Christmas Baptisms!

Dear everybody,

This week has been wonderful! The best week I've had in Worthing in a long time.

Our focus this week has been following up! Over the past five weeks we'd found a ridiculous number of potentials. We were devoting some time every few days to calling them on the phone, but it just wasn't proving to be effective. We decided that we needed to really focus in on these people that we'd found and trust that we'd found them for a reason. We decided to focus on progressing. We devoted pretty much every day to following up with as many of our people as possible. The fruits were marvelous- we committed two more people to baptism in December.

Our first baptismal date is with an investigator, who we extended a date to a little over a week ago. She's amazing. We are going to the temple with her this week. She has said yes to every commitment we've extended so far. She has been prepared! This week, we committed her nine year old daughter to baptism on the same day - December 14th. We love them so much and are so excited to see their continued progression.

We also began teaching a new investigator. She had met with missionaries in Brighton before. She had a big falling out with them on somedoctrinal things. She had some questions on the Fall of Adam and Eve. She said she doesn't understand why people blame Adam and look down on him. We then put forward the Church's stance regarding this and she immediately invited us over , saying "this is new to me, maybe this is what's right for me." She wouldn't, however, accept a specific return appointment. Or give us her number. Just her address. So - we handed her a card with out number on it. A week later, she gave us a call, requesting a visit that night and the DVD "Finding Happiness" (which was advertised on the card.) We called up a member, went to see her, and emerged that night having committed her for baptism for the 21st of December!  It is exciting!

As far as our work with members goes, things are great. We had a  really good correlation meeting on member missionary work. We came up with a game plan and we're excited to implement it. This Sunday was good. We only had one person in Sacrament but we were able to get members to cover all seven of our appointments- all of which are with Sisters without a man in the home... that can be frustrating, but exact obedience brings miracles! Plus, it makes the members a little more sympathetic towards coming out with us.  :)

 

This week, I also focused on becoming a more doctrinal teacher, teaching Preach My Gospel's way. I had a mini freak-out on Saturday as we were preparing to teach a lesson. I felt like I was a brand new missionary! How could I teach?! My study was URGENT. I soaked it in as much as I could, but I still didn't feel like it was enough! It goes without saying that I was a bit stressed. Then, we got into the teaching appointment and something wonderful happened... the words flowed freely. Now, obviously, I've taught by the Spirit before... but never like this. It was amazing. I don't remember what I said but Elder Astorga and I didn't have to look at each other or anything. We didn't even have to ask the member... he just chimed in at the perfect time! The Spirit was the teacher... and the end result was a new baptismal date. A soul to bring unto the Saviour. My new goal is to have every lesson be like that, if possible. If I study and work with urgency, the Lord will fill my mouth and make me His instrument. What a blessing.

Our emphasis in the District this week (and probably this transfer) will be on more effective use of the Book of Mormon- especially ensuring that our investigators know how to study it... and ARE studying it.

We have a Zone Conference next week in Crawley. Elder Texeira from the 70 will be in attendance. Elder Astorga and I are going to sing "Dear To The Heart Of The Shepherd" at it... a quote from the assistants "it needs to be reverent and it needs to be good." A bit intimidating? Ohhhh yes. It should be fun though! :)

Hope all of you have an amazing week! I'd love to hear from all of you! Oh by the way, to all those who love me enough to send a Christmas package... send it to the Mission Home address! If you don't have it, ask me and I'll give it to you... I can't be bothered to type it out now! :) Love you all!

With love,

Elder Frederickson

So apparently there was a Hurricane?

All is well (though we are a tad wet) in sunny Worthing. Yes, there was a hurricane last night, although we didn't know it was a legitimate hurricane until last night at 10 PM. We are safe. This morning for exercise we jogged to the seafront and ran against the 80 MPH winds. We also took some pictures. It was intense. 

 

This week has been wonderful! Nothing particularly noteworthy in our area regarding investigators. It is a bit frustrating not having anyone dated for baptism, but we've set goals and made plans to reverse that trend.

This morning, I set three goals for myself this week. I think they will help me become more focused, obedient, and efficient.
1) Set the tone for each day by being exactly obedient in the mornings (and all day, obviously, but waking up/exercising/etc. are not always the easiest for me- so that's a focus!)
2) "Endure to the end" each day by ensuring that no time is wasted.
3) Be anxiously engaged in a good cause- always have something to do! Even if we are just in the flat, always have something productive to do.
I know that Heavenly Father will provide a way for me to achieve these goals. I know they will make a big difference in the way I fulfill my missionary purpose.

This week I learned a really cool principle about service.  I felt that this week we really needed to serve Littlehampton by helping them find people to teach. We did a workover with them on Wednesday and I did a exchange with them on Fridays. The end of the week came and they taught twenty lessons and committed someone for baptism next month! Not only that, but the Lord made up the difference for us- the Lord hastened His work and provided the increase. It's amazing what a week of service can do! :)

This week we were fed Mexican twice. YES. I also had one of the best kebabs ever this week from the noted Littlehampton 5 Star dining establishment "Planet Pizza and Kebab." Maybe I should do some extra exercise this week...   

I also got a beautiful new coat courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Frederickson. It's lovely and warm and should keep me cold in what is allegedly going to be a "bitterly cold winter." Yikes!

Also we just found a stack of mormon.org pass-along cards in this little internet cafe tucked behind some phone products... what?

One other cool story- in Zone conference last week, President emphasized asking EVERYONE for referrals.  This week we tried our best to apply that and we had a sweet experience. We were contacting by the seafront, we stopped this guy and he wasn't interested. We asked him for a referral and he just goes "oh yeah, my mate Dexter is into religious stuff." Before we could reply, he whips out his phone and gives us his friend's number! Pretty cool! :)

I know that I am called of God. The message that the Lord's servants share changes lives. How great is my opportunity? The Book of Mormon is true. Read it. It's promise does not fail. It's tangible evidence of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These truths change lives.

Have the best week of your life! :)

With love,

Elder Frederickson

More Fun Photos!

Miracles!

Morning lads,

It has been a great week! Carol's baptism was an amazing experience for all involved. On Sunday she was confirmed by the Bishop. The Spirit was strong. 

An ongoing miracle: A couple of weeks ago, we felt we needed to work the High Street 10 AM on like a Tuesday morning. Normally, this wouldn't be too effective but it's where we felt we needed to be! A couple of minutes after we got started, we stopped a young family. She then said "I am a member, I haven't been to church for 16 years since I left Wales. I think I might be ready to come back and my 8 year old daughter has lots of questions." Over the next week, we learned that she'd been contemplating coming back to church for years. She saw us down the high street and she knew that we would stop them. She also knew that it was time to come back. Fast forward to yesterday. The whole family (including the non-member husband) entered the Worthing Chapel for the first time. It was beautiful. In Gospel Principles she asked "If my husband is baptised, can we be sealed?" UHHHHH, YES!
Besides the baptism, the highlight of this week was most definitely church!  Several of the members brought friends to church. Several members invited less-actives to "come and see." Furthermore, they all enjoyed it! The Lord's hand is clearly at work! The Work of Salvation moves forward with power.

Another cool experience regarding planning and things of that nature. So the other night we planned to do some contacting along the seafront for a couple of hours. This is normal. I like going there because it looks cool and people are usually just chilling, so they're up for a quality gospel conversation. We left the flat and IMMEDIATELY the rain just pummels down. We thought to ourselves "what should we do?" After a little bit of discussion, we concluded that, since we told the Lord that we would be at the seafront at that time, and had asked for people to be put in our path, we should probably follow through. By most standards, the next 90 minutes were MISERABLE. We were soaking from head to foot. Many mormon.org.uk cards did not survive. We were able to teach two lessons, however, and hand out two Book of Mormons. That might not sound like much, but I know we were blessed from following through with our plans. Afterwards, I made my own tomato sauce for pasta. My cooking skills have progressed significantly, though that is not saying much.

I love you all so much and love hearing from you! I feel your prayers. I know the work to which I've been called is God's, I am priveledged to be an instrument in His divine hands. Have a wonderful week!

With love,

Elder Frederickson

 

 

Hallelujah!

Dear world,

It has been a great week! In the interest of full disclosure, nothing particularly noteworthy or exciting happened. Just a solid week of doing the Lord's work and lifting where we stand.

I had an incredibly effective exchange with Elder Wainwright this week, one principle of effective planning that I drew from it was this- always leave enough time between appointments to contact everyone! In the past, I've had a tendency to try have all appointments in immediate succession. This is an example of "better" as opposed to "best." It also can create punctuality issues. By better using my daily planner (and my brain) I've found that the days fill up much quicker and time is used far more wisely. It all goes back to effective planning!

Another thing that Elder Wainwright and I discussed at some length was accounting, what we account for, and how we account for it. We'd both found that many missionaries, ourselves included, had a tendency to try and create something new. Some idea that will promote greater effectiveness in some part of missionary work (especially in working with members.) Some new key indicator to focus on. Sometimes this is incredibly effective... until the whole zone moves. What then happens is that missionaries take this idea and apply it in there new areas and districts and zones... until eventually everyone is accounting for far too many things far too often. The secret is to stick to Preach My Gospel! All we need to do to see success in EVERY part of missionary is simply follow the counsel given to us in Preach My Gospel, the White Handbook, and the Scriptures. If we do that, we won't need anything else! The Spirit will direct us and the work of salvation will move forward in unity throughout the mission. I know I just went on something of a rant, but it was a wonderful discussion that I gained a lot from.

Our investigator will be baptised this Saturday. Prayers have been said and fingers have been crossed. She passed the interview last week. The Lord will provide the rest!

I feel that I am in a period of intense spiritual growth. Over the past several weeks, the adversary has been working on some of my deepest weaknesses and fears. It's been difficult, but I am learning so much. I have been so blessed.

We started teaching a South African family this week and it was delightful. They are willing to listen and try new things so that is a very positive sign! There's also like 10 people in the house so it's fun to teach so many people of so many ages at the same time! Also we asked one of them to say the closing prayer. There were many "mmmms" "YES" and "HALLELUJAH"s throughout.

I know the work that I do is the work of God. I love it! I love all of you as well :) you're in my prayers nightly. All you fellow missionaries- I love reading your emails each week! They are so uplifting. What a blessing it is to serve shoulder to shoulder with such dear friends.

Something else that I learned this week- Church can be an amazing experience every week. First, make the Sacrament the focus. That's why you're in church in the first place- to renew your covenants. If you anticipate and prepare for the Sacrament, church will always be worth it. Second, participate! Study the lesson before! Give your insights and share your experiences. Don't just chill and let your mind wander. Be an active participant. Third, if a teacher issues a challenge... take it! Set goals and make plans to apply what you learn. If you don't do this, you may as well just skip out on the second and third hours. Apply what you learn and then share the results with your teacher. If you do these three things, church will always be an uplifting, testimony building experience. 

Zone conference on Thursday in Crawley. Crawley, Wandsworth, and Maidstone Zones will be in attendance. Should be excellent. It'll be great to hear counsel from mission leaders, receive revelation for ourselves and those we have stewardship over, and see some great friends.

I hope all of you have the best week of your lives! :)

With love,

Elder Frederickson

Transfers

The ELSM had transfers this week - Matthew remained in Worthing and was thrilled.  His companion Elder Cullimore got transferred.  Matthew has a new companion fresh from the  Preston MTC.  Here is his short e-mail from last week!

Hello! I have my new companion- Elder Astorga from Ogden Utah! He is wonderful. Very humble and hardworking!!!

Not much time to email but I'll send a real email on Monday!

Everything is really good here. I am SO happy I am staying! I'll most likely be here until Christmas!

Yesterday in Staines was a ton of fun. It always is.

Love you guys so much!!!!

What a Wonderful Week

Good morning everyone!

It has been a week with challenges, but it has also been a week full of miracles! 

What a priveledge it was to be addressed by the Lord's anointed this weekend. I learned a lot and hope to apply it as best I can in my missionary efforts. From the talks that I heard, my favourites (in no particular order) were Elder Dube (Elder Riehle in particular will understand why I loved that talk), Elder Bednar, President Monson (priesthood session- VERY enlightening), President Eyring (priesthood session), Elder Christofferson, and President Uchtdorf (Saturday morning.) I realize that I just named like half of the talks hahahhaa but really I loved them.

We saw a lot of miracles whilst we were finding this week. We did all we could to strip ourselves of fear and invite everyone to be baptised. The Lord took care of the rest. He has a tendency to do that. What it really comes down to is our faith. If we believe that the Lord can do it and make that belief manifest through ACTION, then the veil will inevitably burst. The power and authority of our calling will be evident as we call down miracles from Heaven. This is the theme for our District this transfer- bursting the veil!

Funny story of the week: we stopped someone and asked them what they thought their purpose in life was. They said their purpose was to help the word become a more compassionate place by converting others to become Vegans. She then asked if I was Vegan. I told her I was not. She then informed me that, apparently, my compassion did not extend towards animals. I quickly corrected her, letting her know that it did, but that one of the reasons there are animals on this earth is so that man can have meat. Needless to say, that was the end of that conversation. Well... three cheers for honesty.

Also like five minutes later a man told us that he would like us to "go missionary somewhere else."

I had to cringe a little bit when the 70 mispronounced Yorkshire in conference.

I love you all so much! My address is still the same- I would love to hear from you all! :) I know this work that I have been called to is God's work! I love it. I love this gospel. I love being able to share it. 

With love,

Elder Frederickson