August is Here!

We met a lady while tracting who had a piglet as a pet. #onlyinoklahoma Anyway, we were able to hold the piglet. Its hair felt like rough cat fur, or smooth dog hair. Somewhere in between. The hair on his head was stiff. We talked with the lady. We taught her about prophets. She said she was trying to find a church to join. We talked with her, and she said she would come to church on Sunday. She didn't come. However, when we brought it up to Ward Council, the council members all listened intently. (We had to start sacrament meeting late because the missionary work this week was talked about A LOT in ward council). Afterwards, one of the Ward Council members came over to us and asked what she could do to help . I was talking to the Branch President about something, so my companion left the conversation and talked with her.

The talk I gave recently in sacrament meeting sparked an interest in the Branch President's mind about how I searched the scriptures a lot. He told me about a friend he had come by and they talked a little bit about a ton of subjects. One of those subjects was the church. His friend asked a question about Rev. 22:19 and Exodus 33:20 and the Branch President didn't know how to answer, so he asked me to write what my response would be. I haven't done it yet, because I don't know what I would write about. What I've been thinking is just to say "Search the Book of Mormon, ponder it's message and pray about it." I think that would be correct.

The branch is continually getting more excited about missionary work. There were numerous other events that happened in sacrament meeting that I can't write about. Let's just say it's cool.

We also visited a new investigator. He knew a lot about the church already, and he knows it to be true. He asked some really good questions. We answered them.

We had a good week in general. Everything was great. We had Zone Training and one of the Zone Leaders gave wonderful instruction...Probably his last. He goes home next transfer.

The End of June...and Into July!

We weren't able to see the investigators this week as usual, for good reasons, of course. One had doctor's appointments throughout the week. One had a death in his extended family, so we felt like it would be good to have them mourn their family and then talk to them again this week. Then, the last one that we've been visiting recently we felt like we have been a little too pushy on him, and so we also are giving him time to think things through.

Anyway, we received quite a few referrals from a cool senior couple in our branch, and we are helping them share the Restored gospel with their friends. We also met another lady who we are beginning to teach.

We talked with a less active about the Sacrament and he came to church. So that's good.

Nevertheless, we did quite a bit this week. We went to a nearby town and talked to a part-member family that had a recent death in the family. While we were there, they told us that after we leave they discuss about what we talk to them about.. It's pretty awesome. I really like them. Anyway, we received another referral by one of the awesome families in the branch. They live in another nearby town and they love to share the gospel. We've received four referrals from them so far. It was sweet.

I went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders. I went with one of the Zone Leaders to another town, while my companion and the other Zone Leader stayed in our current area. The Zone Leader that I was with and I realized that we don't have a lot of time left in the mission. We came out at the same time. We talked about our mission experiences. It was cool. He is one of the coolest missionaries in the mission.

I Got Transferred...A Cabin, a Lake, a Storm, No Power!

Here is the installment from the last part of April...

My new area is the greenest place I have been thus far. We are actually opening up an area that has been a dual area for a number of years. My new area has a small branch of less than 30 active members. I had an uber long drive down to the new area, I left my old apartment at 6:30 in the morning, and finally got to my new area around 4-5 in the afternoon. Long day on the road, but on the bright side I did get Sour Patch kids, Twizzlers, and some other candy....All gone in a day or two....well, maybe 4 days. Don't have diabetes, yet, so I'm good :j

My companion and I have a cabin. We live pretty much where our branch president lives. He owns a trailer park, and he built a cabin just for us to stay. It's awesome. It's pretty fun to be in a cabin...you see a ton of bugs, we have to climb a ladder to get into bed. We sleep over the bathroom and the kitchen. Our oven and stove doesn't work at the moment...our branch president is working on it. He's a really cool dude. The fridge was empty, as was expected seeing that we opened up a new area. My companion and I went on a shopping spree to grab lunch food for all meals. We have a furnace, but we don't have an air-conditioner quite yet.

The church is also very exciting. The LDS meetinghouse used to be a Baptist Church...then the Baptist Church became a mortuary, or a morgue. Then it became the LDS meetinghouse. The chapel pews have crosses on the sides. The baptismal font is also in the front of the chapel. It looks really cool. The church is one of a kind. The people really love us, though. Our branch president is happy to feed us if they are not busy....so his family has fed us each night since I came here. His family is super cool. The food is delicious, too! We then share a spiritual thought, which is great because the branch president's mother is not a member of the church. She loves the church and has been to many church history sites including the Hill Cumorah and the Sacred Grove

Church was super exciting. A whole lot different than church usually is. We have a reverence hymn at the beginning, then an opening hymn, and we continue on the meeting. The sound speakers for the stand are actually only at the stand. So when you speak, it sounds loud to you, but to the people in the back, it's difficult to hear.

We are doing a ton of finding in this new area because we have basically no investigators. My new companion is from Utah. He has been out for six months.

Our area has a huge lake in the middle of it. We are in the middle of two towns (about 10 miles to each) leaving us with a ton of miles used because those are the two closest cities, and we have people we teach in other towns that are about 20-50 miles from us. It's actually really fun. We get to cross the lake every day. We have no choice, too. It pretty much surrounds us. We have a ton of less active members that we see, but not close enough to keep ourselves busy. We did meet some cool members one Sunday at a linger-longer (It's theme was Italian food...mmmm. It was quite delicious). They were from Orem, Utah.

I misplaced my camera after videoing the village where we live, so no pictures for a little bit. I know the camera is somewhere in our apartment or our car, though, so it's okay, it's not hopeless.

We had a tremendous thunderstorm hit close to us. It caused a tiny tornado 5 miles north of us, but no fatalities from it, so we're good. We were out of power the day after from 8:00. I was showering at the time, (The thunderstorm kept us awake because of the large amounts of rain that hit on our roof. It was the loud, so we didn't wake up to our alarms in the morning.) So, I half showered in the dark. We were without power until after 10:00 in the evening. We're linked to the power station up north, so the thunderstorm damaged something. Some of our food went bad, but it's okay. We got sick of the salami, and there wasn't much other food in the fridge. We actually had to get a ton of food on Friday ("pay-day" for us) because of the spoiling of the food. My companion took pictures of us in the night with no power, and trying to light up the cabin with two flashlights, because my camera was lost in the darkness of that night. It was super awesome, but I wasn't able to read anything for the evening, which I love to do.

We were able to meet up with an investigator with our branch mission leader. He was able to relate to our investigator in many ways, because they were of the same age group, they had experienced similar trials, and they both loved to garden. It was a really cool visit with him.

We also visited with a family and taught them two lessons. Both lessons were wonderful. We were able to teach some of the kids that were involved in a baseball team, and they provided some amazing insight. The second visit, we were able to answer some of the dad's questions about the church. He asked questions about polygamy and if the Book of Mormon was changed, etc. Some of his questions may have arisen from him reading stuff about the church on the internet. Nevertheless, he did not want to contend with us, they were honest questions, not the other kind of questions used for arguing. We were able to answer all his questions as I have experienced similar questions to his. It was a really spiritual visit.

We tried to find some good OTMing places (places where you could see a lot of people) nearby, but no luck, thus far. We were able to find a service opportunity where we helped clean up the town. It was good.

Sundays are absolutely amazing, with great church services. We were able to help a member on the computer (well, my companion helped him. It was a one-person job). I was looking through an old LDS hymnal that the member had...It was super cool. It had songs that weren't in the one we have today, the songs were named differently after the first couple words, such as, "Count Your Blessings", it was titled "When Upon Life's Billows", and "If You Could Hie to Kolob" had a completely different tune than the one we have. It was sweet.

After we helped him, we had a lesson with the assistant branch mission leader and his daughter. We then had dinner with the branch president and his family. We had delicious grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. We watched the John Tanner story with them. Finally, we went to help the Branch President finish working on our stove...well, he hasn't finished it quite yet. The flames are still too high.

Branch is Now a Ward!

I am no longer serving in a branch. As of January 3, the branch is now a ward. It was an amazing switch, and the bishop is experiencing a lot more responsibilities than he had when he was a branch president :j. It is awesome.

Missouri and Arkansas have HUGE firework shows on New Year's Eve...because there are next to no fireworks banned...so we had some crazy fireworks.

We have also had some crazy flooding. I won't go too much in detail, because it REALLY floods down here. I drove for a week straight week because my companion lost his wallet for a time. That was fun having to do 1000 point turns on dirt roads because the area before us was submerged by three feet or so.

We were able to get a less active member to church recently...and he wants to keep coming to church. That makes me so excited.

This and That!

My mission is the last mission to get iPads, I think. My trainer heard that they were getting iPads at the beginning of his mission...well, he's home from his mission now. So, It's been over two years.

We had a mission conference on Monday, December 21.

We had a baptism a couple of Saturdays ago. It was an awesome baptism. I don't have a picture yet, but my companion will email the picture to me sometime. It was really fun. I played the piano for it :D.

We had a zone conference in Springfield. I was able to see some former companions, and a bunch of my other friends in the mission.

I'm totally excited! We have a few solid potentials. :D. The branch president and his family are amazing. We went a-carolin' around the neighborhood, and we gave away a ton of ham to members in the branch.

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".

Attending the "Festival" = Potential Opportunities!

We went to an adjoining city to see a member of the YSA Branch dance. (He is a great dancer). They danced in the middle of the street. Well, we discovered that it was this huge festival-like thing that they do every third Thursday during the summer. We saw that it was a major OTMing opportunity for the YSA Branch, so we're going to come back next month to OTM people.

An Elder on Elder Road!

The ward is doing well. We have more investigators there than we do in the YSA Branch, but we are still in a major finding phase. I'm so glad we get 1300 miles on a car this month...and I'm also glad we carpool with the Spanish elders a lot because we need to save miles as much as we can since one of the places we cover is sixty or so miles away from us.

I love being a missionary!

Making Plans for Success!

We went on an exchange with the zone leaders this week.  That was great. One of the zone leaders and I talked about how to help the ward and the YSA Branch....mostly the YSA Branch, because we have no investigators. 

During weekly planning, my companion and I also found an amazing paper that tells us how to work YSA areas a lot more effectively. We looked through it, and we're trying a couple things on there. We're going to be doing a lot of active member lessons these next weeks with the YSA...which is also going to be difficult because half of them are going to Utah (BYU), or on a mission by August.   

Also, we have a very large area to cover.  However, we found another guideline that says that we could exchange with the different missionaries in our area to help the YSA Branch. We called the Assistants (AP) to see if we could do that. We don't have a final decision on the matter, but it would definitely help our area,  It's going to be a really awesome three weeks.

I love the YSA Branch. We had a "Break the Fast" potluck last Sunday...It was delicious. We ate a lot...then went to dinner...and ate a lot. It was hard to move afterwards XD.

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!

Transfers...Final Happenings in "Old" Area

Both my companion and I are being transferred.  We are being replaced by sisters.  My companion and I don't have the car yet, so we're freaking out because the sisters NEED a car since they don't have bikes. So, it is going to be pretty stressful because we're doing a TON to prepare for the sisters.

I'm going to miss our area/branch and the people here. We've been taking pictures with the members and investigators.

Our "golden" investigator, along with his girlfriend, are progressing in the gospel.  They have a baptismal date and are going to get married before the end of the month. It is going to be absolutely amazing. I wish I could be there. They're so awesome.

Almost Heaven On Earth!

I love this place.  It is beautiful. It has a ton of lakes everywhere, and beautiful hills. My former area had a ton of caves everywhere. There are a couple of bike trails just outside of town that I really want to go to some p-day, if I'm not transferred. There is a train track that runs through the middle of the town. It is amazing.

There are raccoons, opossums, armadillos, deer, etc. It is the closest you can get to Heaven without being in a temple on earth. All this town needs to be translated is a temple here.  It's that beautiful.

Our town has an extremely amazing investigator.   The guy that stopped us while we were riding our bikes? Well, his family is amazing! They felt the Holy Ghost, they believe that our church is the best way to help their family, they want to change, etc. They are INCREDIBLE. It's exactly what our area needs right now. I'm so excited for them. They are going to go far.

The Oklahoma Tulsa Mission held mini zone-conferences. We went to a nearby city for ours, where I saw many of my friends in the mission. President and Sister Shumway also held a Stake/Zone Conference a couple of days later. That was awesome.

The youth in this area are amazing! They do a ton of missionary work. They're almost out of school, so we're planning on going on a ton of exchanges with them, since 75% of them have a mission call. They also find a lot of freaky stuff. They found a small, very dark cave.  They also found a house that looks like it has been set up for an apocalyptic world recently.

One of the missionaries serving from our branch is coming back from his mission on Transfer day! I may not be able to meet him, if I am transferred.

Going to Wisconsin and Speaking Hmong!

One of the youth in the branch received his mission call! He's going to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he is speaking Hmong. He's the first youth to leave. We have a couple of less actives in an adjoining town who speak Hmong, so when he comes back, it's going to help.

I Love Italian Food and Missionary Work!

We went to an amazing Italian restaurant with some of our members, and their food is fantastic. We were also able to contact a less active who works there. Next week we are going to play tennis with him.

We contacted him again on Sunday with a branch member while doing ministering visits after Branch Conference. The restaurant was closed, but we were still able to talk with him.

The Work Moves Forward in Brazil and Australia!

I am very extremely super-duper happy right now :D.  I've been thinking about a ton of different things. Two young men in our branch got their mission calls last Saturday!!!! One is going to Brazil, and the other is going to Sydney, Australia. I need to tell him about Vegemite!  :D They are leaving in September and August, and they are so excited. One of the mother's cried when she found out where he was going.  I'm so glad that their mission calls came when they did.

Wonderful Branch Member!

The sister in the branch that took our picture at the hospital is awesome. She feeds us every Sunday. She also has a son on a mission in England. He is about ready to come home, and he will be back either this transfer or next. 

Three New Plans...

This week has been a little interesting. We had an attack on our investigators (well, they were potentials, but we have been trying to get a sit-down lesson with them). We have had to drop all but two of them.  But that's alright, because we are implementing three new plans that will get this branch growing.

1. First plan, as usual, is tracting: Sounds very unproductive and unplanned, but we were just informed this Sunday that our investigators weren't the only ones who were attacked. Another church denomination in our area has split. We are going tracting to find those who will be humbled enough to listen. In addition, a second denomination in our area is also in turmoil. Hasn't split, but we should be able to find our way into some of the hearts of those people also.
2. Second is referrals: We asked for referrals from everyone in the branch with the advice from our branch mission leader (and he is a spiritual powerhouse). We now have a ton of "potential referrals".
3. Third is dinners: We have a new goal that is mission-wide. We need 60% of our dinners to be with less-actives or non-members (or both). Our branch mission leaders wants 100% of our dinners to be that way, so we are going to ask everyone of our dinner appointments to bring someone to dinner.

This week, my companion and I will have to rely on the Spirit a lot to know what to say to the people me meet.

Ward vs. Branch?

I am excited to go to a new area/district/zone. It is awesome. I'll be serving in a branch instead of a ward (that'll be weird). It will be smaller than the ward in which I have been serving, which has gotten way bigger in church attendance. We had 130 people there last Sunday.