The First Mission President's Fireside

 We held the First Mission President's Fireside in the Cypress Stake yesterday. It was a wonderful event! The missionary choir was beautiful and they invited the spirit in a powerful way. The fireside began with the missionaries filing into the chapel and choir loft while singing called to serve. What a sight! We also heard testimonies from new members of the church who bore witness of the truthfulness of the gospel. Then there was a special musical solo, "Come Thou Fount" from Sister Butterfield, accompanied by her companion Sister Fullmer. We were then pleased to hear two more musical solos, "I Have Not Seen, Yet I Believe" by Sister Quist who was accompanied by her companion Sister Possin, and "Savior, Redeemer" by Sister Davis who was accompanied by Pres. Chappell. It was such a treat to listen to each of them. Many members brought their friends and missionaries brought investigators as well. The turn out was great and all who were present were uplifted. We are so grateful to the President and Sister Chappell who made it all possible. They put the whole fireside together including organizing the missionary choir and numbers. A special thanks to Pres. Vasquez of the mission presidency for his support as well. What did a tremendous job! I can hardly wait for the next one.

The following are pictures taken at the fireside.

Sister and President Chappell with President Lauck (Cypress Stake President) 

We had torrential downpours last week. The California Mortensen boys were getting acquainted with heavy rain.

To the Missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

We love you and pray for your faith and success daily. We are inspired by all of the great things you are doing and lives you are touching. We love the way you are helping each other live up to your divine potential. 

As we have pondered over those things that will be of greatest value for you it has become clearer and clearer to us that one of our challenges is that while, in most cases, we are contacting the right number of people and teaching the right numbers of lessons, we aren't progressing people as well as we could. One of the reasons for that is that we haven't mastered the principles taught in Ch 8 of PMG. Sometimes we think we have accomplished our objective when we have committed our investigators to act. The reality is that is when the work begins. The day they commit and everyday thereafter we need to be planning for what we are going to do "today" to help them keep their commitments. 

As we share this revelation with you, we can't help but think of the days when we helped our children learn to ride a bike. In most cases, they weren't at a point where they realized how much they would benefit by knowing how so we had to commit them to do it. Can you imagine what would have happened if we would have left them to figure it out once they committed only to check on them in a week to see if they had figured it out? What if we would have told them where we wanted them to go in a few days on their bike and told them we would meet them there? Is there any doubt in your minds that they would have failed in keeping their commitment? Why? In this example, it's clear that they would have failed because they didn't know how to succeed. When you help someone learn to ride a bike you do it by holding on to the bike while they peddle at first. Sometimes you need to hold the seat and the handles. In time, you can start move from walking to running and when you see them balancing well, you can let go. The point though from commitment to riding confidently requires a lot of assistance.

As crazy as that example seems, isn't that how we operate many times with our investigators? We know the Book of Mormon is the key to conversion, but are we following up with them regularly after they make the commitment and then even after the 2nd and 3rd lessons to help them succeed in reading? Are we helping them understand what they are reading? 

What about attending church? Are we brainstorming EVERYDAY about what we can do to help make sure they get there? Do we have them meet us there beforehand so we can take them on a tour? Do we arrange to have member reach out to them and express their enthusiasm and offer to have them sit by them at Sacrament meeting? 

What about baptism? Are we brainstorming EVERYDAY about what we can do that day to help them be prepared? Do we begin planning their baptismal service with them? 

Elders and Sisters, in our planning sessions are we asking ourselves, "What can we do TODAY to help our investigators progress" as we seek the influence of the Holy Ghost and then act in faith? We can do much better!

We'd like you each to spend the next week or two reading from PMG ch 8 and watching the District 1 DVDs. Look for what you're not doing in your planning sessions. Emulate what you see and watch how the work grows.

We know that as we do these things, the Lord will reveal to us how He would have us carry out His work and bless His children. May the Lord bless you as you do so!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Elder Thiery before departing to Sao Paulo, Brazil. We will sure miss him!

September Transfers/Finding and Teaching using Family History

To the missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

I attended a couple of productive and edifying district meetings this past week. As you prepare for this week's topics in your upcoming district meetings, I want you to consider a couple of Fast Facts about Family History research in the U.S.:

1. 60% of the U.S. population has expressed an interest in tracing their family history, according to a poll by Maritz Research.

2. Ancestry.com is among the top five largest paid subscription sites on the Internet with over 850,000 paid subscriptions. 

3. According to Nielsen NetRatings, genealogy is the most popular lifestyle category on the Internet for older adults.

4. Over 60% of Americans have embarked on a genealogical journey by discovering who their ancestors were and how various forces shaped their pastAccording to the USA Today, genealogy if the second most popular hobby in the United States (after gardening. It is also second on the category of websites most frequently visited.

5. According to the USA Today, genealogy or Family History is the second most popular hobby in America. 

6. There are TV shows like "Who do you think you are?" that show some celebrities being taken on the journey to discover their ancestry (usually filled with emotion). These shows are growing in popularity.

We know that these trends aren't by coincidence, but rather of a fulfillment of the prophesy we find in Malachi 4:5-6. The Spirit of Elijah is really just a manifestation of the Spirit of the Lord. Those who are feeling a growing interest in Family History are going to be more prepared to receive the message of the gospel because they are feeling the Spirit already. 

It will be important that we review PMG p. 163-165 in our personal and companionship study this week to know how we can use family history as a finding and teaching tool. 

It is important that we know how to answer the question "Why does your church invest so much effort into this?" One place we might begin answering that question is by referencing the answer Jesus gave to Nicodemus in John 3:3-5. This answer has confused religious scholars for centuries because without an understanding of the Plan of Salvation, this answer condemns the great majority of people who have ever lived on the earth. Only the gospel as found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can give an answer that soothes the soul. This is the "Good News" that we carry! 

It is a wonderful time to be a missionary! We love you and are grateful for all the good that you do!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Two Bountiful boys

Testimony meeting 

The mission home sounded heavenly

At the airport with the departing missionaries

We are going to really miss these servants of the Lord

Last goodbyes

Just a couple hours later we welcomed our new group of missionaries straight from the MTC

We love them already

Don't they look great and ready to work?

A real Texas BBQ meal

Testimony Meeting 

The next several pictures are of the new missionaries and their trainers

 They are in great hands! We are excited to hear the great things they accomplish together.

Turning the Hearts

To the missionaries of the Great Texas Houston Mission,

In the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16), we see the doctrine taught in Malachi play out in a very clear way. Those who come to know the truth in the Spirit World are desirous that those of their family who are yet on the earth will receive the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They desire that angels are sent to their family. Elders and Sisters we are those angels that are being sent. I want you to know that there are forces beyond the veil that are working on those with whom we interact and meet on the streets. The biggest challenge is that they don't equate what they are feeling with who we are. That's one of the reasons we need to be bold in stating our true identity.

Over the next several weeks and months, we are going to have the unique privilege of being trained in family history for an hour each week by experts in the various stakes in which we serve. We hope you will make sure you are focused in your efforts so that this time is sacred and revelatory. The Lord would have us become very proficient in this work because there are many on the earth who are feeling the desire to seek out their family names and they just don't know why. We are true messengers who can help them elevate their vision to a much nobler cause. 

As we become proficient in this work of Family History, we will see miracles. People will be reactivated, people will become converted and their conversion will lead them to the safety of the temple. We will find many of our own family names and our conversion will deepen. There has never been a more exciting time to serve as a missionary and representative of the Lord Jesus Christ! We are truly blessed!

We look forward to experiencing these great miracles with you! We love you and pray for you daily! Be great!

Love,

President and Sister Mortensen

Mission Leadership Council

Senior Missionary Activity at the Chapell's Home