Sept 9, 2013

The Elder Poe Report      

               This week was an exciting one in the mission field. This week Elder Fiefia and I discovered a part of the Word of Wisdom that is currently missing in most copies of the Doctrine and Covenants it reads thusly “thou shalt not partake of sushi at a five dollar all you can eat Chinese buffet, and those who do so will be afflicted with grievous pains of the stomach and posterior.” We had Zone Training Meeting on Saturday, following which the zone went out to lunch, at an all you can eat Chinese buffet wherein Elder Fiefia in attempting to sample everything they had to offer inadvertently knocked himself out of commission for the rest of Saturday due to what we believe is sushi at a cheap Asian buffet. So that is a warning to all out there.

               In addition this week was not the most productive in terms of numbers; we labored long and hard in an attempt to secure appointments but to no avail unfortunately. It has been a powerful lesson in trusting in the Lord’s timing. For those not aware Joseph Smith prophesied that the land of the Kirtland Ohio would be built up again prior to the second advent of the Saviour, the night before this prophet of God was martyred he asserted that the prophecy had yet to be fulfilled. This means that I know that one day soon Ohio will be built up as a powerful stronghold of God’s kingdom in the Latter Days, unfortunately it does not appear that this week the Strongsville area of the Ohio Cleveland was quite ready to start construction, insofar as adding new people to the kingdom.

               This Sunday though was a wonderful day in bringing back one of the lost sheep of the Lord. There is a wonderful less active member we have been working with, Sister Marge, for the past two or three weeks, our initial visit was not incredibly productive as Sister Marge didn’t quite seem to feel the Spirit as strongly as we hoped, and she is quite the talker, I mean to the point where you sometimes have to just interrupt her mid sentence if you want to keep the discussion focused on the Gospel. Despite that we had another lesson with her this week wherein she revealed that she had stopped attending church at approximately the same time her father passed away. As we found out this information we got the prompting to start discussing family history work and temples as well, although it was a little difficult to keep the discussion focused, we did help invite the Spirit in to the room very strongly and were able to bear powerful testimony of the Plan of Salvation, following the closing prayer, my companion, myself, and the young man that was accompanying us all sang Families Can Be Together Forever, for Sister Marge before departing. The Spirit was incredibly strong as we ended and I was feeling a little bit teary eyed. This Sunday Sister Marge came to church it filled me with such happiness to see her back at church,  she was very welcomed back into the ward, and she seemed to have really enjoyed it as she stayed for the entire three hour block. Personally when we had left the lesson that Wednesday evening I didn’t think it had gone that well, but the Lord will touch the hearts of those who are ready even if we don’t always think He has.

               One other piece item of mention for this upcoming week is the Strongsville Ward Food Drive and BBQ. Several weeks ago I reported that as a Strongsville District that we had come up with the idea of a ward talent show to allow an opportunity for people to invite their friends to see more of the church, and through the process of bureaucracy and councils the idea eventually got morphed into the Strongsville Ward Food Drive and BBQ, which I am totally okay with as it is still moving the ward for missionary work. I will let everyone know how that goes next week.

               In conclusion I know that Jesus Christ is the Saviour and Redeemer of the world, that he walked the streets of ancient Israel, healing the sick, granting sight to the blind, cleansing the lepers, and even raising the dead. I know that although he lived a perfect and sinless life he took upon himself all of our sins and infirmities so that we might have an opportunity to live with Him again. After suffering beyond mortal comprehension He was arrested on false charges, convicted by a power hungry court, and then crucified to satisfy an angry mob. I know also though that death was not the end of His life, but rather the beginning of His glory, for He arose from the grave on the third day, claiming a total victory over the powers of death and hell, allowing each of us to be ransomed from sin and Satan if we will turn to Him. I know also that in His resurrected, immortal, and glorified state, Jesus Christ then appeared to Joseph Smith and called Him to be the prophet of God to usher in the dispensation of the fullness of time. I know also that I have been called by divine authority, through revelation, to serve in the mission where my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ personally appeared, and I know that any person can come to this same knowledge if they will read the Book of Mormon, and then ask God the Eternal Father in the name of Christ if it is true.

Sincerely,
Elder Hunter D. Poe