Quarantined And Stolen Carrots

Hey Everyone,

It's been a few weeks since I have been able to write an email. Two weeks ago our Pday was switched to a Tuesday so we could attend the temple as a Zone and once we were back and shopped for groceries it was time to get to appointments. 

Last Monday, on Pioneer Day, I wasn't able to get a chance to send something out so this email could be a little long catching up with my mission work.

While in the temple I spent some time in the Celestial room in prayer and felt very close to my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for personal revelation and a spiritual connection with God. I'm grateful for the clear message that I received and felt so loved by Heavenly Father. Prayers were answered and confirmation was given and assurance was felt. Please attend the temple as often as you can and I promise you will be spiritually fed. Heavenly Father wants us to be near Him and to always talk to Him. He will always be there for us if we let Him in. 

As you remember, my companion, Elder Davis was a week late to join me this transfer because he had Covid. I tested positive this week and have a mild to moderate case. Several symptoms are hanging on but I am doing okay. After re-testing and approval from the mission nurse I will be back out of the apartment working--still working inside the apartment.

If you remember at the beginning of my time here in the Longview Lake ward (Lees Summit) I bought carrots seeds, soil and a planting container to grow carrots. Things started off a little slowly but those carrots were doing well! Guess what? Someone stole my great looking carrots! Who does that? Who steals a missionary's carrots? I hope whoever took my carrots is enjoying them.

We've had a few exchanges the last two weeks and I was able to spend a day with Elder Simmons and and a day with Elder Goodson, both are great missionaries and we really enjoyed our days working together. 

Lots of service hours cleaning and clearing bushes at a ward members home. 

The work is going well and we continue to find, teach and put investigators on the book for Baptism. PAT is currently out of rehab but she is not really doing very well. In fact, I am actually very concerned about her and the longevity of her life. She is still on date for an August 17th baptism. KAREN came to church last week and we are continuing to teach her. KEVIN is doing well and he's on date for an August 15th baptism. CHASE had a chapel tour and after being here on my third transfer and finding him my first transfer here he is on date for baptism on August 20th. TONY (not STARK) loves the lessons and is progressing well. He is on date for baptism on September 10th. CANDANCE is still interested but it's taking her a little more time. ERNEST is having some medical concerns so we are on hold there. Dropped ELIZABETH, and KALVIN is still interested and we are continuing to work with him. We are teaching more but these are our current top of the list group. All of the baptism dates are after transfers so if I am transferred I will not be able to baptize them. I hope they all are baptized, it would be a wonderful blessing in their lives. 

Last Monday, on Pioneer Day, our Ward Primary had an activity and the Primary presidency asked me to come and play some Primary and Pioneer songs on my guitar for their activity. The kids loved hearing the songs played on a guitar. I was also asked to finger pick a few western songs to go along with their pioneer theme. It was a great activity and I was happy to help out.

So....a funny story (seriously mom, it's funny). Elder Davis and I are sitting in our apartment doing our early morning studies this past week when Elder Davis hears a noise at our front door. He looks over to see the front door handle moving. He asks me if I can see the door handle moving back and forth and I could see it. Our blinds are closed so we walk to the front window and sneak a peek through the blinds and there is a woman standing at our front door putting a key in our lock trying to get into our apartment. We talked for a second and I felt that we weren't in danger so I swung the door wide open and the woman was startled and jumped back. I asked her what she's doing and she said trying to clean apartment 107. I pointed to the 108 on our front door and she looked at me and didn't say anything. We tell her she's at the wrong apartment. She is flustered and doesn't really seem to want to get going but finally leaves. Elder Davis and I went inside and discussed the situation and both felt a little weird about this woman and her motives. Didn't seem like she was really trying to get into the right apartment. Weird...we've never seen her around before so we are trying to remember to keep our door locked. 

We had Zone Conference last week and it was powerful and so good! Both President and Sister Ames shared messages that were on fire. We felt their love for us and their hope for us as we serve in the MIM. 

President Ames gave our entire mission permission to spend one week in July listening to Christmas music and then gathering as a Zone to watch a movie. I don't listen to Christmas music unless it's Christmastime but we got a few songs in every day. Our Zone picked the movie, Witnesses, and it was made by Church members and I felt the spirit of the message. 

An awesome family from Kansas, my first area, went to Utah and asked to meet with my family. They spent a morning together and it was amazing for my family to meet a mission family that I love. The people you meet and interact with become your mission family and lifelong friends. There are many great families here in my mission. 

I sent my parents a picture of a ward missionary in our ward who just moved to Texas along with her husband and children. When my mom saw the picture she said, I KNOW THAT LADY, I FOLLOW HER ON INSTAGRAM. What a funny coincidence that a ward missionary also has a good instagram following including my mom.Z They have messaged each other back and forth now. I guess the world is pretty small and unique after all.

My parents moved from Nevada to Utah in February and they have enjoyed getting to know their new ward members. This Sunday they had another missionary farewell and later that day the three missionaries who are ready to leave held a picture of me which shows the 4 missionaries serving from my parents home ward. Obviously I will be home before them but look forward to meeting these other great missionaries serving the Lord. 

When President Monson was Elder Monson he wrote a talk called, "Finishers Wanted". I've taken time to read and study this talk and have learned how important it is to rely on the Lord to help you complete tasks, finish what you start, and to help things go as smoothly as possible in your life. I felt the spirit confirm to me that the Lord is with us and wants us to move forward and lean on him after we've done all we can. As missionaries we are asked to enlarge our hearts to include all of the tasks and work we are asked to do, and then finish each day giving it our all.

Elder Mortensen

Pictures: 

Great food

Me and Elder Davis

Friday Night Volleyball with investigators 

Utah Missionaries 

Sister Hepworth before leaving for Texas

Zone Conference with President and Sister Ames 

Zone at the Temple

Making a giant snap pop it out of lots of pop its - video was too large to send, pretty epic

Lunch time

Me and Elder Simmons