Monday, April 8, 2013

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Hello my parents, family and friends!

I love you all!

This week has been a crazy week! We got permission to go to my companion’s last area to see a baptism! We drove 2 and a half hours to get there!...hahahah… I swear I have driven more out hear in Ohio and Indiana then back home…which is probably true.

We were able to watch conference at the branch house.   lol   We were the only two people there.... but the projector was all set up and we got the best seats in town!

Later Sunday night we re-watched the first session with our progressing investigator and their family… =D… the spirit was so strong! Whitney,  you could tell was just eating up the spirit! Especially when Elder Packer was speaking =D

It’s so amazing to see how much you learn to appreciate things when you move away from home. At home I don't think I ever really, really listened to general conference like I should have…it use to feel like it dragged on and on.  Now don't get me wrong…I have always enjoyed conference especially since we didn't have to get all dressed up and go to church.

I suppose the largest change is that now I am watching conference to gain more spiritual knowledge so that I can help strengthen my investigators faith, which adds so much more concentration than actually getting something out of conference for myself.    =)    The talks were amazing!!! I felt clean and good! Also I was filled with fire to go out and preach the word of god!

Last week we visited an older lady in our ward.  It’s funny that less active members are way more receptive to sharing the Gospel with others then active members.  This lady is only really less active because of her age and health. She told us of her 80 year old neighbor and said we should go visit with her.

We went and knocked on her door and… wow… you could have never met someone as nice as this dear old lady.  She walked out with her kids (two dogs). We sat out on her drive way in some lawn chairs; she shared with us some of her life story.

Three years ago she lost her 45 year old son, a very hard blow to her and her husband. Just last year she lost her husband as well. She was telling us how people say that Jesus Christ and religion are suppose to help you heal from those kinds of heart ache but " they tell you that…but it really doesn't help" You always miss them and your not quite the same without them. Next she told us her daughter... maybe in her 40’s …was told that she only has 5 years left to live!

Talking with her almost broke my heart…especially since I know that the fullness of the gospel can fully heal her! I know by personal experience how much the atonement can really take pain away... whether sin or heart ache it is a real power and can penetrate to the core!

We were able to share some of the plan of salvation with her but her back started hurting and she needed to get back inside… lol…but then she offered us some beans and corn bread!   Lol   As we were eating she kept telling us how happy we made her day and how happy she was to be able to do something for someone else such as feeding us!!!    =)

We are going to be able to go back and see her again next week…please pray for her and Whitney!

I love you all so much!

Elder Henke

Here are some pictures ….

There is not a more perfect place to preach the gospel... hehe.... then on Heck Street... now just remember life can be heck like but if we do our part our Eternal Street can be within the Celestial Kingdom of our Heavenly Father!!!

This was for both mine and Elder Fosters b-days! We got a cake and 20 candles…it was around 10:20pm, we had just gotten back from the Priesthood session and we were super tired and still had to plan our next day out.    =S    hahaha    Usually we are able to plan sooner but we had so many things going and Priesthood session doesn't end here until 10 o'clock!   haha

April 1st  2013

Dear Family and Friends,

It sounds like Mom had a happy birthday! I wish I could have done more for her......

I am so excited for General Conference!

It’s crazy how you start to thirst for learning more about the gospel. We have been listening to some of Elder Bruce R. Mc Conkie talks… like The 7 Deadly Heresies… awesome talks! =D  

Our Easter was great! A member asked us if we had any Easter Tradition and I was the only one that did!   So the member family made us Golden Rod Egg! … =D    It was a bit different…the egg and white gravy were already mixed and in a big bowl with ham inside it was Delicious!

When I get home I don't know what I will be planning on doing..... I was thinking of working for Heber…what I would really like to do is expand his business to another state and be more of a manager… so that I could support a family. When I get home.... I also want to go to school...... I guess we will see what will happen.

I am a very lucky son…to be born in a family who cares so much for me!    =)

  

Please tell everyone how thankful I am of their b-day wishes and gifts!!!    =D

I know I didn't realize how much I meant to the family and friends I love…until I had to be cut off…away from all of them...... I believe a large part of the reason we have the veil is because the love our Father in Heaven has for us is so strong.... probably in every fiber of our being spirit and body that there would be no way we would have survived living away from him. The full knowledge of his love alone would make it impossible to choose wrong choices because there would be no way we would live without him in our lives!!!

I have never felt so much love in my life since being away from home and serving the Lord..... It makes me think of the Preexistence..... before we left… it would probably feel a lot like preparing and leaving on a mission.... we would be away from home.... we would have to learn how to do things for ourselves..... we would create strong relationships.... we would also watch those relationships break and crumble.... we would learn and grow.... use the knowledge we gain to better our lives and those around us...... watch others fight and tear each other down.... experience sadness and joy..... The bitter and sweet.

All this truly shows me that The Church is true..... that Heavenly Father lives.... that He sent his Only Begotten Son to take upon him the pains and sorrows of his children.

A man in my ward explained this about the spirit…

“Love.... you can't truly explain it..... you can't explain that feeling... science can’t even explain the true depths of it.... they can try but nobody can feel the love you feel only their own love...... the spirit is the same way.... it’s something that you have to feel”.

Mom, your experience you shared with me strengthened me so much!    =)

“A few weeks ago when I was praying for you …I told the Lord you really needed a blessing right from him…I then saw in my minds eye that you were sitting in a chair and that Christ was standing behind you with his hands on your head accompanied by Grandpa Fitzgerald and Grandpa Henke… the Lord did give you a personal blessing.”

I truly felt I was at the bottom a few weeks ago.....

You know how I pray every transfer for a certain type of companion or something to learn from them... well this transfer I swallowed my pride and prayed in humility and asked Heavenly Father to do His Will..... I asked that I would accept His Will.... that He would send me the experiences that will help me to grow the way that is best for me. I also prayed that I would have the strength to obey His Will and to carry on through whatever He decides would be best.

I feel light... I feel clean.... I feel my testimony strengthened and I feel my Faith which for a little bit I thought I had lost...... 

This last Sunday we had an amazing lesson with our investigator... Whitney… the lady in the picture I sent with the family with Eder Birch and I......

When Elder Birch left I thought I was doomed..... Everyone here loved him so much I didn't think I could fill the shoes he left behind. I know that everyone is different but it’s still a tough task....

Well yesterday…I had been feeling the Spirit like I had never felt before..... Our investigator... Whitney… during our lesson came to the realization that The Church is either true or not. For the first time I invited her to act on faith and ask if The Church is true... if the Book of Mormon was true… if the Prophet is true.... and I also extended as a representative of Jesus Christ that by April 27^th she would receive her answer and that she would also receive a date that she should be baptized.

Whitney gave the prayer.... she had never prayed the way she did yesterday. From day one we have been trying to get her to notice the presence of the Spirit but she would always say it was just an emotion or she would say she didn't feel anything. Well during her prayer she said thank you Heavenly Father for the Spirit that I am feeling today, and for the Spirit that has come into our family.

She even shared with us that she believes that she has already received her witness that The Church is true!

Now I am waiting and praying that she will sincerely pray and act upon the answer she will receive.

For the past 2 transfers we have only been finding 1-2 new investigators a week…this last week we found 6!!!

I pray that things will continue to progress =D

I love all of you!

Elder Henke

March 25th 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

I am feeling the missionary spirit!!!! I feel so light and good!    =)  It’s just a great feeling!!!

I have a new companion. His name is Elder Foster from Iowa he has been out for 6 months - I was made senior companion and I am now driving again.

My new companion is pretty cool! He reminds me of Taylor....hahaha…by a lot!

I was asked to give a talk about Temple work and Temple standard..... Man its hard not using a computer to write a talk.  My companion let me read a Temple book that he had... pretty much just a ton of Ensign Talks but I learned a lot about the Temple from them.

I learned some neat things I never knew before…like the connection between baptism for the dead by proxy and sacrificing animals in the time of Aaron…that the principle is the same. 

Thanks Mom… =)…that is such an awesome blessing to Celeste… =)…wow.... that is so cool to hear! It helps to think we already knew a lot of what we were going to go through before we came to the earth =) I was actually just reading my Patriarchal Blessing a little bit ago and it is a very special blessing.... its weird though I don't feel like the more spiritual parts of my blessing will happen here in the mission field.... I feel like more of it will be fulfilled after I get married...... but it is a huge comfort… =)

I love you Mom and Dad!!! Thank you so much! 

I feel like Nephi being born of  "Goodly Parents"  … ;)

The MTC camp was a great experience that really helped me… =) and thanks Dad for sending me another mission experience.

I love you!

Elder Henke

    This is the last day with Elder  Birch and the Family we have been working with... =)