Elder Jepsen - Mission Entry 030 - Choosing to Serve the Lord!

We had the first snow in the mission this week around Buffalo, Minnesota, just North West of Minneapolis and way South of Thunder Bay, Canada, where I am stationed. We are actually getting snow as well now, it began on October 10 where we woke up to 1.5 cm of snow (Canada is METRIC unlike the US).

A woman who had called us up to be taught and baptized on her own initiative (see the details on enclosed link:

http://only2years.blogspot.com/2009/09/mission-025-1-800-dial-baptism.html

an entry that assigned us the distinction of "Blog of the Month" on the Internet), is now baptized and confirmed a member and a Sister of the church. YES, I am so happy for her it's enough to melt all snow in ten block radius wherever we walk (they can probably track our whereabouts on the weather satellites)! Her experience was nothing short of personal revelation that she then followed and acted on promptly, you've got to admire such faith! She will be a great sister and valued addition to the Thunder Bay Ward. Her baptism happened on her birthday and went very well, the confirmation last Sunday was another great experience. It was special having my first baptism and we're working on more to come. ;)

Thank you for your mails and thank you so much for helping me recognize my growth, I don't even think about it and much less notice it on my own out here. I find myself busy looking for progress in the people we teach. We are currently teaching a good amount of people about the gospel and I feel very blessed to be able to see them progress and to get to know them. They're my best friends with whom I'm sharing the gospel, I love it here.

Monday, October 12 was the Canadian Thanksgiving and I must say I have a lot to be grateful for. No, not just that I am in Canada and that we had a great Canadian Thanksgiving which I really enjoyed, but generally. I am just so happy to be here serving on a mission. Although I for these two years spend every day serving God to reach as many of His children as at all possible, to let them know that He cares for them and cares about their choices, I still seem to gain the greatest benefit of all. It can be hard work and it seems, get REALLY COLD, but besides that there is no downside. Well except the constant lack of time, there is just not enough hours in a day.

It is amazing how little time you have on a mission, time just flies and there is so much to do. I have discovered a mission to be a lot like life in that you have a heap of choices to make on how to spend your allotted time and each choice will have some effect on your direction. The choices available to me today depends on the choices I made yesterday, last week or last year, as today's choices will influence not only my tomorrow, but the future of those around me--an awesome responsibility. Life continually depends on choices.

I am so grateful to the Lord that I can be here on a mission. While I chose to prepare for this goal within the options available to me, it didn't happen without others making choices that made it possible for me to achieve it, thereby having an immeasurable impact on my present and future life, as well as the lives of the people I get an opportunity to reach and teach--and for that I am eternally grateful and forever indebted.

I hope life is going well for you at home. I miss you and think about you... now and then. :) You are in my heart and prayers.

Well, gotta go. Don't worry about me. I'm in good hands (in spite of the fact that Thunder Bay apparently has more stabbings per capita than anywhere else in Canada).

Grateful to be on a mission. Love you all!

Elder Jepsen
The Dane (born in Canada)

Thunder Bay Link: http://www.thunderbay.ca/home.htm