We have weekly planning every Friday morning, where we plan for the
following week. We also set goals that we try to acheive. It's always
interesting to see how we have a ton of set lessons, and set goals
that make us try to push ourselves a little bit more than those
planned lessons. Then at the end of the week, you look back and see
that 90% of those lessons fell through. Oh well. Quality over
Quantity, right?

Monday night, we went to this guys house named Kevin. He has a bunch
of people gather and talk about religion. I think I mentioned it in my
last letter. Well this weeks questions were mainly directed at the
missionaries. It was such a neat expirience. I could literally see the
pieces of lifes puzzle start to fit with some of the people there as
we discussed the Plan of Salvation. It was also awesome to hear that
the 5 copies of the Book of Mormon that we handed out are all being
read.

Thursday night, we had a lesson with Alyssa. Alyssa referred herself
online at Mormon.org. She said that if Mitt Romney is elected as
president, she better know what his religion is all about. She is very
republican, and her dad is a die-hard Glen Beck fan. Well, in two
weeks she was already almost finished with the Book of Alma. I
couldn't believe it. That's like 360 some-odd pages! She said she
loves what she is reading. She also said that anytime she comes across
something that she doesn't understand, she goes to lds.org, and that
answers her question. Basically, the only thing holding her back from
being baptized is her husband. Her husband is working in Florida till
November. When she told him on the phone that she was talking with
missionaries, he told her that if she joined, he never would. He
doesn't have a religion, he is just close-minded. When she told us
that, a scripture immedietly came to mind. We opened up to Alma
Chapter 8 and read it. She said that she didn't think of that chapter
in the way that I explained it to her. She said she would pray and ask
God for help. She is solid.

We expected to have around 8 investigators at Church yesterday. None
of them showed up. Alyssa told us that she was sick, Rajeev said he
had to work, and the other families wouldn't respond to our calls or
knocks. That was a huge let down. In zone conference this last week,
they stressed getting investigators to church. Without going to
church, there conversion can only go so far. That just means that this
week we'll have to work twice as hard to get them there next Sunday.

Last night there was a recent-convert fireside at the mission home. We
were able to get Rajeev to go! A couple recent-converts (recent as in
within the last 3 weeks) told their conversion stories and bore their
testimonies. It was such a spiritually filling exprience. Rajeev said
he had a lot to think about as we were driving home. He knows it is
true!!!!!! He is thinking too much! He needs to go by faith, rather
than fact...

David A. Bednar is coming to speak to us this Saturday! Us as is the
DC South, North, and Baltimore missions. I'm really looking forward to
it. Except I'm a little nervous after what Aunt Sharon said about him
at her stake. YIKES!!! I told that to my mission president and he was
surprised! He looked it up online and sent an email out to the
missionaries about it. HAHA!

With much love,

Elder Michael Litchfield

This week, I came to a realization of numbers. Not just any numbers, but the numbers that we report to our district leader of how many lessons we taught, new investigators, etc. At the beginning of this week, we had our days FULL of lessons! We even didn't schedule lunch some days, becuase we didn't have time... Well, 90% of the lessons fell through. I couldn't believe it. It was one of the most discouraging weeks. I more felt bad for Elder Rausch. I didn't want  him to feel like this is how his mission would be. At the end of the week, our numbers were awful. BUT, that doesn't mean we didn't work our tails off. I just needed to remember that God works in mysterious ways. So basically, we had a ton of time on our hands. We utilized this time to use for finding. From Monday to Sunday, we placed 17 copies of the Book of Mormon, and all have said that they want us to come back this up coming week and explain to them more about it. So what looked like an unproductive week, turned into a great week for finding!

 

I also found myself comparing myself to other missionaries. Missionaries who being disobedient, yet teaching a ton. This is such an awful mentality. I am my own person. The only respect I should be trying to acheive, is Gods. I know that the blessings of obedience will come. Because God has promised them. I just need to be patient.

 

On a bright note, Rajeev came to church again Sunday! The change that I see in him is amazing. He is such a happier person now, from when I first met him. The power of God is an incredible thing! In the bulliten, there was a note about a church dance for singles over 31 years. He leaned over to me during the first hour, and said he wanted to go to that. SWEET!!!!! The more relationships he can gain in the church, the better.

 

This, is a trully a miracle. About a month ago, there was this old lady sitting at the church building on a thursday night. We had our first lesson with Rajeev, and had 2 members already there. For some reason, I asked if she would like to join. She jumped off her chair and joined. A couple weeks later, I saw her again at conference at the stake center. She was cooking lunch for the missionaries. After, I offered to help her with the dishes. Again, I didn't think too much of it. Yesterday, I saw her again. She was with a guy, and she was pointing at me. The guy came up to me and said that he was thankful for the kindess that I had showed towards his mother. Apperently, this guy was in my ward, but I had never met him before. He told me that he has been waiting for certain missionaries to teach his neighbors. They are a family of 5 who, from what he said, could desperately use the gospel in their lives. He said that he would call us this week and have us come to his house to teach them...

Perfect example of small and simple things, as well as listening to the spirit. God put me in the right places at the right times. That's what he has been doing my whole mission. This work, is his work. It's his children, and his glory. I am merely and instrument in his hands. And what a opportunity it is for me to be that!!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

 

My cousin, Anthony Litchfield enters the MTC this Wednesday! Good luck to you! I shall see you in 2 years!

Sorry this email is getting off so late. I had to switch my P-Day from
Monday to Wednesday...

Well last Monday I was able to go to DC. It was so beautiful!!!! The
weather was PERFECT!!! I took lots of pictures, and really enjoyed
myself. We had an appointment with Tami and her family Tuesday night,
but she cancelled on us. BUMMER! But she said that she would see us at
church Easter Sunday. Elder Johnson went to the temple with his
departing group Wednesday, so I was with the Zoneleaders. It was a lot
of fun! It's good to see a companionship where both missionaries want
to be obedient and work hard. It was refreshing!... I got a text from
Yona Wednesday as well. It was awful. We had an appointment with her
that night, but she texted us and told us that she would have to stop
our lessons for a while. She said she was going through some changes
in her life. That killed me. I had no idea what to say. I thought of
one of the bullet points in PMG dealing with How to Begin Teaching. It
said something to the effect of that the Many people deal with
difficulties in their lives, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ can make
that burden seem light. I sent her that bullet point, and she said
thanks. Thursday we had a lesson with Rajeev. He took us out to eat
before hand with his member friend Elizabeth. We went to an El
Salvador resuraunt that is famous for making Pupusas. They were
actually really good. No one spoke english there, but luckily
Elizabeth was born and raised in El Salvador. The lesson went really
well! We talked about conference, and Rajeev felt like Uchtdorfs
two-word sermon was directed at him. That was incredible to hear him
say that! Out of nowhere though, he said "so what are the
restrictions". I hate that word. "Restrictions". Cause that isn't the
correct term. The laws and ordinances don't restrict us! They acutally
make us more free! We talked about all of them, and he acutally didn't
seem to have a problem with any of them. He said they all made sense.
SWEET! Friday, our ward mission leader mentioned a family that has
been inactive for a couple years. I was like, Why haven't we heard of
them?!?! We visited them, but they had a bunch of family over for
dinner. However, the father asked us to come back next friday and
share a spiritual thought with him and his family, and that they
really needed to strengthen their faith. Awesome!!!!

Sunday was Easter, and Rajeev came to church! But Tami and her family
didn't. She texted us and told us that she couldn't make it, but would
call us about scheduling an appointment later in the week. Sunday
night there was a missionary departing fireside. Since elder Johnson
is going home, he is a part of it. Rajeev and Elizabeth came to that.
Afterward, I noticed that President Albright and Rajeev were talking.
I went over there and President said that he wants us to let him know
when Rajeevs baptism is, so he can go! President doesn't do that very
often! Monday, we went to the temple with Rajeev and Elizabeth. That's
why I wasn't able to email then. It was really good! There is a new
Plan of Salvation video out that is AWESOME! However, as we were
walking around the temple. Elizabeth pulled me aside and told me that
she didn't want to go to the next lessons, because Rajeev made it
known to her that he has a crush on her. She doesn't want him
investigating just to score points. She looks at him as just a friend.
Well, on the way back from the temple, after we had dropped Elizabeth
off, I felt prompted to ask Rajeev a bold question. I asked him if he
was investigating for himself, or for Elizabeth. He didn't give me a
straight answer, but it seemed like he was doing it for the latter. I
asked him to pray that night, and ask what God's will is for him. He
said he would. I also got a call from the APs on the way back. I'M
TRAINING NEXT TRANSFER!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I can't wait to show
the new missionary how much fun the mission is when your obedient...
It's going to be a fun transfer. Tuesday I had a training meeting
after district meetings. After, I was with Zone Leader Elder Hanson
for the day. It was a lot of fun! Apperently, Rajeev called Elder
Johnson and asked him to come over and talk to him. They did, and he
said that he prayed, and wants to do this for the right reasons. That
gave me so much conmfort!!!! He is such a good guy, and I don't want
him to chase after a woman that doesn't feel the same way back. We are
seeing him tonight. Please keep Yona, Tami, and Rajeev in your
prayers!

Oh, I almost forgot. Yesterday, I had dinner at a spanish home. It was
acutally a family from Guatemala. They served Chicken Heart Soup.
There were quite a bit of chicken hearts, 2 small pieces of potatoes,
and a couple slices of onions in my bowl. It actually wasn't that bad.
It did get worse though when I saw a heart with arteries. That grossed
me out. But I ate it all without a flinch. I FIGURED MY FAMILY WOULD
LIKE TO HEAR THAT, SINCE I AM SUCHHHHHH A PICKY EATER!!! LOOK AT ME
NOW!!! HAHA

Elder Michael Litchfield

Apartment Inspection!

Holy cow... Watching conference while on a mission is crazy!!! It was really good!! My favorite talks were Hollands talk in the second session on saturday, and Eyrings talk at the end of the first session on Saturday. My missionary journal is FULL of notes. It was amazing to say the least.

 

Early in February of this year, Elder Call and I were tracting a street. We talked to a lady who said that we could come back at another time. We left her our number, and went on our way. Almost everyone who says that, just uses that answer to get rid of us... I can't remember if we got her number then as well, but somehow her number was in our phone. During weekly planning the first week of March. I made a ton of calls to people that were in the area book, and in my planner section of potential investigators. I probably made about 50 calls. To my surprise, Tami called us back and said we could come over the following week on Tuesday. So tuesday came, and about 30 min before our appointment, she called us and asked us to reschedule. So we did. Well the appointment was this last Wednesday. I was on an exchange with a Zone Leader for the day, which was a lot of fun! Anyways, we get to her house, and she's not home. Bummer. We're standing there, trying to figure out what to do, and out of nowhere she flies into her parking spot. She's all flustered and is apologizing for being late. Phew! So we go inside and start getting to know her. She talked SO FAST!  I could understand about half of what she said. When we finally transistioned into the gospel, she started asking us questions. She told us that she believed in stuff that other religions didn't, and she has been trying to find a religion that did. I was a little worried when she said that. She told us that she believes that there are 3 heavens, because there shouldn't be a definite line between heaven and hell. She asked us if we believed that. We kind of chuckled and said yes. She then told us that she believes that we all lived together in heaven before this life, and asked us if we believed in that. We laughed and said yes again. She then asked us if she could come to church with us. We couldn't believe what was happening. We told her that she was more than welcome to come, and we wanted her to come. She then asked if she would have to be baptized to receive eternal life. We told her that she would. She told us that she had already been baptized twice, but didn't feel like they mean't anything, and wanted to be baptized by someone who held the authority that John the Baptist did. Did she just invite herself to be baptized? But wait, it gets better. So we asked her if May 5 sounded good, and she said that was a perfect date. We then asked if we could come back and teach the rest of her family (Husband and 3 kids) about the gospel and see if they would want to be baptized as well. This is the best part. She said "Oh my family will be getting baptized with me, you can count on that." hahahahahah Seriously???? Did that just happen??? Yes, it did. So Tami and her family are preparing for baptism on May 5. In my mission call, it said that we will teach people that are PREPARED by the Lord. Tami was about as prepared as you can get. I'm so excited for her and her family to come to know this gospel, and feel the blessings that God has in store for them!

    Another great event! Well, it starts off a little rocky... So Rajeev told us that he didn't feel that he was ready to be baptized on April 7th. He felt it was a bit too soon. He said that he would think about a date in May. Well, that was Tuesday. He came to watch Conference at the church on Sunday, and said he really enjoyed it. Later that night, we got a text from him. It said that he was very thankful for us missionaries inviting him to watch conference, and that the LDS religion is right for him. He wants to get baptized on his Birthday, May 21st. SWEET!!! He is going through a lot in his life right now, and I know that the gift of the Holy Ghost can help him so much!

    I know this church is true, without a doubt in my heart. Conference was trully inspiring, and I hope all of you enjoyed it as well.

 

Elder Litchfield

Post from the Washington D.C. South Mission blog

 

This last week was a week to remember! I was able to witness four people commit to a baptismal date! I LOVE the opportunity to witness God touching these peoples hearts in a way that allows them to know that our message is true, and baptism is the path that they should go. I am no better than any missionary out here. My dad taught me that the most important thing while serving a missin is to be humble. I didn't do anything to these people. I just asked them a simple question. It was God that preformed miracles in the hearts and lives that allowed them to realize what's in front of them. I am trully honored to be a missionary at this time in my life. To witness the blessings of success that God gives to my companion and I. I love the work

With much love, Elder Michael Litchfield