General Conference is Coming!

General Conference!!!!!! Have you ever wanted to know what God would say if he were here? Or what Moses, or Isaiah, or Nephi, or Mormon would say if they were here today? We get to find out on Saturday and Sunday! General Conference is seriously one of the best blessings that we have. We get 10 hours to listen to prophets of God. Everyday I tell people that Jesus Christ has restored His Church through a prophet and that Christ directs that Church through a living prophet. And this week, we get to hear from him and the apostles. Jesus Christ lives. He is very real, and he is very concerned about us. And me. And you. He knows each of us by name, and he has restored His Church to bless us with the fullest measure of joy we can have in this life. 

We had interviews with President Ware on Friday. Something he counseled me on really stuck with me, and I wanted to share it with everyone else. He said that we don't have to let something we do wrong in the morning negatively affect the rest of our day. We can, at any time, get on our knees, plead for forgiveness, and trust the Savior to take our burdens from us. It takes work, and it takes a willingness to change and repent, but it is possible, and it can change our lives. 

Elder Plehn

Christ is The Reason (CTR)

This week has been great! In district council we were discussing some things that we could do to improve and serve more as the Savior serves, and one of the things we wanted to do better on was church tours. We had a fantastic church tour with an investigator named Honey. The Spirit was extremely strong, and everyone there felt it. We brought two members, and they really brought a lot to the tour. Elder Coleman and I were both able to participate in teaching and testifying of the importance of the sacrament. Elder Coleman is awesome at bringing the Spirit by sharing his personal experiences with the Savior's atonement. I really am learning a lot from him about how to open up to people and talk with them. That's something I need improvement in, and Elder Coleman is fantastic at it, so it works out well. 

We were also able to drive up to Kennewick to see Mike's baptism. Elder Brinkerhoff and Elder Malcolm and I taught Mike until Elder Malcolm and I were transferred to Hermiston. I taught him for about four months, and he was finally baptized on Saturday. It was so cool to see him finally ready to be baptized! I could tell that he was committed to following the example of the Savior.

The Church is true! But more importantly, Jesus Christ is our Savior. He really is. I've been thinking a lot about that. Jesus is real. And He loves us so much. I am so grateful for the many blessings that I have received, but it is just as rewarding to see how the Lord blesses all of His children. 

Elder Plehn

Welcome Elder Coleman to the WKM!

Hello Everyone!

Transfers have come and gone. My new companion's name is Elder Coleman! He's straight from the MTC (this is his 6th day in the field) and he is awesome! He's from Clinton, Utah (only my second companion of eight from Utah). He's awesome! He's a fantastic missionary; he's very prepared to serve a mission. He's a convert of about 8 years, and he has a fantastic testimony of the blessings that the gospel can bring to families. I'm really excited to work with him. 

We've had an inspiring week! Elder Malcolm and I drove up to Kennewick on Wednesday to pick up our new companions, and then we were back in Kennewick for our Trainer/Trainee meeting on Friday (9:00 to 4:00!), plus we had our zone meeting, so it feels like we've barely had any time to proselyte last week. 

Running out of time... All of our investigators are doing well, and we had three solid new investigators last week despite all of the craziness of transfers. We've really been focusing on talking with EVERYONE as a mission, and it's brought a ton of miracles to our district and our zone!

The Church is True! 

Elder Plehn

Transfers! And Baptisms!

Transfer calls came on Saturday! My companion, Elder Malcolm, who I just finished training, is going to be heading to Heppner, a town 45 minutes south of Hermiston, opening the area, and training new missionary! I'm super excited for him. He's an awesome missionary, and he's going to do some great things down there. He's still going to be in my district, so we still get to see each other. I'm going to be staying in Hermiston, and I'm going to be training another missionary. I'm super excited. I keep telling people the Lord is giving me a chance to repent and fix all the mistakes I made with Elder Malcolm. :) 

Chris was baptized on Saturday!!! He's so cool! It's been so much fun to teach him, because he already knows everything. And we had the tiny little room that the baptismal font is in packed with his wife's family, who are all active members. It was a great experience watching him be baptized and confirmed. 

We found a lot of new people to teach this week, including an awesome family that we are so excited to teach. Elder Malcolm and I have had an enormous amount of growth here. I'm really sad to see Elder Malcolm go, but I know that this next transfer will be just as good. 

The Church is true, and the Savior can help each of us deal with anything that we are going through. I know that He lives. He is the Reason.

Love, Elder Plehn

Pictures:

1. Elder Malcolm is a visionary. That's all. :)
2. CTR road. Best thing ever.
3. Chris!!! And Elder Benson and Elder Cordon, the missionaries we replaced.
4. Elder Smith, our zone leader dies today... :(

What's the word of the day? BAPTIZE!!! :)

Hey Everyone! 

I'm doing great here. Hermiston is such a fantastic area. There are so many people here that are willing to talk and open up if you give them the chance. Recently, I've been trying to be more genuine as I talk with people. It really helps to talk to people about their families. People love talking about themselves and about their families. It makes it so easy to talk with people about the gospel. 

Chris is being baptized on Saturday! He passed his baptismal interview on Saturday, and is just waiting to be baptized. He honestly could have been baptized two weeks ago, but due to scheduling and him wanting his family to be there, it's happening this week. He was recently married to a less-active member of one of our wards. He's so cool. He reads from the Book of Mormon everyday, and feels the Spirit as he reads and comes to church. It's been a little different teaching him because he already knows everything from his wife and the previous missionaries. But he's excited about his baptism!

We were also blessed with an incredible new investigator, Olivia. She has been attending church for about a month and a half in a different ward with her friend. Her friend realized that Olivia was supposed to be going to a different ward, so she referred Olivia to the missionaries. Unfortunately, she got the wrong ones. Twice. By the time we taught her, she had been taught the Restoration lesson twice and had already been committed to a baptismal date by the Spanish sisters. So when Elder Malcolm and Elder Smith (exchanges... I haven't actually met her yet.... ) put her on date, they gave her a date a week after the date that the sisters had given her. :) But she's still going to be baptized. :) 

We've been blessed a lot this week. Our district is doing fantastic. We've already had 4 people be baptized this month, and there are three who are being baptized this Saturday, including Chris, with a lot more on the way. There really have been people who have been prepared for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we have opened our mouths to share it, we have been blessed. Jesus Christ is the Reason. http://bcove.me/25ol2ef3. I have been tremendously blessed as I have turned to my Savior for help. There are so many miracles that happen all around us. I am so thankful for the Gospel and Doctrine of Christ. I would invite everyone to read 2 Nephi 31:21. This is THE Way. 

Elder Plehn

Greetings from Hermiston, Oregon!!!

10 August 2015

So we had a really crazy week...

We started our week in Kennewick, and now Elder Malcolm and I are in Hermiston. We got a call from our mission president on Wednesday night telling us that we were going to be going to Hermiston on Friday morning. It's been fun. We left one person on date and two that were really close (we get to go back for the baptisms) and we got 6 people on date, with 2 or 3 really close. :) And we barely have any records, so we are starting from scratch, but with people to teach. :) 

This area will definitely help me personally to improve and become more like the Savior, but the most important thing is the change that can happen as any of us put our trust in Him. He really can help us. 

Also, Thursday is August 13th.... I don't even know what to say to that. To think that I've been here on my mission for one year is... strange. I think I'm starting to figure it out. :) As I put Christ first, everything else get's easier. Funny how simple that is, but how hard it is to keep up. 

Love,

Elder Plehn

Great Week!

3 August 2015

So, last night, I was thinking about the week. We had had a pretty rough day, and I was a little down. But then I made a conscious decision to think about the good things that happened. By the time I got to the end of the week, I didn't even feel that I needed to think about the disappointments. Heavenly Father has blessed us with so much, and he does so much for us on a daily basis, that it by far outweighs the negative or the mistakes that we make. 

So, some of those good things: We had two lessons with Eric, and he now has a solid baptismal date on the 22nd of August. He says that he has "definitely felt it," which is a huge step for him. He's ready to go! Mike and his wife Brenda both came to church again, and they are doing really well. In Sunday School, Mike commented that he knew that the Gospel is true, and that the Book of Mormon is true, and that he has been able to rely on that as he has been trying to help his wife progress. Speaking of his wife, Brenda agreed to sit in a lesson this week! That's huge progress for her as well. She's been to church 4 or 5 times, but we haven't had a lesson with her yet. So we're excited for the two of them. 

Also, Graham Crackers and milk make daily planning so much better. :) 

Love, Elder Plehn