Faith Walk, March 29, 2021

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a great week.

Transfers were this week. Elder Merrill left to Alma Arkansas, which is were I came from before I was in Springfield. He is in the opposite end of the mission. 

Elder Buhman is my new companion! He is fantastic. He is from Orem, Utah. He has been out for nine months and he knows how to get work done. He was excited to come to a new area and have a fresh start. Elder Buhman is fearless and knows the word of God well. 

We had a lesson with Kayla which was so awesome! We found out that she lives just outside our area so we will be passing her off to the Elders over her area. Sad, but she will be in good hands. 

We had a cool experience doing a "faith walk" this week. What that is, is we walk and each time we come to an intersection we pause and feel where the Spirit wants us to go. We did this at each turning point. The results of our faith walk: We talked to a member who we didn't know lived so close and scheduled a time to meet with them, we got ice cream from another member, and we found a new person!! We started walking one way but than felt we should turn around and walk down another street. I saw a lady gardening in her front yard and I complemented the shirt she was wearing! We started talking to her and we answered some of her questions she had about our church like, "are you guys allowed to dance?" She said she had been praying and reading her Bible and the chance that we just happened to walk by when she was in the front was no coincidence. I believe it was an answer to her prayer. Her name is Teresa and we are meeting with her later this week! When we left I felt to happy! I was so excited and I gave Elder Buhman a big hug! Enjoy this week! 

Love,  Elder Spencer

In front of some blossoms 

Bye Elder Merrill

Meet Elder Buhman!

                                    An online lesson with friends! (Technology is amazing!!)

Love One Another as Jesus Loves You March 25, 2021

Hey all! 

Elder Merrill and I did lots of service this week. Enjoy the recording. (Will included a voice recording with this week's news).

Love you all, Elder Spencer 

Voice memo

When it Rains, it Pours! (A Song title, I think?) Mar 15, 2021

We got tons of rain this week! Some thunder and lighting, it was very very frightening! It is so good for the grass and plants though. Starting to see some green around here! 

This week I participated in my first Book Of Mormon experiment! It was actually so fun. We set up a booth on MSU campus with the YSA elders and asked people if they wanted to read a page of the Book Of Mormon. (We didn't tell them where the page was from.) They would highlight their favorite parts of the page and I would ask them why the liked that part. That would lead into a conversation in which I would tell them that the page was from the Book Of Mormon. I would ask if they wanted it and I told them that it is such a great book about Jesus Christ! I was able to give out five with one of the YSA elders! It was so amazing. I seriously loved it. It was so easy and effective. The Book Of Mormon is true. If you want to learn more about Jesus Christ read this book!

We had some lessons with Kayla at the church! We showed her the building and paintings on the walls. We are trying to ease her into the whole idea of coming to church. She downloaded the Gospel Library app and spent 5 hours exploring it!!! So cool. We taught her the Plan Of Salvation and she seems to have a good understanding of it. She is doing good. I am feeling nervous about our next few lessons. They are pretty major ones. Repentance, baptism and the Holy Ghost. We will need to prepare well and preach with power! The Spirit is the best teacher. 

Speaking of teaching I gave a talk this Sunday. Ordinances and covenants are how we access heavenly help. Be obedient. I will share it below. 

I have thought a lot about Jesus Christ this week. He is the reason we missionaries do what we do. If we at least help someone come closer to Christ than we are fulfilling our purpose. He is our eldest brother. 

Hope you are all feeling great! Smile 😀 Elder Spencer

On exchanges with Elder Fogg on the MSU campus!

  A pot full of cookie dough

                                                         Look who Elder Merrill traced his line back to! Lol

A Promise

By Elder William Spencer

March 14, 2021: Ingram Mill Ward, Springfield MO

Hello brothers and sisters! I am so happy to be here with you today! I have to say out of all the areas I have served in the state of Missouri this has been my favorite one! This is my second area in the mission field and my first one was in Arkansas…. haha. This is a good ward. You are all wonderful. I hope you know you are watched over by a loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for you. He loves you so much. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elder Spencer. I am from Sherwood Park, Alberta Canada and the snow we got a couple weeks ago reminded me of home. We will see how I fare this summer in the heat. I was trained in the online MTC from my home. It was a unique experience that I will cherish. As a missionary I have the opportunity to talk to people about Jesus Christ as I bear His name on my nametag. I am going to try to do the same here today. 

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. The word trust implies action. You can’t just think about making a snowball in the snow we had a few weeks ago and all of a sudden have a snowball. You have to go outside and make one yourself. Trust works the same. Your actions show your trust or distrust. Why is action important in trust? Why can’t we just say we trust God and bam, we trust Him and He trusts us. Jesus clarifies why action is important: “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7: 20) Our fruits are what other people see. Just like the fruit on a tree. We can see an apple on a tree and tell if it is ripe or rotten. We know if a tree is good if it brings forth fruit that is good. Lucifer knows this. He will “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly [he is a] ravening wol[f]” (Matt. 7: 15) He will disguise a tree to look beautiful but in actuality it is rotting. I had a tree like this back home. In the springtime it would be coloured with beautiful pink and red blossoms. It was so pleasant to look at and I was always amazed at its beauty. However the fruit it bore was not edible. It was hard and bitter. It may have even been poisonous to eat. Lucifer tries to deceive us but Jesus Christ won’t deceive us. Cultivate the desire to do what He has asked us to do, but remember it's our  “decisions [that] determine [our] destiny” (President Thomas S. Monson, Ponder the Path of Thy Feet, October 2014 General Conference)  

I would like to relate an experience I had before I came on my mission that illustrates why trust in Jesus Christ is so important. I was with my young men’s group. We had a base camp and did some rock climbing around the area. We learned how to use harnesses, carabiniers, rope and each other to make it safely up and down the rock wall. We were getting familiar with the equipment so we would trust it when it mattered most. When we were going to be climbing the Via ferrata. The Via ferrata was a sheer steep rock face that was a couple thousand feet high. It only had metal rungs that we could climb up and use for support. We also had two caribierner lines attached to us and a wire that ran alongside the rungs. Every eight feet we would unclip one carabiner at a time to attach it to the next eight foot section. It was very tedious. I was anxious as I climbed up. It was a high climb and the trees looked so small beneath me.  I trusted the equipment but I was still scared. Step by step I made it to the top. When I got to the top, I looked back at the cliff I had climbed up. I was filled with excitement that I had finished the climb! 

In this climb of our lives we need help from Jesus Christ. Just like I used  carabiner lines to catch me if I fell Jesus is there when we fall away from Him. He helps us get back up and keep climbing. Jesus saves. To access His saving power we must follow His example. He has said “come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22) One way we follow Him is by way of ordinances and covenants.

What are ordinances and covenants? According to the Gospel Of Jesus Christ pamphlet an ordinance is: “A sacred, formal act performed by the authority of the priesthood. Examples include baptism, and the sacrament. Ordinances are often a means of entering into a covenant with God.” (The Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet, pg. 19) A covenant defined by the pamphlet is: “An agreement between God and His children. God gives the conditions for the covenant, and we agree to obey Him. God promises certain blessings for our obedience.” (The Gospel of Jesus Christ pamphlet, pg. 18) Jesus showed us the way for the ordinances of Baptism and the sacrament. The sacrament prayers remind us of what we promise to do and what we can recieve from God if we are obedient to our promise. READ D&C 20:77, 79. (Talk about taking upon the name of thy Son, always remember Him, keep His commandments, and always have His Spirit to be with them.)

 Now remember, we don’t have to worry about the Lord keeping His side of the promise. The Lord has said “I, the Lord am bound when you do what I say, but when ye do not what I say ye have no promise.” (D&C 82:10) We have been asked to do these things. Let us strive to do them with exactness and we will receive the Holy Ghost in our lives.  A guide to help us come unto Jesus. 

Brothers and sisters, let us take courage like the prophet Nephi did when he exclaimed READ 1 NEPHI 3:7. The Lord wouldn’t ask you to do anything if there was not a way to do them. The way He has prepared for us is Jesus Christ. (2 Nephi 31:21)

The word trust implies action. Living what we believe in our hearts. As we strive to always remember Him, take His name upon us and keep His commandments we have a promise that we will receive heavenly help. Jesus Christ is the way (2 Nephi 31:21), the path back to our Heavenly Father. I testify that He lives. He is concerned about you and the daily struggles you go through. He knows your name (Isaiah 43:1) I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Build a Garden Bed! Mar 8, 2021

Hello! This is Elder Spencer serving in the Arkansas, Bentonville Mission. A great week in this part of the Lord's vineyard.

We received a service referral this week. Funny enough the husband of the homes name is William! Because of health conditions William is not able to do a lot. Because if this his dear wife Laura works hard to make sure he is well taken care of. She does a great job from what i can tell and she has a cheerful spirit about her. They really wanted garden boxes in their backyard but she doesn't know how to make them and he couldn't make them. That is when we come in. They texted us and we came over. We assembled the wood together using a hammer and nails. Once the box was complete we poured in sand, compost, more sand and potting soil. They can now grow lots of healthy vegetables! I was grateful that we were able to help them do a task they were not able to do on their own. We were the hands and feet. It reminded me of my sacred call as a representative of Jesus Christ. I am His hands and feet in the field. 

We met with Kayla three times this week!! She is reading out of the Book of Mormon and is enjoying what she is reading. When she reads she writes down any questions or clarification she needs on a verse. I recommend we all do this in our scripture study! She even said she was talking to her grandma about one of the verses she was reading and her gradma said what are you reading this book for? We already have the Bible. Does it really talk about Jesus. Kayla showed her the book. On the front it says: The Book Of Mormon--Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Than she opened up to the title page where is says: Jesus is the Christ. Sounds like a pretty awesome experiance. She is praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true. She said she hasn't recieved an answer yet but I think one is starting to formulate. Keep searching, keeping questioning, keep learning. 

"For behold, thus saith the Lord God, I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, and blessed are those which shall harken unto my precepts and mend an ear unto my counsel for they shall learn wisdom, for unto him that recieveth I will give more, but unto him that will say, we have enough, unto him it shall be taken even that which he hath." 2 Nephi 28:30. Little by little folks. Little by little. Practice patience. 

Take care, love your hair. Elder Spencer

What was lost was found and I made a new friend! Mar 1, 2021

Hey! I hope you all had a great week! I was grateful for the sunshine this week! We had some beautiful days. Spring is on its way! Woohoo! 

My suitcase that I lost at transfer loop was brought to me this week! I am also grateful for that. A relief for sure. Nothing was missing or stolen. Such a blessing! 

This week we found Kayla! She was one of our Facebook Friends we sent a video to. SHe liked our videos and wanted to learn more. We met with her in person at a park close by! She used to go to a different church but didn't feel very accepted. SHe had a really positive experiance with members of our church when they helped her move. SHe enjoyed being around tham and talking to them. Ever since than she has wanted to learn more about our faith. We introduced the Book Of Mormon to her and read parts of the introduction. She said she liked it and it felt fimiliar. She wants to get closer to God and we told her that this book would really help with that! She seems open to what we have to say and I believe God is preparing her heart to hear our message! 

This week as well I was able to meet a very special couple, Daggie and Dale. Daggie was a child in Berlin when my great grandpa Halverson dropped candy to the kids while bringing in food for the starving people. She actually caught a some candy as it fell out of the sky! Before I came on my mission I was able to take part in a musical about the Candy Bomber. That was special to act out the story, but to actually meet a person that was in Berlin was amazing. She was so sweet. I am grateful she was able to share her side of the Candy Bomber and Uncle Wiggly Wings. I have only heard it from my family and the musical. Pretty great day indeed. 

This week I have a lot to be grateful for. The Lord really does look after His missionaries. He looks after all of His children. Take care everyone! Love you all. Elder Spencer

                                                        Daggie, Dale, Elder Merrill and I

                                                            Sweet and Sour Sausage

 

No SIM and no suitcase! Feb 22, 2021

What a week! What a week.

As missionaries we take a lot of things for granted. We have our gas paid for, food paid for, homes paid for, and bills paid for. Another thing we take for granted is our SIM cards which give us the ability to call and text members, people we are working with and other missionaries. Well, this week our SIM card stopped working. It made our work very interesting. We had to try figure out a way to still get all our contacting in. Some we were not able to do, so hopefully that does not have to many major repercussions. The form we tried is emailing people! It turned out to be fairly effective! We could still reach people it was just less effective as a text but we are rolling with it. Adapting with the changing current. Hopefully we can get our SIM working this week!

Because of the snow and no SIM card, Elder Merrill and I made lots of videos to send to people in Springfield who accept our Facebook Friend requests! It is a lot of fun making these short 10 second videos, indroducing ourselves to these people and asking if they would like a scripture of happiness or joy in their day. If they send us a thumbs up we make a second video of us reading a scripture about Jesus Christ and the joy we can have through Him in these trubulant times (we usually share John 16:33 or Helaman 5:12) We have recieved a few responces from second videos that we send so that is a plus! We have not progressed far enough with someone to send a third video or have an actual lesson but that is the end goal! 

For the past week and a half I have lived with one set of Sunday clothes. I washed my shirt collar every two days so it didn't get really dirty (thanks Grandma for showing me how!) and Elder Merrill let me use some of his ties. I lost my suitcase with all my other Sunday clothes. Ties, socks, white shirts, pants, suit and vests all in that suitcase.... dang man. I sure hope I can get that this week! Fingers crossed. 

One last thing. I had my first Zone Conference this week. President Strong talked about our missionary experience and life experience really is like climbing a Mount Everest. The various parts along the journey he compared to the Gospel Of Jesus Christ. Faith, Repentance, Covenants, The Holy Ghost and Enduring to the end. Faith is doing what it takes to get ready to climb the mountain. You need to have all your materials like a ice pik, rope, good shoes, oxygen, and a warm body suit. If you don't prepare you won't be able to climb. Faith is action. That action looks like preparing for the climb. Repentance was course correcting when you are on the mountain. Sometimes you take a wrong path and need to get back on one that is safe, away from the 2,000 foot cliff. Being humble and recognizing that God's ways are higher than your ways will help you get back on His path. Making covenants is like helping others along the way as we tell God we will do what He asks of us which is to climb the mountain and help others do the same He will help us. One way He helps us is by the Holy Ghost or the Sherpa on the mountain with you. A sherpa is very experienced and knows which path to go on and how to survive the icy cold winds and storms. The Holy Ghost is our guide. He knows which paths we need to take so we can be safe from the winds and storms of Satan. Enduring to the end is pushing until you make it to the top. Developing the skills that you need to get to the top. Doing those things over and over again. It becomes a pattern of climbing or a pattern of living. 

Have a good week everyone! Stay healthy and happy! Do something that will make you smile. Call your mom if you haven't in a while. I did that today. It was great! Love, Elder Spencer

Snow in the backyard

                                                    Institute Building here in Springfield!!

New Area comes with some new white stuff on the ground! Feb 15, 2021

Hello! I am in Springfield, MO! In Springfield, MO there is lots of snow! The last day and all of today it has been snowing. A couple of inches. The driveways are covered and people just stay inside because they don't have equipment to clear it. They don't have winter tires or many snow plows so in some areas the snow is just piling up. Crazy stuff. 

My companion is Elder Merrill! He is from Rigby Idaho. He is a big boy, about six foot, heavy set. He played football in high school. He loves all kinds of music and sleep. He will get curled up in his polar blanket and sleep. 

The work in this area is slow to say the least. Right now we don't have anyone we are really working with. We don't have a primary friend. It will take some work to build up a teaching pool. Because of the weather and Covid we are confined to Facebook Tracting and refferals. It is definitely a trial of patience. Facebook Tracting eliminates some factors of door to door tracting like weather, time, and energy spent. You can do it from your apartment, just send a video after the person has accepted your friend request. Most people have responded to our video messages, now we just have to get them to want more after the initial message. That will just take finding the right one. The ones the Lord is preparing. 

I got my work carved out. A slow area, church every other week, and new people to meet and become friends with, including the guy I live with. I guess I need to be a catalyst if I wanted to get all science up in here. Something that can get the area moving again. Something that can get the work going. With the ward's help, Elder Merrill's experience, and the Lord we can get this show on the road. 

I hope you are all staying warm! Its cold out there! 

My new mailing address: 1225 S Ingram Mill #D103 Springfield MO 65804

All the best, Elder Spencer

Photo with a selfie stick

Outside our apartment

Polar Bear Blanket

Piano and Organ duo!

Making silly faces!