Branch Conference, Fishing And A Dead Deer

Hey Everyone,

I got my hair cut this week by a middle aged lady who not only knew how to cut hair but blasted rock music the entire time. We had a great conversation. 

Training is going very slowly as Elder Shaw needs extra time to learn new things. I am working with him and wish for him to have a successful mission experience. 

We spent the morning with the Marshall elders fishing today. It was cold and we were unsuccessful. But, we had a great time and it was good to do something different. 

I am finishing up my third transfer here in the Concordia Branch. I have grown to love the members and they love me back. I will always remember these great people. I don't know what President Ames has in store for me for the next transfer but I would be happy to stay one more transfer if this is where I need to be. This is the area of my mission where I have had the most spiritual experiences. There is no coincidence in this. I am so grateful for all that I have learned while here in Higginsville. 

We had a mission wide zoom meeting last night and it was good to hear from so many around the mission. President Ames ended the meeting with a great message to keep us going.

We continue to teach Kahlan and she came to church yesterday. We were teaching her and the Marr family last night about Charity and I asked what the principles of the gospel were and Kahlan knew the answers. That makes any missionary happy when questions are answered like that. We discussed Moroni chapter 7 and I taught that the principles of faith and hope work together, but that they must be accompanied by charity, which is the greatest of all. I shared that Mormon taught that charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever. Charity is the perfect manifestation of our faith and hope. 

The waitress Kelly decided she doesn't want to be taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, we were able to share our beliefs briefly with her. 

Althea is living with her daughter and she is no longer living with her husband. She has a job and is working now. We are teaching her over the phone because the apartment her daughter is renting is too small for two extra people to be in there. It is going slow but she is still interested. We are also unsure if she still lives in our teaching area.  

We did not teach Marsha, Juan or Holden this week. We hope to teach them all this upcoming week. 

Lars isn't homeless but he lives town to town, state to state and has for the past 8 years. He works temporary jobs in the area he lands in and has his two dogs that are his family. He accepted a Book of Mormon and we taught the Restoration. He accepted what we taught. He moved to Clinton, MO and so we referred him off to another set of elders. 

We met Stacey this week and taught her the Restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon. We hope to teach her again sometime. 

A deer crossed a road and fell into a big ditch and got injured trying to get it out. Brother Marr put it out of its misery and then called me to help him get the deer out of the ditch. I'm including a picture of my bloody work gloves after that chore. 

Unfortunately there are a lot of people in the Higginsville area that are not interested in having a better life than they are living. There are a lot of people on drugs and others who do not want to put in the work it takes to learn about God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. 

I've felt very impressed that the members need the missionaries now more than ever, especially in this area. We are serving and helping members and also teaching less active and non members who live in homes of active members. This week I made an appointment to sit down with our Branch President and his wife to look over the branch roster and go over every name and family. Our Branch President has lived in this area all of his life and knows everyone on the list. I am hoping we get some new people to visit and teach with this effort. 

I had exchanges with the Zone Leader last week and he scheduled another one this week. I go to his apartment and he comes to mine. Elder Larsen and I are working well together when we are exchanges. 

Yesterday was our Branch Conference and the Warrensburg, MO Stake President gave a great talk. One part of his talk I want to share with you is this. He said: My wife has everyday dishes and silverware and then she has special occasion dishes and silverware. I never understood why we couldn't use the special dishes and silverware everyday. I have come to realize that the special occasion dishes have been "set apart" for a special purpose. They come out when we want to celebrate or it's a holiday or birthday. We use these dishes for our best events. He then said that we need to "set apart" time in our lives to make everyday "special" and "holy". That by praying and reading our scriptures we are making our life special and that it will mean a lot more to us if we use these sacred times more often throughout the day rather than waiting to use them only on special days or events.

We also received a Warrensburg Stake Plan for 2023 and I want to share a few items from the plan because as a missionary it was an answer to prayer to see our stake leaders create a plan where all members work to build Zion. Some of the areas of focus are: Increase Holiness, Strive to become more unified with others, Work to end poverty, Invite all to come unto Christ. 

These are things and areas of focus in all of our lives that we can do better in helping to build Zion in the latter-days. I know that my missionary service has meaning and purpose and that I am where I should be at this time in my life. 

Elder Mortensen 

Pictures/Video

Great scripture to live by 

Front side of the Warrensburg, MO stake plan for 2023  

Elder Shaw and I heading out of our apartment for the day

Elder Shaw at the grocery store