Mormon 9:15 ~ April 11, 2016

Watching conference

15 And now, O all ye that have imagined up unto yourselves a god who can do no miracles, I would ask of you, have all these things passed, of which I have spoken? Has the end come yet? Behold I say unto you, Nay; and God has not ceased to be a God of miracles.

Uncle Jake sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for the first time during the Sunday afternoon session.
Pictured here lower right.

Everyone,

We finished watching conference on Tuesday night. The choir started singing, and we talked about how good they were. I told Elder Shuppy that my cousin, Sarah, had written in her email that she had seen my Uncle, Jake, in the choir. A few seconds after I had said that the camera shot changed, and Jake was in the center of the screen. That was a special miracle, and I loved seeing a familiar face.

Outside the school in Skagen

Michael is still doing well. This week we taught him with the Blackums. Michael knows that our church is true, but he doesn't want to leave his Methodist congregation. During the lesson we emphasized prayer and reading in Mormons Bog. He is committed to come to church next Sunday, and we think that he will feel a special spirit when he comes.

Fun sign

Our appointment with Henriette went really well. She had her daughter, Stephanie, sit in on the lesson which was great. We taught the Restoration to both of them. They think that it is a good idea, but we need them to start keeping their commitments. We hope to see them start to progress this week. The greatest part was when Stephanie said that she needed to read a book for school, and the Mormons Bog would be her choice.

The heights of Bangsbo

Saturday was a miracle day. Sadly we had a few lessons cancel on us, but we were able to find and teach several new people. One of them is Baraket. He is Meratu's Uncle who came to church several weeks ago. We met with him, and he accepted a Mormons Bog. At this point we don't know if he is fully commited to learn about the church, but we will meet with him soon.

Two weeks ago we were contacting on the road when we met Jesper. After talking with him for a few minutes he gave us his number. Fast forward one week, and he stops us on the street! He asked why we hadn't called which we had, but he hadn't answered. Instead we set up an appointment with him.

That appointment was on Thursday. At the beginning it was really awkward, but we did the best that we could. He introduced us to his girlfriend Malene. His personal belief is in the inner Chi. Neither of us knew what that was, so he explained it. We then started to teach the Restoration which was started by them asking about Mormons Bog. That was the best lesson so far on my mission. Elder Shuppy and I used each others strengths to teach, and the spirit put the words into our mouths. Both of them accepted a Mormons Bog, and were so grateful for it. We showed them lds.org, and showed them where the Joseph Smith movie was. Later that night they texted us that they had seen it. Heavenly Father really helped us that night.

Saturday was our return appointment with them. Both had started to read, and Malene was already on 1st Nephi 8. We taught about prayer, and receiving answers. They committed to come to church on Sunday. At the end of the lesson Jesper said the closing prayer. In his prayer he said, "Thank you for sending Elder Francis and Elder Shuppy to teach us the truth." (It was in dansk when he said it.) Right there the Spirit was so strong, and I felt like crying with joy and love for the two people we had just met.

Sunday morning Malene came to church. Jesper had to stay home to watch their kitten. He said that he would come next week. Sacrament was wonderful. All of the testimonies were wonderful. It was a little hard to translate, and help our investigator. The members were wonderful. In guest class John and Birte shared their testimonies of the first vision. One of the sisters in the ward invited Malene to sit with her in Relief Society. The funniest part of the day was when Birte proudly stated that she investigated the church for three years before getting baptized, and then asked Malene how long she had known the missionaries. Malene said three days, and Birte was shocked.

After church we had a short lesson with Jesper and Malene. Malene loved church, and said that the members were happy and joyful. She definitely felt the Spirit when she came. We then learned something special. Without us being there they had previously talked about baptism. Both of them said that they wanted to be baptized, so we set a date for May 14th. We are so excited for them.

As the scripture says, God does not cease to be a God of miracles.

Ældste Francis