Elder McMullan's Mission Memories!: May 2018

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Pictures!

Elder McMullan sent these first 2, from when he was in Mesa with Elder Harris! (His 2nd Companion) Guess he forgot to send them.., or mention the baptisms when he was there!!!

This is a picture of a Zone Conference in Dallas Texas! (I got it off the Mission Facebook page!)

My week has been good so far, in fact I just remembered that 11 years ago Today I joined Club Penguin and I thank God for leading me to that. Other than that it's been a pretty nice week and I've been taking allergy medicine for a while now. Hopefully they won't be around all year long. My eye is doing fine and I take eye drops in the morning to prevent my eye from hurting again.

Yes that picture that was taken in front of the cows, was at a dairy farm from that investigator. That investigator is progressing very well and he wants to pray for a good date to be baptized. I don't wear that eye patch anymore thankfully and this spring was apparently the worst around here an I hope it won't be too bad next year. The investigators are learning about the gospel and accept it, however getting them to church is another story. One couple wanted to come to church on Sunday, but the husband had his brother come to his house on Saturday and attend at his church. He said his brother was a minister and this was the first time he invited his brother to his False Doctrine Church. There was another person who sent a voicemail to us and said she didn't want us to come back. She didn't give us a name but said she was Pentecostal and wanted the truth. We would be happy to give her the truth if she didn't believe that Jesus was Black. The only miracle that I could think of at the moment was finding a family of 6 who moved to Paris because their house flooded. They said they are trying to find a new church home and said they would come to church on Sunday. They ended up not showing up but said they would try again next week. As far as the two missions I've served in I like them both the same. Sometimes I wish that I didn't put down that I was Diagnosed with Tourettes and Aspergers on my application because of how long the process took. From what I've been hearing from other two transfer trial missionaries you are only allowed to serve in the United States and nowhere else. Hopefully if I serve in a senior couple mission I'll get that opportunity which is why I plan on learning a couple languages when I get home. That is pretty cool to see the backyard being renovated and it will be interesting to see how it turns out. When I started to read your email I got worried that you were installing a Pool because they are a pain in the butt to take care of. After doing that for five years it makes me glad that I don't have a pool. Since I am on that Subject I wanted to ask how Debbie was doing? I thought I would've returned home for a couple of days after my time in Mesa to talk to her, and I hope to see her after my mission. I also have to write a letter to Brother Hubbard still and hopefully I can get that done this week. I might send him something but I'm not too sure. Anyways I hope the construction in the backyard goes well and I'll talk to you again soon.

Letter to Dad:

I had some really good Chicken Fries Steak at this place called Weezys in Blossom last week. We are going there again tonight, but it won't be as big as this one. Also we went to an antique shop today and saw this German bolt rifle from the 1880s, forgot to take a picture of it but it was around $350

Mother's Day Skype!! 5/13/18

May 14, 2018

It was SO great talking to Elder McMullan yesterday for Mother's Day! It took a long time to get the Skype figured out though! The phone he was using wouldn't let him do skype. He didn't know that at the time, but we got it figured out and the member he was eating dinner with, let him use his phone so he could Skype us! He sounds fantastic! He's the same ole Matt, but improved! He bore his testimony to us. He told us that before his mission, he chose to serve because he didn't know what else to do with his life. But NOW, he sees the power of the Gospel completely CHANGE people's lives for the better! He's blown away by it's power! He said there are a lot of other church's in the area, but they have it wrong. He doesn't bible bash with them though. He shared some thoughts with us though. It was so amazing to see him and talk to him and see the change in him! He is so much happier and at peace with himself and being out there! He said he doesn't prefer Mesa or Dallas, he likes them both equally. We didn't talk to his companion, Elder Twitchell, but he seems like a really nice guy. Matt says he's funny. I guess they have a ton of chickens living on their property and E. Twitchell likes to bok at them to get them to come over to them. :)

Here's his letter from today:

It was good to talk to you to yesterday. There were a couple things I wanted to talk about but I forgot when we were on Skype. One of those things was last week we went to teach an investigator who has his own Diary Farm and while he was out working we learned his Sons Birthday Party wasn't going as planned. We ended up driving over there to learn that some of the teenagers got there Trucks stuck in the mud and had to get them all out which took about 3 hours to do. Also when we got to their house a bunch of them were in Underwear after taking showers to get the mud off. His mom wasn't happy but I thought it was pretty funny.

Anyways as far as my schedule goes for this week I have no idea. Today is P day of course and we are attempting to meet up with the zone today but I'm not sure what we are going to do for the rest of the week. I guess I'll find out what people need to be taught the gospel. Also we do have interviews with the mission president this week which will be close to a 2 hour drive to get there. Sad to hear that Pierce broke up, but I hope he doesn't rush to get married anytime soon. Anyways I hope your week is great and also send me a picture of that letter when you can.

Elders at the investigator's house who owns a Dairy farm. Elder McMullan has had HORRIBLE allergies! His eye was so itchy, that he has an abrasion on it from scratching. He had to wear an eye patch for a couple days.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

May 7, 2018 1st week in Paris!!

May 7,2018

Hi Mom,

That is cool that you both went on vacation over by Oregon and Northern California. Did you go by any interesting locations like where the Goonies was filmed at?

Anyways I am doing fine, my first week in Paris Texas has been filled with a bunch of meetings and a ton of members to meet. The weather right now was rainy for two days and hot on the rest. My allergies have been acting up alot so I've been taking some medication even though I don't want to in order to stop my eyes from itching so badly.

My companion is Elder Twitchell who is from Utah and has been out for over 18 months. My mission president and his wife are pretty nice and we went over to their house on Tuesday. They are still raising their kids so they must be a young couple. As far as Mothers day goes I will probably Skype you guys around 4, so it will be around 2 for you. Why I don't send pictures I will have no idea, but I will see if I can connect the camera to a computer one of these days. Dallas Texas is a pretty big mission and right now we are in a car and not biking. The good thing is that there is some exercise equipment at the apartment that I've been using over the week to at least gain muscle rather than fat and I've been watching what I eat over here. Anyways I hope your week will be good and I hope to talk to you again soon.
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Hi Dad,

My companions name is Elder Twitchell , and he is from Utah. He has been out for over 18 months now and he is fun to be around.

We had Ribs the second day I was here which were really good. I have to watch what I eat because we are using a car and not bikes at the moment. Luckily there is some exercise equipment at the apartment that I use during exercise time but not every single day. Other than that I heard from a couple members in the church that a Volcano erupted in Hawaii so I hope it's not destroying the entire island at the moment.

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Hi Grandma,

The area that I am in is pretty good, very rural out here with a lot of Antique shops downtown. They do have an Eiffel Tower in Paris and it has a cowboy hat on top of it. I'll have to get a picture in front of it sometime this week.

My companion is pretty cool and he is 20 as well, it is going to feel weird coming home later than most missionaries these days. There are a lot of people to teach and we've been busy pretty much during the last week.

The Mission President is probably in his 40s along with his wife because they are still raising kids here in Texas.

Nice to know that the Teacher Strike ended, it got annoying to most parents I'm sure. Awesome that your genealogy is going along well, I hope you can find out some more information about your relatives in the future. Anyways thanks for emailing back and I hope to talk to you again soon.

Paris Texas Eiffel Tower!!!

May 2, 2018 Elder McMullan is in Dallas Texas!!!

May 2, 2018

Dear Brother & Sister McMullan,

We just want to let you know that your missionary has arrived in Dallas and is part of a wonderful group of 10 new missionaries today!

Attached you will see the pictures taken at the Dallas Temple as they came in from the airport. The group had lunch on the way and are spending the afternoon and evening in orientation and training. They will have dinner at the Mission Home with President and Sister Dalton and their family. Then they will stay the night with a nearby companionship, and in the morning will be introduced to their trainer. After a little more training together, they will leave for their area and begin their work.

Monday is their preparation day, so you should receive an email from them next week telling you about their first week in the Mission. I’m sure you’re looking forward to that!

Thank you for sending us your missionary! This will be a great experience for them.

Subject: Your Missionary Has Been Assigned!

We are grateful to have your son, Elder Matthew Bryce McMullan, serving with us in the Texas Dallas Mission. He arrived safely and I have enjoyed interviewing him. He has been assigned to serve in, Paris, Texas, and his companion is Elder Caleb Bradford Twitchell of Bountiful, Utah. We have given him a strong trainer to help him get off to a good start. He seems happy and anxious to do the work of the Lord. We will meet with Him regularly in Zone Conferences and personal interviews.

Our mission covers the northeast part of the State of Texas. It takes in a little portion of Oklahoma and goes east to the Louisiana border. Nearly three fourths of our missionaries are in the “Metroplex” of Dallas serving a population of almost four million people. The life of a missionary is not always easy, but it will be a growing experience for him, one that will set him on a firm foundation and help him gain habits that will serve him well for life.

Sister Dalton and I are committed to do all that we can to assure a happy and successful mission for your son. We are confident that you share that same commitment. It is important to write letters weekly that are positive and uplifting, with support, encouragement and praise for the work he is doing in serving the Lord. His address is 2657 SE 40^th St Paris, TX 75460 All missionaries face some challenges. We will inform you of significant concerns or illness as we determine such information would be helpful to you and him. Missionaries are asked not to call parents or friends as it distracts their attention from their work. We also request that parents and friends not call missionaries.

We extend our love to you and thank you for sending your son into the mission field. Please feel free to write or call us if you wish. Sister Dalton manages a Facebook page and uploads many pictures for all to enjoy. You can follow the mission on lnstagram @texasdallasmission, or Facebook “The Texas, Dallas Mission-President and Sister Dalton” Facebook page. We unite our prayers with yours for the well-being, success, and happiness of your son as he serves the Lord in this great work.

Sincerely,

John C. Dalton, President