August 2, 2011
The work is going really well right now, we have a ton of potential investigators, and it seems like all these investigators are just being handed to us through these crazy miracles.
August 9, 2011
Yesterday, was the worst day of my mission quite possibly. Why would [the investigators we’ve worked with for months] deny the things that they were feeling and felt? Everyone was crying. We left, I was still crying. I didn’t get a hold of myself until after we got home. I feel as a parent must feel if a child decides to abandon their testimony and leave. It is awful. I have had investigators drop me plenty of times before in my mission, I have had people yell/throw things/swear/punch just about everything. But that was brutal. But if anything, my testimony of the church is stronger. In this battle literally against the very forces of hell, we have to be the strong ones. I know my purpose. I know that I am a Son of God and that I am on the Lord’s errands. Although I am imperfect, and I struggle every day, I know who I am and what I can become.
August 16, 2011
We just barely got back from the Newport Beach Temple (the Lord’s beach house as it is referred to here), and it was great! I love the Newport Temple, it is so awesome. This week has been a week of miracles! Truly, it has been incredible to see! From last week’s letter being the worst of times, now it is the best of times! [Our investigator] told us that after the meeting on Monday she felt awful, and she was really confused. She decided to do what we told her to do and to read the Book of Mormon and to pray. She got answers. She knew that everything was true. I was crying, but this time they were tears of joy and of the Spirit instead of pain and heartache. She was crying, we were all crying. It was amazing. Wow. It was such a powerful experience.
August 23, 2011
Multi-Zone Conference! The 4 Orange County zones got together for zone conference because we were being visited by Elder Gibbons from the Second Quorum of the 70. It was awesome! I played piano (as usual), and he said some really nice things about my prelude, he talked about prelude music and the doctrine behind it, and the importance of it, for the first 15 minutes. It was neat. During lunch they had asked some people to share miracles that had happened recently, and [my companion] was asked to talk about [our recent experience] which was neat. Then after lunch, I accompanied [a sister missionary] on the song that I wrote for the conference. It was an arrangement of “I Stand All Amazed/Nearer My God To Thee”. I had kind of done one similar before, but this one was WAY better and new and improved.
August 30, 2011
In the evening we went over and got ready for [our investigator from above’s] baptism! It was incredible! The most spiritual baptism that I have ever been to in my entire life. Quite possibly one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. It was amazing! The service was awesome, I played piano and accompanied this girl that sang “Nearer my God to Thee”, and it was powerful. Then I was privileged to be able to perform the ordinance of baptism, and it was such a sweet experience. I have never seen anyone change so much in such a short time. It was incredible. She was bawling, EVERYONE was bawling. I have never experienced something like that before. I have had a ton of spiritual experiences on my mission, too. It was as if we were in heaven. It was amazing. One of the highlights of my mission!!!
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