A bad haircut and a week never to forget!

March 18, 2013

What a week it has been!  It has been really busy but full of spiritual experiences.

On Monday, we ended up going to Adam and Lynne Fuhrman’s for dinner.  After working out with Adam, he invited us to come back at 6 to have dinner.  We weren’t sure if we would have time to go to dinner because we were doing exchanges that night and having a lesson with Jesi in Gettysburg.  We ended up going to the Fuhrman’s saying that would eat quickly with them and then get out so we could make it to our appointment with Jesi.  Well 30 min turned into 1 and 15 min because, after finishing dinner, Lynne started asking us questions about the Godhead.  She has been a member her whole life but has a weak knowledge of the doctrine.  She brought up a concern that she had with the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and we ended up telling her that she needs to have all the missionary lessons so she can understand what the Church is all about.  Adam, her husband who we work out with, is not a member but has been really interested in the bible show on the History channel.  He was really interested in what we were saying so they told us to come back on Friday to have a lesson.  They have known missionaries for a long time but none of the missionaries have actually taught them.  The missionaries just went there to hang out.  We were pretty surprised by that but I am beginning to see that there is a reason why they are just now asking these types of questions.  We had a return appointment to come and teach them which was great but we were running late for our appointment with Jesi.  Luckily she called and said that she was busy and couldn't meet that night.  At the end of the day, we finally got to our exchange with the elders in Fairview and Chambersburg. 

On Tuesday I was with the elders in Fairview which is an area that I have been to a lot on my mission because it was in my first district.  Anyway, we had a good day and we were fed by this older couple.  Unfortunately, I can't remember their names but he made the best cake I have ever had.  It was a roasted pecan cake with cream cheese frosting made from scratch.  After our dinner we had a lesson with Jason, an investigator that is planning to be baptized this next week.  It went well.  We talked about tithing because he is struggling with that concept.  Mom and Dad have you had any cool experiences with paying tithing?  He seemed to understand that he needed to prove the concept of tithing to see the blessing because it's not going to work out on paper.  You have to put it to the test to find if it is truly a commandment and if there are blessings attached to it.  That night we exchanged back and I was able to sleep in my own bed:)

On Wednesday we spent some time working on our presentation for zone conference but we also had our Book of Mormon class that night.  We had the most people I have ever seen at a Book of Mormon class.  We had 10 people come and almost all of them were less actives or investigators like Jesi.  We taught about the apostasy and the need for prophets and the importance of having the Book of Mormon.  The missionaries in Gettysburg ended up coming too.  They gave some good comments that allowed for good discussion.  Teri Varga came and brought a dessert for everyone to have.  She is the best!  She has been a member for over a year and she still brings a notepad to class and writes down all the new stuff she learns.  WOW!  After class we found Jesi some baptismal clothes.  She was really excited and was glad it was finally happening. 

Thursday, we worked more on our presentation for zone conference.  During lunch we went to get my hair fixed.  A few months ago I went and got my haircut with Elder Spohn at this place called Slightly Off Center.  We went there because the lady there is less active and her mom, who is a member, said we should go there because she would cut our hair for free.  So we went there and she gave me the worst haircut I have ever had.  It didn't even seem like she was paying attention.   At the point where I thought she was going to start cutting the top she asked what I thought.  I said, I think we need to cut the top shorter so she cut the top a little shorter and then said it looked good.  I asked Elder Spohn what he thought.  He said it looked fine.  I thought it looked bad but I didn't want to complain because we were getting it for free.  Well, she ended up charging us $10!  That night I got home, took a shower and decided that it was terrible.  We went back a couple days later and she cut off the fluffy sides but didn't have time to fix the whole thing so we made an appointment to come back.  Well, transfers interfered so I missed my appointment.  I had been walking around teaching the gospel with a bad haircut for a good three weeks before we finally had the time to go back and see her.  So, Thursday we went and she fixed my hair.  I am pretty sure she was high the first time I went because when I went back to get it fixed she was a whole different person and gave me a really good haircut but the first one was like a child had cut my hair. 

Friday we had Zone conference.  It was really spiritual and our training went pretty well other than we ran out of time.  After Zone conference we went to dinner and then had our lesson with the Furhmans.  We taught about the Godhead because we weren't sure if they understood it.  Lynne has been a member of the Church for 30 years but has been practicing Catholicism too so we thought she might believe that they are 3 in 1.  To teach the principle I read the Nicene Creed while Elder Collier juggled 3 tennis balls.  They got the point that the 3 in 1 idea would never work.  We couldn't stay long but they were excited about learning and told us to come back Saturday.  We ran to our next appointment with one of our investigators names Al.  He was happy to talk to us and we ended up sharing our favorite scriptures with him. 

Saturday we had dinner with the Fuhrmans and then we taught them about the restoration.  Lynne had so many questions and we could tell that Adam was really interested also.  Lynne is finally learning about the Church that she has been a part of for 30 years.  One of the biggest reasons people go less active is because they lack knowledge of the simple and basic principles of the gospel and they haven't read the Book of Mormon.  We invited Lynne and Adam to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.  After our lesson we went to Gettysburg to have Jesi's interview for baptism.  She passed!  And she got a job that day. 

Something amazing about the people that we are teaching.  Paul's wife Liz is best friends with Lynne and Jennifer Gaylord is friends with Lynne and Liz.  They have all hung out together and have gone on double dates and stuff.  What are the odds that we are teaching people that all know each other and we found two of them through our own efforts?  None of them were referrals.  I think God is saying something.    We will be getting them all together soon to have a movie night at Lynne and Adam’s.  This work is marvelous!

On Sunday we had Jesi's baptism!  The Spirit was very strong as the talks were given on baptism and the Holy Ghost and remained while the baptism was performed.  I had the opportunity to baptize her and Elder Collier confirmed her in the singles branch right after the baptism.  She has made a huge change in her life and you can feel she is repentant and ready to start a new life. 

Last night we also had a lesson with the Gaylords.  I love teaching the Gaylords!  They are so nice and attentive.  All of the kids were there and even the oldest ones’ boyfriend.  They all sat in on the lesson about the Book of Mormon and all of them participated in reading a verse.  At the end we invited them to start reading the Book of Mormon as a family and pray about it.  Before leaving we invited Rob the father to pray and he did!  He gave a good prayer expressing his appreciation for us coming by and sharing the message.  We knew it was a good lesson when they were all smiling and waving at us as we left. 

It was week never to forget!

I love you family!

Elder Mouritsen

"When are you going to teach me about Joseph Smith?"

March 11, 2013

Hello family,

It is so nice outside here.  It has been about 60 degrees the past few days which makes it fun to go out of the apartment and work.  The winter is so depressing.  I hope in heaven there is snow but hopefully it doesn't get cold and there are no inversions. 

This week has been alright.  We have been super busy trying to get Jesi ready for baptism.  Her baptism wasn't this week.  Some things came up and there was a wedding in the singles ward so we postponed it until this upcoming Sunday.  She is still very excited.  We just hope that she will be able to find a job this week or the week to come because she is really stressing about finding a job and it is hard to feel the Spirit and grow spiritually when you don't have your temporal needs met. 

After lunch on Tuesday, we went to the Library to have a lesson with Jesi.  That is when we decided to change the date for the baptism to March 17^th.  It felt better to do that and, up until the baptism, she wants to visit with us every day.  It has been cool to see her progression and her excitement to learn all that she can before her baptism.  After our lesson, we drove to Chambersburg to have an exchange.  Luckily, we didn't run out of gas because we forgot to fill up and there were no gas stations for a while but we made it.  I was exchanging with Elder Lozano and Espinosa who are both in my old area.  It was weird to be back in Chambersburg.  Everything was the same and I remembered all the streets, which was cool.  The apartment was still the same, small but clean.  Nothing much happened that day until dinner with the Kramer’s.  The Kramer’s fed all 8 missionaries!  It was nice to see them again and hear how everything has been going.  We took a lot of pictures and Sister Kenley was going to send them to you but she ended up erasing them, haha.  We’ll have to get them from the Kramer’s now. 

We had what was supposed to be a huge snow Storm on Wednesday but it ended up being just a few inches.  It caused the missionaries in Chambersburg to freak out and they cancelled district meeting.  Our exchange ended up getting pretty messed up causing Elder Collier and I to get frustrated with the way things were handled.  We left Chambersburg after finally having a district meeting in the Kenley's apartment.  On our way home we stopped to have another lesson with Jesi in Gettysburg.  We talked about prophets with her and she said she would follow the prophet. 

That night, we had a really good Book of Mormon class and Laura showed up!  She was the one that lost her father in a freak heart attack.  She came and we talked about the title page of the Book of Mormon which really helped her understand the back ground of the Book of Mormon and the way it came about.  The Spirit was strong and we left the class as happy missionaries. 

Thursday was pretty uneventful except our lesson with Jesi was really good.  Jesi was living in the Gettysburg homeless shelter but, her time was up in the shelter so she had to leave.  She is now staying in a Lutheran Church in Gettysburg.  Anyway, that night we ended up having a lesson with her inside another church.  The Pastor said it was fine but I thought it was pretty funny that we were teaching about the restoration in a reformed church.  We had a good discussion on temples and she said she wants to work towards going there after her baptism.  We left the church and Elder Collier and I decided that we need to have our Church, the one that she is going to be joining, help her out.  We can't have a future member staying in another church.  The next day we talked to the bishop and he agreed to help.  Jesi is working hard to find a job but this a bad job market. 

On Friday evening, we stopped by Paul’s because he hadn't texted us back so we decided to go see what his problem was.  There was no problem.  He invited us right in and wanted to show Elder Collier his gun collection.  I had seen it before but it was pretty cool to see again and then we just talked to him.  We didn't teach anything but we did talk about some of the stories in the Book of Mormon which he found interesting and said he needed to read more.  It was a good visit even though we didn't have an official lesson but we did get a return appointment to teach a lesson.  I think Paul will eventually get baptized but it will take some time.  He is scared of the commitment because he understands it.

On Friday, some of Elder Collier’s converts came and took us to the Olive Garden.  A little later we went to a spaghetti dinner at the Church which was a fundraiser to raise money for scout camp.  There was also an auction at the end where they auctioned off baked goods.  After the fundraiser we went to a fiesta.  We were invited by some of our Hispanic investigators to their 5 year olds’ birthday party.  It was awesome!!!  They know how to have parties.  Everyone was nice and dressed really well.  The food was amazing and they created a cool atmosphere.  It was a lot different than our family parties.  Elder Collier and I don't get why people love missionaries and invite them to functions like that because as missionaries we’re quite boring, haha.  We had fun though and ate a lot of good Mexican food.  Everyone spoke Spanish so it was fun to talk to them.  It was a little hard to have normal conversations in Spanish and not be talking about the gospel because so much of what I know how to speak is gospel related.  Oh, and they were going to do dancing but we left before that.  We need to ramp up our ward parties and have them be more like the Hispanics!  It was pretty much a day of eating.  We both felt really full at the end of the night.

Sunday was pretty normal, Church, studies, tried a few people and had dinner but, after dinner we had time for one visit.  We decided that we should try the Gaylord’s because they never texted us back.  I was a little scared because I thought she was blowing us off but when we got there Rob (the dad) let us right in.  It was just Jennifer and Rob at home and they were watching TV.  They told us to sit down and we started having a great conversation about the things that are going on in the world.  It was a little scary for us to hear but it allowed us to break the ice and then she said, “When are you going to teach me about Joseph Smith?” 

I said, “Well, do you have 15 min right now?” 

She said, “Yes”.  It was a great lesson and the kids ended up getting home and she had them come in and listen to what we were teaching.  Rob opened up to us and gave us some info on his religious background and Jennifer told us her thoughts on religion.  We taught by the Spirit and testified of the truthfulness of our message and the Book of Mormon.  I am praying that they will be able to read and find for themselves the truth and gain a testimony of it.  They are a great family and I already love them and want this happiness for them. 

I love you family sooooooo much!!!!!!!

Elder Tanner Lars Mouritsen 

The Spirit speaks to us.

March 4, 2013

Hello Family,

I am glad it is P-day and I have the opportunity to read your emails.  This week has been a busy week but not my favorite week by any means.  We did a lot of traveling and had meetings 3 out of the 7 days. 

Last P-day after all our usual activities we went to have dinner with the Pantalones and afterward we had a lesson with Paul.  Brother Patalone has been to visit Paul before and they really hit it off, so we decided that we should have Bro. Pantalone come with us again.  I text Bro. Pantalone a couple days prior to our lesson and he told us that he had a business trip that day so he wouldn't be able to come.  We then decided to invite brother Coy who is our ward mission leader and is great with fellowshipping investigators.  Brother Coy said he could come all the way up until Sunday night when he told us that he couldn't go because his wife was having a family night.  Frantically we tried to find someone else that could come with us to Paul's for Monday night.  We eventually found Brother Burton.  We had still planned to go have dinner with the Pantalones Monday night because their 18 year old son was going to be there.  When we arrived we found that Bro. Pantalone was there and that his business trip had gone shorter than expected.  I quickly asked him if he wanted to come with us to visit Paul.  He said yes, I thought it would be better for Paul to have the same fellowshipper be there and Paul really likes Bro. Pantalone.  I called Bro. Burton and canceled.  After dinner, we went to Paul's and had planned to teach about the connection between the bible and the book of Mormon but the Holy Ghost had different plans.  Elder Collier asked Paul about his belief in God.  Paul had a concern about God and the evidence for Him.  That is when Brother Pantalone took over.  Brother Pantalone was the Gospel Doctrine teacher for a long time and knows his stuff.  He is also very scientific which Paul likes.  Anyway, Bro. Pantalone taught so well that as missionaries we were learning new things and started thinking about things differently.  He shared many examples of the evidences of God on the earth today and bore powerful testimony.  We all bore testimony and the whole time that this was all going on Paul was on the edge of his seat.  His spiritual experience was then brought up and he ended up bearing testimony of the Spirit to us.  In the end, Paul said that he had a lot of pondering to do and was excited for our next lesson.  I can't help but think about God’s hand in missionary work.  He put a trial in front of us by not having Bro. Pantalone available but after seeing our diligence and determination to have a member with us at our lesson he provided a way for Bro. Pantalone to come with us.  I feel that there was no other person at that time that could have connected with Paul and addressed his concern any better than brother Pantalone.  The Spirit was there and I was glad to be a witness of it. 

Wednesday we had an exchange.  I went to Gettysburg with Elder Munoz.  We had a good time speaking Spanish but unfortunately all the plans that he had fell through.  Luckily, Elder Collier and I had too much work that day and some of that work was with Jesi our investigator who is planning to get baptized this week.  She happened to be in Gettysburg that day.  We ended up having a lesson with Jesi about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the word of wisdom.  It went really well and it seems that there is doubt that she knows the church is true and is ready to make the commitment of baptism. 

That night we also taught a girl named Tosha who has been coming to church for the last 3 weeks but he haven't been able to teach her.  Kinda funny, that never happens.  We had a good lesson with her and taught her about the restoration and importance of the Book of Mormon.  We found out that she started coming to church because of a school project on religion but she felt something as she went. We will keep pursuing her progress. 

On Thursday we went to our district meeting and exchanged back.  At the meeting, Elder Collier told me that one of our less active members father passed away from a freak heart attack.  Her dad was completely active in the other ward and before he passed she told us that she would do whatever it takes to see him again.  She is planning to come to church and to get to the temple as quickly as she can.  We were happy to hear that she would be making those kinds of strides but it is sad that it took the death of her father to do so.  I think all the little signs that she was having weren't doing anything so God had to shake her a little bit.  We are excited to be working with her. 

On Thursday we had another lesson with Jesi and taught her about the law of chastity and set up her baptism.  Afterward, we drove back to our apartment, packed and left for Pittsburgh.  It was a long drive but we stopped in Pitt to have Chick-fil-a (however you spell it).  It was the first time in 19 months that I have had their chicken sandwich with the honey bbq sauce.  It was really good and it reminded me when mom introduced me to those sandwiches.  We spent the night at the APs apartment and in the morning we went to breakfast at the office elder’s apartment before going to our meeting.  They are a senior couple and they made a delicious breakfast for us.  It was probably my favorite part of the trip, haha.  The meeting was fine but it was the same training that was done a year ago that needs to be done for the new missionaries.  There wasn't too much mission business or drama so it was a little boring at times.  The meeting went till 4 and after going to get supplies from the office and eating at Chipotle we finally got on the road at about 6:30.  We didn't get home until 12:30 that night because of traffic.  We were pretty tired the next day. 

On Sunday we had testimony meeting.  I bore my testimony on following spiritual promptings.  A couple of weeks ago I had an experience where I had received a strong spiritual prompting but I did not follow it.  By not following that prompting came a negative consequence.  I promised myself that something like that would never happen again.  The other day Elder Collier and I were driving and we saw a U-haul truck and two ladies putting furniture into it.  I received a spiritual prompting that we should help.  Not wanting to avoid that prompting I told Elder Collier that we should help them.  We pulled over and walked over to find two ladies standing in the truck struggling to put something in place.  We asked if they could use any help.  One of the ladies said yes and then told us she was a member of the Church but had been less active for a while.  We began helping and later found out that she had been praying for help.  She, her old mother and her husband had to be out of their house by Thursday and it was Wednesday.  She also told us that she had been getting over a sickness and her husband has a disease dealing with his muscles.  She had been praying for help because she knew she couldn't do it on her own.  I am grateful to have been tuned in to noticing Spiritual promptings at that point.  I know that we were her answer to her prayers. 

The Spirit speaks to us.

The Church is true and I know it. 

I love you family!!!!!!!

Elder Mouritsen

It's crazy how God places us in situations to further the work

February 25, 2013

Dear Family,

Not too much has happened since my e-mail from last Wednesday but a few things.  It has been a little stressful being in the area now without Elder Spohn because I don't know where anyone lives.  I haven't been driving so I haven't paid too much attention.  We have been using the GPS quite a bit so I am glad that you sent it back out to me and it is working lots better since it was updated. 

A little bit about my new companion.  He's name is Elder Collier he has been out on his mission for 20 months.  He is from Vancouver, Washington.  He has 4 brothers.  He went to BYU before his mission but, what missionary didn't, haha.  He served as the AP for 7 1/2 months.  He is very knowledgeable in the scriptures and has good ideas at make the area better.  He has the same desire to work as I do so that is really nice.  I haven't been with a companion yet that has wanted to work really hard and is self-motivated until Elder Collier.  I am excited for this transfer!  Sadly, it is only a 5 week transfer and Elder Collier will probably be transferred after this. 

On Wednesday, we met with the bishop so we could establish our expectations and we also had our Book of Mormon class where we taught from the book of Enos. 

Thursday, we had a lesson with Michael where we taught him about all the different dispensations and showed him the relationship between the Bible and the Book of Mormon it went really well.  His friend Jeff was there also and seemed interested and accepted a Book of Mormon.  He said he would like to be at Michael's for the next lesson.  Michael doesn't know too much about the Bible or religion in general so everything we teach him he always has that look of amazement on his face.  We still don't understand why he isn't coming to church so we are thinking of giving him the drop talk to help him realize that this is serious stuff and he needs to take it serious if he wants to progress. 

On Friday, we did some tracting.  Not a lot came from it but we were in the Gaylord's neighborhood so we decided to visit them.  It was a good drop-in because the dad was the only one there so we were able to talk with him and finally break the ice.  Every time we have been over there the dad has never talked to us but finally we were able to have that opportunity and we came to find out that he is a really cool guy.  He is a cop so he is a little rough around the edges but nice and talked to us for quite a while.  It's crazy how God places us in those types of situations to further the work. 

Saturday, we taught Jesi and her friend Lexi.  Jesi is progressing and she is getting really excited for her baptism coming up on March 9^th.  Her friend seemed really interested too and they both came to church the next day. 

On Sunday, Elder Collier and I both had to speak.  Elder Collier spoke in the Family ward and I spoke in the Singles ward.  Elder Collier spoke on the atonement and forgiveness.  He did a good job and it was a good introduction on his first Sunday.  I was asked to speak on missionary work which is a broad subject so I decided to focus on the wards responsibility in rescuing.  It went well but the singles ward here is crazy.  It reminds me of a circus but at church.  We were both relieved to be done with church yesterday, haha.  Also, during church we taught Jesi and Lexi a powerful lesson on tithing and Lehi's dream.  Elder Collier shared a very spiritual experience about tithing and the blessings that came from paying it.   Lexi has lived a hard life but I think coming to church yesterday gave her a little hope so we are excited to work more with her and see the gospel change her life.

Last night around 6:00 we were in the apartment studying when we got a knock on our door.  I was on the phone with a member so Elder Collier went to answer it.  He then came in and told me that someone was at the door for me which never happens as a missionary.  Who would come visit the missionaries?  I didn't know what to expect.  When I got to the door and before I saw their faces they said we want to be Mormons and then I saw their faces.  It was Kim and Kevin Kramer!  After giving them big hugs they told me to come see Jonah and Tyk in the car.  It was so nice to see them.  I can't even tell you.  It made me so happy.  To see how much they have changed is astonishing.  They are so Mormon now!  Haha.  They have a wonderful spirit about them now and I love it!  I love them!  They said they got your card too. 

I love you Family.  I couldn't be out here without your support!

Love your brother, son, missionary,

Elder Tanner Mouritsen

Feeling a lot better... and I have a new companion named Elder Collier

February 18, 2013

Hello Family,

I am feeling a lot better now.  I am pretty much back to normal and I have all my strength back.  Thanks for all your prayers.   By Wednesday, I was doing pretty well and we were able to go out and do missionary work.  We even did some missionary work on Tuesday even though my stomach was still pretty messed-up but, we had a few lessons that we had to go to.  I hope it doesn't cost you a fortune for me to have gone to the emergency room.  I didn't want to go.  I was merely calling the doctor to see if I could take or eat anything that would help me feel better and he said it sounded like I had something wrong with my appendix.  Well, it wasn't anything like that but it was a flu virus that was causing my muscles and organs to have spasms and cause major nausea.   

  

It is sad to know that Kevin Kramer’s mother passed away.  It would be a great idea if you could send him a card.  I will also be sending him a card.  The funeral will be this Saturday.  I heard that he was called up in front of a stake priesthood meeting to bear his testimony without any warning but that he did a great job and the Spirit was felt.  I am constantly amazed at how much progress he has made in the last year.  He continues to learn and grow in the gospel which brings me a lot of happiness.  Also Rebecca’s son Sam was baptized!!  I haven't heard the details but I plan to get more information on that and write him a letter.    

It was transfers this week and I have a new companion named Elder Collier.  He is a great missionary and I am excited to be serving with him.  He was the assistant to the president so he knows a lot of stuff and understands missionary work.  We will be working at making this companionship the best Hanover has ever seen!  Sadly he doesn't speak Spanish but he is only supposed to be with me for five weeks so maybe in five weeks I will get someone who speaks Spanish. 

Jesi is still lined up to be baptized.  We taught her a couple times last week and we were able to have a member there that has been helping to fellowship her.  The only bad thing is that Jesi has moved to Gettysburg but we still get to teach her because she is coming to the singles ward and we cover the singles ward.  I guess she will be coming to Hanover every week to be taught.  We teach her at the public library which is pretty cool because there is a fancy white board that we can write on, which works perfect because she is a visual learner.  She will be baptized on March 9th.  

We were supposed to meet with Pablo this last Sunday but he had some stuff come up so we haven't seen him for a week or so.  He sounds like he is taking it seriously though.  I am teaching him in Spanish.  He only speaks Spanish but is taking a class to help him learn English.  I help him with any questions that he has in English and he helps me if I don't know a word or something like that.  How is Tess doing and how is her Spanish coming?  She's probably fluent by now if she only has Spanish investigators and her comp is Spanish speaking.  That is cool.  I am jealous!

Julia McArthur is going to be an awesome missionary.  I read her letter and it sounds like she has been doing so much to prepare to go on a mission.  I am amazed at how much time and effort she is putting in to go.  I wish I would have worked harder and took everything more serious instead of wasting my time, but now I know.  I really enjoy her letters and I hope that she will keep writing me, I sent her a letter the other day so she should be getting it soon. 

Wow, I had no idea Chante Renouard was going on a mission.   It sounds like going on a mission is the cool thing to do these days. 

There is so much sadness in this world and so many problems.  It truly is a blessing to have the gospel in our lives, something to hold onto, and something that isn't changing and we can confide in.

I will keep praying for Grandma Georgia’s recovery and I hope that she can get back to the norm soon.  I am sure within a few weeks that knee will feel better than the other knee just like the way it was with Grandpa Max's hip replacement. 

   

I love you family!  I couldn't do it without you!

Love,

                                                                                                                                                           

Elder Mouritsen