Jordan's miracle!

 

     My dear friends and family! Good morning! My heart is so full. The past week has been one that I will never forget. I am so blessed to be serving in these great wards, and to meet so many amazing souls. I feel that God truly loves everyone, but more than that, He knows us perfectly. It's wonderful then to understand the power and importance of relying on His helping hand.

Boiling water in the church kitchen for the font!

     Saturday we had Jordan's baptism. As I ponder the miracles that took place in his conversion, I am awed by God and His plan. To think that had 8 months passed since we met him, followed by no clue where he went, to Saturday's baptism is just inspiring. God lives! He guides this great and glorious work. Why I was blessed enough to return, and be a part of his life, I'll never know. There is a familiarity with him is something I will never forget! 

     As we walked in the water, the spirit of God filled my soul. For a moment I just stared at the water, I felt that I had entered the presence of my Father in Heaven. As I baptized him, I will never forget that moment. As I brought him out of the water, his hands fell in his face. I have never seen someone so happy in all my life. As I grabbed his hand and lifted him from the water, for a second I could see the very moment in the premortal life, when we shook hands, and promised each other we would find each other during life's journey. And as we left the font, it was as if Christ's hand was linked with ours as he was pulling us up the stairs and through this life. My dear brothers and sisters, this was an incredible moment in all my life. I know God's plan is perfect. Jordan will be one of my best friends all my life. He soon will head into pre-law! And has great plans for his life! His testimony is so pure, and so perfect! He was raised in a family that didn’t bother with religion, and for years searched for what was missing. I have never seen a happier person! The renewing power of baptism is a powerful thing! I know that God was there that day, and angels rejoiced as he made that powerful covenant with God. Our Father in Heaven ALWAYS places people in our path for a reason! We must take every moment to uplift, encourage, and inspire those around us!

     I just briefly want to end with my testimony of the power of the Holy Priesthood. When we think and ponder the need for the restoration of the Gospel, we soon realize that God's power must be on earth. From the beginning, God has ordained men to lead and guide his people, and given them the authority to perform saving ordinances! As Christ and His Apostles were killed, that authority had to again be restored to the earth! On Thursday we had the oppurtunity to give our Ward Mission Leader a blessing. I will never forget that moment. It was as if I couldn’t shut my mouth, and direct revelation to their family was spoken. As we ended the blessing the family was in tears. His wife said, “Everything that was spoken was a direct answer to our prayers and conversation.” I testify to you all, that the power of the Priesthood is real! That God truly has restored the power to heal and guide to this earth! And yesterday we again were blessed to give a blessing to a recent convert! She had been struggling with a fever for days. As we finished the blessing, her fever broke.

     I am humbled and grateful this day for a loving God! Life can be hard, and truly challenging. But we must know and realize that God will guide us as we remain humble.  I am overjoyed with conference coming up so quickly! To hear the prophet's voice! WE ARE SUCH A BLESSED PEOPLE TO HAVE A LIVING PROPHET TODAY!  And the ability to watch it from LDS.org, Saturday and Sunday is a rich blessing to the world. I know that this is the truth! Cling to it with all your heart! I love you.

Elder Aiken

Staying put....again!

     HELLO everyone! I hope that you all have had a blessed week! Well, Elder Berry and I escaped another transfer!  We will have been companions one year when next month rolls around! I am so blessed to be here another transfer. This is the most wonderful place on earth! 

     This week I have learned so much, and felt so much from the spirit. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the richest blessing and gift that God has granted us. It's amazing the significant role the Holy Ghost plays in our lives! I feel that often we don’t rely on that precious gift, and all that it can do for us. We live in a world where we are bombarded with distractions and unvirtuous things, and I am convinced nearly all of them are there to dull that sweet guidance of the Spirit. The Holy Ghost can “…teach us all things, and bring all things to our remembrance…” and can help us in our everyday lives.  In a matter of seconds that spirit can leave us if we don’t follow the guidelines that God has given us.  God, knowing that much calamity would fall upon this world, has given us many tools that can renew that spirit and bring us back into harmony with Him. They are simple. They are repeated often. And we must remember that when things are repeated often, they are to be followed. Daily, God has given us the chance to read “the words of Christ..” which will tell us all things that we should do. When we mess up, or fall short we can repent! Oh how sweet the gift of repentance is! We can move past the past and regain that wonderful guidance of the spirit! And weekly we can attend church, and renew God's spirit to be with us! I am convinced there is nothing more important than to live each day to allow that spirit to be with us! That must be the spirit that strives with us daily, and the spirit we are prepared to meet our Savior with when He comes again.

     Friday morning I was with a missionary on exchanges. As we finished visting a potential investigator, a prompting came into my soul to tract a place that had just recently been tracted. This was counter to my instincts but I decided to press on. A few doors in a man answered, John is his name! He moved to Issaquah a few years back! I have knocked that place about a dozen times over the past year and had never met him. He said, “I was a minister for over 20 years. I know about you Mormons. I already know everything, but I will give you a few minutes.” Previously that week we had studied and focused on trying to teach with the power and authority of God. As you read the Book of Mormon you will understand quickly that all of the Prophets, and great men of the Book of Mormon taught with that same power. Not with knowledge or skill, but God's power was with them. As we sat down to teach John, he began to clean the kitchen as we talked. He was very attentive but soon he asked us what we felt the sign of the second coming would be. A chapter came to mind.  Mormon chapter 8 in the Book of Mormon (please look it up!)  Soon he sat down and looked intently. The spirit flooded the room. The fear and doubt in teaching a man much more learned than I left my heart. Words and thoughts not of our own were soon spoken. A man that was first standoffish and knowledgeable was soon humble and asked, “If I get baptized I have to give up coffee right??” I testify that God is with us! This man will be coming to church on Sunday! God will always be with us as we live as we should. We need never fear!

     Sunday we had another amazing miracle with the Spirit. We had gone to visit a potential investigator, but to no avail. Usually we turn around in a neighborhood much further down Front Street but had a prompting to turn around on a neighboring street.  Low and behold the heavens opened and there was a neighborhood we had NEVER seen before. This may not seem like a big deal, but we can pretty much freehand all of Issaquah, and we had never seen this place before! The strongest feeling of a miracle overwhelmed us! We sprinted from house to house. A woman answered and asked us to come in! It was a woman we met two months prior atop a bar in downtown Issaquah. She had just recently moved in to this little home. Tears water my eyes as I recount this wonderful meeting. Sharon began to cry as soon as we sat down. She said, “seven years ago I was introduced to alchohol and have been and alcoholic ever since. I lost my husband and kids, and a beautiful home.” She cried as she dreamed of being free from her addictions! I could barely hold back tears as I pondered this sad occasion. A woman once as happy as could be, now living with gross men, and addicted beyond belief. My Brothers and Sisters we can all turn back! We can be free from sin and from shame! We are going back to teach this wonderful woman and help her change here life.

     This Saturday Gerald and Lucy went through the temple. It was a day I will never forget. To see them all dressed in white was a sight I won't soon forget. This is what the gospel is about! It's about our families being together forever! God wants to bless us! We just have to live as we are asked and God will bless us. They looked happier than ever as we walked out of the temple. What a great day that was.

     Jordan will be baptized this Saturday.  He is like a brother to us! It's amazing to feel of his strong conversion! He is so ready to make that wonderful covenant with God! I LOVE YOU ALL! God lives! This is His work. I feel His love surround me everyday. Fight to be free from the world, and its troubling effects on the spirit. God be with you. God bless you!

Love, 

Elder Aiken

           

Unbroken!

     Gooood Morning Everyone!!! I hope life is well! This was a week of miracles. I will never, ever forget it! I just testify to you all, and to all the world that Jesus truly is The Christ, and that God lives. He lives today and speaks today, just as much now as he did in the days of Adam. I have felt so close to Him this week, more than I have in all my life.  

     Yesterday we had Stake Conference, and I will never forget the feeling in that room. We sat on the front row with our investigators, and I couldn’t hold back tears as I looked at this Stake that has become so near to my heart. I will never be the same, I will never look at God the same. They have taught me so much, and I thank God everyday that I was sent to this part of the vineyard. It's tough here sometimes! Everyone knows our religion, knows how to try to twist our words. Many of the “mega” churches around the area have whole Sunday meetings and special exposes about the “mormons”. Never in my life has my faith been more tested and tried. BUT NEVER IN MY LIFE HAS MY TESTIMONY BURNED MORE BRIGHT! There is a God above, through reading and praying about the Book of Mormon your life will change! It’s a fact! One that I can't disprove. I have watched it change lives, from every background! This is the truth, and how blessed we are to have it.

     This week I have pondered a lot on the importance of following the Prophet. When I was younger, if I had missed the Prophet speak during conference, I would always ask what new things the Prophet had told us. Do we have to give up energy drinks? We often lose sight of how the Prophet speaks. He doesn’t speak by giving us lists. Neither did Christ. They will share stories or things they feel impressed to share, and that’s when we must listen close. We have been studying in the Doctrine and Covenants about the saints, and why they were never able to achieve Zion. As you read you quickly realize they weren't exactly obedient to the Prophet and the leaders of the church. They were selectively obedient. They were the best people of our time, yet they didn’t understand how to listen. The Lord loves us, and will let us fail. We must fail! That’s the only way we will ever learn. 

     I love to read of the sections about the Saints and how we can learn from them. In D&C 1:38 it reads….”What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”  I think often we can hear ourselves say, “Oh the Bishop doesn’t know what he is talking about” or “Oh he just doesn’t understand.” Well they do understand and they do know. All of our leaders are called of God to lead us. Rarely will the Lord let them lead us astray. We must understand that this is an eternal principle. Until we become obedient and truly follow the Prophet the Lord can't bless us! He just can't. If he does we will spend our lives being 50%ers! And the Lord doesn’t want that. This past week I have refelected a lot upon the meaning of following the Prophet, or simply any leader the Lord has given us. I have thought “What has the Lord asked us to do as missionaries through our Mission President?” What is the Prophetic priority? This week as I have zoned in on that, my mission has changed! The blessings of heaven and been with us more fully than ever! 

     Six months ago we tracted into a man named Jordan. Right when he opened the door, I felt that I just had known him all my life. It was like I had seen my best friend, that I hadn't seen in years! Sadly I got transferred away the next day. Soon after he was passed off to the singles ward, where he quit coming. On Tuesday we got a referral from mormon.org! HE REFERRED HIMSELF!!! On Thursday we met with Jordan, and we pratically ran to each other. My heart is so full. The Lord in his infinite wisdom and mercy let us all unite again. As we shared a message with him he said, “Last year I felt something I had never felt before. It just stuck with me. I have never been able to find that elsewhere, and I have been searching for it ever since. Now that I sit here, I feel home. I feel complete.” Jordan has begun attending a local college, where a classmate had the courage to speak up. His classmate is a member of the Singles Ward on campus, and told him he needed to meet with the missionaries again. Jordan will be baptized next weekend. When we met again on Saturday, he had the whole Book of Mormon marked with all of his favorite scriptures! I love this work. We will be eternal friends, and I can't wait to see him grow and flourish in the gospel!

     We had another amazing miracle on Thursday! One year ago we tracted into Diana. She had just moved from Idaho to get away from the church. Family members had recently been baptized, and when a job popped up out here she was gone! Two weeks after she moved in we had a prompting we should go by! She was blown away she was found by the missionaries and said she would NEVER get baptized! Well slowly she began to come to church, and soon she had a firm testimony of the Book of Mormon! Diana told us she wants to get baptized on Easter Weekend! What a miracle! I love this church, and the transforming power of the Book of Mormon!

     On Friday we spent part of the day on an exchange. I spent that night with a Elder Ziolkowski. On our way home to the apartment that night we had a prompting we should go by a potential investigator. A man answered the door and said, "Monica isn't here, and if you are the Mormons, I am not interested." A prompting overcame me that I should bear my testimony, and that I did. He began to cry. He said, “I just lost my mom, and nephew. My wife and son last year, and just lost my home. I am alone. And I don’t know where to turn.” I began to cry. How sad it was to see my brother, lost and alone searching for God. Leroy said he would do anything to be close to God again. Leroy is on date for baptism next month. With the Atonement we can always be 'left unbroken.' Let that be your focus, to rely on Christ and always be 'left unbroken.'

     Finally, yesterday I was able to give Gerald Anderson the Melchizedec Priesthood, and ordain him to the office of Elder. This moment was a tender one. President Larkin happened to be in the building and we all were able to be in the circle together. Elder Twingstrom and I baptized Gerald and Lucy last year, and the Lord allowed me to stay here long enough to see them go through the temple! They go through this Saturday! We are pleased to have been allowed to attend! I can't wait. I love you all! Be safe. Know that God is a God of Miracles. And always will be.

Love,

Elder Aiken

Today is the time to prepare!

     GOOOOOD MORNING ALL YOU GREAT PEOPLE!!! This week has been absolutely wonderful! God is great, and this work is wonderful. I love life! God is so good to us, and how blessed we are to have the Atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during the times of life that aren't so good. I shout for joy each morning that God has restored his church to the earth today! COULD WE BE MORE BLESSED? I think not! The joy of this great gospel, sure makes it much easier to spend your life spreading it til all know.

     There are a few things that I feel especially impressed to share today. A few things that have been deeply impressed upon my mind. God has taught me so much since I have entered the mission field. I have learned lessons that will guide me all my life. You meet people all the time in their thirties, and all they still talk about is “When I was on my mission I….” well yes, a mission is a great experience. But God has only given us a mission to prepare us for a real mission when we return. As children of God we should have learning and growing experiences daily.  Daily we should feast upon the words of Christ and have spiritual experiences. So we can then say, “Yesterday I…” or “As I studied the scriptures this morning I….” Often I think we feel that our spiritual experiences are confined to Sunday or certain events during the year. That is not the case.  It's amazing to be around such wonderful leaders of the church.  Every week we meet with President Johnson, the president of our Stake, to review the progress of the work.  I look up to him so deeply.  I am amazed at our discussions each week, they often involve an experience he will share from his studies that morning or an impression he had as he drove to work. The work of God is never ceasing. Our spiritual growth shouldn’t be either.  Each day is given as a new day to draw nearer unto God, to move past the previous days mistakes, and take time to learn of Our Eternal Father. This week I was simply amazed at His love for me and for others. 

     Over the past few weeks I would have flashes in my mind of a home that we tracted into.  As we were walking a distinct impression came over us that we need to stop by that very home. As we did, a woman answered. Her name is Jamie. The words out of her mouth were music to our ears. “I just moved here. I don’t know much about God, but I just had my second child, I am now 30 and realize that I am going nowhere.  I want to learn more.” She said she had been pleading that she would be able to find a church.

     My dear friends and family we must live our lives to be constantly lead by the spirit! This is the time to prepare to meet God.  He lovingly gave us the gift of the Holy Ghost to be our guide and friend, let's live everyday to be worthy of that.  I love you all! HAVE A WEEK OF GREATNESS.  God lives, and Jesus is the Christ!

Love,

Elder Aiken