Friday, May 31, 2013

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Galveston Island

Hailey's Baptism

Two Companions
Dear Family,

Sorry I have been on such a weird email schedule. It has been a little busy. I couldn't be happier. I love my mission. It means everything to me. I know that this work is true and I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves us.

We have just been seeing miracle after miracle. The Lord is so merciful. Please pray for Celina. In your prayer please pray that her work schedule will be changed so that she can keep the Sabbath Day holy and receive those blessings. Please pray for Jimmy as well that he will gain a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon and be baptized.

I have so much to write about this week but it is late and we promised President Ashton we would be quick so we could go home and get some sleep. We (Elder Nottingham and I) had a baptism today. That is weird to say because we aren't really companions. There is a girl from his ward that has gone to seminary for the past 4 years and hasn't missed a day. She wasn't allowed to be baptized till she turned 18 though and that was last Sunday. So starting last Wednesday, Elder Nottingham and I have woken up at 5:00 AM to go teach all the missionary lessons at seminary at 6:00 AM. I don't know how you do it dad. I gained a whole new appreciation for seminary students and teachers this past week. That is an enormous sacrifice. But we taught all the lessons, she passed her interview today, and she was baptized tonight. It was the most powerful baptism I have ever been to. During intermission (or halftime as we call it) Elder Nottingham and I got up and preached. We really just bore testimony of the Savior. We then sat down and in the few minutes left we sung, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives". That now familiar feeling came. The Holy Ghost just washed over me and bore witness to my soul that Jesus Christ really truly does live and because He lives, everything that I do as a missionary really does matter and no effort to save a soul is ever wasted. I was overwhelmed with the feeling of love and gratitude towards my Heavenly Father as I experienced this wonderful gift of testimony.

Last Thursday, we were at the mission home all day (from 10 AM till 9 PM) taking a commanded P-Day. We slept and emailed and just hung out with the Ashtons while Elder Nottingham was recovering. President Ashton and I were talking about the Colon's and he told me that his daughter, Elli, was going to be baptized the following Friday and that I should just invite Aicha (we have been spelling her name wrong) to be baptized with Elli. I thought it was a great idea. So on Sunday, Elli came out teaching with us and invited Aicha to be baptized. She said yes and everyone is so excited. Eduardo will baptize her tomorrow and then I will confirm her. I cannot even think about it without crying. I am literally overcome with joy. They are so special to me and love this Gospel. They teach their children and raise them to be righteous. Aicha even invited her two school teachers to come to her baptism and they both accepted the invitation. As we taught them on Tuesday night, little Eduardo, he is 6, was just dying to be baptized too. He cannot wait. He wanted to say the prayer and his dad, Eduardo, helped him to say it. It reminded me of David helping Andrew or Craig helping Miles or Parker and I just lost it. I couldn't believe that the Colons were beginning to experience all of the blessings that we have been so abundantly blessed with in our family.

I could go on and on with a list of miracles. It is amazing how merciful the Lord is. I feel like I am never in my area teaching, but Elder Nottingham is my best friend, so he makes it all worth it. When I am in my area, Elder Ayala and Elder Leavitt are such a blessing. They just work hard and teach and bear testimony. Elder Ayala loves speaking English to learn faster and is just hilarious. I love it all. David told me at the end of December to enjoy this year because it was the only calendar year of my entire life that I could spend as a full-time representative of Jesus Christ. I can honestly say that I enjoy every single second. I am either laughing, testifying, teaching, receiving revelation, or just working hard. This is the greatest work.

One last fun story. We went to Galveston on an exchange starting Sunday night to train a new companionship of Zone Leaders. Because of how things worked out, the two we were training had to leave the island and Elder Nottingham and I had about 2 1/2 hours alone on the island. We hit the streets walking and talked to everyone we could. We met some incredible people, enjoyed our Memorial Day on the island, and taught a restoration lesson to a man sitting outside. As we taught him, the Spirit was there so strongly. We extended a baptismal date but he declined. It was a neat experience for me though to see how much the Lord has helped me to grow in the past year. I used to be so afraid of inviting people to be baptized and especially extending dates, but now I do it in every lesson multiple times a day. And with that man we did it after only knowing him for about 10 minutes.

Oh so many stories and experiences. I love it. I really couldn't be happier. Just so you are all aware, I decided that I really want to extend my mission. It is kind of just a joke between President and I because the church won't let anyone extend (President Ashton just barely was able to receive an extension for one of our Viet missionaries and it was only the third extension that the church has allowed since the age change) but I always tell him that he has one year left to get me a two transfer extension. I don't know if it would be possible, but if it was, I would seriously consider it. I of course would pray about it and such and don't really think it is even possible, but I would love to.

I love you all. This Gospel is true. Nothing else matters. Thank you for your prayers and your love. I return them and I feel them.

Love,

Elder Case

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Testimony and Transfers

Dear Family,

Thank you for your prayers. They are felt and appreciated. This has been an exciting week for us. Elder Woodland and I had a wonderful last week together. We were determined that we were going to hit our goals and we did. Taking him to the airport on Tuesday was a sad but I will be forever grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve with him and learn from him. He was one incredible missionary.

I don't know what happened in our ward, but they are on fire right now. The Lord has changed their hearts and they all want to participate in this great work. On Tuesday night (last week) Hermana Diaz, the relief society president, called and said she wanted us to come teach someone in her home. The man is named Jimmy. He is about 30 years old and has problems with alcohol and drugs. His father is good friends with Hermana Diaz and he called her and asked for help. Hermana Diaz, being the missionary she is probably thought of Elder Nelson's conference talk and said something to the effect of "ask the missionaries, they can help you". We then taught Jimmy and his dad Oscar on Wednesday and had a wonderful lesson about the Atonement and the Savior. We talked about repentance and change. It really touched Jimmy and after we left Hermana Diaz showed them both some Mormon Messages and they both committed to come to church. On Sunday, they were both there on time and stayed all three hours.

This Sunday was the best of my mission. We went to Ward Council and everyone there participated and gave us wonderful ideas about how to further the work. We then went to Sacrament Meeting and I sat next to Jimmy and the Diaz family. As we sang, "Senor Te Necesito" the Spirit touched me and I looked over and Jimmy was crying. We then went to Gospel Principles and the two strongest ward members came to sit with Jimmy and Oscar. There wasn't a teacher, so I taught about the Atonement again. It was the best lesson. I hardly talked at all and the members all participated and bore testimony of the Savior and His divine mission. I feel like that is how it should be in Gospel Principles. Many members should be in there each week accompanying their friends.

Then we had appointments for the rest of the day. We stopped by the Colon's for the last time so that Elder Woodland could say goodbye. They have changed. They are happy. The Gospel has entered into their lives and they can feel it. It was amazing. I will never be able to fully describe the joy I have each time I visit them and feel the Holy Ghost in their home and watch them grow and work towards the goal of becoming an eternal family. What a blessing.

Monday was crazy trying to do all the stuff for the outgoing missionaries, and then Tuesday was even crazier doing all the things for the incoming missionaries.President Ashton said that we had the largest transfer that has ever happened in the North America Southwest region of the church. We had 42 missionaries. We now have about 225 in the mission. The airport was a disaster but all things considered Tuesday and Wednesday with the transfer meeting went extremely smoothly. We could not figure out what to do for my companions so we kept having different ideas. About two hours before transfer meeting President Ashton and I went into a room in the church building and knelt down and prayed. We then felt the Holy Ghost and knew who it needed to be. So Elder Leavitt is my companion and him and I are training Elder Ayala. Elder Ayala is from Peru and is so cool. I have been wanting to train him for months so it is cool that it worked out.

Yesterday night after transfers were all worked out, we started proselyting. Our first appointment was a miracle. Some sister missionaries stole my truck so I didn't have my GPS. We got lost for about 15 minutes and then I finally found the way. We got to the appointment and right as we were about to start teaching, a man pulled up in his truck. I recognized him but didn't know from where. I asked him where he lived and then I realized that I talked to him probably my first month in the field. He asked if we had a Book of Mormon we could give him. We invited him to sit down join the lesson. He only spoke English, so the whole lesson Elder Ayala was having a bit of a rough time participating. He can understand (he has lived in Georgia for two years and learned English in the MTC for six weeks) but feels that he can't speak well even though he can. At the close of the lesson, I was about to ask if we could end with a prayer and he looked at me and then looked at the man, Rodney, and said that he couldn't speak English very well and that he had had a lot of things to say during the lesson but didn't know how to express them. He then looked straight into Rodney's eyes and bore the most powerful, humble, and sincere testimony of the Book of Mormon and Restoration I think I have ever heard. The Holy Ghost came powerfully and Rodney was touched. He looked at Elder Ayala and was stunned.

I couldn't be more excited for this transfer. This Gospel is true. Our testimonies are real. And just like Elder Gay from his conference talk in October, my testimony is my most precious possession.

I love you all,

Elder Case

Monday, May 13, 2013

Baptizing Weekly


Making Pupussas




We don't get to walk like David and Stephen did.  We have to drive this stinkin' truck!

Dear Family,

That was so fun to speak with you all yesterday. The time seemed so short. Glad to hear that everyone is doing well. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. I took some pictures of the apartment to try and help you understand but my companions thought it was so weird. The pictures of the alligator sign and the swamp are from our morning jog. We live right next to an alligator park and we run there in the mornings sometimes. Today we finally saw an alligator for a minute before it went underwater.

The Colon's baptism was perfect. It was a hectic day but the Spirit was there. We started the day at the office then went and gave a blessing and visited a member, went to the ward mother's day activity (pictures included) which was a blast because the Colon's were there, then went to Aisha's (Colon's daughter) volleyball game, then came and got ready for the baptism.

Eduardo (the father) was pretty nervous beforehand which was surprising because he doesn't get nervous. He served a few tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and told us that during that experience he was generally calm. So we were surprised. But when he walked down into the font with Elder Woodland, he was crying. As I was explaining on the phone, after Elder Woodland baptized Eduardo, I baptized Kimberly and Elder Woodland and I were just standing in the font listening to "Come Thou Fount" coming from the other room and soaking in the Spirit. It was amazing. They were both confirmed yesterday in Sacrament Meeting and Eduardo received the Aaronic Priesthood in Elders Quorum. My faith has increased so much as I have had the privilege to participate in their conversion. 

To explain a little better why they were baptized this week and not next weekend; we had a lesson with them on Tuesday night and thought we would introduce to them the idea of Eduardo baptizing Aisha. We had just finished watching the Mormon Message "The Power of God" and teaching a bit about the priesthood. When we asked Eduardo if he would like to baptize Aisha, he was silent and then his wife said, "He would love that". Eduardo then said, "Yeah, that would be pretty awesome". So we made the plans and worked like crazy.

We had Zone Conferences Tuesday-Friday this week and we did a training on how to baptize weekly. It was powerful to bear testimony that it is possible to baptize weekly and then teach how to do it. The Spirit was present and I learned so much. It has been an incredible week.

I have come to understand very deeply what Nephi means in 1 Nephi 3:7

 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

I finally am starting to understand that the Lord really truly provides a way for us to fulfill each commandment that He gives us and that He gives us commandments so that He can bless us. In each Zone Conference, President Ashton taught about the Atonement. He always ended by reading D&C 123:17

17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us acheerfully bdo all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the csalvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

I know that this is true. He only asks us to do all that we can and then we can leave the rest to Him. Our best will never be good enough alone but it is all He requires of us before He makes up the difference.

I love you all and continue to pray for you! Please pray that Aisha will be baptized this weekend.

Love,

Elder Case

Monday, May 6, 2013

Miracles and Gratitude


We have been seeing wildlife like crazy

Elder Nottingham after our late night adventures.



Dear Family,

This has been the best week of my mission! We have been blessed so much and I have been taught by the Lord and His servants.

To begin, thank you for your prayers. I felt them as I never have before this week. I also apologize if I seemed "preachy" last week in my email. I really try not to be but I just get excited about the Gospel every week as I write you and remember how merciful the Lord has been in my life.

So Tuesday morning as we were beginning the leadership meeting, President Ashton pulled us out and told us that there was a missionary with a serious health problem that would be going home. His companion joined Elder Woodland and I for a few days but the nature of the sick elder's problem made it so that someone had to stay awake with him. Elders Nottingham, Woodland and I received the joyous assignment of doing that. The first night was alright, but the second night was rough. The saving grace was that since we all had to stay up till 5:00 AM, we decided to do a companionship study and figure out what the mission needed to baptized 1,000 people this year. It was a sacred time. We learned so much. We studied the will of the Father and learned that we have been asking the wrong questions. So often we as missionaries ask to know God's will but we already know what it is because He tells us in John 6:39

 39 And this is the aFather’s bwill which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose cnothing, but should draise it up again at the last day. 

So then we read Psalms 143:10 which says "Teach me to do thy will" and realized that since we already know that it is God's will that every single one of His children is baptized so that they can be saved, we now just need to know how to do His will. 

So on Friday we went to bed at 5:00 AM and when we finally woke up we went to the mission home to begin working on transfers. That is when the Lord began teaching me even more. It was amazing to participate in the process of receiving revelation. President Ashton had me stand at the board and put two missionaries together and then he would immediately say "I don't feel good about that" or "that feels good". As he did that I thought that each time he was receiving strong spiritual witnesses of what needed to happen but as we kept on talking about transfers for another two hours, we had the opportunity to pray and ask if certain companionships were correct. It was during and after these prayers that I realized just how quietly the Holy Ghost speaks to us. I remember during one prayer, Elder Nottingham asked "Is it Thy will that Elder so and so and Elder so and so are together" that immediately felt good. It was so calm, so small and seemingly insignificant that I nearly missed it, but as the experienced repeated, I realized that it truly was the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the truth.

So all of these experiences culminated on Saturday morning. Elder Woodland and I had a wonderful companionship study (by the way, he is the best. We are always talking about how amazing it is to be so unified. In our lessons, we can finish each other's sentences and testify of what the other is about to teach. In almost every lesson one of us thinks of a scripture and begins to look only to have the other begin reading the same verse. It is fun) and decided that we needed to kneel down with pray. We had about ten minutes of study time left. We said a very specific prayer and asked Heavenly Father to teach us how to baptize the Columbus family. We had a lunch appointment with them two hours later and wanted them so badly to accept a baptismal date.

After the prayer, I felt the softest impression (that I would not have given any heed had I not had the experience at the mission home with transfers) to change something that I needed to change. I wrote it down and said another prayer and promised the Lord that I would do what He had asked of me and again pleaded to touch the Columbus' hearts. We went to the lesson and the miracles began. Eduardo's (Hermano Columbus) mother, who is Catholic and used to hate us coming over and would try to Bible bash with us, testified to him that he needed to be baptized. The Spirit came while she spoke. Eduardo then told us that we had asked him so many times but that he was finally ready. His wife then piped up and asked when the next baptismal service is. They will be baptized and confirmed (at the baptismal service) on Sunday, May 19th. Elder Woodland and I nearly started crying. We did cry once we got into the car and offered a prayer of gratitude. We drove in silence for a time and then spoke of how little we felt and the grandeur of God. We really didn't do anything. We didn't change Eduardo's heart, the Lord did. We didn't change his mother's heart or prompt her to testify to her son to be baptized in a religion other than her own and one that she used to despise, the Lord did.

He is a God of wonders and miracles. This Gospel is true. The Colons will be the first full family that I have baptized on my mission. What a miracle. That Sunday is also Elder Woodlands last Sunday in the field. What a tender mercy for him.

I love you all, I have so much more to say and miracles to share, but time will not permit. The Lord is kind. I know that with all my heart. We also should be baptizing two sisters on June 8th. We hope to baptize the full family though. Please pray for them. They are the Valenzuela family. Please pray that we will know how to baptize them on June 8th.

I love you all so much. We have Zone Conferences starting tomorrow and going through Friday. It will be fun to see all the missionaries and help train them.

Elder Case