Monday, September 24, 2012

The gospel is true...no matter what language you're speaking!



     Good evening my dear and wonderful friends. I hope that you have had a great week! I love you all. 
     This past week has been truly a tender one, I have so much to say. I pray that I can speak the feelings of my heart! Our 50+ days in a row of sun seem to be slipping quickly as the peace of fall sweeps upon us. I have truly felt the sustaining power of our Savior this week. I have been in many different cities this week, only sleeping here in Auburn two nights. I will never forget the many times I could feel the hand of my Savior pick me up when it seemed I couldn’t run any further. God is good! I will serve Him all the days of my life. 
     I am just coming to love these people with all of my heart. The Marshallese people are so full of life and love. I love them with all of my soul. They seem to give when there is nothing left to give. 
     This past week I was in the Branch, while Elder Brown was in another Zone Leaders area. We were teaching a Marshallese couple, and I just entered there home feeling so confident. I really felt like I was getting a hold of the language. After we began with prayer, I began with explaining the blessings that would come into their lives through the gospel and its teachings. She stopped me after I had spoken in “Marshallese”, and said, “What language were you just speaking?!” Haha, the joys of serving a mission! I will get the hang of it soon. I want to serve these great people all of my life!
     This week as we have been traveling, I have been thinking much of the miracles I have seen while serving the Lord. I seem to use the word “miracle” more than any other. I have been thinking often of why such amazing miracles occur in this work. I have gained a deep insight into this work and have come to expect miracles from the Lord!  God, as I spoke of last week, sent each of His children to the earth to “test and prove” us. Through this earthly test we can prepare to receive the great blessings of God. Along the way we will all stumble but through the Lords magnificent plan we can all return and be welcomed again into His presence. Our loving Father in Heaven wants His children to return. I often picture what I would do if I had a sibling that went missing. I would be sleepless, I would do anything and everything in my power to find them and bring them home. Well, God is doing everything to bring His children home and to prepare them for great glory! 
     As part of this great and glorious work He has called missionaries to go and prepare the people and turn their hearts unto Him! I have come to know and love His guidance, for I know that He will go to no end to rescue even one. I believe in miracles. For God truly is a God of miracles! This is His work, and He accomplishes His work by miraculous means. 
     I experienced this in a powerful way last Wednesday evening. I was on exchanges with a brand new missionary, Elder Stephenson. What a great Elder he is, his faith was very refreshing. We had just finished visiting one of their investigators that is progressing towards baptism. As we hopped on the bikes an unmistakable prompting came into my soul that we needed to visit a man we had met a month or so ago outside of his apartment. The prompting came so strong that I knew I couldn’t ignore it. We hurried and began biking there. On the way my mind began to worry, wondering how on earth we would find this man. I just came to the conclusion that we would knock every door in the apartment complex. As we biked up to the apartment, lo and behold there he was sitting on the steps. Tears filled my eyes as I pictured our dear Father in Heaven rejoicing at the opportunity His son was going to get to hear the gospel. John is one of the greatest men I have ever met. It turns out his son was baptized ten years ago, and he has seen his life change forever! He had even gone to church with him many times. We had a powerful and spiritual talk with this great man. He is now preparing with the Elders to attend church there in Auburn. That will be a great day for him! What a miracle to have found him at the steps of our arrival.
     On Friday, we experienced a miracle that was just beyond anything I could have imagined. I was on exchanges with a dear friend, Elder Williamson! He is serving as a Zone Leader in Renton and we were MTC companions. He is truly one of the greatest people I have ever met in this life. I love him with all of my soul. We began knocking on doors in a neighborhood a few miles away from the church. We were knocking doors the hour before we were to head to a ward potluck that we had investigators prepared to attend. About a half hour before we were going to leave to the church, we kept getting this prompting that we needed to go right then. For a minute I defied the prompting, but I received it unmistakably again and I knew I must follow. We hurried over to the church and as we walked in Namii was there! Six months ago Elder Lindeman and I met Namii in Lakota Creek! She was baptized two years prior, and had just moved to the area. She wasn’t able to attend church because the family she was staying with said they would kick her out if she ever attended church. Each time she would see us she would beg of us to share a message with her to uplift her soul. Shortly thereafter we lost contact with her. She has been on my heart for some time now. Well last week, Elder Brown and I were shopping at the Walmart in Auburn and Namii was there! It was just amazing. It was a joyous reunion. She said that she had moved to Renton and was now able to attend church! Then Saturday night I found myself standing in front of her, again in another city. This time she brought her friend Alena. Upon meeting her I knew instantly that we needed to teach her! Right before the pot luck began we took her too a room and taught her. As we sat down with her the most powerful spirit entered that room! We simply asked her what she felt and she said, “I feel so peaceful”. She discussed the troubles she was facing and how she yearned to be nearer to God. We taught her of God's plan for her, and how she could be happy in this life! She wanted to be baptized and had already attended church before in another city! She committed to be baptized on the 29thof this month! I will never forget the spirit in that room. As we left, we simply asked her if she felt this was Christ's church. She replied, “I know its true!” It was amazing to see the conviction in her soul. After the lesson we entered the gym for the potluck. A few minutes into the dinner the Bishop came up to us and said, “Elders I just met Nammi! She is moving on the 28thto Auburn, I feel deeply impressed her friend Alena needs to be baptized before she goes. Oh, and tell her that I feel impressed that God wants to bless her with many blessings if she will follow Christ’s example and be baptized.” And then Bishop left to give someone a blessing at a local hospital. As we continued eating the impression came deep in my heart that she needed to be baptized that very night before she left the building. The feeling kept coming stronger and stronger, as I looked at the time, it was already 8:15 and wondered how we could ever do it. There would be no way to get everything together in time. I looked to Elder Williamson, and expressed my feelings. He replied “Elder I keep getting the same feeling” We just knew that we couldn’t let her leave without being baptized. As everything began to be cleaned up we took Nammi and Alena to the side. We bore witness to Alena that God wanted to bless her right now in her life, and to guide her through her great trials ahead! And that God had prepared her to already be living the commandments, and that He wanted her to be baptized this very night. She smiled but felt unsure. We motioned to the other Elders to go turn on the font. We then took Alena to the font. As we stood at waters edge, we sung "Be Still My Soul". The Spirit of the Lord poured out upon that room. She looked at us quickly and said, “I am ready, why not!” I will never forget the warmth that came upon my soul. Then the rush began! We turned on the font at full pressure, and called the Bishop to see if he was alright with it. He said “Elders as I left the building with Elder and Sister Ross having just spoke with you, I looked to them and told them she would be baptized. She is ready. Have the baptism!” She was quickly interviewed, and at 9:05, 189 years to the day that the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith, Alena entered the waters of baptism! My dear brothers and sisters, the feeling in the room was one I will never forget. I looked at this Sister, taking such a great leap of faith in her life. I have never seen someone so happy as she walked out of the font. What a joyous moment that was. During the baptism I kept receiving the impression that she needed to be confirmed before leaving the building. As the baptism ended it was 9:15 and I knew we had to leave immediately to be home on time, and with the Bishop not being present we wouldn't be able to confirm her! As we were about to leave the room in walked the Bishop! He said, “I felt impressed that I needed to come and talk with Alena and welcome her to the ward before I went home!” We hurried and left them all to talk so we could be home on time. What a miracle that day was. I will never forget it as long as I live. God is and always will be a God of miracles. The Spirit guiding the work that night was unmistakable! It was the Hand of God. And God was calling His dear daugther home. 
     That night as I laid to rest, I sat awake much of the night, in awe at the hand of God! I lament every day that passes, knowing that it's another gone in the service of my Master. I bear witness, that we are all of the family of our Father in Heaven! Our Father in Heaven wants His children to return unto Him! I love this work, and bringing my Brothers and Sisters this eternal joy. There is no finer work in all the world. And this work will I dedicate my life to. For I cannot bear the thought of any of those that surround me not returning unto our Father in Heaven with their families forever.


     Another great miracle occurred in the Branch. We had a great baptism this weekend of a man named Coleman. I love that man with all of my heart. We found him two weeks back and have taught him everyday since. He begs to learn more each and every time we come. I will never forget the first time we met him. We asked him why he was meeting with us and he replied, "I want a better future for me and my family!" I will never, ever forget the change that came upon him day by day. He has truly become new in Christ! Sunday we pulled up for his baptism to find him waiting on a chair outside patiently waiting for his ride. His baptism was incredible! He will lead many to his same decision! The bright future for us, and all the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is happiness and it is Salvation!
     The joys of serving God! I have loved and cherished every minute of this past week. God lives! I wish that we could all just follow God and stop holding back! For God is our Father, testing and proving us in this life, to one day return to His blessed presence! If we could just look at life with an eternal perspective, we would all think twice upon our decisions! I LOVE YOU ALL!! Rely on God and look to Him. I love my Savior, and I yearn to be in His presence again one day, for He has done all for me. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Aiken

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