Saturday, April 29, 2017

Virginia Chesapeake Elders

 
Virginia Chesapeake Bay Elders
 
 

Week 75

Hello Friends and Family!

Once again I had a pretty good week. We found a couple new investigators and they seem like they are really interested in our message! They dont just passively listen to us speak, but they ask us a lot of questions. Im pretty sure if you were to ask them if they were investigating the church they would say "yes", which is a huge accomplishment. 

To finish of the week I got a little food poisoning, but I am feeling much better now. There is nothing a little sleep and Ibuprofen cant fix. I did manage to make my way to church and have the sacrament before I slept the rest of the day. Being sick really helped me appreciate the sacrament because I had to make the choice to take it. It would have been easy for me to use throwing up as an excuse to miss church, but I know how important it is.

Other than those things, nothing out of the ordinary happened. We are still living life, and working our hardest. I am grateful for this church and for Jesus Christ. I know that its true.

-Elder Shill


 

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Week 74

Hello Friends and Family!

I am so grateful for this opportunity we have had to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. I know that He lives! So many things have happened over the past week. 

On Saturday we woke up bright and early and traveled just over 3 hours with our Ward Mission Leader to hear Elder Quinton L. Cook speak to our mission in Virginia Beach. That was such an incredible experience! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to hear and meet an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. You could feel the spirit fill the room as he entered. I had no doubt that he truly had the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Even though my conversation with him lasted not more than a greeting and a smile, I could feel the spirit witness to me that he was one of the Lord's anointed. During his talk he taught us about the beautiful relationship between Christ's resurrection and missionary work. He showed us how the Lord's final command was to preach the gospel to all the world. I have often wondered what it would be like to have been one of his original disciples and to see Christ ascend into heaven. It would have been such a beautiful moment to see, in essence, the complete Plan of Salvation. That moment where religion became reality must have had a profound effect on the young Apostles. I am so reassured that there have been men and women in this day and age, starting with Joseph Smith in 1820, who have seen Christ and witness of his divinity and of the reality of the Plan of Salvation. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to stand as a witness of Him as a "lower case apostle." My favorite part of this meeting was his testimony of the Savior. It was powerful.

The next day we had Stake Conference and had the opportunity to hear for Elder Keetch. The talks were fantastic, especially since they were all centered on Easter. We also had an investigator come to church which was such a tender mercy! We haven't been able to have someone come to church in a couple months so we were glad to see someone actually come. Understandably she was a little overwhelmed by the number of people and how nice everyone was, but she enjoyed it. 

I love y'all!
-Elder Shill



 

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Week 73

Hello Friends and Family!

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of time to write this week, but this has been a fantastic week! Long story short, prayer works. I know that the Lord guides those who seek his council. We had a couple experiences where we asked for and received guidance. I know that we were lead to specific people. I know that this church is true and that Christ is the savior of the world. We are about His work and we are striving to do it His way. I know that God loves us and wishes for us to come home and reach the potential He sees in us. Isn't that a marvelous thought? The creator of the universe pays particular attention to our lives and understands our circumstances. We, being as the dirt, are on the fore front of God's mind. With Easter approaching, I know that Christ lives. I know that he literally guides this church today. I know that because of His Atoning Sacrifice we can be cleansed of sin and receive relief from the guilt and shame. Because of Him our confidence can wax strong in the presence of God.

I love y'all
-Elder Shill

 Happy Easter !

Week 72

Hello Friends and Family!

This has been another great week! Finally the long awaited General Conference arrived. We have been telling everyone we can about it. On Thursday, we went on a General Conference blitz where we invited every person we had recently talked too to Conference. There were so many inspiring talks. I have found myself more deeply committed to Jesus Christ and his gospel. I am grateful for the 10 hours of counsel and self reflection. I absolutely loved watching general conference. As a mission, we focused on finding the invitations and promises extended from each talk. I was amazed at how many promises are in store if we obey the counsel given by the prophets. Most of the session we watched at the church, but for the Sunday evening session we watched it at a members house. 
 
Friday night the we were able to watch the Easter video. If you have not watched it, please do! After browsing a couple of the principles of peace we had a huge desire to go share the video with everyone. We hopped in the car and drove to the downtown area of New Bern and started talking with everyone on the side walks. We were handing cards out like they were candy! Every person we saw we gave a card. At the end of the night, as we were walking back to the car, Elder Collier approached a younger couple and gave them a card. Turns out, they were former investigators from a couple months ago that lost contact with the missionaries. They also said they would love for us to come back over so we could keep teaching them. Miracles :)

I am so grateful for the many blessing that I have. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be here and serve Him.

Love y'all,
-Elder Shill