Hello Lebanon

Jun 18, 2012

It is nice here in Lebanon.  There are a lot of newer homes here and the city is a little bigger.  There is a mall, two Wal-Mart’s, and a bunch of other stuff.  I am sad though because there is no Applebee’s but there is a Five Guys so that makes up for it.  It has an old town feel and it has a lot of Puerto Ricans.   

My new companion is named Elder Blake from Nevada.  We have a brand new Corolla like the one I had in Chambersburg just tan instead of red.  Our apartment is really old and needs to be cleaned really badly!  It is no worse than when I got to Chambersburg for the first time.  Missionaries just don't care and so the apartment gets really bad.  It will take some work but I'll get it looking good. 

When I got here I found out that there were 4 people with baptismal dates but I have only met one of them so I’m not sure the others are really serious about baptism.  None of our investigators are like the Kramer’s. 

I miss the ward in Chambersburg.  They were so nice to me and I had a lot of fun there.  I don't know if this area will be better because Chambersburg was pretty awesome especially with the other Elder’s being so close to us which made P-days the bomb.com.

Last night we had dinner with the Mastracola’s. They are very nice and I like them a lot.  They pretty much made my week here in Lebanon. This whole week we only had two dinners and so I was stressing out a little because I don't have very much money on my card anymore because I had spent all my money while in Chambersburg going out with all the other missionaries before I left.  I was wondering how I was going to pay for all my food and dinner, but Sister Mastracola is in charge of the meal calendar and she said that she tries to get meals for us every single night. So, I don't need to worry about buying dinner every night.  I think meals are very important for us because we not only get fed but, more importantly, we get to meet the family and they begin to trust us and are willing to give us more referrals.  It also makes missionary work a lot more fun and enjoyable.  We will be going to the Mastracola wedding this week so we will get to see Jake Neilsen from Salt Lake and I get to meet his mom who I have heard so much about from you.   

Wow, I can't believe you two went to Dingle by yourselves.  That never happens.  Did you see the Dingle ghost or maybe the Dingle ghost is the one that made the sprinkler tractor go crazy haha.  It does sound like you had a very nice time.  

Dad, I am so sorry that I didn't get a card to you or a letter for Father’s Day. I wanted to go buy a card the other day but Elder Blake wouldn't let me.  He said we can only go shopping on P-day which isn't true.  If I need something like milk or bananas or a card for my dad I can go get it but I didn't want to argue with him.  Anyway HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

My new address is 337 Cumberland St. #3 Lebanon PA, 17042. Tell everyone so they don't sent letters to Chambersburg.

I love you guys a ton and I pray for you!! 

Elder Tanner Mouritsen

Leaving Chambersberg

June 11, 2012

Hello family,

After 9 great months in the land of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania I am now getting transferred. I am not sure where yet but I do know who I am getting as a companion. His name is Elder Blake and President called me and told me that he has a disability and that he doesn’t like to talk very much.  This is not what I was expecting at all to hear because I wanted to have a companion that talked a lot and that liked to have companionship studies where we could talk and discuss the gospel. There must be something that I will have to learn from Elder Blake though. I don't know what it is yet but I am sure I will find out by the end of the transfer with him. It is said that Elder Blake is in an area called Lebanon which is the area where Elder Nelson, my first companion, was trained.

I have been packing all morning.  I have gathered a lot of stuff over my 9 months so I just decided to buy a big rubber tote to put everything in.

I am very sad that I don't get to take the weight bench with me:( Today I did my final max on bench press and I got my goal of 245 lbs. I wanted to go up 10 lbs and that's what I did. That was my bulking phase now I am doing my cutting phase haha. It's back to the perfect push up.

Elder Rivas is doing well I think. He is sad that I am leaving but he will love his new companion. I hope he does well. I am going to miss being able to speak Spanish with him. I did get him some shoes. A member works at famous footwear so he could get a huge discount. I ended up getting Elder Rivas two pairs of shoes for $80. I hope they are good and last him his mission. They are nothing like my Ecco’s but they were good and comfortable he said.

Elder Kenley has to have surgery next Friday on his right thumb. I hope everything goes well with the surgery. I will miss the Kenley's a ton. They have been a huge part of my mission and I wish they could come with me to my next area.

I was really jealous when I found out you went to Vegas because I knew that you would probably go to a Cirque show, and you know how much I love those things. Did Syd want to become a gymnast after the show like I always did? Mystere is one of the original ones right? That would be so cool to go to the Michael Jackson one! I think it comes out this July doesn't it? I am glad you had fun! Vegas is really fun as long as you don't pay attention to the evil that goes on there.

We will have to take a trip to the east coast again sometime when I get home. We can rent a car and drive from Washington DC to Chambersburg so I can see all the people I know. It's only an hour and a half drive to Chambersburg from DC.

This week has been really different because I knew that I was probably going to get transferred. I wanted to make sure that I visited and got a picture with all the people that I have associated with over these 9 months. One really cool experience that happened was with a guy named Justin. Justin is a friend of the Fields who are active. Justin is 21 and I have been able to have dinner with the Fields while he has been there. Justin and I, as well as Corry Field, gained a friendship and I would always ask Justin when he plans to get baptized. He would always tell me that he is Catholic but maybe one day. Well the last few months Justin has been coming to church with Corry but not really getting interested in it. Yesterday Justin came to church and I was asked to bear my testimony during sacrament. After sacrament, Justin came up to me to say good bye but he also said that he would like to get a Book of Mormon. I was shocked but I told him that we would get him one and that it would change his life. He said, “Really?” I then shared a little bit about how I was truly converted. We talked a little bit more about the church and what it has done for me in my life. He said, “Well maybe this is what I need”. He gave me a hug and left. I will try and keep in contact with him and maybe one day he will have a change of heart and be converted to the true gospel. It was a cool experience for me. I will miss these people but I know that my next area will have just as great of people and it will be a great new experience.

I love you.

Elder Tanner Mouritsen

Missionaries would be the best undercover cops...

June 4, 2012

Dear family,

This week was really really slow and there is not too much to report. 

We started the week off last Monday by going and hitting golf balls.  It was the first time that I have actually swung a golf club so you can imagine that I was a little rusty and my left pointer finger got a huge blister.  It was really fun though. It made me miss golfing and my own golf clubs.  Oh, I hate holidays as a missionary!  They always interfere with our normal email time, which screws up the rest of the week. 

After Monday and Tuesday we worked hard trying to find some new people to teach.  Now that the Kramer’s are baptized we don't really have any other good investigators that are progressing.  We tried to visit with Chester several times but he kept saying that it was a bad time and then one day we even decided to go to his house and knock on his door and he finally answered.  He told us that he wanted to be honest with us and told us that he does want to stop doing all the bad things that he is doing but that it wasn't a good time for him.  So who knows when his time will come to be baptized because he knows it’s true he just hasn't given up his addictions. 

We also tried to meet with Brett and Brittany this week because they were progressing and doing well for a while but they never wanted to meet with us this week.  Then, yesterday Brittany called me and told me the whole situation and everything that had been going on which was a lot more than I really wanted to hear.  However, she told us that she was having problems with her ex-husband regarding the custody of her kids.  She is also having problems with Brett being to mean to her kids and her kids don't like Brett at all anymore.  So, her solution to all these problems is that she is going to sneak her kids out of the state and go back to live with her family in Illinois.  She told us to keep working with Brett and, as for her, I told her that there are missionaries everywhere and they can come teach you.  She said her family wouldn't like that but then she told me that she was really happy that we had come into their lives.  She said that she could feel a change in her and her relationship with Brett became better.  She said it has given her a lot to think about.  The seed is planted and hopefully some other missionaries can reap the reward.  What Brittany is doing might be illegal but we are missionaries and don't tell anyone anything. 

Actually, I sometimes think about that.  Missionaries would be the best undercover cops because people tell us everything!  If the success of a mission was based on how many people you put in jail then missions would be a lot easier haha, not saying that we have turned anyone in or would.  There was a missionary in the past that I heard about who threatened to turn one of his investigators in to the cops for possession of marijuana if he didn't get baptized but that missionary got sent home.

That is awesome that Taylor got a 4.0 in college! That is quite an accomplishment!  It’s pretty crazy that Brady is graduating; we are all getting so old!  Are Brady and Taylor still playing golf a lot?

That is cool that Garrett came to Utah and visited you guys!  He is a good guy and I am glad that he is my brother in law.  He has set a great example for me.  I sometimes wonder what Garrett was like on his mission and what kind of missionary he was.  I am guessing he was very goal oriented and accomplished many things. 

I refilled my prescription and my eyes look pretty much better now!:)

Well family I love you and I hope that Vegas was fun!

Love Elder Mouritsen