Baptism!

We had a baptism on Saturday! It was an amazing experience! It's so rewarding to see someone that you have been working so hard on and praying so much for to begin living the gospel and making sacred covenants with God. It's the best feeling a missionary can have. 

I hope that everyone has had a great week, and I wish you all the best!

Love, Elder Plehn​

Happy New Year!

Hey everyone!

 

Transfer calls came on Saturday. Elder Bergquist is headed to Ellensburg, and I'm getting a new companion, Elder Snow. He is going to be my 5th companion in 4 transfers. If I keep this up, I'll have more companions than transfers. We are also losing our car. :( We now have to share with Pasco 2nd ward. I'm not really sure how it's going to work, because we don't even live in our area. We live 28 blocks away... It's going to be interesting to say the least. But we'll make it work.

 

 We finally had investigators come to church this week! We had four of them come. It's so gratifying to see people there. That's one of the most difficult commitments to get investigators to follow through with. So it's exciting to see so many progressing. We have three people preparing for baptism in the next few weeks. It's really exciting.

 

I love you all, and have a great 2015!

Elder Plehn

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

I'm having a great time here. Being a missionary is an awesome experience. I get to see a lot of miracles. We were supposed to have a baptism on the 27th, but she was sick and couldn't come to church. So we have to push the date back a week. Which stinks... But it's ok, because she's still being baptized. It's just gives her another week to prepare and strengthen her testimony. I've come to care so much more about others since I've been here. I care more about our investigators coming to church than about me getting to church, because I know how much it can help them progress.

I want everyone to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church of the earth that has the Priesthood authority of God. It is true, and Christ is at the head. I know that that is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. It is the key to knowing if Joseph Smith was a prophet, and if this Church is true. 

I love you all, and have a merry Christmas!

Love, Elder Plehn

He Is the Gift

Hey Everyone!

 

I know it's been a long time since I wrote a mass email like this. Sorry about that. I don't know how many of you have seen the 'He is the Gift' video, but I encourage you all to watch it, even if you've already seen it, and think about what that gift means to you. http://www.mormon.org/Christmas

 

This gospel is real and can change lives. I have loved my time here, and am so grateful that I have been given the chance to share what I know with so many other people. This experience has taught me so much, and has helped me grow as a person, and as a son of God. There have been hard moments, but those have just allowed me to realize the ways I can improve.

 

I invite everyone to take time this Christmas season, and share what you know about our Savior. Missionary work is not limited to knocking on doors. It can and should be a integral part of each one of our lives.

 

I love you all!

Elder Plehn

Hey Everyone!

Hi!

 

I've had an awesome week! I'm in a new area, and still adjusting to that, but it's been awesome. I have two new companions, Elder Bergquist and Elder Dowuona-Hammond. They are both awesome missionaries, and I'm glad I get the chance to serve with them. Elder Hammond goes home in three weeks (that's why there are three of us). He's from Accra, Ghana. Elder Bergquist is from Las Vegas.

 

We've had some amazing experiences this week. Elder Arnold of the Quorum of the Seventy came to our mission this week. He taught us a lot. He was so inspiring and confident. Especially when he was telling us we need to shape up and be better. We got to hear him speak twice, because he spoke in a special conference just for members and investigators who speak Spanish. The whole meeting was in Spanish. I learned a lot from him.

 

We had another incredible experience. On Saturday night, we decided to go tracting at 8:30 (normally not the best time to go tracting...). At about 8:45, we knocked on a door, and someone let us in. We taught the entire Restoration lesson, committed her to read the Book of Mormon, and challenged her to be baptized. And she accepted! It was an incredible experience to be a part of.

 

Being a missionary is great! :)

Love, Elder Plehn

Transfers!!

Hey Everyone!

I'm being transferred! I'm headed to Pasco. I'm not quite sure how to spell my new companions' (That's right. Tri-panionship) names, so I'll get them to you all next week. I'm excited to go, but I'm really, really going to miss my area. I've loved it here. I've met a lot of awesome ward members, and we've had some incredible investigators. It's going to be hard to adjust to a new ward. And I'm going to miss Elder Asplund. We've had a great time here. I'm also going to miss the milkshake place that's right across the street from our apartment...

What's the weather like in Utah? It's not too bad here. We were supposed to get some snow on Friday, but the storm went around us. I made a prediction a while ago for the 18th (tomorrow) but it's not looking good. ;) It's cold though. Knocking on doors in 18 degree weather is fun. :) And it's dark. Washington's further north than Utah, so it get's darker earlier. So it's completely dark by about 5:30. Which makes tracting hard. People answer the door and ask us why we're out so late when it's 6:30 at night. Maybe it will be better in Pasco where there are actually street lights. Pasco is going to be very different than Naches. There is a grand total of two traffic lights in my area. :) Pretty rural. Four towns, two traffic lights. And there's a lot more people in Pasco. :) 

Something cool I learned (relearned) this week: Everyone is a Child of God. Our Heavenly Father loves you just as much as he loves everyone else. Nothing that you could ever do will diminish His love for you. All that He wants is to live with His family again. That's pretty incredible. :)

I love you all! Thanks for everyone that has written me. It means a lot! 

Elder Plehn

3 Months!!

Hello everyone!

 

As of this Wednesday, I will have been on my mission for three months! Serving a mission is an amazing opportunity. I have the privilage of seeing lives change, and am in the ideal enviornment to develop my own desires and figure out who I am. One of the best parts of being on a mission is seeing the Gospel touch people's lives. We've been teaching a less-active member who is trying to return to activity. The lessons we have had with her have been amazing. I admire her a lot. She sought us out because she didn't feel that she knew enough about the gospel and didn't feel that she had a testimony. But as we've been able to study with her, we've seen her progress and feel the Spirit. It's amazing to see the progression she is making.

Daily prayer and scripture study are the keys to having a better day. If you start your day with those things, you will have the Spirit in greater measure. That influence will make it easier to deal with the challenges and struggles of daily life. I can promise that! Read/Listen to Richard G. Scott's talk from this last conference. It gives four simple steps to finding peace in your life. Check it out. It's good.

 

I love you all! Thanks for everyone that has written me. Sorry if I havn't responded yet. I'm getting to it.

Love, Elder Plehn