Easter on the Mission is Amazing!

Good morning to all,

I hope everyone had a good Easter Sunday! Mine was pretty good. Easter on the mission is amazing! This was the first Easter I actually understood the true meaning. But let's get into it!

So first there is a member here who is obsessed with battle ships. He made a whole exhibit about it. So he invited us last week one day so we went of course. It's pretty cool. He talked for like 2 hours about these ships.. But it is so funny because he gets so pumped when he talks about the wars. He is the cutest old guy out there lol.

But this week are best lesson actually ended up being with an active member named Erick. Eric is 18 and he has been preparing to serve a mission and for the last four months.  He has been telling us that he has already submitted his mission papers and should be getting his call soon. So we talked to bishop and asked if Erick actually turned in his papers in and he told us no. So one night josh was out teaching with us and we brought up that bishop told us he didn't turn in his papers. So we asked why he lied to us. And he told us "because I don't want to disappointment anybody and I don't have the money for it" . So we told him that he should only go on a mission for himself not cause others are pushing him. And he found out this week that a member would pay for his whole mission if he was willing to go! So he ended up telling us he really does want to go! So we made a plan with him to workout with him twice a week (because he has to lose 50 lbs before he can submit his papers) and after we will read preach my gospel with him. He is so excited and willing now. Sometimes we think of missionary work of just talking to people that aren't in the church. But this is just as important or more. It was a cool experience.

We also met a lady name Ashley a couple weeks ago. She used to live in Utah with her sisters and was taking the missionary discussions for a little bit. But we met with her on Wednesday and had a great discussion. You can tell that she is prepared for the gospel! She actually came to church the last two weeks and said that out of every
congregation she has been to, this her favorite one. I don't blame her this ward is incredible. This is truly what a ward family is. The members are so welcoming to her and she is already friends with the whole relief society. I feel good about her.

Yesterday we went over to see our investigator Thomas. Thomas is such a stud! He is an 80 year old guy from Nigeria.  So yesterday we taught him the restoration and it went really well. Right now he doesn't go to a church because he is confused why there is so many and he doesn't know which one is right. So it was perfect because we talked about the spiritual darkness that was on the earth and that's what lead to so many man made religions. And when we talked about the first vision and you could tell it really hit him that the full gospel is on the earth today. Then we talked about the Book of Mormon and how Joseph smith only had a third grade education and translated the Book of Mormon in less then 90 days. Then Joseph said "now that is the power God right
there". It was awesome! He is so prepared. He was so excited to read the Book of Mormon.

Oh also we actually taught a pastor from the Methodist Church this week. We thought that he was gonna bash with us the whole time but he was actually pretty open minded. We talked a lot about the Book of Mormon and he seems genuinely interested. We told him by reading and praying about the book of Mormon he will draw closer to God. He told us that is the best gift that anybody could ever give him. He shared some personal spiritual experiences so it was great. I leaned a lot from him.

Other than that we had dinner with a few members this week and it was awesome. Like I said this ward is the definition of a ward family! They are so aware of everybody and if anyone is going through any trials they jump to help so fast. So if you want to more unified as a ward get to know the all the members. Look after them and just be their friend. It was a good Easter week. I love you all. Have a good week!


Elder Jeppson

I Truly Felt the Spirit so Strong This Week!

Good morning all!

So this has been an interesting week! We had some low moments, but on the other hand we had some really great moments.

So the rough parts of the week were having over 10 cancelled appointments, having a less active text you at midnight and cussing us out because he was drunk, and literally getting the door slammed in your face many times. Oh also we found out on of our investigators is having some problems with the law so he won't be able to be baptized anytime soon which is a bummer! But hey you can't win them all! And it was a good learning experience.  Now let's get to the good stuff.

This week we had some really great lessons with some of our less active members! We've realized that our visits with them in the past were not effective at all! So this week we committed ourselves to dig deep and ask Inspired questions that would help them open up on why they aren't going to church.  As we followed the spirit on what to ask them they started opening up and telling us what was going on in their lives! Some of them didn't even remember Joseph smith, others had problems with commandments, and others didn't feel they were worthy of gods love. I'll share some stories.

So first we met with a guy named Joe, and Joe is someone that we usually go by and just read a chapter of the Book of Mormon with. But this time we asked him how he feels about his testimony and he opened up and said he definitely believes but he has been having some problems with depression so it lead him to drinking. So we had a really good lesson About the word of wisdom and talked about how alcohol numbs our sensitivity to the spirit. So we promised him that if he stopped drinking he would be more open to the spirit and would feel a lot more happiness in his life. After the lesson he said he would be at church every week! When we were about to leave he gave us a hug which is not like him and he wouldn't let go. It was a good spiritual moment.

Then we met with a less active guy named Sheldon. Sheldon is a very spiritual man but hasn't been to church in many years. And the same thing with this guy, we usually only read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon with him or share an uplifting video. But this day was different. We started being bold with him and asking him why he hasn't gone to church in awhile, and he paused for awhile, then said, because he didn't feel ready or worthy to be fully committed to God. So we started talking about how that is when we need to go to church the most! The only way we can become ready is to act on the little things and come to church. He told us he really missed the spirit he feels at church and saw that he was being blessed more when he was going.  He told us he knew he needed to get back so he committed to bringing his family to church next week!

We also meet with a new investigator named Bob. And let me tell you Bob does not have it easy. He just got out of prison and got back into drugs. He is living in a shelter and is feeling really depressed right now. So we met with him in a McDonalds and actually had an amazing  lesson. So Bob doesn't have much of a religious back ground. He's heard of Jesus Christ but didn't know much about him. So we talked about Christ life and then brought it into the atonement. We told him that Christ has felt every pain and sorrow we feel. Also that because of Christ we can have second chances and he doesn't have to feel the way he does. And you could see in his eyes that he felt the love of Christ for the first time in his life. He started to see that there is hope for him. We could tell that he really wants to change! So he told us he will read the Book of Mormon and wants to meet with us a few times a week! I love seeing people feel the spirit for the first time! It's an incredible experience.

This Sunday us missionaries were in charge of the sacrament meeting! Since it's Easter time we decided to talk about the life of Christ. And my topic was the crucifixion. This week I understood the true meaning of Easter for the first time in my life! As I was preparing for this talk I found so many writings on the life of Christ that really touched me!  I truly felt the spirit so strong this week! I felt like my talk went well too! My dad sent me a really good talk by Bruce R McConkie called "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane". I would suggest reading it! But I used a portion of that in my talk. Also us missionaries had a cute little musical number in sacrament and the spirit was very strong this meeting! There was a lot of people in tears!

So it was a great week! Sorry for rambling on but I just felt like I needed to share these experiences. But I really was reminded about my Saviors love for me! The work here is good the spirit here is good,everything is good right now! I'd love to hear from all of you so feel free to write me. :) Have a great week!

Much Love,

Elder Jeppson

The Spirit of Missionary Work is Unbelievable

Hello everyone,

So this week was pretty good. Even though we did have 10 appointments cancel it was still pretty good. We didn't teach as much as the last couple weeks, but the quality of the lessons we did teach was pretty good! So let's get into it.

So first we had exchanges with our zone leaders and we went to their area which is Jamaica, queens. This is the place where they took us to go talk to random people at the train station when I first got to the mission in July. Anyways the exchange was awesome. There is a street called "Jamaica ave" where there is thousands of people! We talked to 53 people in like 2 hours! It was so cool. We didn't get many appointment from it, but we planted many seeds! So maybe when missionaries come later they will be more open and prepared for the gospel! We also had a lesson with one of the less active members and her friend who is an investigator. The less active is really struggling with her testimony and she started getting into drugs and stuff and she's only 17! But we went over there and taught her friend and had the best lesson with her. We talked about he restoration and
it was amazing! After, she told us she wanted to be baptized when she comes to know that the church is true. And then out of know where her less active friend bore her testimony to her, saying how much the gospel has blessed her and her family. The spirit was very strong and I think it had a big impact on both of them! So that was pretty cool.

This week we met with Mark again he is the guy that we found last week who came to church. But we got a text from him one day at 1 a.m. Saying "Elders I messed up, I failed God. I really need Jesus Christ's help right now." So we went over that next day and had a great lesson with him! He started saying that he felt he wasn't worthy of Gods love. So we went on to tell him that we all are human and we all mess up. We told him that's why we have the atonement and because of Christ we have second chances and all the guilt he feels will be replaced with peace. After, he went on to say he wants to follow God, but doesn't want to commit yet because he feels like he will mess up. We told him that God wants him to follow him now! It's the only way that you'll be able to stop these things. We then went on to talk about repentance and baptism. The spirit was very strong in our discussion and we invited him to be baptized. At first he was a little hesitant, but then he thought for a little bit and said he wanted to do it. So we came up with a date and he committed to May 1st! That's a day before my birthday so that would be the greatest birthday present ever! It was such a good experience. Ever since that day he got a job and every thing has been going better in his life! He told us he knew it was God blessing him.

Also last night Elder Bingham and I were having a good talk about our mission experience. I looked back at my life and was thinking "what if I never went on a mission?" I am so glad I did! My life would be a lot different if I didn't. My testimony has grown so much and now I truly know what the gospel is about. It's brought so much joy and happiness to my life I can't explain it. It's very hard knowing that many people don't have this happiness. That's why I am so grateful I am out here sharing this message with others. And the spirit of missionary work is unbelievable. If you've served or are serving a mission you'll understand. But even if you haven't served you can still the spirit of missionary work by sharing the gospel. So my challenge to you this week is just reach out to one person this week and tell them how the gospel as blessed your life. I promise you'll make a big difference.

 I'd love to hear from all of you about your week! I love you all!

Much Love,

Elder Jeppson

Happy Birthday!!

I Can Overcome Anything

Good morning friends and family!

I'm hoping all is well! So my week was really good. We were able to teach a lot more and we found four SOLID people to teach this week! At the beginning of the week we got four referrals of people asking for a Book of Mormon on our website and that never happens. So we were very excited and we were able to contact them and this is how it went.

The first family was an elderly couple. They are strong Christians but are open to new things. So we went over there and talked about the reason why we needed a restoration. Then we started talking about the Book of Mormon and how it's not to replace the bible, but to add another  testament of Christ. They were very receptive and totally understood the  reason for the restoration. After, Elder Bingham bore a powerful testimony about how he gained his testimony of the Book of Mormon and the spirit was very strong! I know they felt something that night. Great lesson!

Then on Thursday we visited another referral we got and this guy is named Mark. Mark spent the last five years in prison and while he was there, he started praying for the first time in his life and said he felt Gods love for the first time! Ever since then he has been reading the bible and is trying get closer to God. So about a week ago he visited our website and decided to order the book of Mormon. So we went and dropped it off and had a very powerful lesson about Joseph smith and the Book of Mormon. He told us he was open to new incites and would read it and is just looking for the truth. Then we told him "Mark, We think you'll come to know that the truth is in that book and he believed that. The best part about it is that he showed up to church and stayed the whole time!! It was so awesome! The members did a good job in fellowshipping him and said he really liked it and felt the spirit.

We also saw an investigator this week that we haven't seen in months! Once again we talked about the Book of Mormon! I swear that's what all are lessons were this week. But it just goes to show how important it truly is. But we read the introduction with her and put emphasis on the part where it talks about reading it and sincerely pondering and praying about the message it contains. She said she was so happy we read that with her otherwise she probably would've missed that part. She really seemed interested and believed that she would get an answer if she prayed.

Last experience I promise! So one night we decided to drop everything and go to a train station and just talk to literally everybody that we see! As we started I was thinking to myself as of a year ago there is no way I would do this! As most of you know I had the worst anxiety about talking in front of people, so seeing myself do this know has brought show much happiness to me knowing that I can overcome anything. I have a strong testimony of weaknesses becoming strengths through Jesus Christ. I was not expecting to change this much on my mission, but I am very grateful for it.

So to say the least the work was amazing this week! As the 3 pairs of missionaries in our district we have four people to be baptized in the next month! It's so great to see our labor a paying off! I felt the spirit very strong this week!

Remember Christ is always there to help us. Just reach to him and he will help in your trials. I am a witness of that! Stay strong my friends! I hope all of you have a great week! I would love to hear about how all of you are doing. Love you all!


Much Love,

Elder Jeppson

Members introduced the Face Swap Feature to the Elders

AP's, Elder Bingham, Member, and Elder Jeppson