Elder Chalmers: It's May!

MLC, Moving and Mothers Day May 9, 2016

It was a great week here in the Michigan Lansing Mission. That's the usual report, but truth is truth! The MLM never disappoints. This week we had MLC on Tuesday, then on Friday we spent most of the day helping some missionaries in Bay City move to a new apartment and then capped it off by getting to talk to my amazing family yesterday on Mother's Day. It doesn't get much better than that.

We had a really great MLC on Tuesday. First of all, it's great to get together as Mission Leadership Council because at this point I've built a really good relationship with most of the MLC, especially the Elders, so it's great to be with so many of the people that I've come to love and respect so much. There are some top notch missionaries in the MLM. We discussed some of the mission's policies and learned some great things from President Jacobsen about how to lead and how the way to help others to be great is to strengthen them one by one.

Elder Smith and I went on trade-offs at MSU. We had a ton of fun. We've been on quite a few trade-offs together and are really close, so we had a blast. We met some cool people on campus during it.

This week I had to say goodbye to Tatiyana, since she's going home for the summer. We had a great last lesson, and she is going to do some great things. She has taught me a lot about persevering, and working toward a goal. She's awesome!

We spent Friday in Bay City moving some missionaries which was fun, and tiring. We got home in time to do some finding on campus.

This was finals week at MSU so everybody was busy, and a lot of people are taking off so things will be a little bit different for us but we're meeting some cool people that will be here for the summer, so are going to continue to work and trust that the Lord will guide us to those that are ready to receive the restored gospel.

Yesterday I got to skype with my family. It was great to see them, talk with them, and laugh as we usually do. I'm blessed to have such a loving and supportive family.

Something cool that the Spirit taught me this week is found in Luke 12:48. This came to me before I trained at MLC, so I shared it. What it teaches me is that Heavenly Father wants us to continually progress and because of that, as we grow, he requires more and more of us so that through being challenged, we can continue to grow and become more like Jesus Christ. In summary, God tries us and pushes us to our limit so we can return to live with him again, and live more abundant lives.

I love you all! I'm excited to be able to continue to serve the Lord in the MLM and do my very best as I "sprint to the finish."

Love,

Elder Chalmers

Mission Leadership Conference (MLC)

Tatiyana and me

Trey and me

me and my mission "twin," Elder Grover.

Baptism! May 2, 2016
What an awesome week! We had transfers, got to go to the temple, welcomed in a new missionary, and were able to be a part of Tatiyana Harris' baptism and confirmation, it doesn't get much better than that!

Last Monday went really well, just lots of driving, it was about 14 hours from start to finish to complete transfers, but it was fun. I got to talk with Elder Allred for one leg of the journey, and that was really fun to catch up, I love him a lot.

Tuesday was crazy. Some missionaries lost their car keys and were stuck with another set, so we had to drive to Grand Rapids in the morning to take them their spare keys and then come back, round up all the sisters and get them to President's for interviews. It was stressful, but all worked out. We then went to lunch and afterward headed to the temple. It was great. I love being there, and being able to feel the Spirit so strongly. I learned while there, that a way to humble ourselves is to pray more often, and more sincerely. It helps us to rely on the Lord, and acknowledge all He does for us (Helaman 3:35). We then came back to Lansing, had dinner, and then a little testimony meeting, it was great.

Wednesday was a long one. We had to get up early to take the missionaries to the airport with the Jacobsens. We picked up Elder Gregson around noon and sent him and his companion on their way. We then got to teach a referral from the Lansing elders. It's a guy named Daniel from Haiti, and he speaks Haitian-Creole, so there is a real language barrier. This is the first time I've had that issue in my entire mission, it's a real thing. We'll have to really rely on the Spirit when speaking to him.

Saturday was Tatiyana's baptism. It was super great. Elder Haddock was able to be there as well! You could almost see her glowing when she came out of the water, it was an amazing experience to have. I spoke on the gift of the Holy Ghost, and compared it to a free sample. That really is what it is. God gives it to us and it's a foretaste of eternal joy with Him, so as we experience the power of the gift of the Holy Ghost, it motivates us and leads us back to Him, which is how He accomplishes His goal. While a store's goal, is that you will taste the product, buy it, and they accomplish theirs. I learned it all in prayer one morning, it was sweet.

Later that day, we were on campus and we met a girl named Johnna. She said she was praying right when we stopped her on campus! We walked over to the institute and had a sweet lesson. She first told us she isn't a typical Christian because she thinks that it's wrong that someone can believe in Christ and live a bad life, while a good person who doesn't believe is damned. We were chomping at the bit! We taught her about the spirit world, and 2 Nephi 9:25:26. We had great HTBT, and it was a miracle that we found her. It was a goal that day as well! God rewards us as we faithfully set goals.

We also both ate an almost 5 pound burrito called the "Big Juan." hah.

Love,

Elder Chalmers