was humbled to know that he thought so highly of us. I'm glad that our efforts and obedience shows through, but I'm more grateful for the knowledge and witness that came to me from the Spirit, telling me that Heavenly Father is pleased with our work.
Miracle of the week! Story time: Bro. Xiong is a member of the Church from Laos who hasn't been active for several years. He has served in branch presidencies and as the Elder's Quorum President in the Asian branch that used to be here in Lowell. The Elders in this area have been working with him for about 10 years or so, trying to get him to come back. In that time period, he has attended church 3 times, with the most recent time being in 2007...until this week. We've been trying to help him come to a testimony of the gospel again, and something was different this last week in our lesson with him. The change of heart that he had was incredible - and then, he came to church on Sunday! He walked in the doors of the chapel, and my mouth literally fell open. I was so happy to see him there. What's even better is that he came in a nice suit, stayed for all 3 hours, and looked happier than I've ever seen him.
1 Cor. 9:16
Love,
Elder Justin DeLong
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Nashua Stake Conference, January 2013
This last weekend was stake conference! There was a leadership training meeting for all members of the ward council (including full-time missionaries) on Saturday afternoon, an adult session on Saturday evening, and the general session on Sunday morning. The adult session was cool - each ward presented a musical number (solo or small group number) and a spiritual thought to accompany it...it was almost like our stake's rendition of "Music and the Spoken Word" that airs each Sunday morning. I enjoyed that, and actually played the piano for the Heritage Park ward's number, "This is the Christ." Translating for the general session was difficult (2 hours long!), but a growing experience for sure. Pres. Packard spoke at the leadership training meeting, and both he and his wife spoke at the general session. I love hearing them speak, especially Pres. Packard. He's an incredible man, and every time he speaks, it's inspiring, powerful, and deeply moving. We actually had interviews with him this last week as well, and mine was really great. I honestly believe that I'm not only here to be with the companions I'll have and to serve the people where I am while here, but also to be under his leadership, influence, and guidance. My life has been altered and strengthened from having him as my mission president, and I am forever grateful.
This week has been pretty great! We had dinner for the first time at Bishop Sears (of the Heritage Park ward)'s home with him and his family. I truly feel like we have a good working relationship with him now, and that he trusts us to do the work we say we will do. I'm grateful for the chance we had to associate, discuss what we can do to help the ward, AND "coach" their family in their missionary efforts.
I am also happy to report that our new investigator from last week, Josh, is rapidly progressing, and has already committed to quit smoking! He's been reading the Book of Mormon, praying, etc. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to stake conference, but he's super open to us teaching him on a regular basis. He has already told us that we are his friends and that he trusts us. He also accepted a baptismal invitation this week, with a date of February 24th. =]
I am NOT so happy to report that I was pulled over by the police for the first time in my life this week. I had just barely missed the yellow light at the previous intersection by a fraction of a second, and it just so happened that there was an undercover cop in the next lane. He pulled me over, charged me with running a red light, gave me a ticket, and told me to be more careful. I know that it was my fault and I do drive safely, but we were late for an appointment and I thought that I was in the intersection before the light turned red. I admitted my fault though, and paid the fine. That's the last time I will ever pull a move like that - an infinitesimal fraction of a second cost me $150, but I learned my lesson.
We had a really great experience this week with an inactive Cambodian member, and I'll close this email with that. We were leaving a member's home in downtown Lowell after dinner, and as we began to drive down the road, we passed a street - Chapel Street. Instantly, my mind flashed to a member who lived on that street that we had tried to visit on two separate occasions, and I felt a strong prompting to go visit him right then. At first I pushed it away, thinking that he probably wasn't there, and no one would answer the door, like the past times we tried, but the thought persisted. So, I flipped the car around (safely, of course) and we drove to the house. I explained my feelings to Elder Butters and we went up to the door. Someone answered, let us in, and we were finally able to meet this member we had been trying to track down. It turns out that he goes back and forth between here and Cambodia, that he has been in Cambodia for the last several months, and that he had just arrived back here in Lowell a day or two before. He told us about when he served a mission in Cambodia (he was the first Cambodian member to serve in Cambodia), expressed his desire to come back to church, and bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon. I felt like a true missionary that night, knowing that I was on the Lord's errand. I am honored and humbled that He trusted me with the prompting to assist one of His needful children.
I hope you all are healthy and doing well - I certainly am! If you want a further measure of the peace and joy that the gospel brings to your life, then share it with others. I promise that the Spirit will be more richly abundant in your life as you do so. =]
With love,
Elder DeLong
This week has been pretty great! We had dinner for the first time at Bishop Sears (of the Heritage Park ward)'s home with him and his family. I truly feel like we have a good working relationship with him now, and that he trusts us to do the work we say we will do. I'm grateful for the chance we had to associate, discuss what we can do to help the ward, AND "coach" their family in their missionary efforts.
I am also happy to report that our new investigator from last week, Josh, is rapidly progressing, and has already committed to quit smoking! He's been reading the Book of Mormon, praying, etc. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to stake conference, but he's super open to us teaching him on a regular basis. He has already told us that we are his friends and that he trusts us. He also accepted a baptismal invitation this week, with a date of February 24th. =]
I am NOT so happy to report that I was pulled over by the police for the first time in my life this week. I had just barely missed the yellow light at the previous intersection by a fraction of a second, and it just so happened that there was an undercover cop in the next lane. He pulled me over, charged me with running a red light, gave me a ticket, and told me to be more careful. I know that it was my fault and I do drive safely, but we were late for an appointment and I thought that I was in the intersection before the light turned red. I admitted my fault though, and paid the fine. That's the last time I will ever pull a move like that - an infinitesimal fraction of a second cost me $150, but I learned my lesson.
We had a really great experience this week with an inactive Cambodian member, and I'll close this email with that. We were leaving a member's home in downtown Lowell after dinner, and as we began to drive down the road, we passed a street - Chapel Street. Instantly, my mind flashed to a member who lived on that street that we had tried to visit on two separate occasions, and I felt a strong prompting to go visit him right then. At first I pushed it away, thinking that he probably wasn't there, and no one would answer the door, like the past times we tried, but the thought persisted. So, I flipped the car around (safely, of course) and we drove to the house. I explained my feelings to Elder Butters and we went up to the door. Someone answered, let us in, and we were finally able to meet this member we had been trying to track down. It turns out that he goes back and forth between here and Cambodia, that he has been in Cambodia for the last several months, and that he had just arrived back here in Lowell a day or two before. He told us about when he served a mission in Cambodia (he was the first Cambodian member to serve in Cambodia), expressed his desire to come back to church, and bore his testimony of the Book of Mormon. I felt like a true missionary that night, knowing that I was on the Lord's errand. I am honored and humbled that He trusted me with the prompting to assist one of His needful children.
I hope you all are healthy and doing well - I certainly am! If you want a further measure of the peace and joy that the gospel brings to your life, then share it with others. I promise that the Spirit will be more richly abundant in your life as you do so. =]
With love,
Elder DeLong
Monday, January 7, 2013
Of Resolutions and Blessings
Lots of stuff happened this week. We did a lot of service, we had zone meeting, the Traveling Elders came and spent a few hours teaching and helping us (they are two Elders called by our mission president to serve by traveling around the mission and training others in the work, all day, every day! It's a leadership position just like a zone leader or assistant to president)...we had some let-downs this week too, but many blessings and mercies from the Lord to balance it out!
Funny story to start out - we went to fill up our car with gas, and it turns out that our gas card was missing. We turned our apartment and our car inside out trying to find it, but no luck. I was upset because this kind of thing doesn't typically happen to me. I'm pretty organized and responsible...at least, I like to think that I am. We called the mission office to let them know, and they said they would call Salt Lake to get the card cancelled just in case it was stolen. We got a call back about half an hour later from the mission office and they told us that the card had indeed been stolen (it wasn't my fault, HA!) and that they had known because the thief tried to use the card at a Walmart, and it was declined. That credit card says on it, "MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON MISSION - MISSIONARY EXPENSES ONLY" and has been set up to only be able to function when paying for gas at a gas station. The card has been cancelled, and we're getting a new one, but Elder Butters and I got a good laugh out of that one.
The first counselor in our mission presidency, Bro. Clayton Christensen (the former dean of Harvard Business school and a world-renowned businessman), has written a book that has been published through Deseret Book about member missionary work. Each missionary in our mission got a free copy, and it's been added to our approved list of books to read...it's now 5 books instead of 4, haha. It's really great so far, and I'd encourage any of you who have any sort of desire to do missionary work to get a copy and read it! And if you don't have a desire to do missionary work, pray for that desire in your life. You don't have to wear a tag and knock doors to "stand as a witness of God" in all you do. =]
For most people, a new year means new goals and/or resolutions. My goal is to give all of myself to the Lord as I serve Him. I've said this before, but I find myself worrying about becoming the man that my Heavenly Father wants me to be and trying to figure that out, rather than just giving everything over to Him and letting Him take care of it. His hands are much more capable than my own, that's for sure. I know that as I consecrate my time, talents, testimony, and efforts to this great work, that He will take care of the rest. He'll mold me into the man I need to be. I'm grateful for the witness I've recently gained on this subject; the Lord has shown me what I need to do. My resolve to serve Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength is renewed, and I'd say things are different. I'm different. It's a new year, and coincidentally, it's just about a year until my mission is over. 2013 is my year to consecrate everything I have and everything I am to my Savior and to follow His will.
Things are actually going well here. Our less-active-young-single-adult contacting project is taking up a lot of our time, but it's an important task that needs to be done as soon as possible (especially since it's an assignement from both the stake president and mission president). We haven't been able to see the fruits from our efforts there just yet, but we have seen potential in other areas! Two different women showed up to sacrament meeting yesterday of their own accord - one in he Lowell ward, one in the Heritage Park ward. Talk about gifts from our Heavenly Father! Not only that, but an active member of the Heritage Park ward has a brother who is not a member, who has truly been prepared, and is ready to receive the gospel. He's our newest investigator, and we had a fantastic first lesson with him this week. We're planning on committing him to a baptismal date in his next lesson. The Lord is richly blessing us, and both of us are honored and humbled by His trust.
Elder Butters is an awesome missionary. He's growing and learning more and more each week. He's really doing well, and he loves Lowell. I'm seeing changes in him already. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to train him and see him come out of his shell and blossom into a powerful servant of the Lord. My love for him, for the work, and for this area continues to grow.
Happy New Year!!!
Micah 7:7-9
Love,
Elder DeLong
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