Happy Easter!!! (and Happy Birthday to my dad today!)

Meredith's baptism with Danny Marks, Heritage Park ward mission leader

God has not ceased to be a God of miracles (Mormon 9:15). I know this to be true with every fiber of my being. In my time serving in this area, I have seen many small miracles, and yesterday I was blessed to be part of a very large miracle - the baptism of Meredith Seiss. The baptismal service was wonderful and went quite smoothly. The Spirit was definitely present, and it was really great to have her non-member family there as well. The thing that hit me the hardest was when she got up and bore her testimony at the end, just before the closing hymn. I'm a crier, and the floodgates opened as I saw her stand there, filled with the Spirit, to express her love of the Savior and of this gospel. Elder Johnson looked over at me a couple times with this look on his face, as if to say, "What's wrong with you?" Haha. It's amazing though to know that I had the privilege to help her along this journey (and will still help her as she prepares to go to the temple!). I received a specific feeling from the Lord at that time that I had witnessed a miracle. It was powerful, and the joy in my heart right now is difficult to describe.

The tender mercies of the Lord abound in our daily lives as well. Elder Johnson and I are doing well together, and we see the hand of God in all we do. Even small and simple things have an impact in the lives of others - we may not be able to teach as much as we'd like, but helping others in some way is just as fulfilling once we realize that we were an instrument in the hands of our loving Father in Heaven. Prime example this week: on Saturday, I felt prompted to stop by the church building to pick up a tithing slip so that I could pay my fast offering the next day. I knew that I could just get it at church at fill it out there, but I followed the prompting nevertheless. The Rains family was in the parking lot, and they needed to be let into the building. Turns out that the stake had had an Activity Days event for the Primary girls at our chapel, and one of the Rains' daughters had left her backpack inside at the end of the activity. Her mom had arrived shortly beforehand to pick her up, and she didn't remember that she had left her bag in the building until after the leaders had left and the building was locked. In was in this moment of distress that we arrived; we have our own key to the building. It was a small way to be of service, but I felt good for listening to the prompting anyway. What adds to this, though, is that Meredith just so happened to be in the parking lot as well! She was waiting for a member of the Heritage Park ward to pick her up - they'd be attending a baptism in Nashua together that evening (the night before her own baptism!). We were able to talk to her for a little while and help to strengthen and encourage her in her decision to be baptized. She was excited, and just beamed with joy and the Light of Christ at her own baptism.

We heard from Bishop Sears of the Heritage Park ward this week in ward council that missionary applications have jumped from 500-600 at the busiest to 1500-1600 a week, and school hasn't even let out yet for the graduating seniors! What a thrilling time to be serving a mission!

I found a scripture this week in my personal study that gave me strength, buoyed me up, and had quite an impact on me in general. I happened across it as I read Doctrine and Covenants one morning. I'd like to share it with you, and substitute my own name in:
"Therefore, blessed is my servant [Elder DeLong], for I will have mercy on him; and, notwithstanding the vanity of his heart, I will lift him up inasmuch as he will humble himself before me. And I will give him grace and assurance wherewith he may stand; and if he continue to be a faithful witness and a light unto the church I have prepared a crown for him in the mansions of my Father" (Doctrine and Covenants 106:7-8).
The comfort that entered my heart at that moment was amazing. The Savior gives me His enabling grace each day to "fight the good fight" as I serve Him. I have many faults, but as I humble myself before Him, He will make weak things become strong unto me. I know that if I continue on in faithfulness, keep the covenants I have made, and live my life as the Lord would have me live, then I will receive the crown He has prepared for me. I take great hope in that, and I'm thankful to have found these verses.

What a beautiful time of year we're in now - Easter! This is probably my very favorite holiday. The Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, makes it possible for us to return and live with our Father in Heaven again. We can repent, we can overcome sin and death, we can break free from troubles and strife and addictions of all sorts, we can be changed and made into "new creatures" as we give our hearts to Him, and we can be made whole again. There is no way for me to adequately express my love and gratitude for Him and all He's done, and all He continues to do for me each and every day. I sing to His glory and praise. May we take the time and allow ourselves to feel of His love in our lives, and to remember Him in all we do.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ...nay, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:35, 37).

Love,
Elder DeLong

A Special Visit from Elder M. Russell Ballard

A gift from home- a little bit of sunshine

When life gives you oranges, make juice!

Happy birthday to my little brother, Colton, who turned 11 this week! His voice will be cracking by the time I get back. =P

I helped Elder Johnson cut his hair last night. We should have had someone taking pictures! He buzzed it all himself, and then asked me to blend it through and do the back of his neck. I have NEVER done that before, but I think I did a pretty good job! Except for the large chunk missing above his ear...just kidding! But really, I was impressed with myself. I'm still too nervous to cut my own hair, though.

Our area is really blossoming. We're seeing miracles left and right, and the hand of the Lord is very apparent in our lives. He truly is working right alongside us in His vineyard (Jacob 5!). We have a baptism for the Heritage Park ward this coming Sunday, the first baptism that this ward has seen in quite a while. Our teaching pool is growing, and our numbers are higher than they've been since I've been here. This area is on the up and up! =D

Now, for what you've all been waiting for...Elder Ballard's visit to the mission! This weekend with him was incredible. Saturday morning, we had a joint mission conference with the New Hampshire Manchester mission, and this was the highlight for me. Elder Matthew J. Eyring of the 70, Pres. Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the 70, and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles addressed us. Elder Ballard shook hands with every single one of us before they spoke. I had the privilege of playing the hymns for the meeting, as well as about an hour's worth of prelude beforehand. I really enjoyed doing so, and Elder Ballard told me "Great job!" before the meeting began. It was an uplifting, inspiring, and encouraging couple of hours. The Spirit was so strong; needless to say, I took LOTS of notes. Elder Ballard also left an Apostolic blessing upon us, which was amazing; I could just feel the strength that the Lord was giving me through one of His chosen servants. He blessed us with health, strength, courage, increased faith, that our righteous desires would be fulfilled, and several other things. On Sunday, Elder Ballard spoke at the Nashua stake conference (technically not a stake conference, actually), for which I translated. Also a very powerful meeting! Funny moment - my companion and I were in the bathroom and I had just finished washing my hands when none other than Elder Ballard stepped in to use the bathroom. "Well, hello Elders!" Elder Johnson and I got a good chuckle out of that.

Speaking of apostles: Elder Dallin H. Oaks recently visited Asia, and said that the Lord loves His Asian children. It made me excited to see His work going forward in the area of the world whose people I have the privilege to serve.

http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/a-great-work-in-asia?lang=eng

Meredith, the investigator who will be getting baptized this week, has now been taught everything. I'm so excited and happy for her, to say the least. It's been amazing to witness the changes she has made in her life - she quit the use of substances that went against the Word of Wisdom and threw everything out from her home. She took out her extra piercings (without us bringing it up or even asking her to do so!) and she just looks as if some massive burden has been lifted from her shoulders. This is true repentance. This is the power of the Atonement in action, and this is the reason why we devote ourselves to the service of our Savior for this sacred time. I feel blessed and privileged to take part in this His marvelous work and a wonder.

With love,
Elder DeLong

This makes 5 transfers in Lowell for Elder DeLong! =D

That's right! I'm staying in Lowell for another transfer! At the end of this next one, I'll have been in Lowell as long as I was in Revere. As transfer texts came around, I felt like I would probably be leaving Lowell. Part of me felt like my role in Lowell had been played, but the Lord must have something else for me to do here. When I found out I'd be staying, I was initially a little confused, but then I got excited! This means I get to be here for Meredith's baptism. I also get to continue to teach Sopheak, to help the YSA program here flourish, and to accomplish the Lord's purposes for this area. I'm on His errand here in this part of His vineyard.

My mom told me that she posted a video of me singing at the Heritage Park ward's New Year's Eve party. It was a parody of "Hey There, Delilah" about an Elder receiving a Dear John while still in the MTC. I didn't write the lyrics, but I'm glad everyone has been enjoying it. =P

A snowstorm came through on Friday morning and dropped a good 6-8 inches of snow. We were stuck inside until about 4 or 5 PM. Can you say weekly planning day? Hahaha. The weather has been amazing since then, though! It's "warming up", if you can even call it that. Something odd, though...it got up to 52 the other day, and I felt warm. I don't know how I'm going to handle my first summer back in Arizona! That's quite a ways off though. If this year is anything like last year, it'll probably snow again or something before the end of April.

The Lowell Portuguese Elders went on exchanges with us this week, but this time I went to their area and Elder Maldonado came to ours. It was really interesting to teach all the people they're always talking about and to see this city from their angle.

Yesterday, we had a mini zone conference/training meeting that was very enlightening and helpful for me as I strive to be the most effective missionary I can be. I love our mission president, and I'm thankful for his counsel and direction.

If you get a chance, watch Elder David A. Bednar's address at the most recent CES devotional. Speaking of apostles, Elder M. Russell Ballard is coming to our mission this Saturday! We're all really excited to hear from him! He will be speaking to the Nashua stake the next day, as well. Twice in one weekend, wow! PLUS, Genereal Conference is coming up soon. I'm so grateful for modern-day prophets and apostles and their leadership and guidance for our lives.

We had another musical fireside on Sunday evening, this time in the Cambridge stake center. It went very well and was full of the Spirit. I'm really glad to be part of such an incredible program with other missionaries, sharing our talents and testimonies with others as we praise our Lord and Savior. =]

Miracles are truly happening here. We have 3 new investigators this last week, and we exactly met our goals for number of lessons taught, both with and without a member present. Meredith moved her baptismal date up to the 24th of this month, instead of mid-April - less than 2 weeks away! She's so ready, and I'm honored to be an instrument in the hands of God in bringing her unto the well of living water that the Savior teaches of (see John 4). I know that we can all find the everyday miracles in our own lives if we just look for them.

With love,
Elder Justin DeLong

God Has Not Ceased to Be A God of Miracles

This week has been amazing. We've found an inactive YSA named Junior, and he's open and excited to meet with us. We've had lessons with him twice already, and will be meeting with him every week from now on. Our investigator Sopheak is progressing as well - slowly, but surely. We were also finally able to meet with a part-member family that we've been trying to visit for over a month now. We have more potential investigators in our pool now that I've ever had here in Lowell, and for my first time in Lowell, we received a media referral from Church headquarters. Things seem to just be falling into place here in our area.

The biggest example of this, though, is our newest investigator, Meredith. I wrote about her last week, and things are just getting better and better with her. She's incredible. This past week, she read more than 13 chapters in the Book of Mormon, re-read them, color-coded and highlighted them, shared them with family members, AND bore her new-found testimony to her younger sister. She also bore her testimony yesterday in sacrament meeting for the Heritage Park ward; she said she feels "at home" in the Church, and that it just "feels right." She also uses phrases such as "our church" and "my old church." An old family friend tried to persuade her to stop investigating and told her several lies about the Church, and she said she felt sick as this woman spoke with her. She prayed afterwards and instantly felt better. She's been recognizing the Spirit more and more in her life. She's one of those "golden investigators" and I feel that she truly is a gift from God. I'm humbled and beyond grateful to be teaching her. This week, we're planning on moving her baptismal date from next month to THIS month - she's ready.

Fast and Testimony meeting in the Lowell ward yesterday was inspiring as well. One sister stood and spoke about how she's always reluctant to have the missionaries over for dinner because they give her some sort of challenging assignment. She recently felt like she needed to sign up for her and her family to feed us, though, and so she did so. That was me and Elder Johnson! She told the story of us coming over and giving her a pass-along card for mormon.org and inviting her to give it to a friend she had told us about who was interested. She followed through and gave the card to her friend, and it ended up being a great experience for the both of them. She said that, for the first time in the life, she was thankful for the missionaries and for the tools we provided her with to share the gospel. I laughed as she re-told the story, and I was excited to hear how it all went. I'm glad to know that because of us, we helped her to change her views on sharing the gospel and on the way the missionaries work! Another sister bore her testimony of the power of daily scripture study. Elder Johnson and I were at her home and, upon learning that she didn't ever read the scriptures, invited her to read, even just for 5 minutes a day. After a week, she decided to actually give it a shot, and she noticed so many blessings flowing into her life. Each day of that second week was better for her than any day she's had, and she's gained a testimony of the power that the scriptures hold. Elder Johnson specifically was the one inspired to ask her more about her personal studies of the scriptures, but as a companionship, I'm honored and thankful to be an instrument in the hands of our Heavenly Father to bless the lives of His children.

To close, I'd like to share the experiences I had the other evening as we visited a less-active man. As we chatted with him, he told us how his leg had been bothering him for months, and how he got a special massage, but it hasn't helped. I felt prompted to ask him if he wanted a blessing - he said yes, and asked me to be voice. As I spoke, I felt prompted for the first time in my life to command him to be healed in the name of Jesus Christ. I had heard others use those words before, but I've never used them in a blessing before. Nevertheless, I listened to the promptings of the Spirit and commanded him to be healed in the blessing. Later, as we were discussing a passage of scripture, I felt the Spirit nudge me to promise him again, in the name of Jesus Christ, that he would be healed. As I said the closing prayer at the man's request, I felt prompted to bless his home by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. All 3 of these moments were very poignant and powerful for me. I felt the Spirit with me so strongly that night, and I truly felt like the Lord was using me and the authority He's given me for His purposes. I don't think I've really used that divine authority so frequently in one night before, or even like that at all before, ever. It was absolutely amazing. I feel like I finally understand the authority I hold. It's been a game-changer for me as a priesthood holder and as a missionary. On top of that, while using the authority given me, I felt purged, cleansed, and purified of my sins and mistakes. Elder Johnson told me that the change of the Spirit in the room when I promised this man in the name of the Savior that he would be healed was very powerful and noticeable. I'll never forget that night, and I hope to always honor my priesthood, that I may forever be an effective servant of the Lord.

With love,
Elder Justin DeLong