Dinkytown week 9

One of my mission dreams came to pass this last week! Since the day I got to this mission I wanted to joint teach with President Clements. And on monday night, the last night we was able to teach with missionaries before he went home, he called us and said he wanted to teach with us! :D

He came and taught Brother SS with us. (I know it is confusing that I use initials for names but President Clements has asked us to do this. Well, the Brethren asked this to be done for the safety of the people we teach). Brother SS was being taught by other missionaries last fall but his girlfriend ruined things. Well, they broke up! And he wants to meet again. But now we get to teach him because he is YSA! He told us how he feels so much less close to God since he stopped praying, reading the scriptures, and meeting with us. He is probably the most sincere person I have ever met in my life. He told us he is pretty indecisive and when all his fears were resolved he would know this is the right path. President looked him in the eyes and told him that day would never come in this life. We always have fear and doubts. Then President held up the BoM and said that as long as we know that this book is true, then we can cast aside our fears. Then President Clements asked him if we wanted to overcome the weakness of indecisiveness. SS said yes. President opened up to Ether 12:27 and read it to him. He testified that baptism and confirmation would help him overcome this weakness as the Spirit is able to refine him. So powerful. :)

Then we went to our next lesson. We taught a hispanic girl, JL, who has been taught by a bunch of missionaries and has been bounced between the spanish branch, a normal ward, and now us. President came in and we talked for awhile. JL is super sweet and she knows it all and likes it, she just hasnt committed yet. President Clements looked at her and explained that he has priesthood keys that he recieved from an apostle of the Lord. Those keys allow him to discern when people have made a change of heart and are ready to be baptized and make a covenant with God. He then told Jessica she has made the change of heart and he asked her why she hasnt made the covenant. Jessica brought up some fears about little details about the history of the book of mormon. President Clements opened up to 3 Ne 9:13-14 and told her to imagine the pain she has in her life. Then he read those scriptures and told her those pains could be healed. Then he asked her if she believed those were the words of Jesus. She said yes. He testified of the truth in which she spake. She was feeling the Spirit then immediately brought up her concerns again. Then President Clements called her out and told her that when she feels the Spirit she gets scared and immediately thinks of her fears. She admitted this was true. President Clements declared that he knew she knew this was true. He knew that God knew she knew this was true. and he then gave her a few commitments that would help her overcome her fear and get baptized. Then he gave her his personal email so she can email him when she sets a date. It was one of the boldest, spirit filled lessons i have ever been a part of. I will definitely miss him.

 

The next day on exchanges I was down in a spanish area when all of a sudden a car pulls up and a somalian man jumps out. He asked if we were sharing the Christian message and we said yes. He then told us he was going to share the muslim message with us. So he taught us about the five pillars of Islam and a few other things for the next 20 minutes. Then he gave us a Quran and told us to read it. I pulled out a Book of Mormon to reciprocate his generosity. He didnt really like that idea too much and kept telling us that he had the one truth in the Quran and if we would open our eyes we would see how wrong we were. I testified that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and our Redeemer. The Somolian said, "no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no nO No NO!" Then he said, "Jesus was a great prophet! He was sent by God! He performed miracles! But he was ONLY a man!" I told him I agreed with 3 of the 4, testified again, thanked him for his kindness in the gift of the book and in sharing with us and we went on our merry way. I have gained 2 Qurans on my mission now!

 

President Clements went home friday afternoon and President and Sister Forbes are now here! I will miss President Clements very much but I am excited to learn from President Forbes. Everyone has different talents and abilities and I am blessed to be able to learn from two great men.

 

On sunday we went to a fireside for the YSAs of the stake about hastening the work of salvation by the stake president. He challenged everyone to pray very specifically to be God's tool in ministering unto at least 8 people by september. This doesnt mean bringing someone to church or inviting them to meet with the missionaries or anything like that, although it could be, he means to be God's tool in helping 8 of our brothers and sisters. Then he told us how he challenged one of the high counselors to do this and at work this high counselor was walking down the hallway when he felt prompted to tell a coworker that God loves him. He didnt know the man at all and didnt know how to bring it up but he stopped the coworker and said, " i dont know how to explain why I feel i must say this, But God loves you." the man got watery eyed and told the high counselor he was beginning to think God didnt even know who he was. 

I know that if we wall all pray for these experiences we will help bring souls to Christ!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Damron

Dinkytown week 8

Elder Wall saw his first man in a dress on Friday. His reaction made me laugh harder than Elder Wall when he realized what he was seeing. Oh college kids...

 

We had our last zone training with President Clements this last week. He leaves Fridayand President Forbes will take over. I can't believe he is leaving... But change is the name of the game. I conducted at the zone conference and it was a little nerve wracking.

 

We had a sweet lesson with sister JS. She is really close to baptism and we hadn't taught tithing yet so we discussed that. She does not have a lot and is currently looking for a job. She wasn't too committed to it but we felt inspired to promise her that if she commits, with real intent, to pay tithing after her baptism that she will not only find a job but God will bless her to keep it long time. The Spirit was strong and she committed. I feel quite confident that that is a blessing the Lord wants to grant her.

 

So there was a lot of craziness this week. I was on exchanges in another town with a young missionary when I get a call from Elder Wall. He told me that brother TO called him freaking out and said he was leaving to go back to Kentucky. Elder Well went over to his house immediately and talked with him. He got in trouble with work and he was trying to run from the problem. Elder Wall handled it with ease. I love that Elder. Well the next day we had a scheduled appointment and we get a text from him telling us that he is going back to Kentucky so he wont be there tonight. We were a little shocked and before he could reply he said he wouldnt be leaving before 8 Pm. we said, "good. we will be there at 7:30." So we went over and he told us it is good he is going back so that he can be happy. He feels oppressed here. I looked him in the eye and quite boldy told him that we as missionaries are sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to help people make changes in their lives that will lead them to be baptized. Then we read 3 Ne 9:13-14 and I told him that baptism is the only thing that will heal the effects of his mistakes in this life. I told him that if he went to kentucky he would never find the happiness in his life he is seeking. Happiness only comes through Jesus Christ and he was trying to run from Him (he admitted to us a couple days prior that if he went back to kentucky he would probably get dragged back into drug dealing). Then Elder Wall talked about how if an alcholic goes to a bar he is going to relapse. He can insist he wont drink and bring 10 friends with him to try and protect him but the result is inevitable. He will drink again. Elder Wall told him that if he went to Kentucky he would get sucked back in and be worse off than he was before. We prayed with him, hugged him, told him that we loved him, and then told him to think of what the Savior wants him to do. He was quite visibly shaken and even crying a little bit. The Spirit was super strong. I truly felt as if we had taught with power and authority. it was remarkable. Then his boss came in and talked to him about the consequences of his actions. That night we got a text from the member we lived with saying TO had left....

In the morning we woke up to roughly 12 texts! TO had gotten to St Paul and then turned around and came back because he felt like he was making a huge mistake!!!! The member told us that what we said to him really got to him (which means that the Spirit really got to him) and he came back! Elder Wall went over with one of the assistants later that night (I was in Bloomington) and TO said that we were right and if he went back he would end up in prison. So after a really eventful week he is back. :)

 

Thursday was a crazy day for us. we helped a senior couple move out of their townhome then had 2 hours of phone calls and then we were rushing to the institute building to teach an investigator. as we drove I said to elder wall, "everything that could happen today has happened." then we went over a rail road track and heard a thud then a hissing like noise. So we pulled over and looked around the car. The screws on the plastic cover under the front bumper had rusted off and fell off as we went over the tracks. We called teh sisters and had them teach our lesson and then we jacked the car up and 40 minutes later removed the plastic. as we were driving away I said, "wow. everything that..." then elder wall cut me off and said, "STOP. DONT SAY IT AGAIN." ha ha.

 

This week I have thought a lot about remembrance. I think of the sacrament prayer, " O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat inremembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen."

 

And moroni 10:3 "3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts."

 

Having the Spirit with us, being able to recieve answers to our prayers, and even being forgiven of our sins all centers around remembrance. In fact, the Book of Mormon is a book of remembrance! one of its purposes is to help us remember the tender mercies of the Lord! ( 1 ne 1:20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.)  As we remember how merciful the Lord has been to us and all of those around us, the appreciation we have for the Atonement will deepen. We will live richer, happier lives and truly begin to take upon us the countenance of Christ.

 

I love you all! Have a fantasic week!

Elder Damron

pics from Dinkytown week 7

"President Clements came to church with us! That is Elder Wall with me"

"This is all of my posterity in the mission! Elders Cole and Foggin are standing on both of my sides. i trained them. Their trainees, Elder Westover and Carbonell, are on the outsides."

Dinkytown week 7

So this week was definitely a lot of fun. I said goodbye to Elder Harrison wednesday and picked up Elder Wall! He is absolutely hilarious and brilliant. He reminds me a lot of my cousin Scott in his style of humor so we laugh together all day long. We are going to do WORK here. I am pumped!

 

So sister JS is doing really well. We had a lesson in a member's home this week where she told us she was ashamed that she is having trouble quitting smoking and drinking coffee, but we committed her to quit on the spot and then she went to a YSA conference in rochester so she is going strong. We saw her sundaynight and she was glowing. She is striving hard to make her baptism date in 2 weeks.

 

We also taught brother TO this week the word of wisdom and the 10 commandments. He didnt think we were serious about tea at first and tried to laugh it off. He grew up in the south. He wants his sweet tea! But he realized we were dead serious and he committed to living it immediately. He Has so much faith and said if this is what God needs him to do then this is what he needs to do. We also taught him the 10 commandments and he was troubled when we talked about the First great commandment and the second which is like unto it (love they neighbor as yourself). He is struggling to like a few people he works with  but is trying to have respect for them. He told us he didnt realize it was a commandment to do this. But then he bore his testimony to us and told us that if he just works as hard as he can to be better the Lord will make up the difference and things will work out. I love this guy! I'm so blessed to teach him!

 

We saw a few cool miracles this week. We felt like we should go to what we call West Bank (the campus is split in half be a river and there is an east side and west side. we spend most our time on the east side) which is a twenty minute walk. So we went over there and the place was completely dead. No one was there (it was a mondaynight). But we walked around looking for the reason for us being there. We then met a man from Mongolia who was very interested in talking to us. He has faced a lot in his life and is at a crossroads of sorts and is seeking guidance. We taught him and set up a return appointment. God knows his children. Missionary work is pretty cool :)

 

Another miracle we saw in which God led us to His children who needed a message was when we contacted this guy on the street. Normally we dont walk and talk with a lot of people because it doesnt go anywhere but for some reason we decided to walk with this guy. He took us to the south east side of campus and we had planned to go to the north west. So we were a tad off the path we had planned on going. When we got to the south eastern part he abrubtly stopped and said he would now part our company. So we turned down a side street and 2 minutes later contacted two college students. At the end of our message they asked for a book of mormon, where our church was, and then they asked if they could pray with us. So legit. They are leaving for the summer but we will refer them.

 

Sunday night we went to the last President's Fireside with president Clements (a fireside where recent converts speak. They are so powerful). I cried a little. He leaves in 10 days. I am losing my second earthly father! :'''(  anyway, the fireside ended a few minutes early so President taught the whole chapel, which was 80% non-members, the Restoration and invited everyone to be baptized. He promised healing of their pains and sorrows (3 Ne 9: 13-14). It was incredible.

 

Thought for the week: Ether 6:17

 17 And they were taught to walk‍ humbly before the Lord; and theywere also taught‍ from on high.

 

The role of humility is so vital. I think the world thinks that humility is weakness and we all need to be brazen and super macho and la la la. But that isnt what humility is. I think there is a spiritual humility that is a measure of how willing we are to drop everything and follow the Lord. To obey any prompting that comes out way without delay. To maximize a church calling. To talk to that one extra person each day to try and share the gospel. When we completely submit ourselves and learn this humility the Lord can teach us from on high. Great spiritual truths will be revealed to us and we will be so much more successful in this life.

 

I love you all! Have a great week.

Elder Damron

pics from Dinkytown week 6

Sister ER baptism (she is the Liberian girl)

Elder and Sister Soelberg, Elder Harrison and I (we are all from mesa, but E. Harrison is gilbert) all doing the ASU sign. Fear the Fork!

The following pictures are from the Mexican Village:

Dinkytown week 6

So today is absolutely nuts this email might be short. First, Elder Harrison is getting transferred to the boonies of Wisconsin to be a district leader for the last few months before he goes home. I am quite sad... I have enjoyed my time with my arizona brother. I have a learned a lot from him! My new companion is Elder Wall. He is super tall and I actually replaced him in Andover back in November, so this will be a lot of fun! A lot of changes happened in our zone and it is going to take a lot of work getting back up to the speed we were at.

 

Our mission is being tremendously blessed at the moment! We had 28 baptisms in the mission last weekend. This is the most in one week since President Clements has been here. WE have 43 for the month. President Clements has wanted to hit the holy grail of baptisms (60) in this mission for 3 years and we are going to smash it as a present for him right before he goes home!

 

One of my favorite things about this area is teaching Chinese people who have basically no idea about who God is or anything like that. We have had a lot of opportunities to teach Chinese people on the street how to pray and they get so excited and giddy about it. They are quite spiritual experiences.

 

This week I went to Mission Leadership Council and we met President Rulon Stacey. He is the new counselor in our mission presidency. He is the CEO of the Fairview Medical Organization. He just moved here in January to take the job. Anyway, in the meeting he told us that when he went on his mission he didnt know that the Church was true and he struggled for awhile. He told us he doesnt want us to have the same problem. He told us that you can only know for sure that these things are true by the Spirit. Alma saw an angel but he still had to find out by the Spirit. He told us he was going to give us such compelling evidence of the truthfulness of the church that we would be forced to our knees to truly ask God if it was true and find out by the spirit that it was true. He then spent the next hour giving the most compelling physical evidence for the church's truthfulness that I have ever seen. I was about to get on my knees and ask God again the evidence was so compelling. He is pretty brialliant.

 

We had a baptism Saturday! Sister ER. She has an amazing story. She is from Liberia and when she told her family she wanted to get baptized they shunned her. She got super antid and lost all her friends yet she persevered and decided she still wanted to be baptized. It was a fantastic service.

 

We also had the opportunity to help a Chinese man who recently became an Elder learn how to confirm people. He was able to confirm a chinese convert in Chinese sunday. We called another Mandarin speaking elder in the zone and he taught the member how to say the ordinance correctly. Which is really good because he was saying "priesthood" instead of "Holy Ghost." ha ha. definitely dont want to give the female convert the priesthood.... think about how remarkable this whole situation is, though! two people from China, a godless country, here at this time and one of them confirmed the other in their native tongue! This is ground breaking.

 

So saturday I went to Mexico. Im almost not kidding. There is this little building in South Minneaplis we call Mexican Village and when  you walk in it is like you are in a strip mall in Mexico. We were the only two white people and we stuck out like sore thumgs. It was fantastic. That place put Arizona to shame.

 

We also taught Brother TO this week. We have been teaching him about repentance and he has really tried to repent of a lot of the things in his life and each time we go over we see more and more joy in his face. It is remarkable to be able to see. I feel blessed to be able to show him how he can remove the chains of the adversary and find joy and peace in this life (2 Ne 9:45)

 

well i wish i could write more but i must be off. i love you all!

Have a great week!

Elder Damron

Dinkytown Week 5 (June 2)

So it is june. What. Still kinda blows my mind.

 

This week we had quite a few miracles and interesting events. Monday night we were contacting and right as this Chinese man rode by us his bike chain came off and he had to stop. So we talked to him. Turns out he did his PhD at BYU and talked about God with his roommates a lot. We asked how he ended up at BYU and he said it was chance and a lot of things happened to get him there.  He still doesnt believe but we asked him if he thought it was a coincidence that he met us here on campus. He said he knew to us it wasnt but he told us he just cant believe. So told him God would put missionaries in his path again one day and he said he would listen to them when that happened. It was kinda unreal. What are the odds....

 

Our investigator Brother TJ is doing really well! He faced a LOT of opposition this week. He is the man who got out of jail in kentucky and was flown here to work and live with 4 mormon roommates to change his life around. Anyway, his entire family disowned him early in the week and a lot of Anti literature got thrown his way and he was really struggling. In our lesson in the middle of the week he vented for 45 minutes and he almost skipped town but he calmed down and said he knew that this situation was a blessing from God. He told us he always calms down and feels peace when we come over. We asked him why he thought that was and he didnt know. He said, "probably because it is true." We grinned ear to ear and taught him about the Spirit. Anyway, the next time we went over he was completely calm with a big smile and the first thing he said was that he wanted to get baptized. He told us that his family had contacted him and told him they were sorry and loved him and were proud of him. A lot of other sweet things happened. :) unfortunately he gets sentenced to 2 years of unmonitored probabtion in 2 weeks so he cannot be baptized any time soon... but the Lord does his work. So it is ok.  

 

Another cool miracle happened when we prayed and felt that we really should go drop by a media referral that lived a good distance away. We went there but did not get an answer. We left the apartment building and we decided we wanted to find out why God sent us there. So we went tracting and found this romanian lady who is really needing some help in her life. We shared a brief message since it was late and promised to send missionaries to come help her and teach her (we only teach YSA so we refer everyone else). Right before we left she told us she knew God had sent us to her that night.

 

On Friday we went on an emergency exchange with a team because one of the missionaries is really struggling and his companion was struggling to stay afloat with all the responsibility. I went with the struggling missionary. He really has all the skills needed to be a great missionary he just doesnt let himself see the talent he has. He kept telling me how unhappy he is, he just doesnt know why he is unhappy. His area is doing the best in the whole zone. they just baptized someone and have 5 more baptisms in the coming weeks. I helped him realize that happiness is a choice and he just needs to look around at all the happiness around him. He is thinking about himself too much to be happy. So we committed him to focus on his companion and investigators for an entire day and see how he feels. When we followed up the next day he was doing a lot better. Moments like this is where being a Zone Leader is very rewarding. I LOVE ministering to those missionaries in our stewardship.

 

Saturday held a bit of an interesting experience for me. It was inconsistently pouring rain. ONe moment nothing, the next a total downpour. We started teaching this guy who knew the Bible VERY well at a bus stop. It started to rain and so we went under an overhang. Out of the corner of my eye i saw a guy walk up behind us wearing a wife beater, but i didnt think anything of it. Right when we began to make some ground with the man we were teaching and he agreed to baptism and to read the Book of Mormon the wife beater man spoke up. Turns out he has studied just about all the anti mormon literature out there and he railed us. he totally turned off the guy we were teaching and started asking questions. I tried to answer some of the questions but he kept cutting me off. Then the man we were teaching started cutting me off too. I basically got railed from both sides and so i bore my testimony. But then they quoted some scripture about the heart being deceitful and told me that Satan had put that testimony in my heart. It was pretty frustrating. Then the bus came and the man we taught got on the bus and the other guy literally ran away from us as if we had the plague. Blah.

 

But that day got better! After that episode we went and got fed by a Chinese convert. He made us rice dumplings in accordance with the Dragon Boat festival that is going on right now. As the story goes, there was a really renowned poet who committed ceremonial suicide in a river to protest the corruption of the government in the era he lived in. All the villagers really loved him and didnt want the fish to eat his body so they threw rice dumplings in the river as an alternative food source and rode dragon boats down the river beating drums and blowing horns to scare the fish away. So now every year they ride in dragon boats and eat rice dumplings. It was really good. He also made us a japanese soup with tofu and seaweed. it was... different.

 

Later that night we went out contacting and we were getting rejected left and right. We decided to pray about where we should be. I felt we should go to the library. There was 3 ways to get to the library, but Elder Harrison felt that we should go near the Rec center before we go to the Library. Anyway, we follow that route and end up meeting John! He had a mormon roommate last year, came to church, and even took some lessons but things didnt click. We asked him why God put us in his path again and he said he really needs direction right now. We taught about the Gift of the Holy Ghost and boldly promised that Baptism and Confirmation would help him find direction. It was  cool experience. I am a nerd and think of things in mathematical terms so the first thing I thought of was that God gave me the Y coordinate and Elder Harrison got the X coordinate to our destination where we found John. he he.  

 

Anyway, Mormon is a beauty. I have really enjoyed my studies recently. In Mormon4:17 we read: And in this year they did come down against the Nephites with all theirpowers; and they were not numbered because of the greatness of their number.

 

It is interesting that almost always the wicked Lamanites outnumber the righteous nephites. Compare to today. 

 

In mormon 5:18 we read about life without Christ: But now, behold, they are led‍ aboutby Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about uponthe waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and evenas she is, so are they.

 

So let us now reflect upon one of the classics, Helaman 5:12:  And now, my sons,remember, remember that it is upon the rock‍ of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Sonof God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth hismighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mightystorm‍ shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to thegulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is asure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

 

The nephites were utterly destroyed off the earth because they failed to have a foundation of Christ. Let us not make their mistakes! We should seek daily to strengthen our foundation in Christ and help others around us build their own as well. If we dont do this then Satan will sift us as wheat.

 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Damron

Dinkytown Week 4 (May 26)

So since today is a holiday my email will probably be short. LIbraries are closed and we have reduced email time. 

This week we taught Brother J twice. He has had some serious legal issues from a lot of mistakes he has made. We gave him Alma 36 to read last week and it was super sweet when we came back and he basically bore his testimony to us how he has started to feel what Alma felt. His soul was really comforted. We also taught him the Plan of Salvation and we incorporated a lot of elements of repentance in the lesson. He just kept telling us how much he really needed to hear this message right now. So it was super sweet :)

We also have picked up a liberian girl, Sister JS, this last week. She was being taught by sisters in another town but since she is coming to the YSA ward they referred her to us. She has set a baptismal date and she LOVES the Book of Mormon. She has read about half of it the last few weeks and her recollection of it is absolutely insane. We asked her about her reading and she had read the first 2 books of Nephi. We asked if she remembers any details and she began to explain how much she liked the vision of the tree of life. She said she remembered the rod, the mist, the big building, the tree, and everything else. We sat there stunned. Then Sister Clements, the our mission president's wife who came joint teaching, asked her if she remembered what all those things symbolized. She then went into great detail about all the symbolism. It was complete insanity. I think she knows it better than I do. ha ha. 

We also got to teach this guy named B on the street. We contacted him and he blew us off but we kept talking and he turned around like 10 feet away and asked what we were sharing. We explained a summary of the message and then he told us his best friend had died suddenly a few weeks ago and he is really struggling. He said he is terrified of death and asked us how he could find comfort. You could visibly see the pain in his eyes. We taught a summary of the Plan of Salvation and then taught about the Restoration. We read moroni 7:41 and gave him alma 40-42. We could quite literally see the Spirit easing his soul as we talked to him. it was a sweet experience. 

A more humorous experience we had this week occurred when we were teaching this girl who LOVED talking about Jesus at a table. Right as we get into the First Vision a pakistani man walks by and asks if he can join us. His english was a little rough but we said of course. We then started teaching him about Jesus and this girl we were teaching basically became our nonmember joint teacher, which was amusing all in itself. Things were going well till she started teaching the man about the trinity and he kept saying it doesnt make any sense and she agreed it doesnt make sense and said we just have to trust. He didnt like that answer and they started arguing. We sat there trying to calm them down but they had basically stopped listening to us. Eventually the whole thing collapsed and we all went our separate ways. oh man. this place is thebest. 

We also taught this guy, Brother DF, on the street. When we started talking to him we could tell he had this attitude of "im about to rock their world". He started laying into us about all these questions about the bible being translated too many times and losing vital information and how he doesnt agree with his old church because they said you must only believe and the people who have never heard of christ are going to hell. Elder Harrison stopped him and said, "You have not said a single thing yet that we disagree with." The man was REALLY taken aback. He was basically testifying of the apostacy and we were able to teach that and spark his interest. 

Mormon 9:7-10 

7 And again I speak unto you who deny the revelations of God,and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations,nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking withtongues, and the interpretation of tongues;

 8 Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the gospel of Christ; yea, he has not read the scriptures; if so,he does not understand them.

 9 For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?

 10 And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a god who doth vary, and in whom there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a god who is not a God of miracles.

I really like these scriptures because to me it solves the dilemma of the apostacy. God does not want us to live in confusion. A woman told me there are 44,000 registered churches in the United States. To me, that is confusion. But God still speaks to us today both personally and through prophets so we can seen the help and inspiration we need to find truth.

have a wonderful week! Love, Elder Damron 

Dinkytown Week 3 (May 19)

This week we had zone conference. My first zone conference as a zone leader! We prepped the church for the conference and found people for prayers, etc. We gave a training on how to effectively use joint teachers in lessons. Elder Harrison and I, along with two other elders, sang "Redeemer of Israel" for a special musical number. One of the other Elders is a musical genius so he did some arrangement stuff and the song was amazing. The whole conference was about the role of the family and how this mission is supposed to create a foundation upon which we can build our future home.  I recieved a lot of revelation on who I need to become to maximize my potential.

 

At the institute building one night I started talking to a member of the Bishopric. He had this tie with a bunch of little elephants on it. I complimented him on his tie and told him how sweet it was. To my horror he said, "really? It's yours!" I tried to tell him I did not want his tie but he took it off right then and there and put it in my hand. He wouldnt let me give it back. I felt pretty horrible about taking this man's elephant tie and I told Elder Harrison what happened (he was on the other side of the room). He was like, "it happened to you too??? shoot! I forgot to warn you!" so now we both have ties from him. And now I have an elephant tie.

 

We have been teaching a girl named DF the past few weeks. She is agnostic only because she cannot disprove God, but she doesnt really believe he exists. But she has kept every commitment and come to church twice. I am really quite amazed at how much her faith has grown in this last two weeks. We truly develop faith as we keep God's commandments, pray, and study the scriptures. Her prayers have gone from a skeptical nature to a i really want to know if you are there nature and it is super sweet to see her development as a disciple of Christ. Sadly, she leaves for wisconsin for the summer so we had our last lesson with her on Saturday. But we will be emailing her and we have referred her to missionaries there.

 

So at DF's lesson the joint teacher brought a My Little Pony stuffed animal because they both love My Little Pony. Nate, one of my friends back in AZ, recently sent me a package in which he put a my little pony figurine in there with the comment that he felt it "captured my personality." ha ha. Anyway, i brought up the fact that Nate had sent the pony to me and made aforementioned comment. DF asked me to describe the Pony. I described it to her and she pulled up a picture of it on her phone. DF said the Pony's name is Twilight Sparkle. Elder Harrison burst into laughter. Aparently my personality is that of a twilight sparkle. To make things even better, a member walked by who loves to give people nicknames (she gave Elder Harrison the nickname Elder Bacon and hadnt thought of one for me yet) and she overheard this coversation. She spoke up and said," Elder Sparkle! Thats it! Thats your nickname!" so yeah. im now Elder Sparkle in the YSA ward here. (I wore a blue tie that has a little bit of sparkle in it to Church that sunday just for kicks and giggles. shout out to Anna Griffin for sending me that tie for my birthday :) )

 

Mildly amusing story round two: on exchanges this week i took an elder to visit a media referral in St Paul. we went to this area where we were the only two white people in miles. It was sweet :) anyway, we find the referral's house and the brother let us in the doorstep. Then this little poodle jumps up on me. So i gently push it down and notice a drop of water on my shoe. realization crept into my mind as the dog jumped up again. I quickly pushed it down again and looked down. My leg was soaked. so yep. I got urinated on by a dog this week.

 

So we taught this Catholic guy last week who wanted to meet up with us again this week. So we invited a Recent Convert in our ward who converted from Catholocism. Right before the lesson the investigator texted us and asked if he could bring a friend. In the missionary world this means two things: it's a sweet miracle and its going to be a powerful lesson or the other person is coming to bash. Usually it is a bash. But we werent worried because our Joint teacher is the MAN. So the two investigators show up and sure enough start to ask some loaded questions. Our joint teacher asked if he could answer a few of them and we happily obliged because we knew his conversion story. This member actually studied at the Vatican for 7 years. He knows a ton of the major catholic leaders at the moment and has had personal time with the previous pope on multiple occasions. (he said the old pope was as big as an ewok. we started laughing and he said, "you think i am kidding but i am not. seriously." I have never heard anyone compare the pope to an ewok.) The two catholic investigators brought up some other catholic leaders and out JT talked about how he took classes from them and had dinner with them and all this tuff. Their faces were really quite amusing this whole time. And our joint teacher is a genius and knows everything about everything about the Catholic church. So yep. The two catholics decided they didnt want to pick a fight and the friend who came to bash was pretty quiet the whole time. :)

 

Sunday night we went to the Mission President's Fireside where recent converts tell their conversion stories. These things are always interesting. the first person spoke and talked about how the Spirit told him to street race on the local highway and he was going 105 mph and the Spirit told him to go faster. He said the spirit was trying to tell him that he was set free by baptism. Our mission president was squirming. The second guy grew up in chicago and he said that he loved us missionaries. he said, "18 year olds where i am from carry pistols and they rob and snatch purses, not wear shirts and ties." He has a legit story and a love for the Lord.

 

anyway, time is super short so i must be off! This week I have been really focused on 2 ne 27:20 "I am able to do mine own work"

this is God's work! not our own! As full time or member missionaries we can have the confidence that if we just put forth our efforts he takes care of the rest. we just have to not be afraid to open our mouths.

 

i love you all! have a great week!

Elder Damron

Dinkytown Week 2 (May 12)

So most of our investigators have been dropping like flies the last two weeks. Elder Harrison made the wise observation that the Lord is opening up our schedule so we can find the people who are truly ready. And we definitely have found some sweet people this week!

 

I had the opportunity to go on 3 exchanges this week. One with an Elder From Taiwan. He just got to the mission and his english is still a little shaky but his testimony is incredible. He has been a member for 3 years. Missionaries talked to him a dozen times but he always gave them fake numbers. But one day he decided he was bored enough to actually listen. The rest is history, ha ha. We had quite the day. We taught a man from Cameroon, Africa. A man from India. And a girl from Mexico. I counted up a few nights ago and I have taught people from 17 different countries here in Minnesota. Who needs a foreign mission? pshhh. I love it here!

 

I also got to go out to dinner with an NFL player this week!!!!! That was super sick. He is a linebacker on the Vikings and is in the singles ward. Sunday he waltzed in with a pink shirt, baby blue pants, and a bow tie. So much class. And he is absolutely jacked.

 

Friday was a day of miracles on the campus here. We had about 5 hours to talk to people on campus and we prayed very specifically where we should be and at what time. We found someone to teach and set up a return appointment at each location! One guy looked identical to what Thor should look like. So yes, I thought Thor. Long braided hair and everything. We also taught this Chinese girl who was praying but not finding answers and she was losing hope. We promised that by meeting with us and reading the Book of Mormon she would understand answers to her prayers more clearly and she got super excited and happy. We had her say the closing prayer, after we taught her the manner in which Christ has taught us to pray, and it was simple, but powerful. Definitely a sweet moment. At one point we also prayed and thanked God for giving us the blessing of teaching so many people. In the prayer I asked God to help us know if we were in the right place at the right time and when we got up my companion informed me we needed to be elsewhere immediately. So we bolted across campus and went to the exact point that came to his mind and we met brother Y. Missionaries had met him the previous week in another town and taught him the restoration, but they had never called him to set up a return appointment. He said it was a strange coincidence that he has met missonaries again. We testified it was not a coincidence and set up a return appointment. Sooooo sweet. :)

 

Saturday I went on 2 mini exchanges with new missionaries. I absolutely love being around new missionaries. They are so fun and moldable. They are eager to improve. Then missionaries are in the mission for awhile and we get hard headed and think we know everything. ha ha. One of the missionaries was really struggling and I quite literally said things to him that i never even thought of and i knew it was inspired from on high. We set some goals to help him find joy. I am excited to see what he can become.

 

Saturday night we also taught Sister L., our miracle investigator. She was supposed to leave for the summer and we were super worried but she informed us that because of work she decided to stay for 1.5 more months!!! We taught her the Law of Chastity and she eagerly accepted it. She told us she has been praying to know if this church is NOT true and God hasnt told her it isnt and she feels her faith increasing. This blew me away because we never even read Moroni 10:3-5 together! Yet the Spirit helped her to know what to pray for. She also said she wants to be Mormon because out of all the religions she knows of and has associated with, she feels our members are the most pious and dedicated to living our faith 7 days a week!

 

Sunday night a member invited us over for dinner. They have a friend staying with them for the summer who just got out of jail and is trying to change his life around. We taught him about repentance and how we can be truly forgiven and feel peace. We left him Alma 36 to read and he was super grateful we came.

 

All in all it was a good week! It was wonderful to talk to my family on mothers day. I miss you all a lot but I am excited for the official start of the second half of my mission.

 

Thought:

PMG Chap. 1

" In fact, [the gospel] is the only way of living that will bring peace ofconscience and enable Heavenly Father’s children to return to live in Hispresence."

 

I have a rock solid testimony that the only way we can find a deep, abiding peace in this life, regardless of our outward circumstances, rests upon our willingness to live the Gospel and follow the footsteps of our Savior. Peace is a gift from God that is rewarded to us through our personal righteousness.

 

I love you all! Have a great week.

Elder Damron

Dinkytown Week 1 (May 5)

So I'm on the University of Minnesota now. It is the Twin Cities Young Single Adults ward, we pull YSA from like 5 stakes. The ward is nicknamed Dinkytown (it is the old name) because of a strip of stores called Dinkytown one block away. Anyway, this is unlike anything I have ever seen on my mission. The work is SOOO much different. I feel like all the skills I gained the last year of my mission have been thrown out the window and I have to start from scratch. ha ha. We contact on campus all day every day. It is SO strange talking to people my own age again. It took me a few days to adjust. But it is super fun as well! I talk to ten times more people each day then before. More rejection, but also more success.

 

My first day here this guy came into the institute building (the institute is right next to the campus and we teach lessons there and contact people right outside and then bring them in for tours and stuff) and we taught him the restoration. He wanted to know what was unique about our church. At the end he said, "you have priesthood authority. You are the only church that can act in God's name." IT was pretty sweet.

 

My second day in the area I go to turn the shower on and I hear a click. The nob broke and you couldnt turn the water off. It was stuck! So we had to call the building manager who called a plumber and an hour later he came to fix it. During that time we drained all the hot water in the small apartment building. ha ha. Oh man... Later we had Vietnamese food. I had Pho for the first time. It was really good! i didnt like the beef tendons too much, though.

 

Being a zone leader is fun and challenging. I get to see the progress of all the missionaries around me as a collective whole and it is neat to see. But we get a lot of paperwork to do. Thursday we spent almost the whole day in the institute building planning all of the events for the transfer. We got a little stir crazy. One of the new missionaries in our zone is really struggling so we had lunch with him today to cheer him up and we will be exchanging later this week to bring some joy and faith into his life.

 

Friday was a bit of a bummer. 5 verified lessons with joint teachers lined up canceled on us. slightly frustrating. So we hit the campus and found some sweet people to try and teach later. Saturday's lessons fell through as well. But the lord REALLY blessed our efforts. We were about to cross the street next to campus when my companion turned around and saw this girl. So we went over to talk to her. She told us she met missionaries last year and she has been to church! she asked us to refresh her on what our message is about and so we taught her the restoration. She immediately accepted baptism and we invited her to church. She told us yes and then asked us if she should bring her book of mormon (That she still has from last year)! She told us she does not believe it is coincidence that we ran into her because each time missionaries talk to her they walk past a bunch of people and pick her out of the crowd. ANyway, the next day she came to church and in relief society she introduced herself and told everyone she would probably be the next person to join the church! She even came to the CES Devotional last night (Which was sweet, by the way. Definitely a perk of serving in the YSA ward)!! She is legit! The only minor hiccup is that she leaves in june for the summer until school starts in august. but at least she will be back.

 

Finals are going on right now so everyone is busy and 70% of the people here are leaving for the summer. WE have two chinese sisters in the ward who teach like 20 member present lessons a week. UofM has the hightest number of chinese students outside of china so they go to work.

 

Thought: 3 nephi 20:1

 1 And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that theyshould ^acease‍ to ^bpray, and also his disciples. And he commandedthem that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.

 

The stake president challenged the zone leaders to prayerfully study this scripture and think about what it means to have a prayer in our hearts. Prayer is the way in which we align our will with God's. But how often do we pray seeking guidance or something and then forget about it a few minutes after we pray? When we continually have a prayer in our hearts we are constantly seeking to find out what the Lord's will is and to do it. This is not easy! It takes much effort and great care!

 

I love you all! Have a great day!

Elder Damron