July 7, 2014

Hey family!!

How was the 4th of July?? Well here most people have no idea about what tha date even is! Haha so there was not much that happend here! But it was a good week this past week! We are really trying to get this area up and running again! We need more investigators! But we have been doing our best working through the ward members and trying to find some more less active members who have family who are not members of the church! 

Our mission and our President has been really focusing on the way that we contact and making sure that we have 2 contacts that turn into new investigators daily! So my comp and I who do not have much experience in contacting have been putting goals so that we can make this happen each week! So we have not done any corner of the street contacting but we have been doing our best in between appointments to find people that maybe are like cleaning or doing something that in some way or another we can help them get introduced to the gospel!

It was a pretty disappointing Sunday!! We did have our investigators in church! it was pretty upsetting! When you try so hard all week so that they will go and they don't show up!! haha something that will never be easy to handle! Only imagine how Heavenly Father feels when they don't go! haha. But it was a really good fast Sunday! I bore my testimony and talked about the power of fasting! I shared with them that I really did not understand fasting before my mission. Really and sadly the first time that I think I truly had fasted for something was here in the mission! But I have come to love fasting. It helps me focus on the things that I am doing and really helps me see that the Lord is in control, it helps me to be a little bit more humbled each time that I do it. As hard as it is walking around in this dang hot weather and not being able to eat or drink it is something that it is really important to our Heavenly Father and I know that through the power of a true monthly fast we can be that much closer to our Heavenly Father!

Well for the 4th of July here we were not just gonna let it pass us by, we set up a soccer game with some of the members and had them bring some investigators if they could play and we could get to know them. But us 3 Americans against 3 Mexicans haha pretty much representing the Country! Don't worry haha I have gotten pretty good haha!! It was tough but we did come out on top! haha! 

I love all of you guys! I am having the best time here right now! The ward it great and the area is awesome! The Zone is doing really well as well as our district! I hope that you all had a good weekend! haha all we could talk about here was the things that our families do on the 4th! haha made us all home sick a little! But everything is good here! Love you guys!

Elder Liljenquist

June 30, 2014

Hey Guys!!

How is everyone doing? Man it was a good week this past week! But it was a burner!!! It was a really hot week! We are all nice and farmer tanned up! haha but the work was really good this past week!. We had our baptism on Saturday! It went really good! Aaron was really happy and really excited! And his dad was really happy and nervous when he did the baptism, but all in all it went really good! I have felt really grateful for the success that we have been seeing here in our area and the success that I have seen in my past areas, There is just something that that tells me that I can do more! I feel like I need to talk to every single person that I see! And this week its now my goal to take every opportunity that I get to help someone new understand how the Gospel has been restored here in the earth again. 

This past week and especially today and I'm not sure why but I have just felt really grateful to be here and to be a missionary to be able to represent our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. We have been working really well this past week. We started to go through our area book and look at ou rinvestigators that we have progressing and the next ones that are preparing for baptism. After cleaing up some of the old investigators that were not progressing really well we ended up with 3 or 4 progressing investigators and that can be ready to make baptismal covenants. But we need more! We have been working alot with Paulina whos aunt is in active and we are still waiting for her to come to church with us! We have been visiting then like 3 or 4 times a week, but we  need to be able to see them in church.

We had a really good conference with our mission President on Saturday also. He talked a lot about how important it is that we contact each and everyday. He put a goal with us that we have 14 new investigators each day! At the end of the conference we watched a video of when the Prophet announced The Work of Salvation last year. It was really cool, I saw faces there in the MTC that I recognized and to hear that we are a part of the most important work that there is made me feel really blessed to be here right now. I hope you all know that I love you so much! 

Elder Liljenquist

June 23, 2014

Picture jackpot this week!:) 

Hey Guys!!

Well it was another great week here in Coatza! The people and the ward here are great! We have been trying to get this ward that we have here turned around and working again! We have people with a lot of experience here in this ward. I guess that it was the first ward established here in Coatza. So there are a lot of members but there are a lot of less actives that have not been to church in years! We have been teaching a lot of less actives in this past week! But it has also helped us find new invesatigators to begin teaching. Through the less actives in the ward they usually have members of he family that are not members of the church yet. SO this past week we found some new investigators and helped lots of less actives get back and goin again!

We have been workin a lot with a family whose dad was just baptized. His son Aaron is 14 and we have been working with him alot this past week and he is preparing to be baptized for this Saturday! He is really excited! The only little problem is that his mom is what they call here Catholic to the bone, haha so she was kind of against it at first but seeing the change that it had in her husband she decided to let her son be baptized! We are really excited for them! The mom is a really nice lady but haha you can definitely see who wears the pants in the family because she makes all of the decisions! 

We have also been working with an other part family investigator Paulina, her aunt is taking care of her because her mom passed away and her Dad left her. Her aunt is a member but is less active, so we are trying to reactivate the aunt so we can baptise Paulina. She is a really nice girl, shes 14. Her story is really sad, We want to be able to help her so bad but we have to get the aunt back and active in the Church so that she will be able to go every Sunday! 

This past week a family got here from Nicaragua, they say that there are making there way up to the United States. But on there way they things got robbed and now they are left with nothing. They got here claming that they were members of the church, so the ward started to help them while they were trying to figure out if they were members or not. We got a call from the Stake President and he wanted us to go and meet them and ask them some questions and see if we felt like they were members of the church or only looking for money. So we went to get to know them a little and from what the mom had said to us we know for a fact that she is not a member of the church. We kept asking and asking questions and finally she came out and said that she was not a member of the Church but her son was. We met the son and started talking to him about some things and he seems like he knows what he ius talking about. The Stake got back to us and said that they had called the stake president there and he told them that they are not members of the church. So as of now we have been told to teach them and helo them in the ways that we can. They both seem really willing to be baptized we just need to be careful and make sure it is for the right reasons. 

We had a ward party for fathers day this past week, it was way fun! They asked me to lead it! It was reallly funny! Made me miss my family a lot! 

Today for P day we went to the beach and then we went to a all you can eat seafood restaurant!! and it just so happend that the owner of the place was a memeber of the church and let us eat for free!!! We were all so pumped!! haha it was going to be soo expensive!

Everything here is going so good! Miss you all so much! 

  

Elder Liljenquist

June 16, 2014 - 18 Months!!

 Happy, healthy, and HANDSOME Elder!!

 Water balloon fight!

Hey Guys!!

Well it was a really good first week here in Coatza! The area here in beautiful and like 2 minutes from the beach! I can see the ocean in all parts of my area! haha makes it hard to remember that I cant go there!! haha its alright though. But we have had a really good week just getting to know the members and all of the investigators that are here in this area! My comp is Elder Gonzales from Mexico, he is a really cool kid and we have been getting along pretty good! He has around 13 months in the mission. We share the house that we live in with 2 other Elders from Utah. Elder Jeppson and Elder Layton. Haha they are Hilarious!! We have been messing with each other every single night of the week! haha it has been a good time and only the first week here. Some crazy things have happened to me this past week, well we live in a house with 2 rooms and we all have to sleep in one room and in the other we have all of our study things, but one night I woke up and started feeling my lip and it felt like I had a dang golf ball in my lip!! I don't know what happened but something must have bit me or maybe something I ate! Who knows what happened but its all gone now! haha! And the other night our neighbors that are crazy started hitting us with water balloons when we got home from working! haha so we ran into our apartment and can out with buckets of water and started fighting back! haha it was way fun!

Don't worry we did some working too! haha when I got here there wasn't much and there was not any baptismal dates but this past week we were able to work with some of the recent converts and find family members that are not member and we started to teach them. One of them is Arron, he is 15 and his dad was just baptized and he told us this past week that he wants to be baptized! so we put a date with him for the 28th of this month! 

Then we have another part member family, Her name is Paulina she is 13 and her aunt is a member but less active! so we are working on getting her aunt back to church and Paulina says that she wants to be baptized also! It was really cool. She has loved the church but its really sad that her aunt wont take her, but we brought her a Book of Mormon the other day and we made her close her eyes before giving it to her and she got really happy and excited when we gave it to her! 

I am really excited to be here in the area and to keep working! I hope that we can find new investigators in this next week! I love and miss you all! Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

Elder Liljenquist

June 9, 2014

 Elder Liljenquist and Elder Parduhn! Both Lone Peak graduates from Highland, UT! 

 Sweet family bought Elder Liljenquist some news shoes! Apparently he needed some;) 

Hey family! 

Well it was another pretty good week here in Grijalva, and it was my last! Today I have transfers! There sending me to the other end of the mission in Coatzacoalcos Veracruz. I did not see that one coming at all! I thought for sure that they were going to leave me there for a little bit longer! I feel like I just got there. But I guess that the Lord needs me somewhere else! My new comp will be Elder Gonzales. This area was great! When I first  got here it was really struggling, and they had not had a baptism for almost a year! We were able to get the area back up and going again and have some baptisms!

The members here are awesome and have really helped us, I'm really grateful for the time that I had to be here and work with them, I hope that the area will continue to progress and the baptisms that we have coming up go through!

Sunday, my comp and I had the opportunity to give talks in our ward, It went really good. Our subject was Missionary Work. Our talks went really well! But my comp talked forever! it was like a 20 minute talk and only left me with like 7 minutes! Haha its alright though! I focused my talk on how missionary work is a commandment from our Heavenly Father that we should  Preach the gospel to every land and person. And then I compared that to the scripture in 1 Nephi 3 verse 7 That says the Lord doesnt give commandments to his children without preparing a way that they can complete it. And then I ended  with one of my favorite scriptures in D&C  120  that says many are called but few are chosen. I love this scripture and to be able to apply it to the members. We are all called to the work of the lord, but those who answer the call make themselves chosen in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. 

That night around 6 I got a call telling me that I had transfers! so I went around and said bye to everyone and we went back to the house and I started packing my things. Around 9 I got a call from a family that has been pretty close to me ever since I got here. Haha they saw me in my Sunday shoes which I had brought from my house and now are completely trashed! But they're the only shoes that I can wear with my suit, and they had called to ask me what shoe size I was because they had gone out to buy me a new pair of shoes! Haha So they came over to my house like at 10 at night and took some pictures with me and drop me off a brand new pair of Sunday shoes! They are the best family! I love them so much! 

Packing my stuff wasn't too bad,  I left my little suitcase there actually and just took the medium and the big suit case. Slowly leaving stuff behind that I just don't use or that just doesn't work anymore! I left my first pair of shoes haha they lasted me 17 months!  Everything is good here! coming up on 18 months in the mission! It has gone by soo fast! I don't know how it has flown by! 

I miss and love you all soo much! 

Elder Liljenquist

June 2, 2014

Hey family!!

Well it was another good week! The weather here has been out of control! We have had lots of heat and pouring rain all week! haha but all in all it was a good week! My comp Elder Chajon has been suffering with a lot of back pain this past week and feeling like he is going to throw up! So we have been trying to help the best that we can. Wednesday he could not get up from his bed from the pain that he has in his back! So we called the President and he sent us to the hospital. We got some test don't on his back and they said that he has a bladder infection! and that he might get kidney stones! Freak! He has been dying in pain all week! I feel really bad for him! So they gave him some meds and told him to take it easy! But the medicine has not been doing much for him and he has gotten kind of depresed about the situation! I have been trying to help him out the best that I can! 

We have had a kind slow week for the same reason, his back pain doesn't let him walk very much before it starts to bother him. But we were able to get some things done! We have our 3 investigators that are progressing pretty well! Laura has her baptismal date for the 21st of June. She is doing good, we just need to her to get rid of her boyfriend that is living in the same house with her and then she will be ready for baptism. Jorge has a baptismal date for the 14th of June. He is doing pretty good, we have had some trouble seeing him this past week just becuase of my comp and his back! But we got to see him on Saturday and he has been reading and keeping his commitments! The only bad thing is that he did not come to church on Sunday!! 

Miguel...haha well we found out that his mom is about as catholic as you can get..so yesterday we went to his house to take him to church and he didn't answer the door, so we went to church and then after we went back to his house to see him. His mom answered the door and started off on how we are bothering her son and how everything that we do is a lie and she has never heard anything like that before haha. So we started to explain everything to her to try and find a point that caught her attention the most. We started on the Book Of Mormon and she had a ton of questions! So we put and appointment with her and we will be seeing her this week!

We had some members introduce us to some of there neighbors and we have found some good references from the members in our ward! We have some new families that we will be teaching in the next week! 

I cant believe that its June! half of the year is over! Time is going by so fast! So crazy that my brother graduated! I remember mine like it was yesterday! I miss and love all of you soo much!

Elder Liljenquist

May 26, 2014

Hey Family!

Well it was another really good week here in Grijalva! We have been dying of heat all week long! The weather here is crazy! One second it can be completley sunny and burning hot and 5 mintues later its pouring rain! They say that hurricane season is going to come early this year and there are chances that one or two come for Tabasco! Haha everyone here is talking about that, every house that you go to they tell you about how worried they are about flooding again! I guess in 2007 they had a huge flooding here for storms that came in. They say that the water was higher than the houses! So crazy, lets hope that doesn't happen again.

So every Tuesday we have a district class and we have to travel in what they call a convie, imagine a van with welded bleacher seats around the the whole inside. Haha so we had to take one of those to the class and one back to our area. In the class they gave us 10 Books of Mormon each to go and pass out and use to contact and for our investigators. So on the way home there was 6 missionaries in the convie and that means 60 Books of Mormon haha it was awesome to see the looks on the other peoples faces when we all got in! Haha but they all got interested about why we had all these Books. So all these missionaries started contact all of the passengers, it was pretty cool! I sat in the front seat with the Driver, I was able to give him a Book and set up an appoinment for the missionaries to pass by his house. Contacting in the begining was something that was really hard for me to do! Just cause I think I was scared! But I feel pretty good about it now! 

The family that got baptized are doing great and progressing really well! We have still talking with the Daughter Laura about her baptism. She has some problems with her boyfriend. He and her are living in the same house but she told us that she does not want to be with him or anything, she just is afraid to separate from him because they have a huge debt that they have to pay off! But she talked to us this week and said that she is going to explain to him what she wants to do and ask him to leave. She just hopes that he will still help her pay off the money that they owe! Sunday we confirmed Juan and Ruth it went really well! And at the end of the sacrament they asked Ruth to go up and give the closing prayer! Haha she was shaking so bad! But her daughter Laura is going to be baptized the 7 of June so not this week but the next!

We have been working with another investigator Jorge. He has been to church the 2 past weeks and has a baptism date for the 14 of June. He is progressing pretty good and has a desire to learn more! We have received lots of references from other missionaries and members that we have contacted and are in the process of working with them! 

So mango season is back!! there are so many mangos here!! its crazy! we walk around all day and eat mangos off of the tree! haha there definitely my new favorite fruit! 

The ward that we are in right now is trying to get up and running again, we have our baptism was the first in almost 9 months!! Here in Mexico that is terrible! we have been trying to get our Bishop excited again about workin and starting to have ward counsel again but he says that its a wast of time! So what we have been doing to having our own counsel with all of the members of counsel! This area and all these members have so much potential but we just have to help them get up and going again! 

Each week I feel like I need to do more and more! We have interviews with our mission President this past week and we talked about my time in the mission. He told me that the last 6 months is the time to put everything you have learned into practice! I love all the people here and know that the Lord is preparing all of the people around us to hear our message! 

I love and miss all of you guys! So crazy that its summer already back there! Love you guys!

Elder Liljenquist

May 19, 2014 -- 7 Months Left!!!

Hey Family!

Well it was a really good week this past week! We have had some pretty crappy weather here. It has been raining all week and the streets were all flooded! I walked around in soaking wet shoes all week and in some spots the water came up to my knees! But we still had a pretty good week of work here. And the best part was that Ruth and her son Juan were baptized on Saturday! It was such a cool experience for them! I t was a great service, but it was really fast! That night was the first session of stake conference for us so we had to really hurry with the service! I had the chance to baptize the mom Ruth. Haha with all respect to the her and the family she is not the smallest lady haha and it didn't help that the water in the font had be slowly draining during the service so when we got in to the water it was about mid thigh, high knee on me! So after 3 times she finally came out clean! It was awesome, and the same thing happened to Juan and my comp, he had to do it 3 times as well. But in all the best part was to see how happy everyone was, and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be apart of it. 

Yesterday we had stake conference. It was really good! We had a area Seventy there and he spoke, also our Mission President and his family were there. It went really well. The best part was haha is that all of them talked about the Work of Salvation and missionary work. I think that it really helped the members to understand what there role is in the work of the Lord. All of the talks were really good. We had our investigators there and it was really good to have them hear from our mission President and the Area Seventy. After the conference we had a chance to see all the Elders and Sisters from the zones. Some of my old comps were there and some of my other friends from the mission! But the best part was that the other daughter of Ruth that did not get baptized after the conference came up to us and said that she does want to take the step and be baptized!! So we are planning a service for her not for this week but for the next Saturday! 

I have been doing a lot of studying in the past week, I have been reading in a talk that I found in my things called "the fourth missionary" 

I remember reading the talk when I had just started my mission in the Salt Lake mission. It is a great talk and I would definitely recommend it to any and all future missionaries or missionaries that are in the field. I learned that we as missionaries will gain little to nothing from our missions if we do not put our hearts in to it. Like anything else, if we do not give it our all we will not see the end results. I read in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. This chapter helped me a lot. It helped me understand that if I do not have the gift of Charity for these people than I am nothing. I think that all of us can apply this into our lives, to really dedicate our lives around the Gospel and helping others see the blessings that it brings to all of us. I know that this is true. 

I am so thankful for all of you in my life and miss you all so much!!

Elder Liljenquist 

May 12, 2014

Hey Family!

Well this past week was a pretty good one! We have been seeing more and more succes here in our area! And the best part is that I am feeling alot better! Here in Grijalva we have been working really well with the famlies that we are teaching and have been trying to find more investigators! The heat wave past through and pretty much all this past week it has been raining or overcast, so it has been pretty nice to have a break from the heat! The only bad thing is that when it rains haha the streets here flood! The part of the city that were in is really low, and all of the water rushes in when it rains pretty hard or for a long time! But it felt really good not to be dying of heat at night! 

We have been doing really good with our families that we have! Rut and her family are doing really well! They are a family of 3 and have a babtizm date for the 17 of May! We are really excited for them and the best part is, is that they are just excited! This past week we had a Famliy night with them and the family of our Bishop, it went really well! We watched a Mormon message about the Atonement and at the end President Uchtdorf gives a invitation to all to join the church and pray to see if it is true. It went really well! Who better to give the invatation then an Apostol! But this family really has opend up to us and shared things that lets me know that they are really ready to take this step! I have had experiances with them that I will never forget! The daughter of the family has had problems for a long time with feelings of a bad presence and has suffered with depression and sickness, my comp and I have always felt weird walking into the house and especially when we leave. Something I didnt share from out first visits with them is the first time that we went to that house we knew from the moment that we walked in that there was something wrong, We didnt give just one blessing but she has asked us for multiple blessings, its crazy the differencet that we have seen in her! We blessed the house and she says that she feels it every now and then but she just reads int eh Book Of Mormon and the feeling goes away! They say that a few years ago an old lady that lived a above them practiced like witch craft stuff...pretty crazy!

We have another investigator that also has a baptism date for the 17 of May! Miguel is getting alot better, we have seen a true change in him! He told us that he really wants to change and drop all of the things that he is doing! He is young, about 20 years old and has a lot of troubles with girls and things like that, but he believes that there is a better life away from all those things! 

This past week as with everyday is a challenge, I have told myself that I want to be more obedient, not that I haven't been, but there is always so much more that we can all improve. We will never come to a point of full knowlege in this life, so im pretty sure that we all can do more! So crazy that its already Mothers Day this Sunday!! I feel like Christmas just happend!!! Well really excited to see and talk to you all one last time! I miss you all so much! and love all of you!

Elder Liljenquist

Cinco de Mayo!!

Hey Family!

Well this past week was a pretty good one! We have been seeing more and more success here in our area! And the best part is that I am feeling a lot better! Her in Grijalva, we have been working really well with the families that we are teaching and have been trying to find more investigators! The heat wave passed through and pretty much all this past week it has been raining or overcast. So it has been pretty nice to have a break from the heat! The only bad thing is that when it rains... haha the streets here flood! The part of the city that we are in is really low and all of the water rushes in when it rains pretty hard or for a long time! But it felt really good not to be dying of heat at night!

We have been doing really good with our families that we have! Rut and her family are doing really well! They are a family of 3 and have a baptism date for the 17 of May! We are really excited for them and the best part is, is that they are just as excited! This past week we had a Family Night with them and the family of our Bishop. It went really well! We watched a Mormon Message about the Atonement and at the end President Uchtdorf gives an invitation to all to join the church and pray to see if it is true. It went really well! Who better to give the invitation than an Apostle! But this family really has opened up to to us and shared things that let me know that they are really ready to take this step! I have had experiences with them that I will never forget! The daughter of the family has had problems for a long time with feelings of a bad presence and has suffered with depression and sickness. My comp and I have always felt weird walking into the house and especially when we leave. Something I didn't share from our first visits with them, is the first time that we went to that house we knew from the moment that we walked in that there was something wrong. We didn't give just one blessing, but she asked us for multiple blessings. It's crazy the difference that we have seen in her! We blessed the house and she says that she feels it every now and then but she just reads in the Book of Mormon and it goes away! They say that a few years ago, an old lady that lived above them practiced like witch craft stuff...pretty crazy!

We have another investigator that also has a baptism date for the 17 of May! Miguel is getting a lot better. We have seen a true change in him! He told us that he really wants to change and drop all of the things that he is doing! He is young, about 20 years old and has a lot of troubles with girls and things like that. But he believes that there is a better life away from all those things!

This past week, as with everyday, is a challenge. I have told myself that I want to be more obedient. not that I haven't been, but there is always so much more that we can all improve. We will never come to a point of full knowledge in this life, so I'm pretty sure that we call all do more! So crazy that it's already Mother's Day this Sunday!! I feel like Christmas just happened!!! Well I am really excited to see and talk to you all one last time! I miss you all so much! Love all of you!

Elder Liljenquist

April 28, 2014

Hey Family!

Sorry I wasn't able to get off a letter to you guys last week! I'm not sure if my mom wrote something for me or not! But remember how a couple months ago I wasnt feelin too good...well it came back again last week and it hit me pretty hard! So we didnt have that exciting of a week here! haha. Well it kinda sucked, I was hit with a fever and throwing up all of my food. We went to the Doctors on Friday and she told me that I have Gastritis, the same that all the other doctors have been telling me! Well the doctor of the mission gave me a prescription for 2 weeks worth of injections! So each day I have been going into a public doctor and gettin poked in the butt!! It's awesome!! haha.. and yesterday all of the doctors were closed! So last night, I spent around 15 minutes in the bathroom trying to convince myself to just do it! haha.. Ffter 3 or 4 bad attempts I finally got it done! Man I just hope I can finally get rid of this stupid thing! I really just want to get better! 

Besides being sick and not working very much, it has been an alright week haha. The gates of Hell were opened up and Villa was hit with its flames of heat!! Holy cow, It has been out of control! The heat down here is crazy! We were at 43 degress cellcius. That's 110 degrees!! and that was at 11 in the morning!! You can only imagine what the afternoon was like! and thats not the best part, We only have 1 freaking floor fan!!! Our house is ground level and there is another house above us and it's sourrounded by both sides so it is naturaly a cool house, but it's terrible at night!! I dont even bother drying off after I shower. I just put my clothes on and go to sleep! It's the only way to stay cool! 

So this past weekend I got a call from the assistants of the President and they said they needed our help with something. I guess some missionaries had some problems and 1 of them was taken out of his area, and the other was left there alone so we had to go with him and sit and his house and wait for his companion to come back! So Saturday we were planning everything for the baptism of Roberto and we had another Elder tagging along with us. It was around 4 o clock and we still had not heared anything for Roberto, so we started to call him and finally he answered me. He then told me that he was not going to be babtized this day and that he does not feel prepared. He then hung up on me. It was one of the worst feelings that I have felt in a long time. I knew that there was more to it! We then went to where he was working and found him there selling his things! I started to talk to him and it was like he had never talked to us before. He told me a lot of things that I never knew about. He and his family were baptized in the Jehova Witnesses church and I guess made plans to return to this church as a family. I said to him that there was not much more that we could do for him, I then shared a scripture with him and my testimony and let him know that we are here to help with whatever he needs. It sucked really bad! But I know one day he will understand and really see!

Well I had the chance to do alot of thinking in the past week, really refelct on the time that I have in the mission and all of the good and bad things that have happened, all that I have learned, and so many unbelievable people that I have met. I am so greatful for the opportunity that I have to be here, I will do everything that I can in these next months to be the absolute best missionary for my Heavenly Father. I miss and Love all of you soo much!

Elder Liljenquist

Prayers for Elder Liljenquist

Please keep Elder Liljenquist in your prayers!

April 14, 2014

Hey Family

Well it was a interesting week here in Grijalva, We had a pretty good week here. Tuesday we had a special conference with our mission President, it was really good! We learned a lot more things that I think everyone needed to hear. Something interesting happened after the conference, my President wanted to talk to my companion so he pulled him off to the side and told him that he was going to have special transfers this next week and was going to be put into another area! Haha of course that would happen..right! So Wednesday night we got the call to where he was going and who was coming here with me! So my new comp is Elder Chajon, he is from Guatamala, he is a pretty cool elder! We have gotten along really well this past week! 

So with the 3 weeks that I have in this area me and my new comp this past week pretty much went around and got to know the area a little bit better! We have gotten to know our investigators pretty well and we put 2 more baptismal dates this past week! Miguel that I have talked about with you guys is doing really well, he has found a lot of friends in the church and is coming to all of the activities every week! We have another investigator Jorge who went to the church when he was younger but stopped going, he has always had the desire to be baptized but just has never come back to church! So we went and taught him for the first time and he accepted a date for the 3 of may! 

As you all know I said that we were going to be baptizing this past week. There were a lot of things that happened this past week! Haha first this family you guys need to understand they don't even have money to eat, he goes around all day selling remotes for tv.s and other little electronics like that. And every night he goes to the bridge and sets up his public stand to sell. His wife has diabetes and she got really sick this past week and he needs to send her to another state so she can get taken care of! And he has been getting himself in some pretty bad debt! he keeps going to the bank and loan companies to take out money but just keeps falling more and more behind! I have been praying so hard for him and his family, the other night he asked me for money so that he could go and eat...so me and my comp went and bought him some food from the gas station that was close by. He says they have no gas in his house so all the money he makes he has to buy food that's already made and that is always more expensive. And he always tells me, don't worry everything is going to turn around! Its so crazy the faith that this man has! So we are gong to continue to work with him and help in any way that we can! 

I hope that we can all be grateful for how much we have, seeing this all happen and being apart of it has made me see just how blessed we all are! I miss all of you sooo much! I have been baking here in the Mexican heat haha! but time is always going! I love all you so much!

Elder Liljenquist

April 7, 2014

Hey family!!

Well it was another good week here in Grijalva!! We have had some success with our investigators! And the best news is that this weekend Roberto is going to be baptized! We are really excited for him! We have been working with him a lot and have seen such a big change in this guy! He has a pretty ruff situation right now and its so cool to see him trust so much in our Heavenly Father! Him and his family do not have very much money! but he is confident that the blessings will come! It has really been a faith building experience to see him work through! He has asked me and my comp for money for gas for his house so they can cook a lot of times, but he has been really acceptable with trusting in the lord and praying for the help that he needs. He told us what happened to him yesterday when he went out to work, he got assaulted by some punk kid, and he started to talk about it with us and he says he knows why it happened, haha because were not supposed to work on Sundays!! haha it was the coolest thing! He is so ready and I am so happy that he will be able to take this step and be able to receive the blessings that are waiting for him.

During the Hottest week of my life! haha we have also been working with another investigator named Jorge, he has been doing really well! The other day he asked us when we could plan his baptismal date!! haha just out of no where! it was kinda of weird, but he is progressing pretty well, he did not come to conference but he has a date for the end of this month.

We are also working with another investigator named Miguel, he is a great investigator, he is like 22 and loves to listen to us! He has come to church and even goes to all other activities during the week! and the best is that he goes to institute alone every week! We are working with him to get him a baptismal date!

Conference was unreal! I hope that all of you were able to see it! All of the sessions were sooo good! I loved the talk from our Prophet, The true love of our Savior is what is going to take us back in the presence of our Heavenly Father. It was such a good talk, especially because I can do so much better at having more charity for everyone.

I miss all of you soo much! Time is flying here though! The weeks just get faster and faster I could really relate the talk about the 4 minutes that we have here! It really made me see that this time that I have here in the mission is so short and I have heard more than once that its an 1 time thing, that's want to do it the best that I can! I hope all of you can do things to the fullest and make the best of our 4 minutes here! I love all of you!!

Elder Liljenquist

March 31, 2014

Hey family!!

How is everyone doing?? Things here are going pretty good! We have been working pretty good here! I have been getting to know the area! But the ward and the investigators are really good! We still need to find some more, but we have 2 or 3 that are progressing really well! This past week was the beginning of the heat wave that's going to come in! Holy cow! I know that I complain to you guys about the heat all of the time, but if any of you need to lose some weight, come down here to Villa and just walk! haha …You'll be in unreal shape in a week!!! The heat really is not that bad. It's the humidity that kills you! 

 

Our investigator Roberto, is doing really well. He is having some struggles with work. He and his family do not have very much. For work, he buys and resells T.V remotes and little electronic things and goes out to the streets and sells them. There is a big river that divides Villa and Gaviotas (my area) and he is always up on the bridge selling. He is a really cool guy and has a lot of faith! He knows that all the blessings will come if he just keeps working hard! We explained to him about prayer and how he can be sure about his answer. We talked about the fruits of the spirit and how he would feel when he receives his answer. He did not end up attending church this week, but that night we went up to the bridge to see him and it turns out that he was sick and to top it off, he and his wife had not eaten since the day before because they did not have any money to buy food. It was weird because like 5 minutes later, a lady and some guy walked passed us and she dropped an envelope all wadded up. I did not think anything of it. But something told me to go and get it. So I went and got it and opened it up and there inside there was two 500 peso bills!! I thought for a second that this could help Roberto out soo much! But it just wouldn't be right, so me and my comp went bookin it after this lady! We finally caught her and at first, haha.. I think that we scared her because she started to like run away from us!! haha.. But then I asked her if the envelope was hers and then she actually got really mad and grabbed it right out of my hand and didn't even say thank you!! haha. Well at least I know I did it right! 

 

The family that we have been teaching is doing pretty good. There are just some problems. The husband likes to drink....a lot!! And they got kicked out of there house this week so they have been looking for another place to live, The wife is pretty tired of the husband coming home drunk all of the time. She says she wants to get away from him for her kids. She is really great, just its hard with her husband! We are going to focus in more on him! 

 

I am really excited to be able to see conference this week! I can't believe its time again! The clock is flying by! I miss all of you soo much!!

 Elder Liljenquist

March 24, 2014

Hey Family!!

  

The first week down here in my new area, Grijalva! The area is pretty nice and the ward seems to be pretty good! Not as good as the last ward that I was in, but it's up there! My comp, Elder Nevitt is a pretty cool guy and we seem to get along pretty well! Haha.. They didn't send me far at all from my area in Parrilla, like 5 minutes down the road! The day of the transfer, I went to the bus station to meet the leaders and they told me to go back where I came from just stop before you get to Parrilla and you'll be in your area! Haha. So me and my comp got my things and went to the house. Umm.. when we got to the house, you guys need to understand that it's not a house. It's a room. And well, if any of you have seen the size of my mom's closet, that's about the size of the dang place! Our dang suit cases don't even fit in the house. I sleep in my hammok across the room and my comp sleeps in a bed in the corner of the room. Luckily the President told me before I got there to find a new house! Pray that I'm only there for the next week! Oh and we only have 1 fan that works!! haha! It sucks so bad at night!! It has been so hot here! We have been in the high 90s and 100s all week! sS you can only imagine how hot it is at night in that room!

 

In the area the work seems to be pretty good. They had some investigators that they had just found and that were progressing, but there was not much movement in the area. We have some investigators that are pretty good! A family that they had just found before I had gotten there is really great. It's a family of 6 people and 4 of them can be baptized. We get along great with the family, The only problem is that the couple are not married and we will have to marry them before we can baptize them! 

 

There is another investigator named Roberto, I guess he found the missionaries and told them that he wanted to be taught. He has a good desire to progress. We invited him to be baptized this past week and he accepted! We put a date with him for the 12 of April. He came to church on Sunday and said that he is doing good!

 Everything is going good here. We are going to start soccer tournaments here in the ward to start to try and find more investigators, and we are going to get these members to work! I am excited to be working here! I love and miss all of you!!

Elder Liljenquist

 

March 17, 2014

 

Hey Everyone!!

 

Well it has been another week here in Parrilla... and sadly my last!! I have transfers! But the good thing is that they are not sending me very far! They are sending me to Grijalva! haha.. It's an area here in the same stake. So I wont be that far away. 

 

It has been a good week, We have been in a dry spot for a couple of weeks here! We have been working so hard to try and figure out what we can do to lift us up from this low that we are in. We have been working a lot with the members in the ward and they have been taking us to there friends and neighbors that they know and it has really helped us a lot! We had a really good lesson with Shabata and her family. We taught about the Book of Mormon. It went really well and she and her sons took the teaching really well! And at the end of the lesson we invited them to be baptized, and they accepted! We invited them to pray about the things that we have taught them so they could know for themselves that all of this is true! 

 

This has been one of the best areas that I have had in my mission. I have loved the members, It sucks so bad to have to leave here! It feels like I'm leaving home again. haha. I feel like I am leaving family that I have here! So many things that I have learned in these 6 months that I have been here and so many people that I have had the opportunity to know and love. I am so grateful to have served in this area! I hope so bad that it can continue to grow! 

 

It kinda sucks to say that I am leaving but there is nothing that I can do about it! I have realized that the work is not about where you are, how you feel, or what you do. Because the work is not ours. It is the Lords. I want more than anything to do the best that I can while I can. Time is flying by, and the last thing I want to do is leave behind something that I could have done!

 

Sunday in Church, we had 5 investigators that came with us! It was really good! Of that 5, one of them should be ready to be baptized in the next week! Too bad that I am not going to be there, but that's not what matters! Today in the morning, we had an activity in the church with all of the ward and investigators. We played soccer and basketball, and I taught them how to play football!! haha. It was way fun! A really good way to end the time here in the area and to be able to say bye to everyone! That part sucked pretty bad! Haha.. The sisters started to cry! They all wanted to hug. But as bad as I wanted to give them a hug back, we cant! haha! I am going to miss it here! But really excited to get to my new area. My new comp with be Elder Nevitt. I hope that we have a ton of success in the next transfer!

 

I love you all! I think about all of you all the time. I have heard that all my brothers age guys are heading out on their missions, So crazy! Good luck to all of you and Just know that you are doing the best thing that you could be doing in this part of your life! I love you all!!

 Elder Liljenquist  ADDDIIIOOOOOSSSS

 

March 10, 2014

Hey Family!!

How is everyone! I miss all of you like crazy! It was a pretty good week this week! We have been working pretty hard in our area! And especially with our investigators. It has been another up and down week! So many good things but also a couple things that sucked! Haha.. the weather this past week was another hot one! haha.. The rainy season here is offically over and all the people can talk about is how hot it is going to get! Its kinda funny. They all complain so much about the heat! And when it was cold, they were all crying for the sun to come out! Haha... Who knows what they want!

We have been working a ton with they family that I talked to you guys about the last week. The mom's name is Shabata… haha. And she has 3 boys and a husband that is mas or menos interested! But they are a great family! The oldest boy who is my age, is not that interested either! But we have been working with him. The part that's good is that he has the hots for one of the young women in the ward! haha. So, I mean if that's the way he comes to church ,it's alright with me;) haha. The mom is really progressing well. We presented the B.O.M. She accepted it and we explained everything about it to them. Yesterday the mom came to church but none of the family came with her. Looks like I am gonna have to start taking the young women out to work with us so her sons will come!! 

We are still working with Claudia and her family, It looks like that it's not going to work out and thats what I am the most afraid of. They are moving, but that's not really the problem, She still is not married to her husband and doesn't have any plans to get married to him! Gosh! I dont understand! Her daughter ( who we thought was just sick) is pregnant again!! She is 17 and is going to have 2 kids. And Emanuel moved out of the house and is working all the time. I love this family, They just have a lot of things going on inside the house that needs to be changed. It's just when they realize that we can't make them change. 

I have been trying really hard just to do the things that I need to be doing this past week. We have been working in this area for a little more than 2 and 1/2 months and not seen much progress. And it sucks! The members here are great and it's a good area in that aspect! But in this area, I feel that the people are a lot more closed than any other of my areas that I have had! I have also had a ton of hard things happen in this area. But I feel more than anything that it has helped me grow, I (like my Dad) get really stressed when things aren't going well, and I will push myself and go and go and go until I am completley out of gas. I am almost positive that's why I had a surgery here in Mexico, But the members here have noticed. And a sister in the ward shared a scripture with me in Mosiah 4 27 (my favorite scripture) that there is an order for everything and we can't run faster than our strength permits us to. I hope that we can all understand this concept. I love all of you!!

Elder Liljenquist

March 3, 2014

Hey Family! 

Well it has been another week. I can not believe how fast the weeks are going. I feel like every time that I blink, it's a new month! Well it has been a better week here in Parrilla! I feel like so much has turned around for us here! The weather just keeps getting hotter and hotter! We were in the high 90s all week this week! It was so hot! And they say that this heat was nothing compared to what is coming! Super Pumped!!!

We have been working a lot better with our ward members and with the references that they have given us. It has made all of the difference in the world! It has made me realize that we can not do this work by ourselves! We need the help of the members here to be able to push this work along!  We have been able to find some new investigators this week. We found a new family that is really great! I have gotten along awesome with them, It's a family of 5 with all boys. So that's probably why I get along really well with them! They don't belong to any church and they say that they are looking for one to go to! 

This past Thursday, we had a Seventy come and give us a conference. It was really good. Elder Vansuela came and spoke to us about the work and all the new things that the 12 and the first Presidency want to be changed! They told us that the baptisms for this mission are super low. And that the Lord expects more from us! It's really got me motivated to start working so much harder than I am! He spoke a lot about knowing the scriptures and that we should use them in every single one of our lessons. They really want us to grow more in the scriptures and to always have them memorized and to use them always! He also spoke that us as missionaries need to go and teach the members of our wards!

It has been a much better week! The roller coaster keeps moving! It's going to so fast! I miss all of you so much! And I love You all!!!

Elder Liljenquist

February 24, 2014 -"It is in His Name"

Hey family!

Well it has been a pretty good week this week. We have been up and down all week! We have been trying really hard to see progression in our investigators and help them move forward! But it has been hard to see the change in them! You know that it would be so easy for them just to say yes! But you can really see the adversary is working so hard to see that this work doesn't move forward! In the end, we all know how it will end up!

 

It has been blazing hot here all week long! I got my awesome tan lines back! Haha.. It really has been burning here! It's really nice though. I forget sometimes where I am, and I look around and see all the palm trees and all the green that's all around! It's unreal! The best part too is that April and May are coming up! And there will be millions of mangos and all of the other fruits!!

 

Well the work like I said, has been really up and down all week. We need to find new investigators! It has been hard spending time with all of these people that have so much potential and could be so great but they don't follow through! It's also very frustrating!! haha. I just have to keep reminding myself that there is a reason for everything and to keep forcing myself and not let myself fall! Having a good mind set is key in anything that you want to do! That is definitely something that I have learned here in the mission! During the week, we had some really great lessons and some that felt pretty hard, but what has helped me move forward is knowing that when the hard times come to let it be in the name of the Lord. Our President has talked about that in his letters, That we need to remember that this his not our work so when we succeed or when we fail, that it is in His name. 

 

Sunday we had a new couple that we are teaching show up at church with us and Mayra came as well! We are looking forward to their baptisms in the following month! We are going to focus ourselves this week in finding those investigators who are ready to learn and hear the Gospel! 

This week, a member of the Seventy is coming to talk personally to us here in the mission! Sounds like it's going to be pretty big! I am excited to hear what he has to say!

 

I love all of you sooo much. Hope you have a Great week!

D:C 58:3-4 and 28

Elder Liljenquist

 

Elder Liljenquist's letter, especially the part where he said "In the end, we all know how it will end up!" reminded me of a great quote by Elder Holland:

"The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known.There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard.  The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear!"

 Cute cute Elder:)

D&C 58:3-4, 28

"Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.

 

For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with glory; the hour is not yer, but is nigh at hand.

 

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

February 17, 2014

Hey everyone!!

Well it has been another fast week this week! We have been working really hard and really trying to prepare our investigators for baptism! We have so many that have so much potential and could be so ready! This past week was pretty good, It was hot! They're saying that this year could be one of the hottest years that they have had for awhile! I'm Pumped! But overall, the week was pretty good... Only Sunday was a pretty draggin' day!

We started off the week working really hard! We had our district class and they told us some new things that are going to be changing here in the mission. They really want us to start doing a lot more contacting and talking to people in the streets and making new ways to find, teach, and progress. So we have been really trying to apply these things in our area and I have personally been trying to do things right. Our investigators are doing alright. They are progressing when it comes to the teachings that we have given. But like always, the hardest thing is to get them to come to church! This past Sunday we did not have a very good turn out when it came to investigators! I was so bummed!! I wanted so bad to see them there! What has helped me go on is to know that everything happened for a reason, and maybe there is something else that Heavenly Father is wanting me to see. 

We have been visiting Claudia and her family this past week. She is doing alright. There are just a lot of problems inside this house! We had a really good lesson with her the other night, and she told us sorry that she hasn't been doing very well… haha. But now I hope we will see more progress with this family!  Also we have been working with Felix a lot. As you know, he was going to be baptized on Saturday. But he does not feel ready and the last thing we want to do is make him feel obligated to do it. So we have been visiting him quite a bit and working with him. 

Our investigator Pamela is doing alright as well. She still needs to get married and then we will be able to baptize her! 

We had our Valentine's ward party on Friday! Haha! It was pretty fun! Even though it did not get started until 8:30 at night! We only stayed and ate, but I heard that they did not end until 1:30 in the morning!!

This past week we have had a lot of our plans fall through and we have ended up looking for someone to visit or contact and each time that this has happened, it has been for a reason. We have had a lot of opportunities to give blessings to members this past week. It has helped me know how Heavenly Father is working with us. He has been leading us to those who most need his help. So I have felt that is why our appointments have been falling through. It has made me very thankful to be able to bear this Priesthood and be able to use it. I am very thankful to be able to help so many people!

I am so grateful for all of you! I love and miss you so much!

Elder Liljenquist