Happy Valentines Day!

     Happy Valentines Day everyone!  I hope that you all have a really great day!  I want you all to know that I love you so much!  I have been so blessed in this life with great friends and family!  I am so thankful for it and it means so much to me! So this Valentines Day know how much I love you all!  You have all blessed my life! 

     This past week has been crazy and its all a blur. We were in and out of our area most of the week because of training but this week is back to normal which should be nice!  Three days of the week I was doing exchanges with Elder Jin from Korea!  He has been out for 2 weeks!  He is an amazing person so full of faith.  His english is amazing for his short time in America.  One morning as we were preparing a lesson for a family we were going to teach about faith, he shared a great story that touched me so much.  I still am amazed as I think about his experience! In Korea as a male, you have to serve a mandatory 2 years in the Army.  Elder Jin went to a famous art school there and is very proficient in playing the Violin so he was called to be a leader in the orchestra for the army.  The army is very intense there, as it is here. If you do anything to offend an officer or the president you are sent to jail. You are taught to never say no, because if you do you are sent to jail!  It's very strict and he feels so blessed to be finished. But as a leader in the Orchestra he was in good standing with the Vice President of the Army.  One particular day he was assigned to play at a meeting with the United Nations.  At the meeting the Vice President of the Army came around to pour wine for those that were leaders there.  Elder Jin was one of them.  He came up to Elder Jin and asked him if he would like a glass of wine.  Elder Jin said “No thank you Sir.” And the commanding Officer stormed off.  As they left the meeting Elder Jin was bullyed and told by everyone that he was going to be headed off to Jail.  In the barracks he got on his knees and pleaded with Heavenly Father for help.  Pleaded that he would have faith. Three days later he was called to the commanding officers office.  He began to yell at him and tell him that he had embarassed him in front of so many countries and presidents!  And that if he didn’t have a good explanation for it he was off to jail and a trial.  He said a silent prayer in his heart.  He boldy told him that he was Mormon and that in his religion he doesn’t drink alcohol.  He then handed him a Book of Mormon and explained that the knowledge that the Book of Mormon was true was the reason that he has chosen not to drink alcohol.  Elder Jin exercised faith.  He knew that if he stood up for his beliefs that Heavenly Father would be on his side!  Elder Jin didn’t have to serve a jail sentence and left the mans office with a warm handshake.  The spirit that must have been in that room is the reason that Elder Jin was freed that day! 

     A man that we have been working with for the past while is named Rob - I wrote about him last week.  Rob has had a long struggle and addiction to alcohol and cigarettes to help him cope with severe drepession and post tramautic stress.  Rob has changed over the past few weeks of learning about the gospel!  He rides into the church parking lot every day with a bigger smile!  It's amazing to watch him change! This week Rob began living the word of wisdom because he had enough faith in God.  And that our Father in Heaven will bless him in obeying the things that God would have him do.  On Wednesday he committed to start living it and on Thursday we went over to see how he was doing. He walked out of the door and I knew right then that he had stopped.  He was different!  He said that he finally has a clear mind and energy! As we live the gospel we are blessed and our lives change forever!  I have learned so much about faith this week. When we have Faith in Christ, we can accomplish anything.  Have a great week!  Love, Elder Aiken.

The Power of Prayer!

     This week has been a really special week here in Issaquah! I have loved every minute of it. It seems that every week I am learning so much and growing more than I can believe. It's such a blessing to be here. 
     This past week I have become even more grateful for prayer and just amazed by the power of it. I have also realized how blessed I am. A few weeks ago a man and his friend kind of stumbled out of their door. They were both drunk and we shared a brief message with them and told them we would return later in the week. We went over on Monday night and began to share the restoration with Rob. The lesson was less than spectacular, with all of the bottles and kegs around the room, it wasn’t a place where the Spirit could be.  A few minutes into the lesson we realized that we better reschedule a meeting at the church because he was never going to be touched by the spirit in that environment. So the next day we met Rob at the church and took him on a tour of the Church. As we walked into the Chapel we were all overwhelmed by the spirit that was there. It was amazing to take a moment of silence and really feel the presence of the Lord in the room. We both felt prompted to ask Rob what he was feeling, and he looked at us and said, I feel at peace. Rob struggles with depression and post-tramatic stress syndrome. He's also only able to eat one meal a day at the firehouse down the street because he has been out of a job for months. To look at a man with this many struggles and to hear that he feels at peace brought me to tears. The Spirit in that church building as we shared the restorations was unbelievable. Everyday we met him this week he would ride up to the church with a different look on his face.  Everyday his smile was bigger and his face was brighter. Literally everyday he looked totally different as he continues to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ!  He wants to be baptized at the end of the month! This could be a challenge with some of the court struggles he is going through but to see a man that has been so lost and unsure, change to someone with hope is amazing. The gospel is true. As I watch and meet with Rob, he can't wait to be at the church. Because he finally feels at peace there! I know that through the gospel, we can be changed, changed in a good way. Brought closer to God. 
     Another amazing story this week was with one of our investigators, her name is Natalie. We met Natalie a few weeks ago and have been struggling to get back in touch. Last week we taught her a short lesson, and this week we watched the Restoration dvd with her. We called her in the morning to double check at the time we said we would come over because we weren't sure if we said 1 or 2.  She goes “Well you can just come teach me at 1 and then come back over again at 2!”  Haha she also loves the Spirit that the message brings to her home. On Friday when we met she began to tell us why she loves learning about the Mormon church so much. The past few months she has been getting pressure from her mom to have her son baptized into the Catholic church but it just didn’t feel right to her. She began to pray and ask God where she should have her son baptized. That week we knocked on her door. She said, ya know what, I just don’t believe in coincidences! The power of prayer is amazing!                This week I was reading in the bible dictionary and was again amazed at the definition of prayer, you all probablly have read this but I just want to share it with you. Prayer: …. “As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondance with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointer means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.” Isn't that just amazing! It helped me realize how important prayer is. And not only that but that prayer is a power! And it’s a gift that I think is often not used enough. Prayers are always answered, not in our time but in God's!  As Natalie speaks about prayer she knows that through sincere prayer she can come to know that our message is true! There is no greater way that our faith will grow than through prayer! 
     I love you all! Every week when I type this blog email to send home, I pray that I will be inspired to say something that will help someone, as I have been blessed enough to go through these experiences. I hope that I am able to share things over these next two years that can inspire in some way. Be safe and God Bless you!  Elder Aiken.

"The Church people are back!"

     Good morning everyone! I can't believe that January is almost over, how crazy! I don’t know where the time has gone! This week has been really busy. My new companion Elder Workman is great. We both miss Logan a lot. This past week has been great weather we had a couple of sunny days! What a blessing! We are working with a lot of great people right now! And the Lord is blessing this area.  It's sad at times to watch Satan as he swoops in on those who begin to learn about the gospel. He so badly doesn’t want people to understand or come to know that these things are true!  I have watched many people as we teach them and am just amazed at the things the adversary tries to do to stop them from learning! We definitely need to keep our guards up. 

     This past week we have been teaching a man in the Tiger Mountain ward named Herald.  Herald is a great man.  Every time we meet with him he gets emotional talking about losing his two sons and the spirit enters the room so strongly of the love that his sons have for him. I have gained such a strong testimony of how the Gospel blesses our lives and our families. It brings us all so close and brings a spirit into the home. And that’s all this man needs is the Gospel to fill the void that he is so desperately searching for. 
     On Saturday during one of our lessons the lady that we were teaching began to cry as she talked of an experience where she felt that God had abandoned her.  Again the spirit was so strong in the room testifying that God loves each and everyone of us.  A lot of people that we teach don’t understand the purpose of this life and that we all go through things that will help us reach our full potential.  One thing that this young lady didn’t know was that prayer is a two-way communication.  I got to thinking how sad that would be not to know that!  That anything that we will ever go through, we can pray for comfort and guidance and if we have enough faith our Father in Heaven can help us through the things that we are struggling with. Often it's not all at once and can be a time of long suffering.  But the lord loves us and if we turn to Him, we will walk along with us! 

     Last week we were at an apartment complex and as we were leaving a lesson these two little kids came up to us and asked if we could walk them home because they were scared. We told them that we would love to and so we walked them down the street and to their apartment.  So on Saturday we went back to teach that same lady and we passed this multi-purpose room probably for birthday parties at the bottom of the complex and a good twenty kids come running out screaming “THE CHURCH PEOPLE ARE BACK!!!!!”  Haha the two little boys had told all of their friends about us and they wanted us to have a race.  So we all stood up in a line and we raced down the parking lot, they were so excited!  It was the funniest thing.  And they wouldn’t let us leave, they just kept clinging onto our coats. Every time we go back the kids go "hey church people"!  Haha too great. 
     Yesterday I had a great experience with prayer and just was hit so strongly of the knowledge that our Father in Heaven knows each and everyone of us.  In the morning while I was strudying I was confused by the story of Adam and Eve and prayed earnestly that I could come to understand why that had to happen. The lesson in Gospel Principles was on the story of Adam and Eve. A simple experience but an important one.  God loves us very much and wants to help us. Prayer is that path to understanding and through him we can all feel greater peace and joy in this life.  
     Last night we held a fireside for the youth in the Tiger Mountain ward and it was amazing!  My first fireside of less than one hundred people, we held it at a leader’s house!  We talked about how we can all be missionaries.  As I prayed and studied about what I should talk about I was amazed at how important it is for all of us to be good examples.  My best friend sent gave me a quote before I left that I love, I might butcher it but its goes something like “Act in such a way that those who don’t know God, will come to know God because they know you.” I have been so blessed in this life to come to know that these teachings are true!  I am amazed at the impact we can all make by being a good example and showing charity.  I really know that if we will stand in Holy places and be good examples, our eyes will be opened to the impact that we make. I love you all and hope all is well.  The Church is true! 

Transfer Day - New Companion

Elder Twingstrom was transferred today

   

  Hello Everyone! I am here for another transfer which is great! I am so happy to stay here, I love the people so much! My companion Elder Twingstrom was transferred which was a little hard! He was such a great Elder, we became really great friends and am definitely going to miss him!

New companion - Elder Workman from Smithfield, Utah!

     My new companion is Elder Workman from Smithfield Utah! He seems like a great kid, this is going to be a wonderful transfer! We both went to Utah State the same semesters and he worked at Firehouse Pizza where I always picked up dinner for work which is funny!

      This past week has been great! Its amazing to stop and think of the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives! On Wednesday we had a really great experience - we got to feed the homeless! I have always wanted to do this so I was so excited. We met down at the firestation down town and started setting the table. When we got there, the seating wasn’t very full but as we went out to start serving the room was full. It was sad to see young kids growing up without a home and elderly woman who should be enjoying retirement.  I was humbled as I looked at the food and thought of how hungry I was from the day, and then I look into the faces of these people who have been waiting all day for a meal.  How blessed I am!  I left with such a strong spirit of gratitude for all we have been blessed with! This life has been so good to me and I am so grateful for every second that I have to enjoy it! 

  On Saturday we were praying where we should go tracting and we really felt that we needed to go to a certain part of the road. As we tracted the last house at the end of the road I was bummed by the fact that we didn’t find the person that the Lord had sent us there to teach. On the way back down the road on our bikes, we passed this little road that didn’t look like someone lived down but we decided to ride down it anyways. As we got the the driveway of the house we noticed a man pushing hay in a wheelbarrow down in the field. So we got off our bikes and headed to talk to him. When we approached him he said he already believed in God but as we talked he began to open up. He began to get emotional about losing a son to a drug addiction and wanted to know what he could do to help his broken family. The Spirit was so strong!  I have never felt the Love of God for someone so strong.  I knew that our Father in Heaven knows each and everyone of us, literally as his children. And I knew that our Heavenly Father wanted him to know that He loves him. It was a great experience. That same day Elder Kearon of the Seventy and President Clayton of the Seventy came and spoke to our mission.  It was one of the most spiritaul meetings of my life. You could tell the second that they entered the room that they were men of God. That night Elder Kearon came and spoke to recent converts to the church and investigators!  It was such a great meeting! I loved it! Gerald and Lucy came, and so did Alfred. We all sat together and enjoyed the spirit of the meeting.  Elder Kearon asked Investigators to stand if they wanted to explain what the Spirit feels like.  There had to have been at least 400 people there and Lucy stood up! It was inspiring to watch the Spirit work in her. She said “It felt like I was at home. Nothing was missing anymore.” The room was filled with the Spirit as she spoke. 

     It's just amazing to see people and how the Book of Mormon brings a light in their life. Last night we had dinner with Katie Best’s sister which was crazy! Such a small world and such a great family. Well everyone I love you! I hope that all is well and that we can all count our many blessings.

January 18, 2011

     This has been an amazing week.  I am just so blessed to be here!  Everything is really busy covering two wards, and time is flying by! Another transfer is quickly approaching already and I can’t believe it!  It will be interersting to see what happens! 
     We have seen many miracles this week, and had many moments that I will never forget. We spent a lot of the week finding and trying to set up appoinments for this week!  Last week we were praying where we should go tracting and I kept feeling that we needed to go to 4^th ave.  When we got there we realized that it was a place we had already tracted recently, so we just tracted a neghboring street instead! As we finished up the street to head back to the car I kept praying that someone would be placed in our path who we could teach.  As we were walking on 4^th ave to the car, this man opens up the door and walks out on the porch.  I just knew he was the one we needed to talk to, so we went up to him and he invited us to come back!  We have now taught him about four times and wants to be baptized if he comes to know these things are true.  It reminded me a lot of King Lamoni and Ammon as they were traveling to have Ammons brothers released and they run into King Lamonis Father, it makes me wonder if he was praying that someone would be placed in his path that he could teach. I know that we all can have a constant prayer in our hearts that we can meet someone who we can share the message of the restorations with, and the Lord will answer our prayers.  
     On Friday we taught one of our investigators who is from China and it was amazing to watch how the Lord works.  She came to church last Sunday and became really great friends with a lady in our ward named Shalmay.  Shalmay also speaks Mandarin and they just wouldn’t stop talking.  Shalmay lives in a home for pregnant moms who need assistance.  Our investigator, Lucy, got talking with Shalmay and found out that Shalmay’s neighbor put a restraining order on her husband and had no way of finding out how to get that ban lifted!  And with Shalmay's limited English no one could understand how to help her! Lucy has taken over the whole situation and is trying to get it all figured out! So here was Shalmay who needed help, and here was Lucy who had been praying to know who God was. They both now have been placed in each others lives to bring each other closer to our Savior.  It's crazy they both did the exact same major in College too. Such a small, amazing world.  The Lord knows each and everyone of us and we never know when we will be the means of answering God's prayer. 
     On Saturday my companion and I decided to splurge and go to lunch at this really, really great place called Jaks Grill, people come from everywhere for it.  We never eat out and as we were waiting for the check the waitress comes up to us and said your bill has been covered, have a great day.  We were in shock, they wouldn’t tell us who it was, but that person will never know how much that meant to us!!           So Saturday night we were praying to know where we should go.  As we prayed I was filled with the Spirit so strongly that my eyes were filled with tears, I knew that we had to go tracting downtown on this certain street!  That night we found 4 new investigators and 3 more people we set up times to come back!  Our Savior's hand is in this work!  He wants everyone to know how they can return to live with Him again! We are all so blessed to know this and to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion!  I sometimes wonder how often we deminsh the power of the spirit by not relying on it enough.  The Holy Ghost is given at baptism, as a CONSTANT companion, not a sometimes one!  He can and will guide us in everything if we are living our lives correctly. 
     Yesterday we went hiking on our Pday at Twin Falls!!  It was the most amazing hike I think I have ever been on!  The river was going crazy because of all the rain!  When we were standing over the falls you could barley hear anything!  Here are some great pictures!  My favorite sign..."Falling can kill you". Really?  I didn’t know that.  

     A couple quick funny stories.  Knocked on a door this morning….racoon sleeping on the chair.  Yep, about died.  

My new bike doesn’t have a kick stand so I usually lean it against the garage doors…so we are knocking on this door and down this long windy driveway comes this BMW which is already way awkward because we are just sitting on the porch.  Oh, there goes the garage up and my bike banging & banging the garage as it falls down each square on the garage door!  Then falls inside the garage…I wanted to disappear about right then!  One of the more embarassing moments of my life! 

     Well...have a great week everyone.  I love you.  Hope all is well!  Elder Aiken

January 10, 2011

     Another great week here in Issaquah!  We have been hard at work trying to keep both wards busy and keep the fire going. It's all kind of a blur as we're very busy with meetings and tracting!  
     I don’t have much time this morning to write but I'll share as quickly as possible! This New Year is turning out to be great!  The start of a full year as a missionary which is really exciting! On Tuesday we headed up to Talus to go tracting, a really cool new development here in Issaquah. When we were about to leave we got a call from our Elders Quorum President asking if we could come help give a Priesthood Blessing to someone in Talus, which turned out great because we were already there.  So we waited and when he got there we started to walk over to the apartment and realized that it was at the house of one of our investigators we haven't been able to see for awhile. When we got there I realized that the blessing was for the seven year old son.  He didn’t want to come upstairs because he was having too much fun playing downstairs but after a lot of coersion he came to the top of the stairs. He sat over there pouting so I went over and sat by him and we talked about life.  He was just the cutest kid!  After awhile, I explained that we wanted to give him a blessing so he would feel better and that I would sit with him while he received the blessing.  After the blessing I gave him a high five and we exchanged smiles and he ran down stairs. We all sat and talked for awhile and we asked what was wrong. A few weeks ago he wouldn’t wake up and after some testing they think that they have found he has Lukemia.  I was in shock.  I had no clue and as I sat with this kid and talked with him, and his smile about life ahead, I couldn’t imagine going through that. The mom was so strong and so positive after the blessing.  The Spirit that was in that room was amazing! We all realized that comforting peace that comes from a Priesthood blessing.  I know that he will be ok and that our Savior will walk hand in hand with him. 
     We also had a great visit with a recent convert to the Church named Alfred.  Such an amazing man.  He is from Uganda! His dad is really well off there and owns a bunch of bakeries.  He came here to learn how to bake but decided to stay! We talked a lot about life and the love our Savior has and we should have for everyone!  He told us that he decided to take a second job at the old folks home across the street, but not for the money.  He says in Africa everyone loves helping people and those that are less fortunate or sick are always taken in and uplifted.  It was the most inspiring thing I have heard.  He says he goes there to help them and comfort them because he doesn’t want them to feel alone! What an amazing man.  It left me with a renewed desire to love everyone.  No matter what! 
     When the Savior came to the earth, none of his life was about Him. It was ALL about serving others! I was reading in Alma this week and came upon some amazing verses that really filled me with the spirit. Alma 7:12.  He didn't die just for our sins, but he died to succor us.  That means "to run to the aid of" so everything, literally everything we will ever go through, He has gone through and He died so He can run to OUR aid!  It's amazing to know that He knows each and every one of us and loves us all the same!  I want to help everyone know that so none of us feel lost or alone.  Have a great week - and happy trails!  Love Elder Aiken.

2011 starts with a...bang?

Good Morning Everyone! Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great week! I can't believe its 2011! I think I fell asleep around 11:00 New Year's Eve! Too much excitement I guess!
This week has been such an amazing week. The first of the week started out pretty funny. We went over to a member's house to meet before they took us out to dinner. They opened the door and invited us in out of the rain. So we walk in and seriously I felt like I was in a movie. I look to the left…zebra head, twenty deer heads, a moose, a karaboo, elephant tusks, walking down the hall with animals looking at me. So I kinda just run into the living room to sit by the fireplace! Then I walk over this rug to get there and the guy goes “Be careful that’s alpaca skin”! I was just like get me out of here and then on the way out he takes us to their room and theres a stuffed cougar on the bed. Ya - it was pretty funny, they are such great people! We had a really good dinner with them but it was just hilarious walking in there.

This week we were really stressed because we have been struggling to find new investigators in the new ward that we are covering! We had been praying all week that we could find peole to teach over there. One of the days I had prayed to know where we should go and as clear as day I thought of the street "Dogwood" but I didn’t think anything of it because I just thought I thinking of the campsite at home! So later we were looking over the map and there was a Dogwood street! I was just in shock so we went over there to go tracting. We tracted for three hours and didn’t find anyone. So on Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Deines and we were walking down the street and I noticed that Dogwood contiued over to the other side of the road, so we went knocking there! We found five potential investigators on that street! It was truly amazing. I have realized that we should do everything in prayer. We can be lead by the spirit in all things! I never used the power of the spirit enough! It's going to be such a great thing to know a family to work with later on.

The major highlight of the week was Gerald and Lucy's baptism! At first Gerald and Lucy didn’t want to invite the ward because Lucy is shy! But on Wednesday they called and left a message saying that they had prayed about it and decided that they wanted everyone to come and feel the Spirit there. That was so exciting to see again how much they have changed - they are just so happy I love it!

So Friday comes and we are so ready! We headed over to the church at 3 to start filling the font! We were both - Elder Twingstrom and myself - so excited we couldn’t sit still. Gerald and Lucy showed up at 5:15 - 45 minutes early! They were so excited and nervous! Gerald showed up in his new suit and they were both just smiling from ear to ear. As the baptismal service began I don’t remember ever feeling the Spirit so strong! I just knew that our Father in Heaven was looking down and smiling at them for their decision to follow Him. A lady in the Issaquah first ward sang Amazing Grace before they were baptized! It was just amazing the Spirit that came into the room. It is such a powerful song! And then it was time for the baptism! I was so nervous to baptize Lucy because I had never done it before! To watch Lucy as I lifted her out of the water and the smile on her face, it’s a memory that I will never forget! The Spirit that I felt that day was just amazing. They truly are so happy for their decision and I am so grateful that the Lord placed me here at this time to be a part of their lives! After the baptism, we were walking out of the church and Gerald and Lucy say, "we are heading back down the driveway Mormons"! They are so funny. We walked over to the Temple with them and shared a lesson on the importance of the temple. They can't wait to be sealed together! It was such a great thing to see them hear about the temple. On Sunday we confirmed them members of the Church and after I leaned over to Lucy and explained that on fast Sundays we bear our testimonys, so if you feel the Spirit prompting you to get up you can head up! Her face was just like "nope" never happening! Then she got up! Gerald just gasped and goes “Woah look at that”! We were just in shock! She is amazing and is so happy. Lucy is having her daughter come to church next week and it will be great to see what happens!
I love this gospel with all of my heart and I am so proud to be out here sharing it with everyone! I love you all, and hope this year that you can all make it a goal to help friends and family know of the gospel! No effort is ever wasted! Miss you all and be safe! Elder Aiken.