6/29/2014: 14 Months..............Nosah!

Hello my wonderful family. :)

First off... Sorry I did not email last week.... my bad... Sister Robinson and I had the opportunity to drive to Kingston again. We took sister Maenetja and Elder Martin and his companion Elder Lewis to Kingston so that they could get TRN's and police records done just in case they go off-island. They are all serving in May Pen so we just drove through, picked them up and headed off. It was a long day and stressful haha. A lot happened and it ended up taking a lot longer than usual. But it was good. We had a great time together figuring things out.

We received our transfer calls this weekend. Actually I had the awesome privilege to give transfer calls. :). It was so cool! So AP Elder Ruesch called me Friday night and told me all that was going to happen and man was it a lot! We had been told earlier that there was going to be some big changes here in Mandeville once again... Which is strange because normally there wouldn't be because all the trainees are here but low and behold.. Jeez um.... So Sister Robinson and I will be staying together which I am stoked about! We knew that would happen haha. But they are splitting our district. So our district used to comprise  the four Hopeton Elders and the 6 Mandeville sisters but... Now they are kicking the Hopeton Elders out and putting in 4 sisters instead and split us into two districts which is so sad... So there is the Hopeton District and Mandeville District. And it will be like off-island was. A sister district leader in each district. Sister Wint is coming back from Nassau. She was the district leader after me, and she will be the district leader in Hopeton. Then Sister Williams will be the district leader for us here in Mandeville. I have still been called to be the STL here in the area, but I have also been called to be the Sister Training Leader Zone Leader now. Haha. Whatcha? That is a first for the mission. I don't think I have ever heard of sister Zone Leader. So we will see how it goes haha! What's next?.... I thought my last transfer call was crazy enough. It's great though. I really love it. Honestly! :) So there are still Zone Leaders but instead of them being in Hopeton, they have been moved to Santa Cruz. It really was a crazy transfer call! I got awakened up by Sister Robinson and the other sisters at 6 am because they wanted to know their transfer calls! hahahaha! Yeah, I waited until 6:30. Is that rude? :) hahaha.

Alright, to the more important things:

This week we had a really awesome experience! So we were out in Asia to see an investigator, referral from a member, named Pauline and when we got there she was sitting with another gentleman, named Mr. Jennings, ya. We began talking to them and got to share the message of the Restoration with him and at the end of the lesson, we committed him to be baptized on August 8th! He said, "alright, if I come to know that these things are true than yes." And then he just started laughing like crazy! And we looked at each other like... What in the world just happened? And he says, "As soon as I saw you guys pull up I was about to get up and run away! Mormons!"  He's met missionaries and been around the church before. He used to live in the States in Las Vegas and has been back about 8  months now. He didn't come to church yesterday though like he said and hasn't been answering his phone so... I dunno what happened. But I'm hoping and praying that we can get back in contact with him. He was so awesome and the Spirit was so strong as we taught him.

Yesterday we had a great lesson with Demarce! He came to church and was able to receive the Priesthood Blessing that he was supposed to get last week. As we talked to him about the blessing he was so funny he said, "Man, it was like Brother Powell knew exactly what to say to me...." Haha. Of course. ;) He said it was a really cool experience and said it helped him to receive some more direction and guidance on what to do. He has really had a stumbling block put in his path that has been hard for him to overcome. So in the lesson we talked about prayer. So simple but it was such a good lesson. We read in Luke 22:42-43 about Christ in the Garden when he says, 'nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done' and then the angel comes to him from heaven and strengthens him. We then read in Moroni 10:3-5 about prayer and asking God. I love the way this section outlines prayer, that when we receive these things, the Book of Mormon, etc, we need to ask God in the name of Christ. Which is so essential. But ask God it the name of Christ if these things are not true, so ask with specific questions. Also you must ask with a sincere heart. You really do want to know. And real intent. Like you intend to act on the answer that you have faith you will receive from Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. We see here the illustration of the Godhead which I love, how they are all working together just for you to receive this answer. Then the blessing/promise is that by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things. Man was the Spirit strong! We then read another scripture in Jeremiah 29:12-13. That if we pray to him like this with all our hearts, he will hearken to us. It was cool the see the change in Demarce. We then committed him to be baptized and to pray this way about a few dates we extended to him. Man was it powerful. I just love Demarce and I pray that he will be able to recognize the answer.

I have never relied so much on prayer in my entire life. And so much on my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and loves all of us. And I can't imagine not having a relationship with them. My life has been forever changed from the mission and I will never regret coming out here. The Gospel is true. So go find it out for yourself once more through REAL prayer.

I love you all.

Well I hope that you all have a fantastic week. Sorry again for not emailing last week. Be safe. Be strong. Prepare well.

Love,

Sister Mouritsen

6/25/2015: Reply from the Mission Office

With no letter from Leah this week, we wrote to the mission office to inquire about her. Yes, we are concerned about her. The last time she didn't write she had the Chikungunya virus and was very ill. Here was the reply from the mission office:

Good morning, Brother Mouritsen –

Your daughter is doing well; on Monday, she had an assignment to bring two missionaries in to Kingston to have some paperwork done, and forms signed, in preparation for upcoming transfers.  This always takes longer than you would like, here in Jamaica.  So, she may have run out of time to email that day.  If so, it is my fault and I am sorry.  I have been a parent of a missionary 4 times, and I know how we look forward to hearing from our sons and daughters.

Sister Mouritsen is a fine missionary, and a special young woman, and we love her here.  She is dependable and works hard, and she accepted this assignment without complaint and was happy to help.

Please try not to worry; she is doing great!

Sister Elaine Hall

Jamaica Kingston Mission

4 Garelli Avenue,

Kingston 10, Jamaica

876-618-1625

6/15/2015: 7 day oh 7 day...

Hello Family!

This week was crazy! A lot happened but yet not a lot happened haha.... yeah.... It also felt like 7th day Adventist goers bash Sister Mouritsen and Sister Robinson week. It was rough! 

Sister Robinson and Sister Mouritsen

So we received a referral from the office for a man named Robert. We called him and he told us that he works at NCU. So we went there and as we were walking to find his office, we noticed right above his office was a big sign that said, 'Ellyn G. White Research Center'. Oh jeez... haha. So we walk into his office and he says that he got on our website and signed in his information and said that he wants a Book of Mormon. Well we got the opportunity to teach him all about the Restoration and about the Book of Mormon and he just sat quietly and listened. He is a very intelligent man and very, very.... very into the Adventist church. And of course after we taught he asked us about the Sabbath Day. Haha. There was nothing we could say to 'combat'. I don't wanna Bible bash anyway. The conversation ended up going all the way to how Rome is secretly trying to destroy.... Or something like that. I don't know. But I walked out of there saying... I am not uplifted at all. haha. But he said that we could come back again and teach him more about the Book of Mormon. So we'll see how it goes this week.

I also had the opportunity to go to May Pen this week to go on a trade off with Sister Brown and Sister Frey came to Mandeville to work with Sister Robinson. It was great. May Pen is HOT though. We had some great lessons and were able to talk to a lot of people so it was great! Except for the fact that right after we got there, we went out to the car and it wouldn't start! The battery is dying... So we flagged down a biker and he went and grabbed some truck mechanics and eventually a taxi driver stopped and started just screaming "alright I'm here to help!" Where are the jumper cables? And he jumped the car and then rushed away. Well thank you nice screaming man! haha! 

Wednesday when I got back to Mandeville, Sister Robinson and I were able to go out to New Port and see a man named Clifton, whom we had called. His number was in our phone from the previous missionaries in the area. He is awesome too! We were able to have a fantastic lesson with him about the Restoration! He told us that he had run into Elders about a year ago but they never contacted him again so he was happy that we called! Then we saw him again Saturday and talked all about the Book Of Mormon. He said that he would read it and pray to know if it was true and if Joseph Smith is a true prophet. He wasn't able to come to church yesterday though so... Hopefully next week! He is great!

Thursday... Oh man. You'll never guess what we got to do for service. A less-active raises chickens right? I bet you know where this is going... Well they came to full grown and he needed help killing, skinning and gutting them. So the 6 of us Sister's drove up there and got to help out. Man it was fun! So I got to catch the chickens, then we strung them up by their feet on a wire, grabbed a knife, and...cut the head off. haha. Literally that's what happened. And then once it drained, we took it down, and plucked it, and gutted it. There were about 25 chickens we did it to. And then we bought one to cook up. Mmm! Brown stew! It was a once in a lifetime thing. :) You'll love the pictures. ;) It really reminded me of when we went Iguana hunting in Cayman. But...Less gory.... hahahaha....

Yesterday was our second 'battle' with the seven day... So we called up a less-active, named Latoya, she is actually another less-active's daughter (Audrey), and asked if we could come over and she said yes. So we get there and it was kind of awkward... She invited us in and it was like everyone came in and soon we find out.... They are all devoted 7th Day Adventists..... I knew from the start this wasn't going to go too well. They really attacked us and took everything we had to say for a joke.... A lot happened and I was pretty shook up about it. And very sad that there are people out there who just don't want to hear this. If only they knew what we have. If anything, the experience really strengthened my testimony and my knowledge of the gospel and of the truth. Nothing can tell me this isn't true because of the experiences that I have had on the mission and off. I love being a missionary for the good times and the bad. The bad help me to rejoice in the small victories, and the big ones. :) 

Today we got to have a Zone P-Day. So the Zone drove up to Mandeville and we played volleyball and armball and made a whole bunch of chicken and rice and peas and fried dumplings and all that good stuff. It was a great Preparation day! :)

Tomorrow we get to have Zone Conference and I cannot wait!

Well, I hope all is well! Have a great week!! Be safe and be good. :) Ha. Love you all.

Love,

Sister Mouritsen 

6/8/2015: I can't believe it's June....

Good Afternoon!

This week was stressful and great haha. :) I am really loving Mandeville and the experiences that I am getting the opportunity to have. 

Wednesday we had District Meeting. Elder Davis is our District Leader and he is fantastic! President Brown also came unexpectedly and it was an awesome meeting. We talked a lot about how we can improve in our areas with the members. The member work seems to have decreased over the mission and we talked about how we can earn trust with members and less-actives. 

After the meeting President Brown said that he wanted to talk to me. We had a good talk. This week I was going through a lot of stuff and I was stressed out with everything that was going on...  He comforted me and told me that I was right where I was supposed to be and that the Lord really will help me with all the things I have been called to do. He also asked me if I would like a blessing from him and it was the perfect thing. Of course I was in tears and everything because of what I was told. It was just an experience that I will never forget. After the blessing when we were walking out, President Brown said to me, 'I just found out why I needed to be here. I woke up this morning knowing I needed to be in Mandeville but I didn't know why.' It really strengthened my testimony of going after the 'lost' sheep. Maybe I wasn't 'lost' but I realized that day that I needed help and the Lord was mindful of me and that President Brown followed that prompting and was able to help me in my time of need. This gospel is so true. haha. I know that with all my heart.\

 

So on Thursday we had to drive to Kingston again because I have the opportunity to go to MLC. It was the most amazing meeting I have ever been able to go to. We talked a lot about the mission and what the mission needs to improve on as a whole. I really got to see inside President Brown's head and how he thinks. It was a great council and getting to be a part of the council of how we can all improve was just amazing! It really was! That's just all I have to say about it. haha! I am really glad that I get to go to it! We left the house around 6:30 so that we could be in Portmore by 8:30 where we dropped off Sister Robinson with the Portmore sisters and the STL's in Boulevard picked me up for the meeting at 10. The meeting ended around 5:30 or 6 and we dropped the Portmore sisters off at their appointment, got some dinner, and then drove home. We didn't get home until about 9 that night. It was SUCH a good day! 

Friday we had a fantastic lesson with some new investigators. We met Patrick while walking on Green street and we got to meet with him. We met in his house with his family as well, his mom, and two of his brothers. It started out by them asking crazy questions like, what do you think about the mark of the beast and all that. ugh. We reigned them and and we had a lesson about our purpose as missionaries and the Godhead and it was one of the most powerful, spirit-filled lessons I have been able to have on my mission. It was just amazing to see the glow on their faces. 

We got to see them again yesterday evening and the same thing happened but it was even stronger! We shared the message of the Restoration and his brothers had to work so they weren't there but his sister-in-law Ann-Marie was there and she was so in to the lesson. At one point as we were teaching, someone walked in and started talking and she glared at them, shook her hand at them and was like ' SHHHHH!!!!' and began listening intently to us again. hahaha! It will never cease to amaze me how scriptures just come to mind and they are the perfect scriptures. It shows how important it is to study so the Spirit can brings things to our remembrance. Not new things, but things we have studied. I love the Scriptures!! We committed them to be baptized and to pray to know if the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith are true. They also said that they would come to church this Sunday for sure! I hope and pray that they do. It was just so cool!! 

We also woke up Friday morning after returning from Kingston to a flat tire... That was fun. I now know how to change a flat tire. haha. The things you learn on your mission. :)

I will send more recent pics next week. Sorry about that. I love you all! Have a safe and great week!

Love,

Sister Mouritsen

6/2/2015: Mandeville, Mandeville :)

Good afternoon :)

Sorry I did not email yesterday... We got our car back from the shop and it looks brand new! Ha! 2013 Honda Civic. Man is it nice... :) So I had to drive Sister Robinson and another sister, Sister Brown and her companion Sister Frey, to get police reports and passport photos done in Kingston just in case they would be traveling to the islands in the future. It took pretty much all of our Preparation day. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Kingston from Mandeville, and luckily we have the highway to make it faster, but we had to pick up the sisters in May Pen. It ended up being a good trip and it was good to get to spend some time with Sister Brown and Sister Frey. They are fantastic and both just finished training and got put together in May Pen, so they were excited to be together because they came out at the same time. Kingston was awesome! That place is like the fiery furnace! Man! We were sweating like crazy and were blessed to have AC in the car until we almost ran out of gas and had to tough it out hahaha... Mandeville is just a very chill, cool place. :) I love it!

Wednesday we had Zone Meeting which was fantastic! Our Zone is great. I had a meeting with the Zone Leaders and District Leaders before it, DLC, District Leader Council and we talked about some good things that we can do to help the Zone to grow even more. During Zone meeting we talked about teaching people and not lessons, the Book of Mormon how it needs to be used more in our proselyting and we were invited once again to proselyte with a Book of Mormon in our hand, and how we need to be more efficient in having an Escalator effect and not an Elevator effect in our missionary work. It was really awesome to get some more insights and help with the work and the Spirit is always felt so strongly during meetings. I love Wednesdays just for that reason. This week I get to go to MLC on Thursday, Missonary Leadership Council, which is for the ZL's, AP's and STL's and President Brown will be there to teach us and help us with what we can do to move the work forward here in the mission as a whole. 

We got to meet with a less-active named Audrey on Friday and she is great! We even got to talk all about Nassau because she has lived there for a little while. It was really cool! She told me I was Jamaican and it totally made my day haha. She is a very sweet lady and we hope that she will come to church soon... But we will see. She went back to her Adventist church which she grew up in and says she is more comfortable there. So we are hoping that she will come and we can talk to members this week about coming with us to teach her and fellowshipping her better at church. 

Saturday there was a combined Family History Roots Tech activity with our District at the Hopeton branch. It was awesome! We got to help Brother Morgan from our branch with it. He said he really needed help and doesn't understand computers. So we were able to help him start his family tree and he really got excited about it! It was great! He still needs help with the computer though. After we helped the members with that, President Brown came and did a presentation about the temple and helping them all to prepare to go to the Dominican Republic in July. I was hoping to listen because President Brown is SUCH a good speaker... But... Gotta go do the work for the living right now. haha. :) And I love it. That day is also RAINED like crazy............ It looked like a white out and we weren't able to see many people because of it... :/

Sunday we got to have a lesson with Demarce about the Plan of Salvation. It went really well. He is very, very smart and pretty much knew the whole lesson just from the tract. He read it multiple times. He just needs to figure out his situation so he can recieve a baptismal date to recieve the Holy Ghost. We are going to go see him today and hopefully we can help him out a bit more. He is fantastic though!! 

We also had a cool experience on Saturday. The Mandeville sisters gave us a referral of someone they met on the street whose name is Marcia. We got to meet with her on Saturday and had an awesome lesson about our purpose as missionaries and about the Godhead. We invited her to pray about it and to come to church tomorrow as well. And she showed up at church! She was late because of taxi reasons but she came! And she had a great time. She even read the Restoration Tract that we gave her and she thought it was very interesting. She had a few questions about it. Man. Things just seem to be going really well lately. I'm excited to see where this path will take her and the happiness that it will bring her. 

We were challenged last transfer to read the Book of Mormon every 100 days and it has been really awesome to be able to do it. I love getting to read it so fast. It takes about 6-7 pages a day. Looks like something I'm going to do for the rest of my life. haha. I have really gotten to grow from it and gotten to know the scriptures a lot better as well. 

Well I hope you all have a great week. I love you and pray for you daily. Be safe!

Love,

Sister Mouritsen