Happy Easter!

     This week was really a good one! I am so excited each and every morning to find more people to teach and bring them closer to Jesus Christ. This week we really focused on getting more members involved in the missionary work.  That has been hard to do here in Reedley because we cover 14 smaller towns that are pretty spaced out and to find members that can come with us to teach has been difficult. 

     This week in district meeting we made it a focus to have 1 member present at the lesson each day, and to also have five lessons during the week focused on the importance of the Sabbath day! As we applied the things we learned each companionship was able to have a member present at the lesson each day. That's the first time since last September! It was really nice to see the members involved in missionary work. As of right now we have 9 people set for baptismal dates in April and are really trying to help them progress that they may be able to be baptized. 
     One of my favorite investigators is a twenty year old named Hector. His mom is a member and they live 30 minutes away from the church building out in a place called Orange Cove. They have spent the last 3 months trying to find the chapel building in Selma where we attend. Hector is truly someone searching for the truth. Elder Pinnock and I were on exchanges and we had an appointment one night this past week to teach him. We both felt prompted to watch the Restoration video with him. After the video Hector told us how powerful that movie was and he had never pictured it to be like that. Hector has already read to the book of Mosiah and has a pretty good knowledge of what he has read. He began to tell us that this past week has been a struggle. He hadn't read or prayed and told us this week he and his mom had not had any work picking oranges out in the fields. We promised him that if he read and prayed everyday this week he would have work everyday of the week. He has been doing that and has had work everyday! I truly felt the Holy Ghost in that room with us. Hector is preparing to be baptized on the 7th of April, and has been to church 3 times! 
     This week I have begun reading the references from the topical guide about Jesus Christ. This is called the 'Easter Project' that everyone is doing in the mission. As I have read I have come to know my Savior Jesus Christ better each and everytime I read. I read the topic on Jesus Christ 'advocate' the other day and remember having such a love for our Savior that He literally pleads our case to our Father in Heaven and only through Him can we return to the presence of our Father in Heaven! I really love this work and am so glad to be a part of it each day! 
     I have been having such a great time in Reedley and getting to know all of the missionaries! We are a united group and I think that has helped us individually in our areas. I have been having so much fun this week! Today was very exciting as well. Right before we came to the family history center to write, we had a chance to stop by a referral with a member and we invited them to be baptized on the 14th of April. The mom has told us about her life and how dificult it has been with drugs, having a child at 14 and trying to support her three kids as a single mother. I truly feel God's love for her and for her children! I know that God lives and knows each and everyone of us personally! Love you all! Hope you have a great week and Easter weekend!

Elder Tanner Aiken

March 18, 2013

     Hi everyone! This week was really great! We gave our 45 minute training for zone conference on how to get our investigators progressing.  President Gelwix really liked it and it was a very spiritual experience. I have learned so much and have become so much better at talking and teaching in front of large crowds! 

The 'CHICKS' really dig me!

     This week it was in the mid 80's here in Reedley. Our investigators are great.  Yesterday we had 2 investigators at church which has really been a struggle, one named Martin who has a baptismal date for the 31st of March, and another named Hector who has a date for the 7th of April! 
     The work is progressing! I know that God lives. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and I truly know this is His work and His gospel here on the earth today. Keep praying for God to use you as a tool in His hands to bring someone to the gospel. Love you all!

Elder Tanner Aiken!

New mission record!

    This week has been really busy!  I have learned so much and love both of my companions.
      This week, we set a record with 307 new investigators, the most ever seen in the Fresno mission in one week! We are working so hard.  This week I have already been able to do three baptismal interviews and have two more this weekend.  My companionship has been asked by President Gelwix to give a forty five minute training to three different zones on how we can teach everyone that we find, instead of contacting them and just setting a return appointment. I am really excited about it. 
     Also this week we found 12 new investigators who have been really prepared. One that comes to mind is a man named Larry.  When we knocked on his door he was pretty happy to see us.  He has had many health issues and is almost totally confined to a wheelchair.  He explained to us how he has no family left and has no friends in the world.  He told us what his life felt like.  He said he was just existing instead of living. He said he has been looking for a year to find what path he should take.  Not only did my heart ache for this man, but I also saw a child of God who was so prepared to hear the gospel!  We shared about the Book of Mormon and the peace that it brings into our lives.  He was so thrilled to see young aged men at his door to comfort him and love him. We have more set up this week with him and have a really strong feeling about his future. 
     This work is fantastic, wonderful, and amazing!  I have so many words to describe it!  I am also having so much fun getting to know all the elders in my zone and district.  We are all very united and know our purpose to bring others unto Christ.  Have a great week everyone!

Love,
Elder Tanner Aiken

Time to harvest...

     This week was really great! It was a bit of a transition from Modesto to being here in Reedley. I am so excited being District Leader - everyone here is just great and we are all so fired up about this work! 
     As a mission we are seeing the highest records ever in this mission. Last year, the weekly average on new investigators was at 176. This last month, due to the harvest blessings program we have started doing, we have seen 279 new investigators weekly! That is awesome! I have a strong testimony of this work and I know the Lord is hastening His work. 
     This week we were able to see all kinds of miracles. The first one that comes to mind was last Friday. We just had an appointment fall through and we realized we still had a family that we needed to go see. As we arrived at the house of this family the wife was outside sitting next to a woman that looked very sad and was having a very difficult life. As we approached the wife of the house we began to speak to her, but we were cut off by the woman sitting next to her. She said do you guys have a Bible that I can read? We said yes but it's called the Book of Mormon! She said she had never heard of that book before. She had come to tell us that she had been prompted to sit at that house to talk with the family that we were going to visit. We arrived just on time. She began to explain to us that she has been having a very tough life, she has been addicted to drugs for the last 30 years and has been praying and praying for change and direction in her life. We shared that we hade been put into her path by the plan that God has for her. She began to cry knowing that three 23 year olds would stop to share a message that someone loved her and had a plan for her! We have set up an appointment this week to return. I know God puts His servants in the paths of his prepared children. 
     Then Sunday came and it was Fast Sunday. We knew that we needed to finish this week out strong. We prayed and fasted that the Lord would allow us to have 3 new investigators and one new baptismal invite. After church we began to do harvest blessings at every door.  But when we knocked they either said "not interested" or "leave"! We began to be discouraged door after door. We were hungry and wanting to just stop! But the spirit prompted us to continue on. It was one hour before our dinner appointment and we came to one last street where we went to the final three houses. The first was a girl named Jessica. We left the blessing with her and really felt good about it.  We gave her a Book of Mormon and set a return appointment! We were so thrilled to have a new investigator but we felt prompted to go to the house directly across the street where another man was sitting on his porch. We told him who we were and he was thrilled that we were there to talk to him! We shared a brief message and set a return appointment! Now we had two new investigators in such a short time! 
     We had one more house that was a referral from a recent convert. We felt this would be a great lesson. We knocked on the door of Rosaura and Jose. They invited us to share a message with them. We began by talking about the correct authority and how it was restored upon the earth. Both of them were shocked at this point, they had never heard about that before. We shared the First Vision with them, just as we did the spirit was so powerful! Both of them leaned forward in their chairs and it was impossible to deny the feeling in which we felt. We invited them to be baptized on the 31st of March and they promised to read and find an answer through prayer! Fasting truly does work. I know that God hears us and blesses us for our efforts as we strive to do our best! We found four new investigators and two baptismal dates! I love this work. I know that God lives! Have a great week everyone!!! Love you!

Elder Tanner Aiken

"I will do as the Lord commands!"

     Wow!  It's been a week words cannot describe! 
     This week we have been working really, really hard. As a district we focused on getting investigators to church this week. We got 17 to church on Sunday which was the mark set last March so we really got on track this week. As a companionship we have 14 new investigators and have set the record as a district with 23 new investigators this week! We have three dates for baptism for March! 
     My birthday (Feb. 23) happened to be the best day of my life I think. Our companionship received a call from President Gelwix in the morning during companionship study.  Since it was the day of transfers we were all excited to see where we would be going. President Gelwix said that he was calling us out of love for the Lord has great things planned for us. Then he said, "Elder Aiken, son, what would you say if the Lord gave you an assignment that would be tough and would require your best efforts?" I said, "President, I will do as the Lord commands!" He then said, "Elder Aiken the Lord has called you to be District Leader in the Hanford, California zone."  That is two and a half hours south of Modesto. I am very excited for this new calling and look forward to being a leader and loving those around me!!
     I hope you all have a great week!

Love,
Elder Tanner Aiken

Great to be back in the field!

President and Sister Gelwix

     Hello everyone! Well I can say it is nice to be back out in the field! This week has been truly humbling and life changing as I have seen some great things as the Lord is preparing His children to hear the gospel! 
     Before I start, I thought I would just say I have the best Mission President in the world! I know that he holds the keys to preside over this mission and help us missionaries do the things we must do to find those in search of the gospel. 

Elder Blake and Elder Mecham

   I have been assigned to the Modesto 12th ward which is about two hours outside of Fresno in the city of Modesto. In our mission each day we have two hours set aside for what is called "harvesting blessings" in which we knock doors and tell the people that we have been sent to their home to give their family and home a blessing. Our President has put this into our mission and has helped our baptisms tremendously. Our first day out tracting in Modesto we had been knocking for those two hours and with about ten minutes to go we had no one invite us in or at least give a blessing. We thought that we should head to another appointment and finish the last ten minutes at a later time. We all felt really impressed to kock this last door. We knocked and a woman opended the door her name was Esmerelda. We explained how we were representatives of Jesus Christ and how we have been sent to her home to give her a blessing on her family and home. She said yes with a kind of awkward look to her face. Elder Mecham offered the blessing and we told her to really ponder how she feels when we give the blessing. At the end of the blessing the woman was in tears saying, "I don't know what that was I just felt, but I have never felt that way before and I never cry in front of strangers". She was in shock at what had just happened and we testified to her that is was the power of the Holy Ghost testifying to her that we are representatives of Jesus Christ. She would have loved to hear more but on that exact day we came she was moving to France after a hard divorce and was going to go live with friends. We gave her the number for the Church and website to visit, then we were on our way. I had also never felt the Spirit touch me like the way it did during that blessing and has strengthned my testimony tremendously. 
     The following day Elder Blake and I were on an exchange with Elder Furness. We had a scheduled appointment for 11:00.  We went to that house and no one had answered. We were pretty bummed because she had been a very promising investigator and we really felt like we needed that lesson. We turned to return to the car and go to another neighborhood when we saw a man cooking outside his house for his son's birthday. We approached him and told him who we were and what our purpose was. He told us his name was Jose and told us a very interesting story of him in Mexico.  One night while living in Mexico, he was driving with his wife and it was really raining hard.  As he came down this road he saw two men dressed in white shirts and ties huddling under a tree to stay out of the rain. He pulled over and told them he could give them a ride and take them where they needed to go. They were missionaries and they told him about our message and how we are representatives of Jesus Christ and how our message can bless their lives. They left his car with a prayer and they left. Well he came to America and had been looking to find pople who belonged to that church but could not find them. I felt the spirit tell us this is his time to receive the gospel. We testified to him why we were there and that we were sent from God. We asked him to be baptized on March 16th and he accepted!! I was so thrilled and knew why we had been sent there that day! 
     I want to testify to you all that God lives, that He knows each and everyone of us personally. I know that He has a plan for us and leads, guides and directs our lives. I know that these two people were put into our path for a reason! Due to the shortness of time there was one other woman that I will have to talk about later who was also placed into our path! This week has been truly miraculous! Love you all!

Elder Tanner Aiken

Back in the field!

     Elder Aiken was reassigned from the Mexico, Leon mission to the California, Fresno mission due to health reasons.  Elder Aiken was very sad to leave the people he grew to love in Mexico.  He and his family are all so grateful for all the prayers and support he received while he was home getting better. He arrived today in Fresno and emailed the following short message:

     "I have made it to the mission safely!  Wow - I love it already.  President Gelwix is great and it's a warm 60 degrees.  We're already getting out to tract.  It's really pretty here and I'm so excited to get started! I love you guys all so much and thank you for all the support and help over the last 4 weeks!" 

Love Elder Aiken!!