The Spirit Was Very Strong During That Experience And The Hand Of God Was Very Evident With How Perfect The Timing Was

Hello Everyone!

Sounds like you are having a great time in Mesquite! I am also having a great time here in Tabor City! My letter will probably be fairly short today because it is a holiday and the Library is not open so we are emailing from the church computer. We have seen some great miracles this week.

I believe I told you about our scare with R-- in my last letter. He called us on Sunday and told us that he was very upset with a particular member of the church. He seemed very angry and didn't seem to want to listen to any of the words we would try to say to help him overcome his concern. It is important to know that R-- is very intelligent and knows how to argue and debate better than anyone I have ever worked with. He wasn't trying to put us or the church down, but he simply wanted understanding of a few indecent things he observed at church. We told him that we would come and visit him during the week and talk with him more. I've never prayed soo hard for the spirit to change someones heart and give them understanding. All throughout the week, Elder Persinger and I prayed for him. Thursday night we planned that we would go and see R--. As we did our companionship study we really tried to understand what the Lord would have us teach him so he would have a softened heart. Going into the lesson we felt our lesson plan was inspired, but we were still very nervous because this seemed as if it was the "do or die" lesson. It seemed as if it would be our last chance to address his concern before we decided he was no longer interested in the church. As we went into the lesson, R-- didn't seem himself. We could tell that he was still upset and that he didn't have the same light in his eye as he usually does. It was so bad that when we told him we were glad to see him that he said, "you say that now, but I'm not sure you will be saying that after today", or something like that. We started with a prayer and started to teach our lesson. We taught some doctrine about our ability as humans to act, rather than be acted upon among other things. I've never prayed harder during a lesson that he would respond positively. As we went on with our discussion, R-- started to change. He seemed to become less agitated and more humble. Toward the end of our lesson we were able to discover what his real concern was. By the time we left, R-- was a lot happier and seemed to have overcome his concerns. It was a miracle for Elder Persinger and me because we didn't expect it to turn out as well as it did. After the lesson we prayed in gratitude for the Lord showing forth his hand and softening R--'s heart, when we were unable to do so.

I learn more and more every day about how important God is to us. I know that he is control, even when we may not see that He is. We had more opportunities like this this week. One that sticks out to me is about a less active member named B--. We went to a members home to speak with them for a brief moment. Her husband wasn't there so we couldn't go in. Right as we were about to leave her grandson B-- pulled up to the house. He later told us that he had recently come out of rehab and had been praying really hard for God to help him overcome his bad habits. He thought it was amazing that we showed up at exactly the same time he did. We taught him from the scriptures about repentance and gave him a blessing. The spirit was very strong during that experience and the hand of God was very evident with how perfect the timing was.

Well, that is about it for this week. Please know that I love you and pray for y'all often. I hope the soccer tournaments and everything else goes well. I love hearing about all that y'all are doing.

Love Elder Mortensen