4 Baptisms!

Beautiful Fall in Issaquah!

      Hello Everyone! Happy Halloween!! I hope that you all have a wonderful day and are able to spend it with friends and family. This week was truly amazing AND humbling.  It was life changing.  

      In life we struggle at times going forth with faith.  It takes stength to stand tall and be strong. Our hope is built from prior faith building experiences. Gaining faith and hope in this life is essential!  I feel that this past week has built my faith and hope for a lifetime!

     We have been teaching Lisa, the school teacher all this week, and it has just been incredible. On Monday, we watched the restoration dvd with Lisa and her kids!  It was so powerful, the spirit is truly the confirmation of all truth and it was there in abundance!  Halfway through the video her son whispered, “Mom is this true!?” At the end of the video we asked him how he felt and he just started to cry. What a blessing God has given us to have the Holy Ghost to guide us in this life!  

     Our lesson on Friday was somehow even better!  When we sat down she said, “I have had an interesting week, after our lesson on Wednesday I couldn’t sleep!  I wanted to know more, and know why this is changing my life!  I almost called you guys in the middle of the night but I felt bad!” She added, “I can't get the Book of Mormon off my mind, it's all I think about and I just don’t know why!” 

     After we talked we read Alma 32 vs 28: Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me. 

     After reading this verse she looked up at us and just began to cry.  She said “This is what has happened to me.”  This is the power of the Book of Mormon!  It is the word of God and it will teach us all things. There is a power in this book that we can't find anywhere else.  It's no wonder that we are asked to read of its pages daily! The words of Christ simply will teach us all that we should do in this life.  During that lesson Lisa chose her own date for baptism and is doing amazing.  God is a God of miracles!

Nieto Family Baptism!

     The other experience was with the Nieto family.  This was an experience I will never forget. As a ward we had a goal to baptize four souls in the month of October. As of last week we had only baptized one person and our goal seemed impossible.  On Tuesday night we were planning and we felt inpsired to go by and visit Chelsie, a young mom we had found two weeks prior but had no luck in getting back in contact with for days! When we knocked on her door it was as if words filled my mouth, “Chelsie we have been sent by God to tell you that He loves you and that His gospel has been restored to bless your family.” We said that we were busy now but wondered if we could come back later.  She started to cry and said I would love that. We came back later that night and wondered why she cried at the door!  She said, “My husband is no longer allowed to live here, I am raising this family alone.  I got on my knees this morning and told God I couldn’t do it anymore and I needed help and needed to know what to do next.”  We felt inspired to tell her that we had a baptismal service this Sunday if her family wanted to be baptized. She said “I would love that, we want to be closer to God and want a new start in life, I know you were sent by God.” For the next few days we taught the whole family twice a day! They soaked up the gospel.  Katielynn, her daughter said “ I prayed about the Book of Mormon and I felt my heart sparkle!” Haha she is too cute. The family was baptized yesterday and was the most spiritual day of my life.  It was amazing to see this young family enter the fold of Christ, to join his fold. They were placed in our path for a reason! God knows us and guides us back to Him.

Lisa's baptism!

     We also baptized Emma, Lisa's daughter.  We baptized Lisa at the beginning of the month!

      I just simply testify that God is a God of miracles. We see them everyday in our lives but we must choose whether we notice them or not. 

     I learned three things from this experience. 1: We must begin with a spiritual experience. We prayed as a ward and strongly felt that we could find four souls! That was the anchor that kept us going! My favorite example is that of Enos!  His faith became strong after he felt the power of God!  “And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord…” We must seek the spirit of the Lord which will allow us to stay strong no matter the circumstance. 

     2:  Remain in righteousness. As we live our lives righteously as to allow the spirit of the Lord to guide us, we will not be led astray! We will accomplish our goals and dreams! 

     3: And lastly, we must rely on Christ. At the beginning of the week I just decided I had to turn it all to the Lord! Christ said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Why not then rely soley on Christ!? We must have pure faith in Him. That it truly is all up to Him and He will light the way. As we combine all of these things in our lives, miracles happen! It's amazing how God works. We found this family two weeks ago! We could have started to teach them then and reached our goal. But instead it came down to the last week! As we endure our trials, we gain hope! That’s why God tests us and tries us! This family of three was placed in our path, as a tender mercy from God! We did nothing.  He prepared them and guided them and led them to the truth! Christ has redeemed this family!  He has guided them to His church. The Savior will do the same for us daily as we turn it all over to Him and walk each step in faith, following after his righteousness. 

     I love My Father in Heaven and My Savior.  I will forever live my life as to be guided by them. They love us! They are teaching us daily, They always are, we just have to decide to learn from our experiences.  I will be forever grateful for this week.  I love you all! This is the Truth!  I share my own witness, that Christ lives.  He loves us all!  He is the only way to happiness.  Let's rely on Him, especially in these troubled times. Be safe this holiday. 

Love,

Elder Aiken

October 24, 2011

     GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!!  I hope that all is well and that everyone is safe. We had an amazing week of miracles.  I am so grateful for it!  The Lord is always preparing people to accept the restored gospel!  He just never gives up. 

     Chapter 26 of 2^nd Nephi in the Book of Mormon highlights this for me, it touched my heart as I read it this morning.  26:24  He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.  26:25  Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. 

     That is the simple promise and quest of our Savior.  He wants and pleads for all of us to come unto Him, He wants to bless us as we walk forward in faith and following his teachings.  His teachings ARE happiness.  NO other equation will lead to true and everlasting happiness.  It's amazing to see His hand guide us to those who are looking for that peace and comfort in their lives!  On Wednesday we tracted into a woman named Lisa.  She and her husband are school teachers and have three beautiful kids.  She said they were busy but could we please come back on Friday!  So on Friday we went back with a couple in our ward.  It was the most amazing lesson of my mission.  They are such a wonderful family. When we sat down Lisa said, “Let me tell you why you are here.  As you know my husband and I are both school teachers.  Every school year we always come home and talk about the students that impress us and what they have in common. Without fail, two weeks later we always find out they are Mormon. Every time!  They are so respectful and happy, it's just amazing.  And then this past week I started to see the Mormon.org ads, the families had that same peculiar smile to them.  So when you knocked on my door, I thought I have to learn more!”  All her life she had been surrounded by amazing Mormon families that have been preparing her for the restored gospel.  As we sat down we read out of the Book of Mormon, about Christ in Alma chapter 7.  As she read she looked up at us and said “ I have a frog in my throat, this book has a tangible power!  I understand why you people are so dedicated!”  The lesson was so spiritual, the commonalites between the couple we brought with us and her was simply amazing. 

       I know that God lives. WE ARE SO EXCITED! This family is just amazing, and we can't wait for them to come to church.  She is truly searching to draw closer to Christ and to understand Him.  There becomes a point in all of our lives where we stop looking for things of naught and begin looking for things that matter most.  One of my favorite scriptures is in 2 Nephi Chapter 9 verse 51: Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.  Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. Money, fame, or our material possesions will perish as we leave this earth. Those things will never satisfy.  Family, charity, and our knowledge are things things that will come with us in the eternities.  I often ask myself that simple question, will the things I am focused on come with me into the eternities?  Without the restored gospel we will always be looking for more.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is what satisfies our soul.

       I love you all!  This week was a tremendous blessing in my life!  It's great to see the hand of God.  He loves us and knows us all!  As we seek the things that matter most, and begin to gain charity in our lives, we are filled with the Spirit of God and we begin to feel satisified.  I am so grateful for this time here.  What a blessing and a great growing time.  Have a safe week!

Love,

Elder Aiken

Fall in Issaquah!

     Goood morning everyone! This has been an absolutely wonderful week!  The Lord has blessed us richly with great experiences that will guide us all our lives!  I love this oppurtunity to serve.  It has now been over a year since I left home.  Truly my heart aches.  Two weeks ago when I began writing home I was just hit with tears. Why does the time have to go so fast? You can never fully understand how amazing it is to become so close with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I just will never be able to explain the gratitude I have to have served this time. 

     I can't say the past year has been easy, but I am the man I am because of it. There have been so many times I didn’t know if I could make it.  I remember back in February when I was taken to the hospital for dehydration, I struggled with odd headaches for months following.  A few months later when I wrecked my bike in a ditch, a nerve became pinched in my neck.  Ya, it still pops and can at time be very painful, but you know what?  I have been comforted and guided every step.  I know that God assigns the very angels of Heaven to be with us and carry us through.  I have a firm and everlasting hope that they live and love us!  

     I will always remember these days as the days when I came to understand their supreme love for each of us.  Christ lives and HE LOVES US ALL and knows us personally.  The time here has been too wonderful and so life changing.  I wish it would slow down, it's hard to take it all in. 

     The past week has been filled with neat experiences.  At the beginning of the week we met with a companionship that had been struggling a bit to get along.  We gave one of the Elders a priesthood blessing.  I will never forget that blessing as long I live. In the blessing he was told that in the premortal existence he had chosen to be this Elders companion, and he had chosen to change his life, to finally push away pride and be the first one to befriend him.  As I gave him a blessing I felt the power of God and the tender knowledge of a pre-earth life, where we were so close to God.  God knows us!  He truly does and I will never be able to deny that.  That same night I went tracting with that missionary.  As we were knocking doors in a neighborhood I kept getting this prompting that we should go to a specific complex in their area! As we kept walking that prompting wouldn’t leave. We took a moment and prayed and we both felt strongly we should go.  As we drove there another distinct prompting kept coming in my mind to go to building 27.  It was amazing.  The first door we knock on we found an amazing Chinese man looking for the gospel. That touched our hearts simply forever!  I will never forget that day.         

     There was one more experience that meant the most to me from the past week.  Often we compare God's love for us, to the spiritual and temporal blessings we receive. I have often fallen into that trap. We lose faith, we lose hope, and we get all misdirected when things go wrong, wondering what we did to deserve it?  Why would God do this to me?  The past week I had allowed that thought to enter my mind.  Why won't these headaches go away?  Why me and why now?  The next day we went to a special missionary meeting to talk about certain areas in the mission and how we find people.  For the first thirty minutes our mission president went off about enduring trials and understanding blessings.  Most were confused, but for me, it was literally revelation from heaven from an inspired man. President Larkin read Hebrews 11.  But I want to focus on just a few scriptures.  8 - By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.  9 - By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10 - For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and make is God.  Abraham left his precious place, where he could have lived forever comfortably, to his land of promise, seeking for Zion.  Instead though he spent his life dwelling in tents, where he was never able to see his promises fulfilled! They were realized later after he was gone!  Abraham lived by faith, he never gave up, he never asked why!  He went forward in faith, seeking zion!  It's easy often to assume that the successful and learned are blessed because of that righteousness!!!  All that God seeks from us is to be full of charity and faith.  That’s truly all that matters.  I have come to love that section of scripture where we can learn so much from the faithful before us, who had faith unwavering and were purified of all ungodliness, being full of charity!! 

     I love this time here.  I love you all!  Mormon.org is just storming Seattle! The campaign is changing everything! We are praying  and seeking to baptize three more souls this month. We pray that God will lead us to them! I love you all have a great week!!!!

Sweet and VERY short!

     GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!  I hope that all is well whereever you are. 
     This past week has been a wonderful one. I just love it here!  My time is short to write today! So this will be short!  All is well here!  God continues to bless us!  It's simply amazing the power of prayer and Gods hand in ALL things!  I TRULY LOVE THIS WORK AND ALL I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH!  
     I will have a great update next week!  Remember to always look up and live each day in gratitude!!
Love,
Elder Aiken


p.s. Thursday is "hump day" - my one year mark!  Can't believe it's here already - SO much to do!

Transfer/Conference weekend!

     Hello my dear family and friends. I love you all so much. What a wonderful week it has been. This was transfer week, and I'm so happy that I'm staying here in Issaquah!  There are few things that touch my heart more than from hearing from the Lord's chosen servants, our beloved Prophet and Apostles. The words that they speak touched my heart and soul and I am forever grateful. 

     There were many things that touched my heart but there were two talks that I loved and the two things I would like to share today.  
     Elder Dallin H. Oaks talked a lot about our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. That talk to me was the most touching part of conference. Too often in this crazy world we forget the importance and significance of Christ.  Imagine the guilt that we would all carry, the hopelessness we would feel, and the down right fear we would all hold without Him.  It's amazing to imagine a God that loves us dearly enough to send his Son Jesus Christ to die for us and carry all of our burdens. The Atonement is real and so powerful. I must say that I am forever grateful for the Atonement in my life and the healing it has brought me.  It's amazing the number of times I have felt the Savior's loving hand lift me up in time of need. 
     I remember so many times being sick and exhausted and wondering if I could walk another step and a rush of relief would come over me, taking that from me to allow me to continue onward!  I loved this quote from Elder Oaks said, “He is our Creator. He is the Light of the World. He is our Savior from sin and death. This is the most important knowledge on earth, and you can know this for yourself.”  And we all can!  We all can have this wonderful knowledge, but we must act.  As in all things, this first takes our effort!  We must have faith enough to reach out to Him and truly get to know Him. 
     The other talk that really touched my heart was the talk from Elder Scott on the scriptures.  It took until my mission to truly understand the power they contain. I have yet to be able to open up the scriptures and not feel an overwhelming feeling of peace, and the spirit of God come over me. The pages are waiting for all of us to open, to ponder and read!  Every person that has been baptized quickly, for the most part, wanted to be baptized right away because of the feeling they got as they prayed about that book!  That’s why the church grows the way it does!  The Book of Mormon is tangible evidence of Christ's restored church!  Elder Scott said, “The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed.  Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost.  Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.” And that is so true!  We must draw near unto them and they will draw near unto us and guide us all our lives.

Skylar's baptism!

         Skylar was baptized this weekend.  I will never forget that day!  The spirit in that baptism was different than anything that I have ever experienced, it was as if the very angels of heaven sat there with us that day.  Skylar is from an inactive family, and they all came!  God testified to them and us all that He lives and loves us all, no matter what.  I love this gospel and what it has done for Skylar. The young women all sang to her and welcomed her to the ward.  God has sent so many valiant people into this church. This week was a touching one, I love this work, and this life. I love you all so much.


Elder Aiken