Good morning dear friends and family!
It is a beautiful Monday morning here in North Hampshire. We will
be spending P-Day in Oxford to meet the new missionaries in the Zone and
see off Elder Wu. Elder Wu is going to Portsmouth tomorrow.
Chinese-speaking Elders kind of operate in a lawless society because of
the MTC time, their moves are at completely different times then ours.
But that's okay! It will be sad to see him go, but I am sure I will see
him soon. Elder Wu has absolutely torn it up in Oxford, he's had five
baptisms there in the past few months. Tonight I will also be having
Fufu at an investigators house- for those of you who do not know, Fufu
is like a staple food of Ghana and apparently it is delicious. Elder
Riehle will be having TONS of it in Ghana :) something to be excited
about. We haven't heard anything about a multi-zone conference this
transfer yet, but I really hope there is one! Anyways, on to the
spiritual side of things.
Elder Aichele and I continue to see miracle after miracle here in
Basingstoke. To be honest, the week started off incredibly slow, we even
allowed ourselves to become a little bit discouraged... but we did not
give up. We kept going, we kept trying. Despite the reality of the
adversary and his efforts, we were priveledged to be instruments in the
Lord's hands.
We have decided to begin street contacting in the city center daily (when reasonable) at lunch time. Since that decision, every single time we have went street contacting, we have been approached by someone whom we had never met. It is absolutely incredible. We are literally being led to the elect. All we have to do is obey, have faith, and do our part. The biggest of these miracles (there have been several) came (I think) last Thursday. A lady approached us and asked us if we were the Elders in Basingstoke. We said yes and she told us that her and her husband hadn't been to church in 10 years, but they would like us to come over for dinner and answer the questions their children have about the Gospel. We got her information and we'll be seeing her soon. Elder Aichele and I just kind of stood there for a moment in awe. The Lord leads and guides us constantly, I am so grateful for that.
On Wednesday night, we were flogged. We were discouraged because it was about 7:30 at night. We had no other appointments. After a little bit of discussion, we decided to knock. Now, Chineham (which is where we live/where we'd been flogged) has allegedly been "knocked out", which apparently means that all the doors have been knocked. Regardless, we began knocking the first road we saw. We scheduled a return appointment for the first door. The second door was a potential investigator who had not given the Elders there number. She wouldn;t schedule a return appointment, but she agreed to have us over "another time." The next several doors brought no success. We then knocked someones door at about 8:15ish. A lady answered, smiled at us, read our badges, and her countenance completely changed. She informed us that we were "incredibly rude" and that it was far too late. After this encounter, we contemplated returning to our flat. It would've been easy to justify. But we decided to knock one more door. A 16 year old boy named Adam answered. We taught him on the doorstep for about 15 minutes. We taught about the reality of God, bore testimony, and taught him how to pray. We asked him if he would like to give it a go and he said absolutely. He then offered the most sincere prayer, I think it's the first time I've ever heard someone say "we thank thee" so many times. He didn't ask for a single blessing. He just thanked our Heavenly Father for everything he had. We gave him a Book of Mormon and the pamphlets and asked if we could return. He said yes, but not for a while. He said his parents wouldn't like us being over, that they would think he was being "rebellious" (ironic?) but he said he would pray dailyand read the pamphlets. We will try again soon. But for me, that was such a powerful experience. We need to do all we can to make the most of it.
We have received several other referrals from members and will begin working with them this week. It's such an exciting time to be serving here in Basingstoke! This area and ward are absolutely incredible.
Personally, I am doing great. I am working my hardest to overcome my weaknesses and "become" the missionary the Lord wants me to be. You don't "become" something in an instant. It's a process that takes time... I think that can be hard for me sometimes. I want to be my best self right away, but it's not possible. It takes time, humility, prayer, and effort. That being said, I know that it's possible. I know that as I continually submit myself to Him, all things are possible, I can become the man Heavenly Father wants me to be.
We have decided to begin street contacting in the city center daily (when reasonable) at lunch time. Since that decision, every single time we have went street contacting, we have been approached by someone whom we had never met. It is absolutely incredible. We are literally being led to the elect. All we have to do is obey, have faith, and do our part. The biggest of these miracles (there have been several) came (I think) last Thursday. A lady approached us and asked us if we were the Elders in Basingstoke. We said yes and she told us that her and her husband hadn't been to church in 10 years, but they would like us to come over for dinner and answer the questions their children have about the Gospel. We got her information and we'll be seeing her soon. Elder Aichele and I just kind of stood there for a moment in awe. The Lord leads and guides us constantly, I am so grateful for that.
On Wednesday night, we were flogged. We were discouraged because it was about 7:30 at night. We had no other appointments. After a little bit of discussion, we decided to knock. Now, Chineham (which is where we live/where we'd been flogged) has allegedly been "knocked out", which apparently means that all the doors have been knocked. Regardless, we began knocking the first road we saw. We scheduled a return appointment for the first door. The second door was a potential investigator who had not given the Elders there number. She wouldn;t schedule a return appointment, but she agreed to have us over "another time." The next several doors brought no success. We then knocked someones door at about 8:15ish. A lady answered, smiled at us, read our badges, and her countenance completely changed. She informed us that we were "incredibly rude" and that it was far too late. After this encounter, we contemplated returning to our flat. It would've been easy to justify. But we decided to knock one more door. A 16 year old boy named Adam answered. We taught him on the doorstep for about 15 minutes. We taught about the reality of God, bore testimony, and taught him how to pray. We asked him if he would like to give it a go and he said absolutely. He then offered the most sincere prayer, I think it's the first time I've ever heard someone say "we thank thee" so many times. He didn't ask for a single blessing. He just thanked our Heavenly Father for everything he had. We gave him a Book of Mormon and the pamphlets and asked if we could return. He said yes, but not for a while. He said his parents wouldn't like us being over, that they would think he was being "rebellious" (ironic?) but he said he would pray dailyand read the pamphlets. We will try again soon. But for me, that was such a powerful experience. We need to do all we can to make the most of it.
We have received several other referrals from members and will begin working with them this week. It's such an exciting time to be serving here in Basingstoke! This area and ward are absolutely incredible.
Personally, I am doing great. I am working my hardest to overcome my weaknesses and "become" the missionary the Lord wants me to be. You don't "become" something in an instant. It's a process that takes time... I think that can be hard for me sometimes. I want to be my best self right away, but it's not possible. It takes time, humility, prayer, and effort. That being said, I know that it's possible. I know that as I continually submit myself to Him, all things are possible, I can become the man Heavenly Father wants me to be.
I love you all so much and am so grateful for the prayers that are
said on my behalf. I feel them daily! I know this church is true and
that it's the work of Almighty God. Don't take my word for it though-
find out for yourself! Once you've found out- rediscover it. The thrill
of it all never goes away as long as you keep seeking it.
Have a fantastic week!
With love,
Elder Frederickson
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