:) / :( / :^D / :^P / :'( / :')

Family,

Well, here we are. I can't even believe it.

Currently, I am sitting at a little computer in a public library in Richmond. We spent probably the last hour or so trying to get to it, because we weren't bold enough turning into the parking lot, which forced us through a tunnel underneath the Fraser river and into Delta somewhere, where we just wandered and wandered until I found a road map in the backseat that got us back over.

Many gospel applications could no doubt be taken from the experience.

So, there we go!

The past couple days have been so. hard. Leaving Haida Gwaii was incredibly difficult. Saying goodbye to so many people that just become your family up there! I am very glad it was my last area and so I can reconnect with all the people up there when I get home. As it worked out, the ferry that we needed to take to get to the airport left right in the middle of Sacrament meeting in Charlotte. We just had time to stand up and each of us bore our testimonies, and then we had to leave. One of the things about being in a little branch like on Haida Gwaii is that there are... formalities that are sometimes overlooked, so in the middle of the testimony meeting, everybody stood up and was crying and we crowded around and said goodbye. Gah. It was hard. Very hard to say goodbye. But, I'm going to come back! I drank water from "St. Mary's Spring", which if you drink from, you're supposed to return to the islands again. It was brown water with a bunch of bugs circling around it, but I haven't died.

And then, we flew down South! We spent all day yesterday just working in Richmond. We felt prompted to tract instead of street contact, which in general is just less effective in the lower mainland because most everybody that comes to the door is Asian and pretends to not speak English, but we went to it and in literally the last door we knocked we found this awesome Peruvian family that is totally going to get baptized. So that was our miracle for yesterday. We stayed with the Assistants, and learned how they manage to stay fueled for the grueling hours of work that they do for President Tilleman (M&M milkshakes for breakfast).

At 3:45 it's my exit interview with President Tilleman, after that we've got the testimony meeting and dinner, then the following day we'll go to the temple and visit some different people in Vancouver and Burnaby. And then you guys know more about Wednesday than I do.

Serving a mission has been the best decision of my life. I've lived and loved and learned so much over the past 2 years. I can't even wrap my head around all the experiences that I've had. I've learned so much about God's love. When you're teaching someone who wants to be baptized, you just love them. When they make a mistake or fall short or break a commandment that they know that they shouldn't have, you're not infuriated, you're just devastated and love them and would do anything to help them fix what's broken. And if I, being a lowly human being in whom the natural man is alive and well, feel that way, then how much love must our Father in Heaven have for us? I can testify in a way that only serving a mission could teach me that God lives and loves us. He wants to bless us and will sometimes literally look for excuses to give you tender mercies. He will put people in your path that will change you forever.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Saviour. His atonement lets us change. When we accept Him into our lives and become disciples by being obedient and living his doctrine, we change. Our hearts change. Things that were once weaknesses that humbled us become strengths. Things that were broken become stronger than they were in the first place. Relationships that are tense and angry become full of love. Addictions become weaker and weaker until they're forgotten. Things that are scarlet become not just white, but as white as snow. As far as understanding the logistics of how on the Earth the atonement was possible, I don't think I'm any closer than when I left. I have no idea how Jesus Christ did what He did. But this I do know: that it's real. The atonement of Jesus Christ is real and it can change people and families. It's a process. It's not a verbal declaration and then a flood of warm fuzzies and it's not electric guitars in church and it's not anything less than yielding your heart to God and becoming a disciple, but it's real. When we develop faith in Christ, repent and change, make and keep covenants, we change and we feel peace. It's simple and it's pure. 

And on that topic, I love the Book of Mormon! Today I was reminded again about how the Book of Mormon in 2 verses teaches you how to become perfect and live with God. Moroni 8:25-26. How powerful is that? I know that an intentionally sinful person trying to write a book and found a false church could not in a million years be able to mimick the emotions that are captured in 2 Nephi 4. Thinking of all the random nouns and places and geographies and how easily you can find the doctrine of Christ, there's no way that it isn't inspired of God. There's no way. There's no way that somebody could fake how clearly the Saviour teaches in 3rd Nephi. Joseph Smith was a prophet! And that means that what he taught is true! Our families really will be together forever. God really did send His Authority to the Earth so that we can give blessings and heal and save. He really does speak to us today. We're not blobs of organic matter on a floating rock in outer space. We're God's children.

And you know, the next couple weeks are going to be pretty chaotic. I really have no idea what's going to happen. But I think of one my favorite, if not my favorite, chapters in the New Testament, Romans 8. In it, among lots of other beautiful teachings, there's a promise that everything will work for good for those who love God. One of the biggest things I learned on my mission is that good things keep on coming, and that even though it's incredibly hard to close a chapter of your life sometimes, good things keep on coming.

Well, this computer is about to time out, so I've got to cut short. But love you all, and see all y'all on Wednesday! I'll do my best to smuggle some Timbits through customs. No promises that I won't eat them if the line is too long... It's too bad that Jenessa is in Spain, but I'm sure she wouldn't want any anyway because she's too full of fish and stuff!

Love you all lots!

Elder Blotter

From Pres. Tilleman

We are not supposed to forward President Tilleman's weekly letter, so I am just going to copy and paste part of it!

Second, you may have heard (or felt!), there was a major earthquake (7.7) on Haida Gwaii on Saturday evening, with numerous after-shocks since then.  If your parents or anyone asks, all the missionaries that could have been affected (Haida Gwaii, North Island, and Prince Rupert, in particular) are doing fine.  There were no deaths, or even injuries, in Haida Gwaii or anywhere else.  This is a miracle given how big this earthquake was (third largest recorded in Canadian history, in fact).

II.        Spiritual Thoughts for the Week

What a remarkable mission presidents’ and wives’ seminar Sister Tilleman and I had.  We are humbled and feel very blessed.  Elder Maynes called it “extraordinary and historic.”  I would have to say the theme was “the time to hasten the work is now; the Prophet has spoken.”  Three members of the Seventy (Richard J. Mayes, Presidency of the Seventy), Elder Schwitzer (First Quorum), and Elder Aidukaitis (First Quorum) instructed us.  They were joined by Richard Heaton, the MTC’s top administrative advisor.  It truly was an amazing conference.  And the theme came back, over and over again, to how the Lord, through his Prophet, has called on each of us to hasten the work, right now.  If we were called by Brigham Young to cross the plains, would we jump right in and do so?  In terms of missionary work, this is that type of revelation from the Lord.  Truly historic and extraordinary.

Elder Maynes reminded us that the Lord has already declared: “Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.”  D&C 88:73 (emphasis added).  Elder Maynes explained that President Monson has declared that time to be now.  The Church normally receives about 300 missionary applications per week.  Since the Prophet’s announcement, as of Wednesday of last week, the Church has received more than 10,000 applications in two and a half weeks– that is more than 10x the normal number applications.  The missionary department will be holding at least twice as many assignment meetings each week, with a member of the Quorum of the Twelve presiding over each of these meetings.  Our leaders are truly leading us by example.  With all they have to do, the Quorum of the Twelve will be spending significantly more time to make each of the significantly greater number of missionary assignments that will have to be made.  The hastening of the work is starting at the top of our leadership in the Church!

Missionaries’ time at the MTC will have to shorten to accommodate this surge of missionaries.  Soon the English speaking missionaries will not even be spending three weeks in the MTC.  We will therefore have to be exponentially more prepared to train missionaries as they arrive into the field.  Do we see, now, why the Lord implemented the 12-week program?  The Lord has been preparing us for this time of hastening.

In our mission, right now, we must prepare ourselves, and our areas, for many more missionaries.  We must be better teachers, and more of us will have to be prepared to take on the highest honor that the Lord can give a missionary – to train.  Right now, we must have more truth seekers in our teaching pool and improve or “hasten” the work in each of our areas; some of the areas in our mission that currently have two missionaries will soon have four.  We must prepare our areas and our wards and branches to receive and put these new missionaries right to work.  Right now, we must respond to the clarion call from Elder Haleck to have each companionship averaging one baptism per month.  We can do this!

One of the Keys to Hastening the Work – Serving With Zeal Toward God and To All Mankind (Alma 27:27)

Elders and Sisters, to answer the call  of the Prophet, I feel we can and should truly become like the sons of Mosiah.  After the sons of Mosiah were converted to the Lord, or as Alma the Younger said, after they were “born again,” (Mosiah 27:25-26), these young men “zealously” strived to repair all the wrongs they had done.  Mosiah 27:35.  These fantastic young men became their era’s examples of Preach My Gospel missionaries – they became “instruments in the hands of God in bringing many to the knowledge of the truth, yea, to the knowledge of their Redeemer.”  Mosiah 27:36.

What was their reward for doing so?  “And how blessed are they!  For they did publish peace; they did publish good tidings of good; and they did declare unto the people that the Lord reigneth.”  Mosiah 27:37.

What was their desire after being born again?  They became so immersed in the Savior’s work of salvation that “they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.”  Mosiah 28:3.

How were these missionaries received by those they taught?  After Ammon and his brethren first experienced much “long-suffering” and “many afflictions” (Alma 18:11), the Lord guided them to those who were truly searching for the truth, even though at first they did not know they were.  The Lord guided the missionaries’ thoughts and actions, and touched the hearts of those they were teaching.  The Lord blessed them with much success.  See Alma Chapter 26.

And what type of converts did the sons of Mosiah have?  The Ammonites were noted for their “zeal in keeping commandments”.  Alma 21:23 (emphasis added).  Later, after they had moved to live with the Nephites, they were again “distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly upright in all things; and they were firm in their faith of Christ, even unto the end.”  Alma 27:27 (emphasis added).

May each of us individually continue to become that type of missionary, and may we collectively continue to become that type of mission.  May we serve our Heavenly Father, our Saviour, and our brothers and sisters, with zeal, or with “enthusiastic dedication” and “eager desire.”  As we serve with enthusiasm and eagerness, our lights will shine and those we teach will, in turn, feel of our enthusiastic love for God and all mankind, such that they will come to believe and then emulate these same qualities.  Elder Schwitzer taught this perfectly at our mission president’s seminar, when he said, “it is not so much what our missionaries teach, as who they become.  As they become more like the Savior, their teachings will naturally become more like His teachings.”

The Church is true.  God lives.  Jesus Christ, His only Begotten son, is our Savior and Redeemer.  Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, who through the power of God translated the most correct Book of any on earth, the Book of Mormon, which will bring us closer to Christ than any other Book on earth.  Thomas S. Monson is a Prophet of God; He is God’s mouthpiece on the earth today.  This Church is guided by true Apostles and Prophets, just as we learn Christ’s Church should be governed from Acts Chapter 1 (calling another Apostle to the Quorum of the Twelve after Judas Iscariot had died), and Paul’s great teachings in Ephesians, Chapters 2 and 4 (Christ’s Church is founded upon Apostles and Prophets, with the Savior Himself being the chief cornerstone).  You and I have the privilege of being full-time witnesses of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I testify to you of these things, and am pleased to join with you in doing so.

This is the Savior’s work of salvation in which we are engaged.  It is so marvelous and wonderful.  Sister Tilleman and I love it, and we love to serve with you in this glorious labor of love.  We love you, respect you, and are so grateful for you!

Have an incredible week.  Bundle up, stay warm, and serve like there is no tomorrow – with great zeal and haste!  Also, a reminder to get your flu shots if you have not already done so.  And finally, as always, I anxiously await each of your emails this week.

Love,

President and Sister Tilleman