I knew at that moment why I stayed in Hanover.

May 6, 2013

Dear Family,

This week has been a good week but also pretty sad because I have had to say good bye to all the people that I have been working with for the last 6 months.  I am being transferred to York this week.

We have been trying to see Jesi and Kaitlyn as much as possible this week.  They have both been spending a lot of time at the Mebius house.  The Mebius’s are the members that took Jesi in and they have also taken Kaitlyn under their wing.  Kaitlyn doesn't live there but she goes over to their house after school almost every day.  Sister Mebius is having Kaitlyn do some spring cleaning for her.  The other night, after Kaitlyn had finished cleaning, she and Sister Mebius had a heart-to-heart talk.  Sister Mebius told her that she has so much potential and she is a beautiful girl that can do so much good in the world.  Sister Mebius also told her that she loved her.  Well, a couple of days later we got to meet with Kaitlyn and she told us about this experience and she told us that she started to cry when Sister Mebius was telling her these thing because no one else has ever told her anything that nice before.  She told us that it made her feel so good and it gave her more confidence and helped her not to feel so self-conscious.  This really hit me hard when she told me this.  I have always had loving parents and people around me that have loved me and said nice things to me.  To hear a 15 year old girl say that no one has ever told her she was worth anything or that they loved her was pretty heart wrenching.  She says she wants to be baptized.  We just need to teach her everything and make sure she is in it for the right reasons, which I feel she is.  She said she is the happiest she has ever been and she has also started calling Sister Mebius Mom.  I know she is in good hands as well as Jesi so I am excited to see what happens with both of them in the future. 

This week we also went and met with one of our families.  We were supposed to meet with them last Sunday but the mother sent us a text telling us that they would need to change the appointment.  On Wednesday I sent them a text to see if we could stop by but they replied no, it was not a good time.  I was starting to get a little bit worried that something happened in their family but I wasn't sure what.  We didn't go over on Wednesday but on Thursday I decided that we better stop in and see if everything was alright.  We didn't text or call we just went over and knocked on the door.  Their son let us in and we went up to the family room where everyone was sitting.  We started shaking every ones hands and when I got to the mother I asked "how's everything going" and she said "not very good" she immediately began to cry while telling us that their daughter was pregnant.  It's hard to know what to do in those types of situations but what they needed was for someone to listen and that is exactly what we did.  We listened to everything that they had to say and we added some spiritual things and some personal experiences with them.  I shared with them the story of my parents and that seemed to help them gain some trust in us and let them know that our families are not perfect and we have gone through similar challenges.  We left and they were very appreciative that we came by.  They didn't want us there at first but then they realized that we are just there to give support and uplift them.  I was very glad to be a missionary at that time and I knew at that moment why I stayed in Hanover. 

We saw Mike again this week.  We just stopped by to see how he was doing and he let us right in.  We were able to talk to him for about 45 minutes.  He is still interested so I guarantee that Elder Adams will pursue that more after I leave.  I would have loved to teach him more and see his progression but I will get the scoop after Elder Adams has worked with him for a while.   

There is a guy in our ward named Brother Reid and he has a disease that has pretty much paralyzed his body.  He can still move his limbs, just really slowly.  He has trouble breathing but the doctors can't figure it out.  They have been doing testing on him for over 3 years now and they have only ruled things out but have not come to a conclusion of what is causing his condition.  It is really sad.  We had dinner with them this week and we talked about challenges that we face in life and why we have them, and he became really emotional about his situation.  I could feel the Spirit so strong and you could tell that this disease has really changed his and his wife’s whole life.   He is only 55.   

We spent most of Saturday and Sunday saying goodbye to people.  Sunday night however we were able to go and see the Gaylord’s one last time.  I had spent that morning thinking of what I would want to leave with them and I decided that I would share my conversion story and my testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  We went to their house and after talking for a little bit and telling them I was leaving I shared my testimony.  I ended by telling them that I am serving my mission so I can share the gospel with others so they can have the joy in their lives like I have had in mine.  Jennifer said she knew they needed to start reading the Book of Mormon.  We ended the lesson with a prayer and their younger daughter agreed to say it.  She gave a nice simple prayer.  It was her first time praying out loud but she did a great job.  I love the Gaylord family and I pray that they can have the happiness I have. 

I love you family!!

Elder Mouritsen