Well, I had a WAY sweet week this week. Fun and spiritual, very spiritual. I grew a lot this week in my testimony. I love being out on a mission and learning, growing, and feeling so much every single day.
So, MARTIN UPDATE!!! He still rocks. We had a couple meetings with him this week. We taught him the word of wisdom and it was a great lesson. We figured that since he is as golden as he is, we might as well be bold and fearless. I guess we should be that way all the time, but more so with him. Anyway, he drank tea every now and then and he was concerned with the no tea part, brought out his box, we told him it was the bad kind, and he says “ok, don’t need that anymore,” as he threw it behind the couch. Awesome!! And he is having no problems with it and we don’t expect him to. We also met with him Thursday night I think to just show him the chapel and explain church to him. He loved the building. The church here is really sweet. It’s an old building and has some sweet architecture inside. He thought it was great and was really really excited to come this Sunday. When we were at the church, we showed him the baptismal font and said that that’s where he will be baptized in a few weeks! He thought it was very nice and is so excited. We then just talked to him about life and got to know him a little better. He is such a humble and great man. He has made so many changes in his life and has grown so close to the Savior. I just got to thinking how I can do that in my life, even though I don’t have problems with the things he did. But, I still do have my struggles and all I need to do is put my trust in the Savior and have that strong of faith like Martin does. He thinks he learns a lot from us, but I think maybe we learn more from him than he does from us! He rocks. Then on Sunday, he came to church and absolutely LOVED it. That’s underlined and bold for a reason! He was there early, a member he had met earlier this week invited him to sit with him and his family (AWESOME!!), and the bishopric gave great talks that must have been pre planned for Martin or something. He thought the organ was really sweet too. As do I…the organ is really big. Anyway, gospel principles was also really awesome too. We asked the teacher to prepare a lesson on eternal families because that is something we really really want for him. It was a great lesson, but the better part was that Martin made comments and answered questions like a lifelong member would!! Me and Elder Barker would just look at each other and go “dang man!” He has been SO prepared by the lord, it is unbelievable. Then in priesthood, visitors were asked to introduce themselves. Martin was the only visitor and we just expected him to say hello I’m Martin or something, but, he told his whole story of how he found the church and met us! He basically told the priesthood brethren how golden he was. Some guys even turned around to Barker and I and gave us thumbs up and stuff. It was great. And in the lesson, he made yet more comments that were really deep and thoughtful. It was amazing. People were introducing themselves to him and talking to him, inviting him over for dinners, offering us their homes to teach him in, and just giving him a very good welcome. He loved it so much. He told me as I walked him out to his car that he felt like he was home. It was very special. But, as he has every other Sunday morning off, we are praying super hard that he will get EVERY Sunday off, or have another job opportunity arise. So, if ya’ll would like to, keep him and that in your prayers. That’d be sweet!
But, the rest of our week was great as well. We did some more bus contacting, fun stuff I’m tellin ya. I met this cool black guy and got talking to him about the gospel and had a pretty sweet conversation. I gave him a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet and he was pretty stoked. Sounds like I did good right? Wrong!! I forgot to get his information so we could go see him and teach him!!! I felt so lame! But, never fear, I redeemed myself the next day. I met a Russian guy, I’ll be totally honest though, I couldn’t figure out if it was a guy or a girl, he/she sounded like Mrs. Doubtfire. But we asked a RM who went to Russia if the name was a guys or girls and he said it was a guys. Anyway, he was a Jew, but interested in learning more about the gospel as our message is for everybody. I got his info and we will be trying to see him this week!! Oh yeah, totally redeemed myself. So yeah, I think I’m finally getting better at the whole bus thing. The bus is fun!
We went to the temple on Friday night with the singles ward, it was really awesome. It was a pretty late session that we went to, 7:30, so needless to say we got home late. But, the temple experience was awesome. Before we started our session and while waiting in the chapel, I prayed that I would be able to feel Heavenly Fathers and the Saviors love in abundance in the temple that night. It’s kind of impossible to NOT feel it in the temple, but I really wanted to feel something. Something more and something that I could totally not deny. Kind of like praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true, when you get an answer, there is no way you can deny it. Anyway, the spirit was very strong throughout and once again, the Celestial room was amazing. Right when I walked in, it was like the love of our Father and Savior was just dumped on me by a bucket. It was crazy. But I just prayed for a really long time and was brought to tears by all the things that I have been blessed with in my life. The 3 that really stuck out to me when I was in there was 1) My family. 2) The gospel. And 3) Being on a mission. Of course there were other things, but those 3 just stuck out a ton to me. And thinking about it longer in there and on the way home, those 3 things are really what matter the most to me right now in my life. There just seemed to be something resounding in my mind, and that was love. Not the lovey dovey romantic kind of love, but just the sincere, heartfelt, gratuitous kind of love. I felt it so strongly in the celestial room that night, probably more so than I have in my life. I am so grateful for my family. I would not be anywhere near where I am today without you. I am so grateful for the gospel. I know I wouldn’t be anywhere near Madison if I didn’t have that in my life either. And I am so grateful for my mission. The family and the gospel all lead up to this. I am SO grateful to be out here, if I hadn’t, I’d still be being a bump on the log back home getting my truck covered in mud just for the heck of it. But instead, thanks to my family and this gospel and changes I have made in my life, I am out here. I am learning and growing and having so many experiences that are changing and molding my life to the way I want it to be, and it’s awesome. I couldn’t get that anywhere else but here. I LOVE my life. I love everybody who is reading this. This gospel is true and I am so grateful to be sharing it with Wisconsin-ites.
But, sadly, Elder Barker is getting transferred. I got along with him really well and we had a lot of fun together and got a lot of work done. I hope my new companion rocks too and that we continue the awesomeness we have going here. I’ll be staying put!! Scary!! I still don’t have this crazy Mad-Town figured out!! I’ll get it though.
But, love you guys. You all rock. Keep on keepin on!
Love
Elder Jesse Kissell
pictures!
1. This is what happens to a missionaries math skills when he's out...uh oh.
2. The whole Madison zone! minus one companionship.
YOU'RE KIDDING JESSE! YOUR MATH SKILLS ARE STILL PERFECTLY FINE! but i still love you anyway.
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