¡Hola Fonzfam!
These first two weeks of the transfer have come and gone so fast that it's making me kind of nervous for the rest of this final transfer! I'm enjoying my time though as I soak up every moment that I can. Elder Vaquero and I are having a blast as we are continue to meet new people and help those who we already have progress in gospel. There is always so much work that needs to be done and I'm grateful that Heavenly Father trusts us 18, 19, 20+ year-olds to do it.
This last Friday was our Zone Conference where we focused on having an end vision of the temple with everyone we find and teach. Since the Gathering of Israel is such an important part of what we do, we need to do our best within these three fields:
- Missionary work for the living.
- Temple ordinances for the dead.
- Deepening conversion for the living.
Our goal for when we set a baptismal date with someone is to set a temple date with them too. Creating that vision is so important for their lasting conversion. Another part that's really important is member involvement right from the beginning. We were specifically trained on how to better involve members within the first 21 days after meeting someone new. Having a functioning ward mission is essential to having success with those we teach. With all that we learned and the unique circumstances we have in our Spanish branch, we know that we will see a lot more success as we also share this vision with our members.
Since that zone conference, we have been making the temple such a huge focus with all of those in our teaching pool. We were able to meet with Jose C. after the conference and introduce the temple to him. He was excited to learn how baptism is literally not the end, but only the begining of what will bring countless blessings into his life. We set up a time to go to the temple VC on Memorial Day to teach him more specifically about those blessings and about baptisms for the dead. We hope to set a second date with him to attend the temple soon after his new baptismal date of June 15th. It's so cool to see how open and eager he is to learn more as he continues to change his life and center it on Christ.
Finally, after 3 or so months of being here, our branch President called a special branch council together this last Sunday to make a plan on how to keep things going until we officially combine with the other Spanish branch. It was good as we created a plan to get the branch members excited about Temple and Family History work. There will be a series of events that will include a Temple Visitor Center tour, family history picnic, and finally a baptism/temple session. As far as member work goes, this is going to be awesome!
Since this is my last transfer, that was the last zone conference of my mission. As part of the mission tradition, the departing missionaries get to share their testimonies with everyone at the very end of the conference. It's something you look forward too, but never really believe is happening until after you do it. In my testimony I shared how the mission is a time of preparation before we head out into the real world ready to take on the highs and lows of life. I made some changes to Alma 34:32 and shared it to help illustrate this principle:
"For behold, this [mission] is the time for [young] men[and women] to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of [their mission] is the day for [missionaries] to perform their labors." What are we preparing for? We are preparing to become worthy husbands, wives, parents, friends, leaders, and of course, disciples of Jesus Christ. There are a lot of parallels to what our lives back at home will be. For example:
- We learn to live with another person for 24 hours/7days a week/6 to even 24 weeks at a time.
- We have increased patience with ourselves and our circumstances, especially when things our out of our control.
- We'll see others get called or assigned to different positions, and we trust that it's by inspiration and we'll do all we can to humbly sustain. There's no need to worry. "Lift where you stand."
- We've learned how to balance what God needs us to do for others, for our families, for ourselves, and for Him.
- We better understand the importance of the Gospel in our lives. We know how it helps us progress through God's plan. Now more than ever we want to share it with others.
Our missions will not end when we take off our name tags because it is Christ's name that is forever engraven on our hearts. We will always live and be representatives of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's never forget that. I love you all, forever and always! Let's keep strong these last few weeks!
Con Amor,
Elder Fonnesbeck
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| Gio was baptized a couple years ago over in North Carolina, and is coming back into activity in the church and so we took him to the temple to teach him more about how he can baptisms for the dead which he has never done before. |
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| The very last best zone conference of the OPM! |
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| Except for the big guy on the left haha, these are all of Elder Vaquero's companions so far in his mission. |
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