Spiritual moments plus shenanigans make for a good week!

HELLLLOOOO from the MTC! so, first things first...

I only got one email this week! haha where are you guys! :) I enjoy your mail as much as you enjoy mine! Second, I NEED MY IPOD SHUFFLE, please send it with all the gospel music we have. I'm dying without my music.  Ugh... but! On a missionary note! Bruder Charchighidim AND Frederic have committed to coming to church this Sunday! It was a big choice for Frederic, and Bruder Charchighidim will be attending with his wife (who is a member already). I'm so excited for them to have this experience. Bruder Charchighidim has learned a lot about the Atonement and is trying to revitalize his faith in the Savior.  He's coming along so quickly. 

This last Sunday we were blessed to be part of the Provo City Center Temple dedication.  It was a Tabernacle that was built by pioneer ancestors, recently it suffered a fire and the people who lived in the area didn't want to see it torn down, so the First Presidency of the Church turned it into a temple! We were able to do the hosanna shout and welcome the Lord into the temple, the same day (about 2000 years ago) that the people of Jerusalem welcomed Jesus. I didn't know, but was told, that some Pharisees told Jesus to command the people to stop and he said okay, but if they stop the stones themselves with open and sing hosanna. (Luke 19:39-40)  So that's an awesome Easter story.

(Elder Fisher didn't take time to explain the photos below.  The Provo Tabernacle on fire, a miraculous painting of Christ removed from the building by firemen, the Tabernacle rebuilt as the 150th Temple on the earth today.  Followers of Jesus Christ make covenants with the Lord, and are sealed together in marriage for time and all eternity inside.)

 

 

Update on my wrist!  So, my cyst doesn't alter my range of motion or push against anything so I'm supposed to just watch it and make sure it doesn't get any bigger.  So, no worries!

I'm lifting weights with Elder Roemer and running with Elder Warner and Elder Bollwinkle.  We did about three miles today, so my ankles are sore.

But here's the real Kicker of this week!!!

The Story of Charmin Ultra.

ULTIMATE STORY TIME!

Prologue:

The food at the MTC is vicious to your insides, and one of our Elders, Elder Jesse Knight, had said that he would do anything for some Charmin Ultra soft.  So, in some free time, Elder Roemer hopped on Amazon and sent a package.

It's set to arrive on Wednesday, so all day we're giggling waiting for him to receive his mail, but it never came... Thursday rolls around and we're waiting for our late package to reach our friend when a note pops up on the computer. 

"Elder Knight please come the the front office."  He was so scared and we guessed that it was because of his package.  So, he leaves for a little while and then returns with a tomato red face...

He had been called up to the front office to speak with Brother Jesse Knight, the Director of Operations here at the MTC... Bro. Knight had received the package due to a mix up in the mail room. So, the Head Honcho opens this package, sees the six pack of Charmin Ultra Soft, and reads the accompanying note

"Dont let the MTC food wreck you. -Rachel" (Rachel is Elder Roemers nick name) but... we didn't know until after the whole incident that Brother Jesse Knight had just returned form Europe with his daughter in law... Rachel.  So, he called her and she had no idea what the package was!  Haha, so they looked up the true recipient of the Package and called him up to return it.  Haha! 

So life here is great!  Lots of work is getting done and we're having a blast doing it! I love you all! Thank you for supporting me while I serve the Lord!

-Elder Fisher

A mustache sent to him by his cousin Hermana Kelene Fletcher who is serving in the Virginia Chesapeake Mission, Spanish speaking.

His bag, full of goodies.  (Maybe it's not a mystery why he has gut issues.)

Reading the Book of Mormon and recording his impressions.  Why sit in a chair, when you can lie on the floor?

Elder Roemer, the mastermind behind Operation Ultra Charmin.

GOOOOOOD MORRRRRRNING ARIZONA!!!

Hey Hey Hey! Can you guess what's wrong with my wrist?      

...

Correct!!! It's a ganglion cyst on the sheath of my index tendon!

I have another appointment (I missed the first one) with my Orthopedic Surgeon to see if I need it removed! 

We received a new missionary from Turkey, speaking Turkish and German for his call.  His name is Elder Gülü!  He's quiet, because he's learning English and German haha, but he's super cool!  The food here is bad, so fasting is EASY and we got a fridge in our zone residence, so we keep all sorts of drinks in there! My room got a new clock (by "got" I meant I found a clock and put a battery in it haha). German is coming along fantastically, we taught some TRC's Friday.  The first meeting went wonderfully, our German was spot on, I understood everything! but then we got to our second meeting... so, to premise my demise let me explain missionary goggles. 

Missionary Goggles:

noun

1. a form of altered vision, due to the companionship of two Elders and 24/7 men, that causes an Elder to oogle over Females.

I had 'em bad... and so we walk into our second appointment and can you guess who we were teaching?

...

That's right!!! Not one, not two, but three! of the prettiest girls I've seen in nearly 3 weeks!!!  Needless to say, I lost my cool.  Elder Andrewsen took the lead (thank goodness) and I stumbled over my words.  By the end I had totally embarrassed myself through terrible German and I read the wrong scripture. *Facepalm*

This week has been a week, let me tell you! So, quick summary and then we'll dive in! 

1. I failed a lesson and got really down on myself

2. The Lord flicked me and reminded me that I'm not alone

3. There was a death in the family.

Okay. My two new investigators are Bruder Charchighidim (super fun to say) and Frederic. 

Bruder Charchighidim moved to Germany 7 years ago with his wife. She got baptized shortly after the move, but Bruder Charchighidim has not.  After a long time in the church, Sister Charchighidim believes that her husband, Bruder Charchighidim, is ready to accept the gospel!  Our lesson with him went off without a hitch and he committed to praying with his wife and reading the Book of Mormon every day with her. 

Frederic, is a special man.  He has some pretty severe ADHD and we failed to get him to listen, the Spirit was not in our lesson and we didn't commit him to anything.  And then later, during evaluation, my teacher asked "Look at your purpose, did you invite him to come closer to Christ?" I did not. I felt like a failure, how could I not have taken control of the situation and invited the Spirit, the whole reason I'm here is to learn how to do that right?  Why did I fail?  I wrestled with myself all night and then the next day we had a district testimony meeting (our district leader Elder Jensen is amazing). We all shared why were here, and then we all shared how helpful it is to have such an awesome district.  I get so much strength from each and every one of these missionaries and I could not be more blessed!  I LOVE THEM!  That picked me up and I realized that a large part of why I'm on a mission is to better myself, to learn to love, to serve, to turn outward when I want to turn inward.  I'm learning as much if not more than what I'm teaching my investigators. And that's how the Lord reminded me that I'm not alone and that I've sort of missed a part of why I'm here up and until now.

So, this is the hardest thing I've had to experience so far. 

Elder M was sent home. For all of you back home, Elder M is the giant of an elder that we had to cheer us all up. The MTC was especially hard for him, he worked hard and made it out here but started to suffer with depression.  After a week of tests, it was determined that he should go home.... no one wanted to see him leave. We all met him outside and gave multiple hugs... we all took pictures and then sang "Till we meet again".  It was the first time I've cried during this whole adventure.  One of our brothers was going home.  It felt like a death in the family I've come to love and cherish.  Even through the hardest part of his mission he stayed positive for us and tried to keep our spirits up, as he always did.

He left a letter for us, it read,

"Though at times, we may feel unwanted and unneeded remember, God and Christ want us. They always will. They've felt our pain, and Christ suffered for us so we didn't have to. Remember this, Christ loves us so much, so that we didn't have to feel pain for our mistakes. There's broken families in Germany that need the Gospel to fix them. Whenever you feel down or want to go home, pray for strength, and remember why you're here. You, with the power of God, can save countless people. Turn outward when you're down, not inward. Love the People, especially when its hard. Do this and you will change the world.

D&C 124:49 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when I give a commandment to any of the sons of men to do a work unto my name, and those sons of men go with all their might and with all they have to perform that work, and cease not their diligence, and their enemies come upon them and hinder them from performing that work, behold it behooveth me to require that work no more at the hands of those sons of men, but to accept of their offerings."

Elder M"

It's hanging on the doorway to the bathroom so we can see it every morning and every night. He is an amazing example. That scripture wholly describes his situation. Hopefully he can find the strength to forge on in spite of the call home. We all miss him to tears and we love him to death. I love you Elder M.  To honor his letter and to do him proud we've all buckled down and started to prepare for Germany. We are going to "change the world".  We have the help those "broken families" need and through the Lord, We Will Fix Them! 

With love and gratitude, 

Elder Fisher

(To protect the privacy of the Elder mentioned, I've omitted his name and many of the details.  Suffice it to say this young man is an honorable one who was worthy to serve a mission, but has been given a medical release to return home.  This can be a difficult thing for a young man and his family to deal with personally and even harder to explain to others. During two short weeks he so positively impacted my son, and the district, that his absence now feels like a death in the family.  I can't think of higher praise.  I hope Elder Fisher's words find their way to Elder M and his family.  I hope they feel our love and prayers for them as they navigate a new course.  I hope others will understand that not serving a mission often has nothing to do with worthiness or desire.  Sometimes the unique struggles Heavenly Father gives to His children make them ineligible for a traditional mission, but make them uniquely qualified to serve and understand others who deal with similar trials.  I have no doubt that Elder M will continue to be a strong disciple of Christ who will bless others as he blessed my son.  I am grateful for him.    *Andrea Fisher)

(I love that happy face!)

Outside the Provo Temple

It's funny that the wrist was not bothered by drumming for hours every day but acts up as soon as he has to write a lot of notes.  Guess he didn't work it out enough in High School

Chocolate Milk!  Elder Fisher used to consume three+ gallons of milk each week, glad to see he can still get his fill. 

Elder Palmer and Elder Fisher wearing one of his favorite AP Camp shirts.

Their "new" clock.

Ich Liebe Dies Sprach!!!

So we had our first fast Sunday (6TH) ! I had been struggling, I thought "I'm not gonna get fat! I'll work out SUPER hard and burn the fat right?" No, I ended up over exerting my arms and was so sore I couldn't touch my face for 4 days haha. Oh boy... I realized (because it hurt to fold my arms) that I had never prayed so much in my life! I truly feel that I have come closer to Christ by learning how to bring the Spirit to the room and help it to teach of the Gospel of our Savior. I was able to bless the sacrament in German, goodness Ich Liebe Dies Sprach!!! It's leaking into my journal haha our investigator from last week was named Charles. I cant remember if I spoke about him, but we started teaching him in German the second day, we invited him this last Friday morning to be baptized and set a date for a month out, he came to our class that night and explained that he's actually our new teacher haha so that was a trip. Our two new investigators are Brother Charchighidim and Frederic. We will meet them on Monday. 

7th Monday was a wonderful day, we planted a Buch Mormon with Charles, we were so ecstatic and after walking out of the lesson My Companion let me know I had given away his personal copy and not my own!!! He committed to praying and reading and read 5 chapters the first night. I cant wait for him to understand and step closer unto Christ!!! 

8th Tuesday We had a service project at 6:40 am, so we had to wake up an hour earlier, we cleaned one of the buildings and it was a lot of fun! We taught Charles about prophets and the restoration. We confused him because we didn't know the right vocab, so we worked hard the next day to UN-Confuse him.

9th Wednesday we taught Charles more about Jesus Christ. The Atonement definitely rung with him, after explaining Christ's Suehnopfer (Atonement) he was very quiet and then our time was up. I felt the Spirit so I know that is was a good quiet, because he was thinking about what that meant to him. We sing every morning to get the Spirit, although ya'll would probably think German wouldn't do that haha. We met an investigator from Germany that day, his name is Johnathan, he is working here while he studies Linguistics at BYU. He feels God does not answer his prayers. Jonathan is very sweet and I'd love to show him Christ and His Heavenly Father DO love him, he just needs to open up more and learn to hear the Spirit of God. As members we have this great gift, a pot of gold, (the keys to eternal happiness) and it is so difficult when we go up to someone we care about, grab an ingot of gold and try to hand it to them and they won't reach out to accept the gift.

10th Thursday we spoke about the gifts of the Spirit. I recognized that the gift of tongues works with my gift of understanding and discernment. I understand much more German than I can formulate and it helped me so much while I listened to Jonathan's life story. I have developed a great love for the scriptures and read close to 10 chapters a day! I'm working through a brand new copy of the Book of Mormon, marking spiritual lessons and writing any inspired thoughts. Oh, a note in my journal (I'm reading it as I write this so I don't forget anything) is that "the food here destroys the bowels". Also the backwards people of Utah believe in "Daylight savings time"... apparently this Sunday we get one less hour of sleep... 

11th 🎵Friday was yesterday, it's the day we get ready for P! DAY! 🎵 Don't tell my mission leader but I may have fallen asleep during scripture study on Friday haha. I sit next to the vent, so if I lean back it blows on the back of my neck...  yeah I was out for an hour and a half haha but my German ist SEHR GUT!!! and I'm loving the language. Again its leaking into my English. I miss you all!!! I've got some pictures, we're always finding ways to tease or mess around with each other, today we bowled with my 10 deodorant sticks and I tried to pop a bag in Elder Knight's ear but I missed and ended punching him in the face haha. We played soccer in the residence hall with a roll of tape. 

I miss you all, this is the one for the blog, so Hi-ya bloggies! I miss you, but I've gotta get back to serving the Lord! 

Until next week! Love Elder Fisher!!!

Our District Left to Right:

Sister Alton "ShootPar", Elder Morrison, Sister Earl "Sister Mom", Elder Knight "the Goof", Elder Jensen "the King", Elder Fisher "Le Hunk" (naturlich), Elder Andrewsen "the Serb", Elder Roemer "Muscle Man"

Awake for Scripture Study

Asleep for Scripture Study "It happened ONE time!"

Elder Knight with a clamp on his nose (I hold the record for longest suffering [greatest patience award])

Bowling with Elder Fisher's ten deodorants.

Can he bowl a 200?