Mission Presidents Message for March 2016

Dear Family and Friends of the Florida Orlando Mission,

During 2016, we would like to share with you some of the spiritual experiences our Missionaries have had here in the Florida Orlando Mission. We look forward to you reading them and sharing in the spirit of missionary work.

We love and thank you for your prayers and support.

Our love, President and Sister Berry

One of my most special experiences related to a recent convert baptism

happened in Buena Vista YSA. The missionaries there had been teaching

this young man named Scott. He was an atheist, and was really just out

to prove other religions wrong. Although he had a particular interest

in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The missionaries

soon dropped him because he was just wasting our time. He just wanted

to know about the church simply for intellectual reasons.

Two months or so after I arrived in the area we started to teach him

again. He had claimed to have a change in heart. So we started to

teach him again with a focus on making sure he was investigating for

the right reasons. Soon after multiple visits, and conversations we

came to the conclusion, my companion and I that he actually had

changed. He wanted to be baptized, so we called President Berry. Since

he was now known through out the mission and by president Berry.

After continued teaching and two interviews by the mission presidency

it was concluded that he was ready to be baptized. What a joy this was

for me and my companion!! We had prayed and fasted that everything

would go well, cause we both knew he was ready. About a month later we

prepared for his baptism. His baptism went great! I had the honor of

actually baptizing him myself. The highlight of everything was his

personal testimony that he gave after his baptism. It was awesome!

even though he said some funny things, It was truly genuine. It’s

truly amazing to me that the lord can take a hardened heart, soften

it, and mold it to what he wishes for us. It was nothing short of a

miracle. It was also nothing that my companion and I did, it was all

Heavenly Father. I saw this as a great change in heart just like Alma

the younger, or Paul. I know that God is Preparing All of his children

to be Baptized. This is just proof of that. In a quest that started

out to destroy, actually turned into something special for Scott! I’m

grateful that the lord saw fit to allow me to take part.

God the father lives, and he sent his son Jesus Christ to the Earth to

atone for the sins of all mankind. Through Joseph Smith Heavenly

Father and Jesus Christ restored the Fullness of the Everlasting

Gospel to the earth. It can and will change hearts. I know that this

experience has changed my life, and the life of Scott.

Love, Elder Crismon

Sandy, Utah

Weekly Update 3/28/16

Weekly update... #5

Well what a week.

                                     So to start it off we had a good week. Really some cool miracles transpired this week. We were pretty happy. The only damper put upon this week was some news that we

received via email on Saturday. It's transfers on Tuesday and I found out that I am getting transferred. What depressing news. I am so full of different emotions when thinking about this prospect. At first I

was pretty angry, I love Longwood. I felt like I was gonna stay again. The place I am heading to is Eustis. Out in the boonies of Florida. Not sure how I feel about that! I'm pretty sad about leaving Elder Thornock. My new companions name is Elder Holloway. He's a good guy! It should be an interesting transfer, considering the zone has been struggling a little bit. It's gonna be an uphill battle going into these final 5 months. So please pray for me as I go into the final stretch of me mission! Turn up! Wahoooo!

                                    Well it's time to tell the story. The story of the week... Well a couple of missionaries in the area, including us, have been doing some service lately. The church is really

pushing missionaries to do more service... go figure. Any Jew, we found a place called the mustard seed. Sounded pretty chill, so Elder Thronock and I got in contact with them three weeks ago to set stuff up. As it turns out this place is wild. So we get there and were like what are we gonna do for yah. And they are like "Tear apart mattresses!" We was like WHUT? So for four hours every Tuesday we be out there in the hot sun with knifes and gloves tearing apart mattresses! It's freaking hard too! They want the foam and the metal spring so they can scrap it and get money and they actually make some good money too. Plus we're just free labor. All of the money and stuff goes to helping families who are poverty stricken to have furniture. It's actually very cool. So the service we render goes a long way, but still it's wild. Plus they are playing hood music and there is ratchet people who work there too. The one guy who was helping us just got out of jail. Hahaha! He's a great guy though so no worries. I love it!

                                  Once again we taught a lot of people. With this week being Easter we were pretty excited going into it. The zone last week did amazing. Really only two things we need to

focus on. This week we felt like the issues we needed to focus on would work themselves out. Which they did! As for our area we had a good week. Sadly, and to our surprise, no one came to church. We

probably had 5 people lined up to come and nope. They all bailed on us, pretty sad. I was not a happy camper! That added on top that I was getting transferred. Either way it was still a good Easter service.

There was a cool violin rendition of I know my redeemer lives. Some good talks and all that jazz. Good day. It's weird holidays seem to come and go on the mission field. Easter just seemed like another day in the mission field! Kinda sucks but what do yah do. I love being a missionary. It's very fun and even more rewarding.

                                  Well really that's about all I have to talk about this week. Nothing really out of the ordinary happened. Just another week down here in Longwood. I also can't recall any funny

stories from the week either. Kinda sucks I'll keep trying though! My time in Longwood has been cut a little short. To be completely honest I thought for sure I would stay another transfer. But I guess there was something else in the cards. This has been an awesome three months. I learned a lot, but I think I know why the Lord sent me here in the first place. I had to learn to rely on HIS strength and not mine. I lived the Proverb "Trust In lord with all thine Heart, and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all they ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy paths." It's so interesting to me that on the weeks when I tired particularly harder to perform things went bad. But the weeks I made it a point to involve God more in my every day activities that's when I saw miracles. This area is tuff, but with Gods help we made it happen.

                                  As well as learning that, I learned more how to be a leader. Also how to work smarter, not necessarily harder. Lots to learn since I'm pretty far from perfect. I'm nervous, and sad, and excited to see what God has in store for this feller in the coming months. Seriously who knows! I'm not sure what's gonna go down. It'll be pretty cool I imagine. I mean I'm going out to the land

of the cows, and I'll have a house. No weights though, so that sucks. Oh well, I'll just have to get creative. I hope y'all have an amazing week this week. It should be a good time for me. We have MLC, so in the midst of the tuff transfer I'll get to see some good friends there. There is a God, he knows us and more importantly loves us. Jesus Christ is a real being, who two thousand years ago came here to atone for the sons of mankind. I've decided that as tough as it is to say goodbye, heaven will be that much sweeter because of it. It's just more motivation to get there. In a world more increasingly chaotic, and tumultuous the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ are here to bring happiness and hope. There's that word! HOPE!!! It's the key I'm telling you guys! Love you all have an amazing week now! Wahooooo!!

Scripture of the week: "19. It is better to dwell in the wilderness,

than with a contentious and an angry woman. (Proverbs 21)"

LOL

Love, Elder Carter Crismon

P.S.-Ten Wheelers.

Some pictures...

 

Weekly Update 3/21/2016

Dear family and friends. It's Carter.

How are you? I'm Gucci Mayne.

                         Well another wild week is in the books! We did some good stuff this week! We saw some cool miracles and stuff! We taught a ton of lessons again. Just tons. I freaking love it. I've

come to realize it's not the amount of lessons that counts. It's what they mean. They mean that people are coming closer to Jesus Christ. I came to realize that about a year ago. The more people we teach the more love we show for them. It's so nice that the Lord is blessing us with a lot of success. We've seen some cool miracles this week! I'm excited to share them with you this morning! Wahoooo!

                         So first I'll share a miracle that took place here on the blessed Longwood area. So on Wednesday Elder Thornock and I were out diligently working. We were trying to find people to

baptize. Cause that's what we do. So we were finding through LARCing once again. So we knocked on the door of a semi active member. We weren't really sure if they were active. So as it turns out they were active just attending a Spanish branch nearby for the time being. So we talked for a little bit and then asked if they knew anyone that we could teach. She thinks for a sec, and then says hold on. So she walks to the back of the house and gets this girl named Jessica. She's 16. She just started living with them. So we started to teach her and it was amazing! She actually just had a death in her family. And just started to believe again in God. We taught her a great lesson and committed her to read a pamphlet. We returned a couple days later and taught her again. We committed her to baptism. She leaves this week due to spring break! When she returns in two weeks, we are planning on

setting a baptismal date! We are pumped. Another crazy miracle in our area! Wahooooo!!

                        So as I have said before we teach a lot here in our little area. The previous six weeks we've averaged 37.7 lessons per week. Pretty dope, that's nice because when we teach we feel the

spirit. That in turn makes you happy as a missionary! Something though has been alarming me. With all those lessons we weren't seeing as much progression and baptisms that we would hope for. One day though this previous week I was thus studying on the subject! As I studied in my mind was a conversation Elder Johnson and I had. It then hit me that I needed to be more bold. I mean this is the true church, I need to be more confident in extending commitments and testifying! So that's what

I did. And I saw some cool miracles come from it! When I was on an exchange with Elder Harris in Lake Mary south we saw something cool happen. We were teaching a less active member who didn't want anything to do with the church. I boldly testified to her that it was true and invited her with total confidence to pray about and ask God if this church was true. Surprisingly she accepted. It was pretty wild. We both were very surprised! Hahaha Multiple other experiences happened like that through out the week!

                        So funny story time. For this one I wasn't actually present. It was freaking funny though. Hahahaha So we have a sick investigator named Dieter that we put on baptismal date for May 7th. This took place on Thursday while I was in lake Mary on exchanges. So it was at night the last appointment of the day. We had a member with us named Brother Speed, he's such a Holy man. I really don't think he's ever done wrong. LOL. So Elder Thornock and Bakly knock on the door. Then suddenly Dieter flings open the door in his underwear.... Again..... LOL! This time he's holding a frying pan! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA He really thought it was gonna be his sister.

Hahaha poor Brother Speed. Hahaha It was pretty funny. We really thought he'd learn after the first time we met him. But I guess not. Hahaha

                        Well over all it 'twas a good week here in the Longwood area. Can't really complain at all, because it doesn't do anything for yah! Hahaha Really I'm teaching and we are starting to find those that are prepared. I know that God is gonna bless us with them. To all those on missions right now who maybe reading this! Let me declare that the secret to finding is teaching as many people as

possible. Like teaching LARCs, and finding through them! Elder Johnson can attest, LARCs are a gold mine just waiting. We just need to be bold enough to go for it! I know that God the father lives. This is the week of Easter! The most Holy Week in the whole year. As I reflect on what the atonement means for me, I'm more motivated to go and teach and testify of the truthfulness of this message! It's true! And the book is blue! Wahooooo! I hope y'all have a great week back where ever

you are at this time. Shout out to Elder Doman. Also shout out to my boi Egan! #TenWheelers have an amazing week everyone! LOVES!!!!

Love, Elder Crismon

Mission Orlando Florida

#Turn Up