Tons of Service!‏

This week has been full of service projects. ​Tuesday morning we went to the Bishop's Storehouse (food for those in need) and we helped out. We will do the same this week. It was a lot of fun moving boxes from one pallet to the next and such! It was very interesting to hear that the church owns so much land which produces all the food - but that the excess food is then sold at normal market prices and that money made tax is paid on - as the food donated to the bishops store house is a donation so no need for tax.  We also did some service for a member's neighbor who was so surprised that we would help them for free - and we were happy to do so. On Friday we had a zone service project at a park. We moved a pile of mulch into wheelbarrows and then the sisters spread it out. It was pretty hot but it was a lot of fun! We had about 4 or 5 elders fill up the wheelbarrows in less than 5 seconds! Then we removed some invasive grass. A lot of fun! The next day we helped brother Magleby move a lot of stuff out of his shed! They, then, found out it was my birthday! 

On my birthday, Elder Weaver blew up a lot of balloons which I was surprised of, and then the Maglebys later took us to Cold Stone after having fed us two pizzas! After that, the Hanratty family took us to Carl's Jr. - and I was super full! Elder Weaver's friend sent him a package with a cup cake in for me! I received a few more things and had a great day!  

We are teaching someone new! Her name is Jasmine - she is married to a member who hasn't been to church for a while, but a few weeks ago, our bishop received a phone call letting him know that she would be coming to church. A couple weeks later her husband is letting her learn about the church. Right now she is just learning, but if one follows the cooking guidelines (Read the Book of Mormon, pray with a sincere heart, and go to church) then the brownies will come out perfect. But, until then, we are teaching her the doctrines of Christ. We also had a lesson with her brother Bittle - we watched half of "Meet The Mormons" and, as we watched it, I could feel the spirit - it is such a powerful movie that is so worth watching over and over. There are not many movies which invite the spirit these days. 

We did a lot of door to door knocking and it took us, like, 2 or 3 hours to tract one circle. I think it was the most interesting street that I have ever been on while in the mission: running into a few members who then gave us referrals; meeting a woman again who then got our number so we can come back to help her move all her furniture in a few weeks as they will remodel the home. We met a few interesting people too. We went back to one house where a son said that he would come to church and didn't come, so this time we met the dad who was very willing to let us come in. He proceeded to tell us about his family history for the next 5-10 minutes and how his ancestors were Mormon and how the members helped him out when his mother passed away. We got a return appointment for this week so the whole family can hear our unique message, 

We also went bowling this morning with the Zone. A ton of fun! 

I love this church! It brings me so much joy and happiness. I love sharing the gospel. We are at war with the devil and his little fallen angles - why wouldn't I want to share the Light I have been blessed with to others? The gospel  - the teaching of Jesus Christ - has helped me so much and I know it is made for us so that we can return to live with God again. The only way we can do that is through Christ. His Grace and Mercy that he gives us show us how much He loves us and wants us to return to live in His presence again - but only through following Him can we do that. He has invited us to Follow Him, "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps" 1 Peter 2:21. I know that if we follow him to our best abilities, repenting of our sins that we "will in no wise cast out." John 6:37 In the Name of Jesus Christ Amen, 

- Elder Kloosterboer 

PS. What if God called another Prophet today? We believe God has called prophets in these times again, my invitation to you is to listen to him this weekend. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/viewing-times-and-options?lang=eng 

Pictures

Service

WHAT IS THAT? lol.

Birthday Cake!

Meeting People

This has been interesting. We haven't been able to meet with that many investigators this week so we tracted a lot (Knocking door to door.) Due to that, though, we have seen a lot of blessing! There have been two families that some of the members have been in contact with. One family the wife is the member and soon we will be meeting with her and the husband is okay with it. The second family the wife is not a member, but has been coming to church recently. She is a baptist, but we will be teaching her the doctrines that we believe in! When we went tracting we met this guy from The Netherlands (Where I lived for 9 years) and I spoke a few words in my native language, but as we started to talk I switched back to English and it sounded SO foreign to me! Then I felt bad because maybe I was supposed to have the whole conversation in dutch as it did sound so foreign to me. 

The world is small in the church! We were driving our bikes home one late night after teaching some members and as we drove past a hotel a group of people said "Elders!" So we talked to them and found out that there were three sibling there with their spouses as their mother had died and they were there to see the grave and such. We talked and found out that the eldest sibling was a bishop at BYU and that he had just met out last companion, Elder Marriott, and he is his bishop there! Then the next day we arrived a few minutes early at a hot dog place where a member was meeting us and as we waited these two people said "Elders--have you ate yet?!" and, so, we talked to them also. I finally found out that I had met the guy 6 months earlier when I served in Oakland and Elder Weaver had met him also! Elder weaver served in Brentwood where he met him early on in his mission and something more funny is that this guy had also lived in the ward where we are serving in now! 

We went on exchanges this week, also. I went back to Oakland 10th Cambodian branch! It was neat to be back and man, the apartment seemed a lot smaller than I had thought hahaha. We went to visit a few less actives who I had also tried in the past--but with no luck then--but this time we had a lot of luck as nearly everyone was home that we tired to visit! We even got a referral from one of the members we visited! Also had a lesson with a guy in Cambodian and that was sweet! Elder Hibart would speak in Cambodian and then he would tell me what he had just finished on so I could also interact and teach (As I couldn't understand any of it haha.) We also had dinner at some members and it was so awesome to see them and also had a few lessons with Pream who now has a baptismal date and also we had a lesson with Sierra and Lyana who are doing great! 

I need to run, but I know this church is Christ's church--it is in His name, after all. I know that Christ leads the church--just as he did in Revelation 1:1 - guide His people through revelation - which is communication from God to us. I know that we have a living prophet on this earth who guides the church with Jesus at the Helm of the ship. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Love you all!

- Elder Kloosterboer 

Pictures

Knife Safety

Bus found in Oakland--ready for the zombies!

Going through a gate in Oakland

Removing a mattress 

Strengthening A Testimony

Hello! 

This week was super hot! But we still had a lot of fun. In fact we were outside on those very hot days doing service! It was fun, but I am not used to it being super hot. Elder Weaver is from Las Vegas so he is used to it. We ​racked up a lot of pine needles and then trimmed back some bushes and also cleaned a swimming pool filter and cleaned the side of another swimming pool. Service is so worth it! Makes me so happy (As it releases endorphin.) 

We also taught a seminary class this week and shared the parable of thew lost sheep and then watched a little movie clip about "Reaching out in Love". We were told that there would only be about 8 or so students but then just about we were to start another seminary class walked in so we had like 20 people there which made it a lot more fun! 

Who did we teach this week? 

Joan. She is a music teacher and she invited us to see her student do a recital at an retirement home. We showed up after they had begun and was very shocked when she saw us there! It was really cool! and I was surprised at how loud her student can sign! I could never do that! We had a lesson with her also. She always has very good questions and it was funny as she asked about what we can do on the Sabbath day. It was funny as we had practiced this lesson with a member a few days ago and then day after that we taught it to a less active member brother Bittle and then we taught her it a few days after that! So lots of practice! After we answered her question we read the Book Of Mormon as that is the most powerful thing we can do. That is the keystone of our religion. 

Meraja. We had a lesson with her and some members were with us. We went over what the church is and how it was restored from former times though the prophet Joseph Smith. The next day we did service for her.

David. We haven't been able to have a lesson with him but we have talked to him a few days this week as we live close by and see him a lot. 

Unutoa. This is a family whose father is not a member yet but we taught him a few weeks ago or so. We went over the first lesson - brother Leininger assisted us - and it was a great lesson. Elder Weaver and I asked good questions and bore testimony of the things we know for ourselves to be true. 

This week our mission president called me to inform me of a challenge my mother is having. This was shocking to hear, but I was reminded of a blessing that I received a few years ago that said that we all face life's many challenges. I was also reminded of when I was set apart as a missionary on Dec. 31st 2013. In the blessing it said the following, "You will be able to withstand any home challenges or homesickness knowing you are doing the Lords work." At the time it was interesting to hear "Home challenges" but it all makes sense now. It shows that God is omniscient and He blessed me with that blessing to be able to continue working out here in the field. 

I decided to ask God to know if the Book Of Mormon is true and I received my answer as I read the scriptures a couple days later. I was reading in 3 Nephi 21:10 which is when Jesus Christ visits the Americas (Other sheep he has) and he does many marvelous things for the, including healing many sick and much more. But He told them in this verse that a servant (Joseph smith) would be marred because of the unbelievers. Those against the church at that time of Joseph smith thought they could stop the church but killing the prophet, but further on in the verse it says that Gods "wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil". And it is - look the church still is here today and will be until He comes again. How did this answer my question to know if the Book is true? Well it showed me that here is Jesus Christ a thousand years earlier telling us about the future of Joseph smith, and how can Joseph smith who translated this great work know how he would die? He for sure wouldn't have got together with the opposition and ask them to murder him that way - right? But is that just a coincidence that I just read that verse that day? No. So I looked up where this cross reference went to - it led me to D&C 135:1-6. In this section it recounts a little how Joseph and his brother Hyrum were marred (which fulfills what Jesus had said). Then in verse 4-5 it tells us that Hyrum was reading the bible which is how God told him through his scripture study in the bile that he would die. This was my answer that it was God was showing me that he was answering my prayer through the scriptures! 

Having this added knowledge on top of me already knowing the Book of Mormon is true is like adding a few more drops of water in a bucket named testimony. But if you were to leave it alone it would dry out due to evaporation. This is why it is important for us to always have a strong testimony of the church and of the doctrines. You always need to be filling it up. What are you doing to fill your bucket? 

In Mathew 7:11 it says, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" SO when we ask God to know something he will only give that which is good. He won't tell you a lie, He can not do so. SO you can ask Him anything and he will answer you, but in His timeline and not ours.

This morning I was studying in the Scriptures (as we do every morning as missionaries - that's over 600 hours of personal study on my mission! ) I was searching in 3 Nephi 23. Jesus is still with the people here in the Americas at this time and He asks Nephi who had the records (record of Niphites which part of the B.of.M is translated from) to see them. Jesus then asked Nephi why he had not recorded that many saints had risen at the time when Jesus Christ was resurrected and ministered to them. Niphi then remembered and Christ commanded him to record it. As I saw that I asked 2 questions. 1 - How does one forget such a thing and 2 - Why is this recorded for us? It then taught me that it is important to keep a journal of our journey - because otherwise we will forget such sweet experiences. In the beginning of that scripture Jesus commands us to search the words of Isaiah diligently. Never before did I notice the word "Diligent" there. It showed to me the importance of taking our studies seriously and that we need to be diligent - otherwise our bucket will dry out. 

Last night We went to Why I believe - where people who just joined the church share their conversion story and testimony. It was amazing to hear so many testimonies about how they found the church and how God answered their prayers. One that was super cool was a man who used to be Muslim. He was Muslim first and then Agnostic for many years. He and his friends went to Utah and he asked his friends why everyone was so kind? His friends told him, "because they are Mormon!" So when he returned San Francisco he ran into two missionaries! And the rest is history. These are juts little snippets of what I can remember. Another man was raised Protestant but then he parents protested - later in life he wanted to turn his life around and started to read the bible. After a few years he wanted to join a domination. He checked many out and after a few moths he just didn't feel right about it. His few Mormon friends kept on inviting him and finally one got him to come to a activity - the friend said that it wont be church and there is free food! They said a prayer over the food and ended "In the name is Jesus Christ" He then asked his friend if we believed in Jesus Christ. Of course! He was shocked as he thought we were not followers of Jesus! Which we are. 

I know that the church if true. I also know that God answers prayer and if you pray to him you will also able able to receive light or truth in your life. I know that God is full of love and that he wants each of us to return to Him again. I know we can all do this by following his blue print that He has given us in the scriptures. I know more than I can see the computer screen that this is the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has been restored to the earth and I know it is true. I know you too can find out, if you will just follow the blueprint given to us in the word of God. I have found so much happiness as I have lived the Gospel and as I have shared it with others. That is one of the many reasons why I am serving for 2 years. I know that through Jesus Christ we can be cleansed of all our sins and that we can feel peace in our lives again. 

I say this in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

PS. The church just came out with this awesome video of kids about helping them to know what to do when they see pornography. Here is the link https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-08-001-what-should-i-do-when-i-see-pornography?category=children/other-videos-friend&lang=eng 

It is awesome! And shows that it is never to early to teach your children about this. 

Love, 

Elder Kloosterboer 

Pictures

 

Cleaning the swimming pool

Getting Popular With Our Bike Lights!

We are getting popular with our bike lights! Every night guarantee someone will say something about them and even a few people have stopped us and asked how we got them! A women freaked out the other night and said "I swear something green just flew past!" LOL. 

We did a lot of service this week. One of our investigators neighbor saw the elders and asked if we did service, the elders said that we do and a few weeks later he called us. We have been helping him pull a lot of weeds out of his yard and next week will clean some pipes for his swimming pool. (The Lord uses his servants skills - elder Weaver used to work cleaning swimming pools.) We also helped some members move these rocks and then take out weeds from this in the back garden and then we put that black plastic over it and put the rocks back - that was fun! 

We tracket this week for the first time in like 5 weeks and we ran into a lady from The Netherlands so spoke a few words in dutch! Was fun but she was not interested. Later that day I noticed that my skin was hot and sun burnt lol! 

We also visited a man who hasn't been to church in a long time. His wife knows the bible very well and says that is the only thing she needs. When we visited him his wife was not there - in fact she in in Hawaii! But we plan going back there!

For the last few hours we have been emailing and I have been switching between writing this and watching some powerful videos about addiction recovery that the church has just released.
http://www.mormonchannel.org/12steps is where you can find them. 

I know the church is true and it is evident by the fruits you can see by living the gospel. I know that prayer is real and that God hears them. It is evident to me that this is the gospel that is headed by Christ and that He is in control. I love the Book Of Mormon! By reading the Book Of Mormon you can feel closer to God. I share this message with you because I know it is true. In the Name of Jesus Christ amen. 

- Elder Kloosterboer

Pictures

Removing rocks

"Anyone home?"

Removing weeds

Harry Potter ties!

Bike lights!

A Successful Week

Hello everybody, 

Elder Marriott finished his mission so now it is Elder Weaver and me in our area. We had a really good day on Tuesday even though in the morning we had to wait for a watch to get fixed for Elder Marriott. We ended up doing normal missionary work, visiting less active members, and non members. We tried to go by a less active member who was not there in the daytime, which happens a lot, but then in the evening we were going by and we decided to try again which was good because she was there and we were able to visit her this past Sunday! She was amazed because she had just broken up with her boyfriend and she said that it wasn't the first time this had happened. The last time she had broken up with her boyfriend the same day the missionaries also came by! And she came to church! 

We had a great lesson with Sarah and David. We decided to go over the restoration of the gospel again and we had the lesson at the Daminano home. They asked some really good questions to Sarah and David to which helped David make the decision to go though with everything! We are super happy :-) and they have already seen how the gospel is blessing their lives - it is great!

We did a some service this week. Helped a man called Steve move his stuff. Helped set up for a relief society Luau activity. Also helped sister Price get the final pillar out the ground! 

Removing the last post

Well the work is moving forward here and we are having fun trying out best to find people to invite to have happier lives. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet who was called to restore the Church that Christ had set up and I know that because of the evidence I have seen as I have lived the gospel. The Book of Mormon does not take or add from the Bible as it states in the introduction, but just clarifies. And if one will follows it they will be happy. In the name of Jesus Christ amen. 

- Elder Kloosterboer