HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Elder Varner went home inbetween transfers by himself on Monday, January 4th. He started school the next day! In his last letter to the mission president he says: While training a new missionary, we were asked to teah 20 lessons and we really wanted to reahc it. One day on a Saturday we were running short of our goal, so we skipped lunch and kept on working, exercising our faith that the Lord would provide. Near the end of the evening, we needed another lesson to hep us reach the goal. We were out tracting and I remember praying hard, pleading for someone to find and help. We came to a gate and I looked upt to the sky and said, "this is the last one on the street . . . please hep us." I felt the spirit comfort me. We walked up to the door and a guy came and yelled at us and told us to get off his property. As we walked back down his pathway, he yelled bakc at us, "I was just joing, please come on in." We were able to teach him the gospel and the Lord answered our prayer of faith. As we left the appointment, I was overcome by a powerful sens of love and I knew it was all because of our Heavenly Father and not ourselves. We reached our goal of 20 lessons.

Sidenote: As they did, they reached their purpose bringing many unto Jesus Christ in Duluth! HURRAH for ISRAEL!

Elder Varner talked to 6 people while checking in at the airport, 2 more while standing in line --- 8 total simply because he loves to share the gospel, as do so the missionaries in MMM!

The group picture shows the new missionaries with their trainers. They received training December 30, 2009.

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NOVEMBER 5, 2010

November finds us thankful for our recent General Authority Zone Tour with Elder Richard Hinckley and Sister Hinckley! They have profoundly impacted Minnesota Minneapolis Mission with their training, but also with their love and example.

Elder Hinckley was happy to see that we were immersed in using the ad campaign, the simplified lessons and that the missionaries are so obedient. He committed us to talking to EVERYONE and using our area books nightly. Sister Hinckley committed us to choosing 3 ways that we will start using members. Missionaries throughout the mission are already reporting success in using their area books and are finding potential investigators! The missionaries are also making great plans to use and serve during the holidays and for and with members.

What a remarkable experience to have Elder and Sister Hinckley here --- one that cannot be described --- one that abounded in the love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, full of the doctrine of Christ---faith, repenting, renewing or making covenants, being sanctified through the reception of the Holy Ghost and enduring in excellence to the end!

As Lorri Beth, our 14 year old down syndrome daughter, walked past the Elder and Sister Hinckley in the hallway before Rochester Stake Conference, she touched her heart and said, "I feel it Mom; Jesus is here!" We all feel it, too. Jesus is here with all of his wonderful servants; He's with the missionaries in this important work and He's with our families. HURRAH for YOU and YOUR SUPPORT!

AUGUST 2010

August finds MMM changing and growing under the direction of the Lord and his servants. The MTC is changing it's mode of using PMG in May of 2011. The missions throughout the United States have received and are implementing simplified PMG lessons and training in preparation. What excitement and inspired change this brings to our mission!

Coupled with this new training, the Missionary Department has selected nine media markets where a new approach to sharing the Gospel will be tested. Our mission is in one of those nine test markets. Mormon.org is a significant part of this campaign. Mormon.org has been restructured and is heavily oriented towards presenting our beliefs through the lives of Church members. Over 2,000 members have posted profiles on mormon.org, with more than 15,000 coming soon. We invite the families of our missionaries to profile themselves on mormon.org, by clicking on "our people" and entering their profile information on the page that will appear. Mormon.org allows us, as members, to truly be missionaries, explaining our beliefs and life experience online, leaving, if we wish, links to our social sites (Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed, Blogs, etc.) Again, we hope the families of our missionaries (the best in the world) will support this great work of the Lord, by profiling themselves on mormon.org!

This will greatly impact --- explode missionary work! For example, we have monthly Mission President Firesides, where new converts share their stories with missionaries, who attend with their investigators. There are always several baptisms as a result of each fireside because the investigators relate to the speakers and feel mentored spiritually.

As those not of our faith go to mormon.org and read comments from members, whose experiences and interests in life are similar to their own, they will have a Mission President Fireside type of experience and be prompted to seek the truth. But mormon.org's missionary capacity will be nonstop and far-reaching!

The media campaign, running presently in MMM invites people to visit mormon.org. The outstanding TV and radio ads running now in MMM, can be viewed at:

www.boncom.com/mormon

Billboard advertising will start in September and transit ads, bus ads, internet banner ads and display ads running on video sites such as Hulu will follow. This campaign will run through the end of the year! We would appreciate your prayers that it's full impact can be felt through the mission and be used by our diligent missionaries!

Also in October, we will be having the yearly General Authority mission tour. Elder Richard Hinckley, who is over the Mission Department for the church, will be coming to our mission! How we look forward to this outstanding, spiritual opportunity!

As you can see, the Lord is moving in MMM; the wonderful people here are Christian and the stage has been set in many ways for the gospel and kingdom to grow and go forth here!

HURRAH for ISRAEL!

JULY 2010

What a wonderful time to be in Minnesota. We were blessed with 39 baptisms in June, after 47 baptisms in May. Baptisms for first six months are up over 10%. Many of these baptisms are families. Our new investigators are at an all time high and continue to increase. We have the highest number of new investigators in all of the Central States! Missionaries are having multiple experiences where the spirit is directing their teaching. We want to continue to find 3 new investigators and teach twenty lessons each week, baptizing one of the new investigators we have found during July.

We have just received the new training from the Missionary Department are so excited because we have already implemented much of the training! YOU ARE GREAT TEACHERS ---- well on the way to becoming master teachers and the new training will make us even better. We’re having a leadership meeting next week to roll this out.

MORE GOOD NEWS! We have just been notified that MMM has been selected to be a pilot mission for a new media campaign in the twin cities area. It will include TV, radio, and print advertizing introducing the new Mormon.org website. Such campaigns lead to substantially increased media referrals and will help change the image of the church in Minnesota! In conjunction with this media exposure, this week all of you in the Anoka, Burnsville, Minneapolis, St. Paul, North St. Paul and Oakdale Zones will be asked to block out 2-3 hours to complete a survey of existing investigators. It is critical this be done on the day requested and as accurately as possible. There will be significant spill-over in this campaign for the entire mission. Preparatory to this blessing is our continued focus on finding and becoming master teachers. More details will follow.

The Lord is moving over this mission. The work is progressing and will continue to pick up speed and momentum. The door is opening up for the 30 stakes President Kimball foresaw. You are teaching with the spirit, finding out concerns and boldly committing, as you constantly improve and progress! The Lord is blessing you for your efforts in multiple ways; how we, too, love and appreciate each one of you!

HURRAH for ISRAEL!!!

The blessings of the Lord are showering upon MMM and HIS work here upon the earth!

President & Sister Howell

ELDER L.TOM PERRY ELDER HALLSTROM visit MMM FEBRUARY 23rd!

President Howell in his talk, shared our mission goal in honor of Elder Perry visit. In June, when he came, the mission was averaging 9.5 lessons per week per missionary. He challenged the missionaries to teach 20 lessons weekly --- 10 of their own and 10 less active lessons provided by the wards and branches, even noting teaching active members to get 20 per week was a worthy goal.

We wanted to be the first mission to teach 20 lessons in this millenium, to be obedient to Pres. Hinckley, Pres. Monson and Elder Perry.

Pres. Howell asked the missionaries who had achieved this lofty goal to stand. The whole congregation of missionaries stood up at once! The meeting was web-camed to the outskirts; the missionaries in other meeting houses all stood, as well ONE congregation! The spirit poured into the building. It was an obedient army of the Lord --- standing in accounting to his apostle.

Pres. Howell recalled that in December, the mission was averaging 13.5 lessons per mission, per week. In January we averaged 18.8 lessons per week. The week before Elder Perry's visit we averaged 20.5 lessons per week per missionary. Every companionship --- with the exception of only one missionary who just barely arrived, had accomplished this goal! What a privilege to have been there on that occasion!

How your sons and daughters worked to achieve this goal --- along with the ecclesiastical leaders!

Here are other highlights from Pres. Howell:

Elder Jurca & Elder Whitehead opened up a new area in a singles branch in Northfield 2 weeks ago. We were concerned they could go from 0 to 20 in such a short period. Last Fri To help reach the goal they invited several members to be taught. One young man 22 had been coming to church. They planned to teach him that God was his loving Heavenly Father and how he could increase his faith in Jesus Christ. As they taught he started to tear up. He was baptized at 12. As a youth he loved being around the missionaries. But had not had opportunity to be around Missionaries lately. He shared with them that he had some doctrinal questions and testimony had been weakened. . He wanted to turn in papers but didn’t feel comfortable sharing his concerns. As they taught the spirit was present. He had been praying for help and he said that he knew HF had answered his prayer when the Elders called. Talk and discuss will turn in papers and go on mission.

We have worked for months to increase member present lessons, without a lot of success. As we have approached the 20 lesson mark, member present lessons have increased over 100 lessons more than last June, and there is a 40% increase in lessons taught to investigators.

Since Elder Alan Packer’s visit last October, we have worked on teaching quality. The effectiveness funnel has increased from 22 investigators to 1 baptism to 14 investigators to 1 baptism in December and 15 to 1 in January, a 50% improvement. Baptisms for December and January have increased 30% over the first 6 months of 09.

Teaching has increased, and teaching quality has substantially improved. I have taught lessons before when missionaries could go the whole lesson with only asking 2 or 3 questions. As we have watched the videos of your teaching, we see much improvement. Dialogue is taking place, seeking to understand concern and identifying the spirit is better. Most of all you are excited to teach.

As you have taught in members homes, they are more willing to share gospel.

Specific Miracles:

Archie Erickson in Princeton

16 years ago married a member, last 8 years going to church. Shortly after Elder Perry’s last visit, Archie was invited by Bishop Watson to take lessons again by the missionaries. There is power in the Bishop, who has the keys to invite Archie. In his own words:

I was called to serve in as the Young Men’s secretary earlier this summer and so far I really enjoy it a lot. It has really strengthened my faith working with the boys and I am grateful for my calling and Bishop Watson for his commitment and encouragement to helping me become a member. In November I received the Aaronic Priesthood and feel it has been a huge gift in my life. I can’t wait for the next conference when I can advance to the Melchezidick Priesthood. I really fell stronger in my faith and more confident as an individual since my baptism. I feel like I am in control of my own destiny for once in my life. I know this in not a coincidence.

Elder Poole. Where do I begin? When he first arrived at my house with Elder Vaughn one Tuesday, I thought he was a pretty nervous wreck for a missionary. (HE was brand new, right out of the MTC). It seemed every week he gained more confidence in his teaching. I admire his strength in his own faith and how it helped him help me and my own faith and testimony. Over the last eight years I have taken numerous lessons from ward missionaries, some repetitive, some new, but I always wondered who would be the one that would finally persuade me to take the plunge into the font. He is great. I know he will continue to be a great missionary and he will always be in my thoughts.

Elder Stewart in Farmington

I want to tell you of an experience I had this week. I was able to participate in a baptism of a family. I didn’t think it would happen. It was a less-active family. About 2 ½ months ago the mother finally agreed to take the lesson. After a lot of effort on our part and by the ward, agreed to take the lessons, this family finally came back to church after years and years. The turning point came when one night we set up a lesson with them in this awesome member’s home. Everyone bore testimony that night, including this less active family. The next Sunday they were at church, a miracle in itself. This past week the parents made it back to the temple, for the first time in twenty years and yesterday their two children were baptized by their father, who wanted nothing to do with the church three months ago. Now Nate age 11 and Hailey age 14 can be active participants in the church with their parents. This transformation was so amazing to watch.

Elder Pugh / Elder Butler opened up Wadena 6 months ago, only 13 people were going to an dependent Sunday School. Three members were coming from Alexandria to help; they had 10 real members. Alexandria ward mission leader & bishop had prepared for the missionaries before they arrived. The first night, they taught a lesson, teaching 18 lessons the first week. The ward mission leader had them all set up. They baptized 4 while they were there, activating many more. A month ago there were over 50 people at church, last Sunday, 38.

The biggest problem is meeting in a civic center right over the Hockey arena. They are in the process of finding another place to meet.

We have just started to scratch surface. We need to work with members to increase the number of mobilizing the ward mission lessons and decrease the number of active lessons.

We need to balance finding with teaching, always finding new investigators. We have much more faith to find new investigators, while we are teaching those preparing for baptism.

In finding we need to be more creative and seek the spirit to develop more and better ways to find. This can happen as we work more closely with the members

As we are using the teaching Christian finding and teach principles, we are seeing investigator’s defensive shields come and willing to explore and talk. And we are changing the image of the church in the minds of those we talk to. We need to be doing more Christian approaches.

ELDER HANSEN, our area authority spoke, so beautifully and praised the elders. I will be downloading notes on his talk.

ELDER HALLSTOM seemed truly touched, congratulating them and expressing his love, then give an outstanding talk about continuing onward.

ELDER PERRY spoke about Martin Luther, living in Germany and gave scriptures that are exactly what we need for this time and area. It's exactly what we've been working on and discussing.

All the talks were so inspired. I'm going to download notes from each of them. We then sang our mission song, "This is the Christ," following a powerful testimony of Elder Perry's declaring Jesus Christ leads this church; it is his church. The missionaries, in turn sang their testimony to him of Jesus Christ and there were tears in his eyes. It was a very powerful night --- never to be forgotten!

February 21, 2010

The mission will be teaching 20 lessons a week, each companionship, when Elder L. Tom Perry comes on Tuesday, February 23rd. He promised that our baptisms would double and that the image of the church would change --- we are just barely achieving this goal of teaching 20 lessons, each companionship. Still the miracles are too numerous to document. Here are some statistics, from when Elder L. Tom Perry came last June and issued this challenge:

We have almost 100 more members present lessons a month

from 199 in June to 277 now, a 50% increase

In June we had 280 nonmember lessons

now we have 360, a 35% increase

Baptisms are up 25%, as we started to increase lessons

We are holding our date sets --- 90% are getting baptized

Usually it is one investigator in 22 progressing investigators get baptized; now we're at one investigator in 14 are getting baptized! THEY ARE IMPROVING THEIR TEACHING!

Pres. Hinckley challenged the missionaries in January 2000 that baptisms would double if they worked and prayed incessantly. The missionaries in MMM are honoring the Lord, a prophet and Elder Perry. What a privilege to be here with them at this time, as the Lord is blessing them in response to their diligence!

2010 NEW YEAR

On January 9th, 10 years ago, the first temple of the millenium was dedicated, the St. Paul Temple. While in the mission, President Hinckley met with the missionaries, promising that if they would labor and pray incessantly baptisms would double.

This January marks the ten year anniversary of that temple dedication. The Lord has blessed us to have an amazing white Christmas with 46 baptisms. On this the anniversary year of of the temple dedication and upon Elder L. Tom Perry's arrival in February, we would like to be the first mission of this millenium to have every companionship teaching 20 lessons a week! Elder Perry has promised we will double baptisms, if we teach 20 lessons. We hope you will include this goal in all of your prayers . . .

Christmas in MMM

MMM had a WHITE CHRISTMAS this year, with 45 baptisms in December, reaching beyond our goal of 40. MMM is having a WHITE CHRISTMAS --- we're at 37 baptisms and the month isn't finished! The missionaries are focused on serving the Lord this Christmas season and His children. Caroling and service activities are going on throughout the mission. In Rochester, they caroled at the Mayo Clinic, with people in the hospital joining them in singing to the patients, becoming investigators themselves! It's been a full and busy November and December with two sets of zone conferences and interview tours. The missionaries are teaching more lessons, companion studies have improved; they are striving to listen to and be directed by the Spirit. We're continuing to work with the wards and branches, activated less active families throughout the mission. Virtually every unit has had families activated because of this and are getting sealed in the temple. Miracles are descending upon this mission, as snowflakes from the sky . . .