Remembering Our Purpose

To the missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We are inspired by the great efforts that being made by you to find and teach. We would like to invite you recommit yourselves to teach repentance by inviting those you teach to be baptized. With this in mind, we request that each of you study Chapter 1 during the month of June. It is natural to get so caught up in any routine that we forget the objective of it. Please spend the time in personal and companionship study during the month of June to study all of the elements of this chapter including the information and activities in the boxes :).

There are far too many people who are attending our church services who aren't being invited to be baptized. Everything we do, the finding, the teaching, the inviting is to help people become cleansed from sin so they can enjoy the Spirit of God in their lives. The best time to invite people to be baptized is when they are feeling the Spirit.

Please remember that no one should be be taught a first lesson in this mission without an invitation to be baptized. It is the way we bless their lives. When we follow up diligently with their Book of Mormon reading, we should be prepared to teach them the Plan of Salvation to show them that God would have them be baptized and that the Book of Mormon contains the answers to the questions of the soul. We shouldn't create our own barriers for people to receive a baptismal date. If they are exercising faith unto repentance (making and keeping commitments), they are prepared for a date. All investigators who are reading the Book of Mormon and who have attended church once should have a date by the very next lesson. A Covenant Path Calendar should be presented on the following lesson.

We must remember that we carry the message that will allow people to be redeemed of their sins and to receive the greatest gift anyone can receive in mortality which is the Gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost. All of God's children need it. Be as strictly obedient as you can be so that we can receive revelation to both find those the Lord has prepared and have the courage and faith to invite them to come unto Christ that they may inherit eternal life (D&C 14:7,8)!!

We love you! We can think of no better missionaries to labor with in this great work!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

We attended the "English as a Second Language" Graduation in the Spring Branch School District last Friday. Our missionaries are so loved by those they teach! It is an honor for us to be associated with them. They are doing such great work. 

Come and SEE!

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We thoroughly enjoyed our time together this week at zone conference. We loved discussing the Plan of Salvation and loved even more seeing/listening to you teach it clearly and with growing power! In fact, on the last day of zone conference, we decided to challenge all of you to start the Book of Mormon from the beginning starting this Monday to look for the evidences of the Plan of Salvation that appear throughout it. This will strengthen all of our testimonies of that sacred record and help us see. So for those of you who weren't there, this is your assignment :).

Early in the Savior's ministry tho disciples who had heard Jesus speak followed Him. When Jesus turned to them to ask what they were seeking, they asked Him, "Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" Jesus answered and said, "Come and see" (John 1:37-39). As we were discussing Nicodemus and His inability to "see" the kingdom of God, this account from the New Testament came to my mind. When we invite people to church, we're not just asking them to come and take a look, we are inviting them to SEE; maybe for the first time that they have ever been able to see.

Elders and Sisters, while many things are going well in our mission, are focus and attention to those things that truly help people see needs to improve not only now, but consistently into the future. We need to remember that if they never see, we will not accomplish our missionary purpose. We need to feel more desperation to awaken people.

With this in mind, we request that each of you read King Benjamin's sermon found in Mosiah 2-4 and specifically what his people do in chapter 5 when they finally can see. What do they desire? This is the effect of clearly teaching the Plan of Salvation with power.

One last item. This week at district meeting we role played giving a church tour. We are impressed by what we experienced. We would just like to caution you to avoid describing church organizations without explaining how they help us build faith in Jesus Christ and how they help strengthen the family. For example, if we are describing the children's organization (Primary), we would say something along the lines of, "Here children learn what they can do to follow Jesus Christ and develop faith in Him. They also learn how to be obedient and honor their fathers and mothers."

If we will keep everything we do centered on building faith in Christ and strengthening families, we will see great miracles in bringing souls unto Him!

We love you and are grateful for all you do to build up God's kingdom here in this part of His vineyard.

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Spring Birthdays

We will sure miss Hermana McNabb! She extended her mission a few weeks and leaves us this week.

Zone Conference (Logenbaugh building)

Spring Birthdays

Zone Conference (Spring Bld)

Spring Birthdays

Zone Conference (Cypress building)

We attended District Meeting in the Magnolia District on Friday. We were inspired by the great work that is happening there and enjoyed a wonderful church tour! Elder Nelson did a great job leading his district.

Magnolia District

Elder Nelson in action

We held a Mission President's "Why I Believe"Fireside tonight. It was one of the best yet! We heard testimonies from 4 wonderful new members who testified so powerfully of the blessings of the gospel. We had amazing musical performances from our missionaries! We are reaping the benefits of many piano lessons, voice lessons and hours of practice. They are outstanding! Here are some pictures taken at the fireside.

This cute family drove all the way from College Station to see Elder Toolson.