Finding and Referrals are Cool!

We have been doing a ton of finding lately, and we had a cool experience happen. We found a nice laundromat that was super cheap compared to the one we used to go to (1.50 compared to 2.50 for both washing and drying.), so we went to it today. I sat by this older couple. I started talking with them. My companion joined in. He asked them what church they went to. They said they didn't have one. They had given up searching for one. Well, we taught them the Restoration really quickly. They liked it, accepted a Book of Mormon and said they might try it out. It was awesome.

We've been working with active members a lot more. Our mission president gave us a WHOLE stack of papers and told us to give a sheet of paper to every member in our ward. So we scheduled a lot of active members, and we taught a ton of them. We received many referrals, and have a ton of potential referrals. It was cool!

One of the families we are working with came to church! It was during the Primary Program. We introduced them to the bishop, the Young Woman's President, a family in the ward, and one of the young women who is friends with one of our prospective baptismal candidates. It was cool.

We also had two nonmembers come to church. Invited by friends. It was cool.

Mission Memories, Exchanges, and a Note!

I have been reminiscing a bit lately. One awesome mission memory happened about a year ago. My companion and I had an unsuccessful day tracting and as we were heading back home. We came across kids who weren't even 10 yet. My companion said to them, "Hey, kids! Want a good book?" One of them was like "Sure!" The other was a bit hesitant, but eventually accepted one. Later, their parents became investigators. Interesting how that happens.

This past week, we have been doing a lot of finding in our city. We actually received two referrals from some ward members.

Our investigators didn't come to church on Sunday. We had tried so hard to help them come. We'll try harder, though. We had a super spiritual lesson a few days ago.

In other news, we went on exchanges with the Assistants. It was great. The Sister Training Leaders, who we drove up with, took our minivan with the other Sister Training Leaders for an exchange. They stopped by one of my favorite familes' home during their exchange. The family hid a note that said, "Hi!" in the van. My companion found it when we were coming home. It made my week a whole lot better!. I put it in my journal.

Biking vs. Driving

We started to bike around our area. We talked to as many people as we could while biking. I liked biking. It's a lot better than driving a car because you could talk to more people. We talked to quite a bit of people. We're doing this because we have not enough solid people to teach.

We've been teaching a lot of members also to push them to do missionary work. We also passed a referral box around during sacrament meeting. We received two referrals on Sunday, so we're going to contact them. I also found cool videos on lds.org under Media Library.

The members are cool here.

We have been doing a lot of finding. We met a random guy that we OTMed. He was nice and wanted to learn more. He goes to another church that looks like a gym where they have concerts.

Anyway, we have been talking to a lot of people. We discovered how much we sit in the car a week or two ago, and we want to be active and start finding people.

I read this recently. It's super cool. Ezek. 37:1-14

Finding, Teaching, Opposition, Success!

Everything is going great. However, I have been a little sad since I found out one of my friends died in one of my previous areas..



We've spent a lot of time finding. It's difficult to find out here We've been working on having the members do missionary work because it is easier for 50 missionaries to have a baptism than it is for two. Along with that, Elder Holland has said that there is no more time for there to be two more churches: a missionary church and a member church. So we're working on that, as well.

We're teaching a couple of cool people also. We have one family who is taking taking the discussions. They are keeping most of their commitments. They're a super cool family.

We've been having a lot of opposition later. However, because of that, we have been having a lot of success as well. It's interesting how those two work.

News from the Mission!

There's one set of missionaries for every ward...except combined areas, and Springfield YSA....they have two sets.

This past week we had a ward chili cook off. My companion got first place with his mother's recipe, A ward member got second, and the Young Men got third. It was a fun time. At the end of it, we helped clean up, I was talking with a visitor who knows how to play the piano real well...we showed off our skills with each other. It was fun. We even "improv"-ed for each other...don't know how to spell improv as in improv show, or whatever, so...yeah.

On Saturday, we went to a baptism that was three hours away. Sad fact is, that's about how far my closest area is ;(...oh, well. It was a really fun day. We had Hardee's for dinner. On Sunday, we had dinner at the home of one of the families in the ward...It was so funny. I love that family so much.

Our district meeting was awesome. On set of elders didn't show, and neither did the Zone leaders...a third of our district was gone! It was a great meeting, none the less. It marvels me how big our district is. Our district is about as big as one of the zones in our mission.

Awesome Weeks!

The past few weeks have been awesome. I can't really use any other adjectives. We saw the Lord's hand many times, of which I will give a few examples :j.

1) My companion and I, after all we could have done, went to a local store to OTM people. While we were in the camera aisle, a woman OTMed us, wanting to know who we are, what we were doing, etc. We answered her questions, and told her snippets of what our church believes, etc. She wants to meet with us to learn more.

2) My companion and I encountered a young kid, who passed by us while we were attempting to make a visit to a less active. My companion had an impression we should talk to him, so he led the discussion we had with him. The kid lied a lot, but that's what you get when you OTM someone in the dark of the night. He talked about being Satanic (we could totally tell he was lying about most of this subject, so don't worry, we're safe), that discussion moved to him being Atheistic...and eventually he said he believed in a God. It was a good discussion.

3) While we were doing service at a food pantry, I started talking to this guy who was seeking assistance from the pantry. I talked with him, and a couple of people around him, and we discussed many things, including our church. A few days later at church, my companion nudged me, and asked who a certain guy was. I couldn't see him clearly, so I shrugged my shoulders. After sacrament meeting, a ward member came up to us, and asked us to talk to a guy in the foyer. We went to the foyer and I recognized this guy from the pantry. We talked with him and taught him a lesson. We answered some of his questions, and gave him a Book of Mormon and we're going to continue to meet with him...I am totally excited!

I loved this past week a lot. I'm excited. We're going to have an awesome week, this coming week, too. The best thing about this week, was that I really was not looking forward to anything. Every day, when I woke up, I didn't feel like doing missionary work at all. I was just not looking forward to the same old thing. Well, as I pressed forward through it...I received a ton of help for all of it, I saw a lot of cool stuff...It was wonderful.

Amazing Exchange, Baptism and Confirmation!

We've experienced quite a bit lately, including snow, ice, and an amazing exchange.

Last month I went on exchange. We didn't have any appointments set, so we OTMed/tracted all day...not the most effective, but we went into a Kids Resale store. The only person in there was a lady. Music was playing in the background. I recognized the music to be "In the Dark of the Night" in Anastasia, so I told the lady that I knew this song was from Anastasia. She was so excited that I knew what it was because not a lot of people did. We talked about Anastasia for a bit, then about families, then about the church. I completely forgot to take a Book of Mormon with me when I came in, but we were able to give her a #BecauseHeLives card.

Well, 5 days after that happened, I asked another elder about the lady at the store and he told me they had closed. I was not happy about that. I've remembered to take a Book of Mormon with me since that incident.

Two weeks later we got a call from a ward member about a new referral. We met with her a week after that. We set a baptismal date two days later, and we arranged for a baptismal interview. Our district leader, asked us to exchange with him to save miles for the baptismal interview. My companion stayed with one another elder in this area while I went with the district leader to another city.

We were discussing our plans for the day, and I asked if we could check out this place where we found the lady. The district leader told me if we had time we would. So, we went to the first appointment. We then went to meet a member at a restaurant. I looked out my window as we passed the Kids Resale store on the way, and I told the district leader this was the place where I met the lady. Well, the member texted us, saying she was going to be late, and we found the opportunity to check out the "Kids" place. I went with a Book of Mormon this time. We walked in, and the same lady looked up to see who it was and said, "It's the Anastasia guy!"

Quick conversation starter! Anyway, we talked with her for a couple minutes, handed the Book of Mormon, and left. We both felt the Spirit in there....It was a wonderful day!

We baptized our new referral that Saturday. Her nonmember family showed up. I showed a couple of Mormon Messages after the baptism while the my companion and our newly baptized member were changing back into their dress clothes.

Then, my favorite part happened. On Sunday, the ward mission president confirmed our newly baptized member. It was a beautiful experience to stand in the circle and do that...I love confirmations so much. It's always the best feeling during confirmations.

An Investigator + Some Lessons = A Baptism!

We had a lesson with one of our investigators about the law of chastity at the church. We then went to a ward member's home and had another lesson about the laws of tithing, the fast, and the Word of Wisdom.

Our investigator has applied to Brigham Young University (BYU) and she is really absorbing the gospel.  She has read from 1 Nephi to 3 Nephi in three days. She is amazing.  Her baptism is on Saturday. I am so excited!

*My parents received this text from one of the members today:  "We wanted to thank you for raising such a wonderful son. The last few weeks he and his companion have taught our friend. Today was her baptism! We hope you enjoy these pictures."

Every Member a Missionary!

We're trying our best to help the members in our ward do missionary work. We're giving out Book of Mormons to a lot of members and trying our best to follow up with them. It's been fun. We have our dinner calendar very full, which is good. It'll help with our invitations to the members. We're sharing Mormon Messages.

Our area is doing great. We're trying to get in contact with three of our investigators...and we're finding others. We handed out a Book of Mormon to a lady, we met a "born-again Christian", etc.  We have done a lot of service, too. It's been really awesome.

Transfers...Again!

We got transfer calls on Saturday. Our area is being shotgunned....My companion is going to one city in Oklahoma, and I'm going to another city (also in Oklahoma)  I'm going to be shotgunning into the area with a "younger" elder.  I'm Greenie-busting :j.  So, we've been saying goodbye to everyone. We recently had our last Family Home Evening with the YSA Branch....

Anyway, so we have had a lot of success, actually. It's been surprising how much success we have had.

Well, among other news: my trainer is going to be zone leader in this zone after I leave it. It's awesome.

I don't know who my zone leaders are, but I think my new district leader might be a former companion of mine.

I'm very excited about going to my new area. I've heard that it is the best member missionary area. The members give the missionaries a ton of referrals. I'm so excited....and I'm going to be the "Senior Companion".

Serving in a Ward and Branch!

My new area is amazing! In the ward we are serving in, we're close to the corner of the boundaries.

The Young Single Adult (YSA) branch we are serving in is a lot more centralized. We have a ton of members (by a ton, I mean, 99% of the branch). All of the members live in Missouri.

We cover two stakes. We stretch all the way into Kansas.

We usually stay in our city, though. We call some of the other elders for investigators/members in the YSA branch, though. Speaking of which, we called some other elders this week, and it was great to speak to one of the elders that trained in the Mission Training Center (MTC) with me.

Working Hard in New Area!

My new area is awesome! There is a place called Fidelity in our area, and Diamond, and Sarcoxie....and, in the Young Single Adult ward there is the whole Joplin Stake and half of the Monett Stake, so we have everything everywhere in the northern part.

I'm serving in two wards right now :j....well, a ward and a branch. There are not a lot of Young Single Adults in this part of the mission, but we're planning on going to Kansas to find some of them.

We're trying to work as hard as we can because neither of us know anyone in our area. We put the ward/branch roster on our GPS, so we know where every member lives. We don't really have any investigators right now.

We hang out with the Spanish missionaries a lot. It makes it easier with the single sisters in our areas because the Spanish missionaries cover the same area as we do and we become able to enter into a single sister's house. It's nice. The Spanish elders have the same ward mission leader as us.

The members are feeding us a lot! They have my birthday covered already. The best thing about this area is...we have unlimited popcorn!!!!! I love popcorn! It's delicious.

We live in a duplex :D. It's nice, big, and comfortable. We have two bathrooms, a large study room, etc. No mountains....it's actually pretty nice.

I love this mission. It's amazing!

Mission Life is Awesome!

My companion is superb. He is very obedient and tries to do the best he can. It's really awesome.

Our investigators are doing great. Two of them want to come to church. We met with another when we were biking to a member's home. Another individual was baptized and confirmed. This whole stake is progressing. We've had a baptism in this stake every week for the past three weeks. It is so cool.

The mission is so awesome! I love it! We had an exchange with the zone leaders, and it was awesome.  I love this area.  I think it is going to have a temple soon....there are a ton of members of the church here. Most of them are from BYU and BYU-Idaho.

Crawdads Are Delicious!

We ate some crawdads with a family this week.  They were so delicious.  I brought some back to our apartment for leftovers.  

The family that provided us dinner are originally from Texas, but they have a Louisiana accent :j. It was awesome!

Active Ward, Small Area, Flat Terrain, Tornado Warnings!

I am now serving in a ward that has a 90% member activity.  The chapel is actually pretty packed on Sundays. 

We're the smallest biking area (the smaller areas have zone leaders or sister training leaders, so they have cars :p).

My new area is very flat. We have had a TON of tornado watches and tornado warnings. We even saw the sky turn purple (Purple equals a bad storm. Green equals tornado, from what I've been told.). 

The elder I replaced is in Kansas right now, so he is probably going to see a couple tornadoes (Kansas is notorious for them.). I really want to see a tornado.

Dinners = Lizards and Rumors!

There is this awesome member who has a lot of lizards! We named them all while we went over there for dinner, and I got to hold a lizard or two. Well, more accurately, they jumped on me and started climbing my suit. It was awesome.

One of our members has taken us out to dinner every week so far. We were at the restaurant when the rumor spread around us that we were converting the member who was taking us out to dinner. He is famous down here because his face is on EVERY billboard at the entrance of our city because of his job.. :j It was hilarious. We met an investigator there, too, and were introduced to an inactive member. It was amazing.

Other Miscellaneous News...

One of our ward members has his face plastered on every billboard at the entrances to city :D. It is funny.

One of our investigators went to the hospital this past week. We don't know why, but we found out he isn't going to go back to the nursing home. We talked with another individual about it, and he has a beautiful testimony. Truly.

We have another investigator who has a three-legged cat. It's amazing!

Preparing to Move...

My new area is the southernmost area in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission. My "old" companion is going to the district leader. I am excited for my new area, but sad that I'm leaving this one...but, the ward members have a ton of meals planned between now and Thursday.   We have been spending most of the day packing and cleaning. It is intense.

Seeing Progress!

We had over a hundred people in Sacrament meeting for three weeks in a row!  Our area is progressing!

New Investigator!

We received a new investigator this week!...Well, not quite a new investigator...she's almost one. She wants to learn more about our church because the family she hangs out with are LDS. We've been working with the whole family.

I love this ward a lot. I love our Bishop, our Ward Mission Leader, and the members.