December is almost here! (Windsor wk#12)

Hi everyone!!

Sometimes I have to run errands instead of emailing! (like today)

I had a good week... I think... I'm almost certain I taught people the Gospel and did some sporadic service, but it's now super late on Monday and I don't remember a lot.

We have continued to try to help some part member families move forward. The Bates, Sinclairs, Bacas, and now the Schmidts. It consistently is harder than it initially seems. It takes a lot of time to build momentum or consistently meeting with us and helping people actually learn and grow on their own. It is really awesome though! Most of the lessons I taught this week were practically taught by the members that we brought. So that was pretty sweet. After all, they will be in the ward a lot longer than me!

I went on exchanges with Elder Guy this week. He is the man. He came out the same time as me and was actually the first person I met that was heading to this mission! He is so relaxed. I took deep breaths. It was nice. :) I like people like him that help me to be more present and less tense. I never realize how stressed I am until I'm with someone like him.

Missionary work is definitely the best. I've been gaining good insights and perspectives. One thing I will miss the most is the opportunity to spend time with so many families. We went to FHE tonight with the Jensens. They do it every week. And it was sweet. I'm pumped to do that. I really appreciated the lesson and scripture reading and family prayer!

Have an amazing week! I hope your Thanksgiving was awesome! (For those that wondered, we had it with the Jensens and it was good!).

Elder Campbell

Happy Thanksgiving! (Windsor wk #11)

Happy Monday before Thanksgiving!!

The weeks continue to fly by. Every Sunday an awesome dude from church with Down-Syndrome announces how many days there are until Christmas. At first it was 90 days or so. But now it's 32... what the heck!? I think I just need to accept that it will just keep getting faster forever.

So this week! We had lots of driving as it was exchanges with Cheyenne and Casper. My drive through Cheyenne was crazy on Wednesday!! It was like a semi truck graveyard. We passed about 10 of them on the side of the road having blown over in the storm! I had never seen that before! I had to keep both hands on the wheel for 20+ minutes straight because of the wind beating on the car. Wyoming weather in the winter is serious! It was funny because it was just as I was leaving Colorado that it started.

I got to go on exchanges with Elder Schenk this week!!! It was awesome to spend some time with him. We kinda wanted to cancel all of our plans in Windsor and drive to Estes Park and visit some families we taught there. :) We aren't the same person, but he is definitely one of the people that is most like me that I know! We hadn't been companions in Estes Park since January. I'm glad that we were able to do some teaching and talking. It is a little sad that the exchange with Casper was so short because we had to drive 4 hrs to do it. He helped me recommit to legit living the Gospel in my life. I have made some good strides since then and am grateful for him!

This Sunday School class was pretty scary... so Sister Bates was able to come to church for the 3rd time and stayed for class. The man who taught it had offended her 2 weeks previous (he has never taught the class since I have been here; the teacher was out of town). And then he went off on a super confusing tangent... I was SO excited for the lesson; it was going to be on repentance. But then it was derailed for like the entire time. *sigh. I prayed the whole time that she wouldn't be offended again. And it didn't appear that she was! That was a miracle. I am grateful. Sister Bates is super close. She started reading the Book of Mormon on her own! Huge Miracle! We are visiting her again tonight.

Best part for me personally was going to the Denver Temple!!! YAY!! It was awesome. Last time I made it was in January. Elder Snelders hadn't gone for his year-mark trip, so I got to go with him!! I saw multiple people that I knew there. haha. Brother LaMarr and Brother Hunt (I lived at both of their houses in Loveland) and Brother Brien (in Estes Park) and Sister Quist (also Loveland) and Bishop Knechtel (Bishop in Longmont in Long's Peak, next to the Estes Park Branch and Left-Hand Creek wards that I served in). Bishop Livingston (Elder Snelders favorite Bishop that he served with in Laramie) asked me if I knew everyone. haha. I guess there are a lot of people that I know that attend the Temple every Friday!!

Uplifting closing thoughts... I hope they make sense! Awesome Gospel discussions are one of my favorite things as a missionary. Yesterday after church we had one of those with Brother Stott. He is awesome. It was on the purpose of life. He wondered if someday we would get advanced enough as a society to be able to put a computer chip in our brain and download various knowledge/skills. However, we were realizing if there wasn't any effort to gain the knowledge, what would be the point? We tried to imagine a world where that was a reality. For a while, it would be sweet, but we didn't feel like it would be awesome. Brother Stott came up with a video game analogy to explain why. A video game (or sport) is only fun if you struggle to win. He said in a first-person shooter game a friend of his gave him a cheat code that gave him an unstoppable weapon. So he destroyed everyone while playing against people online. It was SUPER fun for a while. Winning just feels good! However after a while, the challenge went away. He felt he had to choose to stop playing the game or and stop using that weapon. It just wasn't as worthwhile without the challenge! I have had the same experience in different video games. After beating the game, what do you do? You have to move on to another game with more challenge. These concepts are so true for life. The purpose of life is to learn and grow from experience. We have trials and difficulties to learn to trust God more fully.

The adversary tries to persuade us that there are ways that we can get the results we want without sacrificing and changing to receive them. Quick fixes don't exist!! If they did, the purposes of God would be frustrated. We were put on this earth to experience this process of becoming. The Gospel is about heart-change. Becoming something different and better. In the Gospel, we are told to pray daily, study the scriptures daily, attend church weekly, and serve others. If we don't do these things, we may still experience a lot of joy and happiness... for a while. But long-term we cannot have a fullness of joy by skipping these steps! We won't be able to receive the blessings God wants to bestow upon us. We simply need to humble ourselves and submit to the process. So let's do it! Not try to look for the easiest way, but the way that will produce true results.

I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving week!

Elder Jeff Campbell

Exchanges and Pondering about YSAs (Windsor wk#10)

Hi everyone!

*exhale. This morning I wrote my mission president for an hour. I didn't have the chance to write him last week about the exchanges I went on week two of the transfer so I wrote my normal email and reports on the 5 exchanges I have gone on this transfer. It was SWEET! I feel like I am in the most blessed spot in the mission since I have the opportunity to work primarily with missionaries that really want to do their best and help people come into Christ AND they are good at it. It is sometimes stressful and a hassle to get the exchanges to happen, but it is always a good experience.

One thing I have not appreciated as much as I should is the amount of high quality people that I have been able to spend time with as a missionary. From my companions to the Ward leaders to people who are changing their lives to follow Jesus Christ to President Brown. It is amazing to see the charity and dedication in so many people!

My exchange in Boulder was particularly impactful because of the young single adults we were able to spend time with; they remind me of parts of myself. We taught a girl who had been home from her mission for about 2 years. She loved her time serving Spanish speaking in Central America. She hasn't done anything that bad since she has been home, but doesn't feel the joy of the Gospel in her life as she did as a missionary. We did our best to remind her of the love that she had for people she taught. She saw their potential and who they could be, not the sins and temptations that dragged them down. We helped her know that God doesn't see her for the mistakes that she has made, but His daughter who He loves.

Next we taught a girl who was raised in a Christian home, but saw lots of hypocrisy in 'Christian' people as well as lots of wonderful people who follow other faith traditions. Naturally, she is confused about what is true! That is so common in so many people! I remember in college about 4 years ago I was feeling the same thing! I was in the Multi-Faith Living Community seeing people from all these faith backgrounds that are awesome people. The idea that some are 'wrong' felt mean. With my new understanding, I know that all that is TRUE is from God. There are so many common beliefs and sentiments in different religions because they are all trying to tell the same story. I know that everyone has pieces of the truth and a, grateful to have the fullness of the Gospel now!

Then... We taught a guy who is 23 starting a PhD program in Materials Science. Again, like me in our similar course of study. I remember feeling like him. He has a weekly Bible study at his house. He is a pretty solid Christian. However I could feel that God's love hasn't penetrated their heart. And that's one of the biggest things that have changed in these last 3+ years. My amigo Elder Farnsworth said in his email today, "One thing that I've noticed about my mission is that it's made me a lot more prone to feel emotions haha. Before my mission, I was always very stoic. My highs and lows were almost the same thing. But now, I'm more emotionally engaged in the things I'm doing." I don't know if I would describe myself in the same way, but I have WAYYYY more feeling and am far more emotionally engaged in my life now and in these past couple years than ever before! I'm just pumped a lot. And I feel like I have experienced God's love for me more and it has filled me and it has been awesome.

Lastly the next morning we taught a lady that was significantly overweight who has adopted a lot of her own ideas into her own personal religion. While that isn't terrible, it is if they are false! She didn't feel like attending church wasn't important or reading the scriptures and she also has started breaking other commandments. I don't think that all happened at once, but slowly started to happen over time. When she became lax of some commandments, it started creeping into all of them! It just reminded me of the importance of not becoming lax on any of the commandments, especially the most basic of reading and praying and attending church. It seems that falling away typically begins with neglecting those things. I had a lot of reflections on that 24 hr exchange!

Lastly, Sister Bates! She is doing well. Because of meeting with us and our Elders Quorum President, she now believes a lot of the restored doctrines of the church (we studied all of these individually in the Bible and later in the Book of Mormon and etc): We lived with God before we came to the earth, Authority Is required to become a baptized member of God's church, God's authority is given by someone who already has His Authority, God chooses you to have that Authority not the other way around, the Bible true and correct and of God, the Bible is not perfect or incapable of being corrupted, and more. It has been awesome to see her growth (and mine since our Elders Quorum President is doing the heavily lifting in appointments). She is definitely close! She just needs to recognize her spiritual witness from God that the Gospel has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I apologize if this was wordy! I like pondering and reflecting and this email gives me a great spot to do that! I hope you have an awesome week! I am grateful for God's love in my life and seeing it change the lives of others.

Elder Jeff Campbell

More from Colorado (Windsor wk#9)

Hey everyone!

Being a missionary is great. We got caught up figuring out meeting stuff and doing other office related activities today. And I had to take a nap (recovering from cold-like symptoms). So I really didn't get the time to write this week.

Sister Bates came to church without her husband (he had to work), which was a miracle. She has been doing pretty well. Sister Whitehat (a less-active) came to church too this week. It was pretty sweet!

We went on 3 exchanges and got to go to 2 zone meetings. WOW. We have some amazing zone leaders. I could not have done what they did in those two meetings. Definitely blessed! They are a huge part of why we are moving forward as a mission (along with lots of amazing trainers!).

I read an email today from a sister missionary serving in Mexico. I forget how serious e struggles are for other people! She visited a family who had nothing. No fridge, no bed, no food. I can't imagine that. Also, a young man returned from serving a two-year mission in Russia and spoke on Sunday. It is not the safest place out there! And not that many people that are enthusiastic to join the church. He definitely gained a deep appreciation for the simple things of prayer, church attendance, and reading the scriptures.

I love being a missionary here. It is such a blessing. It is an adventure. I am so glad to have had those reminders this week that my trials aren't that significant in the grand scheme of things! We have people to teach. We have great accommodations. We have lots of blessings!

Have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Jeff Campbell

The Work Presses On (Windsor wk#8)

Happy Monday Everyone!

Lots of exciting stuff this week.

Let's start with Tuesday... Transfers were successful. We got to pick up the new missionaries from the airport on Tuesday. They are pretty solid! The best part of Tuesday was the evening devotional. So if you still have last week's email with the baptismal picture, the 4 non-missionaries in it (Dan & Lindsay + Jim & Colleen) came to the dinner and devotional along with Chantelle and Hot Rod. It was SWEET! It was powerful to hear the conversions of Dan & Lindsay again and see the repercussions of little decisions. The missionaries here tracted on Christmas Day to find them! They had a process of about 9 months before being baptized. They have stopped drinking and smoking and more. And NOW Lindsay's mom has been baptized too! Lindsay's dad (Jim) was kinda listening when his family was talking, but when Chantelle and Hot Rod shared their experiences he became really engaged. Hot Rod had never felt welcome in any church's (he has a full sleeve of tattoos on both arms, and they aren't all appropriate) and is just an intimidating looking guy! Both of he and his wife had really bad habits they have broken. He said, "I did it Hot Rod's way for over 40 years and it didn't get me anywhere. I have lived it. I was ready to change and I have left it behind. I now do it God's way." Jim laughed a lot and really enjoyed himself that night. His experiences lined up so well with Hot Rod's experiences. I am hopeful that he will give the church a chance!

We had trainers meeting and service Wednesday, planning Thursday and Mission Leader Council on Friday. They were pretty sweet. It is awesome to see the missionaries that have been asked to build the mission this week - the new trainers and zone leaders. It's weird that I am the missionary who has been at the mission leadership council longest now. (And at the Stake President's breakfast on Saturday morning he had the missionary who had been in the field longest give the closing prayer - in that group, it that was me). We are definitely pumped with where we are going! We had two of our best weeks as a mission to end the month of October. It's looking up!

Lastly, the best parts of the week were doing missionary work. Sister Bates is really starting to make progress. She is opening her heart little by little to the message and wants to give this another shot. We met with her... Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Sunday (and ate dinner with them Saturday). I am praying a lot that this can be the time where she makes the leap of faith to join. We have had President Bagley (our Elders Quorum President) there most of the times. He is an amazing teacher - though it is more like missionaries present than a member present with him. Haha. So he has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting to help Sister Bates understand some stuff. I am always surprised to hear the things that people don't understand even when they have been associated with the church for eight years. We are starting to identify them and help her learn. She even came to church this weekend! Her husband didn't think that she could get back to this point again. We are optimistic! :)

We also found a new investigator and are working with some new people to help them come back to church. I have said it before, but will say it again, it is one of the best feelings in the world to see someone's life be changed. The First Presidency said in the introduction to Preach My Gospel, "There is no more compelling work than this, nor any which brings greater satisfaction... More happiness awaits you than you have ever experienced as you labor among His children." I can definitely testify that is true! It is so satisfying to help someone recognize their relationship with their Father in Heaven. To help people understand how they can communicate with Him and receive answers to prayer. To help people experience the changing power of Christ's Atonement. To see people have a change of heart and truly become a different person! I love it!

Love,

Elder Jeff Campbell