This past week was the first week of Zone Conferences. This next week is the last. 3 conferences each week. 9 hours long. It's exhausting! But I learn a lot from hearing the 8 fundamentals of Preach my Gospel over and over again. Plus all of the practice teaching is helping out a ton!

On Friday we had another lemonade stand at VCU. It was so nice to get out and work after sitting in conferences or in a car all day. There weren't too many people on campus, which was kind of a bummer. I had a couple of cool miracles though! 

1: A couple weeks ago I met a guy from Ghana. I taught a lot of people from Ghana in DC South and picked up on some words in their language (Twi). I hoped to see him again on Friday, so I grabbed a Book of Mormon in Twi right before heading to VCU. After we set everything up, I gave him a call and told him to come to the center of campus so I could give him a book in Twi. He said he didn't read in Twi but would come anyways. That was kind of a bummer. Well he never came, BUT I did meet a man who just got here from Ghana! I quickly grabbed the book and gave it to him. The look on his face was priceless! He said he was running to class, but gave me his number and wanted to talk about the book. We are going to see him this week. His name is Harrison...

2: After lots and lots of people ignoring me, I was trying all sorts of approaches. I got so tired of getting rejected that I just walked up to this one girl and said "Hey you wanna come to church on Sunday?" To my amazement she said yes! She gave me her phone number and I gave her the information. I texted her Saturday night and she said that she needed a ride. So I set up a member to pick her up. Now, each week I text 20 people who said they would come to church, reminding them of the time and place. They never show. Well at 12:55 pm, in comes Deja with the member who picked her up! She stayed for all three hours! Her favorite, which was no surprise to me, was relief society. We are going to see her this Wednesday, and she is excited to come to church next Sunday. She said she can see herself coming consistently. So we are going to put her on date for baptism for October 12th. 

FINALLY! After talking to so many people, so many numbers, so many fallen through appointments... God blesses us with a miracle. Goes to show you that he is in this work. If we are patient and work hard, things will always work out.

We also had another investigator come to church. He teaches a bible class at the catholic church during the week. He said he would come to our church, if we came to his. So at 5:15, we went to Mass. It's the first time I had ever been. What an experience! My eyes were HUGE the whole time!... It was VERY VERY different, yet there were minor similarities... All I gotta say about that is... The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is TRUE!

The book is blue, the church is true, I'm serving two.

LOVE YA!

Elder Michael Litchfield

We've been working on transfers a lot this week. 18 sisters are coming in next Wednesday. It's the most I have ever seen. It's been a real hassle trying to find 18 sisters who can train these new sisters. It's funny how different Elders are from Sisters. With Elders, we have to worry about putting 2 disobedient missionaries together. With Sisters, we don't have that worry at all... But we do have the worry of putting 2 depressed sisters together. We have quite a bit of those. So it's been tough to find strong sisters to be trainers. Some of the sisters will be called to train quite early on in their missions. The Lord needs them more than ever right now. It's the same for the elders but with disobedience and maturity. It's so frustrating not being able to put an elder in an area because he is going to flirt with a pretty sister in his district. Missions are turning boys into men. Young boys at that.

Elder Neumeyer is officially getting transferred. As of now, my future companion will be Elder Eyring, from Mesa, AZ... Although that is not final... It's a good possibility. I'm not too familiar with him, but I trust in the Lord that whoever is called will be the man for the job. Since Elder Neumeyer is leaving, President and Sister Wilson will be taking us to a fancy shmancy restaurant this Friday night... Am I spoiled or what? 

This Saturday morning, President wants to sit down with me and work on my BYU application. Keep me in your prayers as I re-apply. I hope that with my small increase in maturity, as well as desire to work, BYU will see a future Cougar in me. It will be nice to have the recommendation of President Wilson, who is a former professor at BYU. 

So remember I went and worked with a struggling missionary last week? Well President told me today that the missionary emailed him on Monday and raved about how much fun he had with me and that he is going to change his ways and be an obedient missionary. It was a tender mercy indeed. My heart filled with joy as I thought of the elder improving his obedience. They even found 2 new investigators after we worked with them, and had the most lessons taught in their district. Which was a huge shock to their district leader to say the least.... My game plan prior to working with him was to love him to death. Missionaries are more inclined to improve when they know that the advice they are receiving is coming from someone who loves them. We talked about the decisions he had made the previous weeks, and how they weren't what a Christ-like missionary should choose to do. It was an emotional experience that ended with much rejoicing and a huge change of heart. I told him that if he ever finds himself feeling depressed and wanting  to be disobedient, to call me, and I would drive up immediately and take him out for ice cream (it's an hour and a half drive). I plan on staying true to my word if makes that kind of a call... But I am pretty sure he wont. He's a great missionary who just lost his focus. It was amazing to be able to be with him and not see his imperfections, but to see the potential inside him. It was the first time on my mission that I have ever had that happen to me. It was something I will never forget.

Karen Holladay emailed me this past Monday. I haven't had the time to email her back, but it was such a nice email. She talked about how her two grandsons are on missions. That is so cool! I really appreciated her taking the time to write me an email.

I have made it a goal to finish the Doctrine and Covenants before I go home. I was going to read a section a day, and end on November 19th... But I started late. So I am having to read a couple sections a day to catch up. This morning I was reading and I went to take a drink of water, and some of it spilled. Ugh. I about died. I thought I had ruined my scriptures. The are fine, thank goodness, but section 20 is a bit wrinkled. I was a bit irritated at myself for doing that. Oh well. 

Love you so much!

Michael

This week was another great week! We were finally able to contact a recent convert man and his less active wife. Turns out, she is the daughter of a husband a wife that is less active in the Spotslyvania ward! I tried to contact them for 6 months! She is much more willing to make a change in her life. She said that her parents are very hard to get a hold of. Especially if your from the church. We were able to talk about the sacrament and the importance of that ordinance. Many recent converts get confused as to the main reason why we go to church. It's to partake of the sacrament. It is the MOST important thing that they can do on a Sunday. We bore testimony of the words found in 3rd Nephi 18 as well as the Moroni 4 and 5. It was a spirit led lesson that ended with them committing to come to church everySunday. 

There is a companionship that is really struggling. They are having a hard time finding motivation and a drive to work. President Wilson has asked Elder Neumeyer and myself to go out with them for the day. Their area is about an hour and a half away... So it will be a drive! But we are looking forward for the opportunity to help these great missionaries. Just gotten help them get back on track.

We dropped some missionaries off at the airport today. Well... we went inside and helped them get their bags checked, and then walked them to the terminal. The look on those missionaries faces is priceless! they are in such a daze! They are always talking about how they think they are in a dream, and then they are going to wake up and be back in their apartment... Nope! Their time has come! Gotta make every second count!

I love serving a mission! Its the best! It's crazy to think of how many missionaries there are out in the world! All over the world too! Like Ukraine! Chile! Brazil! and even Florida! haha It's such a blessing to serve with missionaries. Especially those who are in foreign lands... yes, the south is definitely a foreign land!

Love you all!

Elder Michael Litchfield

Murmuring: Are You Nephi or Laman?

You have probably noticed by now, but there is a huge difference between Nephi and his elder brothers, Laman and Lemuel. They are different in many ways, but what I think is the root of the difference simply stated is Faith and Trust in the Lord. ……
                  Let me give you an example in the difference between these men. In 1 Nephi, chapter 3, Lehi is commanded to have his sons go get the Brass Plates. When he asks Laman and Lemuel, to do it they say, “It is a hard thing you have required of us.”(1 Nephi 3:5) When he asks Nephi on the other hand, Nephi says, “I will go and do!”(1 Nephi 3:7) Pretend for a moment that you were in Lehi’s sons’ shoes, or sandals… What would you have said? Honestly think for a moment about what is being asked. They have left their home, possessions and friends. They have traveled down to the borders of the red sea and then 3 days onward which according to Hugh Nibley, Book of Mormon scholar, is around 180 miles. The people of Jerusalem want to kill them! And now Lehi wants them to travel back 180 miles and ask a wicked king who is keen on ending their lives for a book?? Now seriously, would you say, “I will go and do!” Or would you say, “It is a hard thing you have required of us.”
                  For the mere fact that I would complain simply because my Mom asked me to do the dishes, I would venture to say that a lot of us would state that it was “a hard thing”. I would say that was a big understatement from Laman and Lemuel, it was a very hard thing, a nearly impossible thing! But that did not scare Nephi! He did not murmur or complain. How can we be like that?
                  Well, we need to stop murmuring! And in order to stop it you have to recognize it. Just as there are promises, laws and formulas for blessings in the scriptures there is also a formula for murmuring. Before I give you the formula, let me recount a story from the Book of Mormon, in 1 Nephi 3:26-31, Lehi’s sons have attempted to get the plates twice up to this point, and Laban has stolen all of their precious things. Naturally Laman and Lemuel are ticked! In their anger they start to beat their younger brothers with a Rod! As they were beating their younger brothers an angel appeared unto them and says, “Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities?” and then this Angel of the Lord gives them an absolute promise, “Behold, ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.”
                  After receiving a promise from an Angel it may be easier to say, “I will go and do.” But still Laman and Lemuel murmur, and here we learn something about the formula for murmuring. (1 nephi 3:31) First element of the formula: We Question. Laman and Lemuel do it best, “How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands?” How often do we find ourselves doing that? Our mission President asks us to do something, implements a new rule or new mode of doing something and we say, ‘Why?’
                  Second element of the formula: We Justify. Back to Laman and Lemuel, “Behold he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty then why not us?” How often do we do that? ‘I’ve been doing that this way my whole mission and I have seen a lot of success, why change?’
                   Third element of the formula: We Are Slothful. Laman and Lemuel yet again show us the way, in 1 Nephi 4:4 we learn that Laman an Lemuel, “were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem.” While Nephi went into Jerusalem to fulfill God’s commands Laman and Lemuel sat outside the walls. After questioning, and justifying, we then sit out. We slack off, and our progression is haulted.
                  I think we can see why it’s not good to murmur. I think all of us have made fun of Laman and Lemuel for years for their murmuring, yet we do it just as often as they did! Why do we do it? 1 Nephi 2:12 reads, “And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their father. And they did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them.” It is harsh reasoning, but it may be eye opening for us to know that we murmur when we do not know the dealings of God!
                   In contrast with that, why does Nephi not murmur? In 1 Nephi 2:16 we learn, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.” The answer to why Nephi does not murmur: Personal Conversion. Nephi did not naturally want to say “I will go and do” he first had to receive his testimony through faithful prayer, humility, and diligence. (1 Nephi 2:19)
                   Sometimes the Lord’s commands are tough to comprehend. Sometimes the counsel from his appointed servants is hard to follow. But in those times I consider a few scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants. Section 1, verse 38, “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.” Also, Section 82, verse 10, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.”
                   When we start to murmur think about this: Are you Nephi or are you Laman? I hope we will all strive to become personally converted!
                   In conclusion, I ask this: Do you love Jesus? “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) I do love our Savior, and I hope to deepen my conversion and to follow the Saviors example by saying, “…Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done”(Luke 22:42)

In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Jonathan D. Yates

Well... My last email had a lot of concerns that I had in dealing with the poor attitudes and the murmurings of some of the leaders in the mission. We had Mission Leadership Council on Wednesday. President Wilson asked Elder Neumeyer and I to give a training. He asked me to talk about obedience. I went over my time allotted, which is never good, but afterward President thanked me for the words that I shared. I focused my thoughts on attitude. Mainly Doctrine and Covenants section 123 verse 17. Doing all things cheerfully that lie in our power. I drew a parrallel to the story of Abraham. How he was asked from God to sacrifice his son. He didn't ask why, he didn't ask the purpose for doing this, he didn't say it was a dumb thing to be asked to do. He just obeyed. Often times we get caught up in the "Whys"... Why do we have to do this. I am a prime example of this! and my parents and those who know me can attest to this. I always wanted a reason for why I was asked to do things. What did it bring me? CONTENTION! What do we learn from the scriptures about contention? It is not of God, but of the Devil. I didn't understand the true principle of obedience. I did what I was asked of me (most of the time haha) but I did it with a poor attitude. I needed to be more like Abraham. When asked to do something. He was obedient and did it. His faith was so strong that he knew that blessings would come from being obedient in ALL things. I then talked about Zions Camp. If you aren't familiar with Zions Camp, I highly recommend learning about it. These men were asked by a key holder to leave their homes and travel miles (roughly from Richmond to the southern most point of Florida) to help save the saints. The people were obedient, but when they were taken out of their comfort zones, they complained! Complaining didn't make the journey any faster, or any easier for that matter. The purpose of the camp was to test their obedience.

We had two really cool miracles this last week! On Tuesday we had a lesson set up with a lady that we met in Walmart. We took a priest from the ward with us, it was his first lesson with the missionaries. It was such a good lesson! Her son got baptized in Chicago a while ago, and she always wondered what he got into. She said that if she found these things to be true, she would get baptized, and she would do whatever it took to find out. She accepted the invitation to come to church and read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She lives in a different ward boundaries, so we passed her on to those missionaries. They sure were excited when we told them about her and gave them her information. I would be too haha!

The next miracle happend Friday night. Every first Friday of the month, there is a big art festival in Downtown Richmond. Lots of people come and are walking along the street. Missionaries set up a lemonade stand and talk to people on the street. it was early in the night, not too many people out yet, when a small kid approached me quietly. I asked him if he wanted some lemonade, and he shyly nodded. His Mom followed him and I made sure it was ok to give her son some lemonade. She saw that I had a restoration pamphlet in my hand with a picture of Jesus on it. She told me that she loved Jesus. I laughed and asked her if she goes to church. She said she didn't. I asked her if she wanted to go to church. She said sure! The church was a block away, and I asked her if she wanted to see the inside of the church right now. She said sure again! So we took her and her 11 year old son on a church tour. It went really well! After the tour we asked if we could sit down and talk more. She said she needed to get home for her son, but he piped in and said he wanted to stay. Hallelujah! So we sat down in the chapel and taught the restoration. It was the most spiritual lesson I have ever taught in my life. Everything rang true to her in her heart. She told us at the end that she knew that all of this was true. We set her to be baptized on August 31st. Her and her son. They are so excited! I'm so happy to have met Theronda and Jaylin. They live in another area as well. So we passed them on to the respective missionaries. They were stoked when we told them about her! I would be too! haha! In alma 29:14 it talks about rejoicing in the success of his brethren. It's amazing!

Well, that sums up the highlights of my week.

Love you all!

Elder Michael Litchfield

Ps... My former companion wrote an article about murmuring while we were together. It's really really good. It talks about how we are more like Laman and Lemuel than we think.

The past couple of weeks, God has been trying to teach me something. Actually he has been trying to teach me a lot of things... But one stands out to me. That is Charity. Charity is SO HARD! I try. I try so hard to love others. And I have improved immensely on my mission! But people do things that REALLY test it. The Church lowered the age for missionaries. Everyone went nuts! Thousands of missonaries started entering the MTC. Everyone went nuts! 58 new mission were created. Everyone went nuts! Our missions were affected by the changes and we got a new mission president. I think 5 people were excited... President Wilson starts reinforcing concepts that are found in the White Handbook (A handbook that is produced by the 12 apostles and the first presidency on how missions should go). People start murmuring. This isn't something new to me. When President Riggs first came in, lots of missionaries were complacent. But what is new to me is the amount of complaining. Complaining of what, you may ask? Missionaries are complaining that President Wilson is asking us to be obedient...to work harder and to set our goals higher. There is a feeling in this mission of being ok with mediocrity. President Wilson is trying to change that... And to my shock, there are even missionaries rebelling. Not just any missionaries though. Oh no. ZONE LEADERS... SISTER TRAINING LEADERS... DISTRICT LEADERS! Seriously? The leaders of the mission are being modern day Laman and Lemuals? Sadly.. yes. They are. It blows me away. One zone leader even chewed out President Wilson in his first interview with him. So... as you can see, my patience and love is being heavily tried. Luckily... and I thank Heavenly Father every time I pray for this, I have a companion who is always on the same page as I am. Oh what a blessing it is to have a companion that is obedient and loyal. It's a test and a trial that I would have never expected to go though on  my mission... But then again, I never expected a lot of things that have happened to me on my mission. haha...

On a brighter note... We have been working with a man named Tony Douglas. He has a wife and 5 kids. He is catholic, but has very similar morals and values as the LDS faith. We helped him move some of his stuff out of his attic (oh and I didn't realize how hot attics get in the humidity in the summer!). We were able to talk with him a lot, and then he fed us a smoked pig shoulder. It was so good! There were a ton of leftovers... and he gave them all to us. His family is out of town for 2 weeks while he packs up to move. Otherwise I'm sure he would have kept some for his family haha. We were able to read out of the Book of Mormon with him and he really enjoyed it. The only problem is... He is just as devout to his small congregation, as I am to mine. So... we have our work cut out for us haha. But with God, all things are possible!

We also met a lady at Walmart last Monday who has a son who is LDS. We got her her information and set up an appointment with her for tomorrow. We're really excited for that!

I heard through the grapevine that the scripture mastery scriptures have changed? Is this true? I want to see those new ones!

Love you all!

Elder Michael Litchfield