Miracle #1 - A Prayer!

We are teaching an individual. My companion and his former companion have been trying to get him to pray.  We had a lesson with the man, and we learned that he didn't want to pray in front of us because he stuttered a lot. I stutter a lot, too, when I say prayers in front of people, so we told him that. 

Skip forward to end of the lesson, he asked me to pray. My companion asked the man to pray. The man came up with a challenge: If I would pray without stuttering with no mistakes, then he would pray next time. My companion asked him if that was trusting "in the flesh, or in God". The man said "Both". 

Throughout their conversation, I was praying secretly that I would say a prayer like what he had challenged me if he was true to his word. When the man and my companion were done talking, I prayed. The prayer was amazing. It was very lengthy. It was very clear. There was no stuttering. There were no mistakes. Now, saying that, it was far from perfect, but the man thought it was perfect. Long story short: he promised that he would say the prayer next time.

"He is the Gift"

We went clover tracting a day or two ago and we found a potential investigator who loved the video we shared.  It is called "He is the Gift".  It has been our prime tool since Thanksgiving). We came back to meet her husband, too. He wasn't interested, but that's okay.

Christmas Music and Feeling More Comfortable...

I love the Christmas music that we have, it is awesome. 

I've still had a little trouble with talking, but I'm getting better.

Progress Record and FOOD!

This week has been epic. We were able to fill our progress record with people's names. 

The food here is very different than what I had expected. The only thing that I have had fried was Spam. There is a lot of cornbread, but mostly the food is the same as at home. Grits taste wonderful, though, when you prepare them with broth instead of water and put cheese in them, too. They are probably my favorite food that is different around here.

Update:  I have also discovered I like Fried Corn, and I am eating a lot of popcorn (even Peanut Butter Popcorn) and I don't like nuts!

Miracles Through Tracting...

The most miracles that I have seen have been through tracting. The first day, we didn't have much success with people (as far as I could tell). The second day we went tracting was AMAZING, though. 

We knocked on one door and this family answered who were Christian (don't remember the religion) and they talked about a program where they teach Christianity to Native Americans in the West (including Navajo). Long story short, we gave them a Book of Mormon, prayed with them and left. They were really nice, and I hope that the father (he wasn't home, but we know that he is a pastor in their church) is the same way about us. 

The next house that answered after this family was a lady from the Faith Assembly of God Church (famous around here) and she wanted nothing to do with us and was about to shut the door when my companion asked her if we could say prayer before she left. She agreed and we prayed and she closed the screen door as we started walking away. When we were halfway down the sidewalk, she opened the screen door and started the conversation again. She is planning on attending our church sometime. A completely different countenance. It was amazing.

Ozark Mountains and Strange Weather

We are in the Ozark Mountains...and they aren't mountains, just big hills. The weather is strange here. We experience HUGE rainstorms that last under 15 minutes. Kinda like long cloudbursts. I have gotten REALLY wet (wetter than I have EVER been anywhere in Utah, including the shower at home) from the rain because we were out when one of these rainstorms hit.

OTM Means Three Things!

OTM is the only thing we abbreviate in our missions, because it stands for the three things. Oklahoma Tulsa Mission, "Open Thy Mouth", and the "Only True Mission". All of these are extremely true.

My mission president and his wife are FANTASTIC! My companion is AMAZING! The ward members here are AWESOME! They really help in missionary work.

We did a service project recently that was cutting trees down! It was awesome! I almost got hit by a tree one of the times, but I didn't, so I'm okay :D. We have yet to use our bikes in the mission because of the weather and the place where we do go tracting is close by.

My First Area!

I am in the Harrison Area in the Branson District of the Springfield South Zone. My companion is almost EXACTLY like me. It's awesome!   He is the best trainer!  Our district and zone leaders are great, too!  We have the largest area in the mission (the farthest point is 1.5-2 hours by car). The only missionaries who cover a wider area are the two pairs of Spanish missionaries in Tulsa. We usually drive a car (we have 1100 miles/month on it!) and we go tracting close to here, which is where I have noticed miracles happen. 

My MTC District Members...

1. My companion, Elder Holdsworth is from California.  He likes American Ninja Warrior stuff.  We are good friends.
2. Elder Zaugg is a lot like me. He doesn't talk much. Anyway, he is amazing and he is the Assistant to the District Leader.
3. Elder "Perry" Perron is the District Leader of my district and he is awesome!
4. Elder Savage is African American, and a Zone Leader. He is really awesome. 
5. Elder Gunnerson really likes to talk to the sisters. If you find a group of sisters at the MTC, chances are you will find this Elder in the midst of them. He is awesome. He is also a Zone Leader. 
6. Elder Redhair strangely does not have red hair. But he always has a smile on his face, even when he isn't smiling. He is amazing. He also has sly fingers. He usually takes Elder Perron's candy (he gives it back, it is just funny to see him do it), so Elder Perron keeps a close eye on him. He is also a Zone Leader.
7. Elder Jensen. He is a Canadian (he says "Eh?" a lot too.) He is a tall elder, and he is really cool.
8. Elder Conner is the last elder in my district. I really don't know much about him. He is cool, though.

Called To Serve!

I am SO EXCITED to be a full-time missionary!

We picked up Tiana at BYU and headed to Chuck-A-Rama for a free missionary lunch.

Next, we headed up by the Provo Temple to take a few pictures before driving the short distance to the Missionary Training Center (MTC).

Then, I was gone!  Believe it or not, no one cried...NOT EVEN MOM!