Week 20

WWE with the Lopez boys...

Let the warm weather stay, I beg of you!

¿Qué tal mis amigos? Another awesome week here in the twin cities! The work is going well, Minnesota is warming up, and life is great! Alright enough chit chat. Let’s get into the week, shall we?

On Sunday night, we got a call from a less active member named Chris. He told us that he had a friend to whom he wanted to give a Book of Mormon! So we went over there on Tuesday night to meet with Chris, and his friend was visiting so we got to meet him. His name is Kingsley and he is from Ghana! He said he always heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Africa but never knew what it was. He heard of the Book of Mormon from Chris and he was super excited to finally get to read it! Right as we gave it to him, out of the blue he decided to flip open to a random page and read it. The verse he read was Alma 5:21 which says, "yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.". And he was like, "See! It's talking about Jesus Christ coming to redeem his people. It is another testament of Jesus Christ!" He was so eager to read it. Super awesome! We didn't get to teach him a full restoration lesson, but we set up an appointment with him next week so he is now a new investigator!

On Wednesday, we got to have an exchange with the Shoreview elders, and I got to meet Elder Smith from Logan, Utah. He knows English, Russian, Polish, and was both a Karen and Cambodian speaking elder for a few transfers each during his mission. That's ridiculous!! Haha I can't even handle learning one new language lol. On Thursday we had a really good district meeting and we had a really great training on repentance. We talked about the story of Alma and his miraculous conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ and how he describes the distinct contrast between the darkness he felt in sin and the joy and light he received through repenting. It is incredible to realize the power we have and the happiness we can receive from the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ! Afterwards we had interviews with our mission president which is always uplifting. President Forbes is such a great example of Christlike love and humility!

Minnesota fun fact of the week: Here up north, I thought hearing all these Minnesota accents was hilarious, but now I can feel it growing on me. The strangest things the people here say is they pronounce the word bag as "beg”. Us missionaries always get a good laugh in when we hear it and always have fun impersonating the locals’ accents. But the other day when I was grabbing my bag to head out the door from the day I said "Elder, I forgot my beg!" And I didn't even realize I said it with an accent. And Elder Nelson said "Your becoming a true Minnesotan!" Hahaha. I guess I'll just have to stop fighting it and just start embracing it😂.

On Saturday, we were able to help out a couple who are classmates and friends with several members of the ward. We moved a bunch of heavy boxes and furniture into their new apartment, and luckily this time nobody broke their ankle😂. That day we wore the usual long-sleeve with a sweater over top, but afterwards we definitely started to regret that. We started dying because of the heat wave that has hit us this week. it was a balmy 58 degrees!! WHAATT! It felt unreal. Reminded me of the fantastic Idaho spring weather back home. I guess I got lucky enough to avoid my first "harsh" Minnesota winter!

Yesterday was our monthly mission president's fireside. It was my first time going, and we also got to take our investigator Elmer along with the Shoreview elders. We had the chance to hear from several converts to the church and their stories and testimonies of the restored gospel. It was super powerful! They were all very similar, and all of the speakers described the struggles and pains they experienced, and the peace and strength they gained from the gospel. All of them shared their witness and knowledge that Christ lives and he is our savior. Through him and his atonement, they were able to change their lives around completely and feel of the great love that Heavenly Father has for them. Elmer really enjoyed it and is still progressing well for his baptism coming up in a few weeks. I have also felt the redeeming power of the atonement in my life. It is only by coming unto Christ and relying on him that we can be empowered to press forward and grow to become more like him. He has born all of our pains and afflictions and knows exactly what we are going through. Through him we are able to be cleansed from our sins and qualify for the blessings of eternal life! Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to those around has brought me such joy. I have never been more happy! I know this is the place I need to be.

Stay safe you guys, y disfruten su semana! Cuídense!  

-Elder Bolinder

New Brighton Crew

Another New Brighton Sunset