Mmmmm, mmmm, lovin' it!

Hey everyone,


The title this week makes a lot more sense if you say it out loud to the tune of the Campbell's soup commercial, lol. I think it is a great way to describe my week though, because I am feeling amazing! Both wards I am serving in are already more excited for missionary work, the zone is going forward strong, and my companion is awesome. Plus, for some reason my bed is a queen size so I sleep comfortably as well.

Something I am realizing more and more is the importance of working with members, and also how many missionaries have no idea how to do that. My trainer was great at member work so I have never known anything different but I am coming to the understanding that most missionaries still think the best way to find people to teach is tracting. Elder Yardley and I are working hard to work with our ward, as well as help other missionaries do the same. We have already seen some incredible results in our area's as well as missionaries around us who are changing how they do missionary work. On Sunday I gave a talk in one ward and prayed in the other in an effort to meet more ward members, and we were surprised by how many came up and asked if we were both new to the ward since they hadn't seen us before. As a result several members have asked for a Book of Mormon for their friends and have promised to invite them to meet with us soon.

We also had a couple great teaching experiences last week. We were invited to a member's home to teach a girl who has attended a couple meetings at the University ward already. The lesson went well and she was already familiar with most of the doctrines because her boyfriend and several other friends are members. She told us that growing up she never felt comfortable reading from the bible because she knows many times it has gone through translation and feels a lot is missing or changed. When she found out about the Book of Mormon she began reading it right away and is already working her way to the end of 1st Nephi, and she shared with us that as she reads it she feels good. At the end of the lesson we asked her feelings on the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and she said that she knows it is all true and feels she is ready to be baptized! She is one of the most prepared people I have met on my mission so far and am so excited for her.

We also had the opportunity to briefly teach a man in his mid 30's who left a note on the institute building that he wanted to meet with us. The note was left weeks ago and we assumed it was a joke because we haven't been able to get a hold of him, but we tried again last week anyway and ended up setting up a meeting. He said that he lost his job a couple years ago and decided to take what he had in the bank and travel, on bicycle! He has biked 14,000 miles so far and plans to continue for years to come. He ended up just wanting a copy of the Old Testament but we began teaching him and by the end of our second lesson he said he knew the church was true and he came to church yesterday. Sadly he is leaving with his group of bikers tomorrow so we do not get to continue the lessons with him, but it was great teaching him and I feel he will fully accept it some day.

All of these experiences are helping my testimony grow in that this is really the Lord's work and not my own. I have never met anyone through tracting that I have helped progress to baptism, but I have been very blessed with the Lord providing other ways for them to be found, taught, baptized and are now being prepared for the temple. It is so humbling to see so many miracles and know that there is no way I could have done it on my own. I love my calling!
Love,
Elder Inman

Change of Scenery

Hola,


The weather is great and I am so excited for my new area(s). News came Saturday morning that I would be transferred to Las Cruces, so much of my weekend was spent saying goodbye to everyone in Belen, which was way harder then I had expected. Part of why it was so difficult was that our truck was in the shop all week so travel was much slower on foot, but also I had grown so close to the people here. I knew that saying goodbye was not going to be easy but I hadn't expected it to be quite as hard as it was. I fell in love with Belen! So many miracles, memories, and friends were made in the past 4 1/2 months that I am sure to never forget, and am already excited to travel back through after my mission has ended. It was amazing to see another area known for slow missionary work to become the golden standard for everyone else to strive for, including myself now.

Even though Belen will be missed I know they will continue strong with great missionaries and a solid ward, and now I have a great new journey to start down south (pretty close to the border). We are working in the Rio Grand family ward as well as the Aggies University ward (Yep, back on campus, lol). My new companion is Elder Yardley and we talked a lot yesterday about what we want this transfer and have already begun working towards our goals. In just one evening we have already seen some great changes! The missionaries here had not been invited to any ward councils, were not involved in many ward activities, and no missionary correlation has taken place. The efforts of the missionaries have apparently been focused on tracting which, as usual, has yielded very little success and built nominal member trust.

We decided to start off on the right foot and right away set up meetings with the bishops and Ward Mission Leaders from each of the wards. Last night we met with most of them and have already been 'shocked' with progress. We are now invited to ward council, asked to speak on Sunday, asked to attend ward activities, and we are in the process of setting up missionary correlation. I am not sure if the success will be as rapid as in past areas but I have a really good feeling about the work here and am really impressed with how fast the bishops accepted us. I am seeing more and more how the Lord is preparing me for each new area I am sent to and am excited for what I will learn here as well as how many people we will be able to bring closer to Christ through the restored Gospel. I am definitely learning fast, not always easy, that this really is the Lords work and all we have to do is follow his prompting on how to do it.

Its warm (almost hot), both wards seem great already, my companion is amazing, and I know I am where I need to be! I love this :-)

Love,

Elder Inman

Crazy Dreams & High Life

An amazing Christmas in Belen! Sitting on Santa's lap and then at Creta's house with Roy playing charades :-)

More hiking shots

- Elder Krahenbuhl and I in the Holiday Inn

- Roy and Creta's baptism

- Out hiking and this stone supposedly has the ten commandments written on it from about 300ad.

Crazy Dreams (written 1/10/11)

Hola!

Transfers is coming up and we find out transfer news this Saturday. For some reason when ever I get anxious I start having really weird dreams and I have had them every night lately. I love serving in Belen but I am pretty sure I will be getting transferred out so I have been working hard to get everything in order for whoever takes my place. The ward here is amazing though so I know whoever comes in will do well, especially considering elder Krahenbuhl will most likely be staying. But I still have a chance of staying for another transfer so my companion and I are holding out slight hope :-)

This week has had several amazing miracles that I will never forget, and we have been blessed to be a part of bringing more people closer to Christ, but unfortunately I don't have time to write anything else. With transfers coming up I had to write a more extensive letter to President and I also picked today to upload pictures, so I am about out of time.

I love you all!

Elder Inman

PS, make a profile on Mormon.org! Amazing work is happening from that website.

 

The High Life (written 1/4/11)

Hey everyone,


I am late emailing again because our regular emailing location is still not open I don't think, but I should be back on schedule next week. This past week has been a great one though so I have a lot to write about, but my time is short so I don't know how much I will actually get on here. I wish I could just send a quick Skype message every week!

Elder Krahenbuhl and I lived the high life Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at the Holiday Inn. Jealous? Our heater stopped working Friday and both of us have pretty thin blankets so our sleep was less then great. We called our land lord Saturday morning and told him what was happening and since no one could get out to fix it until Monday he reserved us a room at the Holiday Inn. It was so nice! We had two queen beds and we didn't even have to make them ourselves, lol. But we are back home now and trying to get accustomed to cleaning up after ourselves again.

Sunday was a great day for more then just sleeping in a nice hotel though. Of course it was fast Sunday so Elder Krahenbuhl and I got up and bore our testimonies and we were able to hear some other great testimonies borne, including the Stake Presidents who told an incredible story:

He said that over Christmas break there was a man and his son driving through Albuquerque to get to family in another state. They were in separate vehicles and the father was looking in his rear view mirror at his son when all of a sudden his son's car turned sharply and rolled over several times off the highway. The father was in shock and found the closest turn around and then rushed over to the scene of the crash. He ran to the car yelling 'my son, my son' as he saw a nurse, who had been driving behind them, administering CPR. The nurse finally stopped and looked up to the father to tell him that she did all she could do but his son was dead. Grief settled in as he realized he would have to bury his own son. 'What a Christmas this will be" he though to himself. Then the prompting came to give his son a priesthood blessing, but it didn't make sense since his son was already dead. He followed the prompting anyway and as soon as he sealed the blessing his son began breathing. The nurse watched the whole thing in disbelief. The Stake President met this man at the temple a few days ago because his son is in the hospital with a broken back, but nothing else is wrong. The man has no family here and all he could think of doing was go to the temple and thank the Lord for his Christmas miracle.

After testimony meeting was over we found an investigator who we had thought dropped us last week. She came up and asked if we could continue the meetings because she wants to be a part of the church. She also said that she almost got up to bear her own testimony, and wants us to help her get ready to do that next month. Then someone else caught us after church to ask us if we could begin teaching his family as well since all of them are members except for him. The Lord is preparing so many people to accept the glad message of the restoration and I love being a part of them hearing it. It is so great to see so many people feel the greater joy that is possible through the gospel!

I love life as a missionary!!

Love,

Elder Inman