Eleventh Week of Our Mission

Baptism of Brother Perez with Sister Missionaries and President Gillette

Elder Frost and Brother Bienvenido Batista Perez

Brother Perez with the Sister Missionaries - He was Baptized in Two Days -A Special Miracle

 

 

Eleventh Week of Our Mission

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission

August 18, 2013

Another week is behind us and we are in the middle of August.  Time is really flying along.  This week we had some special experiences although we were doing other types of activities on some days, so we weren’t on the Square quite as much as usual.  We so enjoy being here and find ourselves anxious each morning to go out and greet people.  Crowds are thinning and vacations are coming to an end.  Soon fall will be approaching and there will not be as many people visiting.  We will miss the many diverse groups of people vacationing, but look forward to perhaps focusing on the one.

We had a special baptism today for a man from the Dominican Republic.   Two days ago two sister missionaries were at the City Creek Food Court and a man approached them.  He admitted to them that his mother, sister and brother were all members of the Church and he had not been baptized.  He realized that something was missing from his life and needed a spiritual foundation.  He went on to say to them that he wanted to be baptized before he left Utah for his work in Luxemburg (he was leaving in two days.)  Of course, they were stunned but began preparations to teach him the gospel in one day!  Taggart had the great opportunity to interview him for baptism and found him excited and ready for this marvelous event in his life.  So, under the direction of President Gillette, we organized along with the sisters, the baptism with refreshments and all.  It was a very spiritual event with a few of the sisters attending.  Taggart was able to baptize him and he felt honored to have this opportunity.  For me, I felt such a unity and spiritual strength with the sisters.  What a wonderful moment for all of us!  In fact, it had been eleven years since there was a beginning to end baptism in the mission!

As was mentioned earlier in our blog, the First Presidency has wanted the sisters to be on Temple Square an hour earlier each day up until General Conference.  Because the sisters have Relief Society on Thursday mornings, the senior missionary couples were asked to man the Square on that morning.  So, this Thursday was our first assignment.  I (Kimm) had the opportunity to be in the South Visitor’s Center that day and a young woman came in about 7:45 am.  She had all sorts of questions about the Church and the Book of Mormon.  About thirty minutes into the conversation, I realized that she was a member, a struggling member.  She had come early to Temple Square to try and receive answers to her questioning mind.  I truly felt the spirit work through me as I testified of the reality of this Church.  As it approached 8:30 am she asked if we could pray together.  We prayed, hugged and hopefully she went away feeling better.  It truly was a very spiritual moment for me and I knew without a doubt that spirit guided me that day.

We learned this last week that Elder Jeffrey R. Holland will be speaking to the sisters on Tuesday morning of next week, although they don’t know it yet.  What a thrill for all of us to be in the presence of one of the Lord’s servants in a small group setting.  We definitely will have something special to report next week.

We had some good interaction with Mimi this last week.  The sisters were greatly concerned because she had cancelled her baptism for August 24th.  Taggart talked to her and reinforced the importance of getting baptized and being that example to her husband and family.  Rick, it seems, is not very supportive of this big decision in her life and is not attending Church or being part of her discussions.  She asked Taggart to intervene and talk to him.  Consequently, a well written email and article on “Celestial Marriage” was sent to him.  Hopefully he and Taggart can also chat on the phone.  We are hoping and praying that she will be baptized and Rick will have a change of heart and commit to his  promise of eternal marriage.  Mimi has just sent us an email informing us of her commitment to be baptized on the 7^th of September!!!  We are thrilled with her desire to do what is right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Tenth Week of Our Mission

At the Baptism of our Young Man from China

Sister Frost and Arnaud at the North Visitor Center with His Book of Mormon

Elder Frost Speaking to the Audience in the Tabernacle

 

Tenth Week of Our Mission

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission

August 11, 2013

 

We are finding each week that we are growing stronger in our abilities to teach on Temple Square.  We have learned much from our mission so far.  Each day we learn something new about a site or display and are unafraid to bear testimony of the gospel.  We have made some mistakes, to be sure, but we have learned from those mistakes.  Sometimes we have not been bold enough and sometimes we are too bold.  We pray each day that the spirit will guide us and we hope that we will be worthy of that spirit to find those who are truly seeking the gospel in their lives.

We had a wonderful experience this last week in that we ran into a young man we met on Temple Square a few weeks back.  He (Arnaud Virgreux) was on an exchange program from China and living with a strong LDS family in Nephi for a few months.  When he visited the Square, we had the opportunity to show him around the North Visitor’s Center and share with him a French copy of the Book of Mormon.  (He speaks French, Mandarin and English.)  Well, this last week we saw him again and he ran up to us so excited.  He said, “You gave me this Book of Mormon (he had it in his hand) and I read it and prayed about it.  I know that the Church is true and I am going to be baptized on Sunday.”  Needless to say, we were very excited for he just radiated enthusiasm for the Church.  His parents gave him permission to be baptized and we are going to the baptism today in Nephi.  It is a long drive, but we want to support him in this important decision.  His excitement is so contagious that he just radiated his love for the Church and those that taught him the gospel.  We were just so happy to part of this great change in his life.  Hopefully, he can touch his family and friends as he goes back home. We are grateful that we were blessed to be his first contact with the gospel and to be part of teaching the doctrine and principles during his time here in Utah.

Today I (Kimm) had a wonderful encounter in the Tabernacle.  As I went around visiting with people after the Organ Recital I met a man from India.  I began to tell him about the history of the Tabernacle and another man joined in our conversation.  He and his family were from the Netherlands.  After offering the answers to the rich history of the building, the man from the Netherlands wanted to know more about the Church.  The spirit guided as I shared the restoration and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.  The words just flowed from my lips and I was able to answer all of their questions.  I asked them if they wanted the Book of Mormon and both of them said yes!  The family from the Netherlands was most interested and vowed to read it.  We can hardly believe that we are so blessed to come to Temple Square because where could you teach a man from India and a family from the Netherlands at the same time and they want to know about the Church.

We are still praying for the White Family.  We learned this week that Mimi is still very committed to being baptized, but Rick did not go to all the Church meetings on Sunday.  The missionaries were sorely disappointed.  Also, the children are not taking part in the discussions so it looks like only Mimi, at this point, will be baptized.  We are praying for them and so hope that the spirit will be in great abundance in their home so that one day all the family will be united in baptism.

One other little thing that happened this week is that some good sisters, Cummings and Pipe, made us a very special gift, a “dream catcher” that they made on their P-Day.  We were so touched by their generosity and their kind words to us.  We love the sisters because they are so giving to us and we are trying to be an example to them.

 

 

 

 

 

Ninth Week of Our Mission

Elder and Sister Frost - Outing with the Sisters at Brighton

Our District at Brighton

Our Zone at Brighton

A Little Hike at Brighton

 

 

Ninth Week of Our Mission

Salt Lake Temple Square Mission

August 4, 2013

Here it is the first week of August and we can’t believe it.  Where has the time gone!  It is still very hot in the city, but we hope in the not too distant future it will start to cool down.  This may be the last month of people on family vacations going to Temple Square because school will be starting shortly.  However, it was announced today in Sacrament Meeting that the sisters will be working an extra hour each day up until October because of the many guests visiting.  Those sisters work sooooo hard and we are so grateful for their dedication.

We can’t say that we found the “one” this week, however, we have had some great experiences.  Each day we try to position ourselves at the “God’s Plan for Families” exhibit.  This last week we had many members go through this video presentation and so many were touched.  I think, in a sense, we did some good because there seemed to be a deep inward reflection on this great concept by those attending because many tears were shed.  Personally, we never go into that exhibit without being overcome by the spirit.

We went to the bookstore this week and bought some videos and books for those we are corresponding with.  We sent them off and hope these items have a positive impact on the people we sent them to.  Speaking of books, we could not give away Books of Mormon this week in English because the mission has run out of them.   However, Taggart was able to give away three Books of Mormon in Mandarin.  So many people from China visit the Square every day and know nothing about Christ.  They are eager to learn but cannot be taught, however, we can share with them this great book.  Hopefully, this next week we will get a shipment of Books of Mormon because our goal is to give away at least two books a day.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to Brighton Girl’s Camp.  This was a much needed retreat for the sisters.  Half of the sisters went in the morning and the other half went in the afternoon so the Square would be covered.  They had so much fun doing all kinds of team building activities.  It was a time for them to get away from the regular schedule and indulge in some fun!  We had a tough time finding the camp because we went up later, but enjoyed ourselves tremendously.  We realized while we were there that we truly miss the mountains and the beauty of being in nature.

Today was Fast Meeting and our fast was for the White Family.  Those dear sister missionaries in Kentucky were fasting for this family and so did we.  August 24^th, the baptismal date for Mimi, is fast approaching and we are hoping against hope that the children will be receptive to the gospel too.  It would be so wonderful to see the whole family come into the Church.  We are anxious to hear from those dear sisters tomorrow and see what has happened this week in their progression.